Despite being a truly horrible year, reading-wise it has been marvellous. Once again, I kept my reading challenge to read and review at least 100 books, which I achieved by reading 184 books with 155 full reviews written, though 23 have yet to be published.
I have read 111 books by female authors and 75 by men – the sharp-eyed among you will have notice that adds up to 186, but there were two books in this year’s list with joint authorship – Sacred Bride by David Hair and Cath Mayo and Sweep with Me by Ilona Andrews, which is a husband and wife writing team. I am happy with that ratio, given that male authors still get higher priority in bookshops and more prestigious reviews, especially in SFF.
In a related challenge I set myself the task of reading at least two books a month by female authors. I managed to read 35 books in this category, which is 19% of my 2019 reading list, while 9% of books were by male authors I hadn’t previously read, which means that 28% of the books I read last year were by authors new to me. This is in contrast with last year’s 37% – but I’m not going to get unduly worried about that. I was in survival mode for quite a lot of the year, and reading was one of my main ways of keeping stress levels at bay. I wasn’t in the mood to experiment – indeed I was expecting this number to be lower.
I had originally intended to cut right back of review copies during 2020, and focus on tucking into my disgracefully large TBR. But once Lockdown hit, that went out of the window. Apart from anything else, a lot of wonderful books from authors I already knew and loved suddenly appeared on Netgalley. And as you can see – I went a bit overboard with requesting new arcs, as I reviewed 81 newly released books. I also bought 59 new books and only read a measly 41 books from my TBR pile. As for library books – that was also a complete bust, but in my defence, our library has been closed most of the year. I am going to try and read more books I already own – but to be honest, until the pandemic subsides, I’m giving myself a pass.
As you can see, I read 157 ebooks, 3 print books and listened to 24 audiobooks. Again, I had intended to read more of our print books that we own during 2020 – another target that went out of the window during Lockdown. And yes… while I appreciate that I do need to knuckle down and read more of them, right now, I find it far easier to read ebooks. So until things ease up, that’s what I’ll do. The one surprise is the fact I read far fewer audiobooks than last year, but that is because I tend to select large, hefty tomes to listen to while I’m houseworking. Whereas last year, I was working my way through my young grandson’s audiobook list of children’s and YA listens which were a great deal shorter.
In 2020 I read 59 science fiction books, 68 fantasy books, 27 crime adventures, 1 contemporary fiction, 21 historical books, 1 non-fiction book and 27 children’s books. Science fiction includes sub-genres such as space opera, colony adventures, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic, time travel, alternate history, military, futuristic crime, literary and steampunk. Fantasy includes sub-genres such as epic, urban, swords and sorcery, musket and magic, sand and sorcery, underworld, historical, grimdark and coming of age. I am still working my way through Frank’s audiobook library, which was mostly fantasy, but decided to take those out of the equation by putting them in a separate category. Even so, fantasy still is my most popular genre, followed by sci fi.
I have read 37 books by small presses and self-published authors, which is only 20% of my 2020 reading list. I think this low number has been skewed by my increased numbers of review copies from Netgalley which are most usually offered by traditional publishers. And yes – this is a number I would like to improve upon, but I’m refusing to consider any such target until Life gets a whole lot easier.
Did you find the situation last year impacted your reading patterns, too?
generations of peace. Next they clashed with Lascanne, their royalist neighbour, pitching war-machines against warlocks in a fiercely fought conflict. Genteel Emily Marshwic watched as the hostilities stole her family’s young men. But then came the call for yet more Lascanne soldiers in a ravaged kingdom with none left to give. Emily must join the ranks of conscripted women and march toward the front lines.
With her ship secure and her old boyfriend back in good graces, Vivian Kawabata only needs one thing to move forward: money. Money, though, is hard to come by when you’re an infamous disgraced heiress. Vivian’s only move is to enlist the help of her matchmaker, Marcelo, and find another wealthy man to add to her relationship network. He not only has to be a master in the bedroom, but he must be a pro with ships, too. Her ship needs a mechanic before they start taking on real clients for Flyght, the lucrative ship-sharing startup.
But his amazement quickly turns to horror when he gets lost in the dark. He’s underground, on his own, and nobody knows where he is …Until a hand reaches out of the blackness. A strange, pale girl helps Eddie get back to the surface, but she can’t seem to leave the caves herself. Who is she? Or rather …what is she? And what other secrets is she hiding? Only one thing is certain – this is a summer Eddie will never forget.
Over the last few years, inspired by the awesome 
The Cold Between – A Central Corps novel by Elizabeth Bonesteel
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
I have read 104 books written by female authors and 60 by men – the sharp-eyed among you will have notice that adds up to 164, but there were two books in this year’s list with joint authorship – Windhaven by George R.R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle and Athena’s Champion by David Hair and Cath Mayo.
In a related challenge I set myself the task of reading at least two books by female authors previously unknown to me in the Discovery Challenge, as set out by Jo Hall. I managed to read 43 books in this category, which is 27% of my 2018 reading list, while 32 books were by male authors I hadn’t previously read, which means that 47% of the book I read last year were by authors new to me. I’m really happy with that – it means I am continuing to expand my reading experience, rather than only sticking with authors I know and like, which was the case before I started this challenge.
I have continued requesting review copies from Netgalley and have also occasionally taken review copies from writing colleagues, so that during 2018 I read and reviewed 64 new releases. I also was determined to read more books on my ever-teetering TBR pile – in the event I managed 55 books, which I’m really pleased about. The huge shock is that this year we only read 6 library books – this simply won’t do. I am a real fan of our local library and I am determined that during the coming year, we will be using the library a whole lot more, otherwise we risk losing it.
In 2018 I read 72 science fiction books, 57 fantasy books, 19 crime adventures, 6 contemporary fiction, 4 historical books, 4 non-fiction books. Science fiction includes sub-genres such as space opera, colony adventures, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic, time travel, alternate history, military, futuristic crime, literary and steampunk. Fantasy includes sub-genres such as epic, urban, swords and sorcery, musket and magic, sand and sorcery, underworld, historical, grimdark and coming of age. While I’m aware I probably should widen my reading, I’m not going to. I read for pleasure and escape, these days. I reckon I’ve earnt the right.
So much for my determination to read more children’s books… I’m going to give up on this one. It clearly isn’t going to happen, given this has been an ongoing target ever since I started monitoring my reading statistics and each year it’s been a failure. But this year that failure has reached a new low – last year I read 19 children’s books in comparison to the measly 6 of this year. Whereas YA is holding fairly constant at 34 this year, compared with 30 last year.
This is a new category I have added. I have read 52 books by small presses and self-published authors, which is 32% of my 2018 reading list. This is an outcome I would like to improve on next year.
Brainfluff 