21 Books to Read in 2021

Have you ever felt like you’re in a reading rut?

Last year I read 258 books. It’s a lot, I know, but what can I say? Reading is both part of my job and the way I relax. I don’t watch a lot of television, but I read at night while my husband watches his shows. I read for research and I read for pleasure but sometimes I find myself reading without…direction or I find myself reading the same thing over and over again and then I get bored. I get in a rut.

That’s the reason I like reading challenges and why I decided to create one of my own. I know there are a hundred and one reading challenges out there in the world, but what’s another one?

21 Books to read in 2021. Catchy name, right?

If you’re a prolific reader like I am then 21 books doesn’t seem like much, but why not use this challenge to supplement your reading choices? (I also plan to do another reading challenge mid-year) And if you maybe don’t read as much as I do, 21 books is a great stretch goal.

Here is the challenge! And here are some notes and some recommendations for you too.

(the books below contain affiliate links which means I get a small commission if you purchase from the link provided.)

21 Books to Read in 2021

These can be read in any order! And the same book can sometimes fit more than one category, but it’s more fun if you try to match a different book with each one.

Self-Development – This one is pretty self-explanatory. It can be a professional development book or a personal development book, the choice is yours. I have just finished reading ‘Romance Your Plan’ by Zoe York, a book about marketing for authors.

Own Voices – Books written by authors of colour or authors from the LBGTQIA community.

Published in 2021 – Try and find a book published this year.

Different Genre – Do you always read romance? Why not try reading a mystery or a thriller?

An Obscure Sub-Genre – Using the example above, do you normally read contemporary romance? Why not try a space-opera/sci-fi romance? Or a time-travel/alternate timeline romance?

Favourite Country – Is France your favourite country? Read a book set in Paris. Or maybe Italy is more your style. Why not read a book set in Tuscany?
Fictional Country – Read a book set in a made-up country like maybe one of my Royal books
Vacation Goals – Is there somewhere you’ve always wanted to go for a vacation? Read a book set there…bonus points if it is also a book about a vacation.
A Book with a Map – I love a good map. If you need some inspiration, try The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson or Lana Perchercyck’s Deadly Seven series.

TBR Pile – You know you have a To Be Read pile lurking in your bookshelves or on your e-reader, now is the time to dust one of those off and give it a read.
New Author – This doesn’t have to be a brand-new baby author, just a new-to-you author. There are thousands of authors out there and I know how easy it is to just keep reading the same few authors, but take a chance on someone new! You’ve got nothing to lose.
Recommendation – I know you’ve been recommended books before ( I have recommended a few to you in this post) so it’s time to take a chance on one of those recommendations.
Starting Over – New beginnings, fresh starts, beginning again, these all make for fabulous stories. I am currently reading ‘Virgin River’ by Robin Carr about a nurse practitioner who takes a job in a tiny mountain town so she can start over.

Movie Adaptation – Movie or series adaptation…it doesn’t matter if you’ve already seen the movie or the series, although I do recommend reading the book first.

A debut Novel – This doesn’t have to be a book published this year, it can be any debut novel. My debut novel is ‘Walk of Shame’ if you want to check it out.
First in Series – Go back to the very beginning (or start at the very beginning) of a series.
Next in Series – Now read the next book…or the next book in any series.
Body Positive Book – We’ve read enough ‘ugly duckling’ and ‘makeover’ stories, why not read a book where the heroine (or the hero) is perfect just. The way they are?
A Magic Book – Don’t worry, you don’t have to read an epic fantasy…or maybe you want to read an epic fantasy, if so, go right ahead. Any book with a little bit of the unexplained in it can fit this category.
Beautiful Cover – We’re told to never judge a book by its cover, but we all do it anyway. I’m giving you permission to choose a book simply because it has a beautiful cover!

A Classic – A classic or an adaptation of a classic…a fairy tale retelling or a Pride & Prejudice retelling or the complete works of Shakespeare, you choose.

To make tracking your reading easier, I created this printable tracker. Fill in the individual squares with the book title, author, and date you read the book – or print out tiny replicas of the book covers to glue in the space. It even has a space to give each book a star rating. You can print the sheet out and tuck it into your ebook reader cover or stick it in your journal…it will be like playing bingo but with books!