Hi, folks!
I saw this meme/ tag on Eric‘s channel, and decided to jump in and take the opportunity to discuss my reading year so far. Here are the questions/ prompts:
1. How many books have you read so far this year?
69 books, comprising a total of 15.875 pages. (If you are curious about how my reading spreadsheet works, I made a video about it. You can download the spreadsheet here, and read the corresponding blog notes here.)
| Month | Number of books | Average of Pages | Min of Pages | Max of Pages | Sum of Pages | Percentage |
| jan | 13 | 242,1 | 72 | 528 | 3147 | 18,84% |
| fev | 11 | 190,9 | 38 | 306 | 2100 | 15,94% |
| mar | 10 | 187,9 | 19 | 304 | 1879 | 14,49% |
| abr | 10 | 258,1 | 122 | 432 | 2581 | 14,49% |
| mai | 13 | 269,6 | 114 | 480 | 3505 | 18,84% |
| jun | 10 | 241,0 | 120 | 432 | 2410 | 14,49% |
| jul | 2 | 126,5 | 123 | 130 | 253 | 2,90% |
| Total | 69 | 230,1 | 19 | 528 | 15875 |
63,77% of the books were four-star, and 23,19% were five-star reads. 13,04% of my reads were just ok (three stars), and I did not have any two or one star reads so far this year.
| Publishing Year | Number of books | Percentage |
| <1900 | 4 | 5,80% |
| 1900-1909 | 3 | 4,35% |
| 1920-1929 | 4 | 5,80% |
| 1930-1939 | 5 | 7,25% |
| 1940-1949 | 8 | 11,59% |
| 1950-1959 | 2 | 2,90% |
| 1960-1969 | 1 | 1,45% |
| 1970-1979 | 7 | 10,14% |
| 1980-1989 | 3 | 4,35% |
| 1990-1999 | 8 | 11,59% |
| 2000-2009 | 6 | 8,70% |
| 2010-2019 | 14 | 20,29% |
| 2020-2029 | 4 | 5,80% |
| Book Lenght | Number of books | Percentage |
| <100 | 4 | 5,80% |
| 100-199 | 25 | 36,23% |
| 200-299 | 26 | 37,68% |
| 300-399 | 8 | 11,59% |
| 400-499 | 5 | 7,25% |
| 500-599 | 1 | 1,45% |
| Source | Number of books | Percentage |
| Library | 21 | 30,43% |
| TBR | 48 | 69,57% |
| Format | Number of books | Percentage |
| Audio | 10 | 14% |
| Ebook | 19 | 28% |
| Hardback | 12 | 17% |
| Paperback | 28 | 41% |
| Author Nationality | Number of Books | Percentage |
| Europe | 38 | 55,1% |
| North America | 21 | 30,4% |
| Oceania | 1 | 1,4% |
| South-America | 9 | 13,0% |
| Gender | Number of books | Percentage |
| Female | 58 | 84,06% |
| Male | 8 | 11,59% |
| Both | 2 | 2,90% |
| Non-binary | 1 | 1,45% |
Finally, the authors I read the most in 2020 were Maria Benedia Bormann (3), Virginia Woolf (3), Anna Seghers (2), Zora Neale Hurston (2), and Karin Boye (2).
2. What’s your favourite book so far this year?
The Seventh Cross, by Anna Seghers (2018, tr. Margot Bettauer Dembo. Original: Das siebte Kreuz, 1942) & The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton (1920)
3. What’s the most disappointing book you’ve read this year?
Paris Red by Maureen Gibbon (2014) & My Autobiography of Carson McCullers, by Jenn Shapland (2020)
4. What genre have you read most this year?
Literary fiction novels.
| Genre | Number of books | Percentage |
| Non-fiction | 25 | 36,23% |
| – Biography | 8 | 11,59% |
| – Diary | 2 | 2,90% |
| – Essay | 8 | 11,59% |
| – Literary Criticism | 4 | 5,80% |
| – Memoir | 2 | 2,90% |
| – Literary journalism | 1 | 1,45% |
| Novel | 32 | 46,38% |
| – Classic | 11 | 15,94% |
| – Historical Fiction | 1 | 1,45% |
| – Literary Fiction | 19 | 27,54% |
| – Dystopia | 1 | 1,45% |
| Play | 1 | 1,45% |
| Poetry | 5 | 7,25% |
| Short-stories | 2 | 2,90% |
| Novella | 4 | 5,80% |
| – Classic | 1 | 1,45% |
| – Literary Fiction | 3 | 4,35% |
5. Name a new favourite author that you’ve discovered this year.
6. What’s the most surprisingly good book you’ve read so far this year?
Comemadre, by Roque Larraquy (2018, tr. Heather Cleary. Original: La comemadre, 2010) & Die, My Love, by Ariana Harwicz (2017, tr. Sarah Moses & Carolina Orloff. Original: Matate, Amor, 2012)
7. What are your favourite and most anticipated 2020 releases?
- Summerwater, by Sarah Moss
- Summer, by Ali Smith
- To Be A Man: Stories, by Nicole Krauss
- Daddy, by Emma Cline
- The Liar’s Dictionary, by Eley Williams
- The Mission House, by Carys Davies
- A Lover’s Discourse, by Xiaolu Guo
- Dearly: New Poems, by Margaret Atwood
- Death in Her Hands, by Ottessa Moshfegh
- Jack, by Marilynne Robinson
- The Pull of the Stars, by Emma Donoghue
- Sisters, by Daisy Johnson
- Intimations: Six Essays, by Zadie Smith
8. What’s your next big priority for your reading?
Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency, by Olivia Laing (2020) & The Bass Rock, by Evie Wyld (2020)
9. What’s been your bookish highlight of the year so far?
- Co-hosting the SpringAThon on Instagram, together with Natalie and Emma (May 4th – 17th)
- Two movie adaptations: Wild Nights With Emily, by Madeleine Olnek (2018) & Little Women, by Greta Gerwig (2019)
10. Who do you tag?
Everyone who enjoyed reading this post 🙂
Yours truly,
J.
I’m also looking forward to Summerwater and have a proof of The Liar’s Dictionary.
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I will be looking forward to your reviews of these books, Cathy!
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I am very tempted to do this check-in as well, it’s very thorough and a good reminder of my plans… and how I failed them…
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Thank you, Marina! I am looking forward to reading your post. I failed all my reading plans this year (but it is 2020, after all…)
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This is fascinating. Do you deliberately plan your reading to be so evenly spread out across the decades, or did it just work out that way? And where is the dividing line between classics and literary fiction?
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I hadn’t noticed it was so evenly spread, actually. In previous years, it has not been this way, so perhaps it is just a phase… My dividing line is highly subjective: literary classics tend to correspond to more contemporary books, while classics are the books published until the early 20th century.
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Nesse ano me apaixonei pela Ottessa Moshfegh e já estou atormentando as editoras brasileiras para saber quando teremos mais livros dela! haah
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Estou ansiosa pelo novo livro dela! Adoro o senso de humor ácido que ela tem.
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