I noted recently that I have already read as many books this year–and it’s just the start of November–as I did last year.

How do I keep track? First, I have a book blog: Random Reading.

Second, I (of COURSE, because I am a GEEK) keep an Excel file tracking the number of books I read to compare over time.

But what I didn’t have (UNTIL TODAY!) was consolidated data on what kind of books I’ve been reading. I’ve never read many hardback books (too heavy and too expensive), and I’ve always preferred mass market paperback books to trade paperback books (too heavy), but although I knew I was reading a large proportion of eBooks, I wasn’t aware just how my reading habits had changed.

So I went through my book blog and my book database and tallied the kinds of books I read each year.

I have to admit I am completely shocked by the trends.

So far this year, I have read the same number of eBooks as I did mass market paperback books in 2010 (the last year I did not own an eReader): 80.

The number of hardback books has remained fairly constant, which is not a surprise.

The number of trade paperbacks has declined as well, but I always read fewer trade paperbacks than I did mass market paperbacks, again, because they’re heavier and more uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time.

Interestingly, this year might not even beat my previous high, which was set in 2006, when I read 164 books in a single year, but you can see that I’ve been pretty consistent in how much I read.

(I only have numbers for part of 2003, because July 2003 was when I started my book blog, and I didn’t always blog every book at first.)

But getting back to the types of book I read, I was initially surprised at how many eBooks I’ve read, but then after some consideration, decided I should have noticed this trend earlier. First, I try to always have a book with me. But with eReaders, I have access to my entire electronic library ON MY CELL PHONE. That means I don’t have to carry a book or even an eReader, I just need to pull out my phone, which I always have with me.

There are a non-zero number of occasions where I’ve had an unexpected wait, started reading a book on my phone, and then when I got home, took up right where I left off on my Kindle.

Second, when I travel, I no longer have to haul along a bag of books I might possibly want to read. The convenience of carrying a single eReader instead of three to ten paperback books is tremendous. Especially since we now have to pay for all carry-on luggage on planes.

Third, my kindle is about the same weight as a mass market paperback book. And much lighter than a trade paperback or hardback book. I’m not certain, but I think I’m reading more new releases, since I don’t have to wait for them to come out in mass market paperback.

So how do I think this affects authors?

First, I’ve bought some books that I have in hardback–or even paperback–in eBook format. Some of these were favorites, but others were books I had been wanting to read, but only had in hardback, so the books were sitting on my shelf collecting dust. Yes, if I already own a copy of a book, I’m probably going to wait until I find it on sale to buy that eBook, but then I already own the book, so this is just bonus money the author is getting from me, since I already paid for the book once.

Second, as I said, I think I’ve increased the number of newer releases I read, because I no longer have to wait until a book comes out in mass market paperback.

Third–and most importantly to me–there are more and more short stories and novellas available for just a few dollars or even for free. Not only am I willing to pay a dollar or two for a short story, I’ve also read several free short stories that have lead me to purchase books by that author (Lish McBride and Jennifer Estep are two major beneficiaries of that trend.)

So it seems to me, from my reading trends, that eBooks are a good thing for authors. I’m buying books sooner, occasionally buying multiple versions of a book, and buying plenty of new authors I’ve been introduced to through free short stories/novellas.

The bad thing about this, is I now see that I have a NEW Excel file I’ll need to maintain, to see if these trends continue to change over time.

(That huge peak in July 2004? I had the flu and read the entire Spenser series just over a week. June 2010? Broken ankle. May 2006? I have no idea.)