It’s that time, squiders! Every year, I round up the books I read the year before and run statistics, because I am a nerd and I like them.
(As always, if you’d read something really great recently that you think I’d like, please let me know!)
I read 55 books this year, which may be the most ever (since I started tracking in…2010? 2009?), mostly because I read 10 books in December. (Most of which were Christmas mysteries.) It turns out that when you have no computer access you find other ways to use your time.
Onward!
Books Read in 2019: 55
Change from 2018: +5
Of those*:
17 were Mystery
13 were Fantasy
5 were Science Fiction
4 were General Literature
4 were Nonfiction
4 were Romance
3 were Children’s
1 was an Anthology
1 was Horror
1 was a Play
1 was Science Fantasy
1 was Young Adult
*Some genre consolidation was done here. YA or MG titles went into the general genre. All subgenres of fantasy or romance, for example, also went into the general genre.
I listened to a single audiobook again this year (It was The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner while I was trapped in the car with my children) but the format still isn’t working for me.
New genre(s)**: romance, children’s, anthology, play, young adult
Genres I read last year that I did not read this year: short story collections, dystopian, satire
**This means I didn’t read them last year, not that I’ve never read them.
Genres that went up: mystery, fantasy
Genres that went down: science fiction, nonfiction, horror
I read a ton of mysteries this year, goodness.
18 were my books
37 were library books
(This is backwards from normal, and also a bit of a problem, I say as I look around and all the books in my house I have yet to read.)
46 were physical books
8 were ebooks
1 was an audiobook
Average rating: 3.54/5
Top rated:
Howl’s Moving Castle (4.5 – children’s fantasy)
Once Upon a River (4.3 – general literature)
Gemina (4 – science fiction)
I am Princess X (4 – young adult)
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh (4 – children’s)
Howl’s and Winnie the Pooh are re-reads, of course, except this time I was reading them to someone, which changes things a lot, actually.
Honorable mentions of 3.9: Dark Shores (YA fantasy), Wyrd Sisters (fantasy), Witch Week (children’s fantasy)
Most recent publication year: 2019
Oldest publication year: 1904
Average publication year: 2002
Books older than 1900: 0
Books newer than (and including) 2014: 29
A lot of newer books again, so good job me!
And, for future reference, the first book I read for the year was Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body (2012 – mystery/romance – 2/5), and the last I read was Aunt Dimity and the Heart of Gold (2019 – mystery – 3.5/5).
How did your reading go in 2019, squiders? Plans for 2020?
My reading plans continue to be 50 books a year (or a few more), but I’d like to read one library book sale book a month, and one writing and/or nonfiction book a month, to get through my stashes.
