**2012 A reading year(Best reads and stats)**
CharlasClub Read 2012
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2baswood
Here are some stats for my reading in 2012:
Total Books Read 60
Fiction 29
Non fiction 31
Non fiction categories: History 5, Literary criticism 4, Letters 3, Poetry 4, Biography 3 Others 12.
I did not read so many books this year compared to 2011 when I read over 90,
Authors
50 male, 10 female
46 different authors of which 36 were new to me
Books by the same author:
Patrick White 10
Machiavelli 4
John Gardner 2
D H Lawrence 2
I am not surprised by the gender in balance because a good chunk of my reading was centered on the Renaissance, when there were few female authors published.
Country of Origin
England 22
U. S. A. 10
Italy 13
Australia 11
Japan 1
Switzerland 1
France 1
Poland 1
Books translated to modern English 19
The high number of books from Australia reflects my Patrick White author read and those from Italy are the result of my Italian renaissance reading. I was surprised by the number of books that I read in translation; which were nearly one third of my total.
Ratings
5 stars 17
4.5 stars 5
4 stars 23
3.5 stars 10
3 stars 3
2 stars 2
I was pleased to see so many 5 and 4 star reads, which probably demonstrates I am being more discerning in my choice of reading. My book club selections over which I have only limited control also proved to be pretty good this year, as of the 14 books selected 10 of them were 4 or 5 star reads.
How I selected my books
My book club selections 14
Library thing Group reads and challenges 13
Club read recommendations 5
My own project reading 22
On a whim 6
Century in which books were originally published
21st 11
20th 28
19th 5
16th 4
15th 9
14th 3
Total Books Read 60
Fiction 29
Non fiction 31
Non fiction categories: History 5, Literary criticism 4, Letters 3, Poetry 4, Biography 3 Others 12.
I did not read so many books this year compared to 2011 when I read over 90,
Authors
50 male, 10 female
46 different authors of which 36 were new to me
Books by the same author:
Patrick White 10
Machiavelli 4
John Gardner 2
D H Lawrence 2
I am not surprised by the gender in balance because a good chunk of my reading was centered on the Renaissance, when there were few female authors published.
Country of Origin
England 22
U. S. A. 10
Italy 13
Australia 11
Japan 1
Switzerland 1
France 1
Poland 1
Books translated to modern English 19
The high number of books from Australia reflects my Patrick White author read and those from Italy are the result of my Italian renaissance reading. I was surprised by the number of books that I read in translation; which were nearly one third of my total.
Ratings
5 stars 17
4.5 stars 5
4 stars 23
3.5 stars 10
3 stars 3
2 stars 2
I was pleased to see so many 5 and 4 star reads, which probably demonstrates I am being more discerning in my choice of reading. My book club selections over which I have only limited control also proved to be pretty good this year, as of the 14 books selected 10 of them were 4 or 5 star reads.
How I selected my books
My book club selections 14
Library thing Group reads and challenges 13
Club read recommendations 5
My own project reading 22
On a whim 6
Century in which books were originally published
21st 11
20th 28
19th 5
16th 4
15th 9
14th 3
3baswood
Here is a list of my best reads this year
5 star reads:
North and South: Elizabeth Gaskell
Villon: selected poems Francois Villon
Moby Dick: Herman Melville
Beginnings of Western Science David C Lindberg
The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald
The Poetry of Petrarch
The Paston Letters
Tree of Man: Patrick White
Voss: Patrick White
The Vivisector:Patrick White
The Twyborn Affair: Patrick White
On Painting: Leon Battista Alberti
Lady Chatterley's Lover D H Lawrence
The Prince, Machiavelli
Utopia: Thomas More
Patrick White: A Life David Marr
Machiavelli and his friends; their personal correspondence
From this list it is too difficult to select a favourite read especially from the fiction and so I will list three:
Moby-Dick, The Vivisector, and Lady Chatterley's lover all of which were re-reads for me this year. It just goes to show that favourite reads get better all the time.
My reading of Italian renaissance literature did uncover a couple of gems:
Novellino of Masuccio by Salernitano Massucio which were short stories very much in the mould of Boccaccio's Decameron, but perhaps even more risque and an absolute delight
Baiae by Giovani Giovano Pontano - a collection of 15th century poems celebrating the hedonistic life style of the public baths at Baiae; a renaissance pleasure palace on the coast near Naples.
The five star list includes a couple of books that I am still reading, but will finish before the end of the year:
The Twyborn Affair by Patrick White, which is his last major novel and I am thinking he might have saved his best till last.
Machiavelli and his friends: Their Personal correspondence. I have previously read a selection of Machiavellis letters, but this new book includes letters written to Machiavelli and so immediately you get a much fuller picture of the issues that absorbed these renaissance men and women.
The worst books I read were:
The selected writings of Christine de Pizan This was because of the awful publication in the Norton Critical edition which included in error a selection from William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying
Black Cherry Blues by James Lee Burke, which I wish had included a selection in error from almost any other writer.
Most over hyped books of the year:
The sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
A visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Both of these were well written entertaining reads but were ultimately vacuous, certainly not worthy of the plaudits they received.
5 star reads:
North and South: Elizabeth Gaskell
Villon: selected poems Francois Villon
Moby Dick: Herman Melville
Beginnings of Western Science David C Lindberg
The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald
The Poetry of Petrarch
The Paston Letters
Tree of Man: Patrick White
Voss: Patrick White
The Vivisector:Patrick White
The Twyborn Affair: Patrick White
On Painting: Leon Battista Alberti
Lady Chatterley's Lover D H Lawrence
The Prince, Machiavelli
Utopia: Thomas More
Patrick White: A Life David Marr
Machiavelli and his friends; their personal correspondence
From this list it is too difficult to select a favourite read especially from the fiction and so I will list three:
Moby-Dick, The Vivisector, and Lady Chatterley's lover all of which were re-reads for me this year. It just goes to show that favourite reads get better all the time.
My reading of Italian renaissance literature did uncover a couple of gems:
Novellino of Masuccio by Salernitano Massucio which were short stories very much in the mould of Boccaccio's Decameron, but perhaps even more risque and an absolute delight
Baiae by Giovani Giovano Pontano - a collection of 15th century poems celebrating the hedonistic life style of the public baths at Baiae; a renaissance pleasure palace on the coast near Naples.
The five star list includes a couple of books that I am still reading, but will finish before the end of the year:
The Twyborn Affair by Patrick White, which is his last major novel and I am thinking he might have saved his best till last.
Machiavelli and his friends: Their Personal correspondence. I have previously read a selection of Machiavellis letters, but this new book includes letters written to Machiavelli and so immediately you get a much fuller picture of the issues that absorbed these renaissance men and women.
The worst books I read were:
The selected writings of Christine de Pizan This was because of the awful publication in the Norton Critical edition which included in error a selection from William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying
Black Cherry Blues by James Lee Burke, which I wish had included a selection in error from almost any other writer.
Most over hyped books of the year:
The sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
A visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Both of these were well written entertaining reads but were ultimately vacuous, certainly not worthy of the plaudits they received.
4edwinbcn
Here are some stats for my reading in 2012:
Total Books Read 155
Fiction 107
Non fiction 48
Non fiction categories: History 6, Literary criticism 5, Letters 3, Poetry 6, (Auto-) Biography 14 Travel 7, Others 7.
