"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

2022 End-of-the-Year Book Survey


 

Head Full of Books: 2022 End-of-Year Book Survey

Stats:
  • Number of books read and completed: 198.
  • Number of re-reads: 15
  • Genre you read the most:  Poetry - - 73
  • Number of books started but not finished:  At least 4, probably more.
  • Number of children's books read: 59+; I read LOTS of books with my grandsons for the reading project: '100 books Every Kid Should Hear Before They Go to Kindergarten.'
  • Number of poetry books read or reread (including novels-in-verse): See above, 73.
  • Number of memoirs and nonfiction books read: 26
  • Number of graphic or illustrated books read, not children's books: 12


 

Reading Survey: (Click on book title if you want to read my review of it.)

1. Best books read in 2022:

2. Book(s) I thought I'd love, but didn’t:
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book: 

4. Books I “pushed” the most people to read: 

5.  Best series:

6. Favorite new author I discovered in 2022:
7. Best book from a genre I don’t typically read: 
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year:
9. Favorite book club selection based on the discussion:
10. Favorite cover of a book read in 2022:
Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox

11. Most memorable character of the year:
12. Most thought-provoking/ life-changing book of the year:
Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection by Kate Bowler
 
13. Most beautifully written book read in the year: 

14. Book I've never read UNTIL 2022. Can you believe it? 
15. Favorite passage/quote from a book read in 2022:
“In your dark night, I urge you to hold to your faith, to embrace hope, and to bear your love before you like a burning candle, for I promise that it will light your way. And whether you believe in miracles or not, I can guarantee that you will experience one. It may not be the miracle you’ve prayed for. God probably won’t undo what’s been done. The miracle is this: that you will rise in the morning and be able to see again the startling beauty of the day.”
William Kent Krueger, Ordinary Grace
16. Shortest and longest book read in 2022, not counting children's books:
17. Book which shocked me the most:
18. Best audiobooks of the year:

19. Favorite SH nonfiction books I read for my role as a Cybils Judge (Round 2, out of five books) and poetry collection and novel-in-verse (Round 1, out of 60 books)
20. Favorite book by an author I’ve previously read
21. Best book I read this past year based SOLELY on a recommendation or peer pressure:
  • Cross Purposes by Bob Welch (review pending)
  22. Newest fictional crush:
23. Best 2022 debut: 
24. Best world-building/Most vivid setting I read this year:
25. Book which put a smile on my face/was FUN to read:
26. Book which made me cry:
27. Hidden Gem of the Year? There are several: 
  1.  My Name is Jason. Mine too: Our Story. Our Way by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin
  2. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin 
  3. Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins Valdez 
  4. The Violin Conspiracy by Brenden Slocomb
  5. Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh
28. Anything odd about this year's reading list:
  • So many children's books and poetry books.
29. Most unique book:
30. Book which made me angry (due to the topic):
31. Favorite poetry or short story collection: 
32. Favorite re-read of the year:
33. Favorite classic book read during the year:
34. Books I didn’t get to in 2022 are now top priorities in 2023
  • Fiction--- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Nonfiction--- The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
  • YA/Junior/Children's--- Mister Impossible (Dreamer series #2) by Maggie Stiefvater, the third book in the series is out now and I still need to read the second book. Argh!
  • Classic--- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  • Poetry/Essays: -- These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett.This was on my list last year in this exact spot. 2023 ! I will get it done.

35. Bookish goals for 2023

  • Write reviews for all book club selections.
  • Complete "My One Book" challenge: The Count of Monte Cristo
  • Read two of the five National Book Award winners. (Announced in November)
  • Read the Pulitzer Prize winner for literature (announced in March or April) and finish all the past winners on my list, five in all, counting the 2023 winner. 
  • Read at least five classic books on my list. (See list here.)

 
Blogging survey:

1. Favorite reviews that I wrote in 2022
2. Most popular review of the year based on stats:
3. Best discussion/non-review post:
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
  • Reading "One Hundred Books You Should Have Read To You Before Kindergarten" with my grandson who turned five and entered Kindergarten this year. I loved just about every moment of this project with him. Here is a post about the project: 'One Hundred Books.'
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2022
  • Several posts, generally my Sunday Salon posts generated discussions with friends outside my blogging world. I once was greeted at Bible Study by these words, "Thank you for your post about the elections. I feel so much better about what to expect on Tuesday."
6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
  • We read 60 poetry books for Cybils, Round 1, Poetry Division. More than half of those books were novels/memoirs-in-verse. Though I loved the project I confess to feeling crotchedy about several of the novels-in-verse whose poetry wasn't all that good. Because I was reading so many books in such a short period of time many of the reviews were for four or five books at a time.
7. Most popular post this year:
8. Posts I wish got a bit more love:
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.):
  • Libby App. (Replaced Overdrive at my library)
10.  How did I do on my reading challenges or goals for 2022?
  • Read 100 books this year. (198+ books)
  • My Own Personal National Book Award Challenge
    • Seven Empty Houses
    • All My Rage
  • Read the Pulitzer Prize winner and past winners: I read only 2 of 7 ✔-
    • The Netanyahus
    • Grapes of Wrath
  • Read all the 2022 Printz winners, award and honor books. I read 1 of 5.  ✔- -
    •  The Firekeeper's Daughter
  • Read 10 Classics Club Spins and classics club books:  4 classics this year. ✔-
    • Murder on the Orient Express
    • As I Lay Dying
    • Grapes of Wrath
    • The Secret Garden
  • Big Book Summer Challenge. Five completed  
  •  Audiobook Challenge: My goal=25, I listened to 44+
  • I completed my 'one big reading goal of the year': to read Grapes of Wrath

-Gratefully turning the page over on 2022.


-Anne

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