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Month In Review: September 2017

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It seems like my 5 Step Plan to beat my slump has been working and I’m definitely over my reading slump now. The blogging slump is still there though… Although scheduling posts has been a big help during the last two months. I have been a lot less active both here and on my social media accounts; I haven’t disappeared, I’m just taking some necessary breathing time! Actually going to write a post about that soon… Basically, I’ve been dedicating more time to my personal life, started eating healthier, exercising more, and this has been eating up some my blogging time. Also, it’s currently Spring and we’ve been working on some reforms in the garden… I’m truly surprised I was still able to read 18 titles, although a few of these were either short or superfast reads. 😉

As for the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in September: 18
  • Total number of books read this year: 165
  • Total number of pages read in September: 6.386
  • Total number of pages read this year: 55.046

Thankfully September was another good month and I even managed to add another 5 star rating to my list! (This Savage Song was a reread so doesn’t count) It was a great month in general since I had only two ratings below 3 stars (although one was a DNF) and lots of titles with a 4 star rating or above. Fingers crossed October will continue to be good!

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now. 
This Savage Song – by Victoria Schwab (REREAD) // Our Dark Duet – by Victoria Schwab

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 
Cold Blood – by Robert Bryndza // The Surrogate – by Louise Jensen // Flowers For Algernon – by Daniel Keyes // Snuggle And Play Crochet – by Carolina Guzman Benitez NO REVIEW // Murder Game – by Caroline Mitchell // The Diary Of A Young Girl – by Anne Frank (REREAD)

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!
The Dollmaker Of Krakow – by R.M. Romero // Beartown – by Fredrik Backman // A Different Blue – by Amy Harmon // The Mistake – by K.L. Slater

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!
Things I’m Seeing Without You – by Peter Bognanni // Her Last Secret – by Barbara Copperthwaite

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic. 
The Lifeboat – by Charlotte Rogan // Heartless – by Marissa Meyer

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’.
Bentwhistle The Dragon – by Paul Cude DNF

1.5 STARS: The story wasn’t horrible, but there still isn’t another word to describe it but ‘bad’.
I Am Behind You – by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Somehow I have joined way more challenges than usual this year, but at least I’ve already made a lot of progress with most of them so far. I’m considering the Netgalley challenge done since didn’t really have a goal in the first place and I already have surpassed the ‘magical’ number of 100 ARCs this year. I also made some progress with the Reading Through The Centuries challenge, although it’s going to be a struggle getting the final four titles in before the end of this year. The Beat The Backlist challenge is going good enough since I almost finished the 20 books published before 2013 and those 20 of course also count for the the total of 50 books published before 2016… Meaning I’m only 8 titles away of completing the challenge; not bad at all! 😀

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals…I managed to maintain my Netgalley ratio above 80% and even almost clean out my shelf completely, which I’m very happy about. But more importantly: I managed to both complete my classics, series and reread goals in September! I just love all that green on my goals list right now. 😉 Things are pretty hopeless when it comes to my TBR pile though, although I did manage to bring down the number slightly. I’m planning on cleaning up my kindle and getting rid of some Amazon freebies, so hopefully the number will be even less by next month! I’m currently working on the 800+ pages book (IT), so that should be another goal completed soon… I guess I should really start working on those Spanish books though. And running. I’ve been slowly picking up running again (I always combine it with speedwalking; in total at least 6-7km), but I’m so out of form I’m still not able to run for long. xD

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 5 classics (rereads don’t count) DONE 5/5 (The Color Purple, Little Women, The Jungle Book, Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Flowers For Algernon)
  • Complete at least 5 series (rereads don’t count) DONE 5/5 (Shades Of Magic, The Dominion Trilogy, Confessions, Chaos Walking, The Monsters Of Verity)
  • Reread at least 3 books DONE 3/3 (The Perfect Stranger, This Savage Song, The Diary Of A Young Girl)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 250 books 373/250
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages (maximum at 624 pages)
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 0/2
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch DONE 1/1
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% currently at 98%
  • Start a Twitter account and use it regularly
  • Reach 5km running! 2000m/5000m

Happy October and Happy Reading! 

