2022 End of Year Book Survey

I do this tag every year, so here I go again with it, looking back on all the books I read last year. It was created by Jamie, the Perpetual Page-Turner.

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2022 READING STATS

Number of books read: 35

Physical: 25
E-books: 10
Audio: 0

Number of books reread: 2
(Which, wow! That’s super low for me since I OFTEN reread.)

Number of books I Did Not Finish: 4

Genre I read the most: Fantasy

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Best book I read in 2022

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Elder Race is easily the best thing I read last year. It’s a sci-fi novella about a lonely scientist at a secluded outpost on a planet, where he’s supposed to only study the inhabitants and not interact much with them. And it’s also about a princess seeking help from a sorcerer to defeat a demon terrorizing her people. We read from both characters’ perspectives, one which seems to be telling a sci-fi story and another which seems firmly set in fantasy. I loved the structure of this story and the emotional depths it explores.

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Reflecting on 2022: Reading

2022 was quite a year. I suffered through several bouts of reading and blogging slumps that greatly affected my reading, resulting in me reading less books than I’d intended — even though my goal was to read 30 books (my intention is always to read much more than my intended my goal).

Having read a combination of 35 books, comics, and picture books in a year isn’t bad, but (ugh!) in some ways I feel a little dejected, especially since most of the things read were short, quick reads. I just want to one year read a whole bunch and have most of what I read be novels, preferably from my own shelves. Who knows, maybe 2023 will be that year.

Well, one of the great things about 2022 is that my reading slump lifted by the end of the year, so now I am in prime reading mode and have already completed a book! 😊 So since the reading excitement is still coursing through me, let’s quickly (sike, it won’t be quick) look back on my reading in the past year.

ALSO SEE

ZeZee’s Favorite Reads of 2022
ZeZee’s Most Memorable Reads of 2022
ZeZee’s Most Disappointing Reads of 2022

Reflecting on 2021: Reading

Although 2020 was a great reading year for me, I was hoping 2021 would be an even better one. But it wasn’t. Sure, I managed to pass my Goodreads reading goal of 50 books, but I only did so by reading 16 books over my goal. I was secretly hoping for much more than that.

It’s not that I was pressuring myself to read much more than 50 books. I try not to pressure myself about reading because otherwise the hobby won’t be fun anymore. It’s just that I was expecting (hoping) for a reading year that was similar to 2020, when I read 90+ things. But while I used reading to cope with 2020’s reality, I guess the stress and worries of 2021 were too much (especially when added to those carried over from 2020); so instead of reading helping me to cope, I slowly began to lose interest in the activity as a reading slump took over. The more stressful things became for me, the less I read until I wasn’t reading much at all in December. I’m just now turning back to books.

So 2021 wasn’t at all the reading year I was hoping for, but I’m still curious to see what my reading stats were for it. If you are interested in such stuff too, read on.

ALSO SEE

ZeZee’s Favorite Reads of 2021
ZeZee’s Most Memorable Reads of 2021
ZeZee’s Most Disappointing Reads of 2021

2021 End of Year Book Survey

I always enjoy doing this year-end survey that Jamie, the Perpetual Page-Turner, created. It’s a fun way to reflect on things I read in the past year. It’s also very long, so this time I’ll only do the first part, which focuses on books read.

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2021 Reading Stats

Number of books read: 66

Physical: 41
Audio: 14
E-books: 11

Number of books reread: 10

Number of books I Did Not Finish: 7

Genre I read the most: Fantasy

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BEST BOOK I READ IN 2021

In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce

It’s probably my favorite book of the year. And it’s one I couldn’t stop talking about. I recommended it to everybody, although it’s not one that will appeal to everyone. It’s a historical thriller about a female serial killer and is based on a real person. I think Bruce did a fantastic job with it. It’s my first time trying one of her books and I look forward to reading more.

Reflecting on 2020: Reading

2020 wasn’t a great year, but there were some positive moments and my reading was one of them. Although I suffered from bouts of reading slumps, especially at the beginning of the year, I managed to read a lot more than I anticipated.

To go easy on myself, I set my Goodreads goal at a manageable 50 books, just as I did back in 2019. But because I was stuck at home like many others with little else to distract me, I managed to read more than I expected and ended the year having read a combination of 94 books, comics, mangas, and picture books. That’s 16 more things than I read last year. I was hoping to hit the 100 mark (which I hope for every year), but that didn’t work out. Maybe I’ll do so this year, 2021.

I began 2020 in a reading slump that didn’t get much better as the year wore on. Sometimes I’d escape the slumpiness only to plunge back into it weeks later either because I took on too many reading events and engagements or because what was going on in the world affected my mood and reading experiences. Still, I managed to read some good books and even binged on a genre I hardly ever read — romance. I also managed to partake in some great readalongs and buddy-reads too.

