Sitting, drinking tea
book on my lap, sunny rays
Through the window pane
My 2021 Reading Summary
In the past few months, I’ve been getting more and more inspired to write posts about books. I’ve been loving watching Youtubers’ and Instagramers’ reading updates, book recommendations, and sharing in their love of books. So, I thought I would do the same! I have always loved to read and I love data, so I thought why not? (Click here if you would like to skip the preamble and go right to the reading summary.)
In 2021, I didn’t read as much as I normally do, but that’s okay! I was working and going to grad school, so that didn’t leave much time. I also switched from Good Reads to The StoryGraph in the past couple of years (sometime in 2020, I think?) and have been loving it!
I also want to make sure that I point out that it doesn’t actually matter how much you read or how you read it. Audiobooks, physical copies, e-books all count! Reading, to me, is about enjoying the story or learning something new; however, you or I go about that is fantastic! Again, it’s not about how much you read, but rather that you are enjoying it and getting out of it what you are hoping to.
With all of that said, let’s dive into my 2021 reading summary!
The StoryGraph provides its users with some very cool data and charts. I’m not sure that I’ve shared this on my blog before, but I am a huge fan of data, spreadsheets, pie charts, bar charts, all of it. I got a degree in math, so that might have something to do with it. The StoryGraph provides an end-of-the-year summary for you, which is what we’ll be walking through together.
Overview of the Year
I’ve always had a goal of reading 50 books in the year. At the start of 2021, that was no different. However, it quickly became apparent that I needed to adjust my goal due to work and grad school. I then adjusted my goal down to 30 books. Around the end of the year, I started reading the Stormlight Archives series by Brandon Sanderson. So, I decided to create a pages goal instead of a books goal, since the books I read at the end of the year were so much longer. For me, a reading goal is used as a way to encourage myself to read. Therefore, I’m 100% okay with shifting my goal around as needed.
This is one of my favorite charts that The StoryGraph makes! I feel like this is a great insight into my year. I started my internship in January and submitted a big assignment for grad school in March, and it’s interesting to see how my reading increased in the month after that. I was still in classes and working, but my workload in April and May was less than it had been. Also, in August my dissertation was due (and I finished grad school!) and I started a new job in September. It’s interesting to see how my reading decreased at the beginning of the fall. This is probably due to the fact that I was very tired and worn out from the past few months. It’s also very cool to see my reading pick up again as I got settled in my job and had time off in November and December for the holidays.
Moods, Pace, and Length
These charts just confirmed what I already knew about myself. I tend to flip between wanting to read lighthearted books and ones that are a bit darker. I am a mood reader through and through. I just read whatever book sounds good at the time. This often means that once I’ve read a darker book I’m ready for a lighthearted one again and vice versa. My top three moods: adventurous, light-hearted, and dark. My three least read moods: relaxing, informative, challenging.
The pace chart makes total sense to me. I love to be completely engrossed in the books I read. So, I much prefer books that are fast or medium-paced. As a lover of fantasy and science-fiction, it comes as no surprise to me that most books that I read are over 300 pages. I love to be part of a story for a while (also why I love reading series). It might be worth looking into shorter books though, I’m sure I’m missing many great stories!
Genres
As you can see from the chart, romance was my most read genre this year. This is a newer development. I used to rarely read romance, however, as I’ve gotten older and busier, I think that the more lighthearted, face-paced reads of romances have started to appeal to me more.
Though, it’s no surprise to me that fantasy is my second most-read genre. I love fantasy and it’s been my favorite genre since I was a kid. I would have expected science-fiction to be a bit higher, but I’m not surprised that young adult, contemporary, and LGBTQIA+ were higher. Those books overlapped with both the fantasy and romance books I read in 2021.
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction. When I do, it’s usually a biography or for work/school. I am someone who reads for escapism.
The Books I Read in 2021
My top five favorite reads this year were: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson, The Flatshare by Bethany O’Leary, and Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
Finally, here are all the books I read in 2021 in order from left to right, top to bottom:
Fantasy | Haiku
Slowly…words begin
worlds in my mind…shaping
Magical journeys
Ode to the Swingset | 200 Word Story
The world swishes by. The blue of the sky quickly being replaced by the tree behind you. You pump your legs harder, trying to launch yourself into the sky. The wind rushes through your hair and a smile breaks out across your face.
The world moves past. The partly cloudy sky moving along to be replaced by the barren tree behind you. You let yourself slow a bit, trying to time your next move perfectly. With a rush of adreline, you let go and fly through the cold air. You land in the massive pile of soft snow built just this purpose. There’s a single moment where the world pauses, before giggles escape your body. Almost immeidiately there are calls for doing it again.
