In the beginning of last year, I aimed to read as much as possible. This went to a point where it felt like a chore. I tried to take up on what everyone was reading and forced myself through the pages (of which I didn’t even enjoy, or maybe I couldn’t because I wasn’t interested in the first place!). I don’t know what happened. Maybe it was the unnecessary readers advisory pressure I put on myself as I was starting a new role at the library while also launching my own secondhand bookstore with my business partner.
Surrounding myself with all sorts of readers helped to reshape this pointless pattern. By mid-2021, I managed to re-adjust my reading.
It feels so empowering to close and stop reading the book you have read halfway through, simply because you no longer enjoy the plot, or the writing. I closed 27 books midway last year. Maybe I’ll get back to some of them, maybe I won’t. There are no rules in reading. It is a leisure activity; you should take it easy, and definitely enjoy them.
My reading resolution for this year is to read more New Zealand authors. I have books written by Janet Frame, Witi Ihimaera, Kate De Goldi down in my list. I wish to own a hard cover copy of The Bone People by Keri Hulme (if you’re thinking what to get for my birthday). I’d also like to read more Children’s books.
Here are my top picks from my reading adventures last year:
Best book I read in 2021
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Reid Jenkins
Top 3 Adults Fiction
Top 3 Adults Non-Fiction
Favorite Children’s Fiction
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (although I’d classify this as an Adults book too)
Favorite Children’s Non-Fiction