It's time for a little retrospective view of this past year's reading. I'm
not sure if other readers do this sort of thing, but I can't help myself. And
since I've been keeping a detailed Excel spreadsheet (yes, really), all the
information is handily at my fingertips. It's sort of fun to compare from year
to year where my reading has changed and help in thinking about what I want to
do next year.
- Books read: 94. Actually 91 since three were audio books. Still shy of 100 but maybe someday I'll get there. More books read this year than in the previous few years.
- Audio books: 3. I've been racking up the Audible book tokens and have lots to spend, but I haven't been able to settle down with audio books very well this year.
- 18th century: 1.
- 19th century: 8.
- 20th century: 52.
- 21st century: 33.
- eBooks: 1. My Nook has sat idle most of the year. I still prefer paper over digital as you can see.
- Fiction (not mysteries, short stories or fairy tales and I'm counting classics separately, too): 42.
- Nonfiction: 14. Double what I read last year (and better than I thought)! Four were diary or correspondence related and two were nature books, the others were social history or memoirs.
- Classics: 13. I want to read more classics next year (I say that every year).
- Fairy Tales/Mythology: 4.
- Mysteries/Crime/Suspense: 14. Half what I read last year!
- Science fiction: 0
- Espionage: 2.
- YA novels: 5.
- Books written by women: 57. I always read more women authors than men. I don' set out to do so, but it just happens that way.
- Books written by men: 37. Still, male authors fared better this year than last.
- Books written by more than one author: 0
- American authors: 21.
- British authors: 39.
- Canadian authors: 7.
- Australian/Irish authors: 5.
- Books in translation: 23. Original languages include: Arabic, Catalan, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese and Russian.
- Short story collections: 1.
- Graphic novels: 1.
- Plays: 0.
- Virago Modern Classics: 3.
- Persephone Books: 1. Just barely--I want to read more next year.
- Books read that were checked out from the library: 33. More than last year.
- Books read from my own shelves: 54.
- Rereads: 2.
- Book club books (Slaves of Golconda, Cornflower's Book Group, my Postal Reading Group and the Literature and War Readalong): 18.
- Multiple books by the same author: 4. Andrew Taylor, Ethel Wilson, Ingrid Noll, and Mary Stewart.
- Books by Nebraska authors: 1. Willa Cather
So where will my reading take me in 2013? I guess I won't know until I get there, though I do have some ideas in mind. I'd like to read more books written in earlier centuries. More nonfiction (diaries and nature books). More mysteries. More Viragos and Persephones. So many books I want to read right now! But who knows what book will call out my name during 2013? I still have favorites I want to share and then a few reading plans. More tomorrow.