You’re giddy with the succession of your mission and you clamber out of the snow as best you can, desperate to give flying another go. Trudging through the knee deep snow, struggling to lift your feet, you hop back up onto the yellow plastic of the swing’s seat. “Okay! Ready to fly!” you shout; laughter encapsulating every part of the experience.
dancing along to Taylor Swift
With Taylor Swift’s “Lover” blaring through her headphones, Rose closed her eyes and stood in the middle of the room. She’d only recently pushed all the futurniture aside, reading the space for a heart felt dance-sesh. She slowly began to sway from side to side, eyes shut tight against the world, and let the music flow through her.
Her arms rose above her head and before Rose was quite ready for it, she was dancing to the beat of the music. It was slow at first, and she slowly swung her hips from side to side, not giving a damn what anyone thought of her (though she had closed the blinds before starting her nightly dancing escapade). Eyelids still down, Rose’s movements slowly grew in instensity as the music began to crescendo.
With determination, Rose clicked the volume button on the side of her headphones up a few notches. She wanted to be fully absorbed. What was left of the world around her fell away and as Taylor began to sing “Ladies and Gentleman will you please stand?” Rose began to sing along. She didn’t care if her voice was good (it wasn’t). She belted out the lyrics anyways.
As the song ended, Rose smiled to herself and opened her eyes. With a jolt she saw her best friend and roommate Sam standing before her. Rose flushed for a second, realizing that her voice hadn’t been hidden behind music blaring from speakers. She’d been wearing her headphones.
Sam said something, that Rose could barely hear. Remembering that she had the noise cancelling on, Rose slowly lowered her headphones. A speepish grin on her face.
“Taylor?” Sam asked, not needing to go into more detail.
“Yup,” Rose replied.
“Mind if I join?” asked Sam, guesturing towards the speakers set up on either side of the TV.
A huge grin breaking out on her face. “Nope!” she said, tossing her headphones on the couch that was pushed against the wall.
Sam promptly turned to the TV to play their carefully selected favorite songs (which, to be honest was most of them).
Together they began to dance their hearts out to Taylor, loving every second of it.
here we are again…yet different
Here we are again
this seems familiar
all those other times that I’ve suddenly felt like writing again
the “i’m back” posts
the “I’m not going to say I’m back, but I am”
the “I feel like writing”
the “I’ve had writer’s block”
the “I know I’ll come back eventually”
All those different posts.
And yet again, here I am.
Sitting before the computer screen,
typing away
unsure of what to say
but typing anyway
stream of conscious
the feeling of wanting to write,
but being scared
being embarrassed of
being that person who goes without warning
and pops back up again
But all I know is that the desire to write had dwindled
dwindled down until it was easy to push aside
forget about
well, almost forget about
I’ve been wanting to write
but what?
Does it matter?
Do I start fresh?
Start where I left off?
Make a post explaining?
Just leave it a mystery?
In the end,
I don’t think it matters
because I write for me
in the end, that’s what it is
I write for me first and you second
There are too many rules
placed on things
too many rules that destroy the magic
too many expectations and desires and goals and rules
too many
and they drown out the fun
the magic
the light
the effervescence
I get so caught up in the other side of things
the side if things that “prompts” the blog
gets my name out there
needing to like things, comments on things
explore the endless depths on the internet
until that part zaps away the joy
makes writing seems daunting, cumbersome and frustrating
setting rules of types of pieces to write, and when
of what type of content to gain attention
but I don’t want to do this for attention
If I did, I would have kept with it
in the end, if attention comes, I’d want it to be a byproduct
I’m just writing
and everything else happens organically
I feel the pull to jump back into that craziness
and I choose to let it go.
Writing is for me, an outlet
a place to dream
a world to explore
a way to process
and that’s all it needs to be
So, here we are again…yet different
Different, because there are no rules, no expectations expect one
that I write. That’s it.
Just
Write.
busy busy mind
busy busy mind
working against me
a captive of my own thoughts.
trying to be present
to work through things
to be my own power
but I’m at its mercy.
my mind
has control over me
is working with me
against me
with me
against me
in a seemingly
endless rhythm
a pattern etched
into the inside of my skull
Breathe…
The emotion has its hand against your chest, its powerful weight pressing down upon you. Can you feel it? Pressing harder for every breath you forget to breathe.
Close your eyes… Breathe in … Listen to your heartbeats… Da-Dum… Da-Dum… Da-Dum… Da-Dum… Breathe out.
The thoughts flit around your head, their powerful buzzing filling up your ears. Can you hear it? Growing louder with every heartbeat that passes without acknowledgment.
Close your eyes… Breathe in … Listen to your heartbeats… Da-Dum… Da-Dum… Da-Dum… Da-Dum… Breathe out.
