2018 Wrap-Up: A Statistical Analysis of the Year of Declining Productivity

Hello!  Yes, I'm still here.  I haven't been around the blogosphere for a while in any sort of regular way mostly because this past fall semester at uni was horrifically busy.  Anyway, I'll have a whole life update at the end of this post so I'll leave the venting for then.  And now, onto the statistics (because who doesn't like graphs?).

Statistics:

Pages Read: 36,295

Total Books Read: 98

Rereads: 33

DNF: 1

Oh wow... Yeah that's my year in a nutshell.  Reading in general just goes straight down as the year goes on.  Spring semester, I was great at fitting reading in.  Fall semester?  Not so much.  Maybe it's just my luck to be awful at consistency and to have a specific portion of the year that is a failure.

Reviews Posted: 47

Average Ratings:

Interesting, yes?  Typically, I'll rate my rereads higher (because obviously I enjoy the books I reread) but that doesn't seem to have impacted this graph too much (except in February and September).

Number of Authors Read: 68

Number of Series Books: 67

Number of Standalones: 31

I was looking back at my previous yearly wrap-ups and I thought the differences were increasingly interesting to look at so I've included all the graphs here for your viewing pleasure.
Book Page Length:

On one hand, it's nice to see that my preferences for page length haven't really changed but I've also been wanting to read longer books more frequently which is definitely not happening.  Maybe it's not something worth spending time on but I think I might anyway.

Author Gender:

Sadly, I didn't read any books that were authored by any non-binary authors (or any other gender identities other than the traditional two).  That one 'other' in there is from Q by Luther Blissett.  Luther Blissett is a group of many people which is why I categorized it as 'other'.  Next year, I really want to make it a goal to read more books by authors who have different gender identities than those listed above so if you have any recommendations, leave them for me down below!

I also made it a goal for past years to read more of an even split of the gender ratio and clearly it's been going the opposite direction as I've been reading books by more female authors over the years.

Book Format:

It's really interesting to me that the amount of paperbacks I read stays about the same but ebooks and hardbacks vary wildly.  I think that mostly relates back to how many R&R's I manage to get done in a year because I only accept ecopies of those.

Genre:

These graphs are so lovely with all the colors!  My fantasy and contemporary percentage has been increasing while my percentage of science fiction and romance are steadily decreasing.  Overall, my reading is growing less diverse over the years.  I suppose I'm just aiming more towards the genres that I generally enjoy more.

Position in a Series:

I did a little bit better job this year decreasing the amount of series' I start but my overall percentages have stayed generally the same (except 5th or higher which would definitely come from the Agatha Christie books I read).

Target Audience:

I've been staying about the same in terms of percentages of target audience books.  I didn't read any MG this year (which is actually a good thing because I'm just unable to enjoy them anymore because of my stage in life).

The Books:

Below are some notable reads from the year!  If you'd like to see the full list, click here.

It - Stephen King

Rating: 3.5 stars (review coming soon)

I have been reading this book for the past six months and I finally, FINALLY finished it!  Honestly, I'm not sure it was worth it.  It would have been much better if I read it in a more compressed time frame because there was a lot of crossing between timelines and common threads.

Kingdom of Ash - Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass #7

Rating: 4 stars (review)

This was such an emotional book to finish.  I loved every minute, even though there were some little nagging things (I go through those in my review).  Still, this book marks the end of a series that essentially cemented my interest in blogging almost five years ago.

Restore Me - Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me #4


Rating: 4 stars (review)

This book marked the return of a series that I had started reading before even really blogging.  It had some great threads pulled from the OG three and some lead-in for the next section of the series.  Ultimately, that's kind of what kept it from a 5 star read for me, though.  It is, at it's core, a bridge book.

Silent Spring - Rachel Carson

Rating: 5 stars (review coming soon)

I read this book partially for my atmospheric chemistry course in uni and it absolutely blew my mind.  I love how Rachel Carson was able to communicate complex chemical reactions and consequences to people not at all versed in chemistry which then spurred on an environmental movement in the 1970s in the US.  Highly recommend!

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli

Creekwood #1

Rating: 4.5 stars (review coming soon)

This was just such a lovely book.  I read most of it in public and was struggling to keep my laughing to a minimum.  There is some first-class wit in this cinnamon roll of a book.  I then also watched the movie and I love the story even more.

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

Rating: 5 stars (review coming soon)

This book.  Y'all, this book.  I know I'm late to the party, but if you haven't read it yet, you absolutely need to.  The imagery and the circumstances presented here are incredibly powerful and devastating.

Evil Under the Sun - Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot #24

Rating: 5 stars (review)

This is one of my favorite Agatha Christie mysteries to date.  There's a great cast of characters that really keep the mystery up in the air until the very last minute.

