In general, the less said about the horror show that was 2020, the better, right? Thankfully, there were some great books along the way to help keep me sane. So, as we head into the new year, let’s take stock of how I got on throughout the past 12 months and set some goals for 2021.
Firstly, a look at whether I achieved last year’s goals:
- I wanted to read 100 books. Having read 121, this one gets a tick.
- I wanted to read more poetry. I read 14 poetry books in 2020, up from just 4 in 2019, so that’s a big step in the right direction.
- I wanted to do more buddy reads. I didn’t do many to be fair, so this is a fail. But with everyone (including myself) all over the place mentally and schedule-wise in 2020, I’m not going to beat myself up about it. And in fairness, my next goal kind of tied into this one…
- I wanted to read the whole Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist. Though we read them in our own time, so they weren’t technically buddy reads, I did love the experience of reading and discussing the list with a bunch of my favourite bookish people again. I read and reviewed all 16 before the shortlist announcement, so this one gets a big tick.
- I also wanted to keep reading translated lit. I definitely did this, both sporadically throughout the year and by committing fully to Women in Translation Month in August for the second year running.
In general, I certainly wouldn’t describe 2020 as one of my strongest reading years, but there were still lots of great books peppered throughout (the best of which I talked about here in my top reads of the year post). Across the 121 books I read, I gave an average rating of 3.5 stars, the same as in 2019. This seems pretty reflective of a somewhat middling reading year, but it definitely implies there were more good reads than bad ones!
As always, I never do or don’t read a book based on the author’s gender identity, but once the year reaches its end, I like to look back and see which voices I’m being drawn to. As expected, I’m definitely still reaching for female writers far more than I am male ones, and I’m more than okay with that. I’m also pleased to see my intake of non-binary voices increased slightly on the previous year (though it could certainly be higher, and recommendations would be very welcome!).
In terms of diversity of authorship within my reading, the ratio of white authors (78) to authors of colour (43) wasn’t too bad, but it could always be better. Publishing bias isn’t exactly a help on this front, but the closer I can get to a 50/50 split, the happier I’d be.
I then decided to break my reading down based on form. Amusingly, I read exactly the same number of both novels and nonfiction books in 2020 as I did in 2019. At the slight expense of short fiction and graphic novels/memoirs (both of which took a dip in numbers), I did manage to boost my poetry reading significantly, as previously mentioned, which I’m pleased about.
Given that one of my goals for the year was to keep reading translated literature, I wanted to see exactly what the numbers equated to. Though books written in English certainly make up the bulk of my reading, I was reasonably happy with the balance. Ideally, I’d love for translated works to make up at least a quarter of my reading, which seems attainable based on these stats.
As for 2021, in light of how up in the air everything still feels, I’m keeping my goals very simple:
- Read 100 books. I like that this is a round number, and that it feels achievable whilst still making a sizable dent in my ever-growing TBR.
- Read more plays. I don’t reach for plays that often, but I’ve had several end up on my reads of the year lists before. I’m also really missing the experience of live theatre, so reading play scripts may help to ease that particular ache.
- Finish Carrie Fisher’s backlist. This is very specific, I grant you. I love Fisher’s writing, both fiction and nonfiction. I’ve read 5 out of her 7 published works so far, and I’ve been putting off the last 2 because the thought of not having more of her books to look forward to makes me sad. But equally, as a big fan, I want to be able to say I’ve completed her works.
- Pace myself. My reading definitely slowed down throughout the last couple of months in 2020. As a committed reader, this stressed me out at first, but I think we’ve all learned to try and be a little kinder to ourselves recently. I tell everyone else it’s absolutely fine to take breaks from reading when you feel burnt out or in a slump, so I want to take my own advice if/when it happens to me again. It’s also true that a lot of the time I would normally have spent reading in those latter months was spent indulging my newfound love of embroidery, so it’s not like I wasn’t doing something enjoyable and relaxing with my time anyway!