The restlessness scurries along your limbs, its powerful agility leaving your limbs jittering. Can you sense it? Growing quicker with every piece of data your eyes take in.
Close your eyes… Breathe in … Listen to your heartbeats… Da-Dum… Da-Dum… Da-Dum… Da-Dum… Breathe out. Breathe in… Breathe out… Breathe in… Breathe out…
Let go.
Release.
Calm overtakes your limbs, stilling them. Calm overtakes your thoughts, quieting them. Calm overtakes your emotions, releasing the pressure.
You are okay. You are surviving. You are not alone.
wind beneath her wings
wind beneath her wings
a cliché and yet… rings true
let go, play the fool
Reflection on My Digital Detox | Screen-free September Day 30
Happy October! The time of cooler weather, warmer drinks and if you’re me full access to the internet. It’s been thirty days. Days during which I learned quite a bit about myself. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I’m going to be reflecting on the experience as a whole. So, without further ado, here we go…
The Positives
- I was able to build up my reading habit once again after a bit of a dry spell reading-wise this summer.
- I noticed how often I mindlessly perused the internet.
- The month helped me develop an actual sleep schedule, which was a nice bonus.
- I realized I have a lot more time in the day than I previously thought; it became a lot harder to convince myself that I didn’t have time to do something because I was often very aware of how much time was left in the day.
- I started blogging again!
- I realized the bigger issue might be my addiction to checking my phone even if I know there’s no reason to.
- I made more time for self-care because I had more time.
The Negatives
- I missed playing puzzles games on my phone.
- There were a number of blogs and youtube channels that I find inspire me and/or add value to my life, and I missed those.
- Not being able to look up random stuff that I was curious about, even if it had no real importance to what I was doing.
- Being unable to relax by watching a TV show, which I find it hard to focus on reading.
There are almost twice as many positives as negatives, and after reading them through again, I have to say that the impact and importance of the positives drastically outweigh the negatives’. So, overall I think this month of being (nearly) screen-free as been a success. More so than I would have thought.
At the beginning of September, I was curious and skeptical. I thought the month would drag on, that I would catch up on all of my reading, and decide it wasn’t worth doing again. I was scared of being in my own brain so much. I was honestly scared of being bored.
And while the first two weeks did seem to take a while, the last two flew by. I had gotten used to it. It was the new normal. Of course, there were the daily small annoyances, but even then I knew that they would pass as quickly as they’d shown up. Also, after a few days, okay maybe more like a week, my thoughts didn’t seem as overwhelming; I’d gotten used to their constant buzzing, and even began working on tuning them out when I needed to sleep. Turns out boredom isn’t scary, just annoying, and actually does help with productivity at least for me. I’ve become better at not pushing the little or mundane tasks to the side saying “oh, I’ll do those later.” Turns out now is just as good a time as later when you’re looking for ways to fill up time. And it only took a couple of weeks, before this became normal, and I relished in finding time to get all those little things done and still have a little bit of time for myself at the end of the day. I’ve learned to no longer take that free time for granted.
While I didn’t catch up on my reading, or blog every day, or finish editing my novel, or any other of the twenty-thousand (that might be a slight exaggeration) things I’d hoped to accomplish, I did make progress on them. By the end of the month, I was one book closer to catching up on my reading challenge for the year. So I’m no longer falling behind! Forward progress! I blogged a lot more than I would have done had I not done this challenge, and now it’s become a part of my weekly routine. As we enter October, I’m more confident than before that I’ll be able to keep blogging into the future.
I remember mentioning in a blog post a few days (or weeks) back that I was nervous that I would revert back to my old ways. However, I’ve already found (I’m writing this on October 1st) that my habits have changed. I have gone on the internet today, but much much less than I would have before. Where before the moment I got home from work I would have starred at a screen for at least an hour if not more, today I chose not to. I got some things done and then sat down to write.
So, long story short, it was worth it. If you’ve been considering doing something similar, whether for a month, a week, a few days or an afternoon, I highly recommend it. It’s a chance to step back and catch your breath. It’s a chance to see what truly adds value to your life and what doesn’t. I don’t believe the internet is inherently good or bad, but I do think we should be intentional about how we use it.
I would like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who have been reading along the past thirty days. You’ve been a great accountability partner, and I truly believe writing publically about my experience helped keep me going on those days when I wanted to break the rules. Thank you for all the encouragement and support not only throughout September but in general as well! It truly means a lot.
Until next time,
Acire
P.S. If any of you are thinking of doing something similar let me know down in the comments! I’d love to cheer you on! Also, if there are any types of content you’d like to see here on Scribe’s Canvas in the future, let me know!
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