Maybe it was simply a love of fresh notebooks? And, then, spreadsheets? Over the years, my book tally, mounting since 1990, became data. Which, it turns out, is another way to demonstrate my love of books. The figures reflect intense reading. But between the lines? It never feels like enough.

Although I’ve always read a lot, my reading habit intensified both when I worked in a bookshop and, later, when I discovered Madison Smartt Bell’s Narrative Design, which revealed just how much one can learn about writing, simply by virtue of reading. Close reading. Because I wanted to be a better writer, I began by being a better reader. It became an act of devotion. Also, I didn’t have many friends.

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These statistics are pulled from 2010 through 2023, a period of 4097 days. That’s like reading a book a day for more than ten of those years.

In 2023, I visited 32 countries on the page.
Of the books read, 57% of them were penned by writers of colour, including 21 books by Indigenous authors.
Of the authors in my stacks, 57% identify as women, which works to address the imbalance in my school years.
There were also 25 collections of stories, 15 translated works, and 66% of my reading was via new-to-me writers.
In this year, 2024, I’ll continue to read diversely and voraciously.
For more about 2023? Here. And 2022? Here. As for 2024’s plans, here.