Truth be told, I suck at goals. Especially my Goodreads, I have been using the app to track the books I have been reading for a couple of years now. I have yet to reach any of my goals. I always start the year with good intentions to read more but one way or another life gets in the way or something. I guess maybe I set my goals too high but I decided to scrap the reading goals for 2021. I managed 22 books this year and even though it doesn’t sound like a lot I am chuffed with myself!
One thing I am very proud of this year is discovering a love for Graphic Novels, something I never thought I’d see myself getting into. I have read some amazing pieces one being the first two volumes of The Wicked & The Divine. The artwork is incredible and the storyline is so good! I really loved the characters, if you wish to read more about this amazing series I have done a book review on the first two volumes! Just give the title a search in the top right corner of the page! I am waiting for the stores reopen properly before I search for a local comic book store in my city- rather than fund big businesses like Amazon. This year was definitely one of discovery. The first graphic novel I read this year was Faithless, very sexy but waiting for the next part of the collection which has not been announced yet.I feel after this weird year I don’t want any pressure, I should just want to read and not feel like I have to. Even though the Good Read’s reading challenge is supposed to be for fun I found myself rushing novels. I don’t want that anymore. I do want to read more, of course, I do. I want 2021 to be the year of content I care about, in all aspects of my life. I do want to try and not buy as many new books in the next year, my To-be-read pile is huge and my bookcase is full. I want to reread some of my favourite classics like Dickens' Great Expectations, Shelley's Frankenstein and whatever I find on my shelves. I want to be more creative over here on my blog too. Do you ever finish a book but you’re not quite over it yet? I want to explore that, maybe write an extra chapter or something. I know this sounds a little like fan fiction but I just want to share more creative writing with you guys. I will still write book reviews, I very much enjoy writing those and taking cute bookstagram photos to go with them.
This blog post is not disregarding Good Reads, I think it’s brilliant that I can see what I have been reading. Scrolling through the books I have read this year, I can say the book I loved the most, that I very much didn’t expect to, was Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking. I never really showed much interest in this actress previously but I was and still am fascinated by her story. This also started my love of audiobooks (see more about this in my previous blog post) which has helped me discover stories I wouldn’t usually even look at on a bookshelf! Having talked about the books I love the most it’s only right I talk about one story I didn’t enjoy as much.
The graphic novel version of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. If you know me, you’ll know I love the series. I have not enjoyed a series this much in a while. The graphic novel is very different, which as a lover of books I know adaptations change things and alterations are made, but the graphic novel disappointed me a little. I guess it just wasn’t what I was expecting. With the Netflix show coming to an end soon (sadly) I am feeling more inclined to purchase the rest of the volumes so I can keep it alive and maybe see a different ending. I hope the next volumes change my mind. I am looking forward to the books I could read in 2021. Let’s make this the year of reading books we actually want to read! What book is at the top of your to-be-read list?
