Reading Year in Review & 2022 Goals

I don’t think I need to bother reflecting on the kind of year 2021 turned out to be overall. It happened; let’s move on, shall we?

In bookish terms, I felt like much of my year was defined by a lingering reading slump, meaning it came as a very pleasant surprise when I surpassed my goal for the year (by 1), reading 101 books in total. That’s the lowest figure since I started tracking my reading, but objectively, I’m aware it’s still a lot of books, and considering the backdrop we’ve all been living against, I can make my peace with it! I talked a little about my 10 favourites here.

My average rating was 3.6 stars. That’s .1 up on last year’s average, and it means I’m still enjoying the majority of the books I pick up, so I’ll take that as a win!

Though I always pick up books based purely on what appeals to me at the time, as the year comes to a close, I like to look back and break them down based on a few key areas. It’s clear to see I’m still drawn to the works of women far more than I am men, and I’m also pleased to see that my intake of non-binary authors has gone up a little – though this could certainly still be higher.

In terms of authorship, I’m pleased to see it’s not a terrible balance, but I could always stand to read more from authors of colour. I’d be much happier if it could move closer towards a 50/50 split, at least.

As per the trend of the last few years, more than half of my reading is given over to novels/novellas, and the proportion of my reading dedicated to poetry has edged up slightly again, which I’m perfectly happy with!

It also seems that around a quarter of my reading is made up of works in translation, which is pretty consistent with last year. I’d like to maintain or even boost that proportion moving forward, if possible.

I’m still going to set myself some goals for the year ahead, but in the spirit of not wanting to pile the pressure on when we’re still going through the wringer, I’m going to keep them simple:

• Read 90 books: This is lower than I usually set my target, but I want to respect the fact my reading slowed down for much of last year. While it’s good to motivate myself with an ambitious end goal, reading is something I love, and so I never want it to feel like a daunting chore. Life is rough at the moment; it’s okay to ease the pace a little when we need to.
• Commit to WITmonth: I love joining in with Women in Translation Month, which takes place every August. For the last few years, I’ve committed to reading exclusively women in translation during that month, and I’d like to do so again.
• Re-read Saga: I read and loved the first 7 volumes of Saga as they came out, but I fell out of the loop and haven’t picked any up for ages. I believe the series is coming to the end of a hiatus soon, so I’d like to refresh my mind and get caught up.

As always, I’ll finish this little retrospective by bringing together every title I read throughout the last 12 months (followed, this time, by all the embroidery projects I completed). If anything catches your eye, feel free to drop me a comment. Thanks for stopping by – Happy reading, and all the best for 2022!

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January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

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Top Albums of 2016

My favourite albums of 2016

Anyone who follows my blog will know how much I love books – and my top reads of 2016 list will indeed be coming soon – but music is also a huge part of my life, and I thought it would be fun to look back on what have become some of my favourite albums throughout the last year. All of my picks were released in 2016 (with the exception of one cheat which I will explain when I get to it).

6. Citizen of Glass by Agnes Obel

A fusion of classical and pop elements, Obel’s beautiful lyrics and piano melodies are always the stars of the show, but her heavy use of the cello is another reason for my love of her atmospheric and captivating work.

5. Love Stuff by Elle King

Here is that slight cheat I mentioned. Love Stuff was technically released in 2015, but there was a single from the album released this year, and it was then that I discovered and fell in love with her music, so I couldn’t not include it here. Mostly blending two styles I don’t often listen to – rock and country – Elle oozes sass, and her music is so infectious.

4. Vulnicura Live by Björk

A series of live recordings from Björk’s most recent tour, she not only revisits the tracks from her stunning heartbreak album, Vulnicura, but reimagines several songs from her impressive back catalogue, complete with enchanting new string arrangements orchestrated by the artist herself. She may have turned 51 this year, but boy do these recordings prove that she’s still got it.

3. Long Live the Angels by Emeli Sandé

A powerful voice and catchy hooks, this album crept up on me really. I enjoyed her debut, but with quite a bit of time between the two there’s always the fear that ‘the curse of the second album’ may strike. Thankfully, Sandé didn’t disappoint.

2. All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend by Aurora

Aurora’s distinct voice and poetic lyrics drew me to her work immediately, but this album has been the biggest grower of the year for me, as I fell in love with it more and more with each listen. She can move from up-tempo, catchy songs to dark and haunting tracks with ease.

1. Chaleur Humaine by Christine and the Queens

Christine’s songs are almost guaranteed to get stuck in your head and make you want to dance. Blending English and French lyrics, to see her live (as I was lucky enough to do earlier this year) is a whole other experience, as her incredible dancers join her for truly mesmerising performances that prove she’s one of the freshest, most exciting artists at work right now.

