Happy New Year Book Worms!
Do you track your reading? Are you a stats nerd?
It’s time to reflect on 2022 Reading Stats and set 2023 Reading Goals.

2022 Reading Stats and 2023 Goals

 

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Brace yourself for a nerdy post, bookaholics!

Have you ever set a reading goal or considered a reading challenge?

Reading in 2022

I’d love to hear from you if you analyze reading data at year’s end. Although I’ve always been analytical, I think my appreciation for using data to plan was heightened during my tenure as a teacher when I poured over student data to inform my teaching. Now, instead of looking at student achievement, I’m paying attention to my own numbers as it relates to reading achievement. I realize that while numbers are not that important in a rewarding reading life, they do reveal some trends and inform future reading choices. It’s important to me that I’m reading diversely, supporting women authors, and increasing my nonfiction percentage. While this post about the numbers is mostly a self-reflection, I hope you find it interesting and possibly motivating toward considering your own reading achievement during the past year and setting some goals for the New Year.

If you’ve read ONE book this year, you’re a reader and I encourage you to celebrate that read and accomplishment!

Blog Feedback

I’d also like to know (in comments) what you’d like to see more of or less of on the blog for 2023. Has the variety this year been satisfactory for you?

2022 has been another challenging year, but I’m also so grateful for wonderful books and delightful bookish conversation! Thank you to each of my followers and visitors! Thanks for the views, comments, and shares! I appreciate EACH one!

Best of 2022

See this post for my list of especially satisfying reads in 2022.
My official Top Ten List will be published on January 3.

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Let’s Talk Numbers!

Total Books Read: 123

Remember….it’s really not about the numbers! It’s about the enjoyment of reading.

This number is up a bit from last year, but as long as I’m above 100 I’m satisfied. I averaged 25-30 books a year when I was teaching full time and the majority of those were read during the summer. For me in this season of life, 100 books is a comfortable number. I average two books per week and the weeks when I can only read one dense nonfiction or a 500+ page fiction are balanced out later when I can read 3 lighter, shorter books in one week. Pictured below is a Goodreads generated summary for 2022.

 

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Books Abandoned (DNF): 11

I’m getting better at knowing my reading tastes and passing on books/genres that I know won’t be to my taste. Although eleven is my official DNF number, this does not take into account the books I abandoned after reading only a few paragraphs or pages and didn’t bother to record. I’m not reluctant to abandon books that aren’t working for me. There are too many great books waiting to be read to make myself finish something that isn’t right for me at the time. Related Posts: My Love Hate Relationship With DNF. Confessions From an Outlier.

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Women Authors: 115! (93%)

One of my goals in starting this blog is to support women authors writing about strong women and I feel like I’ve had success in this area. We’ve certainly come a long way since the days when women had to publish under a man’s name!

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Authors of Color: 8

 Reading and promoting authors of color is one of my primary reading objectives, and I’ve really fallen short this year. I can’t give a reason, except that there were not that many books that matched my reading tastes. Another contributing factor is that the publishers or the publicity teams that offer ARCs are not promoting enough authors of color. The few I read were wonderful reads (two ended up on my best of year list), so in my mind the number was inflated. That’s why tracking is important….data reveals the reality. Hopefully, next year will show improvement. Three of my fav stories this year by authors of color include The Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe, The Thread Collectors by Edwards and Richman, and The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb.

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Sources:

One stat I enjoy tracking each year is the percentage of books from various sources.

Library = 24 (20%)
ARC (advanced readers copy from the publisher) = 61 (50%)
Own = 38 (30%)

 70% of my books are free! Great kindle deals help me buy books to own.

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Stars:

Forty-three 4.5-5 Star Reads
(WOW! highly recommended, memorable)
Fifty-three 4 Star Reads
(very good read)
Twenty 3-3.5 Star Reads
(just OK, no WOW factor, mixed bag)
Seven 2 Star Reads
(not especially enjoyable but I finished or skimmed it)
1 Star
(usually my DNFs)

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Fiction: (Broken Down by Sub-Genre): 110

The sub-genres add up to more than 110 because a few books fall into more than one category.

