A Work in Progress

Cleaning House-Books by the Number 2019

I don't think I want to reflect too long on 2019 and am more than ready to turn the calendar over to 2020, clear off my night table and start fresh once again.  But I do want to put a few things in order.  I won't be able to write about the many books I read and enjoyed this year, though I do still want to come up with a favorites list in the next couple of days.

I didn't do a very good job logging my books, but I think I might have enough information to at least tally a few things up.  I might just include those things I did rather than those I didn't.  So a peek at this year's reading by the numbers.

• Books read: 80 ( I accomplished my GR reading challenge!)
• 20th century: 40
• 21st century: 40
• Books published in 2019: 11
• Fiction: 32
• Historical fiction: 4
• Romance: 1
• Nonfiction: 8
• Creative nonfiction (autofiction?): 2
• Nature: 1
• Classics: 4 (modern fiction)
• Mysteries/Crime/Suspense: 30
• Graphic novel: 4
• Books written by women: 61
• Books written by men: 19
• American authors: 26
• British authors: 35
• Canadian authors: 1
• Australian/Irish authors: 2
• Authors from other countries: 17
• Subscription Books: 1
• Books in translation: 15 (Danish, French, Japanese)
• Virago Modern Classics: 3
• Persephone Books: 1
• Books read that were checked out from the library: 14
• ARCs/Review Copies: 2
• Books read from my own shelves: 64
• Rereads: 2
• Multiple books by the same author: 4 by Georges Simenon, 3 by Mary Hocking, 9 by Sue Grafton

It is always interesting to see where my reading led me over the  course of the year.  I think it helped setting a Good Reads goal, which I have managed to meet, so I will do the same for 2020 (and maybe up the ante just a bit).  It helps logging each book there and then seeing the book jackets-it helps me visualize where I am going.  Last year's numbers are here.  My reading tends to be very predictable it seems!

Books by the Number: 2018

So, just out of curiosity and since I do this every year.  This year, however, no judgement on what I didn't read or wish I had read more of . . . because in the end and by next week I will have forgotten the numbers anyway.  When 2019 arrives, it will as usual just be a matter of seeing where my reading takes me.

• Books read: 76 (But I might still squeeze in one more book yet--one last Sue Grafton mystery)
• BCE: 1
• 20th century: 25
• 21st century: 45
• Books published in 2018: 13
• eBooks: 1
• Audio Book: 1
• Fiction:39
• Nonfiction: 9
• Nature: 2
• Classics: 2
• Fairy Tales/Mythology: 0
• Mysteries/Crime/Suspense: 20
• Science fiction: 1
• Espionage: 1
• Juvenile/YA novels: 1
• Books written by women: 54
• Books written by men: 21
• Books written by more than one author: 1
• American authors: 26
• British authors: 32
• Canadian authors: 2
• Australian/Irish authors: 3
• Authors from other countries: 10
• Subscription Books: 4
• Books in translation: 14 (Ancient Greek, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Russian)
• Short story collections: 1
• Novellas: 0
• Graphic Novels: 5
• Diaries: 0
• Plays: 1
• Virago Modern Classics: 4
• Persephone Books: 2
• Books read that were checked out from the library: 10
• ARCs/Review Copies: 3
• Books read from my own shelves:59
• Rereads: 3
• Multiple books by the same author: 2 by Anne Tyler, 2 by Jhumpa Lahiri, 6 by Sue Grafton
• Books by Nebraska authors: 1 (Rainbow Rowell)

Last year's numbers here, and prior years here.  I'm not sure I will continue doing a yearly accounting, though it is interesting to compare from year to year.  I seem to be a creature of habit as my reading years seem to be more similar these days than not!

Books by the Number: 2017 Edition

It is probably a little crazy that I do this.  Before I started blogging I kept a simple wire bound journal where I wrote down the titles of the books I read and the date I finished them.  I gave no thought to how many I read or what genre or if the book was written by a woman or man or any special detail about it.  But I do find it kind of interesting to tally things up and see what sort of year my reading turned out to be--if it was pretty much the same as last year or very different.  Most of the time the years seem pretty similar.  And then I vow to make next year different, and then a year later I do another tally and see I have once again fallen into the same reading pattern.  But you never know--the next year might just be different, right.  So a birds eye view of my reading year.

