SERIESous Discussions: Every once and awhile I will post my random ramblings about a bookish or blogging topic. Feel free to join in by making a comment below or linking back!
Do 80% of my books come from the library like I think? I investigate for the truth!
I was inspired to do this investigation after I read Lauren @ Bookmark Lit‘s post “Whose Books Am I Reading?”. In it, she looks at where she gets her books that she reads on a daily basis. Are they purchased? Are they from the library? Review copies? Friends? And it got me curious about my own book acquiring habits.
See, I always say that 80-90% of my books come from the library. But I’m not sure that is entirely true; especially now that I read ARCs on a more regular basis and have a greater focus on reading books I already own.
So let’s break it down!
Book Sources for 2017
(Between January 1 to November 29, 2017)
| Source: | # | % | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchased | 45 | 20.3 | 79 (34%) |
| Library | 106 | 47.9 | 85 (36%) |
| ARCs | 70 | 31.6 | 69 (30%) |
| Grand Total: | 221 | 100 | 233 (100%) |
When I broke this all down, I was a little shocked. I really thought I got more of my books from the library. I was curious and looked at my breakdown for 2016. And again, I couldn’t believe it!
Lauren @ Bookmark Lit goes into further detail about release dates, borrowing sources, cost and more in her post but I’m going to leave it at this for me. However, I’m going to look at whether I’m reading sequels, standalone or inaugural series novels as it pertains more to my blog and its posts.
Types of Novels
(Between January 1 to November 29, 2017)
| Type: | # | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standalone | 74 | 33 | |
| Series | 147 | 66.5 | |
| Book 1 | (53) | (36) | |
| Book 2 | (44) | (30) | |
| Book 3+ | (37) | (25) | |
| Novellas: | (11) | (7) | |
| Grand Total | 221 | 100 |
I was surprised when I got the totals back in two ways. One is that I really didn’t think I read that many standalone novels this year but in hindsight, when I first started listening to audiobooks I was mostly picking standalones so it makes sense. (I mean, I did know that I had read more than I had post slots for and that’s why I stopped reading them after August but the number actually shocked me!)
The other surprise was the number of sequels I read. I really felt like I was lacking when it came to getting to the sequels this year. There were so many sequels releasing this year but I never got to them. In fact, when I was creating my 2018 reading plan, I focused almost entirely on sequels because I felt like I was failing at this…and I’m a blog that focuses on book series so it’s important!
Conclusion?
I think I sometimes fail to see the bigger picture. Doing my Monthly Inventory Recaps gives me an overview of the month but not necessarily the grand scheme. Perhaps in 2018 I’ll look more at the previous month as opposed to the previous year like I currently do. Because I’m really not doing as bad as I think I am when it comes to reading and I think it is a nice thing to remind myself of from time to time.
Ultimately, reading is a hobby that feeds my other hobby of blogging and I never want this to feel like a chore or like I have to meet a certain quota to be “successful” because “success” is very relative and personal when it comes to being a book blogger when it is all said and done.
Where do most of your books come from?
I love this post! I find it so interesting to get insight into what other bloggers are reading or how they’re tracking their books. I’d love to do something like this too! (Although I’m scared at what the results will be…I stopped keep track of the number of books I was purchasing back in March because it was getting so out of hand lol). I didn’t used to read that many library books but ever since I got a Kindle, Overdrive has been my life!
You know, I should have looked at the format of books I was reading this year. I’m curious to know how many eBooks I read versus physical books vs audiobooks. My Kobo has been my life since I got it nearly 4 years ago! But I don’t really keep track of it in a way that would be easy to add up besides my memory (which isn’t the greatest :P)
You should attempt to try breaking it all down. I’m sure you’ll surprise yourself!
[…] always the struggle of wanting to keep up vs. wanting to save money. When Lauren over at Seriesous Book Reviews did her own version of the post, I knew it was time do make my own, […]
Interesting! I think it is helpful sometimes to break down the data and see where we might have been making assumptions! Still, I’m pretty sure most of my books come from the library. I don’t request ARCs and I don’t really have extra spending money for books right now, so the library it is! The library is great, though, because I honestly don’t want thousands of books. I know the book blogger dream is to have a home library that rivals the one in Beauty and the Beast. But, realistically, I don’t have space for that. And moving boxes of books is a pain!
Oh I’m with you when it comes to a huge library. Moving all the time for school really taught me that less is more when it comes to books! Most of my book purchases are eBooks and only if I truly love a series do I get the physical copy for my personal collection. I would be so broke if I bought all the books I read in a year :O