It's that time of year again when I look through my Excel spreadsheets (yes, I have those to track my reading) and go to ChartGo to make some pretty (and free) graphs so I can share last year's reading statistics with you. I've already shared my Best Reads of the year, so here goes with some of those other numbers!
Setting is important to me as I read. I love to learn about other parts of the world, especially those which I probably will never visit. I keep track of the setting of each book that I read on an online map service, ZeeMaps, and if you go to Book Travels by City 2019, you can follow my travels around the globe. You can enlarge the map, move it all around, click on the red markers to see the books I read that were set in that location, etc. It's something fun for me to do, and it can help me focus my reading.
How Many Books Did I Read Overall?
Something tells me that my years of reading over 200 books is over. Part of me minds. Part of me doesn't. Because there's more to life than reading books, believe it or not!
How Many eBooks Did I Read?
As the years pass, I find myself reading more and more eBooks. This year, I read much more digitally than I did with physical books. Mostly because of convenience.
How Did I Rate the Books I Read?
As you can see, I still do a pretty good job of choosing books that I know I will like to read. I get the urge from time to time to move out of my comfort zone a little bit. Sometimes I'm successful, sometimes I'm not. But I think it's good to take a chance now and then, don't you?
Female vs. Male Authors, Old and New
My reading was fairly evenly split between male and female authors, with the nod going to male authors in 2019. Sometimes it's the other way around. One thing that I have noticed is that more male authors are beginning to write mysteries with strong female leads-- and I'm not complaining!
Mystery Subgenres
These figures are almost identical to last year's, although the number of cozies I read continues to drop. It's going to be interesting to see if my reading continues to change a bit in 2020.
Where Do I Get My Books?
I still buy most of my books, and that number continues to be larger than the number of ARCs I read. Paperback Swap used to be an excellent source of books. I still get a few from them, but when they decided to charge a yearly membership fee, the number of members and available books dropped dramatically.
Publication Dates
This is a breakdown that has held steady since I started keeping Excel spreadsheets in 2010. It's obvious that I'm a reader that likes her books hot off the press, isn't it?
Reading by Month
In years past, my reading showed a big spike during the summer months. Not so this year. Well...yes, there is a little one, but in 2019, the number of books I read was fairly consistent from month to month. A dozen books per month isn't too bad!
oOo
I could dazzle you with more graphs and more breakdowns and more suppositions, but I think these are the main ones that those of you who like reading these kinds of statistics will want to see. It's going to be interesting to find out where my reading takes me this year.
Here's to 2020!
Fantastic charts. An impressive amount and scope of books read. I read on average 6 books a month and consider that good.
ReplyDeleteI consider it good, too.
DeleteI am so impressed with these charts, Cathy! It's easy to see the mix of books you have, and your trends. I find myself reading more ebooks, too, as time goes on, and I think it's interesting that you see that in your own reading. They are convenient!
ReplyDeleteYes, they are. You can change font size, brightness, and just highlight a word to bring up its definition. And eReaders fit into a purse much easier than paperbacks and hardcovers!
DeleteThese are great! I also read mostly e-books or listen to audiobooks. I also am interested to note that your female/male author mix is pretty even. I don't think I set out to read mostly female authors, but that's usually how it comes out.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't know why mine is usually rather evenly split between the sexes. Maybe it's because I wanted to be a boy all through my childhood (even though I knew I didn't have a prayer of that happening).
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