Saturday, December 31, 2016

A Look at 2016: Statistics and Numbers

Happy New Year's Eve, friends! Are you ready for 2017? I sure am. 

I've done this post over the last three years, and I always enjoy putting it together. I'd like to share my end-of-the-year statistics roundup with you all. Like an annual report on my blog.



Here are some numbers and data for 2016:

- First book read: Titans by Victoria Scott
- Last book read: Hard Hitter by Sarina Bowen
- Total Pageviews: ~887,000 (since December 2012)*
*Approximately 322,000 unique pageviews during 2016 
- Total blog followers (does not include Twitter, Facebook, or Goodreads): 6,746
   - GFC: 1,211
   - Bloglovin: 2,483
   - Email/RSS: 632
   - Linky: 368
   - Pinterest: 644
   - Tumblr: 296
   - Google Plus: 1,112
- Goodreads friends/fans: 2,076
- Twitter: 3,003
- Facebook: 3,025
- Number of reviews in 2016: 179 (includes three sampler reviews and two 2015 reads' review)
- Number of 1-star reviews: 5
- Number of 2-star reviews: 9
- Number of 3-star reviews: 30
- Number of 4-star reviews: 121
- Number of 5-star reviews: 9
- Average rating for 2016: 3.69
- Total books read in 2016: 174 (42 less than 2015)
- Number of pages read in 2016: 60,830 (this may not be totally accurate, if Goodreads' information is not accurate per book)
- Total number of published posts in 2016: 536
- Days missed in publishing a post: 0 (since the December 2012)


See all 174 of my 2016 reads below:



Check out my Top Ten of 2016 posts:

(Click on the button!)


Data for Books read/reviewed in 2016:

(I did this via Excel - I kept a spreadsheet throughout the year. It made it easier to put the data together and make charts and things.)



What this tells me: 

- Age Level: This year, my YA/adult ratio got even closer. I'm reading nearly as many adult books as I am YA books. This does not bother me at all! I love adult romance.

- Debut: This was a new category I tracked this year. I was curious to see how many debut novels (YA or adult or whatever) that I read in a year, especially with 2016 being a year in which YA debuts were so championed. It turns out... the "debut" label means very little to me, in terms of reading selection. Which makes sense - I don't really read books specifically because they are debut novels.

- Dominant Genre: Back to fantasy being the highest read genre! The large number of contemporary is due to all of the adult contemporary romance novels I read this year. See my comments on "Age Level" directly above.

- Number in Series: I'm still reading way more "first" novels than I'd like, but I also read a happy amount of standalone and conclusion novels. 

- Publisher: Surprise surprise, HarperCollins dominates yet another year, in YA and adult. In my pie chart, "HarperCollins" refers to their teen imprints only (HarperTeen, Balzer+Bray, Katherine Tegen, etc.). Avon is an adult imprint of HarperCollins, but I have it noted separately.

- Rating: My average rating jumped a lot, from 2015 to 2016. In 2015, it was 3.509. In 2016, it was 3.69. The sheer number of 4-star ratings and drop in number of books read supports this. Which is cool - it means I enjoyed what I read. You'll also note that I got pickier this year - I read 42 books less this year. 

- Source: I'm a little surprised to see my Edelweiss numbers drop. I didn't do a lot of downloading/requesting on Edelweiss this year, so it shouldn't surprise me, but still. I did a good job of clearing my NetGalley account though, and getting through print ARCs. It should surprise exactly no one that the main source of my reading material is review galleys (electronic or print). I'm not really in a hurry to change that, to be honest. I tend to read more if they're galleys.

- Year of Publication: 2016 was the biggest year, which is expected. I'm behind in my 2017 reading (that's really low, compared to where I want to be), and I did a poor job of reading backlist this year.


Things I did well in 2016 (and in general):

- Post my reviews on Goodreads.
- Post my reviews on Amazon.
- Post my reviews on Barnes & Noble.
- Get my NetGalley ratio to 100% (several times).
- Keep my NetGalley ratio at or above 97% at all times.
- Review the eARCs/ARCs within a month before publication.
- Diversify my reads in terms of genre.
- Comment on new blogs.
- Reply to comments on my blog within 24 hours.
- Return comments to the blogs that commented on mine, within 24 hours.
- Read less. (Yes! This was a goal that I made!)


