This post is inspired by the weekly meme Book Blogger Hop, where participants answer a question every week. As usual, I tried to expand this out as much as I can. I typically broaden the category a bit so I can turn it into a proper discussion post.
This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!
Do you prefer to read old books or new books?
For this question (the original question posted as the Book Blogger Hop prompt) and all the other questions I created, I decided to dive into my reading spreadsheet from the past two years. Every year, I download Book Roast’s CAWPILE spreadsheet system, and I log every book I read into that spreadsheet.
Before I went into the spreadsheets, I predicated that a majority of the books I read are usually in the recent two years.
Looking at 2022, 34% of the books I read were from 2022. An additional 19.4% of the books I read were from 2021. This definitely proves that I love to read new books. 53% of the books I read that year
I was not surprised by many of these numbers because I was reading a lot of ARCS from Netgalley that year. I also purchased a lot more books in 2022, so I made recent books a higher priority.
2023 (so far) was a little different. Only 15 of the 78 (20%) books I’ve read so far are from this year, but 21% have been from 2022. That still is 41% of the books being from the last two years, but it was still a huge drop.
Once again, I was not really surprised by these numbers. I started my Physical TBR challenge where I am attempting to reduce my physical TBR from 216 (a ridiculous amount of books honestly). I have unhauled many books this year, but I also read 42 books from my physical TBR, most of which were purchased before the last two years.
What genre do you prefer to read?
Before looking at the spreadsheets, I predict that 2022 will be primarily thrillers and romance. I feel 2023 has been more romance reads than anything else because they put me in a better mood quickly. Both years will have some classics, but that is because I reread the same books I teach every year.
I am actually surprised at Romance being at 28.4%! I did not realize that I read that much romance in 2022. Second place was graphic novels at 19.4%, but that is not surprising. I forgot that graphic novels count as a genre, but I like to read a lot of those.
Thrillers were only at 16.4%. I for sure that would be higher because I felt like I wore myself out from thrillers last year. I had to take a long hiatus from them after reading too many last year.
I actually almost spit out my water at Fantasy being at 20%. I was very confused until I looked at my list and realized I re-read the Percy Jackson series earlier this year.
Romance still was at the top with 28%. I guess I never realized how much romance I read, but it is a genre that has become a comfort to me throughout grad school. I am a huge mood reader so I wonder if I will read other genres I have been avoiding (fantasy, historical fiction, sci fi) next year when I will not be as busy.
What format do you prefer ?
Before looking at my list, I have a feeling physical books will blow the other formats out of the water. In 2022, audiobooks will likely be in second place but in 2023, I bought a new Kindle, so I would not be surprised if e-book was second this year.
Looking back at 22, physical books was at a whopping 50%. As I said above, this is unsurprising to me. I love reading books in different formats, but there is just something about holding a physical book in my hands. If I have the option and the time, I definitely reach for physical books.
I was also right about audiobooks being number two at 25%. 2022 is the year I really started loving audiobooks. I took a few road trips by myself that year, so I decided to give more audiobooks a try. I quickly realized how much I loved them, so I usually always have an audiobook I am listening to for when I am driving (although I drive a lot less nowadays).
In 2023 so far, physical books are still number one at 49.3%. This number will likely decrease soon though because I am planning on reading quite a few e-books in December (Netgalley ARCS and Kindle Unlimited books are going to be a priority on my trip to Arizona).
Audiobooks are still number two at 22.7%, but e-books are a little closer with 21.3%. I have started reading more e-books since I purchased a new Kindle this year, so I would not be surprised if the number is much higher next year.
Wow, that was a lot of fun! There is something so satisfying about having everything organized in a spreadsheet. I loved going back to past years to see how much my reading preferences have changed, even within one year! This might be something I need to start doing yearly.
I would love to know your reading preferences! Comment your preferences down below!
Until next time, xx