I did not read so many books this year compared to 2011 when I read over 178,
Authors
97 male, 36 female
137 different authors of which 90 were new to me
Books by the same author:
Virginia Woolf: 2
E. M. Delafield 3
William Cooper 2
Beryl Bainbridge 2
Hugh Walpole 2
C. S. Lewis 3
John Steinbeck 4
Umberto Eco 2
Jamaica Kincaid 2
Rabindranath Tagore 2
Haruki Murakami 2
Yukio Mishima 2
Andy Warhol 2
Arnold Bennett 2
Peter Bichsel 2
Luise Rinser 2
Languages (i.e. language of the book)
English 115
German 21
Dutch 20
French 1
Country of Origin
England 48
U. S. A. 44
the Netherlands 16
Belgium 5
Australia 2
New Zealand 2
Canada 4
Germany 14
Switzerland 5
Austria 1
France 2
India 3
Japan 4
China 2
Italy 2
Portugal 1
Czech Rep. 1
Ratings
5 stars 4
4.5 stars 12
4 stars 42
3.5 stars 34
3 stars 20
2.5 stars 22
2 stars 8
1.5 stars 9
1 star 6
.5 star 4
Century in which books were originally published
21st 46
20th 108
19th 8
17th 1
16th
15th
14th
Total Books Read 155
Fiction 107
Non fiction 48
Non fiction categories: History 6, Literary criticism 5, Letters 3, Poetry 6, (Auto-) Biography 14 Travel 7, Others 7.
I did not read so many books this year compared to 2011 when I read over 178,
Authors
97 male, 36 female
137 different authors of which 90 were new to me
Books by the same author:
Virginia Woolf: 2
E. M. Delafield 3
William Cooper 2
Beryl Bainbridge 2
Hugh Walpole 2
C. S. Lewis 3
John Steinbeck 4
Umberto Eco 2
Jamaica Kincaid 2
Rabindranath Tagore 2
Haruki Murakami 2
Yukio Mishima 2
Andy Warhol 2
Arnold Bennett 2
Peter Bichsel 2
Luise Rinser 2
Languages (i.e. language of the book)
English 115
German 21
Dutch 20
French 1
Country of Origin
England 48
U. S. A. 44
the Netherlands 16
Belgium 5
Australia 2
New Zealand 2
Canada 4
Germany 14
Switzerland 5
Austria 1
France 2
India 3
Japan 4
China 2
Italy 2
Portugal 1
Czech Rep. 1
Ratings
5 stars 4
4.5 stars 12
4 stars 42
3.5 stars 34
3 stars 20
2.5 stars 22
2 stars 8
1.5 stars 9
1 star 6
.5 star 4
Century in which books were originally published
21st 46
20th 108
19th 8
17th 1
16th
15th
14th
5edwinbcn
Here is a list of my best reads this year
5 star reads:
The water theatre: by Lindsay Clarke
Scenes from Provincial Life: by William Cooper
Rogue Herries: by Hugh Walpole
Moby-Dick, or The whale: by Herman Melville
4.5 star reads:
You went away: by Timothy Findley
The apple tree: by John Galsworthy
The string of pearls: by Thomas Preskett Prest
Work and other Sins. Life in New York City and thereabouts: by Charlie LeDuff
The hills of Adonis. A journey in Lebanon: by Colin Thubron
The driver's seat: by Muriel Spark
Up at the villa: by W. Somerset Maugham
Maurice, or The fisher's cot: by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Stray birds: by Rabindranath Tagore
The acts of King Arthur and his noble knights: by John Steinbeck
1Q84. Books 1, 2 & 3: by Haruki Murakami
China 2020. How Western business can - and should - influence social and political change in the coming decade: by Michael A. Santoro
5 star reads:
The water theatre: by Lindsay Clarke
Scenes from Provincial Life: by William Cooper
Rogue Herries: by Hugh Walpole
Moby-Dick, or The whale: by Herman Melville
4.5 star reads:
You went away: by Timothy Findley
The apple tree: by John Galsworthy
The string of pearls: by Thomas Preskett Prest
Work and other Sins. Life in New York City and thereabouts: by Charlie LeDuff
The hills of Adonis. A journey in Lebanon: by Colin Thubron
The driver's seat: by Muriel Spark
Up at the villa: by W. Somerset Maugham
Maurice, or The fisher's cot: by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Stray birds: by Rabindranath Tagore
The acts of King Arthur and his noble knights: by John Steinbeck
1Q84. Books 1, 2 & 3: by Haruki Murakami
China 2020. How Western business can - and should - influence social and political change in the coming decade: by Michael A. Santoro
6stretch
Vitals:
Total Number of Books = 36 (Pace = 3.00)
TBR Status = 3.2 % increase (95 books last year)
Author Demographics:
Country of Origin:
5 = 3
4.5 = 3
4 = 9
3.5 = 5
3 = 6
2.5 = 4
2 = 3
1.5 = 1
Average = 3.40
42.9 % Rated 4 stars or higher
31.4 % Rated between 3 & 4 stare
22.9 % Rated below 3 stars
Favorites of 2012:
The Stones Cry Out by Hikaru Okuizumi
Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary
Radioactive by Lauren Redniss
The two best Fiction books this year for me were Taiko and In the Shadow of the Banyan. It was hard to eliminate one sense they are so very different and were great reads for different reasons.
I think Radioactive is my undisputed best for non-fiction, because it's such an innovative way to tell a biography.
Total Number of Books = 36 (Pace = 3.00)
Fiction = 17Total Number of Pages = 10,300 (Average = 286)
Non-Fiction = 13
Other = 6
TBR Status = 3.2 % increase (95 books last year)
Author Demographics:
Male = 25More than 1 book: Joe Hill (3), Ed Brubaker (2)
Female = 6
Mixed = 2
New to Me = 28
Country of Origin:
U.S. = 18Publication Year:
Japan = 8
U.K. = 4
Cambodia = 1
Afganistan = 1
Denmark = 1
2010+ = 14Ratings:
2000-2010 = 11
1990-2000 = 3
1980-1990 = 0
Pre-1980 = 8
5 = 3
4.5 = 3
4 = 9
3.5 = 5
3 = 6
2.5 = 4
2 = 3
1.5 = 1
Average = 3.40
42.9 % Rated 4 stars or higher
31.4 % Rated between 3 & 4 stare
22.9 % Rated below 3 stars
Favorites of 2012:
The Stones Cry Out by Hikaru Okuizumi
Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary
Radioactive by Lauren Redniss
The two best Fiction books this year for me were Taiko and In the Shadow of the Banyan. It was hard to eliminate one sense they are so very different and were great reads for different reasons.
I think Radioactive is my undisputed best for non-fiction, because it's such an innovative way to tell a biography.
7rebeccanyc
Reserving the right to make changes if necessary!
Statistics
Overall Statistics
Total Read: 110
Fiction: 90 (82%)/Nonfiction: 20 (18%)
Male authors: 82 (75%)/Female authors: 28 (25%)
Note: This statistic was skewed by my reading 13 books by Andrea Camilleri, 6 by Emile Zola, and 6 by Robertson Davies.
Books read within a year of my acquiring them: 98 (89%)/Books on TBR longer than a year: 12 (11%)
Authors new to me: 41
Books read because of LT recommendations: 17
Books from the 21st century: 35/ Books from the 20th century: 45/ Books from before the 20th century: 30
Country of Author
USA 13 fiction/13 nonfiction
Canada 7
England 8
Italy 13 (all Camilleris)
France 9
Russia 5
Poland 3
Austria, Croatia, Greece, Iceland, Serbia, and Yiddish 1 each
Mexico 1
Peru 1
Cuba 1
Kenya 2
Zimbabwe 2
Cameroon 1
Egypt 4
Iran 1
Japan 10 (Author Theme Reads focus)
China 2
India 1
Burma/Myanmar 1
Discoveries
Jerzy Andrzejewski
Beryl Bainbridge
Andrea Camilleri
Tsitsi Dangarembga
Dorothy Hughes
Victor Lavalle
Edith Pearlman
Emile Zola
Statistics
Overall Statistics
Total Read: 110
Fiction: 90 (82%)/Nonfiction: 20 (18%)
Male authors: 82 (75%)/Female authors: 28 (25%)
Note: This statistic was skewed by my reading 13 books by Andrea Camilleri, 6 by Emile Zola, and 6 by Robertson Davies.
