Ever since I made the resolution to read less, my book count hasn’t been the same. It’s gone up. Well, not quite true. I did read fewer books in 2021 than I did in 2020 (but still a lot more than in 2019, the first year I tracked the numbers).
So. In 2021 I read a grand total of 70 books cover-to-cover.
I finished 32 non-fiction books and abandoned another five.
On the fiction side, I read 38 and abandoned two books. Most of the fiction I read was Fantasy, with a few mysteries and thrillers sprinkled in. Some of those books had just come out, some were only new to me, and some were re-reads of older favorites. Here’s the list:
- Peter V. Brett: The Warded Man
- Peter V. Brett: The Desert Spear
- Peter V. Brett: The Daylight War
- Peter V. Brett: The Skull Throne
- Peter V. Brett: The Core
- Steven Pressfield: A Man at Arms
- Wilbur Smith: Golden Lion
- Ace Atkins: The Sinners
- Lev Grossman: The Magicians
- Michael J. Sullivan: Theft of Swords
- Stan Nicholls: Orcs
- Douglas Hulick: Among Thieves
- Douglas Hulick: Sworn in Steel
- Bradley P. Beaulieu: Twelve Kings in Sharakhai
- Scott Lynch: The Republic of Thieves
- Luke Scull: The Sword of the North
- Ari Marmell: The Warlord’s Legacy
- Jim Butcher: Blood Rites
- Jim Butcher: Dead Beat
- Pierce Brown: Red Rising
- Django Wexler: The Thousand Names
- Django Wexler: The Shadow Throne
- C. L. Clark: The Unbroken
- Joe Abercrombie: A Little Hatred
- Peter V. Brett: The Desert Prince
- Joe Abercrombie: The Trouble with Peace
- Col Buchanan: Farlander
- Col Buchanan: Stands a Shadow
- Louise Penny: The Trouble with Crowds
- Ian Graham: Monument
- Sam Sykes: Tome of the Undergates
- Joe Abercrombie: The Wisdom of Crowds
- Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny: State of Terror
- Sam Sykes: Black Halo
- Sam Sykes: The Skybound Sea
- RJ Barker: King of Assassins
- Lee Child: The Affair
- Lee Child: Never Go Back
So what about 2022? Any reading-related plans, a resolution maybe? Nah. As I’ve learned, these things tend to take care of themselves without my interference. Still, my book count is probably going to go down, because I’ll put a stronger focus on my study of Japanese swords in 2022. Unfortunately, sleep is a thing, so I’ll have to make cuts elsewhere.
Let’s see how it goes – either way, I’m looking forward to another year filled with books, whether it be reading or writing them.