On the Blog:

A lot happened this year!

I began The Agatha Christie Project.  I made a whole page about it and the whole aim is to consume as much Agatha Christie as humanly possible.

50/50 Friday, the meme that began with Carrie @The Butterfly Reader's brilliant idea and I jumped on board with, celebrated it's second birthday!

I began a blog redesign that will likely not be finished until the middle of next year.  Still, I got many of the drop-down menus finished and I just have some new graphics to create and a few new pages to write some code for.

I finally started being more active on Instagram (for a while anyway).  I'm going to be more active on there more regularly as I've been really getting into editing pictures and the works.  Follow me @blueeyebooks!

 I began my Recommendations series with my first post in May: A Beginner's Guide to 'New' YA Fantasy.  I'm going to be continuing this series with different genres and age groups because I read from such a diverse set of genres.

I continued on with my Guide series, posting about The Basics of HTML.  I'm planning on really dedicating myself to that series next year.

A bit of a side note, I was also informed that I was selected to be advertised as one of the top 100 YA blogs (although there are so many blogs not listed that are so much more amazing).

Life Update:

This year was an eventful year to say the least.  As I said above, I was doing great during spring semester staying on top of both my uni and blogging obligations but during fall semester, that really fell by the wayside.  My largest goal for next year?  Make sure I have enough time at the end of the week to do blogging and especially actually do my part as a co-host of 50/50 Friday (if you haven't figured it out, Carrie is an absolute gem and just in general a productivity queen).

I did start my own IRL book club and so far we've read Defy, A Study in Scarlet Women, and One of Us Is Lying.  We're planning on reading These Broken Stars in January!  Mostly, it's such a nice way to chat with people IRL about books and dedicate myself to read at least one book off of my backlist TBR each month.

I got a job at my university's writing center so basically I'll get paid for helping people with their writing which is so lovely!  I also got a job working in the honors office at my uni which will be a great experience as well.  All to fund a trip to the coast to get some hands on experience capturing and tagging sharks and rays during the summer!

I took my first truly creative writing class and I'm so proud of some of the pieces I've written.  A snippet of poetry for you:

You try to push me and I nearly fall, down and

down and I brace for impact but it never

comes.  There’s only that feeling you wish

would fly away from the smoke of your fire.

My heels are suspended over

an abyss that no one has ever felt

the bottom of and I catch my breath, staring

into your gravity.

I know what this is.

I know what you are.

I finished crocheting my first ever blanket which is a huge accomplishment for me considering I've only ever had the patience for scarves.

Last winter break I donated 12" of hair to a charity that makes wigs for children with hair loss.  I like to grow out my hair and donate it every two and a half years or so.

As for TV shows this year, I've become obsessed with Bones (I needed a break from Criminal Minds and this is so good), The Great British Baking Show (although the new episodes aren't nearly as good as the ones with Mel and Sue and Mary Berry), Grey's Anatomy (new season on Netflix, yes!), The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (SO good), Criminal Minds (how could I resist another rewatch?), Gossip Girl (so awful but so addicting), Sherlock (glorious, just glorious), Forensic Files (these are so, so biased but good still), Black Mirror (these are all incredibly insightful and amazing), The Handmaid's Tale (there are no words), and Pretty Little Liars (again, I'm rewatch trash).

Notable movies I've seen in the past year include Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, need I say more?), Baby Driver (the plot may have been a bit iffy but the soundtrack and Ansel Elgort are fabulous), Moana (total rewatch material), Arrival (really interesting and complex), Coco (literally made me cry so much), Justice League (eh it was okay, more notably it was a good intro into DC for me), Game Night (kind of stupid in a way but hilarious), Black Panther (GORGEOUS), Mamma Mia 2 (that soundtrack tho), A Quiet Place (legit so freaky), Fight Club (I hadn't seen this before and I don't know how that's possible because it twists your mind so much), To All the Boys I've Loved Before (made my heart melt), Love, Simon (the perfect example of a cinnamon roll wrapped around an important message), Avengers: Infinity War (OMG), Thor: Ragnarok (finally getting around to this and I have to say the different style is interesting but good), Baywatch (funny for the most part), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (I really need to rewatch HP to connect all these together), Ready Player One (I really need to read this book), Dumplin' (so great), Tag (loved it all).

Whew!  I'm going to wrap it up here because this is getting a little long.  I'm going to make another post soon about my R&R/ARC status (I've seen others do the State of the ARC and it seems like a great organizational and accountability tool that I need in my life).  So until then!

Do you ever look at how your reading changes over the years?  What TV shows or movies have you loved this year?  What's your opinion on DC?  Are you a part of an IRL book club?  How did you do with your yearly challenges?