Books read within a year of my acquiring them: 98 (89%)/Books on TBR longer than a year: 12 (11%)
Authors new to me: 41
Books read because of LT recommendations: 17
Books from the 21st century: 35/ Books from the 20th century: 45/ Books from before the 20th century: 30
Country of Author
USA 13 fiction/13 nonfiction
Canada 7
England 8
Italy 13 (all Camilleris)
France 9
Russia 5
Poland 3
Austria, Croatia, Greece, Iceland, Serbia, and Yiddish 1 each
Mexico 1
Peru 1
Cuba 1
Kenya 2
Zimbabwe 2
Cameroon 1
Egypt 4
Iran 1
Japan 10 (Author Theme Reads focus)
China 2
India 1
Burma/Myanmar 1
Discoveries
Jerzy Andrzejewski
Beryl Bainbridge
Andrea Camilleri
Tsitsi Dangarembga
Dorothy Hughes
Victor Lavalle
Edith Pearlman
Emile Zola
8rebeccanyc
Again reserving the right to make changes! Lists are not in any particular order.
Fiction
The Best of the Best: Contemporary
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
The Colonel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi
The Devil in Silver by Victor Lavalle
Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman
GB84 by David Peace
Red Sorghum by Mo Yan
The Best of the Best: Classics
The Monk by M. G. Lewis
Jack Sheppard by William Harrison Ainsworth
Germinal, L'Assommoir, The Kill and Nana by Emile Zola
The Expendable Man and In a Lonely Place by Dorothy Hughes
White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
The Cornish Trilogy and The Salterton Trilogy by Robertson Davies
The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier
The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Fiction: Most Fun Reads (some overlap with other categories)
Jack Sheppard by William Harrison Ainsworth
The Monk by M. G. Lewis
13 Inspector Montalbano mysteries by Andrea Camilleri
World War Z by Max Brooks
Fiction: The Best of the Rest
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Big Machine by Victor Lavalle
Moving Parts by Magdalena Tulli
The Birthday Boys, Master Georgie, and Every Man for Himself by Beryl Bainbridge
13 Inspector Montalbano mysteries by Andrea Camilleri
A Tomb for Boris Davidovich by Danilo Kis
Ashes and Diamonds by Jerzy Andrejewski
The Ermine of Czernopol by Gregor von Rezzori
Nonfiction
Nonfiction: The Best of the Best
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Memoirs of a Revolutionary by Victor Serge
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
Nonfiction: The Best or the Rest
The Stammering Century by Gilbert Seldes
Iron Curtain by Anne Alexander
The Story of America and The Mansion of Happiness by Jill Lepore
To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson
Still More Categories
Disappointments
Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins
Vlad by Carlos Fuentes
The Dream of the Celt by Mario Vargas Llosa
Duds
How to Write a Sentence by Stanley Fish
The First Crusade: The Call from the East by Peter Frankopan
Vesuvius by Gillian Darley
And, finally, if I had to pick just five . . .well, make that six (but this is just how I feel at this moment!)
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Memoirs of a Revolutionary by Victor Serge
Germinal by Emile Zola
The Expendable Man by Dorothy Hughes
White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Fiction
The Best of the Best: Contemporary
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
The Colonel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi
The Devil in Silver by Victor Lavalle
Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman
GB84 by David Peace
Red Sorghum by Mo Yan
The Best of the Best: Classics
The Monk by M. G. Lewis
Jack Sheppard by William Harrison Ainsworth
Germinal, L'Assommoir, The Kill and Nana by Emile Zola
The Expendable Man and In a Lonely Place by Dorothy Hughes
White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
The Cornish Trilogy and The Salterton Trilogy by Robertson Davies
The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier
The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Fiction: Most Fun Reads (some overlap with other categories)
Jack Sheppard by William Harrison Ainsworth
The Monk by M. G. Lewis
13 Inspector Montalbano mysteries by Andrea Camilleri
World War Z by Max Brooks
Fiction: The Best of the Rest
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Big Machine by Victor Lavalle
Moving Parts by Magdalena Tulli
The Birthday Boys, Master Georgie, and Every Man for Himself by Beryl Bainbridge
13 Inspector Montalbano mysteries by Andrea Camilleri
A Tomb for Boris Davidovich by Danilo Kis
Ashes and Diamonds by Jerzy Andrejewski
The Ermine of Czernopol by Gregor von Rezzori
Nonfiction
Nonfiction: The Best of the Best
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Memoirs of a Revolutionary by Victor Serge
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
Nonfiction: The Best or the Rest
The Stammering Century by Gilbert Seldes
Iron Curtain by Anne Alexander
The Story of America and The Mansion of Happiness by Jill Lepore
To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson
Still More Categories
Disappointments
Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins
Vlad by Carlos Fuentes
The Dream of the Celt by Mario Vargas Llosa
Duds
How to Write a Sentence by Stanley Fish
The First Crusade: The Call from the East by Peter Frankopan
Vesuvius by Gillian Darley
And, finally, if I had to pick just five . . .well, make that six (but this is just how I feel at this moment!)
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Memoirs of a Revolutionary by Victor Serge
Germinal by Emile Zola
The Expendable Man by Dorothy Hughes
White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
9dchaikin
Editing for a book finished Dec 23 and another Dec 29. i'm pretty sure that will do it.
Total Books Read 68
Fiction 19 (3 were juvenile level)
Non-fiction 18
**History 4, (auto) Biography 4, Bible-related 3, Journalism 2, Practical 2, Juvenile 2, travel 1
Others 31
**Poetry 6, Literary Reviews 8, Graphic 9, books of the Bible 8
That’s 13 more than I’ve read in any previous year.
Authors (excluding literary reviews, the bible, an anthology, a re-read and one other. That leaves 48 books)
Male 29, Female 20
41 different authors
Books by the same author
Enid Shomer 3
Jeanne Birdsall 3
Larry Gonick 3
Linda Grant 2
Keiji Nakazawa 2
By far the closest my ratio has ever come to 50/50. Who knew?
Country of Origin
United States 34
Ancient Israel 8
United Kingdom 6
Israel 4
Japan 2
1 each from the Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Soviet Union, Germany/Romania
Not very global
Ratings
5 stars 15
4.5 stars 3
4 stars 3
3.5 stars 3
3 stars 6
2.5 stars 2
Not rated: 30
Century published
21st 35
20th 23
19th 2
BCE 8
Total Books Read 68
Fiction 19 (3 were juvenile level)
Non-fiction 18
**History 4, (auto) Biography 4, Bible-related 3, Journalism 2, Practical 2, Juvenile 2, travel 1
Others 31
**Poetry 6, Literary Reviews 8, Graphic 9, books of the Bible 8
That’s 13 more than I’ve read in any previous year.
Authors (excluding literary reviews, the bible, an anthology, a re-read and one other. That leaves 48 books)
Male 29, Female 20
41 different authors
Books by the same author
Enid Shomer 3
Jeanne Birdsall 3
Larry Gonick 3
Linda Grant 2
Keiji Nakazawa 2
By far the closest my ratio has ever come to 50/50. Who knew?
