Although I’ve cut down on the graphs these days, my master spreadsheet is still going strong. I love playing with all the data, mining it for nuggets of information that will tell me if my reading habits have changed. In truth, they bobble along generally, but there are some general trends, I think. Without further ado, here are the charts (accurate to 26 December).
Books & Pages Through the Ages
Shock! Horror! I kept my Goodreads target at 120 this year and will fail by 8 or so books – which I’m not bothered about. My page average was up by 8 from 279 last year, equivalent to 3 or so more books, and I DNF’d more this year too. So it’ll stay at 120 for 2026 as 10 books per month average to aim for still feels right.
- Longest book read – 896 pages – King Sorrow by Joe Hill
- Shortest book read –was again poetry – Bright Fear by Jean Mary Chan came in at 64 pages.
Year of Original Publication
It doesn’t change much, but I did read a few more from the 20thC this year. Nothing pre 1900 though. 45% were review copies, 55% were my own copies.
Author Origins
I read books by authors of 23 different nationalities this year, two more than last year, and adding three new European countries to those read: Georgia, Bulgaria and Croatia. They comprise 15 different languages. My total books read in translation was down again to 22% from 26% last year. But just look at the big uncoloured swathes on the world map below of author origins. Many many gaps to fill in 2026.
Book Genres, Publishers and Miscellaneous
- Author Gender: First time in ages, I’ve read more female authors than males – but only just 53 vs 52! Plus 3 non-binary and 2 joint M/F books.
- Crime Thrillers and Spy novels back up a little 45 titles, thanks for Mick Herron and plenty of Nordic Noir. Spec & SF: 4. Horror: 1, Short stories: 1. Poetry: 1, meaning 43 were general fiction, whether literary, upmarket or commercial.
- Graphic novels – none this year.
- Non-Fiction: in total I read 16 books which is down on last year’s 19. Memoir-based books dominated, especially media/entertainment-related.
- Publishers: More spread out this year amongst the independents – Faber lead with 9 and Orenda 6, then 2 or 3 each for many more. Otherwise Penguin’s various imprints dominate.
- Multiples: 4 for Georges Simenon (3 Maigrets, natch); 2 for Mick Herron.
- Re-Reads: Just 1, Campbell’s Kingdom by Hammond Innes, a classic 1952 thriller.
- New to Me: Down a lot on last year’s high of 76 at 54/110 – still nearly half though!
- Longest book read: King Sorrow by Joe Hill (896 pages)
- Longest book title: One Billion Years to the End of the World by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
…And Finally
Firstly, some favourite covers from this year.
and now, some recurring motifs in book titles…
- Body Parts & Functions: Alive, Eye, Fever, Heart, Mind, Swallow, Voice
- Buildings and Contents: Bookshop (x2), Hotel, Shop
- Catastrophe: End of the World, Last Wild Days
- Colours & Textiles: Black (x2), Blue, Red, Silk
- Dastardly Deeds: Deadly, Death, Die, Lethal, Murder(s) (x5), Killings, Psycho, Serial Killer
- Eras & Time periods: 1976, Future, Tomorrow, Victorian, Year(s)
- Flora & Fauna; Environment: Bird, Cat, Dog, Field, Garden(s) (x2), Gull, Hill, Horses, Jacaranda, Kitties, Leopard, Monkey, Oleander, Rabbits, Rainforest, River, Roots, Swallow, Tiger, Trout, Wolves
- Food & Drink: Cherries, Dinner, Juice, Pear, Rum, Sandwich
- Forenames: Barbara, Hattie – very few this year!
- Friends & Family: Bridegroom, Children, Girl, Lady, Mrs, Madame, Woman
- Numbers: Three, Fours, Five,1 billion
- Occupations & Activities: Actors, Author, Axeman, Eurotrash, Holiday, Interruptor, Pagans, Paperboy, Pickpocket, Seascraper, Swimmers, Vagabond, Warriors
- Real People: Bowie, Matisse, Panenka
- Real Places: Blackwater, Maroussi, Moscow, Muckle Flugga, Route 66, Staro Selo – very varied!
- STEM: Anechoic chamber, Atmosphere, Luminous, Planet, Radium, Ursa Major
- States of Mind & Emotions: Bad (x2), Clever, Dream, Dying, Fear, Knowing, Lonely, Love, Silence, Snowblind, Sorrow, Strange, Stupid, Unkind, Wild
- Supernatural: Devil, Divinity, Illusions, Invisible
- Times of day, Weather & Seasons: Darkest, Heatwave, Summer, Tide, Smoke, Snow, Winter (x4)
Ooh, I love book stats, and am particularly keen on your recurring title motifs. Titles about people’s relationships to each other do seem to predominate in publishing, as do flora/fauna and colours!