little free library

2020 reading review

/ cultivatingjoy / 6 Comments

Having more time to read was one of my silver linings of the 2020 lockdowns. I read 66 books which is a record for me, according to Goodreads that is a total of about 20600 pages! I really enjoyed carefully choosing some books, being recommended and lent books by friends, and serendipitously coming across some in the little free libraries. Hereunder is this year of wonderful books in numbers and my intentions for 2021 (I will share some of my favourite reads from last year in another post soon).

As in the past few years I made a conscious effort to make my reading more diverse. In 2020, 79% of the books I read were written by women and 42% by Black, Indigenous People and People of Colour. I was able to travel vicariously and learn more about the cultures of countries such as Cameroon, China, Dominican Republic, Greenland, India, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Poland, South Korea, Togo and Uganda. I am grateful for how all these voices help to broaden my horizons and get glimpses of worlds I would otherwise know little or nothing about.

I read a very mixed bag of books, though the majority was fiction (77%). I feel like I swung between extremes: I read books on topics such as feminism, racism and social injustice to keep deepening my understanding of these complex issues, and next to that I read a bunch of light romantic novels just to get out of the pandemic mood and into some parallel worlds with predictable happy endings.

I was surprised to see that I actually hadn’t purchased many books. The majority of books I borrowed from the public library (35%), from family and friends (24%) or from the little free libraries in my neighbourhood (21%). The rest I got as gifts or bought either new or second hand.

What about my intentions related to reading for 2021? To support my local book stores more (they need it now more than ever), to continue reading books from different countries, discovering authors of I have never read anything by and to keep actively educating myself about white supremacy, capitalism and inequality so I can get be better informed on how they intersect and do my best to be an ally where I can.

What are your reading plans for 2021? Feel free to share in the comments, I’d love to be inspired by them!

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Click on the links to see my reading overviews for 2019, 2018 and 2017, and further book lists.

Abundance

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JOYFUL GRATITUDE #181

The Artist’s Way is a book I dive into regularly because of Julia Cameron’s deep wisdom (and humour!).  Recently I pulled it off the shelf and opened it at a random chapter as I often do, knowing it would provide me just the nugget of guidance I need. This time I landed on the chapter about ABUNDANCE, which made me laugh because I’ve also been pulling that word lately from my tiny pack of Angel cards… Clearly this is something for me to focus on at the moment;)

Interestingly some of the exercises from the chapter are about getting rid of things around the house.  I always need to get over that little voice in my head that whispers that I may need it later, the one that is scared I won’t have ENOUGH. It seems counter-intuitive at first to give away things to feel abundance. But there’s a reason why I’m not wearing the t-shirt or why my heart is telling me it’s fine to let go of some object I have lying around for years that I didn’t even choose myself.

Seeing the happy look on the face of someone who comes over to pick-up a second-hand purchase is always a pleasure. I can tell they will appreciate the object so much more than I do and it avoids one new item being put out into the world.  Also, after depositing several back-pack loads of books at the little free library, my bookshelves are lighter and more ‘me’.

Parting with all these objects has highlighted that I have more than enough, and as an added bonus, this clearing has created space for a few new things, chosen with care. This week I treated myself to new washi tapes, finally replenishing my collection which had dwindled to with quasi-finished rolls and dark colours.   I splashed out on the good quality ones with beautiful patterns and bright colours like neon pink, enough to decorate my journal and my snail mail for a long time ahead and I felt like I was spoiling myself in the best of ways:)

Reading short stories

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I’ve been appreciating reading short stories lately.  Some I found in a pile of decade-old New Yorkers that I came across at the little free library, some in the anthology of short stories that is our syllabus for my next writing class, some online in literary magazines I’m thinking off submitting to or other links unearthed in some internet rabbit-hole…  I usually read novels or non-fiction books, but I’m having a great time picking up the huge doorstop of an anthology, and browsing for a familiar name or a story with an intriguing title and dive into a new world for a few pages.

It’s fascinating to see that some stories don’t resonate with me at all, while others I am drawn into after just a few words and held breathless to the end. Also, it’s reassuring because it reminds me how subjective taste is, and how much is personal, projected onto the story by the reader. It’s a nice format in these days where attention spans are ever-shortening, and it’s encouraging to see how short pieces can pack a punch and feel how they stay with me long after I’ve finished reading them.

2018 reading statistics

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It’s always interesting to look back at the past year’s books and crunch some numbers to observe if there are any trends and help plan for the year ahead. This year I started tracking which books I read on Goodreads, which is great because it means I have an accurate overview, as it’s easy to forget which books I was reading 12 months ago.

Findings from 2018

In 2018, I read 56 books, corresponding to 16320 pages (!), I doubt I’ve ever read that many books in one year.  I mostly read novels (64%), the rest was a combination of non-fiction/memoirs/self-help books.

Of those books, 59% were written by women (33 books), 39% by men (22 books)  and 2% by a woman/man couple (1 book).  I paid more attention this year to selecting books written by women so I’m glad that is reflected in these numbers and it balances out my 2017 gender gap.

Without particularly trying to diversify, the authors of the books are from 13 different nationalities (Austria, Australia, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Norway, Switserland, USA), however with a high proportion of the books written by authors from the USA. I read mostly in English, and just a few books in French and one in Italian.

The books I read were published between 1946 and 2018, however the large majority  of what I chose to read was written from 2000 onward (84%). Like for movies, I tend to be attracted more by recent books.

Plans for 2019

I would like to make a more conscious effort to support new authors, as well as read more books from different countries. (I’m so inspired by the story of the lady who read a book from every country in the world)

I will continue to strive for gender balance. I plan to source my books from a combination of the public library, independent bookstores, gifts (I received four great books by women authors for Christmas, hooray!) and the little free libraries in the neighbourhood.

I’m curious to hear your reading plans for 2019. Feel free to share in the comments:)

Little free libraries

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I remember first reading about little free libraries online and thinking what a generous and sustainable idea it is: people making books they no longer need available for free to strangers they will never meet. Those articles usually featured photos of gorgeous tiny houses containing a few shelves of colourful book spines.

So when little free libraries started to pop-up in my neighbourhood I was stoked! Suddenly there was one on my way to work which I’d check it every few days to see what treasures I could find. Since then three more have appeared walking distance from my place:)

I would never throw a book away so it has also helped me to declutter to put books in a dedicated place where an avid reader might come across them and enjoy them as much as I did (or even more!).

In the past few years, I’ve picked up many a free book on my neighbourhood walks and during my travels. What I love most is discovering books I would never have bought in a bookstore which I really enjoy. Some of the best treasures I found lately in little free libraries were:

  • Fear and loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson) which includes awesome illustrations
  • Yeruldegger (Ian Manook)
  • Super Sad True Love Story (Gary Shteyngart)

I look forward to what my next finds will be!