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You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

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May-August 2017: The Numbers

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Ever since I first started to keep track of the books I read with the help of an Excel spreadsheet last year, I’ve been putting together these wrap up graphics every four months. It seems like only last month I wrote my last The Numbers post… But the calendar doesn’t lie: it’s September already which means it’s time for another round of bookish graphics.

First of all some quick facts. In the second round of four months of 2017 I have read no less than 79 books with a total page count of 26.002 pages; an average of about 329 pages per book. This is 11 books and roughly 3.500 pages more than in the first four months of 2017!! The average rating is 3,47 stars, which is considerably lower than before and probably had to do with some bad luck with my ARCs as well as the fact that I only had 5 instead of 10 new 5 star ratings.  18 books had a 4,5 or 5 star rating and 31 books received a rating 3 stars or below… Which means I enjoyed reading about 61% of the books during the last four months; again a lot less than previously. I’m hoping that the final months of 2017 will be better and I’m hoping that reading mostly my own books again will bring me some luck… Another fun fact: 59 of the 79 books I’ve read so far were actually ARCs; about 75% of the total. Way more than I was aiming for, but this did help me get my Netgalley shelves under control again, so I’m not complaining haha.

And now some graphics for those who like them as much as I do. 😉

This graphic above explains exactly why my average rating is not as high as before, because more than half of my ratings have been 3,5 stars or below. Here’s to hoping the final months will increase my number of high ratings again!

I’ve finally picked up a few Middle Grade reads so the number isn’t stuck at 0 anymore… It also seems like I have been reading a lot more Adult than YA in the last few months, which is probably mostly because I’ve been reading a lot of ARCs and I mainly request mystery/thrillers. 😉

One of the things I’ve been trying to do this year is read more books by male authors, because somehow I always seem to be reading more books my female authors (even though I never base my choice of books on the gender of the author). I’m pleased my percentage of male author went up a further 3% since last time!

The main genre is basically the most dominant genre I think each book belongs to. As always mystery/thriller/horror is the biggest group (there’s truly no surprise there for those who follow my blog!), and fantasy is well represented as well. The number of contemporary romance reads has increased considerably, which is actually a surprise since it’s not one of my favorites.

This average rating graphic is quite a shock… Although I already knew the last few months had quite a few lowish ratings. Both non fiction/memoir (4 rating) and mystery/thriller/horror (3,80 rating) still scored pretty high, although the first only had one title in the first place. Historical fiction (2,70 rating) was actually the lowest, which is a shock since it’s one of my favorite genres! I’m not really surprised by contemporary romance (2,95 rating), but fantasy (3,54 rating) was also quite low. Fingers crossed the last few months will be better!

The series/stand-alone ratio has been exactly the same as the last post, and I’m actually quite happy with this. As much as I love reading series, I tend to neglect them with the result of a huge pile of unfinished series collecting dust. And there is no such problem with stand-alones! 😉

Boy do I feel bad about this graphic! I joined the Beat The Backlist challenge and have other challenges as well to help me read older titles, and somehow only a meager 18% of the books I’ve read in 2017 are published in 2014 or before. Oops? To make things worse, 59% of the books have been published this year… I guess it does show I have been reading mostly ARCs so far. xD I did manage to read a few classics and the number is slightly better than in the first few months (even though I did read more books published this year), so I guess there is still hope.

Last graphic: as always most books I’ve read have between 300 and 399 pages, which seems to be a pretty good number and a  sign of a story that’s not too short and not too long. There are exceptions of course; some stories are just too complex to be told in under 400 pages… What I am happy about is that I’ve read quite a few longer books as well; a total of 20% of my books had over 400 pages. Fingers crossed I’ll keep this up!

Tired of numbers yet? I know I am! That’s it for this May-August 2017 review… Happy reading everyone!

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Month In Review: August 2017

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It seems like my 5 Step Plan to beat my slump has been working and I think August has been my best reading month yet! Part of the reason might be that I have been restricting my social media access and slowing down with all things blogging… I do miss bloghopping and using social media, but if it means I get my mojo back I’m willing to sacrifice for now. 😉 I was going to read my own books last month, but decided to try and get my Netgalley shelf under control instead. And against expectations it worked!! I managed to get to a ‘healthy’ 5 pending ARCs number and my ratio is up to 96%… Now find a way to keep it that way haha.

