Chris Hughes
- Mar 25, 2021
- 2 min read

12 Books I Want to Read in 2021

Updated: May 12, 2021

My compulsion for catchy titles wants so badly to make this “21 Books I Want to Read in 2021”. But alas, for the past two years I have set a reading goal and I have failed miserably each time. Two years ago I set it at 24 books, two a month, a very attainable goal I thought. I think I read five. Last year I recalibrated and set a goal for 12, still only reading seven.

This is the year though. I can feel it. I’ve been on quite a journey of self-improvement (something I didn’t even believe in until now). I’ve learned how making a little time every day for something you want to do can really add up. So this is the year. And if not…well then maybe next year.

I will note that many of my friends have taken up lists to read more authors who are female and voices of people of color. This is an amazing thing to do. While I am putting thought into reading more diverse voices, this is not based on that kind of list. So please forgive me if this is not as diverse of a list as it ought to be.

I also think it’s important to say that I came up with the idea to make this list, hoping that it would help me achieve my goal. I believe that part of my struggle in accomplishing this goal is that it is not specific enough. Instead of saying “I want to read 12 books” I am changing my goal to say “I want to read these 12 books.” Doing so I hope will get me excited about what’s next on the reading list and increase my ambition to read, rather than waiting for an interesting book to come along. These are books I think are important to read at this time and that I hope will make me a more well-rounded and thoughtful person.

Without further ado, here is my list:

A Promised Land by Barack Obama (currently reading)