Mid-Year Book Statistics

Hello everyone!  I decided that since we are now halfway through the year I was going to make an update on my mid-year reading statistics.  I'm a bit of a nerd so I love stats and charts and percentages and I would love to share some interesting things I've found in my reading.

As of today, I have read 41 books, and I am 7 books ahead on my goodreads goal, which is 55 books.

Age Range

YA: 22   54%
Adult: 18   44%
MG: 1   2%

I'm pretty okay with these percentages.  I would like to get my adult books up to 50% but I do enjoy YA so if I don't get to that, I will be okay with that.

Genre Breakdown

Dystopian: 1   2%
Literary Fiction: 5   12%
Contemporary: 10   24%
Fantasy: 14   34%
Memoir: 2   5%
Paranormal: 3   7%
Historical Fiction: 2    
Science Fiction: 2   5%  
Nonfiction: 2   5%

I will say that I am very surprised by how many contemporaries I've read this year.  I'd like to reduce the percentage of contemporaries I've read and increase the number of sci-fi and literary fiction for the rest of the year.

POC vs Non-POC*

POC: 6   20%
Non-POC: 24   80%

This is actually extremely embarrassing.  I am aware that it's certainly better than what it is for a lot of other people, but considering the fact that I have been actively trying to read diversely this year, this is something that I am ashamed of.  However, I have recently made a huge list of not only books by people of color but also their nationality, which consists primarily of people of color.  For my goal, I'd definitely like to get this up to at least 40% people of color.

* - out of 30

Nationality of Author*

USA: 23   77%
Jamaica: 1   3%
Nigeria: 1   3%
Canada: 1   3%
UK: 3   10%
Spain: 1   3%

Again, as with the POC stats, this is extremely embarrassing for me.  Only 22% of the books that I have read this year are from countries that are not the US and only 9% are from countries that I consider to be diverse, since I don't feel that the UK and Canada should count as diverse.  I'm going to work really hard for the rest of the year to remedy this, particularly by reading African, Asian, and South American authors.

* - out of 30

Format Breakdown:

ebooks: 23   56%
audiobooks: 2   5%  
paperbacks: 8   19%
hardcovers: 8   19%

I am happy to see that I'm using my Nook, but I do wish that I would read more physical books from both my public library and my personal library.  However, I do find that I read ebooks much faster than physical books, so that may be a part of the reason why my ebook count is so much higher.

Ebook Format Breakdown:

owned ebooks: 2   9%
Overdrive ebooks: 15   55%
eARCs: 6   26%

This was just out of curiosity.  I'd like to read more of the ebooks that I own because I own a lot, but if I don't, it doesn't matter.

Owned Books vs Library Books

Owned Books: 22   54%
Library Books: 19   46%

I'm very happy with this pretty much 50/50 statistic.  I'm glad to see I'm both using my library and reading the books I'm buying and receiving.

*Note: I'm counting eARCs as books that I own since they are my property and I do not have to return them to any establishment.

Average Number of Pages: 392

I'm happy to keep this hovering between 400 and 500 pages.  I'll read some more longer books to bump this up a bit, but I'm not too worried about this stat.

Publishing Year Breakdown:

2015: 14   34%
2014: 12   29%
2013: 6   15%
2012: 2   5%
2011: 2   5%
2008: 1   2%
2007: 1   2%
2006: 1   2%
1991: 1   2%
1989:  1   2%

This is cool with me.  I want to read some classics to get some books in the 1800s, but I know that I read primarily new releases and I feel comfortable with that.

Number of Rereads: 4   10%

Number of Diverse Books: 11   27%

This isn't great, but it is certainly better than my nationality percentages, which tells me that I'm reading a lot of diverse authors and books about diverse people and situations from the US, which is great.  I'd like to get up to 40%, which I honestly don't think will be a struggle.

Male vs Female Authors

Male Authors: 7   17%
Female Authors: 34   83%

Unique Authors: 30
Unique Male Authors: 3   10%
Unique Female Authors: 27   90%

So obviously I terribly neglect the male authors, which to be perfectly honest, doesn't bother me that much.  If I can read more books by male authors then I will, but I'm definitely focusing more on diversity than gender.

