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2016 Reading Stats
Jan. 2nd, 2017 08:37 pmIt's that time of year again - a statistical round up of my reading for the past year. I had a really good year in 2016, encouraged by that fact that around the middle of the year I started posting regular booktube videos on youtube. My channel's name is MaiarBellydance, just in case. *winks* I'm just starting to teach myself some basic editing, so hopefully my videos will improve a bit.
I completed 87 items of reading in 2016 (my target was 70), and DNF-ed 1. As much as Jodie Taylor's Just One Damned Thing After Another sounded up my alley, I just could not get into it and therefore returned it to the library.
Of that 87, the author/editor gender breakdown (to my knowledge) is as follows:
Male: 38
Female: 40
Multiple Genders: 9
Fairly even, leaning towards the feminine. I read more male authored books at the start of the year, as the English class I was taking had weekly texts mostly written by men and The Force Awakens sent me on a Star Wars re-reading binge in January.
I've added or subtracted categories as needed for the rest of the statistics, but they ar emostly the same as last year.
Magazines: 6
Comics: 6
Anthologies: 3
Single Author Collection: 1
Poetry: 1
Individual Short Stories/Novellas: 6
Audiobooks: 11
Non Fiction: 2
Fiction: 79
Both NF/F: 6 (basically, the issues of Uncanny Magazine)
Re-Reads: 35
Previously Unread: 52
I believe I re-read more this year than last year, but it is still significantly skewed towards new works. I've also picked up audio books, which cover a significant amount of my re-reading, as I think they work best for me as re-reads.
Finally, after perusing my very white 2015 reading list, I challenged myself at the start of the year to read more non-white authors. I did not set myself a specific target, because anything is better than 0. In total I completed 4 books by non-white authors, 3 of which were a trilogy by an Indigenous Australian author. I'm a little disappointed at the low number, but it's an improvement. I also acknowledge that there are 2 books by non-white authors on my currently reading pile and a number of short stories, particularly in Uncanny Magazine that don't count individually. I also certainly bought a few more that I have not yet read. Still it's a starting point.
So - looking forward to 2017. I've set my Goodreads target to 95. I hit my 2016 target in October so I need to challenge myself a bit more this time. I would like to increase the number of non-white authors from 2016. The other area where I lack is LGBTQ+. It's a bit harder to calculate via author - I'm not really comfortable digging too deeply into personal lives. So I might aim for books with LGBTQ+ protagonists.
I also need to read my own damn books. My TBR is far too large and outgrowing the space I've put aside for it. I'm not going to give myself a specific target for the TBR. However, I am going to try and limit myself each month to buying no more books than I actually read in that month. Given that I plan to buy books tomorrow - I should get a wriggle on. I'm also registering this particular goal as part of #readmyowndamnbooks hosted by Estella over at http://estellasrevenge.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/readmyowndamnbooks-2017-sign-ups.html
I'm starting off this week by trying to make as much progress as possible on my 'Currently Reading' shelf on Goodreads, which, as of this moment, has 13 books of various types and forms on it *gulps*. I have the first week of the year off work, so I should at least manage to finish a few. I am also aiming to get caught up on Uncanny Magazine, as I've been 3 or 4 issues behind for a good 12 months now. The only other not currently in progress stuff I might allow myself this week is some Jane Austen re-reading. I've been feeling the need for it recently, and it will make a good break if I get stuck.
I completed 87 items of reading in 2016 (my target was 70), and DNF-ed 1. As much as Jodie Taylor's Just One Damned Thing After Another sounded up my alley, I just could not get into it and therefore returned it to the library.
Of that 87, the author/editor gender breakdown (to my knowledge) is as follows:
Male: 38
Female: 40
Multiple Genders: 9
Fairly even, leaning towards the feminine. I read more male authored books at the start of the year, as the English class I was taking had weekly texts mostly written by men and The Force Awakens sent me on a Star Wars re-reading binge in January.
I've added or subtracted categories as needed for the rest of the statistics, but they ar emostly the same as last year.
Magazines: 6
Comics: 6
Anthologies: 3
Single Author Collection: 1
Poetry: 1
Individual Short Stories/Novellas: 6
Audiobooks: 11
Non Fiction: 2
Fiction: 79
Both NF/F: 6 (basically, the issues of Uncanny Magazine)
Re-Reads: 35
Previously Unread: 52
I believe I re-read more this year than last year, but it is still significantly skewed towards new works. I've also picked up audio books, which cover a significant amount of my re-reading, as I think they work best for me as re-reads.
Finally, after perusing my very white 2015 reading list, I challenged myself at the start of the year to read more non-white authors. I did not set myself a specific target, because anything is better than 0. In total I completed 4 books by non-white authors, 3 of which were a trilogy by an Indigenous Australian author. I'm a little disappointed at the low number, but it's an improvement. I also acknowledge that there are 2 books by non-white authors on my currently reading pile and a number of short stories, particularly in Uncanny Magazine that don't count individually. I also certainly bought a few more that I have not yet read. Still it's a starting point.
So - looking forward to 2017. I've set my Goodreads target to 95. I hit my 2016 target in October so I need to challenge myself a bit more this time. I would like to increase the number of non-white authors from 2016. The other area where I lack is LGBTQ+. It's a bit harder to calculate via author - I'm not really comfortable digging too deeply into personal lives. So I might aim for books with LGBTQ+ protagonists.
I also need to read my own damn books. My TBR is far too large and outgrowing the space I've put aside for it. I'm not going to give myself a specific target for the TBR. However, I am going to try and limit myself each month to buying no more books than I actually read in that month. Given that I plan to buy books tomorrow - I should get a wriggle on. I'm also registering this particular goal as part of #readmyowndamnbooks hosted by Estella over at http://estellasrevenge.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/readmyowndamnbooks-2017-sign-ups.html
I'm starting off this week by trying to make as much progress as possible on my 'Currently Reading' shelf on Goodreads, which, as of this moment, has 13 books of various types and forms on it *gulps*. I have the first week of the year off work, so I should at least manage to finish a few. I am also aiming to get caught up on Uncanny Magazine, as I've been 3 or 4 issues behind for a good 12 months now. The only other not currently in progress stuff I might allow myself this week is some Jane Austen re-reading. I've been feeling the need for it recently, and it will make a good break if I get stuck.
