A Year in Books: Reflecting on Reading in 2021

A Year in Books: Reflecting on Reading in 2021

Do you track your reading? I’m good at tracking title + author and filling in my reading challenge categories (Grand Slam for me!). I’m terrible at reflecting on what I read, at least in any sort of permanent, written fashion. For the last few years, one of my New Year’s Resolutions has been “Get better at reflecting on my reading.”

That’s not exactly a SMART goal, is it? I’ve tried being more specific, measurable, and relevant: “Write a review for each book on an index card” or “write something down before moving on to the next book” or “record title, author, date, and one sentence in journal.” But alas, I come to the end of my reading for 2021 with no written reflections (save this post).

Fine print: we have linked book titles to amazon because most of them haven’t been reviewed officially, so you can find out more about them. But do note: all amazon links are affiliate links. We are participants in the Amazon LLC affiliate program; purchases you make through affiliate links like the one below may earn us a commission. Read more.

Aeneid for Advent

What I do have, however, are plenty of thoughts on my year as a whole. For instance, I read both The Iliad and The Aeneid this year. And then, Advent started. Where The Iliad had dovetailed with my reading in the Minor Prophets, especially enriching my understanding of warfare as the Israelites might have experienced it at the hands of their enemies, The Aeneid prepared me for Advent. When I heard the opening words of Messiah, I was struck:

Comfort ye, my people, saith your God;

speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,

and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished,

that her iniquity is pardoned.

~Messiah

Did you catch that? God’s people’s warfare has been accomplished. It is OVER. Our iniquity is pardoned. This is not the way of things in the ancient epics. When Aeneas “wins,” the warfare is still not really over. The people are not truly at peace. But with Christ’s advent, the ultimate war has been won. There truly is comfort for God’s people, even when the world around us looks like it’s in disarray and full of events and situations we don’t understand. I had a fresh understanding of the magnitude of such Messianic pronouncements after reading stories from civilizations so much closer to ancient Israel’s time than my own.

Re-reading at Different Ages

This year, I re-read several books I hadn’t read since I was in high school, notably Christy by Catherine Marshall and Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery. In fact, I read the exact same copies I’d owned in high school. But my 15 year-old self learned different things from Christy and Anne than did my 45 year-old self. Both of these young women were caring for children and teaching them, activities which I find myself occupied in. Reading their idealism and their earnest hopes for their students reminded me that educating young people isn’t about checking boxes; it’s about nurturing relationships and seeking their overall maturity and equipping for life. These heroines also reminded me of the importance of tossing the to-do lists aside in order to savor spring wildflowers, hot cocoa, and other fleeting, seasonal delights.

And here’s a fun connection: a particular building gets painted the wrong color in Anne of Avonlea. Right about the time I read that part of the book, my own house was painted the wrong color by our house painters. True story. It’s all been fixed now, but Anne did help me to see the humor in the situation and know that life will move on!

A Good Book Is a Good Book, No Matter the Audience

Obviously, our team here at Redeemed Reader thinks this is true, or we wouldn’t enjoy our reading ahead for you so much in the world of children’s books! But a few books that I read with and to my teens ended up being some of the better reads of my year. This Changes Everything by Jaquelle Crowe (RR review) was a terrific read that prompted good food for thought (even though I’m not the target audience and am a number of years older than the author!). Likewise for My Tech-Wise Life (RR Review). Creative God, Colorful Us by Trillia Newbell (RR Review) is another thought-provoking read, no matter what age the reader. Epic by Tim Challies (RR Review) was a family favorite as well; this was the RR summer reading anchor title, but my family didn’t finish the whole book until this month.

Books Are More Fun in Community

One of my favorite reads of 2021 was Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt. This was one of the first books I read in 2021, and I’m still thinking about it! I was dying for another RR team member to read it so we could discuss. As of this writing, I’m anxiously awaiting a virtual conversation with Megan about Fallout by Steve Sheinkin (RR review), another virtual conversation with Hayley and Janie about The Swallows’ Flight by Hilary McKay (RR Review), and about to start The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O’Connor for my local Well Read Mom book club. Good books always benefit from discussion with other bookish types! And sometimes, that accountability is just what we need to help us actually finish a book. I finally read Crime and Punishment this year for my book club, a book that’s been on my “to read” stack for decades.

Looking Ahead to 2022

The life of a book reviewer involves plenty of reading. Some of those books are books I choose and seek out. Other books come home with me from the library because they are important to review, not because they’re my favorite sort of books. And still other books are on my nightstand simply because I, personally, want to read them. I don’t know which books will fill in my 2022 Grand Slam reading challenge, but I do know what books are starting it off:

• The Unprejudiced Palate by Angelo Pellegrini (will this be my “book with a great cover” or “book about food” or “old book”?? We’ll have to see what else lands on my stack this year!)
• Call the Nurse by Mary J. MacLeod (perhaps this will be my first “autobiography” book…)
• Culture Care by Makoto Fujimura (I read his Refractions in 2021, and I’m looking forward to this book “by a Christian author” or “by a living author” or “book about art,” or …)
• Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman (Janie reviewed The Bridge Home already; this is next in my “review” queue)

Readers, how was YOUR reading life in 2021? Do you have any goals for 2022? We’d love to hear them in the comments!

You can also download your free 2022 Reading Challenge for Kids and Teens today!