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There we have it. This list definitely confirms my strong preference for female vocalists – I’m not sure why it’s the case, but I’m more than okay with it. I think one of my favourite things looking back on this list however is to realise how eclectic it is, not only in terms of musical genres but nationality, with the singers hailing from Denmark, the US, Iceland, Scotland, Norway and France respectively.

What are some of your favourite albums from 2016?

2016 Bookish Goals

Oh, books! ❤

2015 has been and gone but there’s still time for one last brief wrap up before we look to the year ahead. So, throughout December I read 11 books in all (3 novels, 2 short story collections, 2 poetry collections, 2 graphic novels, an illustrated novelette and one of the Penguin Little Black Classics), my favourite being The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman, a beautifully illustrated fairy tale retelling.

I’ve had the pleasure of reading some truly great books throughout this year and I’ve already posted my Top Reads of 2015, in case you missed it and fancy checking it out.

Altogether, I finished the year having read a total of 125 books. Being the first year I’ve ever monitored how much I actually read, I set my original target on Goodreads at 40 before doubling it to 80; so whichever way you look at it, I’ve well surpassed my own expectations, which is a nice feeling.

I’m already excited to see what 2016 has in store for me in terms of books. If my TBR is anything to go by, I’m in for a good time! With that in mind, though I’m not normally one for New Year’s resolutions per se, I did have a few bookish goals in mind and I thought that getting them down on paper (or a blog post) might be the motivation I need and the handy reminder throughout the year that will keep me on track to meet them. So, without further ado, here are my 2016 goals.

• Read 100 books in total – I managed 125 last year, so this should hopefully be doable yet realistic.
• Read more non-fiction – It’s currently a major hole in my reading and I’d like to address that.
• Read more classics – It’s another area I’m intrigued to explore more of. I’m thinking I’ll achieve this mostly through Penguin’s Little Black Classics series, which are much smaller, easily digestible little books, and children’s classics, which I enjoy collecting nice editions of anyway.
• Read diversely – This is something I always like to be conscious of in my reading, in terms of form, themes and authorship. I read a good mix of novels, short stories, poetry, indie books and graphic novels last year, which I want to continue, but I also want to make sure I read translated works, non-white/straight/male authors and a wide variety of genres.

There we have it; some simple but hopefully achievable targets to keep me busy in 2016. Happy reading!

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Did you achieve your bookish goals for 2015? Do you have any for this year?

Firework

Happy New Year!

Exploding ecstasy
Sky-bound spectrums
Mingling with stars

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I hope you all have a happy, healthy New Year. I’ll see you around on the blogosphere in 2015.

Writerly Resolutions

What do you hope to achieve in 2015?

It’s just a quick post today to say that I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas – If it was anything like mine, you’ll have spent a lot of time with family and almost definitely have eaten far too much food. As this year now approaches its end and we enter 2015, it seems appropriate to start thinking about resolutions. I’m not one to set myself really strict New Year goals per se, but I do have a few reading and writing related targets in mind. I aim to:

• Publish my first collection of poetry.
• Write my next full-length piece of fiction.
• Set (and with any luck complete) my first proper year-long reading challenge.
• Continue to incorporate a wide variety of books into my reading (adult, YA, poetry and children’s literature).

Do you have any hopes for your reading or writing next year?

New Year, New Book

Here we go again…

I had written and published dozens upon dozens of articles for blogs, websites and local magazines, as well as a couple of short stories but when the time came to officially send my debut novella off into the world I felt something I had never experienced before. This desire to protect my work; this longing to defend my characters; it was both exciting and terrifying in equal measures.

So now, around two months later, having already mapped out the plot for my next major effort, I am experiencing yet another new feeling. The names of characters and the events of the story have been circulating in my mind for some time but it feels increasingly as though my focus is shifting from the promotion of The Vessel onto the creation of this new project. Leaving behind the world I had thought of, written and spoken about for the best part of a year of my life and delving into that long and arduous process all over again for something entirely different; it feels like a betrayal as much as it does a blessing. A new experience perhaps but still both exciting and terrifying I suppose.

The Adventure Continues

Most people have specific years that stand out as landmarks in their lives and for me, 2013 will definitely be one.  It marked my official one year anniversary of working as a freelance writer and also saw the publication of my debut novella, The Vessel. Ultimately therefore, it felt like the first year where I was truly living out my dreams.

All I can ever hope for in 2014 is for my life to continue down the same path as it has been on for the past twelve months as I carry on trying to make a living doing what I love most. Happiness I hope and surprises I am sure; I look forward to it whatever it may bring.

What do you hope the following year will have in store for you?