• Books read: 76 (ten fewer than last year and 24 fewer than the coveted 100 that I always sort of wish for)
• 18th century: 0
• 19th century: 2
• 20th century: 28
• 21st century: 47
• Books published in 2017: 13 (plus two that were reissued in 2017 but previously published)
• eBooks: Only one ebook exclusively in that format, but I did read a few other ebook versions at the gym of books I had physical copies of.
• Fiction: 31
• Nonfiction: 10 (more than I thought and the same number as last year)
• Nature: 0 (but I plan on changing that next year)
• Classics: 7 (better than last year but I hope to improve next year)
• Fairy Tales/Mythology: 0
• Mysteries/Crime/Suspense: 16
• Science fiction: 1
• Espionage: 0
• Juvnile/YA novels: 3
• Books written by women: 57
• Books written by men: 20 (a poor showing for male authors this year, sorry guys)
• Books written by more than one author: 1 (a collection of essays)
• American authors: 24
• British authors: 30
• Canadian authors: 0 (wow, really?)
• Australian/Irish authors: 8
• Authors from other countries: 12
• Subscription Books: 3
• Books in translation: 10 (a poor showing, I think, but I read books translated into English from Arabic, Czech, French, German, Italian and the language Kannada)
• Short story collections: 4 (also fewer than last)
• Novellas: 0 (none that I noted anyway)
• Graphic Novels: 5 (only half what I read last year)
• Diaries: 0 (I hope to read at last one next year since I have a prompt for the genre . . .)
• Plays: 0 (I had actually hoped to read a few but those plans just never panned out)
• Virago Modern Classics: 3
• Persephone Books: 0 (I swear I am going right this very minute to grab one from my shelf!)
• Books read that were checked out from the library: 12 (this surprises me--though I check out loads of library books, I tend to return them unread . . . maybe I am not such a hopeless library user?)
• ARCs/Review Copies: 1
• Books read from my own shelves: 63
• Rereads: 2
• Multiple books by the same author: 4 (Agatha Christie, Ira Levin, John Wyndham and the group of artists who produce the Paper Girls comics)
• Books by Nebraska authors: 0

So, there you have it.  The reading year that was.  To be honest my first reaction is a sigh of dissatisfaction, but I guess the year is what it is and I just followed my whims and this is how it all worked out.  Still, I think I would like to make a few tweaks next year.  We'll just see how it goes.  And previous years.

Mapping the Reading Year

I mentioned last week that I keep an Excel spreadsheet to track my reading year (though I have been lazy about keeping it up this year and had to do a lot of filling in).  I was asked to share a screen shot of it and am happy to let you have a peek at it. 

The nice thing is you can create a mini reading log with whatever information that you like and best, since it is Excel, at the end of the year you can easily sort the columns.  I can manipulate so all the information is alphabetized and then easily count things up at the end.  I don't recommend leaving it until the end, like I did, though it was sort of fun to go back and refresh my reading year in my mind.  'Oh yeah, I told myself I was going to read more Anita Brookner, or Barbara Pym, or . . . (well, now I know where to start next year, right?). 

As for the information I like to keep track of?  Basic bibliographic things--author, title, publication year, when I finished the book.  But I also like to see how many books by women versus men, what the genre is, if I own it or borrowed it, if it was translated and from what language and then some other little bit that is particular to my reading--if it was a NYRB subscription book or my monthly prompt, etc.

Had I traced my reading in a more timely manner it would have been obvious how few books in translation I was reading or I was neglecting books published in the 18th century (though that is probably pretty typical and something I vow to work on every year).  I really do see this as a reading map.  I like to see where I started and where I ended up.  What I want to try and read more of next year.  If I was really savvy I bet I could make one of those infographics which would be a really fun visual.  Hmm, maybe I will investigate that.  There are still, umm, thirteen days left in the year!

I will hopefully be wrapping up my reading year here on the blog in the coming week and next week will share my reading 'statistics' gleaned from my spreadsheet and am contemplating which books were favorites.  Do you keep a reading log?  If so, what form does it take and what information do you track?  I used to keep an actual journal, which has a certain charm, too.  Maybe next year.

