2022 Reading Challenge

In 2022, I set a goal of reading 100 books over the course of the year, and ended up reading 155. This is definitely a personal record. Let's look at some fun statistics!

 

This is a chart comparing how many books I read in each month of the year to how many pages I read, as well as how many days of that month I read. It's a fun little chart. As you can kinda see from looking at it, the months where I read the most were May, July, and August, and my slowest reading months were November and December.

No need for book buying bans

This one's probably self-explanatory, but it shows where I was getting my books from. I've always been a big library reader, and 2022 wasn't an exception to that. I did borrow a lot more books in 2022 though, both from my parents and from a new friend that I was doing a lot of buddy reads with.

That's a lot of fantasy!

Another pie chart! This one is about genre. My top genre is generally fantasy, followed by sci-fi. Here, you can see that contemporary is in a distant third place. I think that's also pretty typical.

 

 Book lengths! I like that this one makes a kind of a wonky bell curve. I like long books, but I feel like I like long books that are in the 400-600 page range, not so much 700+. Most books simply don't need to be 700 pages long in my opinion.

 

Here's a star rating breakdown. I feel like I'm pretty generous with my star ratings. All of the pink and orange represents 4 stars and above, the yellow is 3 stars, and that little slice of green is stuff I rated below 5 stars. Sometimes I feel like I should be meaner with my star ratings. I gave the worst book I read this year 1.5 stars. Maybe it should've just been 1 star, y'know?

 Okay, those are all of the interesting charts I have for this year. Now it's list time.

(I didn't review all of the books I read, but I have linked to my reviews for the ones I did review. That's where the links go)

 

January

1. The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling
2. Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
3. Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston
4. Katzenjammer by Francesca Zappia
5. Sabriel by Garth Nix
6. The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
7. The Accidental Apprentice by Amanda Foody
8. Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko
9. The Weeping Tide by Amanda Foody
10. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
11. Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe
    

My favorite read of January was the Raybearer duology by Jordan Ifueko. The prose is just gorgeous and luxurious. The premise feels like a typical YA premise, but I liked how it was executed a lot more than I expected to.

Katzenjammer was my least favorite read. It's not a bad book, but for me it was bad. The ending tries to be hopeful but I managed to find it incredibly depressing instead. 

February

1. Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
2. The Reader by Traci Chee
3. Alliana, Girl of Dragons by Julie Abe
4. Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger
5. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
6. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
7. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
8. The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
9. The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
10. Oddity by Eli Brown

Februrary of 2022 marks the first month where I listened to audiobooks! I listened to The Shadows Between Us, which I actually despised from beginning to end, and then I listened to Oddity, which was really excellent. I also really liked Spinning Silver and picked it as my favorite book for February in my much-neglected physical writing journal.

 

March

1. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
2. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
3. The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
4. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
5. Jade City by Fonda Lee
6. The Silence of Bones by June Hur
7. The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco
8. Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross
9. Spindlefish and Stars by Christane M. Andrews
10. The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker
11. The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart

 This was an interesting reading month. I did a little rereading, tried a couple more audiobooks, ended up hating two books pretty passionately...I did discover the Drowning Empire trilogy in March, which I really liked. The third book was not it for me, but I still really liked the first two.

April

1. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
2. In Real Life by Cory Doctorow
3. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
4. Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
5. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
6. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
7. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
8. A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin
9. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
10. Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb
11. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
12. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
13. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

April is a historically significant month because it's the month where I discovered both the Queen's Thief series and the Memoirs of Lady Trent! Well, I say discovered. They were both recommended to me, either directly or indirectly. But those make up two of my three favorite series from this year, so it's still exciting. I also reread the Winner's Curse trilogy for the first time since high school, because I shelled out money for the Illumicrate special editions. The trilogy doesn't quite hold up, and boy are there a lot of valid criticisms, but there's also still some fondness and nostalgia there for me. I probably won't recommend them to other people much, but I'm kind of glad I have pretty versions of them.

May

1. Crier's War by Nina Varela
2. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
3. Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba
4. The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
5. Only a Monster by Vanessa Len
6. Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
7. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
8. Babel by R.F. Kuang
9. The Lock-Eater by Zachary Loran Clark
10. Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray
11. Unraveller by Frances Hardinge
12. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
13. Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
14. Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
15. The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix
16. A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
17. Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George
18. Dragon Spear by Jessica Day George
19. In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce

 My favorite books I read in May were Only a Monster (which I had super low expectations for, so it really caught me by surprise how much I liked it) and Unraveller (new Frances Hardinge is always a delight). 

June

1. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
2. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
3. Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
4. The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew
5. The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
6. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce
7. Thick As Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
8. Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan
9. Bloody Fool for Love by William Ritter
10. Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood
11. When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
12. In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan

In June, someone had thoughtfully snagged an ARC of Nona the Ninth for me at work, so I reread the first two books in the Locked Tomb series and then read Nona. I really liked Nona. I'm a little worried about the conclusion to that series, though - I don't think it'll be bad, but I feel like it's unlikely that it'll live up to absolutely everyone's expectations, y'know? 