As for the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in August: 22
  • Total number of books read this year: 147
  • Total number of pages read in August: 7.302
  • Total number of pages read this year: 48.660

Thankfully August was another good month and I even managed to add another 5 star rating to my list! Fourteen titles and counting now this year… Nine other titles were 4 star or above so that definitely makes me happy. I had a few lower ratings as well but all in all I can’t complain.

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now. 
A Monster Calls – by Patrick Ness

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 
The Little Red Wolf – by Amélie Fléchais // Hide And Seek – by Richard Parker // The Other Girl – by Erica Spindler // Midnight At The Bright Ideas Bookstore – by Matthew Sullivan // The Kind Worth Killing – by Peter Swanson // The Missing Girls – by Carol Wyer

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!
The Ask And The Answer – by Patrick Ness // Reincarnation Blues – by Michael Poore // Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland – by Lewis Carroll

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!
The Lying Game – by Ruth Ware // The Jungle Book – by Rudyard Kipling // Little Fires Everywhere – by Celeste Ng

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic. 
Fierce Kingdom – by Gin Phillips // The Accident – by S.D. Monaghan // Monsters Of Men – by Patrick Ness

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting. 
Beautiful Broken Things – by Sara Barnard // Sister – by Rosamund Lupton // Dead To Me – by Stephen Edger // Girl In Snow – by Danya Kukafka // Never Let Me Go – by Kazuo Ishiguro

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’.
The Secret Of Heaven – by Felix Alexander

Somehow I have joined way more challenges than usual this year, but at least I’ve already made a lot of progress with most of them so far. I managed to finish another challenge this month! 😀  The ABC Author challenge is now completed… I’m also considering the Netgalley challenge done since didn’t really have a goal in the first place and I already have reached the ‘magical’ number of 100 ARCs this year. I really have to keep working on both my Reading Through The Centuries and Beat The Backlist challenge though.

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals…I managed to maintain my Netgalley ratio above 80% and even almost clean out my shelf completely, which I’m very happy about. I’ve also finally finished a book in Dutch, added two new classics and finished another series. I’m hoping to finish those two goals by the end of September! Things are pretty hopeless when it comes to my TBR pile though…. I really should do a kindle clean out to get rid of some titles I would probably never read anyway.

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 5 classics (rereads don’t count) 4/5 (The Color Purple, Little Women, The Jungle Book, Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland)
  • Complete at least 5 series (rereads don’t count) 4/5 (Shades Of Magic, The Dominion Trilogy, Confessions, Chaos Walking)
  • Reread at least 3 books 1/3 (The Perfect Stranger)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 250 books 393/250
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages (maximum at 624 pages)
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 0/2
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch DONE 1/1
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% currently at 96%
  • Start a Twitter account and use it regularly
  • Reach 5km running! 2000m/5000m

Happy September and Happy Reading! 

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You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

Month In Review: July 2017

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July was a month of extremes… Both because of the weather (which seemed to be all over the place even though it’s currently winter down here) and reading wise. I’m sure some will remember my DANGER DANGER post two weeks ago where I talked about my ARC overload and blogging slump… I’ve been reading more than ever this year and took on more ARCs than I could handle, and I guess the bomb finally imploded in July. After an overwhelming amount of comments and support (thank you all ❤ ❤ ❤ ) I managed to put together a 5 Step Plan to beat my slump and I’ve been doing slightly better so far. I do miss not bloghopping and using social media as often though! But it’s a great feeling to be trying to get back in control.

As for the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in July: 18
  • Total number of books read this year: 125
  • Total number of pages read in July: 6.157
  • Total number of pages read this year: 41.425

July was a month of extremes with not as many high ratings as usual… I did manage to add another 5 star read to my favorites, but I also had a DNF and NINE books with a 3 star rating or below. All in all not the best month, but I guess my slump can be partially blamed for that.

