Happy 2022, squiders! As always, to start the year off, we look at what I read last year. (Been tracking since 2009 or 2010, something, yadda yadda, etc.)
(Also I should be back to my twice a week schedule now. We’ll see.)
(Also also I did finally get my outlining workshop SkillShare class all fixed. It’s here.)
Anyway, on to the stats!
Books Read in 2021: 50
Change from 2020: -9
I did a lot of reading in 2020, mostly because I couldn’t focus on anything else. I’d say we were more at normal reading levels in 2021.
Of those*:
9 were Mystery
7 were Fantasy
7 were Nonfiction
5 were short story collections
4 were Dystopian
4 were General Literature
4 were Romance
3 were Science Fiction
2 were Memoir
1 was Alternative History
1 was a Fairy Tale retelling
1 was Historical fiction
1 was a story sampler
1 was a tie-in
*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.
No audiobooks this year. Though we did listen to one–I apparently just didn’t write it down.
New genre(s)**: alt history, fairy tale retelling, dystopian, historical fiction, memoir, short story collection, story sampler, tie-in
Genres I read last year that I did not read this year: children’s, adventure, Gothic horror, horror, a play, science fiction noir, spy novel
**This means I didn’t read them last year, not that I’ve never read them.
Genres that went up: general literature
Genres that went down: mystery, fantasy, nonfiction, romance, science fiction
I think I read a broader swath of genres this past year. Plus a bunch of short story collections.
14 were my books
36 were library books
Oof. I must stop getting out so many books from the library and read my own books instead.
53 were physical books
11 were ebooks
Of note, almost every book of my own that I read was an ebook. Only the Uglies trilogy wasn’t. Also a problem.
Average rating: 3.59/5
Top rated:
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstein (fantasy – 4.5)
Totto-chan (memoir – 4.4)
Unfettered (SFF short story anthology – 4)
Solutions and Other Problems (memoir – 4)
Take a Look at the Five and Ten (general literature – 4)
The House in the Cerulean Sea (fantasy – 4)
More in my normal categories this year, though the memoirs are a surprise.
Honorable mentions of 3.9: Twas the Knife Before Christmas (mystery), Operation Moonglow (nonfiction)
Most recent publication year: 2021
Oldest publication year: 1896
Average publication year: 2013
Books older than 1900: 1
Books newer than (and including) 2016: 36
In theory reading newer books helps you see which way the markets are trending.
The first book I read this year was The Best American Mystery Stories 2020, edited by C.J. Box (mystery short story collection) and the last was Deck the Donuts by Ginger Bolton (mystery).
Read anything great last year, squiders? I’ve already read something good this year–This is How You Lose the Time War. Definitely recommend.