Country of Origin
United States 34
Ancient Israel 8
United Kingdom 6
Israel 4
Japan 2
1 each from the Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Soviet Union, Germany/Romania
Not very global
Ratings
5 stars 15
4.5 stars 3
4 stars 3
3.5 stars 3
3 stars 6
2.5 stars 2
Not rated: 30
Century published
21st 35
20th 23
19th 2
BCE 8
10dchaikin
Favorites
1. Moby Dick – Herman Melville
2. The Master and Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov
3. When I Lived in Modern Times – Linda Grant
4. Just Kids – Patti Smith
5. Poetry : October-November 1987 (75th Anniversary)
6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln – Doris Kearns Goodwin
More great non-fiction
1. The Bible Unearthed – Israel Finkelstein & Neil Asher Silberman
2. Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible – Karel van der Toorn
1. Moby Dick – Herman Melville
2. The Master and Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov
3. When I Lived in Modern Times – Linda Grant
4. Just Kids – Patti Smith
5. Poetry : October-November 1987 (75th Anniversary)
6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln – Doris Kearns Goodwin
More great non-fiction
1. The Bible Unearthed – Israel Finkelstein & Neil Asher Silberman
2. Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible – Karel van der Toorn
11petermc
Some (brief, but meaningless) stats...
Total Books Read 31 (should be able to squeeze in 1 more)
Fiction 2
Non fiction 29
Now for the meat... The books that really stand out in my memory!
Biography
Winston S. Churchill: Youth 1874-1900 by Randolph S. Churchill
Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro
The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro
Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir by A.E. Hotchner
Automotive
Once Upon a Car: The Fall and Resurrection of America's Big Three Auto Makers--GM, Ford, and Chrysler by Bill Vlasic
American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company by Bryce G. Hoffman
British History
1066: the Hidden History of the Bayeux Tapestry by Andrew Bridgeford
Bosworth 1485: The Psychology of a Battle by Michael K. Jones
Culture
Lovesick Japan: Sex, Marriage, Romance, Law by Mark D. West
Total Books Read 31 (should be able to squeeze in 1 more)
Fiction 2
Non fiction 29
Now for the meat... The books that really stand out in my memory!
Biography
Winston S. Churchill: Youth 1874-1900 by Randolph S. Churchill
Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro
The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro
Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir by A.E. Hotchner
Automotive
Once Upon a Car: The Fall and Resurrection of America's Big Three Auto Makers--GM, Ford, and Chrysler by Bill Vlasic
American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company by Bryce G. Hoffman
British History
1066: the Hidden History of the Bayeux Tapestry by Andrew Bridgeford
Bosworth 1485: The Psychology of a Battle by Michael K. Jones
Culture
Lovesick Japan: Sex, Marriage, Romance, Law by Mark D. West
12Rise
Some reading stats:
79 books read in 2012 -- 63 fiction (41 novels, 14 graphic, 8 short story collections), 8 poetry, 7 nonfiction, 1 mixed
65 books by male writers, 14 by female writers
42 translations (including bilingual editions) -- 20 from Japanese, 11 from Spanish, 5 from German, 3 from Tagalog, 2 from French, 1 from Swedish
37 in original language -- 18 Tagalog, 16 English, 2 mixed, 1 no language (silent graphic)
Top reads:
1. The Aesthetics of Resistance, volume 1, by Peter Weiss
2. The Box Man by Abé Kobo
3. The Gold in Makiling by Macario Pineda - translation of Ang Ginto sa Makiling
4. Laughing Wolf by Tsushima Yūko
5. Luha ng Buwaya (Tears of the Crocodile) by Amado V. Hernandez
6. Maganda pa ang Daigdig (The World Is Wondrous Still) by Lazaro Francisco
7. Mandarins, stories by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke
8. Sa Aking Panahon (In My Time) by Edgardo M. Reyes
9. Style F. L. Lucas (3rd ed.)
10. Trilce by César Vallejo, trans. Michael Smith and Valentino Gianuzzi
79 books read in 2012 -- 63 fiction (41 novels, 14 graphic, 8 short story collections), 8 poetry, 7 nonfiction, 1 mixed
65 books by male writers, 14 by female writers
42 translations (including bilingual editions) -- 20 from Japanese, 11 from Spanish, 5 from German, 3 from Tagalog, 2 from French, 1 from Swedish
37 in original language -- 18 Tagalog, 16 English, 2 mixed, 1 no language (silent graphic)
Top reads:
1. The Aesthetics of Resistance, volume 1, by Peter Weiss
2. The Box Man by Abé Kobo
3. The Gold in Makiling by Macario Pineda - translation of Ang Ginto sa Makiling
4. Laughing Wolf by Tsushima Yūko
5. Luha ng Buwaya (Tears of the Crocodile) by Amado V. Hernandez
6. Maganda pa ang Daigdig (The World Is Wondrous Still) by Lazaro Francisco
7. Mandarins, stories by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke
8. Sa Aking Panahon (In My Time) by Edgardo M. Reyes
9. Style F. L. Lucas (3rd ed.)
10. Trilce by César Vallejo, trans. Michael Smith and Valentino Gianuzzi
14StevenTX
My reading statistics (subject to change as I expect to finish 3 more by the end of the year):
Summary
131 - works read
(down from 146 last year--a surprise since I thought I had read more)
By Type
113 - novels
5 - plays
9 - short story collections
3 - epic verse and prose poems
1 - non-fiction
(definitely need to read more non-fiction)
Authors
97 - different authors
58 - first-time authors (60%)
69 - male (71%)
26 - female (27%)
4 - anonymous, unknown or mixed
(percentage of female isn't bad considering my yearlong focus on Japanese and Chinese literature where female authors are few)
Authors with 3 or More Books Read
6 - Ryu Murakami
4 - Patrick White
4 - Shusaku Endo
3 - Kobo Abe
3 - Tobias Smollett
3 - Umberto Eco
(influence of group reads and themes shows here)
Authors by Country of Origin (top 5)
18 - England
16 - United States
9 - China
8 - Japan
7 - France
Works by Original Language (top 5)
60 - English
20 - Japanese
10 - Chinese
10 - Spanish
8 - French
(55% of my reading was of works in translation)
Works by Century of First Publication
10 - Pre-18th century
4 - 18th century
12 - 19th century
80 - 20th century
20 - 21st century
(I read at least one book per decade from the 1840s to the 2010s)
5-Star Books
Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai'An
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en
A Mind at Peace by Ahmet Tanpinar
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Tree of Man by Patrick White
4 1/2-Star Books
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Red Sorghum by Mo Yan
The Empty Book by Josefina Vicens
Some Prefer Nettles by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki
The Vivisector by Patrick White
The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker by Tobias Smollett
Voss by Patrick White
The Wind-Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
The Investigation by Philippe Claudel
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Summary
131 - works read
(down from 146 last year--a surprise since I thought I had read more)
By Type
113 - novels
5 - plays
9 - short story collections
3 - epic verse and prose poems
1 - non-fiction
(definitely need to read more non-fiction)
Authors
97 - different authors
58 - first-time authors (60%)
69 - male (71%)
26 - female (27%)
4 - anonymous, unknown or mixed
(percentage of female isn't bad considering my yearlong focus on Japanese and Chinese literature where female authors are few)
Authors with 3 or More Books Read
6 - Ryu Murakami
4 - Patrick White
4 - Shusaku Endo
3 - Kobo Abe
3 - Tobias Smollett
3 - Umberto Eco
(influence of group reads and themes shows here)
Authors by Country of Origin (top 5)
18 - England
16 - United States
9 - China
8 - Japan
7 - France
Works by Original Language (top 5)
60 - English
20 - Japanese
10 - Chinese
10 - Spanish
8 - French
(55% of my reading was of works in translation)
Works by Century of First Publication
10 - Pre-18th century
4 - 18th century
12 - 19th century
80 - 20th century
20 - 21st century
(I read at least one book per decade from the 1840s to the 2010s)
5-Star Books
Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai'An
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en
A Mind at Peace by Ahmet Tanpinar
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Tree of Man by Patrick White
4 1/2-Star Books
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Red Sorghum by Mo Yan
The Empty Book by Josefina Vicens
Some Prefer Nettles by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki
The Vivisector by Patrick White
The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker by Tobias Smollett
Voss by Patrick White
The Wind-Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
The Investigation by Philippe Claudel
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
15dmsteyn
Total Books Read 70
Fiction 36
Poetry 7
Non-fiction 27
I’ve been trying to read more poetry, so I’m quite happy to have read more of it than last year.
