There are so many fun posts that I could write to start off 2023! And I have so many planned that it was hard to settle on this very first! Should I talk about my book buying habits in 2022? Should I talk about my goals for 2023? Should I give a general overview on my thoughts on all the books I read in 2022? Hopefully, all of these posts will slowly be coming your way as I find the time to write them. But for that very first post? Well, that had to be a stats post! I can’t wait to share all the graphs, charts, and numbers that will help you get a sense of how my reading year went in 2022!
Now, me being me, I have reasons beyond just loving stats for this to be my first post. I was going to post what my goals were for this year, but I want to be able to use as much information as I can to generate those goals. Part one was reflecting on my goals from the previous year to see what I learned, but I also want to look at the numbers and trends to see what’s feasible for me in 2023, and where there were gaps that I might try to challenge myself!
But anyways, you’re here for the big question. How many books did I read last year?
Books Read: 61
Pages Read: 19,661
Throughout 2022 I read 61 books and 19,661 pages. I have some mixed feelings about this number. On the one hand, I had a lot going on this year, with February through May being my final semester of college with a major project in the works that needed to be completed before I graduate. Then I moved and started a job in August and had to majorly readjust to living on my own and working full time and just familiarizing myself with a new state, new community, and new job all at once. But this still was the lowest number of books I’ve read by more than 20 books in the almost 10 years I’ve been tracking my reading, which makes it difficult for me to be as proud as I should be for reading so much despite everything that went on in this year.
I think the easiest way to visualize how many ups and downs my reading had in 2022 is with a graph that The StoryGraph provided me!
As you can see, I started out the year pretty strong in January, mostly because I was on winter vacation. Not really sure how I managed to read a little more in March, but apparently that happened. Then, of course, we have the MAJOR spike in reading following my graduation in June. In August I moved and started a job and so I’m proud of the one book I managed to read, and ever since August I’ve been slowly creeping upwards in my reading, although I feel I’ve begun to plateau. Hopefully that means that I’ll have a steady pace of reading in the next year or so, with some spikes as I begin taking some vacations here and there.
Now, despite the extreme variance going on with my reading throughout the year, I did read a pretty nice average amount of pages. I averaged a page count of 302 pages per book, with it taking me around 7 days to finish each book! This kind of data is exactly what I find helpful to plan my 2023 goals. If I know it takes me about a week to read each book, I now can plan better for how many books I can realistically read at that pace in 2023!
But that was just the number of books and pages. How about my ratings? Well for that, I’ll be using another StoryGraph chart!
In 2022, I mostly read 3.5 and 4 star reads, which is pretty good! I did have a few 2 and 2.5 star reads, many of which you may have seen me review, and I had a fair number of 5 star reads as well. Because of this, my average rating was a 3.86. I think that describes my reading year pretty well. I read a lot of good books, but there were few standout books.
I think the reason I don’t view this as a better reading year is because of the way so few of my 5 star reads were in my most read genres. As you may remember from my reflection on my 2022 Goals post, I dipped my toe into several genres this year, and quite a few of those reads ended up being 5 stars. So let’s talk a little about genre, and then the intersection between genre and rating.
Genres:
Romance: 39
Graphic Novels: 13
Sci-Fi: 6
Contemporary: 3
Poetry: 1
Fantasy: 1
Non-Fiction Essay Collection: 1
So my two most read genres that made up 85% of my reading were Romance and Graphic Novels. AND YET. Out of my 9 five star reads: 2 were romances, 3 were graphic novels, 3 were sci-fi, and 1 was that non-fiction essay collection.
So while only 5% of my romance reads got a 5 star rating, 50% of my sci-fi reads got 5 stars! I guess this is my sign to read more sci-fi! I’ll have to start looking into more cozy sci-fi works! But genuinely, I think this is why I didn’t feel like I had such a great reading year. My most read genre didn’t give me very many new favorites. Which is a weird thought. My favorite genre overall doesn’t have the statistics to back up my love for these stories. I’m hoping it was just a quirk this year and that I’ll read a whole bunch of 5 star romances in 2023!
In other news, StoryGraph showed the truth that I always proclaim. I genuinely enjoy only the lightest and fluffiest of stories. Below is a mood map. My mood map is a straight line at at the very lightest of regions, indicating that despite reading a few more genres, the mood of these stories never strayed! I think this graph is funnier when you can compare it to the ups and downs most other people have in their wrap ups!
Now let’s talk about some other numbers I want to mention.
