#it's nice to be in a reading sort of mood again. audiobooks and ebooks are proving easier for me than print.

[consolecadet]

I'm rereading Idoru and it's incredible how now, 14 years later, I actually understand what is happening in the plot

[lizziestudieshistory]

2023 Reading Summary

I'm late...again... It's hardly a surprise. However, I've finally looked at my reading for 2023. The only stats I tracked this year was the genre, and even this was a simplified version because I decided I don't care. I spent most of my time this year recording what I thought about the books I read not the data surrounding them. And, if I'm honest, I don't think I'll even bother with the genre in 2024.

The Numbers

In total I read 84 books, which considering I've been working or training full time all year is surprising for me. On average I tend to read 60-70 books in a normal year, usually towards the lower end, so almost 20 books over that is a very pleasant surprise.

The biggest surprise has been my change in most read genre! I've only recorded 4 genres, classic, nonfiction, fantasy, and general fiction, these broke down to:

Classic 53%

Fantasy 31%

Nonfiction 12%

General fiction 4%

Fantasy is usually my top genre with over 50%, so this is a change (I don't think it will be permanent). However the largest shock is the nonfiction! I never read nonfiction for fun, but I guess this is a change from leaving university. I don't have to learn for work anymore, so I'm now looking into these things for fun as the mood takes me. I am disappointed these haven't been history books, however, I'm hoping to change that in 2024 and it has been nice learning more about literature in 2023.

Top Three Books

I tried to do a top 5 but the gap between 3 and 4 was too large, so I've narrowed it down to a top 3.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin

Evelina by Fanny Burney

I loved all of these books in different ways, and I think I've done a mini review of each in the months I read them. However, if anyone wants detailed thoughts then I'm more than happy to talk about any of these books.

Biggest Surprises

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Silas Marner by George Eliot

Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti

Fugitive Prince by Janny Wurts

All of these were excellent, they just weren't quite in my top three.

Most Disappointing

Witches: James I and the English Witch-Hunts by Tracy Borman

The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy by Robin Hobb (I DNFed this series after Fool's Quest and I'm heartbroken, but I have major issues with this trilogy in a way I couldn't keep reading as it was destroying my love for Fitz.)

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (this is standing in for all of the secret project books)

Goals (Sort Of...)

To continue the surprises... I've only listened to 4 audiobooks, so most of those books were read physically or through an ebook. This is huge for me as I used to consume about a third of my books through audio, it's a massive improvement because I don't retain them very well. Listening to fewer audiobooks was a big part of my informal (in other words unwritten) reading goals and I'm very happy to have got it down this far. I do think it'll go up again next year because I've got a lengthy commute to work now, but I've also broken the habit of sitting at home listening when I could easily read the book myself and get more out of it.

I did as well with not worrying about numbers or data surrounding the books I'm reading. I deliberately retired my spreadsheet this year and only kept up with my reading journal. After a week or so I didn't miss it in the slightest. I'm not a hard data/stats kind of person, but I am easily persuaded to keep these sorts of records. I started keeping a spreadsheet in 2019 where I track genre, pages, author gender, and format in addition to the book information, by 2022 I was tracking book info, series, genre, format, author info (just too much to list), pages, month read, where I bought the book, if it was a tbr, new or library read, reread or new to me, and rating. It was too much! It was hard work, I was MISERABLE, and I didn't care. It was performing to the standards of what you see in the reading community online... So, I ditched the spreadsheet and I've been much happier. I've read better books because I haven't had my stats in mind, and I've read more. I had more time to actually read because I haven't been spending an inordinate amount of time researching books and entering data into a spreadsheet! I'm definitely making this a permanent change.

I've also used my ereader a lot more this year, I have no numbers to back this up but I've naturally been reaching for it regularly and it has done me good. I've not only read more frequently and for longer periods of time, but I've been more comfortable while reading (no more back, neck, or arm strain from 1000+ page fantasy tomes!) and I've tried books I was hesitant about buying physically because I could access a digital copy. I did have a massive problem with my ereader in November because my Kobo Libra 2 started to have battery changes that nothing resolved and then it died completely. Unfortunately I lost a lot of my reading data, including my notes, which has upset me. But I have saved my elibrary and bought a "new" device (it's a Boox Nova 3) so I can still read - I might discuss getting a Boox separately. However, I am much more cautious about note taking through a device and I'm sticking to recording everything in my physical journal.

This brings me nicely onto my reading journal. I wanted to overhaul my journal this year because my old journal format was growing stale and uninspiring to use. I was often leaving it for weeks at a time and often scrambling to write up 5 or 6 books in one go because I'd forgotten to do it as I was reading. So, I worked through several different styles of journal and found a new, more flexible, and engaging style that can fit my changing moods throughout the year. I'm definitely going to discuss this at a later date, so I won't say much here. But I am very happy to have a new journal system and I'm excited to get into it properly this year.