2020 End of Year Book Survey

It’s that time again for the very long, very detailed book survey created by Jamie, the Perpetual Page-Turner. I enjoy doing this each year. It’s just a fun way to reflect on one’s reading. There are a lot of questions, so I’ll most likely skip some of them (and you’ll most likely not read all of them, lol).

2020 Reading Stats

Number of books read: 94

Books: 44
Audio: 22
E-books: 28

Number of books reread: 24

Number of books I Did Not Finish: 4

Genre I read the most: Fantasy

Best book I read in 2020:

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

It’s a children’s picture book that has no pictures in it, and it’s the best book I read in 2020 because it was light and simple and the best companion to have during such a tumultuous year.

Book Recs: 20 Picture Books by Black Authors

The uproar in response to police brutality against Black people has strengthened the Black Lives Matter movement and has forced everyone to (again) recognize and admit how ingrained systematic racism is in our society and the many areas that lack diversity.

An area where this discussion is also happening is book publishing, which is known for its lack of diversity among authors, the types of books published, and even among the professionals who work in this sector — editors, designers, publicists, agents, etc. Recently, the hashtag #PublishingPaidMe popped up on Twitter to discuss the disparity between how much authors of color are paid in contrast to White authors, who more often receive large advances for their books. In this New York Times article, renown author Jesmyn Ward talks about fighting for a higher advance despite winning several awards for her books.

We all need to work harder to stop and prevent racism in our society. To help, many people have turned to books to learn more, which has caused books about racism and Black experiences to now flood the best-seller lists. To encourage more people to read and engage with content by Black creators, media outlets, social media, bloggers, and booktubers are all recommending books by and about Black people and Black experiences.

While I am grateful to see these recommendation lists, they often solely contain adult books. I want to contribute a list of recommendations, but instead of adult books, I’ve decided to feature children’s picture books. Racism affects all facets of society. To combat it, we must also encourage more diverse children’s literature, including picture books.

Reflecting on 2019: Reading

And now, here’s my last reading wrap up for 2019.

I did pretty good in 2019. I set my Goodreads reading goal for 50 books (10 more than last year’s goal) and ended up reading 78 books (that’s 14 more books than I read last year). As always, I was secretly striving for 100. I really want to hit that number one of these years, but with so many responsibilities, distractions, and work, I wonder if it’s possible for me to do so.

2019 got off on a great start, reading-wise, and I knocked out some great books at the beginning of the year. A few ended up on my favorite books list (City of Dragons, The Little Red Wolf) while others made my list of memorable reads (Bad Blood, Dopesick). But although I read a number of great books in 2019, it was too easy to choose my favorites. I don’t like when that happens. I prefer when I struggle to minimize my list of favorites. It makes creating the list more tense and fun, and makes me laugh at myself more. 🙂 The easy selection made me feel as if I didn’t have a good reading year. I instead struggled more to minimize my selection of favorite TV shows and movies watched in 2019.

2019 End of Year Book Survey

Hey y’all!! 😀 It’s that time of year again when I do the End of Year Book Survey. It’s long. It takes forever to do and to read, but I love doing it and reading other bloggers’ responses. So shout out to Jamie, the Perpetual Page-Turner, for creating it and updating it every year!

2019 Reading Stats

Number of books read: 78

Books: 47
Audio: 15
Comics/graphic novels: 13
E-books: 3

Number of books reread: 11

Number of books I did not finish: 4

Genre I read the most: Fantasy

Best book I read in 2019:

The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair

Unlike the past two years, it was pretty easy to choose a favorite for 2019. The books I read didn’t appeal so strongly that the decision would be hard, so The Secret Lives of Color was an easy selection. It’s probably the first that I’ve chosen a nonfiction book as my ultimate favorite read for a year.

Comics Roundup #29: Zodiac Starforce | Elves | Monstress

Sadly, I’ve fallen so far behind on reviews that I’m still writing reviews of books I completed in April now. Today I have for you comic book reviews.

The first one, Zodiac Starforce, #1, I read for the O.W.L. Magical Readathon that was held in April. This review should have already been up, but no. I procrastinated, and now I’m posting it a month before the follow up readathon — N.E.W.T.s Magical Readathon — begins. The other two — Elves, Vol. 1 and Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood — were both read for the Wyrd & Wonder readathon, which is a month-long readathon in May of all things fantasy.

Anyway, my intention this week is to clear out my review queue; so fingers crossed that I’ll actually achieve this.

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Zodiac Starforce, #1 by Kevin Panetta, illus. by Paulina Ganucheau with colors by Savanna Ganucheau

Genre:

YA Fantasy

Series:

Zodiac Starforce, issue 1

Pubbed:

August 2015

Quick summary:

The series is about a group of teenage girls who possess magical powers and use them to protect their planet from dark creatures. This issue opens with the group disbanded and one of the members, Kim, hoping to get everyone back together again. While doing so, she’s also investigating a student’s disappearance and later learns, along with her group of superpower friends, that one of the group members is infected with dark energy. (Goodreads)