2019 Reading Stats:
Number of Books You Read: 153
Number of Re-Reads: 16
Genre You Read the Most From: YA fantasy
Average Length of Book: 275 pages
Number of Pages Read: 42,081
Most Popular Book On Goodreads That I Read This Year: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (1,831,367 people have read it on Goodreads)
Least Popular: Freya by Christopher E. Long
(6 people have read it on Goodreads)
(6 people have read it on Goodreads)
Average Rating for 2019: 3.9 stars
Highest Rated Book (On Goodreads - on my reading list): Saga #54 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (4.6 stars)
Longest Book of 2019: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer
Shortest Book of 2019: Where Are They Now by Kiera Cass
Longest Book of 2019: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer
Shortest Book of 2019: Where Are They Now by Kiera Cass
~~~
Best In Books:
1. Best Book You Read in 2019:I can't pick a favorite. You can check out my post about my top 19 of 2019, but I think my top seven are Circe by Madeline Miller, Daisy Jones + the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston, The Wicked King by Holly Black, The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black, Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, and Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn't:
99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne -- I was hardcore hyping this book because of my love for The Hating Game. If I had read this book first, I would have never read THG because this book was just so bad. I definitely recommend you skip it.
3. Most Surprising (good/bad) Book You Read:
Good: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Bad: The Candle in the Flame by Nafiza Azad
4. Book You "Pushed" the Most People To Read (And They Did):
Circe by Madeline Miller, With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo, A Curse so Dark & Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau
5a. Best series you started in 2019?
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff or Darker Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab
5b. Best Sequel of 2019?
The Wicked King by Holly Black
5c. Best Series Ender of 2019?
Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2019?
Adrienne Young, Jay Kristoff, Jessica Townsend, Casey McQuinston, Alice Oseman, and Brigid Kemmerer
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Daisy Jones + The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (fictional memoir and historical recollection)
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
9. Book You Read In 2019 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman or Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau
11. Most memorable character of 2019?
Circe from Circe by Madeline Miller or Daisy Jones from Daisy Jones + The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2019?
Circe by Madeline Miller
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2019?
Circe by Madeline Miller
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2019 to finally read?
Circe by Madeline Miller, Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, or Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2019?
“It is a common saying that women are delicate creatures, flowers, eggs, anything that may be crushed in a moment's carelessness. If I had ever believed it, I no longer did.” - Circe
“Witches are not so delicate.” - Circe
“I hate you," I breathed into his mouth. "I hate you so much that sometimes I can't think of anything else.” - The Wicked King
all of Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2019?
Shortest: Where Are They Now by Kiera Cass
Longest: Winter by Marissa Meyer
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
Circe, The Wicked King, Queen of Nothing, and Red White and Royal Blue.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!):
Jude and Cardan from Holly Black's books, Chloe and Red from Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, Aska and Fiske from Sky in the Deep, and Alex and Henry from Red White and Royal Blue.
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year:
Frances and Aled from Radio Silence
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2019 From An Author You’ve Read Previously:
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, The Wicked King & The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
21. Best Book You Read In 2019 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie -- required reading for college
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2019?
Red from Get A Life, Chloe Brown
Rhen from A Curse So Dark & Lonely
23. Best 2019 debut you read?
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
There were so many fantastic worlds that I visited in my literary travels, but I adore the settings in Circe, A Darker Shade of Magic, Nevernight, and Sorcery of Thorns.
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Get a Life Chloe Brown, The Unhoneymooners, Carry On (reread), or The Bride Test
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2019?
I definitely cried a lot this year -- Bloom, Circe, Radio Silence, Daisy Jones + the Six, Fangirl (reread), Red White and Royal Blue, Autoboyography, or Little Women (reread)
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Nevernight or Bloodleaf
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2019?
Circe - hands down one of the phenomenal and unique books I've ever read OR Daisy Jones + the Six because of the fabulous execution of the format
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Ziggy Stardust & Me was so phenomenal, but the subject matter that surrounded the story -- the discrimination, dehumanization, and the abuse against the LGBT+ and Native American communities -- really frustrated me and broke my heart. It's such an important novel.
Your Blogging/Bookish Life:
1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2019?My bestie, Lauren, has the best blog! {click here}
2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2019?
2019 was a terrible blogging year for me. I was so focused on doing well in school that LTBN had to go on the back burner until I made it through. However, I really love my review for Circe.
3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
I wrote this blog post for a class, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. {click here to read}
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I actually got to go to quite a few events this year. I loved them all! Madeline Miller, Rainbow Rowell, Tomi Adeyemi, and Delia Owens were all so lovely to meet. 5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2019?
