A look back on 2009.

December 31st. Tomorrow is the start of 2010. I have no idea what it'll be like. But that's the joy of the unknown.

This year has been pretty exciting for me. I started this blog, not really expecting very much. Look where I am now.

• Around 12 publishers donate books to me (most requested, some not (I like surprises in the post :) ).
• I have 25 active followers and who knows how many lurkers. Hi to all the lurkers. I don't mind because I'm a lurker too :)
• I've had 11 author interviews
• I have another contributor, Emina, who is now at college but might still review a book occasionally.
• I have reviewed (both main review and mini reviews) 172 books.

Wow. I knew it was a lot. I know I haven't reviewed every day due to germ gremlins and internet gremlins and random absences. (Plus author interviews and news posts can take time).

But 172? That's not bad. Not bad at all. Next year I'm going to aim for over 200. Perfectly doable considering I try and read a book a day. Or more at weekends. Books are so addictive!

Okay, here's the breakdown of books. Some books can go in several categories, which is why if you add them up there will be more than 172. So I don't have to spend the next hour looking at every review, I'm going by the numbers my labels are giving me. Next year I'll be more consistent with my labelling system. This is a blog in progress. Come May, it will have a new look!

I did try to do a fancy graph. it worked. I just couldn't figure how to get the graph onto here. Next year I'll figure out a way!

• Action = 5 (I don't really use this category any more)
• Animals = 2
• Children's = 92
• Classical literature = 2
• Cultural =2
• Fantasy = 53
• Graphic novel = 3
• Historical = 25
• Japanese = 6
• Naval = 1
• Non-fiction = 8
• Paranormal = 6
• Picture book = 8
• Science fiction = 7
• Thriller = 10
• Young Adult = 39

The top 5 genres are: Children's, Fantasy, Young Adult, Historical, Thriller.

In theory I have the option of specialising this review blog into those categories. The fact is, I love such a wide variety, that while my ARC pile is relatively small (big hint: I'd love to receive lots more unasked for books), I'm sticking with an eclectic blog. Should I ever reach the stage where I have TBR piles stacking back for several months, I may then think about whittling the genres down. Or maybe not - I can't say no to shiny books!

So, what can you expect for 2010?

• New, shiny blog around May/June 2010.
• Many more book reviews spanning multiple genres
• Hopefully some more author interviews.
• An attempt to refine the label system (which probably won't happen, but at last I can try).
• More competitions - the pile of book prizes is beginning to mount up.
• An more concerted attempt to keep up with Memes.

Thank you so much for reading my book reviews and all your comments. It makes me happy that some of you go off and buy/borrow books I recommend here. I write book reviews because I want to pass on the joy of reading to others. I love books! (And their authors (who are amazing), their publicists (who are lovely and fun to communicate with)).

Happy 2010!