Last year was the first year I started tracking how many books I read per author in a given year, and I find the resulting stats really interesting. It’s fun to try to predict my most-read authors of the year and how that could change next year, and what factors go into determining which authors top my list. I think I predicted my most-read author of 2021 back in 2020, since she’s a romance author with a substantial backlist that I started getting into towards the end of the year, but several other authors who appear on my most-read list were new-to-me in 2021 and therefore definitely not predicted.

Let’s get into my most-read authors of 2021!

Winner: Lucy Parker – 4 books!

Lucy Parker writes contemporary romance, and in 2021 I read 3 books in her London Celebrities series, which is set around London’s West End theater community, and her newest release, which is a take on a Great British Baking Show-esque competition with a royal connection.

Tie: 3 books each

Talia Hibbert

I actually had predicted that contemporary romance author Talia Hibbert might tie Lucy Parker for my most-read author of 2021, but she ended up in second place instead. I plan to read even more from her in 2022!

Claire Contreras

Claire Contreras was a new-to-me author in 2021; she’s an indie author who writes in many different genres of romance. The books I picked up from her last year included Gothic romance and dark academia combined with romantic suspense.

Tie: 2 books each

Naomi Novik

You’d think that I’d have more authors like Novik on this list, where they make the most-read authors list because I discover a new series. I wouldn’t say I did a lot of series reading in 2021, but I definitely became obsessed with Novik’s Scholomance series.

Carol Anderson

It’s not common for me to pick up multiple nonfiction books from one author in a given year, but that’s what ended up happening with Carol Anderson, another new-to-me author.

Juliette Cross

Juliette Cross made this list last year as well, because she writes and publishes her books in the Stay a Spell series quite quickly and I immediately need to read them because I love this series so much.

Alexis Hall

I fell in love with Hall’s writing style after reading Boyfriend Material at the end of 2020, so I knew I wanted to pick up more of his work in 2021. Rosaline Palmer was one of my favorite romances of the year, but I wasn’t really a fan of Murder Most Actual.

Ilona Andrews

Ilona Andrews is one of my favorite authors, so I was glad I had 2 new releases of theirs to read in 2021. Both are parts of series, with Blood Heir being the first book in a spinoff series of one of my favorite series of all time.

Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers has written a few books I’d consider favorites, so I picked up her 2 newest books in 2021. Unfortunately, neither will be making any of my favorites lists.

Annabeth Albert

I was intrigued by Conventionally Yours, a nerdy contemporary romance by a new-to-me author, and enjoyed it so much that I also picked up Albert’s 2022 release, Out of Character.

Matt Haig

I’d had Matt Haig’s books on my TBR for years before I finally picked them up in 2021; I thought that Reasons to Stay Alive was a really important and empathetic read, but I didn’t really like The Humans.

 

Predictions for my most-read authors of 2022!

It’s hard to make predictions right at the beginning of a reading year, but last year I did a pretty good job anticipating that Lucy Parker and Talia Hibbert would make my 2021 list, so I’m going to give it a try. Also, it’ll be fun to see how right or wrong I am a year from now!

There are several authors I think I’ll probably read 2 books from in 2022:

Sarah J. Maas – I’m about halfway done with ACOSF right now, and I’d be pretty surprised if I didn’t end up picking up her 2022 release, the second book in her Crescent City series, this year.

Talia Hibbert – I really like her, and I want to read even more from her in 2022, including the first book in her new Skybriar series that will hopefully be released this year.

And for my prediction for my most-read author of 2022…

Alexis Hall!

(2 other Alexis Hall 2022 releases, Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble and A Lady for a Duke, don’t have covers yet)

I think Alexis Hall might be my most-read author of 2022 because he has so many new releases slated to come out this year. Of course, release dates are always subject to change, but if these all do come out I think there’s a really good chance I pick them all up within the year. I could always be wrong, though!

OR…

Ali Hazelwood!

Since Ali Hazelwood has 3 novellas and 1 novel planned to come out in 2022, and since she wrote my favorite romance of 2021, she also has a great chance of taking home the crown.