(Some of my favorite reads of 2017)
Here it is the end of January and I’ve just finally gotten around to looking at my reading stats for 2017. Sure, I’ve been busy like everyone else, but I’ve also put this off because I didn’t personally keep track of my reading last year.
I relied on Goodreads and, as many of us know, that’s not always accurate due to the occasional glitch and other issues, such as the user not paying particularly close attention to details when they’re adding books. *cough* That said, I did export my books today and spent some time with the spreadsheet, crunching the numbers.
Total books read in 2017: 56
My annual reading goal is always 52 books per year. This helps keep me on track to read a book a week, but also leaves plenty of time to read lengthy and/or dense books. I can spend two or three weeks reading a chunkster, which is “naturally” balanced by a few weeks where I’ll read two short books per week. I almost always easily get to 52 books a year. That said, there have been some years when I’ve read fewer books than the previous year, but more pages… but I digress.
The Details
The following numbers in various categories often won’t add up to 56, because some of the information is unknown and/or anthologies skew things a bit, but here goes:
About the Authors
- Books by Women: 33
- Books by Men: 20
- American: 33
- English: 12
- Australian: 4
- Irish: 2
- POC: 13
- Queer: 7
About the Books
Fiction: 37
- Mystery: 15
- Literary: 12
- Classics: 5
- Horror: 2
- YA: 2
- Play: 1
Nonfiction: 17
- Memoir: 5
- Graphic History: 4
- Biography: 3
- Self-Development: 3
- True Crime: 1
- Writing advice: 1
Format
- Paperback: 28
- Hardcover: 15
- Ebook: 6
- Audio: 5
Time Periods
- Oldest book read: Macbeth 1623
- Books published in 19th century: 3
- Books published in 20th century: 10
- Books published in 2017: 26
Other Details
- Re-reads: 2 – 1984 and Macbeth
- Longest time on TBR List: The Grapes of Wrath
- Longest book: 848 pages – Women Crime Writers of the 1940s
- Review copies: 16
You can read more about my favorite reads of 2017 by clicking here.
What these numbers make me want to do in 2018
- Read more history — I’m shocked by how little history I read this year.
- Read more classics — I read six classics last year and that’s not bad, but I’d like to challenge myself more. I plan to update my Classics Club list in February.
- Keep my own spreadsheet — I’m thinking that if I keep better track of what I’m reading from month-to-month that I’ll notice trends. This will help keep me focused on reading more of what I want to read and I’ll read fewer of those books that come to me from getting caught up in the moment (thanks to the excellent displays at local libraries and bookstores, not to mention my fellow book bloggers, podcasters, book tubers, and friends on social media who entice me with their excellent current reads. So many books! 🤓). I’m not knocking getting swept up in the moment — I’ve found loads of good reads that way — but there are so many classics and backlist titles that I want to get to, and historical events and time periods that I want to learn about, that I want to be sure to focus my reading in these directions.
How about You?
Do you keep stats on your reading? How do you do it? Spreadsheet? Notebook?
If you’ve written a post about your 2017 stats, please link it below or, if you prefer, just share some highlights in the comments.
so jealous of your numbers! Congratulations – I’d be interested if you found a good spreadsheet and wouldn’t mind sharing!
Thanks! I recently downloaded this one from Book Riot to get started: https://bookriot.com/2017/01/03/its-the-great-reading-spreadsheet-charlie-brown/ I’ve used a really basic spreadsheet in the past and before that just a list with nothing but the title, author, and date finished. I hope you have some great reads in 2018!
Thanks!
848 pages should count as at least 3 books.
Impressive number of books! I don’t ever keep track of what I read or how many—although this year I might now that I am using Goodreads.
Happy reading!
Shuly
Totally! And that book was an anthology with FOUR novels in it. I like to look back and see what I’ve read. There are some books on my lists from years ago that I have zero memory of. I think I will eventually stop keeping track, but for now it’s fun. I would no doubt write more if I weren’t so focused on reading. Do you think using Goodreads will effect your reading?
Looks like a great reading year! I also hope to read more classics this year, and I can’t wait to read Pachinko. Hope you have an even better reading year in 2018!
Thanks, Jessie! Right back at’cha. 😉 Is there a classic that you’re burning to read? I really want to read Middlemarch this year.
There are several classics that I hope to get to this year, but I especially want to read The Portrait of a Lady. I’m also considering reading Middlemarch, and even toying with the idea of hosting a read-along.
I am envious of you because you are so thoughtful about what you read. I keep track only on Goodreads, but I guess it serves my purpose- which is keeping track of what I have read so I will have something to look back on. Two times in the past year I have read at least 100 pages of a book and thought “this sounds familiar.” After checking back, I have found I read the book already- embarrassing! Keep up the good work- I live vicariously through you and your reading experiences- author signings, bookstore and library visits,etc.
Hi Julie! Aw, thanks. I’ve had that happen to me – reading a book I thought I hadn’t read and then there it is on my list as read (it was Hawthorne’s Fanshawe, and I bet there are others that I’ve unwittingly re-read from before I kept track of my reading). Once when I was a teenager my Grandmother and I were reading in the living room and when she finished her book I asked her how she liked it. She said it was good and that she had a feeling she’d read it before. I thought she must be losing it, but now I get it! When you’ve been a serious reader for 40, 50, 60+ years, you’ve gone through a lot of books.
Looks like a great year! I actually just finished my recap. I use a much simpler spreadsheet than the one Chris posted, but it has what I want to know so I keep using it. I also track galleys/ARCs separately.
I’m still playing around with my spreadsheet. I don’t want my tracking tool to be too detailed because then it will seem like a chore. I also started a separate spreadsheet for ARCs–hoping it’ll help me stay on top of them more.
Great wrap-up! I began keeping a spreadsheet of my reading this year as well! It’s pretty basic but I wanted to mainly get in the habit of using it. Next year I’ll probably re-vamp it to include more fields 🙂
Erica | Erica Robyn Reads
Establishing the habit is the priority! I need to keep that in mind.
Wow, what a great reading year for you!! You read a wonderfully wide variety of different types of books. And I am impressed by the number of 2017 releases you read. Other than the books I am paid to review (12 a year) and Booktopia books, I rarely read anything the same year it is released – I’ve just got such a huge backlog of older books I want to read! My “TBR pile” is an entire bookcase – and this year, it somehow grew to have double rows on most shelves – gulp.
I don’t usually set a numerical goal, like the Goodreads challenge, because – as you mentioned, I don’t want to be put off from reading longer books. I do enjoy joining some reading challenges, though – I still need to pick mine for 2018!
Great summary – thanks for sharing!
Sue
Thanks, Sue! You’re the one who motivated me to get my stats done for the year. Booktopia, author events, and reviewing do ramp up those new release numbers. I just might pick a year to read nothing but classics and older books. I’m fascinated that you have a whole bookcase dedicated to TBR. My books are usually mixed together…although I do have some floor stacks here and there of new to me books. One of these days I’m going to get them organized. I used to be such a stickler about organizing my books.