I guess you can add as many statistics as your fantasy reaches. I have read many of your statistics and most are amazing in their details. Not so much here, but I wanted to add a few more interesting takes on my reading. New to me authors and the countries they are from I have never looked att new authors that I have read earlier, so I have nothing to compare it to. Of the 120 books read, I have read 62 authors for the first time. They represent 15 countries. I can imagine that is rather a lot of new authors. Please correct me if I am wrong. Swedish - 21 Erik Eriksson - Tina Frennstedt - Birgit Th. Sparre - Marit Furn - Tony Samuelsson - Sara Önnebo - Joakim Zander - Johannes Anyuru - Birgitta Petrén - Marika Cobbold - Andreas Marklund - Annelie Sylvan - Helena Kubicek Boye - Mikael Parkvall - Frida Skybäck - Bo Ericsson - Erik Petersson - Katarina Harrison Lindberg - Anders Sundkvist - Kerstin Berman - Stig Wallerman - Per Nygren American   - 13 Hernan Diaz (Argentine) - Mary Kubica - J.T. Ellison - Gertrude Stein - Andrew Turnbull - Diane Gaston - V.E. Schwab - Ann Patchett - Eleanor Herman - Karleen Koen - Shirley Jackson - James Baldwin - Riley Sager United Kingdom - 10 Daniel Hurst - Meriel Schindler - Saskia Walker - Stephen Clarke - Nancy Mitford - Helena Merriman - Jonathan Buckley - Ian McEwan - Tamara Talbot Rice (Russian) - Rafael Sabatini (Italian) Australia - 2 John Baxter - Geraldine Brooks (US) And one each from the following countries - 11 Simone St. James, Canada / Walter Kempowski, Germany / Sicho Matsumoto, Japan / László Krasznahorkai, Hungary / Mariléna Karabatéa, Greece / Tove Jansson, Finland / Han Kang, South Korea / Shahnaz Habib, India / Paul Verlaine, France / Irène Némirovsky, Ukarine / Paride Rombi, Italy For 2026 I would like to read more authors from countries I usually don’t read from. I have a list of the countries of the world, and so far I have filled in 27 countries och the 195 on the list. Far too few. I will make an effort to read authors from less read countries this year. What about you? Are you varying your reading to cover countries all over the world?

Thanks to Brona @ This Reading Life I am joining Book'd Out for reading nonfiction in 2026. You find the rules under the link, but here are a few of them. HOW IT WORKS You can select, read and review a book from the categories listed below during the year for a total of up to 12 books; OR select, read and review any nonfiction book. A book may be in print, electronic or audio format. Choose a goal: Nonfiction Nipper: Read & review 3 books, from any 3 listed categories Nonfiction Nibbler: Read & review 6 books, from any 6 listed categories Nonfiction Nosher: Read & review 12 books, one for each category Nonfiction Grazer: Read & review any nonfiction book. Set your own goal, or none at all, just share the nonfiction you read through the year. Categories: History Memoir/Biography True Crime Science Health Food South East Asia Humour (Humor) Lost or found Television Subculture Published in 2026 * You can choose your books as you go or create a list in advance. You may combine this challenge with others if you wish. Use your best good faith judgement as to whether a book fits the category or not. * Where a book is identified by more than one category, it may only count for one, not both. * You can read your chosen titles in any order, at any pace, just aim to complete the challenge by December 31st 2026 I will read other nonfiction so I will settle for Nonfiction Nipper:  Read & review 3 books, from any 3 listed categories. History is my most favourite category so that is a given, thinking of all the nonfiction I have on my shelves. I also have a few Biographies , and I could choose from Edward Burne-Jones - A Life by Penelope Fitzgerald; Gabriele d'Annunzio by Lucy Hughes-Hallett; Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee among others. For Science or Health I would go for Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. All books on my shelves far too long. Nonfiction Grazer:  Read & review any nonfiction book. Set your own goal, or none at all, just share the nonfiction you read through the year. I am planning to read more nonfiction this year so will add them as they come. There will be many nonfiction books considering my 2026 Personal Curriculum . Both Literature and History will generate nonfiction reading. Are you on for a Nonfiction year?

Happy New Year! I wish you all the best for 2026 and a great new reading year This is the time of the year when we look back on the previous year and what we read. I read a record 120 books last year. It turned out to be a lot of mystery books, and that is probably why the number of books is somewhat higher. They are easy to read. Furthermore, I do listen to a lot of the Agatha Christie books I read. I register the books I read on StoryGraph, which also provides the statistics. After a quick look at the statistics above, I notice I only read 30 nonfiction books which is only around 25% of my overall reading. I usually read more. 90 books, 75% come from fiction, various genres. Due to all the mystery books I read, of which 19 was by Agatha Christie, I read 73 female authors and 47 male authors. Of all the books I read 67% in English and 33% in Swedish. I read 59 books from my TBR shelves (To Be Read). That leaves 188 books to go for 2026. Usually, there will be a few books added during the year. I don’t think I will ever come down to zero. I don’t differ books coming on my shelves from earlier year. I count also books ending up there during the year. What about you? How many books have you read? Any very good ones that you can recommend? What is your favourite genre? I will return in a later post with the favourite books of the year and my prospects for 2026.

My blog is about books and reading, reviews and discussions on anything bookish. Under this label you find some information about myself. My Story I am Lisbeth Ekelof, an expat Swede, who returned to Sweden in 2018. My expat years were very interesting, enjoying life in different countries and cultures, including a lot of adventures. Always interested in reading, I started my blog at the end of 2012, just before early retirement. It has been a wonderful journey, exchanging views on books and reading with the international blogging community. I published my first post on 24 October 2012. I love your comments and try to answer all of them. I do accept reviewing books on demand, depending on my time schedule. Please use contact form to get in touch. “Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.” Virginia Woolf

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