Out of those books 50 were by male authors and 36 by female authors. That’s a slightly more even split than I expected. I tend to read types of fiction dominated by male authors and while I have thought that I should make a point of seeking out female authors in these genres, I haven’t yet done so. Next year I plan to prioritise female writers.

Sci-fi – 7
Fantasy – 12
Horror – 5
Romance – 7
Literary – 5
Classic – 9
Historical – 2
Thriller – 6

I read 32 non-fiction books, which is more than I thought, and makes me feel like I should break that down a bit.

Self-help/Psychology – 5
Philosophy – 1
History – 5
Current affairs/Politics – 4
Feminist thought – 5
Comedy – 3
Auto-biography – 2
Writing craft – 4
Paganism – 1
Science – 2

I noticed at points during the year that I was actively choosing to read books I perceived to be short and easy in order to achieve the goal of 100 books in a year. Whereas, if I hadn’t been trying to reach that goal I might have gone for a more challenging, edifying, (and for me, more satisfying) reading experience. It’s a bit like dieting, in that it drives bad behaviour. Books are chosen for being low-calorie (short/easy) rather than healthy (quality) and so the choices you make are not the ones that are best for you but the ones that will satisfy an arbitrary number.