Hi,

Its been a while, i’m still here and i am still growing in my own way.

This year i focused on trying to grow my Instagram community and so i was more active there than wordpress and twitter combined. Plus there’s the added unwanted bonus of Twitter being banned in my country and so i have to result to using VPN’s which is annoying because it affects my network…fuck the government i guess!

This year, i got into Thrifting books and i found stores are affordable and they deliver fast! Some of them are Hazel Books, Novel_collection , Miras Bookshelf and Book corner. I am currently building my Terry Pratchet Collection and they have all contributed to it.

I read 89 books this year, initially my aim this year was 52 Big books however , i’mma blame Jeff Bezos for this one because i got a kindle unlimited deal for six months and then i got stuck in my in their library, oops! Even though i planned on reading more Physical books this year i ended up reading only five ( we would get to that soon). I also planned to do some rereads and i did i reread six books that i loved again. I also read loads of comics, and manga’s and manhwa’s.

I discovered new authors, Clio Evans, Opal Fairchild and C.m Nacousta and Elise Winters and forthright this year all in the ever so loving genre of monster lovers….a.k.a Monster erotica, new kinks unlocked!

Because we are humans and we all love lists ( I do!), here a list of my rereads and top books to round up this year.

Rereads

1. A Guy walks into my Bar ( Audio)
2. Master of Crows by Grace Draven ( Audio and E-book read along)
3. Grim; A Grim Holiday ( Book 1 and 1.5)
4. The Quarterback by Mackenzie Blair
5. Remy by Katy Evans
6. Circle by Zi Ying Wang

Top Reads for 2021 ( In no particular order)

1. Nearly all the men in Lagos are mad by Damilare Kuku
2. Heartstopper Volume 1-4 by Alice Oseman
3. Tsumiko and the Ensalved fox
4. The Awakening by Nora Roberts
5. The secret lives of Church ladies by Deesha Philyaw
6. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
7. A guy walks into my bar by Lauren Blakely
8. That can be arranged by Huda Fahmy
9. Maverick by Aiden Bates
10. Creature Cafe series by Clio Evans
11. The Guild Codex: Spell Bound by Annette Marie ( Currently on Book five i don’t want it to ever end)

Physical Books I read

1. Heartstopper vol 1-4 by Alice Oseman : These were a birthday present to myself
2. The awakening by Nora Roberts ( The Dragon Heart Legacy Book 1)

Thats it for the physical books and yes. I still bought more physical books this year…FML

Speaking of Collections, As previously stated i have started building a collection of authors i love or i am interested in reading, here are some i have so far

1. Nnedi Okorafor ( to know me is to know i lovw this woman)
2. Laini Taylor ( She Introduced me to Nnedi okorafor and her books are bangers)
3. Terry Pratchet: heard great things and i want to start reading next month if anyone has any idea on the order please let me know.
4. Terry Brooks: heard so much about the sword of Shanara and i want to read it
5. Robert Jordan, the wheel of time i am curious
6. N.K Jemisin another author i hope to fully dive into next year
7. Robin Hobb: dear lord please let me remember to pick this up in 2022 i have heard nothing but good things

There are other authors i would like to start collecting their physical books , like Kristen Banet and Annette Marie and Kennedy Ryan but right now the exchange rate of the naira is making me want to cry and so i will have to wait a bit.

Life

This year i was determined as fuck to change, my last prayer of 2020 was Dear God I don’t want to end 2021 as a royal mess like i have been since the time i came back home late 2017. And i am happy i put my back into it, spiritually i am more at peace and learning more about God and gradually loosing my religion. Mentally i am in a much better place than i was, i started letting go of loads of baggage i was carrying and letting go of the ‘ this is where i should be’ and the ‘i want to go back to how i was before the depression and anxiety set in’ and also, how and when things should be done. I let go of all of that this year and honestly, its been a relief. I reconnected with old friends and went to a wedding, met cool people and just vibed!

I also got a job this year..hazzah, adult money to buy more books yaayy!

This year i made a decision to really connect with my body and health, although that came with bouts of body dysmorphia and health scares. I am glad i got the results and did the work to understand my body. I realized that growing we are never really taught to appreciate the female body and understand its inner workings, it was always viewed as a taboo or just biology business. I got the flo app for tracking periods and it is the most informative app ever, they address loads of topics and its easy to understand and digest, i highly recommend this app for all women. This is a journey i am glad i started. Also i got into supplements this year and here are some i am currently taking

( please see a doctor and do your research properly if you are interested in any of them)

1. Altrient Liposomal vitamin c ( saved my stomach from ulcer due to an NSAID pain killer i took)
2. Evening primrose oil
3. Maca Powder
4. Cranberry
5. Codliver Oil ( Liquid, because i am a sadist)
6. Probiotics ( both pill form and food form)

Love

I just had some weird interactions with people this year, i hope to avoid all the weirdos next year! I love my peace though!

Expectations for next year

I am just going to pray and go with the flow as always.

Thank you for reading this so far. I Pray the new year would bring in peace and prosperity for you and more blessings and good health for you and your family.

Be Brave this coming new year, you might just surprise yourself.

As always,

Nelo- The Booked Unicorn