2021 in Books
Books, I have found, are the easiest way for me to relax and escape, immerse myself into an alternate universe. From a very young age, I was hooked onto libraries, second-hand book marts, and book fairs like none other. Over time, it became much of a practice to be reading something or the other. I usually read about five books of different genres at the same time so that I can switch between books when one gets too much…but never two books of the same genre at the same time—in my world, I feel like I am cheating on them.
2020 was great for me in terms of my book count (I was able to hit 51 books and I enjoyed it so much so that I made an infographic—here). I am not a person who values quantity over quality per se but I do firmly believe that quantity in art and literature helps us be more experimental and identify/pursue quality easily. On the quantity front, 2021 for me wasn’t a great year in books for me in terms of quantity—I only read a mere 19 books in comparison to my COVID year with five books outstanding (in progress). I am not proud of my reading numbers for last year as I had (somewhat still ongoing) somewhat of a “reader’s block.” But, given the tiring installment of COVID years we have been going through, 19 books is still more than zero books—something is better than nothing. So, instead of the yearly infographic, I am focusing on the quality of the 19 books I read and wanted to share some 2-minute book reviews with you. I think, a consistent “person who reads” is better than a sporadic “voracious reader.”
To wrap up 2021, here are the bite-sized reviews of all the books I read last year. Do let me know about your favourite book in the comments —I’ll look to add that to my list for 2022. :)
Also, I usually publish ongoing book reviews (and art) on my Instagram highlights here if you’re interested: https://www.instagram.com/hemuvenkat/
Happy new year 2022! I hope it’s filled with beautiful books and all the best stories for you! :)
Hemu
