2018 Reading Statistics

Welcome to my giant post of 2018 reading stats! I don’t know how interesting this post will be to other people, but these graphs help me figure out what I want to change about my reading. If you’re the kind of nerd who wants to know more about my reading year, check out my favorite books of 2018. Let’s get into this. Prepare your scrolling fingers. They are about to be busy.

2018 Quick Facts

Total number of books finished: 100

Number of rereads: 2

Total number of pages read: 31,351

Approximate pages read per day: 85

Number of books given up on: 6

Number of translations read: 6

Number of unread books owned at the beginning of 2018: 63

Number of unread books owned at the end of 2018: 43

Average amount of time a new book sat on my shelf before I read it: 143 days

GoodReads Stats

Spreadsheet Pie Charts

Once again, I struggled with a glitchy reading spreadsheet. Either I’m not good at using these, or random internet strangers aren’t good at making them. I’m tempted to blame everyone except myself. Here are the statistics that I managed to track.

3 stars = average.
4 stars = above average.
2 stars = below average.
DNF = did not finish. It was too horrible. I quit to save myself.

Analysis: I read fewer books than I did in previous years, but I enjoyed most of them.

Analysis: The large majority of the books I read in 2018 were published in the past 8 years. I really need to get back to reading classics. I miss them.

"Children" includes young adult books.

Analysis: Once again, I read more adult books than children’s books. Once again, I’m going to try harder to get it to 50/50. Adult books are just more appealing to me at this point in my life. I'm a grown-up (sort of), so I guess it makes sense that I want to read books for grown-ups.

Analysis: I really like hardcover books. I think this is because most of my books are traded for or bought scratch-and-dent. I’ve had too many battered paperbacks fall apart in my hands. I’m more likely to buy/trade for a used book if it’s hardcover.

Analysis: Nothing about this is surprising or likely to change in 2019. I love my novels.

Analysis: I did pretty terrible at reading books that don’t come from the “Big 5” publishers. Once again, Penguin Random House is my favorite publisher. I still don’t know why. Am I drawn to their books? Do they just publish a ton of stuff? Are they better at promoting their products than other publishers? Are their books easier to find? It’s a mystery.

"Publisher" = books given in exchange for a review.

Analysis: This is the “Where did all my money go?” graph. Most of the books I acquire are traded for or purchased in slightly-less-than-awesome condition from Book Outlet or Amazon sellers. In 2018, I acquired 85 books and spent $203 on books. That’s around $2.38 per book. Many of those books aren’t included on this graph. About half of my 2018 purchases are sitting unread on my shelf. This graph only shows books I read. Most of the books on this graph are 2017 purchases.

The Diversity Stuff

This graph only tracks the presence of diverse casts of characters. It does not track if those characters are portrayed accurately.

Analysis: Either I’m getting better at finding books that meet my diversity criteria, or publishers are getting better at publishing diverse books. I don’t usually have this many books in the “Yes” category. My results could also be skewed because I read more “modern” books than I usually do. I barely read any classics in 2018. I failed to track this stat, but I know that I am still terrible at reading books that aren't written by white ladies.

Here’s how a book ended up in the “Yes” category:

It’s #OwnVoices

And/Or

It’s a work in translation

And/Or

It features a point-of-view character who is a member of a minority community

And/Or

It discusses issues that disproportionately impact minority communities

Analysis: Sigh. This happens every year. Almost all of the authors I read were born in the US or Canada. I live in the US, so it’s easy to get books that were written and published here. I didn’t read any books from South American authors. I’ll try again this year to read the whole world, but I don’t have high hopes. 

"Multiple" = books by more than 1 author.

Analysis: This happens every year. I tend to read books by female authors who are writing about female characters. Probably because I’m a woman. This probably won’t change in 2019.

Did This Blog Actually Grow?

Blogs sometimes grow so slowly that it seems like they’re not growing at all. Here’s how mine grew in 2018.

Gained 426 Twitter followers.

Gained 29 G+ followers.

Gained 152 Goodreads followers.

Gained 164 Bloglovin’ followers.

Gained 176 Instagram followers.

Gained 168 Pinterest followers.

Gained 95,425 pageviews.

The Posts You Clicked The Most

Thank you to everyone who reads my nonsense or shares it on social media! These posts were uncommonly successful in 2018. 

• Discussion: A Brief List Of Oddities Discovered In My Email Account
• Top Ten Tuesday: Why I Love Your Book Blog
• Discussion: A Brief List Of Oddities Discovered In The Comments Section
• Discussion: Best Books Of 2018 (So Far)
• Top Ten Tuesday: I'm The Best Fantasy Book Author Ever
• Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons I Hate Your Characters
• I'd Love To Read About: Useless Mythical Creatures
• Discussion: A Brief List Of Oddities Discovered Inside Used Books
• Discussion: The Blogosphere's Favorite Books Of 2018 (So Far)
• Discussion: How Accurate Are Goodreads Recommendations?
• Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Short Stories Of All Time
• Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Didn't Like But Don't Regret Reading
• Discussion: My Reviewing Crisis
• Discussion: Taming Your Terrifying To-Read List
• Top Ten Tuesday: Reading Memories
• Discussion: How Accurate Are Amazon Recommendations?
• Tag: Twenty Questions
• Review: Scythe by Neal Shusterman
• Top Ten Tuesday: Intriguing Quotes From Books I've Read Recently

You reached the end! Congratulations!

Did you achieve your reading goals in 2018? Do you keep spreadsheets or track your reading?