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now. 
Stillhouse Lake – by Rachel Caine

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 
The Stolen Girls – by Patricia Gibney

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!
Jeopardy In July – by Barbara Venkataraman // Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe – by Benjamin Alire Saenz // Little Monsters – by Kara Thomas // The Breakdown – by B.A. Paris // The Girls In The Water – by Victoria Jenkins

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!
Now You See Me – by Sharon Bolton 

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic. 
Court Of Lions – by Jane Johnson // Slip by David Estes // The List – by Patricia Forde // Americosis Vol. 4 – by Haydn Wilks // Love May Fail – by Matthew Quick

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting. 
The Lost Book Of The Grail – by Charlie Lovett

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’.
Devastation Road – by Jason Hewitt // Reported Missing – by Sarah Wray // Confess – by Colleen Hoover

0 STARS (DNF): I didn’t even bother to finish this one. Absolutely and totally horrible!
Bookishly Ever After – by Isabel Bandeira

Somehow I have joined way more challenges than usual this year, but at least I’ve already made a lot of progress with most of them so far. I managed to complete my second challenge this month! The Hooked To Books challenge… 😀 I’m also really close with the ABC challenges and since the Netgalley challenge didn’t really have a goal I guess I’ve already done enough as well. 😉  I should really start working on both my Reading Through The Centuries and Beat The Backlist challenge again though.

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals…I managed to maintain my Netgalley ratio above 80%, which I’m pretty happy about. I’ve also finally started a book in Dutch and will definitely finish it before the end of August. Things are pretty hopeless when it comes to my TBR pile though…. I’m seriously considering doing a kindle clean out to get rid of some titles I would probably never read anyway…

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 5 classics (rereads don’t count) 2/5 (The Color Purple, Little Women)
  • Complete at least 5 series (rereads don’t count) 3/5 (Shades Of Magic, The Dominion Trilogy, Confessions)
  • Reread at least 3 books 1/3 (The Perfect Stranger)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 250 books 392/250
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages (maximum at 624 pages)
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 0/2
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 0/1
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% currently at 90%
  • Start a Twitter account and use it regularly
  • Reach 5km running! 2000m/5000m

Happy August and Happy Reading! 

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You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

Month In Review: June 2017

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It’s July already, which means the first half of 2017 is now officially over! 😱 Somehow I managed to read AND review no less than 18 books last month, although a bunch of them were actually short reads…  Still, I’m quite happy with that number. 14 of these were actually ARCs, and I finally have less ARCs that I started with last month. It’s a miracle! I’m really hoping to keep this up and being able to read more of my own books in August… And I’m really happy I’ve managed to keep up with my reviews for yet another month;  it’s such a great feeling not having pending reviews staring at me waiting to be written! 😁

EDIT: I forgot to add that I decided to join the Litsy App this month! I’ve been using it for about two weeks now and I’m really loving the experience so far. It’s kind of a mix between Twitter and Instagram and the community is just lovely! Feel free to add me at yvo_about_books if you have an account. 🙂

As for the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in June: 18
  • Total number of books read this year: 107
  • Total number of pages read in June: 5.750
  • Total number of pages read this year: 35.268

June was another pretty good month and I even managed to have another TWO new 5 star ratings. I did end up having seven books that were three stars or below… And a bunch of unpopular opinion reviews as well.

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now. 
Love, & You – by Gretchen Gomez // What To Say Next – by Julie Buxbaum

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 
The Weight Of Lies – by Emily Carpenter

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!
The Mayfly – by James Hazel // Two Sisters – by Kerry Wilkinson // And I Darken – by Kiersten White // Now I Rise – by Kiersten White // Quirky Essays For Quirky People – by Barbara Venkataraman

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!
Molly Bell And The Wishing Well – by Bridget Geraghty // The Merchant’s Pearl – by Amie O’Brien // Each Little Lie – by Tom Bale

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic. 
Guilty – by Laura Elliot // Four Days – by Jamie Campbell // Final Girls – by Riley Sager

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting. 
The Gypsy Moth Summer – by Julia Fierro // Little Women – by Louisa May Alcott

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’.
The Book Of Whispers – by Kimberley Starr

1.5 STARS: The story wasn’t horrible, but there still isn’t another word to describe it but ‘bad’.
Can’t Buy Forever – by Susan Laffoon

Somehow I have joined way more challenges than usual this year, but at least I’ve already made a lot of progress with most of them so far. I actually completed my Goodreads 2017 Reading Challenge this month! Although I decided to up the number since there are six months left of 2017 still…  I should really start working on both my Reading Through The Centuries and Beat The Backlist challenge again though.

