2020 Reading by the Numbers

It's the most wonderful time of the year - time to look at the charts and graphs, stats and numbers of last year's reading! (Thanks to Tirzah Price at Book Riot for a great reading log.) Of course a few factors really had an impact on my reading. In January, my husband's Dad got sick and he was traveling between SC and Oregon a few times, and I took that trip once, before his Dad passed away in February. In March both of our jobs went remote and, well, here we are. 

I read 364 books in 2020. I don't know how. I'm slightly sad I couldn't have squeezed one more in to say I'd read one book a day, ugh. I read 83,614 pages (print and electronic) and listened for 12 days, 5 hours, and 31 minutes.

I read 77.7% fiction to 22.3% nonfiction. This is in line with 2019, where I read almost 80% fiction. I definitely noticed that when the pandemic first hit, it was easier to read nonfiction than fiction.

My format percentages also are within 1-2 degrees of where they were in 2019. I would have thought I read more eBooks in 2020 because of the lack of libraries in my life, but these were balanced by an increase in reading books I already owned (for once!) and purchasing new books.

I read almost entirely books for adults. 

My form numbers aren't that interesting, 70% prose, 7%ish for poetry, essay, and short story, and sprinklings of the rest. I'm reading about 50% general fiction.

Just like last year, half my reads are review copies. Some are in print, some are audiobooks, but that isn't broken down in this chart. I used the library 3% less, and I'm surprised that didn't go down more! I guess that goes to show how much I use the libraries' digital content options.

I'm starting to feel disappointed there aren't more obvious changes for 2020, which felt so different. Perhaps reading routines keep me sane. I still gave more books 4 stars than any other rating, still read 14.8% in translation, and still read more women than men, about 25% queer authors/characters and 25% bipoc authors/characters (some of these might intersect).

Next year I'm going to try to track who recommended a book to me, which authors were my first time, and who knows what else!