My Goodreads Reading Challenge 2021
Welcome Readers!
At the beginning of 2021 I set myself the challenge of reading 105 books for the year. I read 103 books in 2020 and my goal was 100. In 2019 I set a goal of 55 books and I managed to read 105 books – so I know I can do it!

This year I’m in two bookclubs – a local group where we meet each month in person and a small online group which meets over Zoom every few weeks. We’ve been reading the Bronte sisters , slowly in pre-arranged chunks, and incorporating a cooking session after we finish each book. It’s such a great way of reading and dissecting a book, we all love it. We’ve also started a monthly blogging challenge, What’s on your Bookshelf, and encourage others to join in. All my WOYBS posts can be found here
End of 2021
By the end of 2021 I have read 133 books! That sounds amazing, even to me 🙂
Here’s a link to my Goodreads Challenge if you’d like to see the books I’ve managed to get through.
January 2021 (10 books)
- Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2* (bookclub)
- Bombproof – Michael Robotham 4* (#2 in Joseph O’Loughlin series)
- Unsheltered – Barbara Kingsolver 2*
- Searching for Charlotte – Kate Forsyth 4*
- Daring Greatly – Brene Brown 3*
- Fearless – Fiona Higgins 4*
- Wuthering Heights– Emily Bronte (Online bookclub) 4*
- The Godmothers – Monica McInerney (bookclub) 5*
- The Pull of the Stars – Emma Donoghue 4*
- Shatter – Michael Robotham (#3 in Joseph O’Loughlin series) 4*
February 2021 (11 books)
- Charlotte Pass – Christine Lee 4*
- Bleed for me – Michael Robotham (#4 in Joseph O’Loughlin series) 4*
- Crackenback – Christine Lee 4*
- The Wreckage – Michael Robotham (#5 in Joseph O’Loughlin series) 4*
- Brody Cody and the Haunted Vacation House – Toni Pike 5*
- Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrell 5*
- Myrren’s Gift – Fiona McIntosh 4*
- Sam Bloom: Heartache and Birdsong – Bradley Trevor Greive 5*
- The Secrets we Kept – Lara Prescott (bookclub) 4*
- The Natural Way of Things – Charlotte Wood 3*
- The Blue Day Book – Bradley Trevor Greive 5*

March 2021 (9 books)
- Penguin Bloom – Cameron Bloom 5*
- Agnes Grey – Anne Bronte (online book club) 4*
- The Quickening Trilogy – Fiona McIntosh 4*
- Escape to Curlew Cottage – Joanne Tracey 5*
- In an Instant – Suzanne Redfearn 5*
- The Girl who Saved the King of Sweden – Jonas Jonasson 4*
- Women of a Certain Rage – Liz Byrski 3*
- The Spill – Imbi Neeme 3*
- Tapestry – Fiona McIntosh 5*
April 2021 (9 books)
- Hadley & Grace – Suzanne Redfearn 4*
- Trio – William Boyd (book club) 1*
- Kokomo – Victoria Hannan 3*
- The Four Winds – Kristin Hannah 5*
- Royal Exile – Fiona McIntosh 4*
- Life is so Good – George Dawson (book club) 3*
- Say you’re sorry (Audible) – Michael Robotham (#6 in Joseph O’Loughlin series) 4*
- The Library of Lost and Found – Phaedra Patrick 4*
- The Chocolate Maker’s Wife – Karen Brooks 5*

May 2021 (12 books)
- H.A.G.S with Attitude: A Philosophy for Ageing – Angelique Du Toit 4*
- The Diamond Hunter – Fiona Mcintosh 4*
- The Darkest Shore – Karen Brooks 5*
- The Dressmakers of Yarrandarrah Prison – Meredith Jaffe 5*
- The Midnight Library – Matt Haig 5*
- Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) – Anita Heiss 5*
- The Good Sister – Sally Hepworth 5*
- The Sisters (Audible)- Dervla McTiernan 4*
- The Family Doctor – Debra Oswald 5*
- Still House (Audible) – Christian White 3*
- An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good (Bookclub) – Helene Tursten 4*
- Wild – Kristin Hannah 5*
June 2021 (13 books)
- Spring Clean for the Peach Queen – Sasha Wasley 5*
- The Chocolate Tin – Fiona McIntosh 4*
- Best Seller – Terry Tyler 4*
- Bruno Chief of Police #1 (on Audible) – Martin Walker 4*
- Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte – (online book club) 5*
- Dear Banjo – (Daughters of the Outback #1) Sasha Wasley 4*
- Love Song – (Daughters of the Outback #3) Sasha Wasley 4*
- The Kindness Revolution: How we can restore hope, rebuild trust and inspire optimism – Hugh Mackay 5*
- Silent Valley – Malla Nunn 4*
- Megacity (Operation Galton #3) – Terry Tyler 5*
- True Blue – Sasha Wasley 4*
- Still Life – (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #1) – Louise Penny 4*
- The Cuckoo’s Cry (on Audible) -Caroline Overington 3*
July 2021 (11 books)
- Anatomy of a Scandal – Sarah Vaughan (Bookclub) 3*
- The Bluffs – Kyle Perry 3*
- The Silent Wife – (Will Trent #10) Karin Slaughter 4*
- The Honey Queen – (via Audible) – Cathy Kelly 4*
- The Perfumer’s Secret (via Audible) – Fiona McIntosh 4*
- The Good Wife of Bath – Karen Brooks 5*
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall – (online bookclub) Anne Bronte 4*
- Good Girl, Bad Girl – (Cyrus Haven #1) Michael Robotham 4*
- The Rose Code – Kate Quinn 5*
- The Little Paris Bookshop – Nina George 3*
- A Room Made of Leaves – Kate Grenville 4*
August 2021 (12 books)
- Bye Bye Baby – Fiona McIntosh (DCI Jack Hawksworth #1) 4*
- When She was Good – Michael Robotham (Cyrus Haven #2) 4*
- Second Skin – Christian White Audible 3*
- Dead Cold – Louise Penny (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #2) 4*
- Watching You – (Joseph O’Loughlin series #7) Michael Robotham 4*
- Danger Music – Eddie Ayres (Bookclub) 4*
- What She Wants – Cathy Kelly 4*
- Our Italian Summer – Jennifer Probst 4*
- Just Between Us – Cathy Kelly 4*
- The Nancys – R W R McDonald 5*
- The Last Garden in England – (via audible) Julia Kelly 5*
- The Huntress – Kate Quinn 5*
Total books so far: 87
September 2021 (13 books)
- The Chase – Candice Fox (Audible) 5*
- The Comfort Book – Matt Haig (Audible) 5*
- Before I Leave – Jenney Egertson 4*
- The Cornish Midwife – Jo Bartlett 4*
- The Little Cafe by the Lake – Joanne Tracey 5*
- A Summer Wedding for the Cornish Midwife – Jo Bartlett 4*
- Beautiful Death – Fiona McIntosh (DCI Jack Hawksworth #2) 3*
- Villette – Charlotte Bronte (online bookclub) 4*
- One Hundred Years of Dirt – Rick Morton (local bookclub) 4*
- Mirror Man – Fiona McIntosh (DCI Jack Hawksworth #3) 4*
- Nancy Business – RWR McDonald 5*
- Crimson Lake – Candice Fox (Crimson Lake #1 series) 5*
- Hades – Candice Fox 4*

October 2021 (9 books)
- Apples Never Fall – Liane Moriarty 3*
- Redemption Point – Candice Fox (Crimson Lake #2) 4*
- Gone by Midnight – Candice Fox (Crimson Lake #3) 5*
- The Great Alone – Kristin Hannah 5*
- Treasure & Dirt – Chris Hammer 4*
- False Witness – Karin Slaughter 4*
- Well Hello – Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales 5*
- Close your Eyes – Michael Robotham (Joseph O’Loughlin series #8) 4*
- Flesh Wounds – Richard Glover (Bookclub) 5*
Goodreads 2021 Challenge of 105 books read completed 25/10/21
November 2021 (13 books)
- Beauty in the Ruins – J’Nell Ciesielski 4*
- Cuthberts Way – (DCI Ryan #17) LJ Ross 4*
- The Rock – (DCI Ryan #18) 4 *
- The Man Who Died Twice – Richard Osman 5*
- Notes from an Exhibition – Patrick Gale 3*
- Bluey Sleepy time – Bluey 5*
- Case Histories – Kate Atkinson (Brodie Jackson #1) 4*
- Bluey Christmas Swim – 5*
- Somebody’s Land – Adam Goodes 5*
- One Good Turn – Kate Atkinson (Jackson Brodie #2) 3*
- When will there be Good News – Kate Atkinson (Jackson Brodie #3) 4*
- A Winter’s Wish for the Cornish Midwife – Jo Bartlett 4*
- Second Chance at Cherry Tree Cottage – Jo Bartlett 4*
