Hello Readers! We’ve finally arrived at the end of 2020! While it’s been a year full of unimaginable tragedies and hardships, there have been a few good things to come out of 2020. (But just a few.) One of those is books! Maybe it was a way to escape or cope—or maybe it was all the time spent at home, but I had one of my best reading years in a long time.
At the end of last year, I discovered an amazing spreadsheet created to track bookish and blog stats provided by Kal @ Reader Voracious! As someone who is mathematically and logistically challenged, this extensively thorough spreadsheet left me in awe. And that she makes it available for free??!! Who is this amazing person?? Go check out her spreadsheets and her blog! She just released an updated spreadsheet for 2021, as well. Leave her a tip, if you can. 🙂
Last year I used my Goodreads Stats and the Reading Survey shared by Merline @ Merline Reads (originally shared by Gabby @ Gabby Reads) to summarize my year of reading—and to keep things easy, I’ll be doing the same for 2020! Let’s wander in!
Reading Stats
Source: 43 came from my existing physical or virtual shelves, 35 ARCs (25 from Netgalley), 25 I purchased new or used, 3 were gifted, 2 won in giveaways, and 1 borrowed
Genre: 33 Romance, 23 Fantasy, 12 Contemporary, 11 Historical Fiction, 9 Non-Fiction, 6 Classics, 6 Mystery, 4 Literary, 2 Horror, 2 Graphic Novels, and 1 Thriller
Audience: 59 Adult, 46 Young Adult, 3 Middle Grade, and 1 Children
Format: 54 Ebooks, 46 Paperbacks, 8 Hardcovers, and 1 Audiobook
Reading Survey
(Link to add on Goodreads through the book title.)
How many books did you read? Did you meet your goal?
I read 109 books this year! At the start of 2020, I set a goal of 75 books on Goodreads, but extended it to 100 books when I realized I would meet my original goal. I also participated in the Popsugar Reading Challenge for my third year, which I completed in November. You can take a look at My 2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge Wrap-Up to see how I did!
Most read genre?
I wasn’t surprised to discover I read more romance than any other genre, but I was surprised to see I almost tripled my YA reads from last year, as well as tripling my fantasy reads. It looks like I gravitated to lighter reads in 2020, which really shouldn’t be surprising, I guess. 😉
Longest and shortest books you read?
Favorite book published in 2020?
Beach Read by Emily Henry
My Review
Favorite debut book published in 2020?
The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones by Daven McQueen
My Review
Favorite book NOT published this year?
The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
My Review
A book that lived up to the hype?
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
My Random Thoughts While Binge-Reading the Six of Crows Duology
A book that did NOT live up to the hype?
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Book that felt like the biggest accomplishment?
Not only did I read Chain of Gold during the outbreak of a pandemic, I also read everything in the Shadowhunter universe that led up to it, including The Infernal Devices series and various short stories. My Chain of Gold TBR post was also my most popular post in 2020, and works for the next release in the series, Chain of Iron, as well.
My Review
Favorite character?
Emoni from With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
Least favorite character?
Eli from His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie
My Review
Most shocking book/moment?
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
Favorite couple/OTP?
Calla and Jonah from Wild at Heart by K.A. Tucker
My Review
The best written book you read this year?
Beach Read by Emily Henry – I’m trying very hard not to repeat books, but this is the one book I thought was perfectly written.
My Review
Book that you pushed most people to read in 2020?
Fable by Adrienne Young
My Review
Favorite book cover of the year?
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
My Review
Favorite book adaptation?
Normal People on Hulu adapted from Normal People by Sally Rooney
My Review
What book made you cry the most?
Books don’t often make me cry, but Dear Emmie Blue had me misty-eyed for all the right reasons.
My Review
What book made you laugh the most?
A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son by Michael Ian Black
My Review
A new favorite author you discovered this year?
Sarah Morgenthaler, author of the Moose Springs series.
My Review of The Tourist Attraction
My Review of Mistletoe & Mr. Right
My Review of Enjoy the View
Guilty pleasure read of the year?
Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (Along with my entire reread of The Twilight Saga.)
My Review
Favorite book you reread this year?
