Another year is almost in the books, and what a year it’s been!
Books have always been a part of my life. My parents, especially my mom, encouraged reading since I was a baby. She was always signing up my brother and me for library programs and we were never without a stack of books.
My dad encouraged reading too. Although he didn’t read fiction like my mom. He read the newspaper, particularly the business section, and was always trying to teach me things like how to understand the stock market. For a young reader who preferred storytelling that whisked me away to foreign lands and planted me in the middle of epic storylines, the business section wasn’t my cup of tea.
No matter how reading was presented to me, I am grateful that my parents instilled the love of the written word in me from an early age. Without the escapism that a good book provides, I wouldn’t have been able to break free from the painful reality of loss and uncertainty, even momentarily, that was the theme of 2021 for me.
Over the last year, I discovered new-to-me storytellers like Taylor Jenkins Reid. I read two of her books this year, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising.* I also fell back in love with authors I discovered long ago like Jennifer Weiner, who I admire so much. She lost her mother this year as I lost my dad, and she continued to write and use storytelling as a tool to navigate her loss.
I delved into audiobooks more this year. Although I’ll never be a reader who can listen to fiction, I discovered that I enjoy self-help, business (I guess I found my way to the business section, after all, Dad), and spiritual books in the audiobook format. Some books that I listened to this year include Rachel Rodgers’ We Should All Be Millionaires and Jay Shetty’s Think Like a Monk.* I highly recommend Shetty’s audiobook. His voice alone is so inspiring!
This year, I also abandoned a lot of books I started. I was so excited to read Julia Alvarez’s Afterlife, but I started it right before my dad died, and I couldn’t bring myself to read it after he passed. I still have it on my Kindle and see myself going back to it in the future when the time’s right. Another book that I’ve put to the side, for now, is Jodi Picoult’s The Book of Two Ways.
A surprise book for me this year was The Murmur of Bees* by Sofia Segovia. It’s a book about a disfigured boy protected by bees. The language is beautiful and the story enchanting. I highly recommend this book!
I’m closing out the year with Jodi Picoult’s Wish You Were Here*, and as I write this sentence, I’m struck by how the read, though unintentional, sums up my 2021.
What was the most enjoyable book you read this year?
Also check out my Goodread’s Reading Challenge!
*Disclosure: As an indie writer, I find clever and unique ways to make money to produce books for you! If you click on my affiliates/advertisers links, I am going to receive a tiny commission. Although it sucks that writing doesn’t pay the bills, here’s what I want you to know: I never recommend a product I don’t love! Although, I mostly recommend books because I love stories the most. Don’t you?