Okay, that's the end of my statistics.  I hope you found some of these interesting, and feel free to let me know in the comments what your statistics are if you calculated them, and what your opinions are on reading diversely.

Thanks for reading!

Amber

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Finding Audrey
By Sophie Kinsella
Published: June 9, 2015
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 288
4 stars

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Shopaholic series comes a terrific blend of comedy, romance, and psychological recovery in a contemporary YA novel sure to inspire and entertain.

An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

*Novel provided by Doubleday Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Finding Audrey is Kinsella's first foray into YA, and since I have been disappointed by her adult books in the past, I wasn't expecting too much of this. However, when I saw that it deals with bullying, anxiety, and depression, and I do tend to enjoy Kinsella's writing, I decided to request it on Netgalley. Luckily, this book very much exceeded by expectations and I would definitely recommend it.

I really liked Audrey! I was really able to empathize with her situation, and I felt like Kinsella did a really good job of portraying her anxiety and depression, and her feelings about it. I have seen a few reviews saying that people don't think that Audrey's depression and anxiety are realistic and I want to say that depression and anxiety can manifest themselves in many different ways and just because Audrey didn't deal with it in the way that you did or someone you know did, doesn't mean that it isn't realistic. Audrey's family has a really great dynamic that I really enjoyed reading about. 

I know that some people were really upset that Kinsella never actually reveals what it was that happened to Audrey that really acted as a catalyst for her depression and anxiety. However, though I have to admit that I was curious, I really appreciated that Kinsella chose to do that, and I felt that that choice presented a really powerful message. It shows people that you don't have to tell someone anything that you don't want to, which is a theme that is very prevalent throughout the novel. I almost feel that it would have been inconsistent with the messages that this book was sending for Audrey for to reveal to the reader what caused her issues.

I would say that this book isn't as funny as Kinsella's adult book which is probably because of the darker subject matter. However, Audrey is much more likable than Kinsella's adult characters. Kinsella's adult characters tend to act very much like damsels in distress who are incredibly irresponsible, appear to be pathological liars, and act like they can't do anything on their own without a man. However, Audrey was very self-sufficient and I was able to relate to her a lot more.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in this book and enjoys Kinsella's other books. I found this book to be very enjoyable, and to be a very fast read.

Thanks for reading!
Amber

Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

Witch Hunter
By Virginia Boecker
Published: 9/1/15
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 368
Book 1 in the Witch Hunter series
0 stars

Witches, watch out... Half Bad meets Kill Bill in this incredible new supernatural series.

Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Grey doesn't look dangerous. A tiny, blonde, wisp of a girl shouldn't know how to poison a wizard and make it look like an accident. Or take out ten necromancers with a single sword and a bag of salt. Or kill a man using only her thumb. But things are not always as they appear. Elizabeth is one of the best witch hunters in Anglia and a member of the king's elite guard, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and bringing those who practice it to justice. And in Anglia, the price of justice is high: death by burning.

When Elizabeth is accused of being a witch herself, she's arrested and thrown in prison. The king declares her a traitor and her life is all but forfeit. With just hours before she's to die at the stake, Elizabeth gets a visitor - Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful wizard in Anglia. He offers her a deal: he will free her from prison and save her from execution if she will track down the wizard who laid a deadly curse on him.

As Elizabeth uncovers the horrifying facts about Nicholas's curse and the unwitting role she played in its creation, she is forced to redefine the differences between right and wrong, friends and enemies, love and hate... and life and death.

The first book in an incredible new series set in a fantastical medieval world.

*Novel provided by Hodder & Stoughton via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

DNF at 14%

I really wanted to like this book.  I was seeing rave reviews for it everywhere, and it sounded like something that I would be really interested in.  Unfortunately, I found this book to be uninteresting and unengaging.

The magic in what I read was unexplained and underdeveloped, with no reason, logical or otherwise, for the ban on magic.  It is possible that this would have been expanded upon later in the book had I gotten to that point, but I didn't and I feel like some explanation should have been presented in the eighty pages that I read.

The main character, Elizabeth, is what really killed the book for me.  The only thing that prevented her from having pretty much no personality was the fact that she was absolutely, incredibly annoying.  She is totally obsessed with her witch hunting partner, Caleb, but we never get any reasoning as to why this is, and we don't see enough of him to appreciate her affections.  She's judgemental, hypocritical, selfish, shallow, and incredibly set in her beliefs and resistant to change.

