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[peterwknox]

My 2023 Year in Reading at GoodReads

43 books. 13,757 pages.

17 Fiction. 26 NonFiction.

12 Female Authors. 31 Male.

13 Print. 30 Digital.

27 Library Digital. 11 Audiobooks.

*2022

48 books. 13,795 pages. 20 Fiction. 28 NonFiction.

13 Female Authors. 35 Male. 14 Print. 34 Digital.

27 Library Digital.

*2021

32 books. 8,582 pages. 16 Fiction. 16 NonFiction.

16 Female Authors. 16 Male. 7 Print. 25 Digital.

24 Library Digital.

*2020

33 books. 8,029 pages. 14 Fiction. 19 NonFiction.

16 Female Authors. 17 Male. 14 Print. 19 Digital.

18 Library Digital.

*2019

46 books/14,455 pages. 17 Fiction. 29 NonFiction.

20 Female Authors. 26 Male. 22 Print. 24 Digital.

21 Library Digital.

*2018

52 books/12,504 pages. 20 Fiction. 32 NonFiction.

30 Print. 22 Digital. 21 Female Authors. 31 Male.

18 Library Digital.

*2017

47 books/15,472 pages. 18 Fiction. 29 NonFiction.

19 Print. 28 Digital. 16 Female. 31 Male.

25 Library Digital.

*2016

50 books/18,944 pages. 22 Fiction/28 NonFiction.

18 Print/32 Digital. 15 Female/35 Male.

27 Library Digital.

*2015

44 books/14,765 pages. 25 Fiction/19 NonFiction.

30 Print/14 Digital. 10 Female/34 Male.

7 Library Digital.

*2014

39 books/14,316 pages. 18 Fiction/21 NonFiction.

20 Print/19 Digital. 14 Female/25 Male.

12 Library Digital.

-

This year I read 43 books, just five less than last year (when I read many more short books to more fully bounce back into numbers). But 43 is 10 more books than I was reading back in 21 and 20! And most crazy is just how many more NEW (aka Frontlist) books I read this year compared to most years.

I never kept track before, since it was never this blatently obvious, but when I was collecting my data I noticed this trend towards recently published / new books. 21 out of 43 (almost half) of the books I read in 2023 WERE RELEASED IN 2023. Add in the 8 I read that were published in 2022 and now 2/3rds of the books I read in 2023 were published in the last two years... wow.

Guess as I've gotten deeper and deeper into publishing news, marketing, social, and advertising... I'm more susceptible to jumping into newer books as they're publishing - curious to see what the fuss is about... and it's paying off. I loved so much of what I read this year.

Despite again almost reading 10 more NonFiction books than Fiction, it's the Fiction I recall most fondly and have a harder time forgetting. While I certainly enjoying learning about Matthew Perry, behind the camera stories of Bourdain, east coast sharks trends, the recent history of the internet, fraternity-centered modern crime rings, the history and controversies of The Oscars, an oral history of emo, and what it's like to go blind and be a doctor that's dying, the best nonfiction was closer to therapy... Good Inside (the best parenting book I've read) and I Think You Should Talk to Someone (a therapy book wrapped in memoir).

Fiction (perhaps as it's the most different from my day-job work) was the standout - as I loved most every novel I read in 2023. A reminder that I should pick it up more (especially in print - as I read the least EVER print fiction this year, just because I rely so much on the library and love my Kindle Oasis experience). I read one Kevin Wilson novel, then went and almost immediately read two more.

I listened to more audiobooks than ever (four more than last year) in lieu of podcasts on my walking commute or over long family drives in the front seat while everyone else slept... while switching back to the Kindle version in bed at night. I highly recommend this hybrid model! I credit it completely with getting me through the LBJ book and it was really fun to do with Tegan and Sara's memoir (since they splice in old audio archives during their stories - so well done!).

Also again like last year, I read twice as many male writers as female writers - not intentionally! And it's helpful to look back on this now, as I wasn't always aware I was doing that, since my favorites from the year were more books by women writers - also again!

If any book ever catches your interest, I hope you follow through in finding a way to acquire and read it - check out my reviews (I write a review for every book I read) and let me know what you’re reading these days.

So in 2024 I'm pledging to pick up more fiction, more women authors, and more print (and maybe more older books?)... if just to reverse some continuing trends from the last two years. Thus, send me your recommendations. And without further ado, here are mine...

