Shiver me Timbers! An Anniversary!

Ahoy there me mateys!  Guess what day it be?

So to celebrate me 4 year (b)log anniversary, I break it down . . .

2019 Books By the Numbers:

Number of Posts: 216

Books Read: 200

Books Reviewed: 197 (3 eArcs are for 2020)

Number of Pages Read: 68,693 (average 343; median 338)

Books that Walked the Plank: 9

Books that Forced an Abandoned Ship: 7

Books Off the Charts: 36

Books with Second Reflections: 7

Authors Profiled in Broadsides: 0

Parley with an Author: 1

Most Books Read by a Single Author: 6 (Maryrose Wood)

Books by Gender (to the best of me knowledge): F (123 / 62%) M (71 / 36%)  N – multiple/LGBTQIA/unknown (3 / 2%)

Books by Genre: Fantasy (53 / 26.5%), Sci-Fi (73 / 36.5%), YA-Fantasy (32 / 16%), YA-Sci-Fi (2 / 1%), YA-Contemporary (3 / 1.5%),  Horror (0 / 0%), Thriller (3 / 1.5%), Historical (8 / 4%), Classic (1 / 0.5%), Romance (2 / 1%), Literary (7 / 3.5%), Non-Fiction (11 / 5.5%), Mystery (1 / 0.5%), Comic-Graphic Novels (4 / 2%), Western (0 /0%)

ARCS (thank ye kindly NetGalley, Edelweiss, Authors, & Publishers!!): 39 / 19.5%

Novellas (20 / 10%)

Audiobooks (22 / 11%)

Books Read by Country (to the best of me knowledge): Australia – 2, Canada – 13, China – 1, Cyprus – 1, England – 25, Finland – 1, Germany – 4, Ireland – 5, Japan – 1, Malaysia – 1,  Mexico – 1, Nigeria – 1, Scotland – 4, South Korea – 2, Switzerland – 1, Taiwan – 2, Unknown – 1, US – 134

Top Five Books Read in 2019 (excluding re-reads):

with some cheatin’ because I’m a pirate!  Arrrrr!

I started with a list of 25 amazing reads and had to have the First Mate help me narrow it down.  He talked me through the list and based on that and his recollections of which books I chattered about most:

5. certain dark things (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) – I absolutely loved the world building and vampire culture in this one.  This was me introduction to the author’s work and the two other books I read by her this year (gods of jade and shadow & the beautiful ones) were five stars too.  And one of those was a romance!

4. the girl with no face – book 2 (M.H. Boroson) – This is one of the most underrated fantasy series ever and one of the best I have ever read.  It is historical fiction fantasy set in Chinatown of San Francisco in the late 1890s.  It deals with elements of Daoism, kung fu, monsters, magic, love, and Chinese folklore.  Every crew member should read these.

3. how long ’til black future month (N.K. Jeminsin) – This is a short story collection of 22 tales that as I said when I read it, “In this magnificent book, I loved 19 of them, loved but didn’t quite understand 1, and enjoyed but didn’t love 2 of them.  But I actually thought all of the tales were great.  Seriously, this never happens.”  And though I read it very early in the year, all of the tales a) stuck with me; and b) continued to be thought about often.

2. the white book (Han Kang) – I picked up this book because I loved the vegetarian.  I expected to like it but did not expect it to emotionally resonate the way it did.  Me review doesn’t do the book justice.  I cannot correctly explain why it hit me so hard.  I can say that I get teary if I think about the book too much.  Enough that I want to reread it but don’t know if I can.

1. the winter of the witch – book 3 (Katherine Arden) – This was the perfect conclusion to the series that started with one of the best books I ever read.  Atmospheric and wonderful, the first book could have been a perfect standalone but this novel made it a perfect trilogy.  I am glad she wrote all three.

