Once again, Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner has provided us with an end of year book survey. Thanks! As usual, I'm skipping some questions and adding some more statistics and comparisons. I like to do these summary posts mostly for me, so I have a record, but if you are interested, here's my reading accomplishments and thoughts for 2018.
You can see the detailed list of all my reviews on my 2018 Review Archives Page.
Here's a link to my Goodreads Year In Books, if you want a more visual representation.
Number Of Books You Read: 72 (down from 80 in 2017, but still way behind the 124 from 2015).
Number of Re-Reads: 0. Too many good books to read!
Genre You Read The Most From: Surprisingly, almost half of the book I read were adult books. Maybe not so surprising, since I retired from my high school librarian position in May. Historical fiction is my favorite, but not what I read most. Maybe mystery this year?
If you look at number of pages, I read 27,132, which is about 3,900 pages less than the 31,025 I read last year. Average book length: 377 pages, which is always pretty consistent. Two thousand fifteen's 56,824 is my all-time record for number of pages.
Forty-six books read were eBooks and 8 were audiobooks. Also pretty consistent.
Average book rating (out of a scale of 5) was 4.19. This may seem a bit high, but I never give a "1" rating -- if a book is that bad, I don't finish it. I DNF (did not finish) 9 books this year, the same as last year. And I rarely give "2" ratings. Actually, the lowest rating I gave this year was 3.5. Nine books got a 5/5 rating this year, compared to 6 last year. It was a good year! Or, I'm getting less patient with mediocre books.
Here's a link to my 2017 statistics, for comparison.
1. Best Book You Read In 2018?
Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All, by Candace Fleming, M.T. Anderson, Jennifer Donnelly, Stephanie Hemphill, Deborah Hopkinson, Linda Sue Park, and Lisa Ann Sandell
2. Book You Were Excited About and Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Circe, by Madeline Miller. I loved Song of Achilles, but just couldn't get into the second. I see it on a lot of people's favorites, so maybe I should try again.
Also Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland. Also, just didn't like the supernatural elements. And everyone seems to have loved this one.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
Elevation, by Stephen King. It's a feelgood book, not what I expected from King. Loved it.
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
I've only just started pushing this, but my teens loved Rot & Ruin, and Broken Lands takes place in the same world. If you like Maberry's zombies, don't miss Broken Lands.
5. Best series you started in 2018? Best Sequel of 2018? Best Series Ender of 2018?
Started: Furyborn, by Claire Legrand. Can't wait for Kingsbane in May 2019!
Sequel: Eden Conquered, by Joelle Charbonneau
End: Morning Star, by Pierce Brown. I know this isn't really the end, but it says it's the conclusion right in the blurb. And I've read Iron Gold and loved it...
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2018?
Alice Feeney, Sometimes I Lie
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Book Review: Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks, by Annie Spence. I don't read much humor, but this one is about books so...
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Broken Lands, by Jonathan Maberry. Those zombies get me every time!
9. Book You Read In 2018 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I'm not a big re-reader, so none.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2018?
The 48, by Donna Hosie. I'm a sucker for pretty dresses, and this one has a bloody knife too!!
11. Most memorable character of 2018?
Anna, from The Woman in the Window, by A.J. Finn
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2018 to finally read?
The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells
16.Shortest and Longest Book You Read In 2018?
SHORTEST BOOK
146 pages
Elevation
LONGEST BOOK
638 pages
Origin
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
Sadie, by Courtney Summers
21. Best Book You Read In 2018 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From
Educated, by Tara Westover
23. Best 2018 debut you read?
Alice Feeney, Sometimes I Lie
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black. I've also read The Wicked King
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
The Grave's a Fine and Private Place, by Alan Bradley. Flavia always does it. I'm getting ready to read the newest one, first thing this year!
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2018?
I don't remember one. And when I look through my list, I can't find any.
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
The Warriors, by Paul Batista. Not the best book, but worth a look. I gave it 4/5. And I had to add it to Goodreads...
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Ape House, by Sara Gruen. Animals, you know...
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2018?
Girls Burn Brighter, by Shobha Rao. This probably should have been my answer to #28 too...
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Girls Burn Brighter, by Shobha Rao. Again.
Ah. I didn't know you had retired. Congrats! How are you filling your time? I find that I still haven't settled into retirement and feel a bit anxious about it. But I do read a lot. I loved EDUCATED. and liked DEAR FAHRENHEIT 451. I hope to go back and catch up on the Falvia DuLuce series. I dropped it several years ago so I am very behind on it.
ReplyDeleteI love reading these surveys of bloggers' years. No matter how many pages or books we read, the joy is in the reading, the characters, the settings, the feelings we get from a good book. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI had the same reaction to Circe. My expectations were too high. But I also plan to give it another try.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your retirement!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of FATAL THRONE before, but I'm a fan of some of the authors who wrote it, so I definitely need to check it out. Also, it's so funny that you say historical fiction is your favorite genre but not what you read the most of. I feel the same way. Weird!