Looking Back
Reading Stats
2018 started off well reading-wise. I finished 15 books last month, which is close to the 16 I got through last year January. While in 2017, the Bout of Books read-a-thon helped get through quite a number of books, this year I only managed 2 books that week. Then I spontaneously joined the 24in48 Readathon because my weekend plans went bust due to the flu and a wrist injury. I got through nearly 5 books. So yes, read-a-thons can be a great motivating factor.
My average rating for those books was 3.731 out of 5, which is a fair bit above my average rating over the past two years. In that regard, I can say January was a good month too.
I read 3,609 pages for print book editions listened to 37:57 hours (equalling 1,498 pages) for audiobooks. That gives a total equivalent of 5,107 pages. That’s a lot more than what I had thought I would manage, after getting through less than 2,000 in December.
Books Read
- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black | Rating: 4.883*
- Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed | Rating: 4.278
- The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli | Rating: 1.667
- A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers | Rating: 3.750
- Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard | Rating: 4.111
- Little Monsters by Kara Thomas | Rating: 3.650
- Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot | Rating: 3.389
- The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven | Rating: 3.611
- To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo | Rating: 4.667
- American Panda by Gloria Chao | Rating: 4.278
- Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron | Rating: 2.889
- Love, Life and the List by Kasie West | Rating: 3.550
- Denton Little’s Still Not Dead by Lance Rubin | Rating: 3.100
- Suicide Club by Rachel Heng | Rating: 4.750
- Eyes Like Mine by Sheena Kamal | Rating: 3.389
*Note on ratings: I rate books on a scale of 0 to 5, 0 being the worst and 5 being the best. I first rate various aspects such as prose, characterisation, plot, originality, etc. Then I average these out for my overall ratings. To obtain my star ratings, I round to the nearest 0.5.
TBR Pile
TBR Reduction
In January, I hauled 17 books, seven of which count towards my TBR pile. The rest are reference books. I read eleven books from my TBR pile and added three. This bring my TBR reduction tally to -4 for 2018 so far.
Book Haul
Of the four novels novels I hauled, I received three for review (American Panda, To Kill a Kingdom and All That She Can See). The fourth, Eyes Like Mine, I received for a sponsored Instagram tour post. I’m also grateful to Inge who hosted a Twitter giveaway, for which I was one of the winners, so I received Atelier Confectionery.
While I did buy quite a number of books in January, my plan for the rest of the year is to pare back. I want to cut down on my spending. Since I still have a lot of unread books on my shelves, and have the privilege of receiving books review every now and then, I figured I have more than enough. I also have access to extensive library networks, so if there’s a book I want to read immediately, borrowing is an option.
There are some books I already planned for, like the Ravenclaw hardcover edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and if there will be one, the special UK hardcover edition of A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab. Besides these, I’m limiting myself to buying 12 books for leisure reading from February through to December.
Being a curator and content custodian at a book subscription box, I tend to read about 10 to 11 books each month. However, I am fairly flattered and would love to reach the reading level you are on.
You had a good reading month indeed. I wish I could read as much but with work, I can only read ~4 books/month. -_- And yes to controlling spending habits. lol I buy more books than I can read them!
Hope you’re having a good February too! :)