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:
- If You Liked that Marvel Movie, Read this Book! – My first recommendations post in a year, coinciding nicely with a newfound Marvel craze! (So excited for the MCU content 2022 is going to bring!)
- My 1st Blogiversary | Reflections and Gratitude – I was more than a month late to my own blogiversary, would not recommend!! But truly, I’m so grateful for this platform and I loved reflecting and shouting out to bloggers as I wrote the post!
- My Top 10 Books of 2021 – !!!
- 2021 Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag – I was at my peak of my Poppy War obsession whilst writing this haha
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?

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!💕
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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!)
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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 💕
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Yesss I read the Poppy War twice this year and am currently trying to convince my friends to read it and my family to never ever pick it up
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Also PLEASE make an Encanto tag 😖
It would be amazing
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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.
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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!
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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 🥂
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this is SUCH an interesting post… and a pretty one, too! i love it ❤
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Lovely wrap up!! Your graphs are so pretty and aesthetically pleasing! I also loved how you sorted through all the books by Disney songs!! So creative!! I also totally agree about We Were Liars that was a flop for sure haha
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I loved reading this wrap-up, Cherelle!!
[Especially your Disney lyric match-up. :)]
Happy New Year!
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Lovely post and so visually appealing too. Thanks to this post my never ending TBR got a lot longer 😛
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i loved the poppy war so much, but i wanted to wait to finish the series as i’ve heard its heart wrenching!
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Happy new year and Wow I love the Disney song book recommendations also what did you use to find the stats for the books you read the graphs looked super cool
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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!
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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!!
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I love your stats. Direct email works better and I’m glad you started getting approval. My 2021 was good but I’m hoping 2022 turns out even better.
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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 ❤
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This is such an amazing wrap up! Happy new year Cherelle ❤
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What a fun wrap-up post Cherelle! Wishing you an amazing 2022 Reading year! 🥳💞✨
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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! ❤ ❤
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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 !!
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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! 💕
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the Disney lyric headers 😍😍😍
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Love this Disney references. Glad to hear that you finished your reading goals and loved books by Asian authors more this year. Also, congarts on hitting 499 followers!
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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!
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i love this wrap up!! i definitely agree with some of your views on the books haha. happy 2022 cherelle 💛💛
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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 ❤
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