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals…I managed to maintain my Netgalley ratio above 80% and read another classic, which I’m pretty happy about. I haven’t done anything about the other goals though and things are pretty hopeless when it comes to my TBR pile. I’m seriously considering doing a kindle clean out to get rid of some titles I would probably never read anyway…

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 5 classics (rereads don’t count) 2/5 (The Color Purple, Little Women)
  • Complete at least 5 series (rereads don’t count) 3/5 (Shades Of Magic, The Dominion Trilogy, Confessions)
  • Reread at least 3 books 1/3 (The Perfect Stranger)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 250 books 392/250
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages (maximum at 624 pages)
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 0/2
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 0/1
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% currently at 85%
  • Start a Twitter account and use it regularly
  • Reach 5km running! 2000m/5000m

Happy July and Happy Reading! 

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You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

Month In Review: May 2017

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It’s somehow June already and it’s been getting pretty cold down here in Argentina already… Looks like Autumn decided to leave the building and Winter came early this year. Did I mention how much I hate the cold weather before?! I’ve been bundled up inside for most of May and it shows in my reading numbers. Somehow I managed to read AND review no less than 21 books last month! Trust me, I can’t believe this number either. 😱 18 of them were actually ARCs, and even with this number my pile of pending ARCs has only increased. Oops? I’m really happy I’ve managed to keep up with my reviews for yet another month though and it’s such a great feeling not having pending reviews staring at me waiting to be written! 😁

As for the bookish numbers:

  • Number of books read in May: 21
  • Total number of books read this year: 89
  • Total number of pages read in May: 6.793
  • Total number of pages read this year: 29.518

May was a great month in general and I even managed to have another TWO new 5 star ratings as well. And only five books were three stars or below, so I’m not complaining.

5 STARS: Absolutely and entirely mind blowing! I suggest you to pick up a copy now. 
Flame In The Mist – by Renee Ahdieh // Room – by Emma Donoghue

4.5 STARS: This one was almost perfect. Surely fantastic! 
Anything For Her – by Jack Jordan // Liar – by K.L. Slater // One Of Us Is Lying – by Karen M. McManus // Secrets Of The Dead – by Carol Wyer

4 STARS: Wow, this was really good. Close to amazing!


The Darkest Lies – by Barbara Copperthwaite // Manipulated Lives – by H.A. Leuschel // Be My Killer – by Richard Parker // Words In Deep Blue – by Cath Crowley // Feel Me Fall – by James Morris // Sherlock Holmes And The Nine-Dragon Sigil – by Tim Symonds

3.5 STARS: Great read. Really entertaining!


Roses Of May – by Dot Hutchison // Stardust – by Neil Gaiman // The Last Valentine – by Felix Alexander // The Serial Killer’s Daughter – by Lesley Welsh

3 STARS: It was a nice read, but not fantastic. 


All The Good Things – by Clare Fisher // Enchanters – by K.F. Bradshaw

2.5 STARS: I give this one the benefit of the doubt. Nothing too exciting. 
Heartborn – by Terry Maggert

2 STARS: It was ok. But mostly ‘meh’.
The Murder Of An Angel – by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

1.5 STARS: The story wasn’t horrible, but there still isn’t another word to describe it but ‘bad’.


Aurabel – by Laura Dockrill

Somehow I have joined way more challenges than usual this year, but at least I’ve already made a lot of progress with most of them so far. I should really start working on both my Reading Through The Centuries and Beat The Backlist challenge again though!