Authors
64 male, 6 female
Quite surprised by this ratio, as I don’t have any problems with reading female authors. Something to address next year.
Country of Origin
UK 33
USA 17
South Africa 5
Germany 3
France 3
Canada 3
Australia 2
Russia 1
Italy 1
Zimbabwe 1
Unknown 1
I want to widen the net next year, but I’m glad that South Africa came in third.
Ratings
5 stars 18
4.5 stars 18
4 stars 23
3.5 stars 6
3 stars 2
2.5 stars 3
The high ratings are hopefully a sign of discernment, not of inflation…
Best Reads
1. The Faerie Queene – Edmund Spenser
2. The Major Works – John Keats
3. Gormenghast – Mervyn Peake (re-read)
4. The Basic Writings of Nietzsche – Friedrich Nietzsche
5. Unclay – T.F. Powys
6. Complete Poems – D.H. Lawrence
7. Paradise Lost – John Milton (re-read)
8. The Master and Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov (re-read)
9. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays – Northrop Frye
10. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad (re-read)
Fiction 36
Poetry 7
Non-fiction 27
I’ve been trying to read more poetry, so I’m quite happy to have read more of it than last year.
Authors
64 male, 6 female
Quite surprised by this ratio, as I don’t have any problems with reading female authors. Something to address next year.
Country of Origin
UK 33
USA 17
South Africa 5
Germany 3
France 3
Canada 3
Australia 2
Russia 1
Italy 1
Zimbabwe 1
Unknown 1
I want to widen the net next year, but I’m glad that South Africa came in third.
Ratings
5 stars 18
4.5 stars 18
4 stars 23
3.5 stars 6
3 stars 2
2.5 stars 3
The high ratings are hopefully a sign of discernment, not of inflation…
Best Reads
1. The Faerie Queene – Edmund Spenser
2. The Major Works – John Keats
3. Gormenghast – Mervyn Peake (re-read)
4. The Basic Writings of Nietzsche – Friedrich Nietzsche
5. Unclay – T.F. Powys
6. Complete Poems – D.H. Lawrence
7. Paradise Lost – John Milton (re-read)
8. The Master and Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov (re-read)
9. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays – Northrop Frye
10. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad (re-read)
16japaul22
I think I am working on my final two books of the year, so I'll include them in these stats and post my end of the year stats and likes/dislikes. It's been a great reading year!
Book stats:
Total books: 75
Fiction-59, non fiction-16
Male authors - 28, Female authors - 47
Non-American/Canadian/British-12
New to me authors- 45
Pages read- 30069 total = 2506 a month = 82 a day
Written in:
1600s - 1 book
1700s - 2 books
1800s - 13 books
1900-1949 - 10 books
1950s-1999 - 19 books
2000-2009 - 8 books
2010-present - 21 books
Best fiction:
5 stars
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
4.5 stars
The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtssen
The Stand by Stephen King
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Best Nonfiction:
5 stars
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
4.5 stars
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie
Worst books:
Darwin's Ghosts: the Secret History of Evolution by Rebecca Stott
The Forgetting River by Doreen Carvajal
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera
Push Has Come to Shove by Dr. Steve Perry
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
The Kundera, Pamuk, and Bronte books that I listed in my worst books list did not work for me, though I think there is enough merit in them to say that others should give them a try and not rule them out on my account.
Book stats:
Total books: 75
Fiction-59, non fiction-16
Male authors - 28, Female authors - 47
Non-American/Canadian/British-12
New to me authors- 45
Pages read- 30069 total = 2506 a month = 82 a day
Written in:
1600s - 1 book
1700s - 2 books
1800s - 13 books
1900-1949 - 10 books
1950s-1999 - 19 books
2000-2009 - 8 books
2010-present - 21 books
Best fiction:
5 stars
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
4.5 stars
The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtssen
The Stand by Stephen King
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Best Nonfiction:
5 stars
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
4.5 stars
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie
Worst books:
Darwin's Ghosts: the Secret History of Evolution by Rebecca Stott
The Forgetting River by Doreen Carvajal
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera
Push Has Come to Shove by Dr. Steve Perry
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
The Kundera, Pamuk, and Bronte books that I listed in my worst books list did not work for me, though I think there is enough merit in them to say that others should give them a try and not rule them out on my account.
17charbutton
I haven't kept my Club Read thread up to date this year, but here are my stats:
50 read so far (will edit with the final 2012 figure). This is pretty low for me, probably a sign that I'm spending too much time on my phone and ipad and watching box sets!
Female author: 30
Male author: 20
Fiction: 38
Non-fiction: 12
Short stories: 1
Graphic novel (fic & non-fic): 4
Memoir: 4
Essay: 2
Thought I'd read more memoirs than that this year. Graphic novels are interesting, I'm starting to read these on my ipad even though I have taken a moral stand against ebooks! I justify it by insisting that the pictures look great on the screen.
Translation: 7
Very low. Something I need to address in 2013.
Best reads
Tell Me How Long The Train's Been Gone by James Baldwin
The Line by Olga Grushin
The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal by Jeanette Winterson
Something Happened by Joseph Heller
Living My Life by Emma Goldman
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
Astonishing X Men by Joss Whedon
Anagrams by Lorrie Moore
Fair Play by Tove Jansson
Instead of a Letter by Diana Athill
Worst reads
The Fear Index by Robert Harris
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Nairobi Heat by Mukoma wa Ngugi
The Mother's Recompense by Edith Wharton
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
How It All Began by Penelope Lively
The Planet Dweller by Janet Palmer
50 read so far (will edit with the final 2012 figure). This is pretty low for me, probably a sign that I'm spending too much time on my phone and ipad and watching box sets!
Female author: 30
Male author: 20
Fiction: 38
Non-fiction: 12
Short stories: 1
Graphic novel (fic & non-fic): 4
Memoir: 4
Essay: 2
Thought I'd read more memoirs than that this year. Graphic novels are interesting, I'm starting to read these on my ipad even though I have taken a moral stand against ebooks! I justify it by insisting that the pictures look great on the screen.
Translation: 7
Very low. Something I need to address in 2013.
Best reads
Tell Me How Long The Train's Been Gone by James Baldwin
The Line by Olga Grushin
The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal by Jeanette Winterson
Something Happened by Joseph Heller
Living My Life by Emma Goldman
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
Astonishing X Men by Joss Whedon
Anagrams by Lorrie Moore
Fair Play by Tove Jansson
Instead of a Letter by Diana Athill
Worst reads
The Fear Index by Robert Harris
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Nairobi Heat by Mukoma wa Ngugi
The Mother's Recompense by Edith Wharton
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
How It All Began by Penelope Lively
The Planet Dweller by Janet Palmer
18wandering_star
My top ten, in no particular order:
Fiction:
Bring Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel
A Visit From The Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
The Song Of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Non-fiction:
Nothing To Envy - Barbara Demick (reportage, North Korea)
The Opium War - Julia Lovell (history)
Leviathan - Philip Hoare (whales)
Other:
Memorial - Alice Oswald - poetry, a semi-translation from the Iliad
Instead Of A Book - Diana Athill - letters (I like the fact that an earlier book of hers, Instead Of A Letter, appears further up this thread)
Watchmen - Alan Moore - a comic
Lifetime achievement award:
Reginald Hill, a writer of thrillers, whose books are always reliable and have twice got me out of reading slumps this year (the two books in question were the Austen-inflected Pictures Of Perfection and the all-in-one-day interwoven stories of Midnight Fugue)
Fiction:
Bring Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel
A Visit From The Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
The Song Of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Non-fiction:
Nothing To Envy - Barbara Demick (reportage, North Korea)
The Opium War - Julia Lovell (history)
Leviathan - Philip Hoare (whales)
Other:
Memorial - Alice Oswald - poetry, a semi-translation from the Iliad
Instead Of A Book - Diana Athill - letters (I like the fact that an earlier book of hers, Instead Of A Letter, appears further up this thread)
Watchmen - Alan Moore - a comic
Lifetime achievement award:
Reginald Hill, a writer of thrillers, whose books are always reliable and have twice got me out of reading slumps this year (the two books in question were the Austen-inflected Pictures Of Perfection and the all-in-one-day interwoven stories of Midnight Fugue)
19Nickelini
I haven't read nearly as much this year as I have over the past 5 years or so. I see that my total of number of books is the same as last year (75), but last year I read several long books.
