Happy New Year everyone! It’s been a while since I posted anything that isn’t a book review (I also just found some drafts of monthly wrap-ups that I never finished), but here we are in 2022 and I think it is a wonderful time to start talking about 2021 like it is ancient history.
Table of Contents
Life Update
So what happened in my life 2021?
For those of you who are new here, hi, I’m a full-time PhD student studying space physics (part-time researcher), part-time teaching assistant, and I am trying to run both this blog and a bookstagram account. The past year had mostly been me preparing for one of the biggest exams of my PhD career—the qualifying exam. Basically, you present your research for half an hour, and then a panel of committee members would quiz you on your research and background knowledge for an hour. I took mine in November and got my results in December: I passed! Now, I’m officially allowed to continue with my studies and call myself a PhD candidate.
Another exciting thing is that I have a short story to be released in SJ Whitby’s Cute Mutants anthology AWAKENINGS!
(Yes, I told y’all I’m biased whenever I recommend Cute Mutants.)
I’m pretty proud of what I wrote, mainly because I love my characters, and my early feedback has been great so far! It’s not my most political short story, but it does touch upon the martial law era in Taiwan. Since it isn’t going to be released until March, you can check out my playlist for “Island Burnt by History” if you want to get a sense of the chaotic vibe.
As some of you might have known, I am a huge traveller, but the pandemic has rendered me a homebody. Last year, I travelled exactly twice, once to Chicago (which is an hour or two away from where I live) and once to San Diego. Both trips were amazing and I got to meet up with my Goodreads friend Gabriella (her bookstagram)who showed me around San Diego. I’m hoping there would be more trips in 2022 but of course safety is way more important.
Other random things include finally meeting my lab mates in-person during the summer, getting my COVID-19 vaccines (3 doses of Moderna; I am lucky), etc.
Anyway, this is a book blog, and we’re here for the books, right?
Reading Stats: Fun Stuff for the Nerds
In 2021, I read 108 books (not including 2 DNFs):
- average page count is 303 pages per book,
- 69% are adult books (24% YA),
- 56% are ARCs,
- 54% are indie books,
- 15% are audiobooks,
- 25% are by authors of color and/or Latinx authors,
- ~30% include nonbinary and/or transgender characters,
- >90% are either written by LGBTQ+ authors or have LGBTQ+ protagonists (in which 87% are sapphic).
January was great and it all went downhill from there.
This is the plot for ARC and indie book counts. The darker colors are ARCs, lighter ones are not ARCs, blue is for indie, and red is not indie.
The genre pie chart may or may not be accurate. Some books belong to more than one genre but I just categorize them into one. Also, you may notice that the format is different for this one. Plotting it in Google Sheets is faster than doing it in Numbers, so I’m sacrificing the aesthetics for a quick fix. Cover your eyes if you can’t stand inconsistencies.
My Best Reads in 2021
The following are my TOP SEVEN BOOKS of the year (excluding rereads), with links to my reviews:
- ONE LAST STOP (2021) by Casey McQuiston, narrated by Natalie Naudus [sapphic, AsianAm li, contemporary, romance, sci-fi?, NA]
- LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB (2021) by Malinda Lo, narrated by Emily Woo Zeller [sapphic, AsianAm, historical romance, YA]
- SORROWLAND (2021) by Rivers Solomon [sapphic, Black, intersex, trans, horror]
- NIGHT TIDE (2021) by Anna Burke [sapphic, chronically ill li, contemporary romance, hate-to-love]
- THE TELL TALE (2021) by Clare Ashton [sapphic, mystery, historical fiction]
- LONG LIVE THE TRIBE OF FATHERLESS GIRLS (2019) by T Kira Madden, narrated by T Kira Madden [sapphic, AsianAm]
- HOW TO BECOME A PLANET (2021) by Nicole Melleby [sapphic, mental health, MG]
Other excellent books I read in 2021, in no particular order:
- historical fiction:
- THE GODS OF TANGO (2015) by Carolina De Robertis [genderqueer, sapphic, Latine]
- contemporary romance:
- THE CLINCH (2021) by Nicole Disney [sapphic, rivals-to-lovers]
- WORTHY OF LOVE (2021) by Quinn Ivins [sapphic, ADHD, ex-con, Filipino li]
- THE AWKWARD TRUTH (2021) by Lee Winter [sapphic, ice queen]
- memoirs:
- MINOR FEELINGS: AN ASIAN AMERICAN RECKONING (2020) by Cathy Park Hong [AsianAm]
- contemporary ya:
- THE STARS AND THE BLACKNESS BETWEEN THEM (2019) by Junauda Petrus [sapphic, Trini]
- ya sff:
- CUTE MUTANTS VOL 5: GALAXY BRAIN (2021) by SJ Whitby [nonbinary, sapphic]
- FLASH FIRE (2021) by TJ Klune [achillean]
- children’s book:
- EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS (2021) by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Dung Ho [AsianAm]
- novellas:
- A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT (2021) by Becky Chambers [agender]
- THE ORDER OF THE PURE MOON REFLECTED IN WATER by Zen Cho [trans, Asian]
- short story collection:
- SPIRITS ABROAD by Zen Cho, narrated by Emily Woo Zeller [queer, Asian]
Lastly, the weirdest books I’ve read in 2021 (in a neutral-good sense):
- BESTIARY (2020) by K-Ming Chang [sapphic, Taiwanese American, magical realism]
- THE MEMBRANES (1995) by Chi Ta-wei, translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich [sapphic, Taiwanese, sci-fi, novella]
Bookish Plans for 2022
First of all, I’m hoping to post more about indie books on my bookstagram. From the stats you’ve seen above, as well as the list of my favorite books in 2021, a lot of them are indie books. I think I’ve mostly been reviewing them on my blog but didn’t talk about them enough on different platforms. And of course, to blog and bookstagram more regularly… There are tons of reviews that never made light to my blog last year, and I will slowly but surely publish them.
