2016 in Books

2016 was my best year of reading since I joined Goodreads back in 2012 and started tracking my reading. In fact, that's also when I started this blog. Anyway, I think it's safe to say that 2016 has been the best reading year of my entire life. When I first started logging the books I was reading, I was encouraged to do so when I caught wind of the 50 Book Pledge: read 50 books in 52 weeks. Seemed easy! Except for me, it wasn't. I never was able to read that many books in one year, until now.

I know it's not about the number of books you read in any given year. And I definitely don't go out of my way to read short books or "easy" books just to get my numbers up. I think what changed (or helped) me last year to read 53 books was choosing to read in my spare time over other things. I could write a whole post about that, but long story short, I made it a priority to read. There are so many books I want to read and so little time.

With that being said, I'm happy I had such a successful reading year. Yes, I read more than one book a week, but I also read some really great books too! Of course, I read a handful of really awful books, but such is the life of an avid reader. This year, I'm setting a realistic goal of hopefully reading 24 books. That's just two books a month, and given my situation (a newborn and an active toddler), I think this is doable. Last year, I actually only set out to read 30 books, and when I hit that goal about half way through the year, I just kept on going to see how far I could get (without resetting the goal higher). I'll treat this years goal in the same way.

I don't make any specific goals when it comes to choosing which books to read, meaning, I don't seek out female authors, or Canadian authors, etc. Last year I said I wanted to read more non-fiction books, more specifically, personal-growth books, but I read zero of those. While I will get to them one day, it's not a major priority of mine right now. What I do want to mindful of this year though is trying to choose books that I really want to read. And by that I mean, choosing books that sound amazing, and will most likely be a good read. I know this is a hard thing to guarantee as everyone's reading experience is different, but often there are books on my wish-list or to-be-read list that I'm dying to read, but for some reason, I'll keep choosing lesser known books, or books I'm not all that interested in but think I should read out of obligation. Basically, what I'm saying is, I'm going to be more picky about the books I read. And I'm also going to work on abandoning a book when it's just not working for me.

Ok! And because no book round-up post would be complete with out some stats, here you go!

Number of books read: 53! (up 15 from last year)

Number of pages read: 17,487 (up 4800 from last year)

Percentage of female authors read: 79% (up 8% from last year)

Percentage of Canadian authors read: 17% (up 9% from last year)

Percentage of non-fiction read: 9% (down 2% from last year)

Longest book read: The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes at 480 pages

Shortest book read: Honeymoon in Paris by Jojo Moyes at 60 pages


Ratings:

5-star reviews: 8 books (15% - down 6% from last year, but the same number of 5-star books as 2016)

I loved all 8 of these books for very different reasons. Me Before You was a re-read for me, but I loved it just as much the second time around.

4-star reviews: 16 books (30% - down 7% from last year)

3-star reviews: 16 books (30% - up 4% from last year)

2-star reviews: 11 books (21% - up 10% from last year)

1-star reviews: 2 books (4% - down 1% from last year, but the same number of 1-star books as 2016)

One book from 2016 that I think everyone should read:

It's a tie between One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid (my review) and Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center. Out of all my 5-star reads of last year, these are the two that stick out of my mind the most and that I recommend to pretty much everyone. Seriously, if you haven't read them yet, add them to your list for this year!

One book from 2016 that I think everyone should skip:

This was the last book of A Slice of Brie Book Club last year and it was humorously terrible! I had fun writing my thoughts about it though, which you can check out here if you like.



What was the best book you read last year? Worst?

Do you make reading goals for the year?

2015 in Books

Are we tired of resolution and round-up posts yet? Yes? Well good thing this post is more for my benefit and enjoyment than anyone else's - haha! In case you didn't know, I find stats fascinating and my year doesn't feel complete if I don't break down my reading from the past twelve months into the nerdy details. Feel free to skip over the numbers and see which book I recommend most and which one I highly suggest you skip over and go straight to the movie.

Alright, let's get on with it. I had a pretty great year of reading. After a not so great 2014, I figured I could only improve this year, and so I'm pretty proud of getting through 38 books. I originally aimed for 20, but hit that pretty early on in the year, so I my sights for 30. This ended up being an easy enough number to achieve without putting in too much effort, so I'm aiming to read 30 books again this year.

I don't really put too much thought into which books I'm going to read…I read based on what I'm in the mood for, with some book club books thrown in. Sure, I'd like to read more books from my own bookshelves that are just begging to be read, but I don't stress about that either. Too many books, too little time, so I'm just happy to have time to read at all.