The writing was decent enough, and I may have enjoyed it in another context, but the story wasn't interesting enough for the writing to carry it just on its own.  I might pick up another book by Virginia Boecker if the plot interests me enough, but it'll take a lot to persuade me to do that.

Thanks for reading!
Amber 

Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler

Under the Lights
By Dahlia Adler
Published: June 30, 2015
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Pages: 312
Format: eARC
Book 2 in the Daylight Falls companion series
3.5 stars

Josh Chester loves being a Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents' wealth, and the occasional modeling gig. But his laid-back lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show, Daylight Falls...opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms. (Not that he's trying to charm her, of course.) Meanwhile, his drama-queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he's in the spotlight—on everyone's terms but his own—Josh has to decide whether a life as a superstar is the one he really wants.

Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents' disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she's painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to have found someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van's life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she'll have to choose between the one thing she's always loved...and the person she never imagined she could.

*Novel provided by Spencer Hill Contemporary via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*


Under the Lights is an adorable, heartwarming contemporary that brings out all the warm fuzzies while still dealing with a lot of deep, important issues.  

This is a book about two girls who fall in love, but it is so much more than just a love story.  It deals with the struggle of being a minority that is in the public eye, and how to find the courage to be yourself in a society that wants you to conform to its ideas of perfection.  

Luckily, this book managed to avoid the hitch that books about this subject matter often fall into of ending up sounding more like a public service announcement and less like an actual story.  I was engaged in the story and I enjoyed the fluffy, romantic parts and the friendship parts just as much as the parts that dealt with the major issues.  

I did have a few issues with this book but these issues didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book.  I felt that Josh at times fell into the classic bad boy trope, but Adler really managed to turn that trope around towards the end of the book.  I also never felt a super close attachment to the characters.  I did like them, but if they had died or something, I wouldn't have been overly upset.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  It deals with a lot of important issues, and I think that this is something that everyone should try to experience in order to broaden your horizons.

Thanks for reading!
Amber

Friday 56

Welcome to Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Storytime with Tonya and Friends.  You grab the book nearest to you, open it to page 56, and post a quote from that page that catches your eye.  The important thing is to not go for your favorite book, or the most intellectual, go for the closest.
Today's quote is from:

"I hate open spaces."

-Max

The Owl Keeper

Christine Brodien-Jones

Hope you keep reading!
Grace

That's What He Said Thursday

That's What He Said Thursday is a weekly meme that is hosted by Chapter Break. Just take a quote from one of your favorite male characters that they said to the lucky female love interest.

Today's quote is from:

“Isabelle!" he called again. "Let down your raven hair!'

City of Heavenly Fire
Cassandra Clare 

Hope you keep reading!
Grace

Teaser Tuesday

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, a weekly feature hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading, in which you open the book you're currently reading to a random page and share 2 sentences without spoilers, along with the author and title of the book. 

Today's Teaser is from 

“Like a wild animal, the truth is too powerful to remain caged.” 

Insurgent 

Veronica Roth

Hope you keep reading!

Grace 

Friday 56

Welcome to Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Storytime with Tonya and Friends.  You grab the book nearest to you, open it to page 56, and post a quote from that page that catches your eye.  The important thing is to not go for your favorite book, or the most intellectual, go for the closest.

Today's meme is from

"Kestrel, could you try to be more... normal at the party?"

"Normal?" 

The Winner's Curse 

Marie Rutkoski

Hope you keep reading! 

Grace 

That's What He Said Thursday

That's What He Said Thursday is a weekly meme that is hosted by Chapter Break. Just take a quote from one of your favorite male characters that they said to the lucky female love interest.

Today's quote is from:

Tess, Tess, Tessa. 

Was there ever a more beautiful sound than your name?

Clockwork Prince

Cassandra Clare

Will Herondale to Tessa 

Hope you keep reading!
Grace

Friday 56

Welcome to Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Storytime with Tonya and Friends.  You grab the book nearest to you, open it to page 56, and post a quote from that page that catches your eye.  The important thing is to not go for your favorite book, or the most intellectual, go for the closest.

