2018 Reading Stats!

Time for my 2018 Reading Recap. This may be slightly inaccurate as it is based upon my faulty memory. Here is my recap from 2017,  2016 , 2015 , 2014 , 2013, and 2012 . Thanks to Marie for introducing it to me!

How many books read in 2017? – 80! My goal was 52 and I blew that out of the water.  I read a ton of middle grade books this year which is probably the reason I read so many.  But when I’m in a good book, I read it quick!  Last year I read 54 so this was a big jump!


How many fiction and non fiction? 7 non fiction, 73 fiction.  Like usual, most of my non-fiction were memoirs.  Though I read a lovely biography about Lady Bird and Lyndon Johnson, called Lady Bird and Lyndon by Betty Caroli!  This was 5  more non-fiction than last year, which I’ve been meaning to improve on.

Male/Female author ratio? 66 female and 14 male.  I did read the same author multiple times but I just went with each individual book to figure into my count.

Diversity of authors: 13 books I believe were written by people of color. 

Which author was new to you in 2018 that you now want to read the entire works of? This was Jewel Parker Rhodes, and I do believe I did read all of her books!!

Favorite book read in 2018? I looked and I gave 13 books 5 stars at the time of finishing.  I would probably adjust that now.  Looking back the books I loved the most and recommended the most are: The Wife, The Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon, The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullens,  We’re Going to Need More Wine for This by Gabrielle Union, Ghost Boys by Jewel Parker Rhodes, The Third Hill North of Town by Noah Bly, Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, The Lost Words Bookshop, by Stephanie Butland, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty, Wonder by R.J. Palacio and Premeditated Peppermint by Amanda Flower.

Least favorite? The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitizer The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, Bayou Magic by Jewel Parker Rhodes, and Wicked City by Ace Atkins (hands down my very least ).

Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why? The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.  It needed to go back to the library and just wasn’t the thing I wanted to read at the time.

How many pages did you read? 28,822

How many books from the library? 56! Which is up from 21 last year.  I have gone to the library so much.  Like weekly, sometimes twice weekly.  It’s an addiction. Which then leads me to books that I can’t finish in time.

How many books read did I purchase? 5 and 2 were bought previously.  Which is way less than normal.  The year before I purchased 12! I also have to say that I have gotten some at used book sales that I’ve read yet.  But I think I’ve read all the ones I purchased in 2018.

How many were gifts? 4

How many borrowed from others? 1

How many were given to me for reviews? 4

How many books read on kindle? 1, When I re-read The Handmaid’s Tale I did it on the kindle because I couldn’t find my copy.  And actually most of it was done on my phone basically ha.

Any re-reads? The Handmaid’s Tale, Little House on the Prairie, Farmer Boy and On the Banks of Plum Creek.

Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading? United States, Italy, England, Mexico, Honduras, Sweden, Germany, Canada, and Iraq.

What states did you go through the page in your year of reading? Florida, New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Minnesota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Texas, Missouri, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts,  Illinois, Washington, Alabama, Georgia, California, Louisiana, Tennessee, Indiana, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, and South Dakota.

Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation? We Were Liars by E.L. Lockhart, and The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.


Which author did you read the most of? 4 Amanda Flower books, 4 Laura Ingalls Wilder books, 4 Joan Lowery Nixon books, 4 Louise Penny books…

What was your best reading month? December when I read 11! Followed by July with 10! 


What was your worst reading month? May, I only read 3 books.


Top Ten Reading Moments of 2018

- Watching my kid fall in love with reading.

- Watching my kid fall in love with historical fiction and non-fiction.

- Watching my kid get excited to read a chapter book IN ONE DAY!!!! 

- Planning a visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum.

- Getting Michelle Obama's book for Christmas.

- Listening to Jewel Parker Rhodes on Longest Shortest Time and reading Ghost Boys.

- Having Laura Lippman and Allison Winn Scotch tweet back and forth with me.

- Doing family read alouds together.

- Reading together with my kiddo.

- Volunteering at the elementary library and seeing kids excited about reading and learning about new books and seeing how awesome the library is at the school!

2018 Reading Goals - revisited...

1.     Read 52 books. – Killed this with 80!

2.     Keep doing Family Chapter Book Read Alouds.  – Killed this! We finished 4 Little House books in 2018, the kiddo and I also did our own read alouds multiple times and we are actually putting a Little House stop on our Spring Break trip this year!

3.     Read more historical non-fiction. – Well I improved my non-fiction reading.  However I think my only historical fiction was Lady Bird and Lyndon.  I did read some political non-fiction that included some recent history.  I did read a lot of historical non-fiction.

I did not make it a goal to read middle grade, but apparently that’s where my heart was at this year!

2019 Reading Goals…

1.    Read 52 books.  I was going to increase my goal but I also don’t know if I will be reading as much middle grade this year and I don’t want to increase my goal and then not make it.  So I will say 52 again.

2.    Read more books on my shelf. Continue donating so my living room book case looks better.

3.    Try to do our family read aloud 5 out of 7 days a week.

How many books did you read this year? Did you complete your 2018 reading goals? What are your goals for 2019? Which author did you read the most of? What was your most recommended book? Any you couldn't finish?