2021 Master Reading List
It's the beginning of a new year and that means it's time to make a new master reading list of all the books I want to read in the year. This list includes all of the reading challenges I will be participating in, but isn't exhaustive, as I'll pick up some new releases from publishers and a few other books along the way.
As always, I will be completing the Popsugar Reading Challenge, which gives you ideas for fifty books to read. I always try to make a point of diversifying my bookshelf, and Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge helps me do that. They give you twenty-four prompts that are more difficult, including more authors of color and topics outside of your wheelhouse.
Additionally, I enjoy adding in a few of the smaller challenges, like the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge, the RAD Reading Challenge, and a fun list of reading and activity prompts from the Reading Glasses Podcast. I'll be choosing five more books from Sanne's Back to University list - a compilation of all the required reading for a standard master's degree in literature. And one challenge that I picked up on a whim last year that I'll be adding to my list again this time is Jessica Turner's #ReadYourBooks challenge, where she encourages you to pull ten books that you already own but haven't had a chance to read yet.
Finally, and what I'm most excited about is a brand new book club for 2021, from writer and Twitter superstar, Roxane Gay. She has impeccable taste in books and is introducing her club members to twelve up-and-coming or underrepresented American authors. After reading the blurbs on a few of these, I can't wait to dig in!
By my count, that is 137 books on this list. That doesn't include the additional books I'll grab on a whim throughout the year. If you want to follow along and see my reviews when I share them, send a friend request or follow on Goodreads. Happy reading!
Popsugar Reading Challenge (Count: 50/50)
A book that's published in 2021: Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing - Lauren Hough
A book set mostly or entirely outdoors: Blind Descent - James M. Tabor
A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover: On the Noodle Road - Jen Lin-Liu
A book with something broken on the cover: Crush - Tracy Wolff
A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign: I Want My Hat Back - Jon Klassen
A book by a Muslim American author: Yes No Maybe So - Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed
A dark academia book: The Emperor of Ocean Park - Stephen L. Carter
A book with an oxymoron in the title: The Keeper of Lost Things - Ruth Hogan
A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title: The Emerald Sea - Richelle Mead
A book about do-overs or fresh starts: The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
A book where the main character works at your current job: The Master - Colm Toibin
A magical realism book: The Peach Keeper - Sarah Addison Allen
A book set in multiple countries: You Exist Too Much - Zaina Arafat
A book that's won Women's Prize for Fiction: A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing - Eimear McBride
A book in a place to visit: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek - Kim Michele Richardson
A book with a family tree: Hidden Valley Road - Robert Kolker
A book by a blogger, vlogger, or YouTube creator: Buffering - Hannah Hart
A bestseller from the 0990s: Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
A book whose title starts with Q, X, or Z: Z - Therese Anne Fowler & Jenna Lamia
A book you have seen on someone's bookshelf: Gravity’s Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon
A book about a social justice issue: The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander
A book in a different format than you normally read: The Islanders - Meg Mitchell Moore
A book with a black-and-white cover: I'll Be Gone in the Dark - Michelle McNamara
A book by an Indigenous author: Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer
A book with fewer than 1,000 reviews on Goodreads: An Effort to Understand - David Murray
A book that has the same title as a song: Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
A book you think your best friend would like: Ready Player Two - Ernest Cline
A book about a subject you are passionate about: The Mercy of the Sky - Holly Bailey
A book about art or an artist: Van Gogh - Steven Naifeh & Gregory White Smith
A book everyone seems to have read but you? The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett
A book found on the BLM reading list: Stamped From the Beginning - Ibram X. Kendi
Your favorite prompt from a past PS reading challenge - One By One - Ruth Ware
The longest book (pages) on your TBR list: 1Q84 - Haruki Murakami
A book you meant to read last year but didn't: We Can Be Mended - Veronica Roth
The shortest book (pages) on your TBR list: When Harley Has Anxiety - Regine Galante, PhD
A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing: Astrology - DK
The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover: The Stationery Shop - Marjan Kamani
A book from your TBR list chosen at random: Sammy's House - Kristin Gore
The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover: Tiny Beautiful Things - Cheryl Strayed
The book that's been on your TBR list for the longest time: Summer Reading - Hilma Wolitzer
Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge (Count: 24/24)
A book you've been intimidated to read: Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
A nonfiction book about anti-racism: I'm Still Here - Austin Channing Brown
A non-European novel in translation: Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata
An LGBTQ+ history book: A Queer History of the United States - Michael Bronski
A genre novel by an Indigenous author: Race to the Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse
A fat-positive romance: Get a Life, Chloe Brown - Talia Hibbert
A romance by a trans or nonbinary author: I Wish You All the Best - Mason Deaver
A middle-grade mystery: From the Desk of Zoe Washington - Janae Marks
An SFF anthology edited by a person of color - Friday Black - Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
A food memoir by an author of color: Yes, Chef - Marcus Samuelsson
A work of investigative nonfiction by an author of color - The Missing American - Kwei Quartey
A book with a cover you don't like: A Bend in the Road - Nicholas Sparks
A realistic YA book not set in US, UK, or Canada: The Light in Hidden Places - Sharon Cameron
A memoir by a Latinx author: My Beloved World - Sonia Sotomayor
An #ownvoices book about disability: Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens
An #ownvoices YA with a black character that isn't about pain: Watch Us Rise - Renee Watson
A book by/about a non-Western world leader: MBS - Ben Hubbard
A historical fiction with a POC or LGBTQ+ protagonist: The Nickel Boys - Colson Whitehead
A children's book with a disabled character: Planet Earth is Blue - Nicole Panteleakos
A book that demystifies a common mental illness: Not Broken - Alli Baldocchi
A book featuring a beloved pet where the pet doesn't die: Oogy - Larry Levin
Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge (Count: 12/12)
A book that's currently on the bestseller list: Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens
A book with a reputation for being un-put-down-able: One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston
A book about a topic or subject you already love: The God Equation - Michio Kaku
A cookbook, guidebook, or how-to book: Nourish - Reshma Shah & Brenda Davis
A Pulitzer Prize or National Book Award winner: Interior Chinatown - Charles Yu
A classic you didn't read in school: Lord of the Flies - William Golding
A book about books or reading: The Strange Library - Haruki Murakami
A book you've been meaning to read: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - Neil DeGrasse Tyson
A memoir, biography, or book of creative nonfiction: Until the End of Time - Brian Greene
The Audacious Book Club Reading List (Count: 12/12)
Back to University Reading List (Count: 5/5)
Books of Poetry (Count: 5/5)
The RAD Reading Challenge (Count: 9/9)
A random library grab: The President’s Daughter - Bill Clinton & James Patterson
A book shorter than 200 pages: Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote
A backlist read from a fave author: Raven Stole the Moon - Garth Stein
Reading Glasses Challenge (Count: 10/10)
A book by a Native/First Nations author - Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse
A book recommendation by your librarian: More Than Enough - Elaine Welteroth
Figure out your wheelhouse
Attend a virtual book event
Review a bookstore/boost a bookstore on social media
Review a book by a BIPOC
Get rid of a book that you are never going to read
#ReadYourBooks Challenge (Count: 10/10)