5 Ways My Reading Habits Have Changed in 2016
As we've already established, 2016 hasn't been my best reading year in terms in number of books read (as of today, I've finished 22 books this whole year). Apart from reading fewer books, how else have my reading habits changed this year? Quite a lot, it turns out.
I haven't been afraid to DNF books
I've officially DNFed 3 books, and I've put at least one book down after reading the first page. I'm also taking a break from a book I started last month. I've realised that life's too short to bother with finishing books I'm not enjoying, especially when my TBR's as enormous as it is... My most notable DNF was Fallen Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes.
I've read less contemporary, more historical
My historical fiction to contemporary fiction ratio is more than 2:1. I've always loved historical fiction, but this year I've loved historical fiction and haven't been very interested in contemporary. History nerdiness strikes again. The most notable historical fiction I read was Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters, and the most notable contemporary I read was The Flywheel by Erin Gough.
I've read fewer series
In the past I've been mad about series, especially epic fantasy series. This year, enough was enough and I leaned more towards standalones. Apart from the standalones I read a couple of books I didn't know were in the middle of a series, I read several first-in-a-series, and the others were the last in their respective series. I'm a changed woman and could live without reading book series for the rest of my life. Once I've finished all the series I'm in the middle of, of course. The most epic standalone I read was War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, while the most epic in-a-series I read was The Red Queen (the conclusion to the Obernewtyn Chronicles) by Isobelle Carmody.I've read less YA
Less than half the books I've read this year have been YA, and I've enjoyed the Adult books more. I'm just not in the target YA audience anymore, I suppose, as I can't relate to the characters now. I'm older and I never had a lot of the experiences these characters have, especially the relationship and/or high school dramas. I think it's safe to say that, although I still have a lot of YA on my TBR, Adult fiction has won me over. The most notable Adult fiction I read was Love in the Land of Midas by Kapka Kassabova; the most notable YA was Solitaire by Alice Oseman.
I've read fewer ebooks
I read ebooks faster than I read physical books, so I wonder if picking ebooks over physical books this year would've meant I'd read more. It's quite possible. But I suppose my ereader has had a small break, as I've only read maybe 9 ebooks this year. The best physical book I read was If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho translated by Anne Carson. The best ebook I read was A Darker Shade of Magic by
V.E. Schwab. Okay, my goal for next year is to pick ebooks over physical books, as it's faster. Let's see how that affects my reading stats for 2017!