Out of this year's 75 books:
mixed (anthology) - 1
female authors - 44
male authors - 30
audiobooks - 9 (it was a great year for audiobooks)
Non-fiction - 11 (plus 3 memoirs)
1 book about books, 1 book about geology, and I guess the rest would fall under the wide category of sociology/cultural studies. It wasn't a great year for non-fiction for me, which is probably why I read so little of it.
Different authors: 71 (I read two books by each of these authors: Charles Dickens, Margaret Atwood, Jennifer Egan and Julian Barnes.)
New to me authors: 45
Author's countries:
US - 29 (and I try to avoid US authors!)
Canada - 11
UK - 26
Australia - 3
and one each from India, Finland, Japan, Ireland, and Italy.
I don't know what country to put Abraham Verghese in. Apparently his nationality is Indian, but that just doesn't seem right.
5 star reads:
The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, Elizabeth Taylor
Border Songs, Jim Lynch
The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga
The Hiding Place, Trezza Azzopardi
Points of View, short story anthology
Cat's Table, Michael Ondaatje
Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes
The Book of Lies, Mary Horlock
4.5 stars:
Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood
Road to Urbino, Roma Tearne
Homesick, Roshi Fernando
Look at Me, Jennifer Egan
Empire Falls, Richard Russo
Flaubert's Parrot, Julian Barnes
The Preservationist, David Maine
Away, Jane Urquhart
and two 4 star reads that have stuck with me (perhaps should have rated higher?)
Hey, Nostradamus!, Douglas Coupland
We Need to Talk about Kevin, Lionel Shriver
Discoveries: I read my first Margaret Drabble, and although it didn't rate high enough to make these lists, it made me want to read more of her work. Elizabeth Taylor and Julian Barnes are two new-to-me authors who I definitely want to read more from.
Disappointments:
Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese
Cry the Beloved Country, Alan Paton
Overall, my non-fiction reading
Out of this year's 75 books:
mixed (anthology) - 1
female authors - 44
male authors - 30
audiobooks - 9 (it was a great year for audiobooks)
Non-fiction - 11 (plus 3 memoirs)
1 book about books, 1 book about geology, and I guess the rest would fall under the wide category of sociology/cultural studies. It wasn't a great year for non-fiction for me, which is probably why I read so little of it.
Different authors: 71 (I read two books by each of these authors: Charles Dickens, Margaret Atwood, Jennifer Egan and Julian Barnes.)
New to me authors: 45
Author's countries:
US - 29 (and I try to avoid US authors!)
Canada - 11
UK - 26
Australia - 3
and one each from India, Finland, Japan, Ireland, and Italy.
I don't know what country to put Abraham Verghese in. Apparently his nationality is Indian, but that just doesn't seem right.
5 star reads:
The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, Elizabeth Taylor
Border Songs, Jim Lynch
The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga
The Hiding Place, Trezza Azzopardi
Points of View, short story anthology
Cat's Table, Michael Ondaatje
Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes
The Book of Lies, Mary Horlock
4.5 stars:
Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood
Road to Urbino, Roma Tearne
Homesick, Roshi Fernando
Look at Me, Jennifer Egan
Empire Falls, Richard Russo
Flaubert's Parrot, Julian Barnes
The Preservationist, David Maine
Away, Jane Urquhart
and two 4 star reads that have stuck with me (perhaps should have rated higher?)
Hey, Nostradamus!, Douglas Coupland
We Need to Talk about Kevin, Lionel Shriver
Discoveries: I read my first Margaret Drabble, and although it didn't rate high enough to make these lists, it made me want to read more of her work. Elizabeth Taylor and Julian Barnes are two new-to-me authors who I definitely want to read more from.
Disappointments:
Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese
Cry the Beloved Country, Alan Paton
Overall, my non-fiction reading
20alphaorder
Stats:
75 books read! (Usually only hit 50 or so)
Fiction: 41
Nonfiction: 24
Poetry: 6
Books about Books: 4
Best with annotation, in no particular order:
In no particular order:
Fiction
Where'd You Go, Bernadette- smart and funny. Just a joy to read.
Glaciers - A little gem. that is all i will say. If you are a book person, you should read this.
The Fault in our Stars - poignant YA novel about teens facing cancer and friendship. Loved it.
Interventions - Would read this before Russo's Elsewhere, since the essay in this collection covers much fo the same ground. An ode to the printed book. Beautiful both inside and out.
Nonfiction
Winter Journal- A writer's look at getting older. Nicely done
The End of Your Life Book Club - This book was an unexpected treat. Love all of the book talk, but also learning about how Will's mother both lived life and faced death. Again, if you are a book person, a must read.
The Next American Revolution - An inspirational collection of essays by a legend. We don't need to give up hope during these difficult times - we just need to act.
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake - Just really enjoyed this collection about modern life by a master essayist.
The Power of Habit - The science of habit and how we can use it for good in our lives.
Poetry
A Thousand Mornings - What can be said about this collection of poetry. Just beautiful. I keep it on my bedside table.
Books about Books
My Ideal Bookshelf and Unpacking My Library - For those of you who like looking into the libraries of others, you need to own these books. Love them both.
Read This! - This book was a walk down memory lane, as many of my favorite bookstores and booksellers are here. You will be sure to add many books to your wish list. After reading Read This! I started my own list of books from my bookselling career and beyond: http://pinterest.com/nancyquinnmke/some-of-my-favorite-books/
I am sure that Dear Life would have made the list, but I haven't finished it yet. Great way to start 2013.
75 books read! (Usually only hit 50 or so)
Fiction: 41
Nonfiction: 24
Poetry: 6
Books about Books: 4
Best with annotation, in no particular order:
In no particular order:
Fiction
Where'd You Go, Bernadette- smart and funny. Just a joy to read.
Glaciers - A little gem. that is all i will say. If you are a book person, you should read this.
The Fault in our Stars - poignant YA novel about teens facing cancer and friendship. Loved it.
Interventions - Would read this before Russo's Elsewhere, since the essay in this collection covers much fo the same ground. An ode to the printed book. Beautiful both inside and out.
Nonfiction
Winter Journal- A writer's look at getting older. Nicely done
The End of Your Life Book Club - This book was an unexpected treat. Love all of the book talk, but also learning about how Will's mother both lived life and faced death. Again, if you are a book person, a must read.
The Next American Revolution - An inspirational collection of essays by a legend. We don't need to give up hope during these difficult times - we just need to act.
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake - Just really enjoyed this collection about modern life by a master essayist.
The Power of Habit - The science of habit and how we can use it for good in our lives.
Poetry
A Thousand Mornings - What can be said about this collection of poetry. Just beautiful. I keep it on my bedside table.
Books about Books
My Ideal Bookshelf and Unpacking My Library - For those of you who like looking into the libraries of others, you need to own these books. Love them both.