My top 3 reads from 2023:

Favorite Fiction:

Wellness

Yellowface

Now is Not the Time to Panic

Favorite NonFiction:

The Path to Power

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Good Inside

Honorable Mentions:

Vintage Contemporaries

The Midcoast

Birnam Wood

[peterwknox]

Tumblr, Class of 2008 Reunion

May 31, 2023 at the Ivory Peacock

[peterwknox]

Worth a Tumblr post. My (THE?) first Tumblr meet up was Fall 2007. This is overdue.

[peterwknox]

Peter Knox is an experienced book marketer and publishing consultant. He is VP, Head of Marketing, and Client Experience Director at Book Highlight, a premier book marketing and sales agency based in Brooklyn, New York.

Driven by a passion for connecting new books to the readers that need them, Peter works with first-time and veteran authors alike to make a lasting impact on publication day. By visualizing and communicating the value and promise of the author, Peter has demonstrated the business benefit to building a brand, establishing a platform, and leading with the book.

Prior to developing the marketing and creative program at Book Highlight, Peter was the Senior Marketing Manager leading the trade business book group at Wiley Publishing for almost fourteen years following his time in the Columbia Publishing Course.

His start in books was as the Student Director of the Literary House Press at Washington College, where he was awarded the Haddock Prize for Publishing Excellence. Learn more and contact him at: Peter-Knox.com

[peterwknox]

My 2022 Year in Reading at GoodReads

48 books. 13,795 pages. 

20 Fiction. 28 NonFiction.

13 Female Authors. 35 Male.

14 Print. 34 Digital.

27 Library Digital.

*2021

32 books. 8,582 pages. 16 Fiction. 16 NonFiction.

16 Female Authors. 16 Male. 7 Print. 25 Digital.

24 Library Digital.

*2020

33 books. 8,029 pages. 14 Fiction. 19 NonFiction.

16 Female Authors. 17 Male. 14 Print. 19 Digital.

18 Library Digital.

*2019

46 books/14,455 pages. 17 Fiction. 29 NonFiction.

20 Female Authors. 26 Male. 22 Print. 24 Digital.

21 Library Digital.

*2018

52 books/12,504 pages. 20 Fiction. 32 NonFiction.

30 Print. 22 Digital. 21 Female Authors. 31 Male.

18 Library Digital.

*2017

47 books/15,472 pages. 18 Fiction. 29 NonFiction.

19 Print. 28 Digital. 16 Female. 31 Male.

25 Library Digital.

*2016

50 books/18,944 pages. 22 Fiction/28 NonFiction.

18 Print/32 Digital. 15 Female/35 Male.

27 Library Digital.

*2015

44 books/14,765 pages. 25 Fiction/19 NonFiction.

30 Print/14 Digital. 10 Female/34 Male.

7 Library Digital.

*2014

39 books/14,316 pages. 18 Fiction/21 NonFiction.

20 Print/19 Digital. 14 Female/25 Male.

12 Library Digital.

-

This year I read 48 books, which was the most I’ve read since 2018 and the second most I’ve read since I started tracking in 2010! However, I have to be honest that the title count feels somewhat inflated due to short books (Bennett + Sivers) and coffee table books (Pen & Ink + LCD). But a book is a book is a book, even if it has pictures! And reading more books was my 2022 focus, to get beyond the low thirties counts my reading years have been post-Covid. 

Some of these briefer books will be the ones I remember, such as The Parade and The Uncommon Reader. There were also more collections than usual years (Attenberg, Fitzgerald, String Theory, Sidecountry, Sedaris, Gessen, Bissell, Men Without Women, Bliss Montage) and oral histories (Bourdain, Mad Max, Tinder Box) while still leaving room for some big new fiction (Tomorrow, Crossroads, Sea of Tranquility, Beautiful World) and my usual favorites–the creative nonfiction memoir (Dirtbag, Land of Men, Somebody’s Daughter, Crying in H Mart, Raising Raffi).

I listened to more audiobooks than ever (Trevor Noah, Bourdain, DFW, Iger, Gottlieb) in lieu of podcasts on my walking commute and I splurged for the nice fancy Kindle Oasis (saving $$ on Prime Day!), which spurred me on to read more and more (especially with its Dark Mode, easy on the eyes at bedtime) through my 27 library rentals (but unlike last year - when I wanted an ebook, I’d buy it, at least 7 times).

Also unlike last year (when I was equally balanced between male/female writers and non/fiction books) I skewed so heavily male/nonfiction in 2022, somehow reading slightly less female authors yet more than double the amount of male authors. That’s something I’ll look to balance out better this year, as I’m already on my first book and it’s what I typically love the most: female authored fiction.

Continuing my recent trends, I again read mostly new (frontlist) books this year - published over the last few years, except for a handful. There’s so many amazing new books that I’m just trying to keep up with, and never feeling like I’m succeeding. 

