As Christine said with her post, better late than never :) Although I have to point out that we're still in January, so it's really not that late... especially for someone who wasn't planning to write a 2010 wrap-up post! Initially, I thought I'd continue being a rebel - I did not write a recap post for 2009, mostly because I did a poor job tracking my books; I abandoned Shelfari halfway through the year ^_^; However, I don't have the same excuse for 2010 and after seeing everyone's posts, I have to admit I was itching to write a recap post :P So here it is :)
Number of books read
190
Now, this number is actually not accurate ^_^; I know, I know, it doesn't start the post very well... This is the number of books I've recorded in my Google spreadsheet. However, If you add up the number of books read in my monthly posts, it'll be approximately 183. That's because I did not count re-reads in the monthly reads posts, but I did in my Google spreadsheet ^_^; Yep, it's the eternal debate (at least for me) as to whether re-reads count or not... Also, I'm pretty sure I've slipped a few times throughout the year and didn't record all the books read and I did not include the mangas... So the real number is probably a few books higher. In any case, I'm very pleased with 190. My unofficial goal was 200 and I'm close to it and quite surprised because I thought I didn't read very consistently in 2010. I'd read a lot for a week or two, then slump for 2 weeks and start reading again for a few days ^_^;
For 2011, my goal remains 200 books read. I also hope to do a better job keeping track of my books :P
Number of books bought
193
Are you surprised at the number? LOL, well disclaimer, the number is not accurate either ^_^; 193 does not include books I've bought at the UBS or book fair, nor the books bought on my trip or received for free from friends, bloggers, contests and of course, not the mangas either ^_^; So why even put it up there? Well just because I feel like it LOL. In truth, the number of books I've gotten in 2010 is somewhat closer to 232, which comes from crunching the books bought in the monthly reads post. However, what's interesting is that according to my Google spreadsheet, I saved at least 517.57$!!! That's not a bad number! Of course, how much did I spend in order to save that much? LOL, not saying.
In 2011, I hope to do a better job recording every book I bought :P I'm also aiming to increase the number of books I buy in e-format.
What did I read?
Contemporary romance = 42
Young Adult = 22
Urban Fantasy = 17
Paranormal romance = 17
Fantasy = 14
Romantic suspense = 13
Category romance = 9
M/M = 5
Sci-Fi = 3
Mystery/thriller = 2
Steampunk = 1
Fiction = 1
I think I read a great selection of books - definitively a lot of romance :) Does it reflect my tastes? Not exactly; however, it does reflect what's being published currently :) What I'm most surprised of is the number of YA books. I didn't realize I've read that many!! I'm also surprised that Urban Fantasy and Paranormal romance came neck to neck. I feel like I've read more Urban Fantasy :P
I see no reason to change my reading habits when it comes to genres, as I read what I enjoy :) However, I have a feeling that I'll be picking up more mysteries in 2011... Anyone has recommendations for mystery series, but with strong romance elements?
Who published them?
Harlequin (Harlequin, Mira, HQN, Carina Press) = 31
Harpercollins Publishers (Avon) = 22
Simon & Schuster (Pocket) = 21
Grand Central Publishing = 10
Macmillian (St. Martin's Press, Tor) = 9
Random House (Bantam Books) =6
Kensington (Zebra) = 3
Dorchester = 2
Sourcebook = 1
Others (Orbit, Doubleday Canada, Hyperion, Scholastic, etc.) = 20
It's kind of fun to find out who belongs to who when it comes to publishing house. Fun and confusing at the same time. LOL.
When were they published?
2010 = 120
2009 = 27
2008 = 10
2007 = 10
2006 = 3
2000 to 2005 = 10
1990 to 1999 = 6
Before 1990 = 4
120 books released in 2010, that means 63.2% of the books I read. That makes sense given how much I run after new releases LOL. And see, see! I don't run for nothing, I do read most of them right away!! Actually, what would be interesting is to see how much did I read from the books I bought and from my TBR pile. Hmmm, maybe something for next year :)
Well, I did say my reading reflected what is being published at the moment and it's no real surprised that the bulk of my reading is from books published after 2005. There was hardly any Urban Fantasy, Young Adult and Paranormal romance before... Also, I really started reading romance in 2000 and I've been looking forward most of my reading years. The only reason why I'd buy books published before 2000 is that I was glomming on an author with a very old backlist. My guess is that the books published before 2000 are primarily from Jayne Ann Krentz and Nora Roberts :P
A = 15
B = 115
C = 43
D = 8
E = 1
DNF = 2
I did not grade everything I read, sometimes because I had no idea what to grade them and other time, because they were re-reads. Looking at the grade distribution, I've enjoyed the majority of the books I've read and loved quite a few as well :) However, I know that if I go back and take another look at the books and reviews, many would be down-graded. It'll be interesting to see what my grade distribution in 2011 will be as I aim to be more consistent and objective...
Did I share my thoughts with you?
Number of reviews = 77
Mini-reviews (from monthly reads posts) = 76
Books I still want to review = 28
I'm not the type of blogger who can review everything she read. I just can't. So how do I choose which books to review? Well it's simple, the book has to call to me :P Still, I try to justify my grades when I share it with everyone by including mini-reviews in my monthly reads posts :)
Overall, I think I did pretty good this year when it comes to sharing my thoughts on books with everyone else :) Combining the reviews with the mini-reviews, I've covered 80% of the books I've read! Of course, there are still those 28 books that have fallen through the cracks and quite frankly, I don't know if I'll ever get back to them... but we never know, right? :) Hopefully, I'll be better at it this year :) (although it's not starting out too well ^_^;;;)
Random numbers
New Authors = 40
I think that I'm quite adventurous in my reading. Perhaps not in genres, but I have no qualms at trying new authors and picking up new series, especially if they come recommended. Plus, I'm very impulsive in my buying... and also very easy LOL. I don't know how many of those 40 I'm going to keep looking out for though...
Books read part of a series = 139
Series are definitively the way to go nowadays in the publishing world and I'm not afraid of them :) I can't really tell those 139 books come from how many series, but I know myself. If I enjoy a series and many books are out, I'm going to binge on them :) I think that's really the way to go with series - to not wait too long, if not you fall behind and it's hard to get back into it.
***
By the way, while there are a lot of numbers in this post, there are no titles or author names... well that's because I decided it'd be more fun to do a Best and Worst of 2010 post with someone else than just on my own. So head over Breezing Through to find out what Ames, Monroe and I thought were the Best and Worst of 2010! This will last the whole week, so I hope you enjoy :)
And with this, I have finally wrap up my posts for 2010!! Woohoo!! Now, onto 2011! LOL.
