Here is my list of books that I am planning to read in 2021. I will add as a caveat that I am quite out of the loop as far as Children’s books and Young Adult titles. I am planning to remedy that and will probably start with award winners from the last few years.
Also, please excuse my formatting issues. I am still learning how to work with this new (to me) version of the editor on WordPress. I am working with the mantra that “done is better than perfect” in this case.
A study of race and my biases:
I feel like this may be quite an ambitious undertaking. I definitely feel the need to dig in and do this work, but I think it may take me a little bit longer to get through some of these books because it is uncomfortable.
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
White Fragility by Robin DeAngelo
Not Light, But Fire by Matthew Kay
So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Open City by Teju Cole
Books about Coaching:
I learn best by reading and reflecting. I am looking forward to more learning this year as I continue to refine my craft and settle into my new role as an instructional technology coach.
Taking the Lead by Joellen Killion
The Art of Coaching by Elena Aguilar
For Entertainment:
The majority of this list comes from a list that my sister shared with me. She started an online book club and we are making our way through the list of 14 new books that you will read in one sitting. So far, the titles I have read from that list have been quick reads and intriguing, as promised.
Pendergast 14-19: I started this series in January 2020. I have stuck through it so far, so I will work to get through the rest of the series this year. These are certainly not books to read in one sitting, but they are intriguing mysteries and the character of Pendergast is certainly a unique character.
Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier
If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
A Burning by Megha Majumdar
Sea Wife by Amity Gaige
Survivor Song byPaul Tremblay
It is Wood, It is Stone by Gabriella Burnham
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
Luster by Raven Leilani
I set myself a goal of reading 70 books in 2021. I was able to read 59 in 2020, but I did not read many (if any) middle grade or young adult books. I am hoping that I can easily add in some of these titles and have a higher book count this year.
I also had about 6 weeks last Spring that were really slow reading weeks for me. I think the anxiety about the virus really manifested itself in my focus and concentration. I just could not lose myself in stories the way I usually do. Thank heavens, that seems to have remedied itself!
Here’s to a wonderful new year full of reading and writing! I would love to hear from you in the comments.
This book was an impulse purchase on Black Friday. I am so glad I stumbled across it! I absolutely love Jane Austen and this book really honored that feeling. The stories of the different characters who end up as members of the Jane Austen Society are interesting. However, what I loved the most is how the characters used the literature to help themselves heal from different trauma that they had experienced. And of course, the book is a comedy of manners in and of itself that mirrors a great Jane Austen novel in the twists and turns of the story and the fates of the protagonists. I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves Austen. 
This book is the 13th installment of the Pendergast series. I started the books on a recommendation from a friend. Each one of the novels featuring Pendergast is outside of the type of novels I usually read. The elements of supernatural and a few really far-fetched details sometimes make the suspension of disbelief difficult. I was close to giving up on this series, but this book has brought me back. This one is closer to the murder mysteries that I enjoy reading. I will say that the authors do a great job of making their characters very intriguing and that is why I keep coming back for more, despite a few crazy plot twists. 
I came across this book in Target last week. I read The Guest List earlier this year and really enjoyed the quick and suspenseful read. I quickly searched for this book on my library app and was able to borrow it right away. The Hunting Party is very similar to The Guest List. In both books, a group of people travels to a very remote and isolated spot for a quick getaway. In this book, a group of friends takes a trip each year for New Year’s Day. This year, things go very wrong and one of them ends up dead. I won’t say much more because I don’t want to spoil it, but there are some good twists that make this one fun to read. I would also recommend The Guest List if you do like this one. 
I can’t believe that this really happened. It seems so clear nowadays that the radium was clearly the culprit in the medical issues that these girls went through. This nonfiction book is very well written. I find myself really losing myself in the narrative. I have been reading it for a while now. I find I can only take so much of this story at a time. It frustrates me. I will be working to finish this one this week. 
I just started Blue Labyrinth. It is the 14th book in the Pendergast series. It started out with a bang. I will probably get through this one pretty fast, but you never know. 
Pizza Girl is up next. My sister started a book club with the intention of reading through 
Marie Benedict was one of the authors that I enjoyed hearing the most when I attended the Savannah Book Festival last February. It was so cool to hear about her process in researching and then imagining historical fiction based on powerful women who may not have been recognized as such. I really loved The Other Einstein and The Only Woman in the Room. So, when I saw that her next book is about Agatha Christie, I had to have it! I pre-ordered this book and should have it tomorrow. I am sure I will dive in pretty quickly. 
I am reading The Rose Legacy by Jessica Day George in anticipation of an author visit this May. This book will be coming out on May 1, 2018. So far, it is intriguing and magical. 
I am also reading the first book in the Petra Delicado series by Alicia Gimenez Bartlett. I like to read in Spanish to keep up my fluency. This is quite a long series and they are mysteries so I am hoping that I like them in order to have lots of material to get through. So far, the book is okay. 
Turning 40 did not feel much different from turning any other age, but I did do some extra reflecting on things.
I went to Madison to spend a night with my mother two weeks ago. Every year, we try to go to Maxwell Street Days, a massive sidewalk sale on State Street downtown. I drove to Madison on Thursday afternoon and we went out to dinner and an outdoor concert. The capitol building was so beautiful as we walked back to my mom’s condo! 