Reading challenges! In 2021, I participated in Jae’s Sapphic Reading Challenge and made it to Book Dragon Level 1 and Book Unicorn. This year, she is holding another similar challenge, which is the Sapphic Book Bingo. My goal is to finish at least one bingo card and a unicorn one. While do I read a lot of sapphic books, I enjoy stories with achillean and trans and/or nonbinary characters, too, so we’ll see how much I can accomplish.
Maybe some of you have been seeing the 12 Challenges going around. I got 12 wonderful friends who recommended me some books, and I am so excited to read them!
- FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES FROM THE SUN by Jonny Garza Villa
- recommended to me by Brittany M. Willows, author of BLOODY SPADE (check out her books)
- THE HEART BREAK BAKERY by A. R. Capetta
- recommended to me by bookstagrammer Andy
- THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- recommended to me by the aforementioned Gabriella
- I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST by Mason Deaver
- recommended to me by bookstagrammer Staci
- LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS by Ryka Aoki
- recommended to me by Vianne
- THE HAZARDS OF LOVE BOOK 1: BRIGHT WORLD by Stan Stanley
- recommended to me by bookstagrammer Robin
- THE WINGMAN by A. Poland
- recommended to me by bookstagrammer Diya
- DETRANSITION, BABY Torrey Peters
- recommended to me by my friend on every platform there is, Althea
- Siren Queen by Nghi Vo, narrated by Natalie Naudus
- recommended to me by the queen herself, Natalie Naudus (go follow her on TikTok!)
- A CLASH OF STEEL by C.B. Lee, narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
- recommended to me by @LitCelebrAsian founder Shenwei
- BLACK WATER SISTER by Zen Cho
- recommended to me by Skye Kilaen, author of queer romance stories (check out her books)
- THE SORCERER OF THE WILDEEPS by Kai Ashante Wilson
- recommended to me by my dear friend Laura, who is also a bookstagrammer
In 2021, I found a lot of joy in reading Asian books—whether they’re books by Asian American authors or Asian authors—because I can see some of my experiences and history reflected in them. (For those of you who are new here, I am Taiwanese and I was born and raised in Taiwan. Though I currently live in the US, I only moved here in 2020.) This year, I’m hoping to dig up more Asian gems (better if queer) and devour them.
One last thing is that I hope to get through at least half of the unread physical books I own (I recently catalogued all the physical books I have) and clear out all the ARCs I currently have. This is undoubtedly the hardest of all my bookish wishes, so fingers crossed I’ll be able to do it.
Now that we are officially in 2022, how are you feeling? Are there any plans you have for this year, or anything you wish to change about your life that you’re currently working on? Chat with me in the comments below and share with me what bookish endeavors you have for this new year!
Until next time, stay healthy and well my friends.
For more of my reviews and other whatnots, follow my blog, Twitter, Instagram, and friend me on Goodreads.
4 Comments
Morgan
I’m so happy for you, congratulations for being a PhD candidate and getting a story published in an anthology! I’m glad you were able to travel and meet up with a friend, that’s awesome! 🥺
Hsinju @ Hsinju's Lit Log
Awww thanks so much, Morgan!! It’s been relatively productive and as nice as 2021 could be, so I’m really thankful for that! Hope you’re doing well, too. 🤗
Éimhear @alittlehazebookblog
Omg Hsinju! ALL OF THE CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU MY FRIEND! Yay for officially becoming a PhD candidate AND A STORY BEING PUBLISHED WOWWWWWWW! I’m in awe my dear friend. Happy new year to you. I hope it’s filled with everything kind and gentle, and enriching and joyful experiences. Big hugs to you xx
Hsinju @ Hsinju's Lit Log
Éimhear!!! It’s been ages 😭 Sorry I kinda dropped off the earth last year, but I can’t wait to drop by your blog again! And thank you so much for your kind words 🥺 I hope you are doing well and that hopefully you’ve been able to see some of your family and friends over the past year (or at least get to have lots of video chats with them). Happy new year to you, too, and I hope 2022 is and will continue to be kind to you. 🤗🤗🤗