This is the second time I’ve compiled stats on my reading preferences (see 2017 here). As with last year, I’m pretty consistent with the type of books I pick up.
I have an overwhelming preference for memoirs and other nonfiction. Out of the 94 books I read in 2018, only two were fiction (Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, and Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, both of which I rated as Okay). I read five fiction books in 2017.
Most of the books I read are written by women. Out of 94 books, only 18 were written by men. That means 81% of the books I read in 2018 were written by female authors. (The percentage was actually higher in 2017, when 83% of the books I read were written by women.)
I increased the number of minority authors I read this year, which was one of my goals. I went from reading only 14% minority authors in 2017 to reading 31% minority authors in 2018. (I include writers of color, LGBTQ, and underrepresented religious groups in the minority category.)
I listened to even more audiobooks this year. In 2017, 34% of my total was in audio format, while this year it was almost 45%.
Out of 94 books, here’s the breakdown of how I rated them:
- Highly Recommended: 9
- Recommended: 50
- Okay: 30
- Not Recommended: 5
In 2018, 63% of the books I read were rated as either Highly Recommended or Recommended, while the previous year was only 60%. I’m glad to see that percentage climbing!
Here are my top five books of 2018:
- Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, Jessica Bruder
- The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After, Clemantine Wamariya
- Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead, Cecile Richards
- Becoming, Michelle Obama
- Educated, Tara Westover
Do your reading habits look anything like mine?
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