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2021 was my best reading year by far and I’m not sure I’ll ever get there again and that’s ok. But in 2022 I still read over 100 books which was pretty similar to the previous few years!
I think this is one of my favorite posts to put together, looking back at everything I read. And time moves so weirdly now that things I thought I read two years ago I actually just read in January.
I had quite a few hits this year, some new all-time favorite but I also read a few really, really bad books this year. Like, so bad. I finished them but wasn’t happy about it. I did DNF a few, too though.
I don’t really do reading challenges because I’m definitely a mood reader. I can’t force myself to read anything I’m not in the mood for. But, in November and December, I decided to do a #KnowYourShelf book challenge to only read things that were only my shelf (or Kindle) pre-November.
It’s been fun and I’ll probably do a variation of this all next year (in my reading goals) and all the way again next November and December. But I have a stack of books I plan to read in January that I got in early November that I’m very excited about.
Overall, it was a great reading year with some pretty good variety and I can’t wait for even more reading next year.
- If you want to listen to some of these, consider trying Audible! You can get your first month free (one free book) plus tons of others they have for free. Get that Audible deal here.
- If you’re on more of a budget, try Everand (formerly Scribd)! You can get 60 days free there with my link! You can read books and listen to audiobooks. It is unlimited (especially the reading) but if you listen to tons of new audiobooks you may be restricted after a few. I haven’t encountered this yet, but I do use Everand myself and like it a lot. Get 60 days free here!
- Shop my collection of bookish goodies on Etsy! These aren’t my shop items, but other shops I’ve curated into a book-themed collection. Shop my Etsy bookish goodies here!
- If you want to read more on your Kindle but don’t want to buy books, Kindle Unlimited is a good option. If you read a lot and like to read more than just new releases (especially romance), it could be worth it. Get Kindle Unlimited here!
- Get $5 off of $25 from BookOutlet! This is a great place to find new books for pretty cheap. They also have sales quite a bit, so keep an eye out for those. I tend to check here for books I want if they’re more expensive other places. They don’t have everything but they do have a lot. Shop BookOutlet here!
- Thrift Books has become my go-to when I’m looking for a book and want it cheap. It’s great if you like buying used books. With this you can get a free book after spending $30!
- Shop my book lists here! You can find every book list I have on Bookshop.org (except my monthly round-ups) and I add everything I can but they occasionally won’t have some. I do occasionally add extras though. If any lists are empty, they’ll be filled in shortly! Shop my bookshop.org book lists here.
Total books read: 133
You can see every book I read in 2022 here:
Pages read: 41,732
Shortest book: The Adventures of Marky Kate and Ashley The Case of the Jingle Bell Jinx – 77 pages
Longest book: Gemina – 663 pages
Average book length: 313 pages
Total one-star reads/DNFs: 6
Total two-star reads: 23
Total three-star reads: 24
Total four-star reads: 53
Total five-star reads: 27
Top ten books:
I can choose my top ten books but I can’t put them in order. That’s too hard to do since narrowing it down to the top ten is even difficult. But I did the impossible and here are my top reads from 2022!
- Sea of Tranquility
- I’m Glad my Mom Died
- Hidden Pictures
- No Exit
- The Mother-in-Law
- We Are Okay
- Sadie
- Life as We Knew It
- You’d Be Home Now
- It Came From the Sky
Top five blog posts this year (stats-wise):
Surprisingly, four out of five of my top posts from 2022 were the same as 2021! Books like One of Us is Lying is the new addition to the list, which I’m glad about because that genre is one of my favorites.
- Books set in Hawaii
- Books like One of Us is Lying
- Books set in Iceland
- Foodie Travel Books
- National Park Novels
Favorite blog posts this year:
This list is usually different than the top posts. These are my personal favorite posts published in 2022, either because they were fun to put together or they’re genres I love and these posts fall into both of those categories.
- Nancy Drew Gifts
- Adventure Travel Memoirs
- Books about/by Woman Adventurers
- Peace Corps Memoirs
- Thriller Reading Challenge
- All-time favorite books
- List of Favorite Thrillers
Eight books I can’t wait to read in 2023:
Ok, I know I’m still in a fantasy reading slump so I’m not even pretending I’ll read any. Spells for Forgetting is the closest thing to that on this list. I’m sticking with thrillers this time and am confident I’ll read almost all of these.
- Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
- The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup
- Spells for Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch
- Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix
- Survive the Night by Riley Sager
- The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
- Five Survive by Holly Jackson
- Central Park by Guillaume Musso
Update on five (eight) books I wanted to read in 2022:
These are the books I said I wanted to read in 2021 and I only read three of them: Stans by Me, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, and They Both Die at the End. Soooo, not that great. But I’m still in a fantasy slump so that’s part of it.
- The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
- For the Wolf by Hannah Witten
- The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
- Stans By Me by Ged Gillmore – Read
- The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson
- One by One by Ruth Ware
- I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid – Read
- They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera – Read
How I did on 2022 reading goals:
- Read 100 books (I’ll probably always keep this as my number goal)
- This one went well and I hit that goal fairly early, I want to say September?
- Listen to one audiobook a month, at least
- This one did not go well. I only listened to a couple throughout the year but I’m not too surprised. I want to like audiobooks more than I actually like them.
- Don’t buy books until I finish everything I have with me (exceptions are the rest of the City Of Brass series if I like it, Love and Olives if I see it in person, and Backpacked as a physical book because I need that.)
- This did not go well. Also, we moved and I have all my books with me now. So. I know this won’t happen and that’s ok.
- Use the library as much as possible to find anything I might want to read but don’t have (or for finishing series.)
- This did not go well either but I have all my books with me now so I have more to choose from. Also, libraries overwhelm me but I still love them.
- Find a way to back up my Kindle books (if you know a way to do this please let me know!)
- I think I found out how to do this but as of December 21, I haven’t tried it yet. I will report back. It is now January 4 and I still have not done this.
2023 Reading/Book Goals:
- Read 100 books
- Read five books on my shelf (or Kindle, basically that I already own) for every one I buy. So I read five and can get one. I think I’ll keep this rule for physical books and still allow a little freedom on Kindle books. The library book sale won’t count in this.
- Visit one new Florida bookstore per month (can be more than one per month just 12 total).
- Back up my Kindle books.
- Finish reading the Pretty Little Liars series.
- Read at least ten more Nancy Drew books.
What did you read in 2022? How many books? What were your favorites? What are your reading goals for 2023?
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