Sweet Inspirationals

52 Books in a Year

Last December, as 2013 drew to a close, I heard that the average reader reads about 5 books per year. I was shocked. Five books, really, that’s it? Then I tallied up the number of books I read in 2013 and came up with a “whopping” eight. I hung my head, almost embarrassed to call myself and avid bookworm. But I was determined to change things. I challenged myself to read as many books as I could in the next twelve months.

Now, as 2014 comes to an end, I can say it’s a different story, pun intended! The number of books I’ve read this year comes to 52. That’s an average of one book per week. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I learned a lot about myself in the process. Early on, I noticed that I read a lot of fiction, so I made conscience effort to peruse more non-fiction.

The number of books I read per month varied, and yet I was curious as to just how many books I could read in a span of 31 days. So, I picked my favorite genre, and in March, I dove in. Seven and one-half books later I about went buggy-eyed. That was the most I ever read in one month. August was a world away from that extreme. I was just plain busy with life, and only got through one book that month.

Here’s a break-down of the books I read, by genre.

Memoirs and Biographies – 8

Faith-based Nonfiction - 2

Books on the craft of writing – 1 (And I call myself a writer? Yikes!)

Mainstream Fiction – 1

Children’s chapter books – 8 (Okay, I cheated a bit and read a few short books)

Sweet Contemporary Romance – 5

Sweet Historical Romance - 1

Christian Mainstream Fiction – 4

And lastly, my favorite genre, Inspirational Historical Romance - 22

Here’s a break-down of those 22 books by setting.

Regency England – 2

WWII Europe – 1

1700’s America – 3

1800’s America – 12

1900’s America – 4

Although I do have my favorite genre, it appears that my reading tastes are somewhat eclectic. I did garner lot of knowledge from reading so many books this year but the downside is that I read them so fast I didn’t have time to digest the material after finishing the last page. As soon as I completed one, I delved right into another.

So, for 2015, I plan to keep reading but slow down a bit and enjoy them more, and perhaps write a bunch of reviews for some fantastic books.

Coming soon; as the world looks back on 2014, and the year draws to a close, I plan to look back on the lives of some people who have inspired me the most. In January I will post my Top Ten Favorite Memoirs and Biographies.