2019 Reading Stats
As usual, borrowed and modified from the sadly now discontinued Boston Bibliophile.
How many books read in 2019? 89, which is the most I've read in a year in my entire adult life, and totally busted last year's previous record of 73!
How many fiction and nonfiction? 69 fiction, 19 nonfiction, and 1 poetry
Male/female author ratio? 79 books by women and 10 by men
Writers of Color/Minority Writers? At least 10 books by writers of color, an additional 18 by Jewish writers (how fortuitous!), and at least two by LGBTQ writers that I know of
Favorite book of 2019? Wow, I don't know. I feel like this was at least three different years in my reading life. I loved the first book I read in 2019, How Long Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin. I loved Man Fast by Natasha Scripture, which I read in August, and feels like a million years ago. Most recently, I loved Embrace Your Weird by Felicia Day.
Longest and shortest books?
Longest: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, at 848 pages.
Shortest: Blue Horses by Mary Oliver, at 79 pages.
How many books from the library? 50! wow, I did a good job of that, even though I switched library systems this year.
Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?
Many versions of contemporary and/or fantastical and/or historical England; an alternate Napoleonic war with dragons version of every continent on Earth (Temeraire series); South Africa through the eyes of Trevor Noah; fictional Mughal India with dance magic (Empire of Sand); fictional Imperial Russia (Winternight trilogy); fictional versions of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East (Priory of the Orange Tree); a tidally locked planet (City in the Middle of the Night); 1940s New York City; occult rural Virginia (The Raven Cycle); fictionalized Nigeria (Children of Blood and Bone); and a couple fictional Asian-inspired countries (Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon, which is closer to a fictionalized China, and Girls of Paper and Fire, which seems inspired by the Chinese emperor's selection of wives, but otherwise its own thing.)
Any translated books?
The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, translated from Latin into contemporary English. I read an interpretive paraphrase by Sam Torode, which was quite accessible.
Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?
Seven books by Naomi Novik. I really whipped through the Temeraire series at the beginning of this year!
Any re-reads?
Yes, I reread the first two books of the His Dark Materials series as my last two reads of the year.
Favorite character of the year?
Oof. Um. Temeraire? And Lawrence. Also shout out to Anlei from Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon.
Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation?
Which author was new to you in 2019 that you now want to read the entire works of?
Maggie Stiefvater.
Which books are you annoyed you didn't read?
It would have been nice to finish off my His Dark Materials reread in 2019. Also, I really wanted to read Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell. Oh well. I'll get to them this year.
Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
Yes! I finally read Redemption in Indigo!
How many books did you read on your ereader?
Four. Better than last year.
Oldest book read? The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, written between 121-180 CE
Newest? Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater, published Nov. 5, 2019
How many SFF books did you read? 32. Wow. I've really upped the sff the past couple of years--escapism ftw.
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