This year I read 97 books which is slightly more than last year. My reading still ended up on the fluffy end of things. However, I did manage to read most of the Hugo nominees this year and I even have a head start on books to nominate for next year.

I continue to read a mix of physical, ebook, and audiobooks. However, I read fewer ebooks this year than last. Last year, I thought that I wasn’t able to find physical books I wanted to read because of the library’s smaller size, relative to the other systems I’ve borrowed from. However, they might have been buying less than usual due to pandemic reasons. I’ve had a lot more success in 2022 requesting books I want to read from the library. I’ve also been more proactive about requesting they buy specific books I want to read and the library has, for the most part, bought the books I request¹. I have also been spending a lot of money at Bookshop Santa Cruz. Enough, apparently, that when I went to pick up one of my recent purchases and told the staff member my name she said, “Oh, you’re the one that orders a lot of books.².”

This year, only 32% of the books I read were in audio format. I’ve slowly started listening to podcasts again, including Marketplace, which is taking up some of my potential audiobook time.

I read a lot of books and most of them were good. However, these were my favorites:

• Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
• Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
• The Hidden Legacy books by Ilona Andrews
• The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
• The Penric and Desdemona Books, by Lois McMaster Bujold – I was a little behind but caught up this year.
• The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – This one I feel pretty conflicted about. I disliked some of the off-hand references to women, or lack thereof, but I found the actual story to be delightful.
• Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
• The Original by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal with Julia Whelan (Narrator)
• Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson
• Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
• The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
• The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

Next year I’m not going to aim for more than 97 books. However, I think I’m going to try a reading goal, though I haven’t decided on the specifics yet. Whatever I decide, I’ll probably look for a relatively short goal of 5-10 books. I want something that can gently push me to try new books without stalling my reading.