I think I am going to be happy to put 2014 behind me when it comes to reading. I shouldn't be critical of my reading, especially as I have read lots of good books, but I still feel as though this has been a disappointing reading year. I read far fewer books this year than almost any other since I began blogging back in 2005. Eleven fewer than last year. Last year I said my reading was 'off', so I am not sure what that says about this year's. I am not sure what I was doing during that time I wasn't reading those eleven books, but how can you quantify it anyway? It's better not to worry about it and just look forward to a new year with new books and new reading possibilities, right? Here's a little break down of this year's reading:
- Books read: 74 (so greedy am I to want more . . . imagine those people who only read one or two books, or unfathomably . . . none)
- Audio books: 2
- 18th century: 0
- 19th century: 7
- 20th century: 29
- 21st century: 38
- eBooks: One! I'm really not all that fond of ebooks, can you tell?
- Fiction (not mysteries, short stories or fairy tales and I'm counting classics separately, too):
- Nonfiction: 4
- Diaries: 0 (I want to get back to diary reading next year)
- Nature: 2 (both on gardening!)
- Classics: 7
- Fairy Tales/Mythology: 1
- Mysteries/Crime/Suspense:17 (one area I actually increased my reading)
- Science fiction: 0 (next year there will have to be at least one)
- Espionage: 0 (how sad, not a single spy story unless you count the audio book Her Royal Spyness I listened to--must rectify that next year)
- YA novels: 6 (mostly Little House books)
- Books written by women: 46
- Books written by men: 28 (poor showing this year gentlemen)
- Books written by more than one author: 0
- Books written under a pen name: 1 (J.K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith)
- American authors: 23 (the Americans are gaining on the British)
- British authors: 29
- Canadian authors: 4
- Australian/Irish authors: 3 (Irish)
- Subscription Books: 8 (Melville House and NYRB Classics)
- Books in translation: 15 (original languages include: 1 Russian, 2 French, 4 Dutch, 2 Spanish, 1 Greek, 5 Hebrew, 1 German)
- Short story collections: 3
- Novellas: 8
- Graphic Novels: 2
- Plays: 0
- Virago Modern Classics: 3 (oops)
- Persephone Books: 1 (oops)
- Books read that were checked out from the library: 10
- Books read from my own shelves: 56
- Rereads: 3 (so few, and all three are the Little House books which I read as a child--and even then I never did read Farmer Boy)
- Book club books (Literature and War Readalong): 6 (such a sad number, but it seems I am becoming more and more a lone reader?)
- Multiple books by the same author: 4 by Laura Ingalls Wilder, 2 by Antonia White, 2 by Simone St. James and 2 by Art Spiegelman
- Books by Nebraska authors: 1 Bess Streeter Aldrich
- Approximate number of pages read: approximately 21,100 (strangely close to what I read last year even though I read more books last year--can that be right?)
So, there you have it. The year in review. I continue to follow a pattern it seems--here are previous years. I'm ready for another fresh start! Tomorrow I'll share my favorites.