I love starting the new year off on the blog with a final recap on my previous year reading with the End of Year Book Survey, created by Jamie of The Perpetual Page-Turner. This survey takes an in-depth look at some of my favorite (and not-so favorite) books of the year, books I’m excited about in 2022, and blogging life in general. 

2021 Reading Stats

Number of Books You Read: 162 Books ; 3 Novellas

Number of Re-Reads: 4

Genre You Read the Most From: Contemporary/Contemporary Romance 

Best Book You Read in 2021: Tie between People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry and The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t? Mom Jeans & Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin

Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

Good Way: Rush by Lisa Patton – was way more addicted to this book than expected

Bad Way: Controversial opinion time! – From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)? Can I count the fact that I made my friends watch Bridgerton (The Duke & I by Julia Quinn) on Netflix?? 

Best series you started in 2020? Best Sequel? Best Series Ender of 2020?

Best series started: Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano 

Best sequel:The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Best series ender: It’s more of a companion series, but I LOVED the final book in Jasmine Guillory’s Wedding Date series with While We Were Dating 

Favorite new author you discovered in 2021?

Debut: Ali Hazelwood 

New-to-me: Elin Hilderbrand

Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

I stray away from books with magical/magic storylines, but I really enjoyed Erin Sterling’s The Ex Hex 

Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year? A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas 

Book You Read In 2021 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year? The Love Hypothesis 

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2021? Ghosts by Dolly Aldteron 

Most memorable character of 2021? Vlad from Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams 

Most beautifully written book read in 2021? Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad

Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2021?

Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2021 to finally read? The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle 

Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2021?

Not sure if it ‘counts’, but I’m loved the quote from Anthony Bourdain in the beginning of Beck Dorey Stein’s Rock the Boat about New Jersey – it ends with, “To know Jersey is to love her.”

Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2021?

Shortest: If The Fates Allow by Rainbow Rowell (38 pages)

Longest: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas (757 pages)

Book That Shocked You The Most: I’m going to go with a contemporary drama, Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes by Kathleen West

OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) Olive & Adam from The Love Hypothesis 

Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year: Vlad & the Bromance Book Club from Lyssa Kay Adam’s Isn’t It Bromantic? 

Favorite Book You Read in 2021 From An Author You’ve Read Previously: The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Best Book You Read In 2021 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:

I read along with most of Bad on Paper Podcast’s mostly Book Clubs – my favorite was definitely Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2021? Alex from People We Meet on Vacation

Best 2021 debut you read? Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter 

Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year? The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read? It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark 

Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2021?From Scratch by Tembi Locke 

Hidden Gem Of The Year? Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne 

Book That Crushed Your Soul? I don’t really have one this year! 

Most Unique Book You Read In 2021? Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson

Book That Made You The Most Mad? Unpopular/controversial opinion, but Untamed by Glennon Doyle 

New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2021?

I’ve really fallen back into bookstagram, especially stories, and I really love following Morgan from @nycbookgirl. Non-bookstagram related, but I also LOVE following Dan from @grossypelosi. 

Favorite post you wrote in 2021? 25 Fangirl Facts About Me: 2021 Edition 

Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2021? Me with my Rachel Lynn Solomon book stack!

Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events,  etc.)? I joined the Bad Bitch Book Club this year and I love reading & responding to their Facebook group posts (it’s the only reason I keep my FB account), and my goal is to go to at least ONE virtual event in 2022. 

Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2021? I can’t think of a singular moment, but I am again grateful for the awesome relationships I have with publishers (and the amazing review copies I received this year) and continuing to grow & form connections with my audience here on the blog. 

Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year? Definitely balancing grad school & then my now full-time job as an English teacher with blogging! My reading life ultimately really did not take a hit, given that I had my summer mostly off and read over 60 books, and I still find myself having time to read in peak busy times of the school year. Writing about said books and blogging in general has definitely been harder to find time for, and yes the motivation sometimes, but I don’t want to add added stress over it in 2022 – I want blogging to remain something that I enjoy & get excited about, not feel obligated to do so. 

Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)? I really ‘blame’ this one on Tik Tok and even more readers falling in love with Sarah J. Maas, as My Top 5 SJM Books was my most popular post of 2021 (and it was published in 2020, so an updated one is definitely needed!). 

Post You Wished Got A Little More Love? Ranking Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Books 

Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)? I think this is going to be everyone’s answer this year, but exploring BookTok/Book TikTok was fun in 2021 and another cool way to see people reading more & more. I made a few BookToks of my own – I would definitely prioritize creating content there more if I had more time! 

Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year? I exceeded my goal of reading at least a 100 books this year! While I think they’re fun and a great way to get people reading, I don’t really like challenges where you have to read a certain kind of a book just to hit a check mark. 

One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2021 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2022? Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn 

Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2022 (non-debut)?Book Lovers by Emily Henry

2021 Debut You Are Most Anticipating? In a New York Minute by Kate Spencer 

Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2021?

Rivals by Katharine McGee and House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2) by Sarah J. Maas 

One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2021? Maintain a consistent blog post schedule and try to be more active on Instagram/Bookstagram

A 2022 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable): I haven’t read a 2022 release just yet, but one of my first reads of the year is going to be Alll the Right Reasons by Bethany Mangle

You can also check out my End of Year Book Surveys for 2020, 2019, 2018, & 2017.

What was your favorite book of 2021? Have you read any of the books that I mentioned? What are some of your reading goals for 2022? Did you complete the End of Year Book Survey? Share in the comments!