Did I meet my goals from my 2015 post?

- Read more backlist. --- No. For shame. *sigh*

- Read less in general. (uni comes first!) --- Yes. I read 42 books less. That's more than I expected not to have read, but at least I met that goal?

- Comment on unfamiliar blogs. --- Yes. I met a lot of great people by doing this.

- Comment on blogs (any) without them commenting on mine first. --- Yes. This year, I spent a lot of times commenting on blogs. I made that a priority over reading.

- Do a little more on Twitter. --- Yes, kind of? I reached over 3,000 followers (barely).

- Attend more events. (This isn't quite my fault - Baltimore doesn't have many!) --- Sort of? Besides the Baltimore Book Festival (my usual), I went to Kathy MacMillan's release party. That was cool! But really, I didn't quite meet this goal like I would have wanted.


Things I'd like to do better:

- Read a little more. More than 200, this year. I was hoping to read 200 in 2016. It was not feasible, towards the end, and that's fine. My grades from Spring 2016 and Fall 2016 were reaaaaaally good, as a result.

- Keep up with the good commenting. Like I said, I made commenting a priority in 2016. I'd like to maintain that level of rigor (or do better), in terms of replies, returns, and new comments.

- Keep up with the level of posting. Note that even though I read 42 books less than in 2015, I published 17 blog posts more than in 2015. Which is cool. 

- Create an Instagram. I MIGHT do this, after I graduate in May. I feel like I flood Twitter with my weekly book haul, and I'd love to post that on Instagram instead (or maybe both?). I don't want to get carried away though. This isn't about followers or publicity.

- Attend more events. This might actually happen since I'll be graduating in May, and hopefully employed after I graduate. 

- Figure out what to do on Tuesdays. I ran a year-long debut feature (Sweet Talk with the Sweet Sixteens) every Tuesday. I have nothing to replace that and no idea what to do on Tuesday. We'll see how it goes! I do not like winging things. I need a plan!


So that's that! The Eater of Books! blog in terms of numbers, for 2016. I'm a tiny bit disappointed in my reading numbers (especially my early reading for 2017), but I can't be too upset because I slayed in my academics. Between the two, academics will always come first. I'm really looking forward to 2017, in terms of reading and blogging. Hopefully it's a better year in general. Happy New Year, everyone!

33 comments:

  1. I'm so impressed how you keep track of these statistics! I love seeing these year-to-year updates. Also, I'm sorry you're disappointed by your number of books read, but I'm so happy you did well academically! (All while even posting more than last year!) That's an incredible feat!

    I'll be curious to see what you schedule for Tuesdays now :) Happy New Year!

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    1. Thank you! It's no work at all, if you do it as you go, throughout the year. I'm hoping to read more this year, but I'm still going to set my reading goal to 150.

      Thank you, Emily! Happy New Year!

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  2. You might think your reading numbers are low, but I am thinking back to my college years and there is just no way I could have blogged every day, read and reviewed like this while attending my senior year classes.

    Love seeing your stats and comparing them to years before and to my own 2016 year.

    Happy New Year, Alyssa!

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    1. To be honest, it's so hard! I'm not sure I could keep going for another year. I have five more months and them I'm FINISHED!

      Thank you, Sophia! Happy New Year. <3

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  3. WOAH! Your netgalley is at 100% THAT IS AMAZING, Alyssa!! I bow down to your prowess and I want to be you when I grow up!

    I also love stats and lists! Although I didn't keep track of my pageviews and followers! haha :)

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    1. It was! Currently it's a little lower because I went on a requesting binge recently... whoops. I only have a few to get through though. It comes and goes in cycles!

      Thank you, Zeee!

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  4. I always love seeing how the numbers turn out at year's end! And no need for disappointment; you did an incredible amount of reading compared to 99% of us. ;) And academics definitely have to come first.

    I know what you mean about book events. There are a ton in NYC, a ton in Washington DC, but not so many in between. Hopefully you can hit up a few more in 2017!

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    1. I just wish I could have read more! It's driving me a little batty, that I couldn't even reach 175. This is the lowest total I've had in years!

      Baltimore is like a black hole! Really, going to D.C. wouldn't be so bad... if I had a car. That's a maybe, in the coming months.

      Thank you, Kel!

