2021 WRAP UP | Reflections and Stats!! ft. Rating books based on Disney References

Hello friends!!

ONE DAY MORE. ONE MORE DAY TO REVOLUTION 2022.

I’m echoing everyone’s sentiments: How is it already the 31st of December, with 2022 being… tomorrow? Well regardless, there’s one last day of closure for 2021, and I’ve a record for being notoriously late to blog milestones and all, so for once here’s a wrap up that’s just in time. I’m excited to review 2021 in all its bookish, Poppy-War-ish glory!

2021 READING STATS

For 2021, I set my Goodreads goal to 60 books, and I managed to exceed it by 9 books! There was a period of time where I was 5-6 books behind, so I’m pleasantly surprised by that. Another thing I’m happy about would be my balance of YA and Adult books, 2020 was a year of mostly YA books and this year I wanted to venture more into the Adult category, definitely will be doing so again next year!

One of my biggest goals from 2020 was to read more diversely, specifically, books by Asian authors, as I could directly resonant more with them being Asian myself. I’ve been intentional about selecting books by Asian authors, particularly Chinese or Singaporean authors (starting off with my own culture!!), and it’s been so eye-opening. There’s something inherently different reading a book by someone who grew up with the same culture as you did, I’ve found so many books where I was able to appreciate the mythology in its fullness, and others where I resonated so deeply with, something simply reading books by White authors has never made me feel before. Truly heartening to see the book community diversify as well!

This comes as no surprise to me. This year of school was stressful, so what a reprieve fantasy was! Historical fiction was high as well, another of my favourite genres. I also found some sci-fi books that I loved more than expected. My only disappointment would be the lack of non-fiction books, oops.

My average rating for this year is 3.1 stars which is… good? I’ve met quite a few disappointments this year, but at the same time found many 4 stars and above reads!! Hoping to be more selective in the books I read next year and bring the rating up to 3.5 maybe?

This next segment was based on a whim, and is entirely Encanto’s fault. I watched Encanto not too long ago, and with its songs reverberating in my head non-stop, I was drawn back once again into a Disney craze. Thus, in order to highlight some memorable books of the year, here they are matched to some Disney lyrics!!

YOU’LL BE IN MY HEART, ALWAYS

FROM THIS DAY ON, NOW AND FOREVER MORE; my absolute favourite books

Related Post: My Top 10 Books of 2021

YOU’RE A SPINELESS, PALE, PATHETIC LOT

AND YOU HAVEN’T GOT A CLUE; the worst books of this year

TALE AS OLD AS TIME

TUNE AS OLD AS SONG, BITTERSWEET AND STRANGE; books that are/should be classics

WE DON’T TALK ABOUT BRUNO, NO, NO, NO

SEVEN FOOT FRAME, RATS ALONG HIS BACK; the biggest disappointments i don’t want to think about

SCRUB THE DECK AND MAKE IT LOOK… SHINY

LIKE A TREASURE FROM A SUNKEN PIRATE WRECK; the book covers that make me have heart eyes

YOU GOTTA DIG A LITTLE DEEPER

FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE; books that took time to process being incredibly thoughtful

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER

NOTHING’S IN MY WAY; the most intriguing premises of books i’ve read this year

BLOGGING

One word to describe my blogging journey in 2021 would be sporadic. I literally posted whenever I felt like it, and when busy seasons gone, well, my blog would be empty for a few months. Nevertheless, I managed to write 31 posts, and out of them, here are some of my favourites:

Other milestones

  • We hit 499 followers!! I find this really funny, and insane!
  • I started to be granted ARCs towards the end of the year and be approved by publishers when I directly emailed them!
  • I started a bookstagram, and despite being a person who has no aesthetic sense, it’s been a marvellous experience.
  • A whole lot of people have read The Poppy War after hearing my cries, and many have loved it!

And that’s a wrap! I have a lot of specific goals and plans for next year, so I think I’ll save it for its own post!

I hope that amidst all the rocks and boulders 2021 threw us, everyone managed to have a pretty decent year. If not, here’s my wish that 2022 would be Poppy War level excellence (minus the pain) for you!!

How was 2021 for you? Are you excited for 2022? Have you read any of the books mentioned here and agree with my ratings?

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70 thoughts on “2021 WRAP UP | Reflections and Stats!! ft. Rating books based on Disney References

  1. ooh what a fun post to read! I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy we were liars, I personally really liked it! and yes skyhunter has a gorgeous cover, but sadly I ended up dnf’ing that book :((
    great post!💕

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I was literally sitting here humming Les Mis and then I opened your wrap up and the first line was Les Mis lol.
    I love the graphs as always! And listing your books based off of Disney songs isn’t something I’ve seen before but it’s great! (I can only recognize like two of the lyrics but that’s okay!)