Read This! - This book was a walk down memory lane, as many of my favorite bookstores and booksellers are here. You will be sure to add many books to your wish list. After reading Read This! I started my own list of books from my bookselling career and beyond: http://pinterest.com/nancyquinnmke/some-of-my-favorite-books/
I am sure that Dear Life would have made the list, but I haven't finished it yet. Great way to start 2013.
21janeajones
Total Books Read 45
Fiction 35
Non fiction 3
Poetry 6
Plays 2
Time to read sort of dissipated in the last quarter of the year -- taken over by classes, grandchild, and holidays.
Authors
16 male, 29 female
Nationalities:
British: 11
American: 10
Canadian: 3
Chinese: 2
Argentine: 2
Mexican: 2
Ancient Greek: 2
Russian: 1
German: 1
Japanese: 1
Iranian: 1
Australian: 1
Emirati: 1
Libyan: 1
Ancient Egyptian: 1
Finnish: 1
Books by the same author:
A.S. Byatt: 2
Shakespeare: 2 -- Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece
Zoe Ferraris: 3 in the fascinating Katya Hijazi mystery series set in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
5 and 4 1/2 star: 7
Morality Play by Barry Unsworth: 5
Falling Man by Don DeLillo: 5
Medea by Euripides, trans. by Diane Arnson Svarlien: 5
The Polish Boxer by Eduardo Halfon: 4 1/2
Property by Valerie Martin: 4 1/2
Still Life by A.S. Byatt: 4 1/2
Purgatory by Tomas Eloy Martinez: 4 1/2
Fiction 35
Non fiction 3
Poetry 6
Plays 2
Time to read sort of dissipated in the last quarter of the year -- taken over by classes, grandchild, and holidays.
Authors
16 male, 29 female
Nationalities:
British: 11
American: 10
Canadian: 3
Chinese: 2
Argentine: 2
Mexican: 2
Ancient Greek: 2
Russian: 1
German: 1
Japanese: 1
Iranian: 1
Australian: 1
Emirati: 1
Libyan: 1
Ancient Egyptian: 1
Finnish: 1
Books by the same author:
A.S. Byatt: 2
Shakespeare: 2 -- Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece
Zoe Ferraris: 3 in the fascinating Katya Hijazi mystery series set in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
5 and 4 1/2 star: 7
Morality Play by Barry Unsworth: 5
Falling Man by Don DeLillo: 5
Medea by Euripides, trans. by Diane Arnson Svarlien: 5
The Polish Boxer by Eduardo Halfon: 4 1/2
Property by Valerie Martin: 4 1/2
Still Life by A.S. Byatt: 4 1/2
Purgatory by Tomas Eloy Martinez: 4 1/2
22SassyLassy
My worst reading year ever in terms of total books read since I learned to read.
Total: 71
Fiction: 54 books or 76.1% (too high, need more non-fiction)
Fiction in Translation: 23 books or 42.5% of the total fiction read (good balance)
Original Language: 7 Chinese
2 each: Albanian, French (Canada), Italian, Spanish
1 each: Arabic, Hebrew, Hungarian, Japanese, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Yiddish
Fiction Rereads: 3 books of the total fiction read
Non-Fiction: 17 books or 23.9%
Authors with more than 1 book read: 3 Yu Hua, 2 each Andrea Camilleri, Henry James, Ha Jin, Ismail Kadare, Hilary Mantel, Kate Morton
Best Non-Fiction: Mao's Great Famine by Frank Dikotter
Worst Non-Fiction: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Best Fiction: To Live by Yu Hua
Worst Fiction: The Autobiography of Mrs Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin (my book club made me do it)
Best Reread: Triste's History by Horacio Vazquez Rial (today's choice, all three were excellent)
Also completed Short Story Challenge: 30 Short Stories by 30 Different Authors in 30 Days
Total: 71
Fiction: 54 books or 76.1% (too high, need more non-fiction)
Fiction in Translation: 23 books or 42.5% of the total fiction read (good balance)
Original Language: 7 Chinese
2 each: Albanian, French (Canada), Italian, Spanish
1 each: Arabic, Hebrew, Hungarian, Japanese, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Yiddish
Fiction Rereads: 3 books of the total fiction read
Non-Fiction: 17 books or 23.9%
Authors with more than 1 book read: 3 Yu Hua, 2 each Andrea Camilleri, Henry James, Ha Jin, Ismail Kadare, Hilary Mantel, Kate Morton
Best Non-Fiction: Mao's Great Famine by Frank Dikotter
Worst Non-Fiction: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Best Fiction: To Live by Yu Hua
Worst Fiction: The Autobiography of Mrs Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin (my book club made me do it)
Best Reread: Triste's History by Horacio Vazquez Rial (today's choice, all three were excellent)
Also completed Short Story Challenge: 30 Short Stories by 30 Different Authors in 30 Days
23avidmom
This was my first year on Club Read and the first year I've ever really kept track of my reading.
Total: 39
Fiction 22. Eleven of these were Steinbeck books.
Non-fiction: 17. Five of those were Christian books; three were on Eva Peron and one was by John Steinbeck.
Favorite Fiction
Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, and The Book Thief are perennial favorites of mine and re-reads for me so I am excluding them from my list of faves for the year.
Silence by Shusaku Endo
Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck
Favorite Nonfiction
When I Left Home by Buddy Guy
Evita: the Real Life of Eva Peron by Nicholas Fraser
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam
Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
America and Americans by John Steinbeck
Other non-fiction books I read this year that I really enjoyed were Soldier Dogs and The Faraway Horses. Both of these are very good books in their own right, but I don't think they'll have the staying power in my brain as the "faves" listed above.
Total: 39
Fiction 22. Eleven of these were Steinbeck books.
Non-fiction: 17. Five of those were Christian books; three were on Eva Peron and one was by John Steinbeck.
Favorite Fiction
Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, and The Book Thief are perennial favorites of mine and re-reads for me so I am excluding them from my list of faves for the year.
Silence by Shusaku Endo
Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck
Favorite Nonfiction
When I Left Home by Buddy Guy
Evita: the Real Life of Eva Peron by Nicholas Fraser
Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam
Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
America and Americans by John Steinbeck
Other non-fiction books I read this year that I really enjoyed were Soldier Dogs and The Faraway Horses. Both of these are very good books in their own right, but I don't think they'll have the staying power in my brain as the "faves" listed above.
24detailmuse
2012 Summary: A good reading year.
But with 74% of my books rated by me at 3.5 stars or better, it seems it should have been a great reading year. I think I’m particularly missing fiction, and will increase that in 2013.
Total books finished: 84
Fiction: 30
Nonfiction: 41
Other (poetry; literary journals; cookbooks; travel guides): 13
Female authors: 26
Male authors: 47
Mixed: 11
Authors new-to-me: 56 (+ many more in the anthologies)
Authors with more than one book in my 2012 reads: only 1 (David Macaulay), plus 4 issues of the Bellevue Literary Review
Date acquired:
1990s: 1
2000s: 14
2010s: 69
Original publication date:
1600s: 1
1800s: 1
1910s: 1
1950s: 1
1960s: 2
1970s: 3
1980s: 2
1990s: 6
2000s: 16
2010s: 51
Ratings:
5-star: 9
4.5: 11
4: 26
3.5: 16
3: 18
2.5: 1
2: 3
1.5: 0
1: 0
0.5: 0
24% = very good to great (4.5 or 5 stars)
50% = good (3.5 to 4 stars)
Best of 2012:
Fiction
Tinkers by Paul Harding
Castle by David Macaulay
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
The F***ing Epic Twitter Quest of @MayorEmanuel by Dan Sinker
Nonfiction
'Tis by Frank McCourt
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The Oxford Project by Stephen Bloom/Peter Feldstein
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Every Love Story is a Ghost Story by D.T. Max
But with 74% of my books rated by me at 3.5 stars or better, it seems it should have been a great reading year. I think I’m particularly missing fiction, and will increase that in 2013.
