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2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Sunday, December 31, 2023
That's a Wrap!
2:20 PM
Happy New Year! Even though I'll probably finish another book today, I'm going to go ahead and compile my reading stats for the year. That way, I can refresh my blog today and be all ready to jump into 2024 tomorrow. Woo hoo!
2023 has been a great reading year for me, at least in that I've read more books than I ever have before. I'm not sure how many truly fantastic books I've experienced in 2024. Still, I enjoyed my reading for the most part. I discovered new authors, found hidden treasures, acted as a judge for three different book awards, headed up a fun book club, etc. So, yeah, it's been a successful reading year for me. Let's see what the numbers say:
To no one's surprise, I once again read way more fiction than nonfiction, with 198 of the former and 25 of the latter:
This next breakdown isn't too surprising either, considering it's stayed pretty consistent over the last several years. I read children's books (middle grade and YA) for book awards judging and only occasionally otherwise.
You know how I mentioned needing to put myself on a book buying ban in 2024? Here's a look at why. The books I read this year came from the following sources:
I'm patting myself on the back for making good use of my city and county library systems, but I REALLY need to use my own personal library instead of just adding to it!
Here's how the genres broke down. No surprise that mysteries/thrillers dominated (this includes historical mysteries, which I didn't count for the hist fic genre):
I couldn't get this pie chart right, but here's how the genres broke down:
Mystery/Thriller 70 books (31.4%)
Historical Fiction 32 books (14.3 %)
General Fiction 65 books (29.1%)
Sci Fi/Fantasy 17 books (7.6 %)
Romance 7 books (3.2 %)
Supernatural/Horror 2 books (approx. 1%)
Dystopian 2 books (approx. 1%)
Poetry 1 book (approx. .5%)
General Nonfiction 10 books (4.5%)
Historical Nonfiction 7 books (3.1 %)
Biography/Memoir 10 books (4.5%)
Lastly, I always keep track of the settings of the books I read. This year, I "visited" all 50 U.S. states, plus D.C., in my reading. The Top 5 states I stopped in were:
1. California (23 books)
2. New York (17 books)
3. Washington (6 books)
4. Tie—Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Vermont (5 books each)
5. Tie—Michigan, Ohio, Texas (4 books each)
I also did some international reading. The Top 5 countries I visited were:
1. England (25 books)
2. Canada (10 books)
3. Scotland (4 books)
4. Tie—Ireland and Australia (3 books each)
5. Tie—France and The Netherlands (2 books each)
How about you? How did your 2023 reading year go?
Just for my records, here are the books I read in 2023 (asterisks denote favorites):
- 1. Cece Rios and the King of Fears by Kaela Rivera (Jan)
- 2. Bastille Vs. The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson (Jan)
- 3. Sunny by Jason Reynolds [audio] (Jan)
- 4. The Blackout Book Club by Amy Lynn Green (Jan)
- 5. Madwoman by Louisa Treger (Jan)
- 6. The Art of the Decoy by Trish Esden (Jan)
- 7. Ten Days a Madwoman by Deborah Noyes (Jan)
- 8. Booked for Trouble by Eva Gates (Jan)
- 9. Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire* (Jan)
- 10. The War Librarian by Addison Armstrong [audio] (Jan)
- 11. Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron (Jan)
- 12. Exiles by Jane Harper* (Jan)
- 13. The Stranded by Sarah Daniels (Jan)
- 14. No Strangers Here by Carlene O'Connor (Jan)
- 15. Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber [audio] (Jan)
- 16. All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham (Jan)
- 17. Still Alice by Lisa Genova (Jan)
- 18. The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden [audio] (Jan)
- 19. The Silence That Binds Us by Joanna Ho (Feb)
- 20. Five Survive by Holly Jackson (Feb)
- 21. Beneath the Wide Silk Sky by Emily Inouye Huey* (Feb)
- 22. The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart (Feb)
- 23. The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong* (Feb)
- 24. The Starburst Effect by Kelly Oram (Feb)
- 25. Falling for Korea by Piper Jean (Feb)
- 26. Without the Mask: Coming Out and Coming Into God's Light by Charlie Bird* (Feb)
- 27. American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI by Kate Winkler Dawson (Feb)
- 28. Don't Look For Me by Wendy Walker [audio] (Feb)
- 29. Her Little Flowers by Shannon Morgan (Feb)
- 30. The Silence by Susan Alcott (Feb)
- 31. Somewhere Sisters: A Story of Adoption, Identity, and the Meaning of Family by Erika Hayasaki (Feb)
- 32. In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward (Feb)
- 33. The Lost Wonderland Diaries by J. Scott Savage (Feb)
- 34. Secrets of the Looking Glass by J. Scott Savage (Feb)
- 35. In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park (Feb)
- 36. The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation by Rosemary Simpson [audio] (Feb)
- 37. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds [audio] (Mar)
- 38. Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare (Mar)
- 39. Murder Off the Books by Tamara Berry* (Mar)
- 40. The Unknown Beloved by Amy Harmon (Mar)
- 41. The Opera Sisters by Marianne Monson (Mar)
- 42. Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country in the World by Sarah Smarsh [audio] (Mar)
- 43. The Letter Carrier by L.C. Lewis (Mar)
- 44. This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong* (Mar)
