Goodreads Challenge 2021: Completed

Huzzah. What a fun journey this challenge has been. Thanks to the pandemic, I had some time this year to reconnect to my love of reading. When I decided to take on this Goodreads challenge of reading 60 books this year, I was quite sure I would be able to complete it-whenever I had time I could always read pretty fast. And I’ve always been that little girl with her nose in books. Perhaps that is also you.

You can see my challenge on Goodreads. Here I would like to recap some highlights and lowlights.

Let’s start with the low first. Here are 3 titles I had mixed feelings about this year:

1. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Surprising eh. As much as I enjoyed the whole universe and the following Six of Crows duology and King of Scars duology, the first book which started it all was disappointing. I think it’s all because I watched the Netflix version first and had too high of an expectation!
2. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Sorry, but I actually had to stop reading this because I was too triggered by some underlying themes which rather bugged me. I might pick it up again sometime in the future, or I might not. I won’t push myself though.
3. A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J Maas. This was hard to filter, because I couldn’t stop reading it when I was in the middle of it. However, reflecting back, it felt like eating way too many potato chips. You know, that bloated feeling afterwards.

To be fair to myself, I had many many more books that I enjoyed and loved than that I had mixed feelings about. This is good. This means I am better at picking which reads to invest in. So here are my 5 fave reads of from this challenge.

1. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Lyrical, poignant, mysterious, and hair-chilling plot twist. Oh my. I get goosebumps remembering it.
2. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Definitely cried and laughed at the same time. Also has an excellent plot twist.
3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I have Sherry to thank for this! The Lunar Chronicles is cemented in my heart forever.
4. Cerita Carissa by Krisan Wijaya. One of very few Indonesian books I read, and this made me cry! Heartwarming, touching, very realistic fiction.
5. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. Oh goodness. Eugenides and Irene, Attolis and Attolia, I am speechless.

And that’s my overview! I realized I read at a pace of about 6-8 books average per month, and I like this pace, so I will attempt to keep going and reading and enjoying!

How is your reading going this year?