the guilty pleasure of books on tape

My secret stash of book on tape

“I wonder what my colleagues would think if they knew how much of my mental life is still enriched by spoken-word recordings. Listening to tapes while engaged in mindless but unavoidable activities, I get through about 30 books a year that I would not otherwise have read. It’s almost like I’m sneaking in an extra half-lifetime of reading in the course of doing my ordinary chores, which have a way of getting done more thoroughly as a result of listening while I work.” [thanks michael]

books, an annual index of – my entry

I read Amanda’s list and decided to make one of my own, slightly edited because I track my books a bit differently. Please note that unlike [what I assume about] Amanda, I have neither a full-time job nor much of a social life, leaving me much more time for bookish pursuits.

number of books read in 2004: 103
number of books read in 2003: 75
number of books read in 2002: 91
number of books read in 2001: 78
average read per month: 8.5
average read per week: 1.98
number read in worst month: 4 (July)
number read in best month: 15 (September)
percentage by male authors: 78
percentage by female authors: 22
fiction as percentage of total: 53
non-fiction as percentage of total: 47
percentage of total liked: 87
percentage of total ambivalent: 10
percentage of total disliked: 2