- 45. Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong* (Mar)
- 46. Courts and Alleys by Elizabeth J. Stewart (Mar)
- 47. A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly (Mar)
- 48. In the Shadow of a Queen by H.B. Moore (Mar)
- 49. The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede* (Mar)
- 50. The Letter From Briarton Park by Sarah E. Ladd [audio] (Mar}
- 51. Book Lovers by Emily Henry [audio] (Apr)
- 52. A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon* (Apr)
- 53. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston (Apr)
- 54. The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore (Apr)
- 55. A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Apr)
- 56. Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley (Apr)
- 57. Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley (Apr)
- 58. The Swell by Allie Reynolds (Apr)
- 59. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (Apr)
- 60. The Wedding Dress Sewing Cirlce by Jennifer Ryan (Apr)
- 61. To Catch a Storm by Mindy Mejia (Apr)
- 62. Lone Women by Victor LaValle (Apr)
- 63. Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong* [audio] (Apr)
- 64. The Close by Jane Casey* (May)
- 65. Misfortune Cookie by Vivien Chien (May)
- 66. The Bone Hacker by Kathy Reichs* (May)
- 67. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden (May)
- 68. The Only Girl in Town by Ally Condie (May)
- 69. Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke (May)
- 70. Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark (May)
- 71. A Stranger in Town by Kelley Armstrong* [audio] (May)
- 72. Where Are the Children Now? by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke (May)
- 73. The Right Kind of Fool by Sarah Loudin Thomas (May)
- 74. Enola Holmes and the Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer* [audio] (May)
- 75. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (May)
- 76. The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz (May)
- 77. The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong* (May)
- 78. Mousse and Murder by Elizabeth Logan (May)
- 79. Zero Days by Ruth Ware (Jun)
- 80. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson [re-read] (Jun)
- 81. Home Away From Home by Cynthia Lord (Jun)
- 82. Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen [audio] (Jun)
- 83. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Jun)
- 84. The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Jun)
- 85. Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths [audio] (Jun)
- 86. On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis (Jun)
- 87. A Simple Plan by Scott Smith (Jun)
- 88. Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser (Jun)
- 89. In Myrtle Peril by Elizabeth C. Bunce* [audio] (Jun)
- 90. I Lived On Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin (Jun)
- 91. The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate (Jun)
- 92. Stiff by Mary Roach (Jun)
- 93. The Talk by Darrin Bell* (Jun)
- 94. Surrender by Bono (Jul)
- 95. The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda (Jul)
- 96. Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA by Richard Hill (Jul)
- 97. A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones [audio] (Jul)
- 98. A Sky Full of Song by Susan Lynn Meyer (Jul)
- 99. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (Jul)
- 100. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (Jul)
- 101. A Gathering Of Days by Joan W. Blos (Jul)
- 102. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney* [audio] (Jul)
- 103. What Stands in a Storm by Kim Cross (Jul)
- 104. Enchanted Hill by Emily Bain Murphy (Jul)
- 105. Iceberg by Jennifer A. Nielsen [audio] (Jul)
- 106. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë* [re-read] (Jul)
- 107. The Manor House by Gilly Macmillan (Aug)
- 108. Death in Bloom by Jess Dylan [audio] (Aug)
- 109. O' Artful Death by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Aug)
- 110. Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow* (Aug)
- 111. What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski (Aug)
- 112. Lasagna Means I Love You by Kate O'Shaughnessy (Aug)
- 113. The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor (Aug)
- 114. Sincerely Sicily by Tamika Burgess (Aug)
- 115. Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson (Aug)
- 116. Adrift by Lisa Brideau (Aug)
- 117. 102 Days of Lying About Lauren by Maura Jortner (Aug)
- 118. The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd [audio] (Aug)
- 119. Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison (Aug)
- 120. Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado (Aug)
- 121. Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright (Aug)
- 122. Lemon Drop Dead by Amanda Flower (Aug)
- 123. Anatomy by Dana Schwartz [audio] (Aug)
- 124. Goldilocks by Laura Lam (Aug)
- 125. The Codebreaker's Secret by Sara Ackerman (Aug)
- 126. The Unbreakable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls by Julie Schumacher (Aug)
- 127. The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Beil [audio] (Aug)
- 128. All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers (Aug)
- 129. The Search for Us by Susan Azim Boyer (Aug)
- 130. Little Wonders by Kate Rorick (Aug)
- 131. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman* (Aug)
- 132. I Survived The Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79 by Lauren Tarshis (Aug)
- 133. The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman (Sep)