Today's meme is from

"So our narrator is gay...," he said. "And he's named after me..."

"I love love stories," Cath said. 

Fangirl 

Rainbow Rowell

Hope you keep reading!

Grace 

That's What He Said Thursday

That's What He Said Thursday is a weekly meme that is hosted by Chapter Break. Just take a quote from one of your favorite male characters that they said to the lucky female love interest.

Today's quote is from:

“Two things you should know about me; The first is that I am deeply suspicious of people in general. It is my nature to expect the worst of them. And the second is that I am unexpectedly good with computers.”

From Four to Tris

Divergent

Veronica Roth

Hope you keep reading!

Grace

Friday 56

Welcome to Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Storytime with Tonya and Friends.  You grab the book nearest to you, open it to page 56, and post a quote from that page that catches your eye.  The important thing is to not go for your favorite book, or the most intellectual, go for the closest.

Today's meme is from

"Isabelle, you know it's bad luck to talk about death in a sick room."

City of Bones

Cassandra Clare

Hope you keep reading!

Grace 

That's What He Said Thursday

That's What He Said Thursday is a weekly meme that is hosted by Chapter Break. Just take a quote from one of your favorite male characters that they said to the lucky female love interest.

Today's quote is from:

“Aw, come on, sweetheart. I thought I was doing a pretty good job. I got my arm around the prettiest escort on this block—how could I not be lusting over you? Don’t I look like I’m lusting? This is me, lusting.” His lashes flutter at me.

Prodigy 

Marie Lu

This is one of my all time favorites.

Hope you keep reading!

Grace

Teaser Tuesday

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, a weekly feature hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading, in which you open the book you're currently reading to a random page and share 2 sentences without spoilers, along with the author and title of the book. 

Today's Teaser is from 

“Is this the part where you say if I hurt her, you'll kill me?"
"No" Simon said, "If you hurt Clary she's quite capable of killing you herself. Possibly with a variety of weapons.” 

City of Glass

Cassandra Clare

Hope you keep reading! 

Grace

Friday 56

Welcome to Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Storytime with Tonya and Friends.  You grab the book nearest to you, open it to page 56, and post a quote from that page that catches your eye.  The important thing is to not go for your favorite book, or the most intellectual, go for the closest.

Today's meme is from

"Wow, a world without darkness. How Beautiful was that?"

Hope you keep reading!

Grace

That's What He Said Thursday

That's What He Said Thursday is a weekly meme that is hosted by Chapter Break. Just take a quote from one of your favorite male characters that they said to the lucky female love interest.

Today's quote is from:

"I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.” 

The Fault in our Stars

John Green

Hope you keep reading!

Grace 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe By Benjamin Alire Saenz

Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe
By Benjamin Alire Saenz
Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published on April 1st, 2014
359 Pages
4 Stars

Dante can swim. Ari can't. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair skinned. Ari's features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself.

But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other―and the power of their friendship―can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side.

It’s so Beautiful. It’s just so beautiful. This is one of the best unplanned reads I have ever done. The book was calling to me off the self and I am extremely glad I listened to it. I never had even heard of this book and I picked it up and I LOVED it. 

Aristotle or Ari was a deep and secretive character, yet I could still see through him. He is a social outcast that doesn’t want to bother with all the coming of age drama, but he still gets caught up in ti anyways. Ari was a symbol of all the guys out there who just want to sit down and try to avoid your awkward teenage years. You can;t avoid them though. This guy is the definition of awkward teenage years. It was sometimes just so frustrating on how much he din’t know himself. Every time he did something that seemed real and not awkward subconsciously I felt like jumping up and cheering. Then he would immediately take it back and I would get frustrated again. One of my favorite parts about him though is is love for rain. It is one of those character traits that you have to go deeper into to really characterize a person. He liked the rain because it was sad, mad, and beautiful at the same time. It was a lot like him. 

Dante reminded me a lot of St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss. Now no one can be as awesome as St. Clair, but this guy was close. They both were funny, happy, and yet they had this dark side to them that makes them really interesting. He was more aware of himself than Ari which made it easier for me when Ari did something frustrating. I really loved how he loved his parents. I envy their relationships at some point. He embraced his sexuality which did get him into trouble, but still was cute and came out well in the end. 