Top Five Popular Reviews of 2019:

the sparrow – book 1 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi) – thanks Sci-Fi Month!

the unicorn anthology (On the Horizon – Fantasy eArc)

children of blood and bone – book 1 (Walk the Plank – YA Fantasy)

the girl with no face – book 2 (On the Horizon – Fantasy eArc)

the rage of dragons – book 1 (Here Be Dragons / Walk the Plank – Fantasy)

Top Five Popular Non-Reviews of 2019:

Ports for Plunder – 19 in 2019

Wayfare Wednesday – Norway Day Four

Shiver Me Timbers! The 2019 Hugo Finalists – Part One

Shiver Me Timbers!  Guess what today is . . .

Tidings from the Crew – total recall (1990) movie review – It’s Sci-Fi Month!

Series Shakedown 2019:

This year I finally tallied the number of series I am reading and ended up with new pages tracking them all.  Ye can click on the links for more specifics:

Series Completed in 2019: 14

Fully Written Series – Must Finish: 36 Series with 93 Books Including Re-Reads

Series Waiting on the Author: 34 Series

Unfinished Series but Must Catch Up!: 9 Series with 12 Books Out

Series Officially Tossed Overboard: 223

Fully Written Series I Haven’t Started: 69

Unfinished Series I Haven’t Started: 32

So the total ACTIVE series on me list: 79.  I am trying to limit the number of new series that I begin until I finish some.  Well, hopefully.

Wayfare Wednesdays

This be a new series of posts that shares some of the places I have traveled to.  In 2020 I shared 12 posts about me trip into the midnight sun.  If ye missed these travelogues ye can visit the new Wayfare Wednesdays Page.  I still have trips to Portland, OR, USA and Savannah, GA, USA from 2019 to share with ye in 2020!

Shiver Me Timbers! NetGalley Rejections!

I had 95 rejections total by the end of 2019.  I love doing posts about all of the rejections I get from NetGalley and updates on a) if I ever read them; b) if I am still gonna read them; and c) links to me reviews if I have.  I did 5 of these posts in 2018 and 5 in 2019 and looked at the first 50 rejections so far.  I have created a page discussing all 50 with thoughts on each.  The stats on me first 50:

13 ports visited and loved
9 ports visited and unloved
15 ports to still plunder
13 ports quarantined never to be visited

There will definitely be more of these posts in 2020!

Hugo Awards 2019

I had so much fun doing these five posts about the awards this year.  I would love to be able to do it again in 2020.

The 2019 Hugo Finalists – Part One
The 2019 Hugo Finalists – Part Two – Novelettes
The 2019 Hugo Finalists – Part Three – Best Short Story
The 2019 Hugo Finalists – Part Four – The Final Countdown
The 2019 Hugo Winners – The Conclusion!

Other Random Blog Stats:

First Book Review of 2019: the storied life of a.j. fikry (Off the Charts – Contemporary)

Last Book Review of 2019: ninefox gambit – book 1 (Captain’s Log – Sci-Fi)

Most Commented Post of 2019: 46 – Ports for Plunder – 19 in 2019

Comments in 2019: 3,407 total

Likes in 2019: 6,718 total

Top 3 Commenters:
Mateys Nicole @ bookwrymknits, Sarah @ brainfluff, and Sarah @ hamlets&hyperspace

Books on me Ports for Plunder List (i.e. TBR to ye Landlubbers):
626 fiction / 100 non-fiction and counting

Current Blog Crew Members (i.e. Followers to ye Landlubbers):
994 and counting

Current Goodreads Crew Members (i.e. Followers to ye Landlubbers):
592 friends and 160 followers and counting

So welcome to me crew ye scalawags, seadogs, and fellow explorers!  Let’s drink some grog to another year of sailing, plunderin’, and adventurin’ on the high seas!

Always remember:

Q: Have you ever heard any good pirate jokes?

A:  Well neither have ayyye!

Hardy har har!

x The Captain

To read 2016’s anniversary post #1 click here!

To read 2017’s anniversary post #2 click here!

To read 2018’s anniversary post #3 click here!