July

1. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
2. The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
3. A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland
4. Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan
5. So I'm a Spider, So What? Vol. 1 by Okina Baba
6. Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
7. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
8. Alone Out Here by Riley Redgate
9. Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
10. Flip the Script by Lyla Lee
11. The Patron Thief of Bread by Lindsay Eagar
12. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
13. Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan
14. The Wicked King by Holly Black
15. The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
16. Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
17. All Systems Red by Martha Wells

 In July I read the Cruel Prince trilogy for the first time, reread the Goblin Emperor, and - oops! Look at that! Is that the beginnings of my Murderbot obsession right there at the end of this month's list? Yes. Yes it is. Also I read Vicious this month, but I truly found it mid.

August

1. XOXO by Axie Oh
2. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
3. Red Queen by Victora Aveyard
4. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
5. If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang
6. The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
7. The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison
8. Fire by Kristin Cashore
9. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
10. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
11. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
12. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
13. Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore
14. Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
15. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
16. Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
17. Network Effect by Martha Wells
18. Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore
19. Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
20. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

 The Murderbot obsession grows (I read Fugitive Telemetry twice because the audiobook was available from one of my Libby libraries and I wanted something to listen to while I sewed. I know a lot of people really like Kevin R. Freeman's narration, but I'm honestly meh on him. Glad everyone else likes him, though). Also, I reread the Graceling realm books for buddy read reasons. And I read Howl's Moving Castle for maybe the first time! Or maybe not the first time! I don't remember for sure because if I read it before, it was like 15 years ago and I forgot everything about it! It was good either way.

 September

1. Lightlark by Alex Aster
2. Fuzz by Mary Roach
3. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
4. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
5. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
6. Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
7. Bone Weaver by Aden Polydoros
8. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
9. A Thousand Steps Into Night by Traci Chee
10. Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan
11. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
12. The Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson
13. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
14. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

This was a big audiobook month for me. I listened to Lightlark as an audiobook (it's the same narrator as Oddity, and I do like her, even though Lightlark is a mess), began listening to the Queen's Thief audiobooks, and I reread The Host as an audiobook. This was also a big sewing month for me, and I like to listen to audiobooks while I sew. I don't know what I was sewing, but I know I was sewing a lot. 

 

I also read Bloodmarked, which was tragically a bit of a disappointing follow-up to Legendborn. I'll probably still read the next book, though. 

October

1. The Pride of Chanur by C.J. Cherryh
2. Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
3. Only a Monster by Vanessa Len
4. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
5. Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman
6. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
7. A Conspiracy of Kings by  Megan Whalen Turner
8. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
9. Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi
10. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
11. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

October, the month of backlist sci-fi. And also, for some reason, the month I read ACOTAR. It had to happen eventually, I suppose. Pride of Chanur was dense, but rewarding, and I plan to read more CJ Cherryh when I don't have other pressing reading obligations. Shards of Honor was fun but also dark and stressful. I liked Tomorrow x3 but I also feel basic for reading it because it's the one lit fic book everyone read in 2022. I guess it's okay to be basic. I barely read lit fic, so of course when I read it I'm going to read the stuff that's more broadly popular.

November

1. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
2. City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky
3. Notes from My Captivity by Kathy Parks
4. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
5. Threadneedle by Cari Thomas
6. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
7. Perfect On Paper by Sophie Gonzales
8. Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell

I feel like in November most of my reading was focused on trying to get my Netgalley ratio into good shape. Nowadays I try to get ARCs primarily through work because Netgalley's ratio situation stresses me out. Anyways, 4 out of the 8 books I read in this month were Netgalley ARCs. I loved Emily Wilde, liked City of Last Chances, was pretty meh on Threadneedle, and strongly disliked Flowerheart. (You can't just lift the meadow scene from the Howl's Moving Castle movie wholesale and expect me not to notice and have opinions.)

December

1. The Faithless Hawk by Margaret Owen
2. Moira's Pen by Megan Whalen Turner
3. The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui Sutherland
4. Painted Devils by Margaret Owen
5. Witch King by Martha Wells
6. A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
7. To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
8. Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
9. Someday We'll Find It by Jennifer Wilson

December had its fair share of ups and downs. I was disappointed enormously by Moira's Pen, delighted by Painted Devils, intrigued by Witch King, disappointed again by A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, and bored by Sea Witch. Someday We'll Find It was my last book of the year, which felt appropriate, somehow, because it was one of the first ARCs I ever brought home from my job. I think it came out in early 2022 or late 2021, so I was definitely a long time in getting to it, but it was an enjoyable small-town coming-of-age story. And the cover is pretty.

Overall, it was a very good reading year, but I'm not going to worry about breaking this record any time soon. I have to make time for other hobbies and pursuits, not just reading!