The Books I Read in 2021

I could have done a better job at keeping track of ALL the books I read/listened to in 2021. It’s somewhere between 75-80. I tried my best to go through my Scribd, Kindle, Audible, and library accounts to review the history. I think I got them all! I’m going to focus on my favorite books towards the end of this post.

I read across all different lengths, genres, authors, and topics. I absolutely adore reading and I love finding book recommendations from other people. 

So I impulsively decided to do this 2021 book roundup because there were some excellent discoveries made this year. And, some that were infuriatingly horrible. 

Something silly about me: I don’t really like keeping up with book trends. I believe if a book or a series is worth reading, it will be timeless, able to be enjoyed whenever. And if it’s nonfiction, there will be updated volumes or new books by the same author on a similar topic worth reading. 

The reason I say this is because you’ll likely find books on my reading lists that have been out for many years, or even decades. I genuinely don’t care! If a book is worth reading and loving and talking about, its publication date is irrelevant. 

Also–I read audiobooks almost exclusively. For fiction, I adore the performance of the voice actors and their ability to bring the characters to life. And sometimes there’s music which makes it feel like a play. 

For nonfiction, I often listen to the audiobook then go back and reread sections of the ebook that I want to review. I just don’t have the time to sit and read physical books as much as I used to, but audiobooks have enabled my love of reading in a whole new way. 

The Best Way to Read 

Before we get into all the incredible books I want to talk about, I first want to talk about Scribd. They have no affiliate or partner program currently, but that’s not going to stop me from telling you that this is my number one source of books. 

Scribd is a monthly subscription service (for desktop and apps) for around ten bucks, and you get unlimited access to every single piece of content in their entire library. This includes audiobooks, ebooks, magazines, podcasts, scholarly articles, and more. 

The selection is incredible and it is because of Scribd that I have been able to read at least one book a week for the past year. 

Audible looks rather ridiculous compared to Scribd. Scribd is a genuine, unlimited audiobook/ebook subscription service that every serial reader needs. Your singular monthly fee grants you access to their entire library at no additional cost. 

I’ve read so many amazing audiobooks this year with Scribd. And you should too! It’s rare that I search for a book and it’s not available on Scribd. And even if it isn’t, I can easily find it at my local library. 

That’s enough about the best book service in the world for now, let’s get talking about books! 

All Books Read

Below I have created a bullet list of all the books I was able to round up from this past year. Then I put a number of stars that give you an idea of how I personally rated them (1-5). I put these in no particular order. 

Most of these links will bring you to Amazon because you cannot view them on Scribd without an account. 

If it’s not available on Amazon, I’ll send you to Alibris, which is an online used bookstore. It also is the only place I go on the rare occasion when I want to purchase a physical book. Most of the books there are incredibly cheap! 

Fiction Books Read in 2021

• All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr ⭐⭐⭐
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Chronicles of Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis ⭐⭐⭐
• Olivia Holmes Has Inherited A Vineyard by Mark Daydy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Wild Thing by Anne Stuart ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar ⭐
• The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton ⭐⭐⭐
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Djinn City by Saad Z. Hossain ⭐
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman ⭐⭐
• The House By The Sea by Louise Doublas ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Manners and Monsters: 7 Book Series by Tilly Wallace ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Stardust by Neil Gaiman ⭐⭐⭐
• Witches of New Orleans by Brigitte Delery ⭐
• Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner ⭐⭐⭐
• The Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell ⭐⭐⭐
• The Plastic Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Tomorrow’s Destiny by Hope Tarr ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Awakening by Nora Roberts ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley ⭐⭐⭐
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte ⭐
• Map of Shadows: 3 Book Series by J.F. Penn ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Haunting by Hope Tarr ⭐⭐
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones ⭐⭐⭐
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Bound to Please by Hope Tarr ⭐⭐⭐

