Looking Back at 2011

I didn't really have a set goal for the number of books that I wanted to read this year- I just knew that I wanted to read the same number of books, if not more, than I read in 2010 (which was 115 books)- and I accomplished that goal! Over the past year I have read 135 books.

Of the 135 books I read this year:

• I reviewed 130 of them (96%)
• Of those 130 books I reviewed: 
• 62 were review request books (requests either from the publisher or the author) (47%)
• 68 were books that I read/ reviewed for fun (53%)

Of the 135 books I read this year:

• 71 were physical books (53%)
• 64 were E-books (47%)- I cannot stress to you how much an E-reader has changed my life. I was very much one of those people who always said, "I will NEVER own an E-reader- I will FOREVER read only physical books", but then I got a Kindle... And let me tell you, my reading actually increased. Majorly. In having an E-reader I am now able to accept review requests that I would have previously rejected and in doing so I have discovered so many amazing authors, specifically self-published authors such as Derrolyn Anderson, Megan Duncan, Samantha Young and Denise Grover Swank (and I don't know about y'all, but I personally feel that I read books on my Kindle faster than I read the same book in physical copy- though I have no idea why). It is by far the best purchase I have ever made and well worth the money- as you can see 47% of what I have read this year I read on my Kindle- and food for thought, I only got my Kindle in April so I managed to read 68 E-books in less than 8 months. 

Of the 135 books I read this year:

• 49 were self-published/ indie (37%)
• 86 were traditionally published (63%)

Some other silly stats:

• I read the largest number of books in May- 17 to be exact (13%)
• I read the least number of books in October- 6 to be exact (4%)
• I reviewed the largest number of books in July- 12 to be exact (8%)
• I reread 13 books this year (9%)

 But more importantly than any stats...

•  I have learned so much this past year- not only about the world of book blogging, publishing and the likes of, but about myself.

• While I have always loved to read I never thought of doing anything with that love- career-wise specifically. I was fine with the idea of continuing on with my education in bioarchaeological anthropology, eventually getting my masters/ Phd and becoming a professor or a literal working-in-the-trenches-archaeologist, but when I became a blogger and started to learn more of the world of books I came to realize that it is something that I can see myself going for the rest of my life. So last week I followed my passion- instead of applying to grad school for bioarchaeological anthropology as I have intended to do for years, I applied to grad school for a masters program in library and information sciences- when I graduate from the program I will be a qualified librarian (AKA I WILL FOREVER BE SURROUNDED BY BOOKS).
• Not to mention I have made so many amazing friends and contacts over the year- whether it be here through my blog, through their blogs, through Twitter, or through events such as the YA Sisterhood Heroine Tournament (seriously, I love each and every one of you and appreciate your friendship more than you will ever know!).    

Here is to 2012- may it be even better than 2011 (and may we read even more amazing books)!