My Year
in Books
2018
Introduction
My reading has really ramped up in the past couple of years.
I keep track of books that I read on Goodreads, and also in the βReminder Index of Important Entriesβ page in my Standard Memorandum which I turned into a book log.
![Photo of my Standard Memorandum book log](../images/play/books/standard-memorandum.jpg)
Seeing the days I finished books at a glance was interesting, and it made me wonder more about my reading habits. How long were the books that I read? Did I read more books by male or female authors? How did my ratings of books compare to other readers on Goodreads? π€
I decided to put together some data on the books I finished in 2018 (I didnβt include books that I started and didnβt finish). What follows is some analysis on different aspects of my book reading.
Big disclaimer: I am not an expert in data analysis or books...this is just for fun! Please bear with me if things arenβt exactly scientific.
Books Read Per Month
I read 80 books in 2018. I read the most in November (11 books), and the fewest in June (3 books).
Book Format
I read most of my books as audiobooks on the Libby app. I can check them out from my library and listen to them on my phone. Itβs awesome! Some consider this cheating, but I think itβs a great way to get some reading done while doing housework or on the road, and Iβm not the only one who thinks so π
Book Length
The longest book I read was Night Film by Marisha Pessl at 640 pages. The shortest was The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, just 45 pages.
I read a total of pages,
and my average book length was
335 pages.
Fiction vs. Nonfiction
I try to read a mixture of fiction and nonfiction, but I definitely leaned more towards the fiction side in 2018.
Fiction Genres
For fiction, my most-read categories were mystery and horror
Nonfiction Genres
In nonfiction, I read memoir and true crime the most
Date of Publication
Because I frequent the amazing NPR Book Concierge to learn about good books to read, I ended up reading a lot of recently published books. The most common publication year that I read was 2018, but I tried and mix it up with titles from the 19th and 20th centuries every now and then.
Male vs. Female Authors
My author gender breakdown was fairly even, but I read more books by male authors than female this year.
Most Read Author
My most read author of the year was Stephen King β I read 8 of his books this year.
![Stephen King Photo](/images/play/books/stephen.png)
![Mr. Mercedes Cover](/images/play/books/king-01.png)
![Finders Keepers Cover](/images/play/books/king-02.png)
![End of Watch Cover](/images/play/books/king-03.png)
![The Outsider Cover](/images/play/books/king-04.png)
![Doctor Sleep Cover](/images/play/books/king-05.png)
![On Writing Cover](/images/play/books/on-writing.png)
![Gerald's Game Cover](/images/play/books/king-07.png)
![Elevation Cover](/images/play/books/king-08.png)