As you probably know, Squiders, the left-brained side of me likes to keep statistics on each book I read in a year. This includes publication year, genre, and a rating out of 5. And then, at the end of the year, I look back through my list and look at trends.
I’ve been doing this for…five years now, I think, with the goal to read at least 50 books a year. The biggest thing that seems to change from year to year is which genres I’m reading, and in what amounts. Last year, for example, I went on a major mystery binge and ended up reading 19 mysteries in 2013. Fantasy, science fiction, and mystery are generally my top three genres, though they vary in amount and order.
This year, I also kept track of non-novel substantial things I read, which includes novel-length fanfiction, graphic novels, literature magazines (ones full of stories), and manga. I did not include those in these stats, as it was more an exercise to see if I was reading a bunch of non-novel stuff and, if so, what it was, but I read 11 of those, including 3 fanfics, 4 graphic novels, 2 manga series, 1 fantasy magazine and a collection of comics that were frankly terrible.
And, to start the new year off, I’m starting The Hobbit, which I’ve never successfully read all the way through despite owning the book in multiple languages and having tried at least a dozen times.
But, anyway, on to the stats!
Books read in 2014: 50
Change from 2013: no change
Of those:
16 were Fantasy (includes all age ranges, subgenres)
8 were Science Fiction
7 were Mystery
6 were Nonfiction
5 were General Literature
3 were Historical Fiction
1 was Christian Literature
1 was a Crime Procedural
1 was Mythology
1 was a Short Story Collection
1 was Steampunk
Wow. It’s been a long time since my three favorite genres were at the top in the correct order.
New genre(s): Steampunk, Crime Procedural, Short Story Collection, Christian Literature
Genres I read last year that I did not read this year: Romance, Thriller, Children’s, Magical Realism, Gothic
Genres that went up: Fantasy, Science Fiction, General Literature, Historical Fiction, Nonfiction
Genres that went down: Mystery
26 were my books
19 were library books
4 were borrowed from friends/family
1 was read online
38 were real books
12 were virtual/ebooks
Average Rating: 3.35
Top Rated:
Assassin’s Apprentice (4.5 – fantasy)
To Say Nothing of the Dog (4.3 – science fiction)
The Twistrose Key (4.2 – MG fantasy)
Foundation (4 – science fiction)
Hornblower and the Hotspur (4 – historical fiction)
Red Rising (4 – science fiction)
The Winter Witch (4 – fantasy)
Most recent publication year: 2014
Oldest publication year: 712 (haha, that’s going to skew everything)
Average publication year: 1963 (1988 without the 712 one)
Books older than (and including) 1900: 3
Books newer than (and including) 2012: 18
Did you read anything amazing in 2014, Squiders? I am going to try and limit the amount of library books I’m reading in an attempt to make a dent in the books I have sitting around the house, but I’m always up for recs.
And happy 2015, everyone! Let’s get out there and do what we want to get done!
