Reading stats, 2020

This is a strange year on a number of levels in terms of my reading habits. Because I was stuck at home, I read a whopping 156 books (my average is usually closer to 100 in a year). However, I was much more in the mood for escapism and comfort food than educating myself on issues (I’d also already read a lot of books on systemic racism and was trying to read more black joy, black adventure, black success, rather than focusing on “oppression porn”). I also have two new categories this year, in my ongoing quest to better track diversity: Gender now has an option for nonbinary (as always, trans women are women, trans men are men), and diversity has an option for intersectional, because a lot of the authors of color I was reading were also queer or disabled or both and I only count them in one category so as to avoid distorting my level of reading diversity. Regardless, this was the year with the fewest straight/white/cis authors, 57%! I’m delighted by this step in the right direction.

Some of my favorites from this year
Mara Benjamin, The Obligated Self
Claire Kann, Let’s Talk About Love
Alyssa Cole, A Duke by Default, Can’t Escape Love, and When No One Is Watching
Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering
Huda Fahmy, That Can Be Arranged and Yes, I’m Hot in This
Mary Robinette Kowal, The Relentless Moon

Final tally for 2020
30 male writers: 37%
41 female writers: 51%
7 mixed/anthologies: 9%
2 nonbinary writers: 3%

46 white, straight, cis: 57%
13 writers of color: 16%
13 LGBTQIA writers: 16%
2 writers with disabilities: 2%
7 intersectional writers: 9%