Books by the Number: 2016 Edition

Once again I did a very poor job of tracking my reading this year, so this is going to be rather pell mell, and no, it doesn't matter very much in the end.  I do like to see where my reading has taken me over the course of the year, how and where it meandered.  So, just a matter of curiosity really, but here's a little break down of this year's reading:

• Books read: 86 (Finally I have done better than the previous two or three years and I might still potentially finish a couple more yet!)
• 14th century: 1 (Boccaccio!--even if it was only an excerpt from a longer work)
• 18th century: 0
• 19th century: 1
• 20th century: 30
• 21st century: 54
• Books published in 2016: 10
• eBooks: I don't think I read any ebooks exclusively, but I did read ebook versions at the gym of books I had physical copies of.
• Fiction: 50 (More fiction this year than last?)
• Nonfiction: 10 (sort of looks impressive, but many of them were from the Penguin Underground series or other short works)
• Nature: 1 (once again a short work)
• Classics: 2 (really?  That's it.  How sad!)
• Fairy Tales/Mythology: 1 (actually a fable)
• Mysteries/Crime/Suspense: 13 (Fewer mysteries this year than last however)
• Science fiction: None unless you can count Alex + Ada and Saga comics
• Espionage: 1 (hmm)
• Juvnile/YA novels: 1 Juvenile (Moomin) book and not a single YA
• Books written by women: 53
• Books written by men: 32
• Books written by more than one author: 1
• American authors: 32
• British authors: 27
• Canadian authors: 6
• Australian/Irish authors: 5
• Subscription Books: 7 (I did, however, read 8 NYRBs)
• Books in translation: 14 (Translated from: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Russian and Swedish)
• Short story collections: 6
• Novellas: 3
• Graphic Novels: 10 (Twice as many this year as last)
• Diaries: 1
• Plays: 1
• Virago Modern Classics: 3 (More Viragos last year, but I plan on reading many more of my Viragos next year)
• Persephone Books: None--another sad year without a single Persphone it seems
• Books read that were checked out from the library: 7
• ARCs/Review Copies: 5 (But I have several more that I should have reviewed and have not done so yet)
• Books read from my own shelves: 74 (I wonder how many are older books rather than newer/recently bought books)
• Rereads: 4 (Only 4?  It felt like more: Helen Humphreys, Judith Knoll Healey, Katharine MacMahon, M.M. Kaye)
• Multiple books by the same author: 9 (Antonia White, Brian Vaughan, Jane Smiley, Jean Giono, Jonathan Luna, Katharine MacMahon, Maurizio de Giovanni, Meags Fitzgerald and Tove Jansson).
• Books by Nebraska authors: 0

So, there you have it.  The year in review.  It's sort of curious how similar one reading year is to another.  It would seem as though I am quite stuck in a pattern.  Here are previous years.  I'm ready for another fresh start! By the way, I keep an Excel spreadsheet with this information to make it easy to tally at the end.  I did a poor job of keeping up, though.  I don't recommend filling in the information the night before you plan on sharing the numbers . . .

Now I get to look back and decide which books are really standout reads.  I will share very soon.

Books by the Number: 2015 Edition

I did a very poor job of tracking my reading this year, so this is going to be rather pell mell, and maybe it doesn't matter all that much in the end.  I do like to see where my reading has taken me over the course of the year, how and where it branched off, but this year (much like last) was pretty wonky in how much and how I read.  So, just a matter of curiosity really, but here's a little break down of this year's reading:

• Books read: 75 (am optimistically adding one that I should be finishing tomorrow--just in time before the year runs out)
• 18th century: 1
• 19th century: 1
• 20th century: 32 (approximately-a few books straddled the decades)
• 21st century: 43 (approximately again for same reason as above)
• Books published in 2015: 13
• eBooks: 1 (just one from start to finish-a review copy--but I have been looking for ebooks that I can 'borrow' to read in conjunction with books from my stacks-it's much easier to read from my tablet at the gym I have discovered)
• Fiction: 28 (about half a dozen or so were historical fiction, a couple romantic suspense and a couple more dystopian/alternative history stories)
• Nonfiction: 7 (these ranged from essays, history, memoirs and nature writing)
• Diaries: Not a single one.  Must rectify this next year.
• Nature: Just one that was mostly nature writing.
• Classics: 4!  (so few!--can I add on one YA graphic novel that was a retelling of a Shakespeare play?)
• Fairy Tales/Mythology: Nothing
• Mysteries/Crime/Suspense: 18
• Science fiction: None really, but one of the classics could be considered science fiction--loosely anyway.
• Espionage: 2
• Juvnile/YA novels: 7 (mostly the Little House books)
• Books written by women: 56
• Books written by men: 19
• Books written by more than one author: 2
• American authors: 24
• British authors: 24
• Canadian authors: 3
• Australian/Irish authors: 4 plus 1 author from South Africa (can't remember the last time I have read a South African author)
• Subscription Books: 1 (how sad is that since I received a new book each and every month)
• Books in translation: 14 (this year I read more books in Hebrew than any other language-9, Japanese-1, Italian-1, French-2, Swedish-1)
• Short story collections: 4 (I feel like there should really be more since I read them weekly . . .)
• Novellas: 1
• Graphic Novels: 5 (this is good--but I want to read more)
• Plays: 0
• Virago Modern Classics: 5
• Persephone Books: 1
• Books read that were checked out from the library: 6
• Books read from my own shelves: 64 (a few library books and a few AREs)
• Rereads: 3 (Elinor Lippman, and two mysteries by Clare Langley-Hawthorne)
• Multiple books by the same author: 6 (Laura Ingalls Wilder, Laurie King, D.A. Mishani, Clare Langley-Hawthorne, Nell Dunn, Rutu Modan)
• Books by Nebraska authors: 1