- 134. How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller (Sep)
- 135. The Vanishing Violin by Michael D. Beil (Sep)
- 136. The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne (Sep)
- 137. Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming (Sep)
- 138. Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister (Sep)
- 139. Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig (Sep)
- 140. Yarned and Dangerous by Sadie Hartwell (Sep)
- 141. Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life by Sutton Foster [audio] (Sep)
- 142. Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy (Sep)
- 143. Murder By Degrees by Ritu Mukerji (Sep)
- 144. Before I Called You Mine by Nicole Deese (Sep)
- 145. Off the Grid by Tess Sharpe (Sep)
- 146. Lay Your Body Down by Amy Suiter Clarke (Sep)
- 147. Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan (Sep)
- 148. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier (Sep)
- 149. All the Small Poems and Fourteen More by Valerie Worth (Sep)
- 150. Like Vanessa by Tami Charles [audio] (Sep)
- 151. Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford (Sep)
- 152. Scene of the Climb by Kate Dyer-Seeley (Sep)
- 153. The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer (Oct)
- 154. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (Oct)
- 155. Beer and Loathing by Ellie Alexander (Oct)
- 156. A Brew to a Kill by Ellie Alexander (Oct)
- 157. My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Oct)
- 158. Solito by Javier Zamora (Oct)
- 159. The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap by Wendy Welch (Oct)
- 160. The Audacity of Sara Grayson by Joani Elliott (Oct)
- 161. The Secret of Snow by VIola Shipman [audio] (Oct)
- 162. The Sewing Machine by Natalie Fergie (Oct)
- 163. War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi (Oct)
- 164. Your Second Act by Patricia Heaton (Oct)
- 165. A Bit of Earth by Karuna Riazi [audio] (Oct)
- 166. Eventide by Sarah Goodman (Oct)
- 167. Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center* (Oct)
- 168. The Inn Between by Marina Cohen (Oct)
- 169. Finally Seen by Kelly Yang (Oct)
- 170. Devil By the Tail by Jeanne Matthews (Oct)
- 171. The Third Mushroom by Jennifer L. Holm* (Nov)
- 172. Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr. [audio] (Nov)
- 173. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (Nov)
- 174. The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict (Nov)
- 175. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (Nov)
- 176. River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer (Nov)
- 177. The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters (Nov)
- 178. The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor (Nov)
- 179. The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White* (Nov)
- 180. Austenland by Shannon Hale (Nov)
- 181. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree* (Nov)
- 182. The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl (Nov)
- 183. Year of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub (Nov)
- 184. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (Nov)
- 185. Weird Rules to Follow by Kim Spencer (Nov)
- 186. Hope in the Valley by Mitali Perkins (Nov)
- 187. Murder at Haven's Rock by Kelley Armstrong* [audio] (Nov)
- 188. The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla (Nov)
- 189. Miracle by Karen S. Chow (Nov)
- 190. Half Moon Summer by Elaine Vickers (Nov)
- 191. The Braid Girls by Sherri Winston (Nov)
- 192. The Great Kid in the World by John David Anderson* (Nov)
- 193. A Touch of Blue by Tory Christie (Nov)
- 194. Murder Road by Simone St. James* (Nov)
- 195. The Gray by Chris Baron (Nov)
- 196. Hands by Torrey Maldonado (Nov)
- 197. On Air With Zoe Washington by Janae Marks (Nov)
- 198. Sixties Girl by MaryLou Driedger (Nov)
- 199. The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh* (Nov)
- 200. An Inquiry into Love and Death by Simone St. James [audio] (Nov)
- 201. The Only One Left by Riley Sager (Dec)
- 202. Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li (Dec)
- 203. The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown* (Dec)
- 204. Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan (Dec)
- 205. Tethered to Other Stars by Elisa Stone Leahy (Dec)
- 206. Light a Candle by Jean Kuo Lee (Dec)
- 207. Race for the Ruby Turtle by Stephen Bramucci (Dec)
- 208. Amelia Gray Is Almost Okay by Jessica Brody (Dec)
- 209. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens* [audio] [re-read] (Dec)
- 210. Jiu-Jitsu Girl by Jennifer Dutton (Dec)
- 211. The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt* (Dec)
- 212. The Paper Daughters of Chinatown (Young People's Edition) by Heather B. Moore and Allison Hong Merrill (Dec)
- 213. Never Lie by Freida McFadden [audio] (Dec)
- 214. No Matter the Distance by Cindy Baldwin (Dec)
- 215. Once Upon a Family by Amanda Rawson Hill (Dec)
- 216. The Talent Thief by Mike Thayer (Dec)
- 217. The Winterton Deception: Final Word by Janet Sumner Johnson (Dec)
- 218. Gingersnap! A Redhead's Guide to Not Being Eaten By a Dragon by Daniel Swenson (Dec)
- 219. First, the Conjurer by Mary Locke Jolley (Dec)
- 220. Before by Molly McNamara Carter (Dec)
- 221. The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell [audio] (Dec)
- 222. Taigh by Loralee Evans (Dec)
- 223. Branson Garcia and the Sea of Sceros by Amy Dewsnup (Dec)
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