reading wrap up — Blog

Hello lovely readers and welcome to 2025. It is so wonderful to have you here in my little corner of the internet. I hope that 2024 treated you well and that your 2025 has begun smoothly.

I must first acknowledge my absence over here, and to a certain extent over on Instagram as well, in 2024. I spent the year completing my masters degree in archaeology and writing my thesis which, unsurprisingly, left little room for reviewing books. However, I am looking forward to getting back to my book reviews and recommendation posts this year. I have started work as a full time archaeologist, which means outside of working hours I am blissfully free of responsibilities.

2024 reading highlights

Before getting into 2025, it’s time for a little 2024 reading wrap up. Last year I read 82 books and 36,889 pages which I am stoked about. I do like to set a reading goal for myself each year, but it’s more that I hope I get the chance to read that much, rather than something I feel I need to complete each year. I would certainly prefer to read less books but all of them be books I really enjoy than read a heap that are average. In saying that, I have set my goal for this year to 100 books in the hopes that I find lots of time this year to relax and read! I have never read that many books in a year so who knows how it will go.

I primarily used fable last year to track my books, although I did use Goodreads as well, and I love the reading wrapped you get each year! In 2024 my average rating was 3.6 stars which isn’t too bad and my most read genre was fantasy / romantasy. My favourite books of the year were Pride and Prejudice, The Bone Season, Ancestors, Buried, Queen Macbeth., The Missing of Clairdelune and One Dark Window. I truly had such a great reading year with lots of different genres and authors.

The Year ahead

I personally don’t subscribe to the New Year New Me schtick, I am planning on being just as insufferable this year as I was last, but I do also feel like January 1st is like, the 9am Monday morning of the year. Translation: it makes sense in my brain as a good day to start some new habits. In 2025 I would like to prioritise my physical tbr, be more selective with buying new books, drink more water, write more reviews and read my horoscope each day. Do you make New Years resolutions? What are some habits or skills you want to pick up (or drop) this year?

I am currently working on a little series review for you guys (and if you follow me on Instagram, or Fable, or Goodreads you will have an inkling as to which series I am talking about)!

I also wanted to take this time to shamelessly self promote Whims & Fables, a bookclub that myself and two friends are hosting! Make sure to check out the dedicated page on here for the bookclub if you are interested in reading a fantasy book each month, and discussing it with a group of likeminded people!

If you’re new here then welcome, if not, welcome back. Last year, 2022, was a busy, chaotic, rewarding year. I undertook new challenges and filled my days with work that enriched me. I didn’t read as many books as I was planning on at the beginning of the year, but I wasn’t planning on having such a busy year.

I finished a total of 28 books in 2022, which I am really happy with considering I was doing my work for World History Encyclopedia, tutoring at a university and volunteering at a museum towards the end of the year. I will never be one of those people who read 100 + books in a year, but I’m okay with that.

2022 Reading stats

Out of the 28 books I read last year, 17 of them were physical (so either hardback or paperback), 3 of them were e-books and 9 were audiobooks. I had an average rating of 4.13 / 5 which tells me I made some good reading decisions last year, and I finally got to some books I have been meaning to read for a long time (The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, Mythos, If We Were Villains). My most read genre of the year, unsurprisingly, was fantasy, and my favourite read of the year were House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper, Vicious by V. E. Schwab, and If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio. That being said, the non-fiction I read River Kings by Cat Jarman and Queens of Jerusalem by Katherine Pangonis were both really wonderful books, considering they were outside of my comfort zone I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed them! I also loved diving into The Story of Tutankhamun by Gary Shaw, in celebration of the hundred year anniversary of the discovery of the boy king’s tomb.

2023 reading goals

This year I am going back to university to do my masters in archaeology, and I will be juggling multiple jobs and volunteering commitments so I’m not going to pretend as if I am going to have ample free time to read. I am looking forward to being a student again, although wracked with nerves at the same time! However, I would like to make a conscious decision this year to read rather than watch TV. I would like to keep working my way slowly through my physical tbr, and only purchase a select few anticipated releases (such as The Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper and Atalanta by Jennifer Saint).

I have already finished a book this year, The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty, and I am looking forward to finishing the series, as well as finishing The Lord of the Rings trilogy in audiobooks, and Heroes by Stephen Fry that I am in the midst of reading at the moment. I would like to finally read Elektra by Jennifer Saint (considering Ariadne was one of my favourite reads of 2021 I’m not sure why it’s taking me so long to pick this one up), and honestly, I’m looking forward to seeing where my mood reading takes me.

What are your goals for 2023, reading to otherwise? I would love to hear them!