KEEPING TRACK: THE STATUS OF MY TBR

With the year nearing its end, it’s time for another look at my book buying/reading stats.

I am regularly updating readers to my Read the Books You Buy Challenge, and so far, I have read 102 books toward the challenge goals.

What might not be evident from that number:  books I have counted for this challenge come from these sources:

Books Purchased Between July – December 2016

Books Purchased Between January 2017-December 2017

Let’s look at those sources more closely.

Between July-December 2016, I purchased 72 books, and from that number, I’ve read 61.

Between January-November (so far) 2017, I’ve purchased 139, and read 86.

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Those figures don’t add up, you may say!  But…here’s the clincher.  The ones that count for the 2017 Challenge must have been read in 2017.  And some of the books bought in 2016 were read last year.

It puzzled me when I first looked at the numbers…but now I’m clear on it.

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How I Track My Purchases and My Books Read:

When I purchase a book, I enter it onto the appropriate page on this blog:  Month, Year.

When I read a book, I link it to my review on the Books Purchased page and also on my Books Read page, month and year.

Review books have separate pages.

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Before the year’s end, I don’t expect to have read ALL the books I bought this year, or even in 2016.  But I’m closer to that goal than I was on January 1.

How are you faring with your TBR stacks?  What methods work for you?

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LET’S CURL UP & SAY GOODBYE TO OCTOBER….

What a great month!  It flew by too fast, and I didn’t read as many books as I did last month…but there were so many lovely ones.  Click in at Book Date to see what everyone else is doing.  Enjoy November!

My Genres:

Mystery/Psychological Thrillers:  10

Contemporary Fiction:  3

Historical Fiction: 1

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FAVORITE FICTION:  Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell

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Click on my titles to read my reviews:

OCTOBER 2017:

1.Cardinal Cabin, by Joanne DeMaio – 249 pages – (contemporary romance) – 10/10/17 -(Author Review Request)

2.Her Last Goodbye (e-book, Book 2 Morgan Dane), by Melinda Leigh – 324 pages – (mystery) – 10/15/17

3.Keep Her Safe (e-book), by Sophie Hannah – 352 pages – (psychological thriller) – 10/19/17

4.Lie to Me (e-book), by J. T. Ellison – 416 pages – (suspense thriller) – 10/18/17

5.Little Fires Everywhere (e-book), by Celeste Ng – 352 pages – (contemporary fiction) – 10/3/17

6.Odd Child Out (e-book), by Gilly Macmillan – 432 pages – (mystery/literary fiction) – 10/24/17

7.Rules of Magic, The (e-book), by Alice Hoffman – 384 pages – (historical fiction) – 10/6/17 – (NetGalley – 10/10)

8.Say You’re Sorry (e-book, Book One Morgan Dane), by Melinda Leigh – 326 pages – (mystery)-10/13/17

9.Sleep Like a Baby (e-book), by Charlaine Harris – 262 pages- (cozy mystery) – 10/21/17

10.Surrogate, The (e-book), by LouiseJensen – 345 pages – (psychological thriller) – 10/29/17

11.Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell – 424 pages – (mystery) – 10/25/17

12.When We Were Worthy (e-book), by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen – 260 pages – (contemporary fiction) – 10/9/17

13.White Bodies (e-book), by Jane Robins – 384 pages – (psychological thriller) – 10/27/17

14.Y is for Yesterday (e-book), by Sue Grafton – 483 pages – (mystery) – 10/31/17

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NUMBER OF BOOKS READ IN OCTOBER 2017:         14

NUMBER OF PAGES READ IN OCTOBER 2017:    4,993

BOOKS READ YTD:                                                      146

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What did your October look like?

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A YEAR-END LOOK AT MY READING….

Hello, Bloggers!  It is time to talk about the past month…and the year.  December was a great month of reading, with a total of seventeen books.  To be fair, though, two were novellas.

Here are some other totals:

167 BOOKS READ IN 2016:

100 of those were purchased books that I read for the Read the Books You Buy Challenge: books I bought between June 2015-December 2016

40 of the books were review books

27 books were a mix of older books that I had purchased

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Take a peek at my December reading; click the titles below to read my reviews.

