2020 Reading Wrap-Up

Hello, all!

We did it, friends. 2020 is finally coming to an end after lasting two million years. This was definitely a trying year for everyone, but the one bright spot was that it was my most productive reading year ever. I managed to read 280 books this year, which is just crazy to me and a number I don’t know if I’ll ever hit again. (Well, who knows, if this quarantine stays in place, maybe!)


As always, I used GoodReads to track my reading (feel free to add me on there!), so here’s a little look back at my stats. I always find it interesting to see what my average rating for the year is. I felt I read a lot of 4/5 star books this year, so I thought it would be slightly higher, but it ended up being about the same as it was last year.



Speaking of high ratings, let’s get into some of my favorites from this year.  Let me know if you’ve read any of these, or if any are on your list to read:

-Kings of the Wyld- Nicholas Eames: This was a hilarious fantasy romp following a group of mercenaries who used to be the most fearsome band but who are now way past their prime, but something happens forcing them to dust off their weapons and head out for one more quest.
-My Favorite Half-Night Stand- Christina Lauren: You all know my love of Christina Lauren books. They’re always just so fun and this one about a woman falling for one of her best guy friends through a dating app was no exception.
-The Happy Ever After Playlist- Abby Jimenez: After the death of her fiancé, Sloane can’t get her life back on track, but then a dog literally falls into her lap and his handsome owner might be just the thing she needs to feel alive again. This is a companion novel to The Friend Zone, but I actually read this before that one and it was still easy enough to follow.
-Beach Read- Emily Henry: Neighbors January and Gus are both writers but couldn’t be more opposite. She writes romance, and he’s more hard-hitting fiction. They decide to try out each other’s genres to cure their respective writers’ block, and adorableness ensues.
-The Song of Achilles- Madeline Miller: This is a breathtaking telling of Achilles and the Trojan War and it completely broke me.
-The Tourist Attraction- Sarah Morgenthaler: A cute quirky girl falling for a grumpy diner owner in a small Alaskan town? Sign me up.
-The Diviners- Libba Bray: This is the first book in a historical fiction/mystery/supernatural series that I put off for way too long and am now kicking myself for. The 1920s New York setting really adds to the grimy feel of the story and the writing is top-notch.
-The House in the Cerulean Sea- TJ Klune: I don’t think I’ve ever read such a heartwarming or charming book. Everything about this was magical and I loved every second of it.
-Thunderhead- Neal Shusterman: This is the second book in the Arc of a Scythe series which I binged this year and it blew my mind.
-A Song of Wraiths and Ruin- Roseanne A. Brown: Two characters who are unknowingly trying to kill one another? A competition element? And ancient magic? Yes, please.
-The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue- V.E. Schwab: I will probably never stop gushing over this gorgeous book.
-Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood- Sarah J. Maas: Obviously, this one was going to be on here. I’m forever trash for whatever SJM brings out.

I also thought it might be fun to include some reading goals for 2021:

-Read 150 books: I always tend to set my reading goal very low and then surpass it in a few months, so I figured I’d be a bit more realistic this time.
-Read more Non-Fiction: I don’t usually gravitate towards non-fiction, but I read a few memoirs this year which I enjoyed, so I want to continue that in the coming year.
-Read more books on my shelves: I want to cut down on the unread books I have on my shelves, so I want to read at least one a month.
-Cut down on my Netgalley requests: It’s so easy to request every e-ARC that slightly interests me, but then all of a sudden I have 20 books to review and then I get stressed, so I only want to request books I really want to read.

I also want to shake up my reading tracking for 2021. Aside from GoodReads, I also use a bullet journal where I break down by month what audio books, e-books, and physical books I read. I want to be able to take that info and include it into my yearly wrap-ups as well, but unfortunately, my brain is hardwired to turn to mush when it comes to numbers, so I went on the hunt for something else to use that would track that for me and I found it! I stumbled across this reading log by Book Riot which is essentially a Google sheets doc where you input all the information for whatever you’re reading (title, format, length, author info, etc), and then it will convert all that into percentages and pie charts. I’m really excited to try this out and get an even better breakdown of my reading habits.

Let me know how your reading year went, what some of your favorites were, and if you use anything to track your reading as well! Have a Happy New Year!

Comments

  1. Great wrap up, you read some awesome books! The Happy Ever After Playlist is on my tbr :)

    Anika | chaptersofmay.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. You had such an amazing reading year!!! So many of your favorites were either 1) also my favorites or 2) are still on my TBR for 2021! I'm so glad you enjoyed Kings of the Wyld and The Diviners!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!! I was super proud of myself. I hope whichever ones are still on your TBR that you enjoy!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts