2013 in Review

Can you believe 2014 is here? It went so quickly!

Later this week, I'll be giving you a look at what's to come in 2014. For today, though, let's take a look back at 2013. There has been so much change at Read.Write.Repeat. since last January. Let's keep this to a short, sweet recap. Here are a few highlights from the year:

• The blog named changed from From My Bookshelf to Read.Write.Repeat. 
• Blog readership grew tremendously. In 2012, I was lucky to get a handful of pageviews on any given day. Now, I average over 50 pageviews daily. I'd like to at least double that by the end of 2014, if not more!
• I joined Goodreads! This wonderful social media site for readers has revolutionized the way I keep track of books and how I choose what to read. 
• I started a new long-term challenge. Reading through Modern Library's 100 Best Novel list has already been so rewarding. Plus, I have made it 17% of the way through the list. Not bad!
• I did a Summer Reading Program through Tyndale. It definitely broke my mold this summer and I picked up some interesting books I never would have read otherwise. 
• In August, I started writing monthly "chapters" recapping blog activity. It's been fun to catalog things regularly, as well as keep my eyes open for fun articles I think you may enjoy.
• I launched the Read.Write.Repeat. Facebook page this fall. If you don't like it already, head over there and join the 170+ others who have!
• One of the biggest changes this year came when I started joining book tours through promotional companies. I have absolutely loved participating in these. You can look forward to a lot more of these in 2014.
• I started Movie Mondays. These have been fun and twice a month seems to be a good pace.

For those of you who are more number driven, here are some stats for you. If you are interested in comparing these to 2012, check out last year's review. 

Books Read: 73

Total Pages Read: 25,062

Average Page Count (per book): 343

Most Read Author: Hugh Howey (3 books)

Average Pages Read Per Day: 69 pages

Busiest Months: July & August (9 each)

Slowest Month: March (2 books)

Facebook Likes: 171

And, finally, here is the full list of books I read in 2013, with links to each review. If you missed it, earlier this week, I named my Top Books of 2013. That's a list worth looking over if you want the very condensed version of this one!

The Definitive 2013 Book List

1. The Last Templar - Raymond Khory - 1/13
2. Dies the Fire - S.M. Stirling - 1/16
3. The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster - 1/19
4. Stolen Innocence - Elissa Wall - 1/22
5. In the President's Secret Service - Ronald Kessler - 1/30
6. Anne of Windy Poplars - L.M. Montgomery - 2/1
7. A Million Little Pieces - James Frey - 2/9
8. Eragon - Christopher Paolini - 2/20
9. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro - 2/28
10. The Girl Who Was on Fire - Various Authors - 3/1
11. The Girls - Lori Lansens - 3/19
12. Eldest - Christopher Paolini - 4/1
13. Commencement - J. Courtney Sullivan - 4/4
14. Winesburg, Ohio - Sherwood Anderson - 4/11
15. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green - 4/20
16. Helter Skelter - Vincent Bugliosi - 4/21
17. The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner - 4/23
18. The Orphan Master's Son - Adam Johnson - 5/3
19. A Million Suns - Beth Revis - 5/4
20. Dark Places - Gillian Flynn - 5/7
21. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card - 5/13
22. A Year of Biblical Womanhood - Rachel Held Evans - 5/18
23. Inferno - Dan Brown - 5/25
24. Picnic at the Iron Curtain - Susan Viets - 6/5
25. Wool - Hugh Howey - 6/8
26. Still Lolo - Lauren Scruggs - 6/9
27. Shades of Earth - Beth Revis - 6/16
28. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald - 6/29
29. The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells - 6/30
30. Captive in Iran - Rostampour & Amirizadeh - 7/3
31. The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M. Cain
32. I Still Believe - Jeremy Camp
33. The Call of the Wild - Jack London - 7/14
34. A High Wind in Jamaica - Richard Hughes - 7/17
35. Her Majesty: Queen Elizabeth II and Her Court - Robert Hardman - 7/22
36. Maine - J. Courtney Sullivan - 7/26
37. The Time Keeper - Mitch Albom - 7/27
38. The Magnificent Ambersons - Booth Tarkington - 7/27
39. Shift - Hugh Howey - 8/5
40. A Passage to India - E.M. Forster - 8/15
41. Beyond Ordinary - Justin & Trisha Davis - 8/16
42. C.S. Lewis: A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet - Alister McGrath - 8/20
43. Dust - Hugh Howey - 8/20
44. Matched - Ally Condie - 8/21
45. Living History - Hillary Rodham Clinton - 8/23
46. Sweet Tooth - Ian McEwan - 8/24
47. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark - 8/27
48. Visiting Tom  - Michael Perry - 9/1
49. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut - 9/1
50. The Dinner - Herman Koch - 9/7
51. Someday, Someday, Maybe - Lauren Graham - 9/8
52. Ulysses - James Joyce - 9/21
53. The Angry Woman Suite - Lee Fullbright - 9/26
54. Beautiful Ruins - Jess Walter - 10/6
55. Anne's House of Dreams - L.M. Montgomery - 10/6
56. The Long Walk - Stephen King - 10/12
57. Animal Farm - George Orwell - 10/13
58. Fiesta of Smoke - Suzan Still - 10/14
59. Heads in Beds - Jacob Tomsky - 10/16
60. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov - 10/21
61. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline - 10/24
62. Lunch in Paris - Elizabeth Bard - 11/2
63. The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton - 11/3
64. The Prodigal - Michael Hurley - 11/10
65. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - 11/16
66. Quiet - Susan Cain - 11/27
67. Down to the Wire - David Rosenfelt - 11/28
68. The End of Your Life Book Club - Will Schwalbe - 12/8
69. Allegiant - Veronica Roth - 12/8
70. Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald - 12/18
71. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling - 12/21
72. The Heart of the Matter - Graham Greene - 12/22
73. My Mother's Funeral - Adriana Páramo - 12/23

Thanks so much for joining me on my journey in 2013. I look forward to many more adventures together in 2014!