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What I'm Reading Wednesday: My Year in Books 2021

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

 



Happy Wednesday, My Lovelies!  Today's What I'm Reading Wednesday post is a review of my 2021 year in books.

I pledged to read 36 books in 2021 on Goodreads.  This is usually a good number for me because I'm a very slow reader, and one book per week can be a bit much.  Due to the rainy summer we had, I actually exceeded my goal and read 46 books for a grand total of 14,405 pages read.

Here are some other stats:  


Some of you might remember I read the entire Mitford Series near the beginning of the COVID crazy.
Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good was the longest book I read, and it has 511 pages.  The average book length I read in 2021 was 311 pages.

The highest rated book I read last year according to Goodreads:


This Advent devotional is an in-depth study of the Book of Luke.
I loved it!  Its rating on Goodreads is 4.71.
My average rating for 2021 was 4.6.
I will write a review for this devotional next November before the Advent Season.


My favorite book of the year:


Of all the fiction books I read this year, it is also the highest rated on Goodreads with a rating of 4.47.

A very close second to Once Upon a Wardrobe is Perestroika in Paris.  If you love animals, especially horses, you will love this book.




My third favorite book was Christmas by the Book.  I loved it, and it was slightly more literary than I thought it would be.  I will be reviewing it here on the blog Friday.


Notice the Westie in the window?  Her name is Merry.




Now looking ahead to 2022...




My sweet literary daughter kept pestering me encouraging me during Christmas to gather together books to read during our coldest months.  She loves genre fiction, and she continually talked enthusiastically about a couple of fantasy series she was reading.  *sighs*

I know she meant well, so I asked her to put her mad research skills to use and find me the best cozy mystery series she could find.   She came through, and found the Scottish Bookshop Mysteries Series by Paige Shelton:


I've already read several in this series, and I will be reviewing them soon.  I love this series!

Shanley also found the Irish Village Murder Series by Carlene O'Connor:


I will read this series next.


I've also decided to start at the beginning and read the Bakeshop Mystery Series by Ellie Alexander.  I've read a few of them, but not all, and not from the beginning:










I'm planning on giving myself breaks in between series, and Shanley Belle and Christopher bought me the most beautiful book for Christmas:



This is the second book in the Dove Pond Series.


You might recall that I read the first in this series, and it was one of my favorite books of 2019:




I'll admit that I'm a sucker for beautiful covers.  This series tells the story about one of the seven Dove Sisters in Dove Pond, North Carolina (one sister is featured in each book).  I'm guessing there will be seven books in the series, one for each sister.


There you have it!  My 2021 Book Year in Review and my reading plan for 2022.

What are you currently reading?  Do you have a favorite cozy mystery series you'd like to share?


Until next time...

Happy reading!
Ricki Jill



6 comments

  1. I love to see what my friends are reading and will look these books up on Amazon. I just finished the Hideaway by Lauren Denton, it was based in fictional Sweet Bay, Alabama and was full of discovered secrets and romance. Cozy mysteries are my favorite genre right now, and I do like to read the series in order. I'm looking to start a new series, so your recommendations are appreciated! Happy reading!
    Jenna

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  2. Right now the only book on my shelf is a positivity journal, that I'm actually really enjoying, but I would love to add a few biographies to my list this year. I've been watching a ton of old movies lately and the actors real life stories are fascinating. I'd like to read more about early Hollywood, too. Sometimes the real life tales are just as fascinating as fiction.

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  3. What a wonderful bunch of books! So many look really good and appeal to me. I remember your review of Perestroika in Paris and that's still at the top of the list but the bookstore one intrigues, too.

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  4. I love a good mystery and have not been reading much but watching different series. I need to find some good reads for the long winter months. I have never been a big reader but am trying to make myself slow down and read more. xoxo Kris

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  5. I always enjoy your book reviews.
    Currently I am reading The Women of Chateau Lafayette.. which I am not enjoying all that much.

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  6. I love seeing what you’re reading, Ricki Jill! I’m a sucker for a pretty cover, too. Sad little me is not reading anything right now. I finished the Bible in a Year on the 31st, and haven’t started anything. I need to change that!

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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