2021 Year in Books

Well, it’s been another weird year. Not having lived through a global pandemic before, I had no idea things could go on this long. I haven’t been able to travel much, but did get away Thanksgiving time to Quebec, Canada for a few days. I also finished my student teaching and teaching certification this year, which is really exciting! Currently waiting for my permit student-teacher permit to be converted to my teaching license so I can start working.

As for book news, I’m happy to say I reached my Goodreads challenge this year of reading 60 books!

Surprisingly, audiobooks were a saving grace this year! Ten of the books I “read” were audiobooks. While I easily made the transition to reading ebooks, I’ve always felt like it was cheating to listen to books. However, researchers in a study at UC Berkely have shown that listening or reading stories both stimulated the same cognitive and emotional areas in the brain, regardless of medium. (source). Also, it also really makes the time pass when I’m doing tedious tasks like driving or cleaning.

This year, I’m setting my 2022 reading challenge to read 55 books. I usually try to raise the number of books I read, but it will also be my first year of teaching and I don’t want to necessarily stress myself out. Plus, I’ve found a ton of creative outlets during the pandemic – like building house miniatures – that I really want to continue in the new year.

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How many books did you read this year? Do you listen to audiobooks, read ebooks, read traditional books, or a mixture of all three? What were your favorites of 2021? Leave me a comment and…

Until next time,