How to do a year-in-books review that is more than a number

The end of the year is when a reading log pays you back. A list of fifty titles is nice; a review that tells you what kind of reader you were this year, and what you want next year, is far better. It takes an hour with a cup of tea, and you only need the things you logged along the way.

Start with the numbers that mean something

• Books and pages finished. Fine to know, but only the start.
• Your busiest and quietest months. Most readers find their year has a shape: a big summer, a slow autumn, a December rush.
• Average rating. If it is very high, you may be choosing well or rating kindly. Either is worth noticing.
• Formats. How much was audio, e-book and print.
• New authors versus authors you already loved.

Then ask the questions

1. 1Which book would you push into a friend's hands tomorrow?
2. 2Which book surprised you the most?
3. 3Which one are you still thinking about months later?
4. 4Which trope, genre or mood did you keep returning to?
5. 5What did you abandon, and was there a pattern?
6. 6What did you reread, and why that one?

Pick a top five, not a top ten

Five is hard, and that is the point. A top ten lets in books you liked; a top five makes you choose the ones that mattered. Write one sentence for each on why it made the list. Those five sentences are the most useful thing you will write about reading all year.

Share it, if you like

A year-in-books post does well on bookstagram and BookTok because it is personal and gives followers a ready-made list. Keep it to your total, your top five and one surprising stat. A single clean card travels further than a carousel of every book.

Turn it into next year

End with one or two intentions, not a big goal. Read more of the trope you loved. Try the genre you never touch. Finish the series you keep starting. A review that leads to a plan makes the next year of reading better, not just bigger.