One of the last books I read in 2022 was also my favorite: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I haven’t felt this jazzed about a book for awhile and have not held back in telling others about it with wonderful results:

If any book ever catches your interest, I hope you follow through in finding a way to acquire and read it - check out my reviews (I write a review for every book I read) and let me know what you’re reading these days. Read on!

My top 3 reads from 2022:

Favorite Fiction:

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Sea of Tranquility

The Parade

Favorite NonFiction:

Crying in H Mart

In the Land of Men

Dirtbag, Massachusetts 

Honorable Mentions:

Bliss Montage

Blood, Sweat, & Chrome

Crossroads

[peterwknox]

Greetings from the American Museum of Natural History (photos by Riley)

[peterwknox]

[peterwknox]

[peterwknox]

 The 2-Hour Cocktail Party: How to Build Big Relationships with Small Gatherings by Nick Gray is now available. Buy it.

I met @nickgray over a decade ago at one of his parties. I didn’t know him, except through Tumblr and mutual friends, but that’s how everyone first knows Nick. There was juggling and the band Freelance Whales played in a corner. Later this party was written about in New York Magazine. Literally a decade later and I’m at another of Nick’s parties. Somehow they have gotten even better? There’s a book swap, lightning talks, and in walks a full on drum line. I meet people that I still see and run into and meet for lunch, others I’ll stay in touch with over email and phone calls. All because of Nick. These are not rare isolated incidents. Nick has developed, designed, and field tested an effective party format and formula that literally anyone can do (he’s tested that part!), in any city or town, with any type of group and it manages to bring out the best in host and guest alike. Trust in people. Put good ones together. Give them name tags and something to talk about and never let anyone get too settled or boring or backed into a corner. Those people will tell their friends and you’ll grow your network along with your guest list. I know, because I’ve done it, I’ve seen others do it, and you can do it too. This isn’t a dull memoir with tips - it’s literally checklists, illustrations, case studies, actionable templates, ready-made scripts, and a step by step How To guide. It’s a party playbook. By someone literally known for hosting really good ones. Nick is a great guy who likes meeting people and wants to pay that forward in this book. I can’t say I’ve read anything like it before. Invest in reading it, then doing it. You’ll see rewards in less than a month, both tangible and intangible. It’s like if Covey’s Highly Effective People got in a room with Gary V’s energy and the science and thought in The Art of Gathering. That is to say, as unique a book as its author. Only Nick could write this book, so that people who thought cocktail parties were boring and company mixers sucked and that they knew how to host amazing parties already - all could learn something new and different and their crowds would benefit from it.

Learn more on his great book website. 

[peterwknox]

My 2021 Year in Reading at GoodReads

32 books. 8,582 pages.

16 Fiction. 16 NonFiction.

16 Female Authors. 16 Male.

7 Print. 25 Digital.

24 Library Digital.

*2020

33 books. 8,029 pages. 14 Fiction. 19 NonFiction.

16 Female Authors. 17 Male. 14 Print. 19 Digital.

18 Library Digital.

*2019

46 books/14,455 pages. 17 Fiction. 29 NonFiction.

20 Female Authors. 26 Male. 22 Print. 24 Digital.

21 Library Digital.

*2018

52 books/12,504 pages. 20 Fiction. 32 NonFiction.

30 Print. 22 Digital. 21 Female Authors. 31 Male.

18 Library Digital.

*2017

47 books/15,472 pages. 18 Fiction. 29 NonFiction.

19 Print. 28 Digital. 16 Female. 31 Male.

25 Library Digital.

*2016

50 books/18,944 pages. 22 Fiction/28 NonFiction.

18 Print/32 Digital. 15 Female/35 Male.

27 Library Digital.

*2015

44 books/14,765 pages. 25 Fiction/19 NonFiction.

30 Print/14 Digital. 10 Female/34 Male.

7 Library Digital.

*2014

39 books/14,316 pages. 18 Fiction/21 NonFiction.

20 Print/19 Digital. 14 Female/25 Male.

12 Library Digital.

-

This year I read 32 books, which was below my yearly average and my set goal for the year in reading challenge. But considering my new life (post 2hr commute and with 2 children and much more reading for work), above 30 books is going to be my new PAR, like getting more than 100 in bowling. I’m happy with it. 

I read one less book (thanks Ulysses) but more pages (thanks Ulysses) than 2020. 

This is the first year that I actually reached a balance, reading exactly the same number of female and male authors. And exactly as many fiction as nonfiction!