So, there you have it.  The year in review.  I STILL continue to follow a pattern it seems--here are previous years.  I'm ready for another fresh start!  I think I need to mix things up a bit next year--I seem to be following a pattern, or maybe you could call this a rut.  Apparently I know what I like and I spend my time dedicatedly reading it.  Tomorrow I'll share my favorites.

Books by the Numbers: 2014 Edition

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.

Books by the Numbers: 2013 Edition

Seeing as I have been in a tidying sort of mood (I spent a chunk of yesterday afternoon, prime reading time I might add, cleaning . . . it had to be done unfortunately), it's time to take a little look back over the reading year.  I sort of feel as though I shouldn't do this (counting and tallying isn't always a good thing), but idle curiosity has prompted me.  I know my reading was off this year, but just by how much I wonder.  Let's see, shall we?  In any case, It helps me think about what I want to do next year.

• Books read: 85
• Audio books: More than 5--I didn't keep track very well and some were radio dramatizations
• 18th century: 2
• 19th century: 12
• 20th century: 48
• 21st century: 26 (there was some overlap between centuries since a few books were actually collections of stories)
• 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): 37
• Nonfiction: 9 (two were books of essays)
• Diaries: 1
• Nature: 1
• Classics: 16
• Fairy Tales/Mythology: None this year!
• Mysteries/Crime/Suspense: 15
• Science fiction: 0
• Espionage: 1
• YA novels: 1
• Books written by women: 46
• Books written by men: 37
• Books written by more than one author: 2
• American authors: 22
• British authors: 36
• Canadian authors: 4
• Australian/Irish authors: 1 (one lone Irish author)
• Subscription Books: 18 (Melville House and NYRB Classics)
• Books in translation: 19 (original languages include: Swedish, French, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Dutch, German and Italian)
• Short story collections: 4
• Novellas: 13
• Graphic Novels: 0
• Plays: 0
• Virago Modern Classics: 3 (same as last year)
• Persephone Books: 3 (better than last year but not by much)
• Books read that were checked out from the library: 13 (so small a number considering how many I actually borrow . . .)
• Books read from my own shelves: 67 (hah--so small a number considering how many I own and how many I bought.  I don't, by the way, keep track of those books)
• Rereads: 4 (Martha Grimes, Antonia Fraser, Clare Chambers and Agatha Christie)
• Book club books (Slaves of Golconda, Cornflower's Book Group, my Postal Reading Group and the Literature and War Readalong): 11 (I actually didn't do so well with these--I started quite a few that I didn't finish and read very few of the Slaves books this year . . . and postal books also suffered)
• Multiple books by the same author: 4 (Paula Fox, Vasily Grossman, Virginia Woolf and Wilkie Collins)
• Books by Nebraska authors: 1 (Willa Cather)
• Approximate number of pages read: More than 21,000 -- can that be right?)

Not that I'm counting or anything (no pressure there!), but in the years since I've been blogging (since 2005) and keeping track, only three of those years had fewer reads during the course of the year.  And quite a few of this year's books were actually novellas!  I wish I could say that I spent the time doing needlework (I think I actually finished even fewer projects this year than in the previous few) or some other crafty activity, but I didn't.  I'm not sure what I was doing.  I guess some years are just like that.  It was, unfortunately, a stressful year in many ways and my reading suffered.  I hope that next year is better.  Reading is usually a respite from stress, but I don't seem to have been reading more (comparatively speaking)--so, extra stress but no extra books--a pity.  I do, however, most definitely believe in quality over quantity, so we'll see tomorrow how quality fared when I share my favorites list.

