Hello to my fellow book lovers! Welcome to my Lit Squad.
According to Goodreads, I read 39 books (14,481 pages) last year. I used last year’s list as a guide for my choices, but went off script. WAY OFF SCRIPT! However, I’m giving myself grace because of the whole pandemic thing. I am aiming for 40 books this year and I feel good about hitting my goal. If you’re looking for some recommendations keep reading and feel free to share your titles for any of these categories.
Lit Squad 2021 Reading List
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- A Productivity/ Personal Growth Book- Millenneagram: The Enneagram Guide for Discovering Your Truest, Baddest Self by Hannah Paasch
- A 2021 New Release – The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr.
- Book to Screen 2021- The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
- Goodreads Winner in 2020 – The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
- A Book about a Social Justice Issue – Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
- A Book About Books – The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
- Set in the 1920s – Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera
- An Author Who Uses Initials – The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
- Poetry – Home Body by Rupi Kaur
- A 2020 Bestseller – Deacon King Kong: A Novel by James McBride
- Recommended by a Colleague – Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie
- With a Number in the Title – Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- An Afrofuturist book – The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1) by N.K. Jemisin
- Reread a Favorite Book – The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
- Own Voices Story – Well-Read Black Girl by Glory Edim
- A Book Everyone Seems to Have Read But You – Normal People by Sally Rooney
- Published in the 1800s – The Complete Novels of Jane Austen
- Book by a Local Author – We Are All Good People Here: A Novel by Susan Rebecca White (ATL)
- Longer Than 400 Pages – Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
- A Book by an Author who Shares Your Zodiac Sign – Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha, #1) by Tomi Adeyemi
- Book by a Muslim Author – Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
- Eye-Catching Cover – How Beautiful We Were: A Novel by Imbolo Mbue (March 9, 2021)
- A Summer Read – The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris (June 1, 2021)
- A Book by a Native, First Nation or Indigenous Author – Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
- Coming of Age Story – A Crooked Tree: A Novel by Una Mannion
- Bestselling Memoir – One Life by Megan Rapinoe
- A Book About Friendship – Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
- A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels) – Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman (Graphic Novel)
- A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc. – This Close to Okay: A Novel by Leesa Cross-Smith (February 2, 2021)
- A Book that Discusses Body Positivity – One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
- An Author You Love – While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory (July 13, 2021)
- Book that has Won the Women’s Prize for Fiction – Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
- Obama’s Favorite Books of 2020 Book – Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar
- Oprah Winfrey Book Club Pick – Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
- Reese’s Book Club – Untamed by Glennon Doyle
- Psychological Thriller – The Guest List by Lucy Foley
- Title with Three Words – The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson
- Literary One Hit Wonder – Oreo by Fran Ross
- You Own But Haven’t Read- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Borrowed from a Friend – TBD
I’m still missing my borrowed from a friend pick. I’ll be looking at friends’ shelves during Zoom calls to find this pick and I’ll circle back to officially complete my reading list.
Some of the categories from my list were from the Popsugar Reading Challenge and others were just books I’ve seen people talking about on the interwebs. If you are planning to make a list feel free to use mine or mix and match to create your own. Girl XOXO has a fantastic master list of reading challenges.
What books are on your reading list this year?