One thing I would like to read more of this year is personal-growth books. I have Daring Greatly, which I received for Christmas LAST year, and Brown's newest book, Rising Strong, both of which I really want to read sooner than later. I'd also like to re-visit The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, which I abandoned a quarter of the way through three years ago when I felt like I was reading it too fast and not absorbing enough of it, along with her newer books. I'm also very intrigued by the book Wanderlust, which, before perusing it at the book store today, I had no idea was such a BIG book. I'll be putting that one on my birthday wish list.

Anyway, here's the oh so exciting stats from 2015:

Number of books read: 38 (up 23 from last year!)

Number of pages read: 12, 687 (up 8702 from last year!)

Percentage of female authors read: 71% (up 4% from last year)

Percentage of Canadian authors read: 8% (down 39% from last year)

Percentage of non-fiction read: 11% (down 9% from last year)

Longest book read: Fifty Shades Freed by E.L James at 551 pages - I'm horrified by this and should have looked into this a few months ago so that I could have purposely read a longer book!

Shortest book read: Doppler by Erlend Loe at 144 pages

Ratings:

5-star reviews: 8 Books (21% - up 1% from last year)

These were the best 8 books I read in 2015, and I thoroughly enjoyed each one of them for different reasons.

4-star reviews: 14 Books (37% - up 4% from last year)
3-star reviews: 10 Books (26% - up 6% from last year)
2-star reviews: 4 Books (11% - down 9% from last year)
1-star reviews: 2 Books (5% - down 2% from last year)


One book read in 2015 that I think everyone should read:

This book, despite being a middle grade book, needs to be read by every man, woman and child. It's honest and sweet and will touch your heart and soul with both heartbreak and warmth. It will encourage you to be a kinder person, and I think we could all learn a lesson from Auggie's story.

One book read in 2015 that I think everyone should skip, but watch the movie:

Oh dear, this book was painful to get through. I persevered because I kept thinking it just had to get better. It didn't. I know I've mentioned it before, but take this as a public service announcement: skip the book and go straight to the movie.



What was the best book you read last year?

Worst book?

Do you usually try to read the book before seeing the movie?



*affiliate links have been used

2014 in Books

I'm not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed of the number of books I read last year. On the one hand, most of 2014 was spent raising a baby, and contrary to what people assured me of, no reading happened in the middle of the night during feedings. On the other hand, I still managed to read a little more than a book a month, which is more than a lot of people I know can say! This was my third year pledging to read a certain number of books in a year. In 2012 and 2013, I pledged to read 50 books and I fell short both years, so for 2014, I said I would read 30 books. I had a good start to the year so this seemed more than doable. But, alas, I only managed to read 15 books, and that's not including the four books I haven't finished reading yet. Not too shabby, but less than half the amount I read in 2013!

But I will not be discouraged! I can appreciate that there are going to be times in my life that I am able to read more, and times where very little reading will get done. I figure, as long as I consistently have a book on the go, I'm winning at this whole reading thing. So for 2015, I'm pledging to read 20 books. That's about a book and a half a month and if I make an effort to read a little more before bed and spend a little less time scrolling through instagram at night, I should be able to succeed.

Here's a look at my piddly stats for 2014:

Number of books read: 15

Number of pages read: 4615

Percentage of female authors read: 67%

Percentage of Canadian authors read: 47%

Percentage of non-fiction read: 20%

Longest book read: One Great Year at 456 pages

Ratings: 3 five-star reviews (20%); 5 four-star reviews (33%); 3 three-star reviews (20%); 3 two-star reviews (20%); and 1 one-star review (7%)

Compared to the average goodreads ratings:…

*I rated 6 books higher, with the most underrated book being The Rosie Project (but not by much!). I rated this book 5 stars, while the average goodreads rating is 4.02.

*I rated 9 books lower, with the most overrated book being Pigeon English. I gave this book 1 star, while the average goodreads rating is 3.48.

*I rated 3 books almost on par with with the average goodreads rating of around 4 stars: Come, Thou Tortoise, Sold, and A House in the Sky.

One book read in 2014 that I think everyone should read:

And the one book read in 2014 that I think everyone should skip:

Sorry John Green fans, but this one just didn't do it for me. And I'm having a hard time understanding why anyone would enjoy this book (or give it 5 stars!). It was dull, unbelievable and a bore to get through. 

I'm looking forward to the books I read in 2015! I got a few from Jim for Christmas that I'm really looking forward to reading, and I'm hoping to finish up the ones I'm only part way through from last year. It bugs me to have unfinished books on my end table. 

Do you make reading goals?

What books are you looking forward to reading this year? Any book I *must* read?

 Let me know in the comments!