The pieces I embroidered in November

A couple of festive pieces I embroidered in December
I’ll end this post as I always end my reading year in review; by bringing together every book I read throughout the past 12 months. If any covers or titles catch your eye, feel free to ask about them and we can chat. In the meantime, happy reading, and all the best for 2021! Things can only get better, right?

The books I read in January

The books I read in February

The books I read in March

The books I read in April

The books I read in May

The books I read in June

The books I read in July

The books I read in August

The books I read in September

The books I read in October

The books I read in November

The books I read in December
Your embroidery is beautiful! 😍
Thank you so much! 😊
I’m glad I’m not the only one who reads so few books by male writers! I love your embroidery as well 🙂
I can’t say I’m ever disappointed to see I’ve read a lot more women than men! 😂 Thank you, I definitely plan to keep going with it this year.
What a great reading year! that embroidery is just gorgeous! I look forward to seeing what plays you read – my Masters is in Modern Drama so I read a lot of plays but often find it hard to talk about them!
Thank you! 😊 I know what you mean, I’ve loved reading some plays in the past, but without the usual depth and description in the text itself, they can be harder to discuss objectively.
Great post! I always like reading about other people’s statistics. I am tinkering with my end of the year posts. This really is my second favourite part of the blogging year (favourite being the time around the wp longlist announcement).
I didn’t plan on having any resolutions but since today I’ve been tempted.
Thank you! Same here; I find making and reading these kinds of posts equally satisfying.
That’s a lot of books. Happy new year.
Happy new year to you too 😊
Lovely post! I’m so happy you found embroidery to make you a bit happier in this messy year! (And it looks so beautiful!!) Good luck with your goals, I look forward to seeing what you read this year – will you try to read the WP longlist? I’m probably just gonna pick up whatever catches my eye, considering how disappointing last year’s list was.
Thank you so much! 😊 Same here, I’m still curious to see what gets listed, and I’m excited to discuss any that we check out, but I don’t see myself committing to the whole longlist again this year.
It looks like an amazing reading year! Very impressive and your embroidery is just gorgeous. I particularly like the one with the Christmas wreath.
Thank you so much! 😊 I hope you have a great reading year in 2021 📚
Your embroidery? ICONIC. Women’s Prize reading definitely felt like a big buddy read. Although I think this year everyone will just read whatever they like from the list since we had a bad time with last year’s list. Good luck with your goals! 🙆🏻♀️
Thank you! 😭 Yes, we were burned too badly last year to commit fully until we see the new longlist 😂 Hope you have a great reading year 📚✨
I love the embroidery, well done! All the best this year for your goals 🙂
Thank you very much! I hope you have a great reading year 📚😊
I like the graphics to see how exactly how your reading plays out. Like you, I don’t consciously choose books by men or women but I keep track and women always seem to dominate in the end, which I certainly don’t mind!
Thank you, I always find this a really satisfying post to make, and I love reading other people’s as well.
Yesss pie charts! Your commitment to translations is truly inspiring, and congrats on meeting so many of your goals, even in such a strange year. Learning to take my own advice on being okay with reading slumps when they inevitably descend was something I had to work hard on this year too, and I can agree it’s a difficult mentality to come around to no matter how easy it is to give the same advice to others, but it is very freeing in the end to remember that our time is our own to choose what to do with. I’m glad you were able to find other ways to relax these past couple of months, and your embroidery is so gorgeous!
Thank you so much! 😊 I’m sure it’s a feeling lots of readers can relate to. I definitely need to keep reminding myself that!
Gosh Callum I am SOO impressed with your embroidery!! I hope 2021 is a great reading year for you. 🙂
Thank you so much on both counts! 😊
Those pie charts feed the statistics nerd in me on a whole new level. Love, love it. Great job on your reading goals too. I totally failed at mine… 😀
Glad to hear I’m not the only one geeking out over them 😂 Thanks! I wouldn’t worry; I think we all get a free pass if things didn’t exactly pan out as we’d planned last year 😅