Goodbye summer 2020! It was nice knowing you. Sort of. And before I start getting into all the seasonal delights of autumn and winter, it’s time to take a moment of reflection. How did I get on with my summer reading challenge? (Spoiler alert: I completed it!) How many books did I read this summer? It’s all right here in my summer reading wrap-up!
Before I begin, this isn’t a traditional wrap-up post so I won’t be doing mini reviews for these titles. But I will link to reviews where applicable. And I’ll cover the need-to-knows like genre, source and my star ratings. So without further ado, let’s get to it!
Summer Reading Challenge Wrap-Up
1. Adapted to film/TV
Chilling adventures of sabrina
by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Genre: Horror/Graphic Novel
Source: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: ★★★
2. Involves a Fire
After the Fire
by Will Hill
Genre: Young Adult
Source: eLibrary
My Rating: ★★★★★
3. Title begins with s
Sweet Virginia
by Caroline Kepnes
Genre: Science Fiction (Dystopian)/Novella
Source: Prime Reading
My Rating: ★★★
4. Book with a map
Welcome to Wanderland
by Jackie Ball
Genre: Fantasy – Graphic Novel
Source: Scribd
My Rating: ★★★★
5. Graphic novel/comic book
The Woods
by James Tynion IV
Genre: Science Fiction/Graphic Novel
Source: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: ★★★★★
6. Under 250 pages
We Should All Be Feminists
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Genre: Non-Fiction
Source: Owned
My Rating: ★★★★★
7. Released in 2020
Dear Justyce
by Nic Stone
Genre: Young Adult
Source: ARC
My Rating: ★★★★★
REVIEW: Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
8. Blue Cover or Spine
Norse Mythology
by Neil Gaiman
Genre: Fantasy
Source: eLibrary
My Rating: ★★★
9. Multiple POVs
Children of Blood and Bone
by Tomi Adeyemi
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Source: Owned
My Rating: ★★★★★
10. One Word Title
Loveless
by Alice Oseman
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Owned
My Rating: ★★★★★
11. Set in the Summer
Lumberjanes
by Noelle Stevenson
Genre: Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Source: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: ★★★★★
12. Dystopian
Odessa
by Jonathan Hill
Genre: Science Fiction/Graphic Novel
Source: ARC
My Rating: ★★★★★
REVIEW: Odessa by Jonathan Hill
13. Free space
Axiom’s End
by Lindsay Ellis
Genre: Science Fiction
Source: eLibrary
My Rating: ★★★★
14. Part of a Series
Heartstopper Volume 1
by Alice Oseman
Genre: Young Adult/Graphic Novel
Source: Owned
My Rating: ★★★★★
15. Involves a journey
The Passenger
by Lisa Lutz
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Source: eLibrary
My Rating: ★★★★
16. Yellow Cover or Spine
Giant Days
by John Allison
Genre: Young Adult/Graphic Novel
Source: Scribd
My Rating: ★★★★★
17. Set in a Different Country
A Burning
by Megha Majumdar
Genre: Literary Fiction
Source: ARC
My Rating: ★★★★
REVIEW: A Burning by Megha Majumdar
18. Award Winner or Nominee
The Poet X
by Elizabeth Acevedo
Genre: Young Adult
Source: eLibrary
My Rating: ★★★★★
19. Beach in Title
Beach Read
by Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Source: Owned
My Rating: ★★★★★
REVIEW: Beach Read by Emily Henry
20. Latinx Author
Clap When You Land
by Elizabeth Acevedo
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Owned
My Rating: ★★★★★
21. Mystery or Thriller
The House Guest
by Mark Edwards
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Source: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: ★★★★
22. LGBTQIA+ Character
Liebestrasse
by Greg Lockard
Genre: Historical Fiction/Graphic Novel
Source: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: ★★★★
23. Non-Fiction
They Walk Among Us
by Benjamin Fritton
Genre: Non-Fiction/True Crime
Source: Owned
My Rating: ★★★
24. Set in Future
They Both Die at the End
by Adam Silvera
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Owned
My Rating: ★★★★★
25. Water on Cover
The Night Swim
by Megan Goldin
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Source: ARC
My Rating: ★★★★★
REVIEW: The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
Summer 2020 Reading Stats
Okay so onto the stats! Between June 20th and September 21st, I read a grand total of 44 books. Since there are 93 days of summer that works out as roughly half a book read every day. Not bad, not bad.