This year, I managed to read 18 ARCs! That’s quite a high percentage of my overall reading, but I think it shows how hard I was trying to stay up to date with reviews before release, as well as my attempts to read through my backlist ARCs to try to get a fresh start for 2023. I didn’t quite clear the backlist just yet, but I definitely made an effort, and I’m so happy the numbers reflect that!
I also managed to read 39 titles from the books that I owned in 2022! That really makes me happy, since I purchased approximately 59 books this year. I always want to be sure that I’m actually reading the books off my shelf, and this number shows me that I do a pretty good job of that!
Since I haven’t read that much this year as compared to previous years, and I feel I’ve shared all the interesting bits of data already, that’s going to be the end of this post! But don’t worry! More stats are to come in just a few days when I break down all my book buying habits. Weirdly enough, I think I have even more to share in that post than I did in this one, so stay tuned!
Paper Procrastinators 
I am too lazy to switch to Storygraph (or maintain GR and SG), but I love the mood map. Light and fluffy really are the best. You did great this year. That book and a bit a week while going to school. Good for you!
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Oh, I totally here that, but as a stats nerd I feel it’s worth it to input my reading info into both Goodreads and StoryGraph, since I enjoy different features of each. And yes, the mood map truly is the greatest! It was also pretty cool to see the graphs from people whose moods really fluctuated throughout the year! But I agree! Light and fluffy books still reign supreme!
Thank you so much! 💕
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I think it’s quite normal for reading to fluctuate throughout life, and that’s why I find readers who think it’s a competition to be a bit…unfeeling, maybe? Someone who has plenty of free time is going to have more time to read than someone who say has a full-time job or caregiving responsibilities or health issues or whatever. I think as long as a person is reading and enjoying it, that’s enough! That being said, I do feel a bit sad when I haven’t been able to read as much as I wish I could!
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Oh, definitely! The older you get, the more you realize how many different lifestyles, responsibilities, employment options, etc that are out there and that impact your ability to read. I think that it’s okay to struggle (as I am) with how changing life stages and circumstances affect your reading, but also at some point you do have to accept that this is your new baseline! (Until the next change in life circumstances forces you to readjust your reading again, of course!)
But I totally agree that quality should always be viewed as the more important goal than quantity! Of course, emotions aren’t quite that simplistic though, so the quantity one reads will still have some sort of emotional impact, but the thing to remind yourself is that reading is a hobby and something we do for fun. If you enjoy reading, that truly is enough!
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I love looking at everyone’s pretty graphs in wrap-ups like this! I am really bad at tracking my reading in more than one place so at some point throughout the year my storygraph stats stopped being accurate so I don’t have any fun graphs to show! But my reading year looked similar to yours, January and July were my strongest reading months (because I attempted a 30 books in 31 days challenge both months and actually managed to somehow pull it off in January lol idk what possessed me). And then during exam times and when I was writing my bachelor’s thesis through September I read almost nothing! I’m just slowly making my way back to reading semi-regularly and I feel very comforted by the fact that I’m not the only person who had a chaotic reading year like this!
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Yessss! The pretty graphs are always my favorite parts of wrap ups! It’s definitely difficult to keep up with tracking what you read, especially when life gets busy, but I always try to update all the places I track as soon as possible, so that I never go too long without updating and fall out of the habit!
Wow! 30 books in 31 days?? I can’t even imagine reading at that pace given my current reading speed!
But I totally understand not reading when life gets hectic with exams and deadlines and such. It’s always so tough when you’re too busy to even use your time to read and relax. I’m definitely with you on the journey to reading more regularly and consistently, so you’re definitely not alone in the recovery from a chaotic reading year. I hope this year is filled with great books and consistent reading for us both!
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Yo, I literally didn’t understand the new mood map from storygraph at first because mine looked very similar to yours. I was like, what’s this straight green line for?? Now that I’ve seen some other people post theirs where there’s huge dips down into red I’m like oh God that’s Grimm! 😂
I think something to remember with not seeing as many five-star reads out of your romances is that you read so many more romances. Having that much of the sample size means there’s a higher chance of variation. If you had only read a comparable amount as you did from Sci-Fi for example, maybe you would have only read the ones you were most excited about and then seen the same percentages. Anyway, it can be your favorite genre regardless!
Could you let me know what the essay collection was that you rated five stars? I’m always looking for more nonfiction!
And always, don’t forget to be proud of the other accomplishments in your life that happened at the lower reading points in your graph 🙂
Can’t wait for more wrap up posts!
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Same! It was only after I saw other people’s graphs that I realized why mine was so flat and green! I can’t imagine I’ll ever see my graph dip to that really deep red/brown!
