Blanche’s Book Club: 2021 Reading Guide!

Last year, I made a schedule of the books I was going to read each month because I set a goal to read books I already had on my shelf, but hadn’t read yet. Well, I did pretty good — even at the start of lockdown — until summer.

Then, I just wanted to read whatever I wanted and that also meant I bought a TON of books. But, I’m not mad at myself. I still read 69 books in 2020 and I bought all of my books from local shops that are women-owned.

For this year, I definitely want to tackle the books I have. But, I also am allowing myself to read library books (I am still using the Libby app so I’m not physically going to the library). I also pre-paid for a book subscription from a local shop, so each month, they send me a hand-selected book.

Whew, that’s a lot. But, I’ve written down three books to read each month. That isn’t enough for my goal of 75 books, so it’ll hopefully end up being the three books I planned, plus the subscription book, and a few library books.

Last year, I tried to plan my books seasonally, but this year, I just sort of slapped the list together. Here’s what I’ve got:

January

• “Admission” by Julie Buxbaum | YA
• “Present Over Perfect” by Shauna Niequist | Christian Living
• “You Are a Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero | Personal Finance

February

• “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention” by Manning Marable | American History
• “More Than Enough” by Elaine Welteroth | Memoir
• “Watch Us Rise” by Renee Watson | YA

March

• “The Wedding War” by Liz Talley | Fiction
• “The Royal We” by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan | Fiction
• “Buy Yourself the F*cking Lillies” by Tara Schuster | Humor

April

• “One More Croissant for the Road” by Felicity Cloake | Food & Wine
• “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” by Mariah Carey | Music
• “Everybody Rise” by Stephanie Clifford | Fiction

May

• “Love at First Like” by Hannah Orenstein | Fiction
• “Let Love Rule” by Lenny Kravitz | Memoir
• “The Editor” by Steven Rowley | Fiction

June

• “28 Summers” by Elin Hilderbrand | Fiction
• “East Coast Girls” by Kerry Kletter | Fiction
• “The Summer of Us” by Cecilia Vinesse | Fiction

July

• “Girls of Summer” by Nancy Thayer | Fiction
• “When Life Gives You Lululemons” by Lauren Weisberger | Fiction
• “Delancey” by Molly Wizenberg | Travel

August

• “All Adults Here” by Emma Straub | Fiction
• “The Imperfects” by Amy Meyerson | Fiction
• “The Worst Hard Time” by Timothy Egan | American History

September

• “A Good Neighborhood” by Therese Anne Fowler | Fiction
• “Hatching Twitter” by Nick Bilton | Finance
• “Lebron James” by David Lee Morgan Jr. | American History

October

• “A Knock at Midnight” by Brittany K. Barnett | American History
• “Fortune Favors the Dead” by Stephen Spotswood | Mystery
• “Picking Cotton” by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino | Memoir

November

• “Benjamin Franklin” by Walter Isaacson | Biography
• “Winter Garden” by Kristin Hannah | Fiction
• “Perestroika in Paris” by Jane Smiley | Fiction

December

• “The Beautiful Ones” by Prince | Memoir
• “A Week in December” by Sebastian Faulks |
• “Heartburn” by Nora Ephron | Humor

What books are you all looking forward to reading this year?

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