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I love this??? There have been several gorgeous book covers this year but the skyhunter one is stunning! Your graphs are both informative and aesthetic, and I think that’s a win-win!
    Happy reading and hope you have a great year ahead 💕

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I love how insightful this post was! The graphs were so fun to read. We Were Liars was one of those books I had to sleep on for several nights to process. But The Guilded Wolves was a total no go for me as well.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I love this so much!! Also your graphs are so beautiful! I really didn’t like We Were Liars either and I thought I was the only one, booktok seems to love it! Ahh I still haven’t read The Poppy War and I really need to get to it 😅 I hope you have a wonderful 2022 Cherelle!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Love this Disney style 2021 wrap up and all the references!

    I’m so excited to watch Encanto and from what I’ve seen so far of the music videos…ahhh! I know I’ll love it!

    I’m sorry about your disappointing and worst reads of the year but I’m glad you found new favourites! 💙

    Here’s to 2022 🥂

    Liked by 1 person

  7. This is a really fun post to read! I read The Poppy War and plan to read The Burning God sometime this year :’) One thing I notice from 2021 was I’ve been reading more books by Asian authors too, especially Malaysian and Singaporean 😀 I didn’t get to read any books from Indonesian authors despite meaning too, so it’s going to be my *top* priority this year!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Tasya! Ah I wish you all the best with The Burning God, it’s the literal definition of pain but brilliant all the same haha. Yay to reading more books by authors in our region, all the best with that goal! Thanks for the lovely comment! 💓

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  8. lovely review darling! i loved all the cute statistical graphics! my 2021 was rough buddy 😪 but it introduced me to many amazing books so it had its merits. but i am very very excited for 2022!! i’m glad we’ve both read jade city in 2021 because WOW one of the best urban fantasy books ever. i wish u all the best books in 2022!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 🫶🫶
      Sorry to hear that, hope that 2022 has been and will be a great year in life and books! Truly, Jade City was SO impressive, I’m procrastinating reading Jade Legacy because I don’t want the series to end! Have you read the other two installments? Thanks Thea!! ❤️

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  9. CHERELLE YOU HAVE THE BEST POSTS !! i love this so much like books + disney? WE STAN !! aH its sad to hear that you didn’t love the gilded wolves but thats understandable, its not for everyone. city of brass and the keeper of night are on my tbr for 2022 though !! happy new year bestie !! i promise i’ll try to finish tdr and tbg this year and spam you on instagram ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Ahh love this!! I was most definitely singing along to the disney lyrics. I’m shocked to see that chloe gong’s second release was your fave. I’d love to know why as I have yet to start the series. Speaking of starting series, I will one day come to the dark side that is the poppy war. One day. So happy you read all those amazing books in 2021! 69 books is an amazing feat. Be proud!!! Can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store for you! ❤ ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes, singing lyrics as you read them 💯💯 These Violent Delights was one of the few enemies to lovers I really enjoyed, but mostly because of the Chinese culture and history in it! Unfortunately, the sequel was disappointing for me, but I’d still recommend it! 🥀 HAHAHA, yup The Poppy War will change your reading experience (for better or for worse 👀) Thank you so much! Hope that 2022 is going incredibly for you, Saniya! 🥰

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  11. Your wrap up is so aesthetically pleasing Cherelle!! I swear I love reading your post every time ❤ Happy New Year and well wishes to a good reading year !!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. I LOVE THE WAY YOU SET UP THIS WRAP UP!! It’s so pleasing to read! 🥰 Now in my mind: The Poppy War = Cherelle and that is your legacy! I hope you’ll find books that make you feel the same way this year and that you will enjoy! I was *not* surprised to see City of Brass here haha 😂 I love seeing your bookstagram posts and congratulations on your blog too!! You deserve all of it! You are an amazing person with amazing reading taste and I wish you a happy new year! 💕

    Liked by 1 person

  13. I have not watched Encanto but I loved that segment! (yesyes i know i need to watch it but i just? don’t watch movies?) And this post was so aesthetic 😍
    Hope you have a great 2022!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. the absolute PAIN I felt seeing our violent ends on this list (jk), but AHH I have to read the poppy war so bad and it’s genuinely been on my TBR for ages and I’m so happy that it’s one of your new favorites! this was such a fun read and the graphics are all stunning as usual ❤

    Liked by 1 person

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