One of my goals for 2020 was to reread more of my favorite books. I’m happy to report that while I only reread 4 books in 2019, I reread 11 in 2020! Besides my reread of The Twilight Saga and The Infernal Devices series, I reread the Just One Day series by Gayle Forman, as well.
What is the best non-fiction book you read this year?
I read so many great non-fiction books this year, but one of my favorites was Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett.
My Review
Were you happy with your reading year?
I was much more happy with my reading year in 2020 than I was in 2019. One of my goals was to read less ARCs, and while I didn’t quite do that, I was much more selective. I feel like I had more control over what I read, reading more for pleasure than out of obligation, and my average rating reflects that. I also feel like my Books vs. Month graph (below) is a perfect reflection of the highs and lows of 2020. <3
What’s your favorite read of the year? Did you reach all your goals? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering & Happy 2021!
I loved the Just One Day books. That final one was the icing on the cake for me. They should adapt that. I cried for Emmie too, but that book was true up-lit, because I was overflowing with joy by the end. I put Beach Read on one of my Best lists. It might not have been what I expected, but it was spectacular. I truly believe it had some of the best dialog I have ever read and my emotions!
Oh yay!! I agree with all of this! I would LOVE an adaptation of the Just One Day series! Emmie was such a special book, and I love your description of up-lit. Spot on! Yes! One of my favorite things about Beach Read was the dialogue. It was perfect!
Hi there Dedra! All those stats… gosh, it makes me head spin! But it’s great to look back and see what you’ve accomplished. Well done! 109 books…. And I’m worried about my 80 books I want to read this year….
Good luck with all your challenges for this year. But with that amazing tracker, you can basically just sit back and sip your coffee and read your book!
Happy New Year!
Elza Reads
Ha! It was a challenge just for me to organize those stats with my math-opposed brain. I couldn’t do it without the spreadsheet. But I did enjoy comparing the past two years stats to see how my reading changed.
Happy New Year and Happy Reading! <3
I am a huge fan of Beach Read as well! With a half hour left in the year, I was able to finish my 200th book of the year! The pandemic was good for my reading life, and I am confident that I will never hit that number again…..but it was fun while it lasted 🙂
Wow!!! Congrats on 200 books!! It bugged me a bit to leave my number at 109. I considered reading something short to get me to 110, but I’d waited too late to get my end of the month/year blog posts done. 😉 I’ve had the same thought—wondering if I’ll ever read as much in a year again. Happy New Year!
Kal @ Reader Voracious really does have an awesome book tracker! I’ve been using a modified version of it for a few years now, and I love it. Sounds like you had a great reading year! I know I did, too, though I haven’t looked at my stats yet.
I’m so happy I discovered it last year. I really enjoyed comparing my stats from the past two years to see how they’d changed. The pandemic definitely helped my reading year. 😉
I love looking at end-of-year stats! I find people’s reading habits so interesting. I started the year using Kal’s fabulous spreadsheet, and then partway through got really lazy, and it kind of just … died. xD You read so many books/pages in 2020, though! I’m so impressed. Although, to be fair, this year I’ve sort of been impressed when people read in general, because that’s how low the bar is for me in 2020 lol. Reading under stress is hard. You’ve got such a wide, diverse range of reads, too! I haven’t looked at my 2020 stats yet, but I’m feeling it’s going to be a ridiculous amount of fantasy and not a whole lot else. xD My bad. Maybe I know what one of my resolutions for 2021 should be haha.
I didn’t do so hot keeping up with my spreadsheet either. I managed to update it halfway through the year, though, which helped a bit. But then I had to sit and enter the second half of the year. Ha! Don’t feel bad if you only read a lot of fantasy. It was that kind of year. I feel no guilt whatsoever for mostly reading romance. We needed the escape! 😉
It looks like you had such amazing reading accomplishments for 2020! And that pie graph is so colorful, haha. I fell far from my goal, but honestly I expected as much, and I’m glad for what I managed to read. Also thank you so much for linking the spreadsheet you use! I was looking for something similar to use in 2021, so it’s a big help.
2020 was HARD! We shouldn’t feel bad about any of the goals we didn’t meet. We can just try again in 2021, right?? 🙂
I’m so happy you discovered the spreadsheet! It’s so much fun!