Nonfiction Books Read in 2021

• The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung ⭐⭐⭐
• 7 Spiritual Laws of Yoga by Deepak Chopra ⭐⭐⭐
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini PhD ⭐⭐⭐
• 7 Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli ⭐⭐⭐
• Brain Training with the Buddha by Eric Harrison ⭐⭐
• The Source by Dr. Tara Swart ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Fast, Feast, Repeat by Gin Stephens ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• You Are a Medium by Sherrie Dillard ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Master Content Writing by Pamela Wilson ⭐⭐⭐
• How to Write Nonfiction by Joanna Penn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Successful Author Mindset by Joanna Penn ⭐⭐⭐
• How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Audio for Authors by Joanna Penn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• How to Write Copy that Sells by Ray Edwards ⭐⭐⭐
• Be a Writing Machine by M.L. Ronn ⭐⭐⭐
• On Becoming Babywise by Robert Bucknam M.D. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• You Simply Cannot Spoil a Newborn by Dorothy Waide ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Astrology Essentials by Chelsey Butterson ⭐⭐
• The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need by Joanna Martine Woolfolk ⭐⭐⭐
• Seven Steps to Developing Your Intuitive Powers by Betty Bethards ⭐⭐
• The Creative Tarot by Jessa Crispin ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Druids: A Very Short Introduction by Barry Cunliffe ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Mabon: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Autumn Equinox by Diane Rajchel ⭐⭐⭐
• Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity by James O’Donnell ⭐⭐⭐
• The Lost Empire of Atlantis by Gavin Menzies ⭐⭐
• The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Secret by Rhonda Byrne ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Celtic Mythology by Philip Freeman ⭐⭐⭐
• Tarot Reading for Beginners by Shawna Blood ⭐⭐
• Samhain: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for Halloween by Diana Rajchel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Morrigan: Celtic Goddess of Magick and Might by Courtney Weber ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• To Walk a Pagan Path by Alaric Albertsson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Tarot for Self-Care by Minerva Siegel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Montessori Baby by Simone Davies ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Natural Hospital Birth by Cynthia Gabriel ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Yule: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Winter Solstice by Susan Pesznecker ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Art of Psychic Reiki by Lisa Campion ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Reiki Healing for Beginners by Crystal Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Crystal Reiki by Krista N. Mitchell ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Write to Market by Chris Fox ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Six Figure Author by Chris Fox ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Lifelong Writing Habit by Chris Fox ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• 5000 Words Per Hour by Chris Fox ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Write Short Kindle Books by Nathan Meunier ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Favorite Fiction Books

Again, these are not listed in any particular order. But it was quite hard to narrow down just five books to call my favorites! And I’m cheating a little bit because one is actually an entire series. 

The Manners and Monsters series is probably one of the best series I’ve ever read, not just in 2021. It has everything I love in a book! Historical fiction, amazing character development, creative language, supernatural creatures, magic, romance, and satisfying endings. I devoured this entire series in less than two weeks and have even started rereading it for fun. 

If you were to ask me to pick my number one favorite book, it would be The Alchemist. It was moving, an utter masterpiece. I know this book is a favorite among modern mystics, for damn good reason. This story brings me amazing comfort and I have already read it multiple times. 

Another book that I’ve read multiple times is Gil’s All Fright Diner. I honestly wasn’t expecting to love this book this much. More supernatural creatures, romance, and plenty of magic. I laughed out loud, I was full of suspense, and I was so satisfied with the ending. The narrator is extremely talented. This novel is seriously underrated. 

I thoroughly enjoy fantasy books that take place in alternate worlds. Neverwhere was just as magical and creative as I want all my novels to be. There were so many plot twists and fantastic characters that I blew through the whole thing in a day. Neil Gaiman has become one of my favorite authors. 

And finally, Where The Crawdads Sing definitely deserves every single bit of hype it has gotten. Another truly moving story, with a strong and capable female character, on top of a beautiful voice actor. I felt so connected with the characters and felt every single emotion they felt. I definitely cried. 

Favorite Nonfiction Books

In no particular order, here are the nonfiction books that left the biggest mark on me this year. Unlike fiction books, this was a rather easy list to create as I didn’t necessarily fall in love with as many nonfiction books as I normally do.

The Source was the perfect blend of science and spirituality. It was basically a neuroscientist’s explanation on the Law of Attraction, which was not only interesting but extremely validating as well. I have referenced this book many times since I’ve read it and it’s sparked a lot of inspiration for my own content. 

Fast, Feast, Repeat has greatly impacted my entire lifestyle. After having my baby in February, for the first time in my life, I had weight to lose. Learning how to intermittently fast with intention has improved my health, helped me lose weight, and healed my relationship with food. I feel so much happier and healthier in my body now after implementing this information. 

Reading about The Morrigan took my personal spirituality to another level. While I’m still working on building a relationship with this magnificent deity, I am thoroughly inspired by her and all that she stands for. I feel as though I want to be just like The Morrigan. I learned a lot about Celtic mythology this year, but this particular goddess took residence in my heart. 

The Hidden Messages in Water was extremely fascinating as well. It was a quick read, but it has stuck with me. I have been thinking about Emoto’s research and its implications for months. It’s incredible to realize just how magical water is, and how we can use this knowledge to improve our health and wellbeing. Plus, I loved seeing the photos from his research.

And finally, The Art of Psychic Reiki has become my new handbook for developing my skills for healing. This book has taught me how to combine my innate psychic ability and my work with reiki energy–I can’t imagine a world without them both! I’ve already revisited this book many times and intend to buy a physical copy to keep in my healing space. 

Reading Goals for 2022

While I don’t normally put a specific number towards my reading goals, I do want to maintain an average of a book a week in 2022. This is very easy for me to do, but I’m not going to bend over backwards to make it happen. 

I am a serial reader and I’m always reading something new! And if not, I’m rereading other books I’ve loved. 

I also hope to do quarterly book round ups in 2022 so I can keep better track of what I read, and not have to compile such a massive list at the end of the year. Although, this has definitely been fun and I hope you found at least one book that caught your eye!