Last year, I read less books (29 vs 36) and more graphic novels (67 vs 59) than the previous year. I read a lot of the books using the Hoopla and Libby apps from my local library. I also buy books in the Barnes and Noble Nook app and from Thriftbooks.

The books I enjoyed the most were

• The Legend of Auntie Po - Graphic Novel

From Goodreads: Part historical fiction, part magical realism, and 100 percent adventure. Thirteen-year-old Mei reimagines the myths of Paul Bunyan as starring a Chinese heroine while she works in a Sierra Nevada logging camp in 1885. Aware of the racial tumult in the years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Mei tries to remain blissfully focused on her job, her close friendship with the camp foreman's daughter, and telling stories about Paul Bunyan--reinvented as Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), an elderly Chinese matriarch.

People are frightened by people who are not like them. Mei and her father overcome this by being good friends and good people in general in spite of how others treated them. It is a great tale of how we should not let the behavior of others ruin our outlook and how we respond to them.

• Radiant Black vol 1 - Graphic Novel

I bought this book at Gulf Coast Cosmos Comics which is a small comic shop in Houston. A short summary from Goodreads: When Nathan Burnett hits rock bottom and has to move back in with his parents, he finds a strange orb and becomes Radiant Black, a cosmic super hero... The origin story is not that unusual, but the characters are diverse and the action is great. The first volume hints at bigger things to come and having read volumes 2 and 3, it does.

• Squire - Graphic Novel

From Goodreads: Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It's the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship. Ravaged by famine and mounting tensions, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again, so Aiza can finally enlist in the competitive Squire training program. It's not how she imagined it, though. Aiza must navigate new friendships, rivalries, and rigorous training under the unyielding General Hende, all while hiding her Ornu background. As the pressure mounts, Aiza realizes that the "greater good" that Bayt-Sajji's military promises might not include her, and that the recruits might be in greater danger than she ever imagined. Aiza will have to choose, once and for all: loyalty to her heart and heritage, or loyalty to the Empire.

A great story of trying to live your dream to better your life, finding out the dream is not what you expected. Choices have to be made to follow what you are told or what you feel in your heart is the right thing.

• I'm Possible by Richard Antoine White

This is the amazing story of Richard White who overcame homelessness, poverty and multiple trials to graduate with a PhD in tuba performance. He was homeless in Baltimore for the first 5 years of his life. He was taken in by adoptive parents. Through his own inner drive and the love and kindness of others, he graduated from Indiana University with a PhD in tuba. The story is super inspiring and highly recommended.You do not need any type of a music background to enjoy and understand the story.

• Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph by Jan Swafford

Being a music major, I knew Beethoven, but had never dived deep into his life. He went deaf much earlier than I previously knew. He had a multitude of health issues and was an icon that people sought out to meet and hear him play. He was a master improviser. The book goes deep into his music which I enjoyed.