2020 Blog Recap and 2021 Goals

Well, it has been quite a strange year, to say the least. My 2020 turned out not even close to how I had imagined. I was only able to meet some of my reading and blogging goals for 2020 but I’m still happy with how things turned out. It’s still unbelievable that we have been blogging for almost 2 years now! Let’s take a look at how this year went with a 2020 blog recap and 2021 goals!

2020 Blog Recap

Due to the pandemic, my reading habits have changed quite a bit. Since most people are working from home, my morning commute, which usually took 30-45 minutes, is now a 10-15 minute drive so I don’t get as much audiobook time as I did before. I started listening more while doing chores but it’s not as much as when I was in the car all the time. Therefore, I read more than I listen now.

Here are some highlights from my reading and blogging in 2020. I will start with my least favorite book and work to my overall favorite book of 2020 along with some other favorite book posts and statistics. Also, check out my post from 2019 to compare my two years. 2019 Blog Recap and Goals for 2020: A Year of Firsts.

Least Favorite Read

Ugh, so my least favorite read this year was The Paperboy by Pete Dexter. My mom sent me this book and at the time I thought she sent it because she really liked it and wanted me to read it. Turns out she had never read it and just thought it was something I might like. I took this book with me on our trip to Thailand at the beginning of the year (right before the pandemic hit the United States) because it was a small book I could fit in my carry-on. I was stuck on a plane with not much else to read which is probably the only reason I finished it.

The plot and story were okay but kind of weird. The thing I hated the most about this book was the chapters. There were no real chapters! There were only breaks which seemed to just stop wherever they pleased! I originally rated this book 3 stars but the more time that has passed and the more I think about it, I want to change my rating to 2.5 stars. Check out my full original review of The Paperboy. Also, the movie is really weird and messed up too. I wouldn’t bother with the book or the movie.

Favorite Reread

I only reread one book this year and that was Of Mice of Men by John Steinbeck. I first read the book in High School for English class and it was a book that seemed to stick with me, so I decided to download it on Audible and give it a listen. It’s a very short listen (only 3 hours and 11 minutes) and the narrator is really good. I don’t remember what I rated the book in High School but the audiobook is definitely 5 stars!

Favorite Audiobook

My favorite audiobook this year was Gerald’s Game by Stephen King. I rated it 5 stars but I absolutely do NOT recommend it to anyone. I do not want anyone else to experience that psychological trauma. I may or may not post a review further explaining my thoughts about this book. It’s really dark and it freaked me out, to say the least.

Favorite Quote

So many good quotes this year but one of my favorites came from In a Field of Blue by Gemma Liverio. We read In a Field of Blue for Quill Quotes Book Club. It wasn’t my favorite book but I really liked this quote. “There is enough to carry in life without having to carry the worries of others.” We all have our own worries and problems. We do not need to focus on other’s burdens and worries too. I know a lot of people struggle with self-care first and are always trying to fix other’s problems first instead of their own. It’s just something everyone should be mindful of. Check out our book club’s thoughts and review!

Favorite Blog Post from 2020

I had a lot of fun blog posts this year but my hands-down favorite is Do Book Translators Deserve More Credit? I wrote this post for Women in Translation Month. Besides discussing the main question, I also provided a list of books written by women and translated by women. This list inspired Kevin to read The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz, a book he had never heard of before that article. I think it’s safe to say, it’s every blogger’s dream to inspire someone to read, especially someone close to them. Check out my full article and Kevin’s review of The Queue.

Favorite Part About Blogging in 2020

My favorite part about book blogging this year was discussing books with all of my friends and family! We started Quill Quotes Book Club this year and it’s been amazing! We initially started it to give people something to do during the shutdown. Reading is so much more fun when you have someone to discuss with. It’s also really fun researching genres and books to read next. Everyone is welcome to join! Check out the Quill Quotes Book Club Page!

Favorite Story for 2020

It’s always hard to pick my favorite story of the year. I’m pretty picky about giving out 5 stars. My average rating for the year was 3.8. Most of my reads were 3 or 4 stars. They were all pretty good minus a few.

My absolute favorite this year was an Audible Original Audiobook. Thicker than Water: the Untold Story of the Theranos Whistleblower by Tyler Schultz is narrated by Tyler himself and explains the true story of how he helps take down Elizabeth Holmes and her fraudulent biomedical company. I liked this audiobook so much because I work in a laboratory so everything is very relevant to what I do on a daily basis. I HIGHLY recommend this audiobook to anyone who works in a laboratory or in the biomedical field. There is also an HBO documentary about Theranos that is decent.

2020 Goals

My Goodreads goal for 2020 was to read 12 books and listen to 12 audiobooks for a total of 24 books. I ended up finishing 31 books in 2020! I listened to 15 audiobooks and read 16 books! One of my other goals was to keep up with writing my reviews. That did not happen, I was good for a couple of months but I learned I can either keep up with my reading goal or stick to my writing goal but it’s hard to do both. I did not stick with my Spanish goal either. Last year, I read 3 children’s books in Spanish and this year I only read 1.

2020 Statistics

I used a spreadsheet this year to keep track of my reading. Kal from Reader Vocarious made the spreadsheet and it has awesome formulas to make cute charts for you! She made another spreadsheet for 2021 too and I am definitely going to use it again! Easily download her spreadsheet here. Let’s look at my stats!

2021 Goals

For my reading goals for 2021, I am going to keep my Goodreads goal at 24 books. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself so I can’t do other things. I tend to like to write more articles like this or about guides anyway so I don’t want to force myself to focus only on reviews either. Also, I want to work on reading books we already own too. We will also continue Quill Quotes Book Club as long as people are still interested.

Final Thoughts for My 2020 Blog Recap and 2021 Goals

This year had some really high highs and low lows. My life is pretty busy with work at the moment but I hope Kevin and I continue to read and blog in 2021! Cheers to the new year and whatever that may bring!

I hope you enjoyed my 2020 Blog Recap and 2021 Goals. We would love to hear your thoughts about our blog to help us grow and expand what we do. Do you have a favorite article or certain types of articles you’d like to see from us more? Please, if you like our blog give us a like or a share on your favorite social media platform.

How was your year? What was your favorite book you read this year?