 

DECEMBER 2016:

1.4th Man, The (e-book, short story), by Lisa Gardner – 44 pages – 12/3/16 – (NetGalley – 1/3/16)

2.Breakfast at Tiffany’s (e-book), by Truman Capote – 178 pages – (literary fiction) – 12/23/16

3.Dollhouse, The (e-book), by Fiona Davis – 289 pages – (historical/contemporary fiction) – 12/16/16

4.Girl Before, The (e-book), by J. P. Delaney – 352 pages – (psychological thriller) – (NetGalley – 1/24/17)

5.In a Dark, Dark Wood (e-book), by Ruth Ware – 337 pages – (thriller) – 12/5/16

6.In Her Wake (e-book), by Amanda Jennings – 320 pages – (psychological thriller) – 12/7/16

7.I See You, by Clare Mackintosh – 374 pages – (thriller) – 12/21/16 – (Amazon Vine)

8.Last Night at the Viper Room (e-book), by Gavin Edwards – 237 pages – (nonfiction) – 12/27/16

9.Little Deaths, by Emma Flint – 292 pages – (mystery) – 12/4/16 – (Amazon Vine)

10.Mothers, The (e-book), by Brit Bennett – 275 pages – (literary fiction) – 12/15/16

11.Premonition, The (e-book, short story, prequel), by Chris Bohjalian – 44 pages – (suspense) – 12/11/16

12.Scandal in Skibbereen (e-book, County Cork #2), by Sheila Connolly – 294 pages – (cozy mystery) – 12/18/16

13.Sleepwalker, The (e-book), by Chris Bohjalian – 304 pages – (suspense thriller) – 12/19/16 – (NetGalley – 1/10/17)

14.Sting (e-book), by Sandra Brown – 408 pages – (suspense thriller) – 12/2/16

15.Sweet Lamb of Heaven (e-book), by Lydia Millet – 256 pages – (literary fiction) – 12/13/16

16.Things We Wish Were True, The (e-book), by Marybeth M. Whalen – 278 pages – (contemporary fiction) – 12/25/16 (Kindle Prime Freebie)

17. When All the Girls Have Gone (e-book), by Jayne Ann Krentz – 331 pages – (suspense/romantic suspense) – 12/9/16

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NUMBER OF BOOKS READ IN DECEMBER 2016:         17

NUMBER OF PAGES READ IN DECEMBER 2016:    4,585

BOOKS READ YTD:                                                                     167

FAVORITE FICTION:  (Click Cover for My Review)

 

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MY YEAR IN BOOKS: NUMBERS, FAVORITES, & PATTERNS

Today I’m inspired by those who are posting about the books they loved the most, which ones captured their interest more than others…and stats.  Yes, stats.

Like Elizabeth, at Silver’s Reviews, who wrote a wrap-up of what she read this year, and examined her favorite authors and genres.

Of course, I had to take a look at my Read in 2015 page.

I am happy that, in the year 2009 when I created this blog, I started tracking my reading through my pages.

Here’s what I discovered about my activity over the year, in terms of numbers of books read, as well as favorites:

January – 16 – (Favorite Book – Catch Me, by Lisa Gardner)

February – 15 – (Favorite Book – The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes, by Diane Chamberlain)

March – 16 – (Favorite Book – Hush Hush, by Laura Lippman)

April – 18 – (Favorite Books: Lacy Eye, by Jessica Treadway, & A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne Tyler)

May – 19 – now that number stunned me! (Favorite Books:  Black-Eyed Susans, by Julia Heaberlin, & The Sound of Glass, by Karen White)

June – 15 – (Favorite Books – Crash & Burn, by Lisa Gardner, & The New Neighbor, by Leah Stewart)

July – 10 – this did not surprise me – house guests! – (Favorite Books – Pretty Baby, by Mary Kubica, & The Murderer’s Daughter, by Jonathan Kellerman)

August – 14 – (Favorite Books – The Mistake I Made, by Paula Daly, & The Summer Girls, by Mary Alice Monroe)

September – 12 – (Favorite Book -Pretending to Dance, by Diane Chamberlain)

October – 14 – (Favorite Book – Smoke, by Catherine McKenzie, & Corrupted, by Lisa Scottoline)

November – 11 – (Favorite Book – The Perfect Son, by Barbara Claypole White).

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I think it’s interesting that most of my favorites came from authors I have read and enjoyed in the past.  But one favorite came from a new-to-me author:  Lacy Eye, by Jessica Treadway.

What does that tell me?  That I shouldn’t be afraid to try new authors.  Yes, I’ve ranted about those who disappointed me, but then there are those who bring treasures…and become favorite, go-to authors.

What have you discovered about your reading choices, favorite authors, and favorite books?

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