Historical Fiction: 50
This is obviously a favorite sub-genre! Almost half of the fiction I read is historical. (Also, this is why I think I read more nonfiction than I do!) My favorite histfic this year is The Girl From Guernica by Karen Robards.

Literary Fiction: 8
This is a category that brings about some debate among readers….the most simple definition is that literary fiction is not genre fiction. Also, it’s usually character-driven and written to explore the meaning of life and its issues….for example, most prestigious award recipients and national prize winners are categorized as literary fiction. My favorite  literary fiction this year is The Winners by Fredrik Backman. Even though it has a page-turning plot, there is heavy character development and an emphasis on addressing some big issues in life.

Women’s Fiction: 45
Ever since the pandemic started, I’ve been reading more “women’s fiction.” There were months when these lighter, escapist reads were a balm to my pandemic brain! Again, a reader’s definition may vary….for me they are books in which most characters are women and the plot centers around women’s concerns and issues….some in this category are lighter reads that readers refer to as “beach reads” or “vacation reads.” One of my favorite lighter, escapist reads this year is The Christmas Castle in Scotland by Julie Caplin. There are also more and more women’s fiction/historical fiction mash ups. Two favorite women’s fiction/histfic mashups this year include The Next Ship Home by Heather Webb and The Sisters of Seaview by Julie Klassen.

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Science Fiction: 6
Clearly, I don’t read too much in this category because real life is scary enough. My go-to mystery read of the year is usually Louise Penny’s new installment of the Inspector Gamache series; however, this year’s content was too disturbing and I ended up skim reading it. Several of the histfic stories I read have sides of thriller such as The Girl From Guernica by Karen Robards and I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys (YA). Although I rarely read scifi, I did read a good Middle Grade scifi, A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga.

Issue Centered: 6
The main purpose of these stories is to focus on a certain issue. I usually enjoy these books unless they are heavily agenda driven by the author. My favorite title in this category is Hello Stranger by Katherine Center (living with a brain injury). Review coming soon.

Middle Grade: 5
I love a great Middle Grade read! There’s some enjoyable and engaging literature in this category for adults! Two of my favorites this year are A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus and A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga.

Young Adult: 3
I didn’t read in this category as much as in previous years. My favorite this year is I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys (which made my best of year list).

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Nonfiction (broken down into sub-genres): 13

My goal is to have a 20% nonfiction percentage. I’m far away from that goal. My favorite nonfiction reads in 2022 include The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield and Atomic Habits by James Clear.

Memoir/Biography: 2

Narrative Nonfiction: 2
Nonfiction written in story format.

Essay: 9

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Story Graph

You may have heard about Story Graph, an alternative book tracking app to Goodreads. I decided to use both Goodreads and Story Graph and compare them (a blog post here about the results). I remain undecided, so I’m still using both. Two delights of using Story Graph include the ability to use half stars and the neat charts and graphs. My Story Graph handle is reading_ladies_blog. Here are two of my 2022 charts/graphs:

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Let’s Consider New 2023 Goals

(please share yours in comments):

Goal 1:

Goodreads Reading Challenge (determine how many books you’d like to read and track them through the Goodreads app). This is the easiest of the goals/challenges as it simply involves setting a number. This number can be adjusted throughout the year if you are reading above or below your goal. I recommend setting a reasonable goal and then raising it if necessary. My goal is 100 books. I met this goal in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, and it’s reasonable that I will meet it again. Retirement helps tremendously! The 2023 Goodreads challenge will be available at the first of the year. Are we friends on Goodreads?

Goal 2:

I want to curate a satisfying reading life in which I read what I want, when I want! (Thus, no other challenges for me this year.) I’ve come to the conclusion that life is hard enough without adding book challenges.

My goals are simple: read at least 100 books in 2023, read widely and diversely, and increase my nonfiction percentage.

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What reading goals do you have for 2023?

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Happy New Year! I hope you’ve experienced some pleasurable and challenging reading in 2022 and are eagerly anticipating the reading year ahead!

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QOTD:

Did you meet your reading goal for 2022?

What is your 2023 Reading Goal?

Do you use a method for tracking your reads during the year?

Have you considered your best read of the year? My Top Ten List for 2022 will be published on January 3.

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Happy Reading Book Worms!

“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke

“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes

“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text

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