Comparing this year's reading with last year's, though, not much has really changed in terms of what I've been reading--other than there being fewer books (and maybe more novellas).  I do see that male authors are catching up with female authors!  The gap is closing.  Reading along with others and reading subscription books has really helped vary my reading--lots more books in translation and more classics.

So, there you have it.  The year in review.  I seem to follow a pattern really--here are previous years.  A fresh start is going to be a good thing.

Books by the Numbers: 2012 Edition

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.

A Few Numbers from 2011

I gave up early on my reading plans for this year, though that never stops me from making them.  And that list I made?  In the end I read four of the books (in one case I didn't read the title I chose but did read another one by the same author) and a fifth I've just started and will carry over into next year.  So maybe that didn't turn out quite as bad as I was expecting.  Plans and lists are really only jumping off places anyway, right?  I like having an idea of what I might like to read but then give myself wiggle room to read at whim and let the books lead me in their own serendipitous direction.  I do like looking back over the course of the year, however, and see how the books fell (so to speak).   

• Books read:  88 -- I'm not sure I'll ever reach 100 but I'm pleased to get in this many. 
• Audio books: 1 -- And I'm listening to another right now.  I never actually count an audio book as one of my 'books read'.  Even though the book is new to me, it doesn't feel like quite the same experience.  In this case the book in question was Georgette Heyer's Venetia, which I greatly enjoyed.
• eBooks:  4 -- A new category!  Can you tell I still prefer paper books far more than ebooks?
• Fiction (not mysteries or short stories and I'm counting classics separately, too): 43
• Nonfiction: 7 -- This is such a paltry number (which might be bumped up by one if I finish one last memoir I started ages ago) made all the more disappointing since several of the books were very slim volumes.  As a matter of fact all the books with the exception of Capote's true crime story were all memoirs, so nothing really very meaty either.
• Classics: 8 -- Another sad number considering two of the books were closer to novellas than full length novels.  I want to read more classics next year.
• Mysteries/Crime/Suspense: 27 -- Now you see where I spent so much of my reading time! 
• Science fiction: 0 -- Unless I count the novel I read by Molly Gloss for the Slaves, which is sort of literary science fiction...then I can say 1.
• Espionage: 1?  So much for my Season of Spies, though I am reading Helen MacInnes right now.  I've decided to pick up where I left off from that list and read a few more books this winter.  Along with the MacInnes I have one book waiting in the wings, which is quite short and will perhaps be my first book read of 2012. 
• YA novels: 1 -- My niece urged me to read a book she was reading for school and was so excited about that I couldn't say no. 
• Books written by women: 63 -- 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: 25
• Books written by more than one author: 0
• American authors: 19
• British authors: 41
• Canadian/Australian/Irish authors: 5
• Books in translation: 24 -- I tend to be very predictable when it comes to reading more British authors than American, but those numbers decreased considerably this year since I read far more books in translation than I ever have before (due to reading so much crime fiction as well as the German Literature readalong).  Original languages include: Catalan, Swedish, French, Turkish, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese and Icelandic.  I'm quite pleased by this and hope the trend continues next year.
• Short story collections: 1
• Graphic novels: 0
• Plays: 0
• Virago Modern Classics: 4
• Persephone Books: 0 -- Oops.  Must rectify this next year, since I am still collecting these books.
• Books read that were checked out from the library: 27 -- Down ten books from last year.  Does this mean I read more from my own shelves? 
• Rereads: 5
• Book club books (Slaves of Golconda, Cornflower's Book Group, my Postal Reading Group and the Literature and War Readalong): 18 -- This number more than doubled, which hopefully means I am reading more outside my comfort zone (at least on occasion).
• Multiple books by the same author: 5 -- E.M. Delafield, W. Somerset Maugham, Helene Hanff, Liza Marklund, Georgette Heyer, and Andrea Maria Schenkel.  Not so much of this this year, which surprises me.  There are a number of authors I've read whose works I want to explore more of, however.
• Books by Nebraska authors: 0

I realize it's probably silly to keep track of these things, but it's more out of curiosity (and so I can put that Excel spreadsheet I keep to use).  I should mention that only three books I read this year were written prior to 1900, and those three books were 19th century novels.  All in all I am pretty predictable considering last year's statistics.  Since I tend to read about the same number of books each year, it's very tricky trying to plan any sort of reading as there are only a certain number of books I can squeeze in and as I like to read mostly at whim--how they all fit together at the end of the year never looks like how I expected it to at the beginning!  Not that that stops me from making a very few plans for the new year . . .