We are in the final hours of 2012. I think I can safely look at my reading stats and know they are not going to change. So, how did I do?
It has definitely been a yo-yo year on the reading front. Moving and the chaos that resulted from it really did put a crimp in my overall reading, and I struggled to find my mojo after that. I was shooting for 200 books.; I only made it to 163. Yes, I know that is still good. Silly of me to be upset about this!
So here is how those 163 books broke down:
- I had no problems focusing on female authors – 106 female authors versus 56 male authors. Girl power!
- I spent a total of 23.2 days listening to my 39 audiobooks.
- This was not my year for Young Adult novels. I only read 29 YA novels this year. I definitely want to remedy this next year.
- I love my science/paranormal/speculative fiction. At 52 books, it was my most-read genre.
- I changed my focus midway through the year to try to decrease the total number of review copies I have. This was definitely reflected in my numbers as 61.5 percent of the books I read this year were review copies. Thankfully, this means I should be able to focus on reading my ever-growing bookshelves in 2013!
- As you can imagine with reading so many review copies, most of the books I read were published in 2012. To mirror this, the books I read were on my TBR pile for an average of 173.9 days.
- I have my favorite authors, but this was not the year I read them. I managed to read works from 101 new-to-me authors. Nice!
When it is all said and done, I might not have met my reading goal that I initially hoped to meet, but I read a lot of great books and managed to decimate my pile of review copies. I can end 2012 feeling very satisfied at that.
Speaking of great books, which ones were my favorite? In no particular order, here they are:
- A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King
- Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
- It by Stephen King
- American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
- The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
- Redshirts by John Scalzi
- The Round House by Louise Erdrich
- The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
Interestingly enough, all but two of those making my best-of list were not review copies. More proof that 2013 is going to be all about non-review copies!
With this, I am officially calling 2012 over. Have a great New Year’s Eve and see you next year!
I hope you get to those in 2013. They were such great books!
So many great books on your best-of list!!! There are a number of them there that I really want to read as well, including Gone Girl and 11/22/63! 2013 will be the year for both hopefully!
Thanks, Wendy! Yes, I shouldn't be so upset. It was never a hard and concrete goal. And yes, the books I read this past year were for the most part truly excellent. I can't complain about that at all.
Have a great 2013!
It's hard not to be at least a little disappointed when you were hoping to read more, but I have to say you did quite well considering the move and all else you had going on! It looks like you had a great reading year. A Discovery of Witches! Yay! I enjoyed that one too. I am looking forward to the third book coming out. The Fault in Our Stars and Gone Girl look like they should be must reads given how favorites lists they made!
I hope you have a great New Year! Happy reading!
Wow. No one has wanted to be me before! 😉
You can do it!
I wanna be you in 2013. Read more, and read more women!
You are absolutely correct that getting to 200 is no big deal. And yes, 61.5% review copies is very high. Next year should be completely different as I really do only have less than 20 review copies left, and 10 of those are for 2013. I don't feel a sense of obligation so much as disappointment that they are keeping me from the books I purchased with the intent to read. I will get there soon enough though!
LOL! I know. I miss the interactions too. It was so much fun discussing books simultaneously with each other.
Thanks, Lindsey!
I would have to say that it is a toss-up between Gillian Flynn and Deborah Harkness and Stephen King. This was the first year I've read any of their novels and loved every one of them.
I read most of you best of list and agree that they are great reads. You read A LOT of books so not getting to 200 is not such a big deal. I barely got to 100. And 61.5% review copies? YOWZA! That seems really high to me — I guess because I've pretty much stopped accepting review copies. I hate that feeling of obligation.
IT didn't make my list but only because it was a re-read for me.
So glad that we'll be starting #shineon soon. I am getting all twitchy without the daily conversations.
163 is a fantastic count! I am quite impressed. 🙂
It's wonderful to have the ability to discover new authors while knowing that you can always fall back on the writers you know and love, isn't it? Who was your favorite new author this year?
Most of my favorites were released in prior years. EIther that means I need to focus on non-review copies or I wasn't impressed with the review copies I did receive (and I need to do a better job of picking and choosing what I accept). 😉
Thank you so much, Chris! I'm glad you liked what you saw and decided to hang around with me. I try to be fun but thorough and always honest. I hope you continue to enjoy my thoughts!
I will be checking out your site shortly.
Thanks, Jen! 2013 is going to be great!
Happy New Year!
Yes, I think once I get through my current list, I'll be cutting back on review copies even more than I did in 2012. I have too many other books that deserve my attention.
I hear you on review copies. That was what made them languish on my shelves for so long; some of them I have had since 2009. I just made the decision that this year I was going to get through the backlog and only accept review copies for books that truly excited me and made me want to read it immediately. Once I did that, I was able to plow through them with little resentment and almost no effort. I was also able to seriously decrease the number of review copies I received throughout the year. I still have a few more to go on the backlog and my list of review copies for 2013 is relatively small so far. I really want to be done with them all by March, an achievable goal I think.
Thanks, Belle! I always strive for a balanced review because I know I am only one opinion and my personal experiences are skewing my reactions to the book. I like knowing that I am making a difference in someone's reading.
Have a very Happy New Year!
I can't wait to see your list! I know it is going to add to my wish list.
I was pleasantly surprised that so many of my favorites were oldies but goodies. I know that I read quite a few books that made others' Best of lists, but I wasn't their biggest fan. It just goes to show you how diverse we are.
Enjoy Gone Girl! As long as no one has given away any of the plot, I think you will be blown away.
Happy New Year!
Thanks, Marce! I know I read more than most but not as much as others.
The Shepherd by Ethan Cross? I'll be checking it out shortly!
Happy New Year!
It is, isn't it? I think the surprises throughout the novel just blew everyone away. It's one of the few books about which I still remain passionate and excited when I think about it.
Hi Michelle, just stopping by to say how delightful your blog is. Thanks so much for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris http://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.c…
You had a great year of reading Michelle, way to go 🙂 On to 2013 and even more fab books!
I didn't read many of my favs this year either.
I feel ya. I prefer non review copies too.
I'm impressed that 61% of your books were review copies. I haven't had the best luck with review copies and sort of gave them up all together. I feel like I'm working a part-time job when I read review copies and then reading becomes a chore. I've enjoyed your blog this past year. Your reviews are always so thorough and you make me want to read faster and more! Happy New Year!
Ooh, you made me remember a couple of things that I left out of my post. I'm not posting it until tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to finish anything else today either.
I loved 11/22/63 too – and I'll be reading Gone Girl soon. And quite a few of the others on your list as I usually don't get to the 2012 releases until much later.
Yaaaaay you did great. I knew you read a lot but almost 200, whooooah.
I have to recommend The Shepherd by Ethan Cross to you, I thought he was the worst serial killer, brutal for sure, it made me remember the Psycho discussion, I must read that one next year. Fault in the Stars made my list and a Kate Morton is a must try next year too.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
I loved Gone Girl too. It's making everyone's best-of list this year! 🙂