My 2021 Recap & 2022 Goals

Gosh! What a year 2021 has been! If 2020 was terrible, 2021 topped it and how in the crapfest scale. It was a year of massive losses, small gains, and tons of arduous work – juggling work and home. I don’t think I even want to look back at 2021 at all! Let’s just forget last year happened, please! I know I am not the only one feeling this way.

What 2021 was good was in terms of reading and so I”ll focus my 2021 look back solely on books.

My Year in Books

Total Books Read: 30

Average Rating: 3.9 stars (I told you, it was a good reading year!)

Total Pages Read: 13837 pages

Shortest book: The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara

Longest book: A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

My busiest reading months were July onwards last year when I just raced on finishing a record number of books. I had a bad case of insomnia last year, and I realized that nothing worked better for me than switching off the devices (hard to do when I am working from home across multiple time zones) a couple of hours before sleep time and focusing on a book.

I didn’t meet my 2021 Goodreads reading challenge, which was 50 books. Still, I was pleased with the quality of the books I read – tons of variety with a big focus on non-fiction, literary fiction, massive chunksters, and twisty thrillers.

Reading, Blogging and Life Goals for 2022

In terms of reading and blogging, I want more of 2021, that’s for sure! I am not particular about the number of books, and so this year, I am keeping my reading count to 30. I want to read more quality books, more classics, participate in reading challenges (already doing quite well with the Japanese literature reading challenge) and generally broaden the scope of my reading – reading well out of my comfort zone.

Last year, I expanded my Pinterest activity – pinning a record number of pins, which increased the footfalls on my blog. I want to continue with that. I also want to stick to a regular posting schedule – both here and on the gram.

My blog has always been a mix of lifestyle (food, travel) and books. The past couple of years, with my life severely restricted to the four walls of my home, my focus has been primarily on book (and, to some extent, show/movie) reviews.

I hope in 2022, I can squeeze in a bit of travel – even a weekend away seems like such a challenge, with two young kids in online schooling and a punishing work schedule, which feels like I am ON ON ON 24/7.

In terms of general life, I have started on a home makeover project. I am on a budget, so I am mainly targeting small changes such as furnishings and doing a little bit at a time. Apart from that, my health is also a significant focus area. Last year was a pretty terrible year where I didn’t do anything at all – all discipline was shot, and I mostly stuck to a bit of light jogging – which also went by the wayside when I tripped on a root hurting both my legs and making even a slow walk a challenge.

I need to get my knees and ankle checked out and restart exercising slowly and steadily. My headspace has not been the greatest for the past few months, and I need to get it sorted. And exercise is one way to improve my stupid mental health. I have a short sabbatical from work next month, and I hope to use this time to reset all these unsatisfactory parts of my life.

And these are my goals for 2021! I know they are not strictly reading goals. But to me, reading is just one aspect of harmonious life. I felt like reading and work were a huge plus in 2021, now the aim is to extend that sense of satisfaction to other areas of my life in 2022.

Wish you luck as well in all your 2022 goals!