As the year comes to a close, I like to check-in on my reading goals, look at some stats about the books I read, and reflect on my reading throughout the year.
Reading Challenges Review
This year my first challenge was to read 50 books, and I surpassed that by reading 97 books.
My second challenge was to tackle a long series, which I designated as Throne of Glass. I got halfway through that series and decided it wasn't for me. I also wanted to read five completed series from start to finish, and I did fulfill that. The full series I read were these:
1. The Shades of Magic Trilogy by V. E. Schwab
2. The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
3. The Steelheart Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
4. The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin
5. The Lightbringer Series by Brent Weeks
My third challenge was to complete my self-made Read-My-Own-Books Challenge to help me reduce my TBR, and I finished that as well. Here are the challenge prompts and the books I read to fulfill them:
1. Read a book that has been on my TBR the longest.
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
2. Read my most recently acquired book.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
3. Read an advanced copy (ARC) of a book.
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
4. Read a book that has a screen adaption.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
5. Read a popular backlist book.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
6. Read a book by an author I've never read before.
The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
7. Read a book by an author that I love.
Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds by Brandon Sanderson
8. Finish or catch up on all series I've started but haven't finished yet.
Starsight (Skyward, Book 2) by Brandon Sanderson
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
9. Start and finish a new series.
The Shades of Magic trilogy by V. E. Schwab: A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of
Shadows, A Conjuring of Light
10. Let my husband pick out a book for me to read.
The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
I also had a list of standalone books I wanted to read, and I had the goal to catch up on all of Brandon Sanderson's books. I won't list them all out here, but I read almost everything on that list, plus I read 16 of Sanderson's short stories or novellas and 8 of his books, leaving me with just the Stormlight Archive, the Wheel of Time, Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, and The Rithmatist to have read all of his works. I knew I wouldn't get to TSA or WoT this year, but I did expect to have time for his others.
To see a list of all the books I read in 2019, check out my Goodreads page.
Yearly Statistics
Number of books I read in 2019: 97
Number of those books that I listened to on audio: 36
Number of books I read from my TBR: 46
Number of books I read that were published this year: 27
Number of series I started: 12
Number of series I completed: 7
Number of books I DNFed: 3
Number of books I reread: 7
Number of books I acquired in 2019: 162
Number of books I unhauled in 2019: 69
Number of books on my TBR at the beginning of 2019: 297
Number of books on my TBR at the end of 2019: 350
Books I read that were . . .
Middle Grade: 12.4%
Young Adult: 25.7%
Adult: 61.9%
Graphic Novels: 11%
2019 Releases: 28%
On My TBR: 47%
Star Ratings:
1 star: 2 books
2 stars: 14 books
3 stars: 18 books
4 stars: 38 books
5 stars: 25 books
Reading Survey
Favorite book of the year: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Least favorite book of the year: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Most surprising book of the year: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Most disappointing book of the year: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Longest book of the year: The Burning White by Brent Weeks (992 pages)
Shortest book of the year: Dreamer by Brandon Sanderson (21 pages)
Book that was on my TBR the longest: I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak (8 years)
Biggest accomplishment: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Most read genre: Fantasy (74%)
Reading Reflections
I discovered lots of new authors I want to follow (Brent Weeks, Taylor Jenkins Reid (didn't discover her this year but solidified her as one of my favorite authors), N. K. Jemisin, Victoria Schwab, Katie O'Neill, etc.), I read a lot of great fantasy and solidified that as my favorite genre and really honed in my reading tastes, I read a lot of books from my TBR and also got rid of a lot of TBR books that I'm no longer interested in reading. I managed to read almost all of my unread books by Brandon Sanderson, my favorite author, so hopefully next year I will be able to make more progress on that goal. Even though I read 46 books from my TBR and removed 69 books, I acquired 160 books this year, so my TBR is even bigger now at 348 books. That's the hazard of working at both a bookstore and a library, I suppose, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
It has been a great year of reading and discovering new authors and immersing myself even more in fantasy novels. I can't wait to see what reading adventures next year holds for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment