One of the best parts about closing out the year is taking inventory of what I reading thoughts on what’s to come. There’s a lot to cover so let’s jump right in:
Here are my stats for 2020:
Favorites in Fiction:Â Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor, We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Favorites in Mystery:Â Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosely and The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
Favorites in Other Genres:Â Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (nonfiction), O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (Classic) and I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez (YA)
The Numbers:
Total books read in 2020: 48
Books by women: 38
Books by men: 10
Fiction:Â 25
Mystery: 16
Young Adult: 2
Non-fiction: 1
Classic: 2
Graphic Novel: 1
Poetry Collections: 1
Books in translation: 11 (Spanish, German, Japanese, Farsi, Swedish, Korean, and Finnish)
Books in Spanish: 1
Audiobooks: 7
Challenges participated in: 4 (completed 2)
This has been a tough year. And, yes, mainly due to COVID-19. My work has been very busy and I’ve been overwhelmed by the news that it’s been hard to concentrate on reading. So I read fewer books and listed to fewer audiobooks as I rarely drive anywhere since March. I am surprised by how few mysteries I read compared to other years, but I think that’s probably due to needing a break from thrillers.
However, I feel like I had a great year quality-wise. Lots of great fiction and works in translation. I’m very happy too that I discovered three new to me Mexican authors and I even read one book in the original Spanish. I’ve decided I really need to do that more often.
I participated in four challenges and completed two. I’m so excited about reading challenges again that I’m going to sign up for quite a few. More on those soon because they deserve their own posts.
One project I’d like to work on in 2021 is my bookshelf. When we moved to Austin more than 10 years ago, I had all of my books catalogued but before you know it, I stopped tracking and now I would say that half of my library is not catalogued. There’s no rush on this project but I think it would be a good way to find those shelf-sitters and determine if now is finally the time to read them and/or move them out.
How was your reading year? Do you have reading goals for 2021?
We made it through 2020. What a difficult year and I hope that better times are ahead for all of us. Thank you so much for visiting my blog and sharing in book talk with me. Best wishes for a healthy and joyful 2021 – Happy New Year!
Smiles,
Iliana
Happy New Year to you, Iliana! I loved Elinor Oliphant too and it ended up being the most favorite book group selection for this year among our afternoon book group members. I’ve yet to read The Stranger Diaries, but it’s our February selection for the mystery book group. I’ve been saving it as a treat. Glad you liked it so much. Take care and try not to wash away – it’s pouring outside right now. LOL
The Stranger Diaries was really good; I liked that one a lot, too. Hope you have a very Happy New Year! 😀
Happy New Year! I love reading end of the year posts. I think many of us had a hard time in concentrating on our books. Hopefully next year will be much better.
I feel really positive about this upcoming reading year. I am not sure about everything else, but I’m letting myself have high hopes for reading. 🙂 I am glad to see one of your favorites is We Need To Talk About Kevin. Such a powerful book! I would like to read I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter this year. I’m making a note to remind myself.
I noticed the same trend with me and mysteries this year, Iliana. I read one thriller, I think, and I just couldn’t do more.
I hope you have a peaceful, joyous and healthy New Year.
Happy New Year, Iliana! I didn’t read as many books this year as compared to the last but at least I enjoyed most of the books I read. I hope this year will be better in all aspects!
Happy New Year Iliana, You had a great reading year despite how busy you were at work. Isn’t it funny how we start tracking, cataloguing, and making lists, joining challenges and then life takes over, we get bored and it all falls apart. This happens to me often – can’t keep my closet or junk drawers neat either LOL Take care and have a great 2021.
Happy New Year! My book reading was lower than usual, hopefully this year will be better.
You did well. I read like a maniac last year, but I think I’ll settle down once like returns to normal. Happy New Year!
I so like your bookshelf plan. I keep thinking I must do something. I’ve never organized my books by genre or author, but I always knew (pretty much) where they all were until a few years ago when we were given my motherinlaw’s doll collection. It rather took over my biggest shelf, and I had to move books around and I mostly don’t know where they all are anymore. You have encouraged me to work on this project!
This was a difficult year in reading but I think for most people, it was great quality-wise. Somehow, being faced with stress and overwhelm, we make better reading (and life choices). I hope we can carry over more of that good into 2020 while being able to read more and face less stress. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! My reading numbers were low this year, too, but with all that has transpired we need to cut ourselves some slack. Eleanor Oliphant, O Pioneers! and Just Mercy were all favorites the year I read them. Here’s to a better 2021!
Kay – Happy New Year! I can’t believe how cold it got in just a day right? Glad to hear your book group is going to read The Stranger Diaries and I hope you guys enjoy it. Are you guys still meeting via zoom? We are doing conference calls but wish we’d move to zoom as I think that would make us feel at least a bit more like normal. Can’t wait to hear what books you’ll read this year.
Lark – I’m so excited there’s a new book in the series to look forward to this year. Should be fun! Happy 2021!
Yvonne – I know, right? I hoping to get back into a good reading groove. Wishing you all the best!
Literary Feline – I typically love mysteries and thrillers but I think last year it was grim enough with all the news. Granted some of my fiction was so intense like We Need to Talk About Kevin. Have you watched the movie? I”m curious but then again the book was so amazing that I don’t really want to watch the film and then be disappointed. Can’t wait to see what you read this year and happy new year!
Melody – I think we can all definitely give ourselves a break if we didn’t meet our reading goals last year. What counts is that we enjoyed our books right? Definitely wishing for brighter days head! Happy 2021!
Diane – So true. I was actually reading some of my early journal entries for 2020 in my physical journals and I had so many dreams about travels, etc. and boom the pandemic hit. That’s why I’m being a bit more cautious about my plans this year. Wishing you a great New Year!
Vicki – I feel like some readers either had a year where they read more than usual or less than usual. It seems like no in-between. Whatever the case though let’s just hope this year will be much better! Happy 2021!
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz – I can’t believe all the books you read. What an awesome accomplishment! However many books you read this year, I hope they are great! Happy 2021!
Nan – I felt so accomplish when I did that the first time and am so bummed out I didn’t keep up with it. How do you plan to track your books? Would love to hear if you do end up taking this on and how it goes. Happy New Year!
Athira – Isn’t that so interesting? While I wish I had read more books, I’m just so happy with the quality of books I read. It was hard to narrow down the list to favorite books because I had a lot of high rated books and luckily only a few duds. Wishing you a great year ahead!
Joann@Gulfside Musing – I’m with you, we have to start by being kind to ourselves and besides we have this year to make up for it. Wishing you a great 2021!
I love these “best of” lists and take a lot of notes, so thank you for sharing your favorites. I read and loved Eleanor Oliphant a couple of years ago and hope Honeyman is working on another book. We Need to Talk About Kevin is one of the books that’s been on my radar for years, but I’ve never picked it up. Maybe this will be the year. O Pioneers! is one of my favorite books by Cather. Might be time for a re-read of that one. Like you, I needed a break from thrillers this year. I enjoy mysteries, but thrillers begin to sound a like if I read them too close together. You read a lot of books in translation. Bravo! This is my year to read from my shelves. I focused a lot on them this year, once I wasn’t able to go to the library, and it’s been great to read from my personal “library.” I’m even seeing some space on the shelves, which is a good feeling. Happy reading and Happy New Year, my friend!
Les in OR – I do wonder if she’s working on another book and I sure hope so! I’d really like to read more from Willa Cather as I get the feeling I’d love her other books. I totally understand the need to read from your shelves. While I miss going to the library, I figure this is the best time to focus on all the books I’ve been acquiring over time . Have a wonderful 2021!