Now I need to talk about both their parents for a second. Their parents seemed like omniscient  gods. They could always tell what their sons were thinking and/or feeling. Ari’s parents had to explain his feelings to him a lot. The main point though is how supportive they were of their sons. Ari’s parents didn’t even blink when he acme out. They knew before him and were the ones that had to give him the pieces of himself and help him put them together. Dante’s parents were surprised, but settled into it quickly and did everything they could to make sure their son was happy. The book would not be the same without them. 

There was no plot really. It wasn’t problem and in my option it made it more likable. It was just a bunch of mashed up scenes of their lives. It could come off as slow to some people, but it never affected me. When it did seem like it was starting to get slow something would happen and pick it back up again.  The theme was LGBT, but there was also a lot of mention of race. They were both Mexican and talked about being Mexican and joked around about being Mexican. The romance was kind of nonexistent, but there was tension. At some points you could feel it there, but it was never formally addressed till later. 

I really did love this book it was beautiful. I recommend this book to anyone who is willing to read LGBT fiction or a good story about coming of age. 

Hope you keep reading!
Grace 

Teaser Tuesday

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, a weekly feature hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading, in which you open the book you're currently reading to a random page and share 2 sentences without spoilers, along with the author and title of the book. 

Today's Teaser is from 

“I've never swum naked in the Thames, but I know I wouldn't like it."
"But think how entertaining for sightseers," said Tessa, and she saw Jem duck his head to hide the quick flash of his grin.” 

Clockwork Prince

Cassandra Clare

Hope you keep reading!

Grace

The Apothecary

The Apothecary
By Maile Meloy
Art by Ian Schoenherr
Published Date: October 4th, 2011
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
362 Pages
Book One in the Apothecary Series

It’s 1952 and the Scott family has just moved from Los Angeles to London. Here, fourteen-year-old Janie meets a mysterious apothecary and his son, Benjamin Burrows—a fascinating boy who’s not afraid to stand up to authority and dreams of becoming a spy. When Benjamin’s father is kidnapped, Janie and Benjamin must uncover the secrets of the apothecary’s sacred book, the Pharmacopoeia, in order to find him, all while keeping it out of the hands of their enemies—Russian spies in possession of nuclear weapons. Discovering and testing potions they never believed could exist, Janie and Benjamin embark on a dangerous race to save the apothecary and prevent impending disaster.

Because I have been watching Fullmetal Alchemist I have been trying to find some good books that include alchemy. So I picked up the Apothecary which said included some alchemical like action. After reading it found that the book was geared towards younger readers. The story also takes place around the cold war and the races to build atomic bombs. Other than that there was really no historical element that I found. I would say the alchemical magic was interesting and was the only thing that kept me interested.

Janie came off to me as a very generic character. I categorized her in loyal, nice, and curious which can be good traits, but they were not written well. She had no deeper level and the most emotion that I got from her was that she missed home and her parents. Being an American in London she felt like she did stick out when she first went to school and besides turning into an American robin it was she forgot all about it. She just had no depth, and that made her really boring. 

Benjamin was a better character. He was funny, daring, and always had something up his sleeve. He was less boring than Janie though still not that good. Always wanting to be a spy came off as a childish dream, but he did more then just a nosey three year old. Still he was not that good. He lacked a lot of depth, but his character traits were more interesting. 

The plot was not the best. It was a little too dry. Sometimes it moved to fast and left some parts unexplained and other times it was too slow and needed something to move it along. One of the most intriguing things about it was it’s alchemy. Turning people into salt then returning them back into human was a good element. There were other parts that seemed to forced though. The major one was school. Yes, we know they are students and that they still need to go to school and skipping school would be a bad example, but when you are being hunted down by the government and your dad is missing or dead school does not seem like a top priority. Characters also seemed forced in their as well. One character came in as a teacher, but then he turned into a spy. That particular transition was really rough and had back ground, but could have gone a lot smoother. 

Like I said in the beginning, the book is geared towards younger readers. I would not recommend it to any big young adult readers, but I would recommend it to younger children or people who like children’s books. 

Hope you keep reading!

Grace