I’ve given my total reading numbers for 2019—107 total—and my favorite fiction and non-fiction books, now it’s time to look at some stats.
I’ve never really thought of myself as a data nerd. I can’t use Excel to save my life. But here I am: I ruthlessly track my reading.
Why? It holds me accountable to exposing myself to a wider range of views. It helps me spot trends, and figure out where I might be doing things wrong (or right).
Here are my numbers for 2019:
- 59% POC books.
- 67% female authors.
Here’s how that compares to previous years:
It’s also helpful to compare it to my total reading:
My people of color numbers and female authors are the second highest as a percent, in part because I really tried to avoid reading white men. I didn’t want to entirely avoid that (I don’t like being rigid in my goals), but I think I struck a decent balance. As a result, I did come across some new authors I want to explore further.
More Stats
Here are some other stats from my reading in 2019:
- Sci-fi is #1: By a bigger margin than last year, as it hit 37%. YA and middle grade slumped at only 11%. I continue to tire of those stories, when they used to be closer to a third of my reading.
- New is still better: About 63% of my reading came from books published in the last three years (last year it was 75%). Only 9 books were more than 20 years old (last year it was 10). The oldest was The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
- Print dominates: My print reading continues to dominate, at about 77%. Audio hit 17% and digital at only 5%.
More Reading
If you want to read more, check out my booklet 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading Again.
For more on diversity and stats, check out previous years: 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.