Total books so far: 122
December 2021
- Started Early, Took My Dog – Kate Atkinson (Jackson Brodie #3) 4*
- The Deep – Kyle Perry 3*
- Never Never – James Patterson and Candice Fox (Detective Harriet Blue #1) 4*
- The Professor – Charlotte Bronte 3*
- A Fiery Heart – Claire Harmon 4*
- Daring to Fly – Lisa Millar 5*
- The Others – Mark Brandi 4*
- Vanished – James Delargy 4*
- Second Chances at Channel View Farm – Jo Bartlett 3*
- A Cornish Summer’s Kiss – Jo Bartlett 3*
- A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 5*
Total books for 2021 = 133 📚🎉
I have included links to Goodreads on each of these titles, so if you want more information on what the book is about, click the title and away you go! I read a wide range….just saying!
Please note I will bold all of my 5* star ratings – I’m fairly strict with what I give 5 stars to, so you can be assured that these are my favourites.
My rating code: 1* did not finish/terrible; 2* OK; 3* enjoyable; 4* really good ; 5* excellent
Let’s see how many I get up to this year! I don’t set any rules or follow any plans, I just read what I feel like, what friends have recommended and what takes my eye. I rarely start a book and not finish it, but it does happen sometimes!
Are you on Goodreads? – you can join me 🙂
My wrap-up post for my 2020 challenge is here:
Reading my way through 2020 – Reading Challenge and Top Reads
You can find my lists for 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and my 2014/2015 books by clicking on the links.
Every now and again I do a Friday Fiction post just to keep updating my reading collections!
This year I’ve joined with blogging friends Sue, Donna and Jo to do a monthly What’s on Your Bookshelf Challenge and you’re very welcome to join us!
I’d love to hear what you’re reading too. And any recommendations are always welcome 🙂
Deb xx
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Everyone has a story to tell! Deb is a young-at-heart & active 60+ blogger/retiree, after being made redundant from her 22-year career managing education programs in a men’s correctional centre (jail). She now spends her time reading, blogging, riding her ebike and travelling. Deb was awarded a Bravery Award from the Queen when she was 17 after a tragic accident – a definite life changing moment! She is married with 3 grown-up daughters & has 4 grandchildren. She never imagined being Granny Debs would bring so much joy to her life! You can read more of Deb’s story here
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Thank you so much, Deb, for including Brody Cody Book 2 in your list last month. Toni x
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My pleasure Toni, I really enjoyed it!
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So I see you do count your audibles as books read. We were having some discussion (my friends and I) a whether they counted.
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Yes Dawn, I figure I’ve ‘read’ them in some way so I should include them. What did you decide on the subject?
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I’m still undecided. My friends agree with you but in some ways I feel like it’s equates with seeing the movie. although, I am listening to a Nicholas Sparks book and every time I hear his words I am awed by his mastery of them. That’s not something you would appreciate in a movie.
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I think you have your answer right there Dawn 🙂
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Yes…as I was typing it i thought the same.
Thanks for helping me with that 😉
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