My year in books (2021), new goals and a book #giveaway E: 14 January 2022

 The only positive side of the lockdowns of the last two years was that many people have been reading more. Looking at the Reading challenge of 2021, as set on GoodsReads, I read 104 books in the last year. 

The shortest had only 64 pages - a book of poems by Lydia Pasternak Slater, Before Sunrise. The longest - at 592 pages - was Insurgent by Veronica Roth.

The book community on Twitter and Instagram were my source of inspiration as well as gossip.

A few years ago I wrote a post about my reading goals, and they stay pretty much the same. I didn't read much of non-fiction, with the exception of cook books, which I don't add to the list on GoodReads, as I hardly ever read them from cover to cover. I also dipped into several history books, but again, as I only read some chapters, they are not added to the final list.

Setting the same goals for 2022: to read non--fiction books, books in Russian, and more classics. I am also hoping that this year we'll be able to attend some book-related events, maybe book signings, talks and perhaps even a festival? I missed meeting authors and attending book events. 

And here is a full list of all the books I read through the year.

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You might have spotted a decent amount of middle grade/YA fiction among my reads. Eddie and I read every evening together, and are slowly moving from the middle grade to YA. In the last year we first watched the Hunger Games series, and then read all the books by Suzanne Collins. Though I typically prefer books to movies, I loved both in this case. The prequel which was published last year, The ballad of songbirds and snakes, left us slightly disappointed.

Another series which we first enjoyed as films is the Divergent/Insurgent/Allegiant by Veronica Roth. We read the first two books, and plan to read the third one later this year.

The Enemy by Charlie Higson was recommended to us by Patty from Waterstones in Witney. We asked her for a scary read for Hallowe'en, and oh boy, didn't this story deliver?! This is the first book in the zombie horror series. Extremely brutal and gory, and quite ruthless when it comes to getting rid of the main characters, but very gripping too. We bought the whole series, and are now getting to the end of the second book. 

My top ten favourite reads of 2021 are:

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

The Surplus Girls' Orphans by Polly Heron

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Enemy by Charlie Higson

Paradiso by Francseca Scanacapra

Advent by Jane Faser

Fannie by Rebecca F. John (to be published in February)

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The Forgotten Maid by Jane Cable

The Room in the attic by Louise Douglas

I have reviewed several of the books above, if you want to find out more about them, just click on the links.

GIVEAWAY: WIN A BOOK OF YOUR CHOICE FROM THE LIST ABOVE:

Please enter by leaving a comment below - just answer the question Which book was your favourite read of 2021, and which book would you choose if you're a winner?

The winner will be selected at random from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter or email. 

When leaving a comment, please leave your Twitter username or any other means of getting in contact with you if you win.

If no response is received within 7 days, Chez Maximka reserves the right to select an alternative winner. 

Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  

Open to the UK entrants only.

Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with any third parties. 

You can choose either a paperback or e-copy/Kindle copy of the book (up to the value of £15).

This giveaway is not sponsored by any author or publisher. I will pay for the chosen book, and have it dispatched straight to the winner's address.

The giveaway will end on 14 January 2022 at midnight.

Good luck!

Thank you to all entrants of the giveaway! All names were added to the Randomiser wheel, and the winner is...