I read 107 books in 2019.
It’s nowhere near my record, but it is up slightly from last year.
My reading still hasn’t returned to 2012-2016 levels, but I suspect that has a lot to do with continued rejection of YA and middle grade stories (only 11% this year, last year it was 25%). Sci-fi amounted to 37%, pushing up from a third or less in previous years.
Here are my top 15 fiction books of 2019, top 10 non-fiction of 2019, and my diversity stats for the year.
Continue reading 2019 Reading ListLibrary fines may seem like a minor annoyance, but when those fines add up you can be blocked from using the library. The blocking threshold is $25 for adults and $10 for kids. That can lock people out of vital resources. And the people with the greatest difficulty paying fines are the ones most in need of the library’s free resources.
23,000 people are currently blocked in the Dakota County Library system.
That’s a lot of people shut out of books, resources, and internet access.
Thankfully there’s a solution. For the week of April 6-13, 2019, Dakota County Libraries are hosting Fine Forgiveness Week. Simply use your library account online or in-person during the week and your fines will be waived. Continue reading Fine Forgiveness Week at Dakota County Library: April 6-13, 2019
I’ve given my total reading numbers for 2018 and my favorite fiction and non-fiction books, now it’s time to look at some stats.
I’ve been tracking my reading stats for a while. It’s a good way to actually gauge my progress and encourage diversity in the books I read.
Counting these numbers can be hard, but here’s how I do it: I base gender on the author, counting a book if any contributor is a woman. For race I count a book if a contributor or main character is a person of color.
Here are my numbers for 2018:
Here’s how that compares to previous years:
It’s also helpful to compare it to my total reading:
It’s encouraging to see these numbers stay high. POC books slipped a bit from last year, but having it over 50% is good. The percentage of female authors hit a new high. That might not seem like a number worth paying attention to in the 21st century, but I’ve had years when J.K. Rowling was the only female author I read. Continue reading 2018 Reading Statistics
I read 101 books in 2018 and about a quarter were non-fiction. I often say I don’t like non-fiction as much, but I still manage to read a fair amount.
Here are some of the year’s best:
If you want to read more, check out my booklet 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading Again.
And how about previous top 10 non-fiction lists: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012.
I may have read 101 books in 2018, but I’ve been in an ongoing reading slump. Makes it harder to choose a top 10.
I think I made the same complaint last year. These are good books, but I’m not sure they’re books I’d run up and down the street with. Those are becoming harder and harder to find.
I’m also not sure how well these lists hold up over time. After all, I did put Octavia Butler’s Kindred at #6 in my 2013 list. It’s probably one of my favorite books.
But aside from all that, I think it is a fun collection of books.
And let’s give an honorable mention to What Alice Forgot by Alice Moriarty. I had a rocky time reading it (listened to part of the audio book, slept through some of it, then read the rest), but I really liked the way it explored the overdone amnesia ground in a fresh way.
If you want to read more, check out my booklet 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading Again.
And how about previous top 10 fiction lists: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012.
I read 101 books in 2018.
That’s down from recent years, but up slightly from last year, so I guess the good news is that I’ve kept my reading slump from getting worse?
I’m still feeling slumpish in my reading, and basically having to work hard to find things I really enjoy reading.
This afternoon I saw a post on Facebook that some neighborhood kids had set up a comic book stand and were selling comic books they had created.
I had to check that out.
And I’m glad I did. They were awesome. Continue reading Kids Set up a Comic Book Stand and It’s Awesome
Three years ago—in 2015—I came up with an idea for a book giving a pep talk to church communicators. Last month we officially launched You’ve Got This: A Pep Talk for Church Communicators by Kelley Hartnett and illustrated by Erica J. Hicks.
In 2015 I was in the middle of reading Kid President’s Guide to Being Awesome by Robby Novak and Brad Montague. It’s hard to read that book without smiling and being inspired. It’s just full of such pep.
I’ve worked with church communicators as the editor of Church Marketing Sucks since 2004. If there’s any group in need of a pep talk, it’s church communicators. I read Novak and Montague’s infectious good cheer and thought we need this for church communicators.
So I put a proposal together for a pep talk for church communicators. Continue reading You’ve Got This: A Pep Talk for Church Communicators
It’s fitting that I close Black History Month by reading Vashti Harrison’s Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History. It’s a quick read: one-page biographies (and fun illustrations) of 40 black women throughout history.
I quasi-intentionally read a fair number of black writers this month, including Luvvie Ajayi’s I’m Judging You, Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti: The Night Masquerade, Marley Dias Gets It Done, Ronald L. Smith’s middle grade Black Panther, They Can’t Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery, and Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King Jr.
All were good, and while King and Lowery were perhaps the best examples of black history I read this month, Harrison’s Little Leaders really gives that broad taste of history that leaves you wanting more. Continue reading Vashti Harrison’s Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
In addition to tracking my reading, for 2017 I started grabbing some more stats.
The biggest numbers I’ve been tracking are for diversity, and I’ve been keeping an eye on those for a few years now. Being more intentional makes a difference (Just compare my favorites from now with a few years ago—if you have very few diverse reads among your favorites, you’re doing it wrong). If you ignore the numbers and hope it all works out, it’s eye-opening how it doesn’t.
Of course counting these numbers is tough: I base gender simply on the author, counting a book if any contributor is a woman. For race I count a book if a contributor or main character is a person of color.
This year’s numbers:
Here’s how that stacks up historically:
Here’s what that looks like compared to my total reading:
I’m pretty thrilled to see those diversity numbers getting higher. If you think that’s silly or ridiculous, well, talk to my kids. It matters to them, and it matters to me.
I also tracked some other details this year, which revealed some interesting trends:
If you want help reading more, check out my booklet 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading Again.