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  5. wow....I just love your statistics and graphics here. It looks like you had a great year. I hear ya about academics, I was pretty busy with my schooling too and wasn't able to get as much done in blogging and reading as I wanted to. Hopefully I will have more time in 2017. Happy New Year!!!

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    1. It was a decent year! Really I can't complain, except that my personal goals get in the way sometimes. I hope you have a great year in blogging and life, Renee!

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  6. I love all your stats, Alyssa! Wow, you had a great year, despite reading less. Good luck in 2017, I always love starting the year off fresh, the possibilities are endless:-) Happy New Year!

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    1. Thank you so much, Tammy! Best of luck to you as well! We will do great things. =) Happy New Year!

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  7. I love this post! I like that you kept track in a spreadsheet to make all those charts that really does help see exactly what you are reading!! Yes once you are done with uni you will see where your reading will take you! Have a Happy New Year!

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    1. Thank you! The spreadsheet is a great way to keep everything organized. I have five months to go and then I GRADUATE! I'm very excited. Thank you, Kristyn! Happy New Year!

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  8. Wow! You definitely had an awesome year in reading! Good luck with your reading next year!

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    1. Thank you, Ronyell! Happy New Year! Best of luck to you as well. ^_^

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  9. You had a wonderful year on the blog and with reading! I didn't even know it was possible to have a 100% ratio on NetGalley. I am impressed. You have a lot to be proud of!

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    1. Thank you! It definitely is, once you clear your dashboard! Right now I'm at a little less than 100%, which is okay. :D Thank you, Carole!

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  10. Whoa! Alyssa, this is very cool! Very interesting to see it all laid out like this with charts and statistics. You had a great blogging year despite the disappointment in your reading numbers---but I feel ya on that one. I read and reviewed a lot less this year due to health and just life in general not allowing for it. I've been hoping to get more into Instagram this upcoming year as well---I'll be looking out for yours so I can follow you!

    Happy New Year, sweetie! :D

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    1. Thanks! I love doing this post, it's one of my favorites of the year. Hopefully this year we can both do "better"? I think we did okay, nonetheless. ;) I'll send my Instagram link, if/when I create the account.

      Thank you, and happy New Year to you too, Becky!

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  11. WOW amazing stats!! You've obviously had a great blogging and reading year :) I am so impressed you've managed to do all this despite school and work, etc, etc.
    Have a wonderful 2017!
    Amy @ A Magical World Of Words

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    1. It was good, I shouldn't complain! My expectations for myself were way too high, I think. Hopefully this year goes just as well (or better).

      Happy New Year, Amy!

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  12. WOW! It's mindblowing to see your stats not only for this year, but from years past. I love to look at numbers because they never fail to tell a story we can all see, and helps give us ideas. You completed a lot this year, so kudos to you! Hugs...and Happy New Year!

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    1. YES! That's exactly what I set about to do, with these posts - tell the story of my blog for the year. It's always fun for me, and it's great if it's helpful or interesting to others.

      Happy New Year, Ro! ^_^

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  13. Congrats on not missing a single day of posting! That's definitely tough work! Good luck with all your goals! I feel like every year I also say I'll try to read more backlist (but often don't do very good, haha).
    And congrats on almost being done school!

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    1. Thank you so much, Cyn! In 2015, I did pretty well with backlist! In 2016, I failed completely. LOL. We'll see how 2017 goes.

      Thank you, Cyn!

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  14. Wow, those are some good numbers and I love the charts!! I'm with you about commenting. When I first started I didn't have many followers and blogs that I followed, but I slacked off when things picked up a little. I want to get back to commenting more as well. Good luck with all the things you want to do this year!! :D

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    1. The bloggers that I follow and support are so good about commented (you especially)! I wish more of the "other" book bloggers did a lot of commenting too. :/

      Thank you, Erin! Good luck to you too!

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  15. SO many reviews last year!! Amazing! And I love the graphics you have on here to parse it all out! Looks great, Alyssa!

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    1. Thank you so much, Christine! This post is always a lot of fun to put together. :D

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  16. Eee, I love this :D Thank you for sharing your stats sweetie. <3 You are always so amazing. Sigh. Your blog is the best and you are too, hih :) Yay for having so many followers too. <3 I always visit your blog, hih :)

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    1. You're welcome and thank YOU! <3333 Numbers make me happy. ^_^

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