Turns out I didn’t pay for a single digital (ebook) read all year actually... they all came from the Library, NetGalley, or Prime. That’s been a goal for awhile now as well... if I want a book I’m buying it in print (to own it) or I’ll wait for the library hold.

Continuing my trends, I read mostly new (frontlist) books this year - published over the last two years, except for a handful. There’s so many amazing new books that I’m just trying to keep up. And as usual, all my favorite fiction is from female writers.

If any book ever catches your interest, I hope you follow through in finding a way to acquire and read it - check out my reviews (I write a review for every book I read) and let me know what you’re reading these days. Read on!

My top 3 reads from 2021:

Favorite Fiction:

Such A Fun Age

Laserwriter II

No One Is Talking About This

Favorite NonFiction:

Gone to the Woods

Why Fish Don’t Exist

Fulfillment

Honorable Mentions:

How Lucky

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

The Smash-Up

[peterwknox]

My 2020 Year in Reading at GoodReads

33 books. 8,029 pages.

14 Fiction. 19 NonFiction.

16 Female Authors. 17 Male.

14 Print. 19 Digital.

18 Library Digital.

-

*2019

46 books/14,455 pages. 17 Fiction. 29 NonFiction.

20 Female Authors. 26 Male. 22 Print. 24 Digital.

21 Library Digital.

*2018

52 books/12,504 pages. 20 Fiction. 32 NonFiction.

30 Print. 22 Digital. 21 Female Authors. 31 Male.

18 Library Digital.

*2017

47 books/15,472 pages. 18 Fiction. 29 NonFiction.

19 Print. 28 Digital. 16 Female. 31 Male.

25 Library Digital.

*2016

50 books/18,944 pages. 22 Fiction/28 NonFiction.

18 Print/32 Digital. 15 Female/35 Male.

27 Library Digital.

*2015

44 books/14,765 pages. 25 Fiction/19 NonFiction.

30 Print/14 Digital. 10 Female/34 Male.

7 Library Digital.

*2014

39 books/14,316 pages. 18 Fiction/21 NonFiction.

20 Print/19 Digital. 14 Female/25 Male.

12 Library Digital.

-

This year I read 33 books, which was 13 books below my yearly average and my set goal for the year in reading challenge. Not only that, but I read more shorter books, about half of my average number of pages read over a year, as I selfishly attempted to get my numbers up and meet my goal (yet still failing). However, I stand proud by this 33 number - having persevered through many changes to remain a reader.

2020 was the first full year that I was a father of two children under the age of 4. That alone accounts for so much, that looking back I should’ve adjusted my goal leaving the hospital in 2019 with our bundle of joy. I also changed jobs in March, abandoning my daily 2-hr commute on trains where I have done the majority of my reading over the last 14 years. This new job is a lot more responsibility and work (and reading!). 

Of course, no one had a commute once the pandemic hit. And to have finished any books in the year we just had, with an election on top of a pandemic and ongoing protesting, we should all be patting ourselves on the back.

Some of my trends make sense... I read more library ebooks and more ebooks in general (as a total percentage) than previous years. Being on the move for five unexpected months with a family, I didn’t bring as many print books along. Some of the trends I’ve been intentionally working towards... I finally (almost) reached exactly a 50/50 split between female and male writers. 

In general, I’m glad to have been able to read many new books published in 2020 (12) and 2019 (5). 2020 was a great year for publishing and I hope that those books are still discovered and read and remembered as good new things about this year.

If any book ever catches your interest, I hope you follow through in finding a way to acquire and read it - check out my reviews (I write a review for every book I read) and let me know what you’re reading these days. Read on!

My top 3 reads from 2020:

Favorite Fiction:

The Glass Hotel

Luster

All Adults Here

Favorite NonFiction:

Eat a Peach

Ask For More

Uncanny Valley

Honorable Mentions:

Leave The World Behind

Run Studio Run

Writers & Lovers

[peterwknox]

So, what a decade this last week has been - right? I’m working on what’s to-be my first personal email newsletter, to go out tomorrow. Sign up here: http://bit.ly/PWKmail to get it.

Just experiencing what this last week has been like over social media, it’s clearer to me than ever that this platform isn’t the right fit. Let’s get back to letters. Hope you’ll join me.

[peterwknox]

[peterwknox]

Think about why it’s illegal to hire a hit man.

All you’re really doing is speaking and giving someone money.

It’s legal to speak.

It’s legal to give someone money.

Even if they actually complete the job, you’re not the one who committed the murder.

So why is it illegal to hire a hit man?

Could it be because inciting violence is not protected under free speech?

And if that’s the case, why should free speech protect Nazis advocating genocide?

[peterwknox]

[peterwknox]

[peterwknox]