You make an excellent point! I’ve definitely read a LOT of romance at this point, so it’s probably a lot more difficult to impress me. But romance is definitely my favorite genre for a variety of reasons, regardless of how many 5 stars I end up with from that genre in a given year!
Definitely! It’s called Black Love Matters and it’s edited by Jessica P. Pryde. If you’re into reading romance whatsoever, it’s a fantastic look at Black Love stories and Black Romance with pieces from a variety of different people with varying perspectives. It really made me think and I’m so happy to recommend it. I will say, however, that if you’re not a romance reader, it may not interest you as much.
Thank you! There was a lot that happened in 2022 that I’m proud of and I appreciate the reminder to stop and acknowledge those moments!
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Oooh I’m definitely a romance reader and always looking for more!
Also, I think if I could see my graph right now it would be closer to that red because I’ve accidentally read a lot of darker books this month. xD Maybe I’ll go real hard one month this year to try to skew it hahaha
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Hi!
I like how you read a decent amount of graphic novels in ’22. They are becoming ever more popular and deserve more love. I am trying to write another one after publishing my first one. Graphic novels aren’t for everyone, I understand.
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Yes! I adore graphic novels and do my best to champion them!
Best of luck on your journey! I know that it can be really tough to write in general, but all the more so when working on a graphic novel! I hope you end up with a finished product you love!
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I always love looking at people’s pretty graphs this time of year – my math-loving nosy self finds it enormously satisfying! 😇 It looks like you had a pretty great reading year, though, especially considering all the turbulence in your life. I can definitely relate heavily to your graph crazily spiking post-graduation 😂
And yes, obviously, I keep track of my reading with graphs, too. I may or may not have gotten Storygraph for the sole purpose of having access to them and then made almost all of my graphs myself for my wrap-up (coming in two weeks) anyway… Oops 🤣
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Yes! Graphs are the absolute best! I honestly think this year was pretty good for all the upheaval and major life changes that occurred over the course of 12 short months! And of course I made sure to use my month of free time to read as much as possible! I have priorities after all!
I totally understand using StoryGraph just for the graphs! But similarly to you, I use StoryGraph, but then I also have a separate spreadsheet that I use to track other details, where I can create separate graphs and stats whenever I feel something is missing!
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Congrats on your new job and living on your own! I remember those days… and I had to move to a different country.
I read okay last year. I’m transitioning over to Storygraph and I like their features! I love that it tracks your audiobooks and also it’s easy to mark that you read multiple editions of books.
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Thank you! Wow! I can’t even imagine moving to a new country on top of graduating, getting a new job, and moving into my own place! That must have been so difficult!
I hope that this year you have a much better reading year than last year, in that case! And yes! StoryGraph has such great features! And I love how they incorporate feedback from users to keep making the site better!
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oh i relate so much to the thing about the most read genre not having many books in the favorites list! i read mostly fantasy last year, but i don’t think a single one made it to my top 7 books of the year 😭 like you, i’m hoping that it’s a fluke and i’ll read more impressive fantasies in 2023 lol! the mood graph straight line definitely made me laugh haha. hope you have a great reading year in 2023!!
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Maaaaaaaaaay! I saw you were back and eventually I will be commenting on your posts because I have THOUGHTS, but for now, HI!
It’s a really frustrating phenomenon, but as someone in one of the comments mentioned, you tend to read the most in your favorite genre, and therefore it’s harder for things to stand out at times. Regardless, I hope we both find more 5 star reads in our favorite genres in 2023!
Also, yes. My mood graph was completely on brand for me!
Thank you! I hope you have an amazing reading year as well!
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hello it’s good to see you!!
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I feel like you had a great reading year overall! I mean, with so many changes in your life, you still managed to read a whole lot overall so, YAY! And yay for mostly 3,5 and 4 star reads, that’s good! It’s always so much fun to see all of these different stats, I am way too lazy to do these kind of things ahah (and to switch to Storygraph… though maybe I should, I hear amazing things about it!) 🙂
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I think that I’m comparing these numbers to other years too much, because you’re right! I had a pretty great reading year in 2022, but I keep focusing on how I could have read more or had more five star and such, so that I’m not even focusing on all the parts that were good about it! But with all my life changes, this really was me trying my hardest to prioritize reading whenever I could!
I genuinely love seeing these stats at the end of the year! I think that’s part of what motivates me to update my spreadsheets and StoryGraph and such. I know the resulting stats and graphs will be worth it! (Also, you should definitely try out StoryGraph! You can import your Goodreads data, and from there on, all you have to do is track your reading, and you end up with such beautiful stats!)
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