I think that the best part of being a blogger and a reader this year was being able to easily meet and discuss writing with my faves. I managed to make a lovely connection with Helen Hoang and she signed my books for me via USPS, I got to thank Tomi Adeyemi for inspiring me to write and to keep working hard on my own stories, I've been able to speak with some new faves on Twitter (Joanna Ruth Meyer and more) and Instagram (Adrienne Young and more), and I've was able to emotionally ramble at Rainbow Rowell for writing Fangirl. I won't go into the details completely, but she was incredibly kind and gave me a Carry On themed bookplate to stick in my copy of Wayward Son in October. She is such a kind and wonderful human.
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
It was so incredibly hard to maintain this blog while working 2 on-campus jobs and being a full-time student. Obviously, as I said before, I had to put it on the back-burner and I didn't get to put out a lot of content that I loved. I missed blogging so much, but I'm getting back in the swing of it!
7. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
My goals for 2019 were:
- Read for you. You only live once and you shouldn't waste your time on books you don't enjoy.
- Do well in school. Priorities should be in place.
- Continue with the book club. Push through the laziness.
- Read more with others.
- Utilize the library more.
- Make a dent in your physical TBR! Read the books you own before purchasing more and more!
Goal #1: I definitely didn't waste my time on books I wasn't interested in. 2019 was the year for unhauling, regifting, and donating books. I often found myself just reading the first few pages to see if I was interested in the premise and the writing style and if I wasn't interested, I didn't continue it.
Goal #2: I definitely focused on school more than blogging. I did very well in 2019 and I'm track to graduate in May. Only 2 more classes this last semester and I'll be an undergraduate grad!
Goal #3: We definitely continued the book club too! We were quite busy, but I found a new way I liked to help run the Instagram page and the books were phenomenal.
Goal #4: I was a part of a lot of buddy reads during the beginning and middle of the year, but when the end of the year hit, all of my friends were really busy and I was really busy, so we didn't do many in the fall/winter.
Goal #5: I for sure did this too. I read a good 90% of my graphic novels and comics from Hoopla -- as well as the audiobooks I was able to read.
Goal #6: I'd like to think that I made a dent, but it's still large. This will be pushed into 2020.
Looking Ahead:
1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2019 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2020?Of all of the anticipated 2019 releases that I posted in December of 2017, I had managed to read 11/21, 2 weren't published, 1 was DNF'd, and 7 I didn't get a chance to read. I'm hoping to complete the list of books that I hadn't read:
- Famous In A Small Town by Emma Mills
- Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
- Children of Virtue and Vengeance (publishing date pushed back to December)
- We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
- Apollo #4 by Rick Riordan (I'm behind on the entire series)
- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
- Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
My goal is to finish them all this year + the 20ish 2020 releases that I'm very excited for.
2. A Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2020 (non-debut)?
Who's surprised, but I'm so freaking excited for Sarah J. Maas' House of Earth and Blood. I desperately need it right now. I'm also very excited for Emma Mills' Lucky Caller, Brigid Kemmerer's A Heart So Fierce and Broken, Helen Hoang's The Heart Principle, and Kiera Cass' The Betrothed.
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2020?
I'm too excited for the Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, but I'm also mega nervous. I hope it isn't horrid.
5. Did I Accomplish My Goals from 2019 Going into 2020?
I did, but I didn't. 2019 was a very hard year, but I had a good time.
6. Goals for 2020
- Read 100(+) books.
- Read the thicker books that have been making me nervous.
- Quit focusing on the # of books that I read and focus on pursuing the books that I know I'll really enjoy.
- Finish the series I've been putting off/catch up on the series I've put on hold.
- Read more adult fiction - fantasy, contemporary, romance, literary, etc.
- Keep unhauling/DNFing/regifting books.
Goals for Book-Buying:
- I am keeping my Book of the Month subscription, but I will only be getting 1-2 books a month. The second book will only be included if it is in my list of 2020 releases that I'm desperately excited about. Granted, I may find that I'm desperate for more books that are announced later this year, but you can follow that excitement on Instagram because I'm bound to scream about them on my stories.
- If I can afford it that month, I'm limiting myself to 2 books a month. I won't be paying full price and I'm going to practice self-restraint and patience. I don't need all the books ASAP, so I just need to be patient because I rarely read them right away.
- I should only have 4 books total that I have purchased in a month. Of course, I'll accept review books and trade books, but I don't need to buy more than 2 books a month because that's silly. I probably won't buy many anyway.
- I probably won't get any more special edition boxes from FaeCrate/BaeCrate/Owlcrate this year because I need to save up to move out.
7. A 2020 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):
The only new release that I've read is Dewdrop by Katie O'Neill, but I plan on reading Fable by Adrienne Young and Beyond the Shadowed Earth by Joanna Meyer in January.
Happy reading and Happy New Year!
Olivia
~LivTheBookNerd~