Total books finished: 84
Fiction: 30
Nonfiction: 41
Other (poetry; literary journals; cookbooks; travel guides): 13
Female authors: 26
Male authors: 47
Mixed: 11
Authors new-to-me: 56 (+ many more in the anthologies)
Authors with more than one book in my 2012 reads: only 1 (David Macaulay), plus 4 issues of the Bellevue Literary Review
Date acquired:
1990s: 1
2000s: 14
2010s: 69
Original publication date:
1600s: 1
1800s: 1
1910s: 1
1950s: 1
1960s: 2
1970s: 3
1980s: 2
1990s: 6
2000s: 16
2010s: 51
Ratings:
5-star: 9
4.5: 11
4: 26
3.5: 16
3: 18
2.5: 1
2: 3
1.5: 0
1: 0
0.5: 0
24% = very good to great (4.5 or 5 stars)
50% = good (3.5 to 4 stars)
Best of 2012:
Fiction
Tinkers by Paul Harding
Castle by David Macaulay
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
The F***ing Epic Twitter Quest of @MayorEmanuel by Dan Sinker
Nonfiction
'Tis by Frank McCourt
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The Oxford Project by Stephen Bloom/Peter Feldstein
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Every Love Story is a Ghost Story by D.T. Max
25bragan
I'm afraid I'm far too lazy to compile a long list of stats, but I can report that in 2012 I read 145 books (including a couple of re-reads), and bought or otherwise acquired 322 of them, if my math is correct -- a number that is ridiculously excessive even for me. I blame library sales.
My best books of the year, going by the ratings I gave them as I read them:
Fiction:
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
Matched by Allie Condie
Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer
Doc by Mary Doria Russell
The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse by Javier Grillo-Marxuach
Planetary Vol. 4: Spacetime Archaeology by Warren Ellis
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Locke & Key Volume 5: Clockworks by Joe Hill
The Miniature Wife and Other Stories by Manuel Gonzales
Non-Fiction:
Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins
The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World by Michelle Goldberg
Uncompromised: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of an Arab American Patriot in the CIA by Nada Prouty
Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich
Lethal Warriors: When the New Band of Brothers Came Home by David Phillipps
My best books of the year, going by the ratings I gave them as I read them:
Fiction:
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
Matched by Allie Condie
Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer
Doc by Mary Doria Russell
The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse by Javier Grillo-Marxuach
Planetary Vol. 4: Spacetime Archaeology by Warren Ellis
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Locke & Key Volume 5: Clockworks by Joe Hill
The Miniature Wife and Other Stories by Manuel Gonzales
Non-Fiction:
Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins
The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World by Michelle Goldberg
Uncompromised: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of an Arab American Patriot in the CIA by Nada Prouty
Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich
Lethal Warriors: When the New Band of Brothers Came Home by David Phillipps
26avidmom
Based on your review, I sent my aunt Major Pettigrew's Last Stand to my aunt as a Christmas present! Glad to see it tops your list.
27deebee1
Total 42
Fiction 30
Non-fiction 12
Country of origin (Fiction only)
UK - 6
Germany - 2
Russia - 2
US - 2
Italy - 2
One each from these countries:
Romania
Ukraine
Austria
Holland
France
Mexico
Peru
Cuba
Uruguay
El Salvador
Chile
Guatemala
Saudi Arabia
Pakistan
Vietnam
I had a good reading year overall, not in numbers but in terms of selection of books most of which turned out to be wonderful choices. The most memorable of those are the following:
Fiction
Deep Rivers by José Maria Arguedas
The Lizard's Tail by Luisa Valenzuela
The Spell by Hermann Broch
The Edge of the Storm by Agustin Yañez
Death in Rome by Wolfgang Koeppen
Non-fiction
The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age by Simon Schama
A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin
Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth by Richard Fortey
28bragan
>26 avidmom:: It was definitely my highest-rated book of the year. I hope your aunt likes it as much as I did!
29DieFledermaus
Total books read: 115
Fiction: 74 (64.3%)
Nonfiction: 41 (35.7%)
Best NF percentage ever - need to keep doing what I was doing
Female authors: 54 (47%)
Male authors: 61 (53%)
Country of origin (fiction)
U.K. - 15
U.S. - 8
France - 8
Czech - 5
Russia - 5
Italy - 4
Japan - 4
Brazil - 3
Germany - 2
Ireland - 2
Serbia - 2
One each from - Albania, Australia, Austria, Bosnia, Canada, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Israel, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden
Need to read more non U.S./non European fiction
Authors with more than one book read - 3 by Irene Nemirovsky and Leo Perutz, 2 each by Colin Meloy, Dubravka Ugresic, Hanne Blank, Junichiro Tanizaki, Anne Applebaum, Simon Sebag Montefiore
Best books -
Fiction-
Death and the Dervish - Mesa Selimovic
The Rising Tide - M.J. Farrell
The Doll - Boleslaw Prus
Behind the Scenes at the Museum - Kate Atkinson
The Case of Comrade Tulayev - Victor Serge
Gilead - Marilynne Robinson
All Our Worldly Goods - Irene Nemirovsky
The Master of the Day of Judgment - Leo Perutz
Varieties of Exile - Mavis Gallant
Nonfiction-
Gulag - Anne Applebaum
The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire - Amanda Foreman
The Means of Reproduction - Michelle Goldberg
28 Artists and 2 Saints - Joan Acocella
Apollo's Angels - Jennifer Homans
Fiction: 74 (64.3%)
Nonfiction: 41 (35.7%)
Best NF percentage ever - need to keep doing what I was doing
Female authors: 54 (47%)
Male authors: 61 (53%)
Country of origin (fiction)
U.K. - 15
U.S. - 8
France - 8
Czech - 5
Russia - 5
Italy - 4
Japan - 4
Brazil - 3
Germany - 2
Ireland - 2
Serbia - 2
One each from - Albania, Australia, Austria, Bosnia, Canada, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Israel, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden
Need to read more non U.S./non European fiction
Authors with more than one book read - 3 by Irene Nemirovsky and Leo Perutz, 2 each by Colin Meloy, Dubravka Ugresic, Hanne Blank, Junichiro Tanizaki, Anne Applebaum, Simon Sebag Montefiore
Best books -
Fiction-
Death and the Dervish - Mesa Selimovic
The Rising Tide - M.J. Farrell
The Doll - Boleslaw Prus
Behind the Scenes at the Museum - Kate Atkinson
The Case of Comrade Tulayev - Victor Serge
Gilead - Marilynne Robinson
All Our Worldly Goods - Irene Nemirovsky
The Master of the Day of Judgment - Leo Perutz
Varieties of Exile - Mavis Gallant
Nonfiction-
Gulag - Anne Applebaum
The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire - Amanda Foreman
The Means of Reproduction - Michelle Goldberg
28 Artists and 2 Saints - Joan Acocella
Apollo's Angels - Jennifer Homans
30rebeccanyc
It is SO interesting to read everybody's lists -- a lot of titles jumping onto my wishlist (and some already on my TBR, thanks to the reviews that preceded the lists).
31janemarieprice
This was a pretty down year for reading for me. I got really bogged down with life on several occasions and just dropped things altogether. Minimalistic stats:
Books read: 23 – 8 nonfiction, 14 fiction, and 1 mixed anthology
Male/Female/mixed authors: 15/5/3
Highlights:
Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Books read: 23 – 8 nonfiction, 14 fiction, and 1 mixed anthology
Male/Female/mixed authors: 15/5/3
Highlights:
Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
