I was entering the 35 books I forgot to log into my dorky reading spreadsheet the other day and Ben simply said, “Serves you right.” 😀
So in case you thought we weren’t competitive about our reading challenges after all these years…well, we are.
The truth is that I read 85 books this year, 25 more than my Goodreads Challenge goal if you’re keeping track (clearly I wasn’t).
My belief is that it’s all thanks to audiobooks because I had a hell of a time concentrating in the quarantine world. I’m not entirely sure why. I would settle into bed with a book at night, suffer through a few pages, toss it aside, and pick up my phone.
Anyone else struggling like this?
In the meantime, I ran through audiobooks like a fiend, getting anxious when I finished one and immediately starting the next. They have been my only real and satisfying means of escape this year, a year when work got busier than ever and life got weirder than ever.
I completed my Master Gardener program in December and passed the test. Whoop!
But enough about me–how ’bout those books!
2020 Wrap-up and Nerdy Book Stats
Total books read: 85
Fiction: 51
Nonfiction: 34
Female authors: 70
Male Authors: 15
Nonbinary/Trans authors: 0 – Again. Gonna’ add some to my library holds immediately.
Non-white authors: 10 – Better than last year, but certainly not good enough.
E-books: 9
Audiobooks: 45 – A real record for me.
Re-reads: 9 – Started an official re-reading project in 2019 and kept on keeping on in 2020.
Most-read Genres
These numbers won’t add up to my total books read because some books fit into more than one category.
Memoir/Autobiograpy: 19
Classics: 15
Mystery/Thriller: 12
Historical Fiction: 7
Social Issues: 7
I do love a good memoir…
Other Genres I Read:
Self-help: 4
Fantasy/Magical Realism: 4
Spirituality: 2
Philosophy: 2
Psychology: 1
Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction/Dystopian: 1
Myth/Fairy Tale/Folk/Legend: 1
Travel: 1
I tolerated a weird amount of Fantasy/Magical Realism this year. Four is a lot for me.
Reading Challenges
I had two reading challenges going this year: the Classics Challenge and the When Are You Reading? Challenge.
I stopped paying attention to the categories for each about halfway through the year, I’m afraid. But I still managed a good number of classics and historical fiction. And those were the goals, so I’m calling it a win.
Every year, the Classics Challenge encourages me to discover new-to-me authors and this year did not disappoint in that regard. I delved into the world of Edith Wharton and fell in love.
I read all of these:
My favorites were The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country, Summer, and The Age of Innocence – in that order.
I will, in all likelihood, attempt it again this year. The worst that can happen is that I won’t finish again, and it will be totally worth it!
Ditto the When Are You Reading? Challenge. Not an excuse, but I had the hardest time finding well-written historical fiction this year. There’s a lot of crap out there. (Also an applicable blanket statement about 2020.) Stillwater and The Shadow King were excellent though.
Some 2020 Favorites
Below are some few of my favorite books read this year. All in all, I’d say it was a great success.
What about you? If you have reading wrap-ups, please link them in the comments so I can check them out! Or, just let me know what your favorite/least favorite books were. I’d love to see.
Thanks so much for stopping by and Happy (belated) New Year!
Pillow Fort 
You are a rockstar. I wanna be a reader like you. But I don’t know where to start!
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Don’t be so modest! You taught me everything I know! 🙂 I wouldn’t even read the classics if it weren’t for you!
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