2021 Reading Goal: Fantasy

In 2020 I tackled the hoard of books I owned. I am proud to say it was a success! Along with clearing the hoard I wanted to limit my book buying, this was very difficult. I was able to cut back my book buying to one book or less a month. If you are trying to cut back in this area of your life, know it is possible.

Due to laziness I stopped logging the books on Goodreads, that app need so much work before it can be used the way reader deserve. If you are an avid follower on Goodreads, I update Goodreads about once a month in bulk.

This is one of the few years I actually completed my goal. I have tons of reviews drafted from my reads of 2020. They will be posted into 2021 as I start this new reading challenge.

If you are looking for a reading challenge/goal for 2021 I would highly suggest reading the books you own. Reading from my personal collection was like finding hidden treasure. I had collected so many good books.

That being said, what is next?

In 2021 I decided to stumbled back into the genre of fantasy. 2020 was a hard year for obvious reasons, I pushed myself to read genres I normally would not. Going into 2021 I want to focus in a genre that I love and explore my comfort zone.

I knew I wanted to do this around October, so I spent a few hours here and there developing a rough reading list. I picked books that I have been avoiding and ones that friends keep recommending to me.

So here we are, my reading list for 2021:

• A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab
• The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
• A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Mass
• The Wheel of Time (The Eye of The World #1) by Robert Jordan
• Dry by Neal Shuterman
• Unwind (Unwind #1) by Neal Shuterman
• Scythe (Arch of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shuterman
• Dune (Dune #1) by Frank Herbert
• The Color of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett
• The Name of the Wind (The King Killer Chronicle #1) by Patrick Rothfuss
• The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) by Stephen King
• Red Rising (The Red Rising Saga #1) by Pierce Brown
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #1) by Dan Simmons
• Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
• Dragonflight (Dragon Riders of Pern #1) by Anne McCaffery (this is a reread)

This is a short list of 17 books, but almost all of these books are the first in a series. Some of these series are long and I am not sure if I will want or be interesting in reading every book. Time will tell. I plan review each book on my list and if I continue to read the series a full series review.

As I finalized my list, I reflected on how broad the fantasy genre is. I wrote briefly about this topic in the past, and will probably revisit that in the future.

Overall I am excited to finally tackle these titles! I am looking forward to a few new releases in 2021 that I will read, a few fall into the fantasy realm. I did buy a kindle copy of each book. I have tried to borrow copies from my library in the past year but the wait list is very long for both the ebook and audiobook. I bought most around prime day and throughout the holiday season when they dropped a dollar or two in price.

A friendly reminder that you do not have to have a reading goal/challenge or reading tracker to be an avid reader. Read whatever you want whenever you want :).

Have you read any of the fantasy books I picked out? Have recommendations? Let me know!