Willow in Winter

I love books. I started reading for fun when I was nine. My obsession with books began when I read Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson. It amazed me how a book could transport me, a 9-year-old Spanish girl, to the middle of the Amazon. Ibbotson’s descriptions were so well written that I felt like I was there with orphan Maia, following her crazy and sometimes scary adventure travelling the Amazon River in 1910.

After that book, I started reading all kinds of books about pirates, mysteries and witches, and teenage spies. As I got older, I moved toward YA fantasy and vampires, so many vampires! If you were a teen girl in the 2010s, you probably have an insane amount of vampire books. In my early twenties, I discovered thrillers and true crime, and I never went back.

I read books to feel something, to escape my boring reality and to live in someone else’s shoes for a while. And because of that, I’ve always read fiction. Looking back at all the books I’ve read, the most common themes are Thrillers, Mystery and Crime, and YA romance. But now, it feels like I’ve read all the books I could be interested in, even though my to-read list is extremely long. At the time of writing this, I have 351 books on my list, and most of them fall into the same three categories.

That’s why I want to get out of my reading comfort zone in 2021, read new genres and discover new voices.

Reading Resolutions 2021

1. Read more non-fiction

I usually read one or two non-fiction books a year. They’re usually biographies or books related to the impact of fast-fashion. Being in lockdown and forced to sit down with my thoughts has made me realise that I’m interested in so many topics that I know little about, and I want to learn more about them through books.
The main topics I’ve included on my to-read list for 2021 are veganism, zero waste, climate crisis, and gender roles.

A few of the books on my list:

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2. Try to read some self-help books

I always roll my eyes at self-help books in bookstores, mostly because some titles have messages that sound too good to be true. I don’t like books that are presented as the only book you’ll ever need and that if you “read this book your life will immediately be better”. But over the years, I’ve been adding books about social anxiety and introverts to my Goodreads list, and I think this is finally the time to read them.

On my list:

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3. Step away from YA

I’ll turn 27 in 2021. I think it’s time to leave high school dramas behind. But I’m still drawn to some of the typical YA thrillers similar to Pretty Little Liars. I always read YA thrillers by Karen M. McManus and Kara Thomas, and by any other writer that follows their style. But there are so many other thrillers out there where the characters aren’t in high school, and I rather read those because I can’t relate anymore, I’m too old!

4. Don’t ignore the bestsellers

I’m always adding book recommendations to my to-read list, and a good chunk of those are the year’s best sellers, that I never actually read. My goal is to read one bestseller every month, and I’ll try to select the one everyone’s talking about.

5. Give male writers a chance

I only read female writers. I don’t think I do it consciously. But every time I’m considering buying a book, I always read a bit about the writer first, and I always choose female writers over men. Except for Riley Sager, he’s my fave.
But I think it’s time to read new voices, and I want to stop discarding books that sound interesting just because the writer is a man. I usually don’t like female characters written by men, and because all the books I read have a female lead, 99% of the books on my library are by female authors.

On my list:

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6. Read more graphic novels

I love comics and graphic novels, but I never seem to find the time to read any. My all-time favourite comic is the Batgirl: Beyond Burnside series, I’ve also read the new Riverdale and Sabrina comics. And for graphic novels, my main focus is the Spanish writer Moderna de Pueblo. So I think it’s time to add some new graphic novels to my shelf.

On my list:

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I read 57 books in 2020, and I loved most of them. I read everything ever written by Claire McGowan and discovered new voices like Jenny Lee, Sally Rooney, and Beth O’Leary. I spent most of my time reading thrillers and YA fiction. I’m excited for 2021 and my new reading resolutions. I can’t wait to start reading all these new books and to discover new writers.