E. G. Bella

Happy Friday!

Well, here we are…the very last day of 2021.

It’s been another crazy year, hasn’t it? Far crazier than I expected it to be anyway. Although really, when do I ever accurately anticipate how busy I’ll be? Not often, if ever.

Thankfully, even amidst all the unexpected events and busyness of this year, I was still able to exceed my reading goal of 50 books. As of today, I’ve read 54 books in 2021!

This is my first year keeping track of the books I read, and I’ve really enjoyed it! The insights have been neat. Before this, I had no idea how many books I usually read, or my typical balance between fiction and non-fiction (22 vs 32).

And in case you’re as interested in stats as I am, here are some random ones…

I read a total of 14,666 pages (not sure how I feel about that number). The longest book I read was 509 pages, and the shortest one had 14. My average number of pages per book was 271, and the average rating I gave in my reviews was 4.2 stars.

And now for the books themselves!

Here is the list of books I’ve read in 2021:

( * = A favorite!)
(DNR = do not recommend/will not be re-reading)

Fiction

1. Blank Mastermind by Rosey Mucklestone*
2. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
3. Soon by Jerry Jenkins
4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
5. Take Flight by T. E. Price
6. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (*)
7. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
8. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
9. Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick (DNR)
10. Daylight by Grace A. Johnson
11. Six O’clock by Grace A. Johnson
12. Dust by Kara Swanson
13. Shadow by Kara Swanson
14. Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
15. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (*)
16. Romanov by Nadine Brandes (*)
17. Fawkes by Nadine Brandes (*)
18. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (*)
19. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
20. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
21. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
22. The Toymaker’s Doll by E. G. Bella (yes, this is my own story. Yes I recommend it, haha!)

Nonfiction

1. Death On Hold by Burton W. Folsom Jr.
2. Everything You Need by Dr. David Jeremiah
3. Hearts of Fire by The Voice of The Martyrs
4. You Changed My Life by Max Lucado
5. Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer
6. Fly A Little Higher by Laura Sobiech
7. Inspired by Rachel Held Evans (DNR)
8. The Road to Unafraid by Jeff Struecker
9. The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
10. Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado
11. Still Growing by Kirk Cameron
12. A Life Beyond Amazing by Dr. David Jeremiah
13. You’ll Get Through This by Max Lucado
14. The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson
15. The Case for Christ: Student Edition by Jane Vogel
16. 24 Hours That Changed the World by Adam Hamilton
17. Expecting to See Jesus by Anne Graham Lotz
18. The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
19. The Path of Loneliness by Elisabeth Elliot
20. How to Handle Adversity by Charles Stanley
21. God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew (*)
22. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis (DNR)
23. Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs
24. You Were Made For Love by Philip Carlson
25. Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
26. Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas (*)
27. Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot
28. Who I Am in Christ by Neil T. Anderson
29. Thyroid Power by Richard L. Shames
30. Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled? by Richard L. Shames
31. Thyroid Healthy by Suzy Cohen
32. Adrenal Fatigue by James L. Wilson

And as far as reading goes, this doesn’t count a whole bunch of articles and blog posts (mostly about writing craft or Scripture study). Not the majority of my own writing that I’ve worked on this year either. But I’m pretty happy with the amount of actual books I’ve read this year!

Again, when I first set my goal, I really didn’t even know what my usual yearly amount of books read was. 50 seemed like a pretty reasonable number to try – not too huge, but not tiny. And apparently it was about perfect for this year!

Although I didn’t read all the books I intended to, I read a lot that I didn’t think I’d get to, and also started quite a few that just couldn’t hold my interest… Apparently I have an even shorter attention span than I realized when it comes to reading. Something for me to work on, haha.

If you’re interested in reading my more in-depth reviews for these books, you can find me on Goodreads, here. I’m not always the fastest at posting my reviews, but I have quite a few of them there, and hope to go back and finish the rest soon. Maybe I’ll see you over there? And if you’re curious about any of the books, feel free to ask questions in the comments!

What did YOU read this year? What were some of your favorites? Were there any reads you didn’t enjoy? I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to comment below and let me know what reading adventures you were up to in 2021!

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