But what about the specifics of my summer reading habits? Ratings? Genres? Formats? Sources? Let’s take a look…
Ratings
So I did the math and my average rating this summer was 4.4. I’m still not sure if my high ratings are indicative of being too generous or if I just read books that I genuinely really enjoy. I suspect the latter because I am very picky about what I read – even if I do venture outside of my comfort zones often.
Here’s a little chart breaking down all the ratings from this summer:
Formats
In terms of formats, I read 41 eBooks, 2 physical books and listened to 1 audiobook.
Genres
Here’s my genre breakdown…
| Graphic Novels | 20 |
| Mystery/Thriller | 7 |
| Non-Fiction | 5 |
| Contemporary | 5 |
| Sci-Fi & Fantasy | 4 |
| Literary Fiction | 2 |
| Romance | 1 |
In chart-form, that looks something like this…
NOTE: Graphic Novels encompasses everything from collected comic books, manga and of course, graphic novels in all genres.
Sources
And finally, sources. I joined a few reviewer/galley sites this summer which meant that I started receiving review copies. ARCs and other review copies accounted for roughly a quarter of my summer reading. Here’s the full breakdown:
| Owned | 8 |
| Library | 8 |
| ARCs/Review Copies | 10 |
| Subscription Services | 18 |
Which looks something like this in chart-form…
Well that’s my summer reading wrap-up! I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Check back in soon for more book reviews and seasonal book content.
How did you get on with your summer reading? Let me know in the comments below!
22 Comments
Wow! Looks like you had a great summer for reading! Good to see you enjoyed so many of them. They Both Die At The End is one of my favourites! I’m currently making my way through Beach Read so it’s great to see that you enjoyed it! I can’t wait to pick up Loveless by Alice Oseman. It’s definitely one that’s at the top of my TBR. Great Post, I loved seeing all your stats!
Thanks Alice! I hope you enjoy Beach Read and Loveless as much as I did. 🙂
You’ve had a great reading summer! Well done! I like the pie chart!
Thanks Jodie! 🙂
Wow! You got through a lot. Do you think the Neil Gaiman would be suitable for a strong reader 8 (almost 9) year old?
Hmm, that’s a good question. There was a lot of death in it so I guess it comes down to how sensitive your 8 year old might be to that? I’d probably say it’s more suited towards 11+. But obviously that’s entirely your choice, it might be worth reading it yourself (it’s not too long) or looking up content warnings first. 🙂
That is phenomenal!! I love how you’ve broken it all down in to your stats as well. It is such a great way of keeping a track of your hard work.
Enjoy your winter reads x
Thank you so much Claire! 🙂
Wow……you read cool books during summer 2020. Hope you’ll read more in autumn.
Thank you so much! 🙂
You’ve had great summer in terms of reading Hayley, I love all of your stats too! x
Lucy | lucymary.co.uk
Thanks Lucy! 🙂
Love your colorful charts and a look at al the books you read! Some I read your reviews of, some I have never heard of, but I love that you love graphic novels. Good art and good stories combine into something special. 🙂
Thanks Jaya! I completely agree. There’s something magical about graphic novels and it’s not just that they’re easier to read! 🙂
Wow! What a detailed reading challenge! I’ve just cracked 50 books read this year which is the most I’ve read in years (thanks COVID??) I’m a very lazy reader though and mostly re-read old favourites- I really should try a challenge like this… Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Helen! If I’m honest, I was exactly the same. I read maybe 3 books a year in 2017 and 2018, then 26 last year and it’s just exploded this year thanks to COVID. Reading challenges and readathons have been great in pushing me outside of my reading comfort zone and I can’t recommend them highly enough. 🙂
I love this!! You’ve read some really great titles and wow, 44 books – I’m definitely behind at the moment. Your charts are such a great way of keeping track of it all – really enjoyed reading this!
Lindsey | aramblingreviewer.com/
Thanks Lindsey! 🙂
I know I’ve read this, but then I couldn’t see if I’d commented or not… so figured as I enjoyed looking through your list a second time, I’d just leave another comment!! I love the variation of the books you’ve got here!
Haha sorry Lindsey! I was just running behind on approving comments while I focused on my health but I appreciate you taking the time to leave another comment! Really means a lot! 🙂
This looks like a great list, you have read quite a lot. You put me to shame. Thank you for sharing all of these and the stats.
No shame here! We all read in our own unique ways and that’s all that matters. 🙂