# CHALLENGES #

As for my other goals…I managed to maintain my Netgalley ratio above 80% and complete another series, which I’m pretty happy about. I haven’t done anything about the other goals though and things are pretty hopeless when it comes to my TBR pile. I’m seriously considering doing a kindle clean out to get rid of some titles I would probably never read anyway…

# OTHER READING/BLOGGING GOALS #

  • Read at least 5 classics (rereads don’t count) 1/5 (The Color Purple)
  • Complete at least 5 series (rereads don’t count) 3/5 (Shades Of Magic, The Dominion Trilogy, Confessions)
  • Reread at least 3 books 1/3 (The Perfect Stranger)
  • Bring my physical TBR pile below 250 books 394/250
  • Read at least one book over 800 pages (maximum at 624 pages)
  • Read at least 2 books in Spanish 0/2
  • Read at least 1 book in Dutch 0/1
  • Join at least 5 challenges during the year
  • Keep my Netgalley ratio above the 80% currently at 82%
  • Start a Twitter account and use it regularly
  • Reach 5km running! 2000m/5000m

Happy June and Happy Reading! 

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You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

January-April 2017: The Numbers

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Ever since I first started to keep track of the books I read with the help of an Excel spreadsheet last year, I’ve been putting together these wrap up graphics every four months. It seems like only last month I wrote my last The Numbers post… But the calendar doesn’t lie: it’s May already which means it’s time for another round of bookish graphics.

First of all some quick facts. In the first four months of 2017 I have read no less than 68 books with a total page count of 22.725 pages; an average of about 334 pages per book. The average rating is 3,79 stars, which is a lot higher than last year and shows I’ve been enjoying my books so far this year! Especially since it also includes one 0 star rating (DNF). 26 books had a 4,5 or 5 star rating and 17 books received a rating 3 stars or below… Which means I enjoyed reading about 75% of the books this year, not bad! Another fun fact: 47 of the 68 books I’ve read so far were actually ARCs; about 69% of the total.

And now some graphics for those who like them as much as I do. 😉

This graphic above explains exactly why my average rating is so high, because the highest ratings seem to have taken over completely. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many 4, 4,5 and 5 star ratings together in such a short period!!

I’m ashamed to admit I have yet to pick up a Middle Grade read this year… It’s not that I don’t like reading them, but with so many ARCs and other YA/Adult reads, I just haven’t had time. I’m hoping to read at least one by the next graphic post though! I’m also pleased that more than half of my books have been Adult books…

One of the things I’ve been trying to do this year is read more books by male authors, because somehow I always seem to be reading more books my female authors (even though I never base my choice of books on the gender of the author). I’m pleased my percentage of male author went up 7% since last time!

The main genre is basically the most dominant genre I think each book belongs to. As always mystery/thriller/horror is the biggest group (there’s truly no surprise there for those who follow my blog!), and both fantasy and (realistic) fiction are well represented as well. I’m happy with the numbers for the other genres though; they seem to be spread out more evenly this year.

I’m very happy with this average rating graphic! Because for the first time my favorite genres are actually among the highest ratings. Both mystery/thriller horror (3,77 rating), historical fiction (3,75 rating) and fantasy (3,63 rating) score pretty high even though each genre had some low ratings as well. (Realistic) fiction is a clear winner though with a whopping (4,64 rating). Almost a perfect score!

I’ve been reading more stand-alones since I started with this graphic posts, and I’m actually quite happy with this. As much as I love reading series, I tend to neglect them with the result of a huge pile of unfinished series collecting dust. And there is no such problem with stand-alones! 😉

Boy do I feel bad about this graphic! I joined the Beat The Backlist challenge and have other challenges as well to help me read older titles, and somehow only a meager 12% of the books I’ve read in 2017 are published in 2014 or before. Oops? To make things worse, almost half of the books have been published this year… I guess it does show I have been reading mostly ARCs so far. xD I’m hoping to change this number by the next post!

Last graphic: as always most books I’ve read have between 300 and 399 pages, which seems to be a pretty good number and a  sign of a story that’s not too short and not too long. There are exceptions of course; some stories are just too complex to be told in under 400 pages… What I am happy about is that I’ve read quite a few longer books as well; a total of 25% of my books had over 400 pages. Fingers crossed I’ll keep this up!

Tired of numbers yet? I know I am! That’s it for this January-April 2017 review… Happy reading everyone!

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