My 2022 Reading Goal

Mission accomplished. I set out at the start of the year to read 24 books over the course of 2022. I am proud to announce that I am successful in this goal!

I knew going into this that it was going to be a challenge for me. As someone who has to balance a full time job with irregular hours, general day to day living; as well as extra-curricular activities such as fitness, Games, and then lets not forget some semblance of a social life. Finding the time to squeeze in 24 books was daunting to say the least.

My method was to pick up as many short stories/novellas I could get my hands on. as well as any book that was categorised as "fast" pace.

Here are the books i read in no particular order :

1. Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene
2. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
3. War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
4. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
5. The Sandman Vol 1 by Neil Gaiman
6. The Sandman Vol 2 by Neil Gaiman
7. Snuff by Terry Pratchett
8. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
9. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
10. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
11. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
12. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
13. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
14. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
15. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
16. Sum: Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
17. The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson
18. The Neil Gaiman at the End of the Universe by Arvind Ethan David
19. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
20. The Discworld Graphic Novels: the Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
21. The Body by Stephen King
22. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
23. Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
24. Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

MOODS

There is no surprise to see a Adventurous as my most read "Mood". But reflective being the next big piece of the pie, is surprising.

It seems I was seeking a lot of thought provoking and introspective works this year... the jury is still out on whether or not I discovered anything or not.

PACING

So this was interesting to dive into. I was not expecting such a huge chunk of slow paced books. One book that caught my attention that was marked as slow was The Old Man and the Sea, and let it's only 100 pages long... fascinating.

PAGE NUMBER

I hazarded a guess that my page numbers for this year would all be in the <300 pages. As I mentioned at the start, I was intentionally picking up thinner books. However I will give props to Eragon as the only one in the 500+ pages, really owning that piece of the pie.

FICTION/NONFICTION

I... I think I've read some fiction... I don't know... I might be wrong.

GENRE

I'm not going to waste time talking about the top, we all expected this. But I really like seeing Manga creeping in at the bottom there with Fullmetal Alchemist, that puts a smile on my face. What is also interesting to me is seeing Horror half way up the list.

FORMAT

Now! this is a shock to me, I was not expecting to see print beat out the rest. I am most proud of this as I thought audio would have taken the trophy in this category.

BOOKS/PAGES PER MONTH

Going into this goal I knew I had to average at least 2 books a month. God knows what happened in July. The only thing I wish Story Graph would show on this chart is what books were completed on that given month.

STAR RATING

Quite a variety in my star rating.

and with that this leads me on to my

MOST SURPRISING

The Time Machine By H. G. Wells

I was not expecting this book to be so short and easy to read. I completed it in one sitting, I had a minor hiccup I had with the first chapter but after that the story is incredible. I gave it 4 stars. what I will say is that I wanted more from the story, more adventure than what was already given.

MOST DISAPPOINTING

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

WHAT THE F%$£!!! entire chapters go by and nothing happens! the man waffles on about absolutely nothing for far too long. there is hardly any character progression in this story. I was really hoping for something a lot more than what i got... honestly, watch the movie instead it's much better.

WORST BOOK

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Its just 2 guys (and a guide that grunts a few times) talking and arguing about rocks and where they are throughout the entire book. I wanted "The Center of the Earth", and what i got was a geologist's wet dream.

BEST BOOK

(I have made the decision to not include Terry Pratchett in this section as it would be unfair on the other great books that I have consumed this year. Pratchett's work would always be No.1 in my opinion and so they have their own list.)

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

This book is wonderful. the less you know about this book the better your experience is with it. Very well written with a very vivid world that Susanna Clarke had crafted. Mystery and wonder throughout the entire book! Loved every second reading this.

So there you have it. my year of reading for 2022. As for next year I will be going on a Grim dark binge, starting with A Game of Thrones.

Come follow me on Story Graph Ardwilson where I will be keeping track of my progress.