I skipped doing this last year because I was sort of embarrassed at the shortness of my list. I vowed to read more this year and I guess I did. Here are previous year end lists: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004. As you probably know, my booklist lives in a separate blog and it has its own RSS feed. I’m not a voracious reader and I’ve been heavy into genre fiction this year, but here’s the wrap-up of what I read in 2009.
number of books read in 2009: 39
number of books read in 2008: 31
number of books read in 2007: 53
number of books read in 2005: 86
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: 3.25
average read per week: .75
number read in worst month: 0 (November)
number read in best month: 7 (February)
percentage by male authors: 82
percentage by female authors: 18
fiction as percentage of total: 51
non-fiction as percentage of total: 49
percentage of total liked: 81
percentage of total ambivalent: 6
percentage of total disliked: 3
So… I’m still doing pretty poorly reading books by female authors though I’ve been balancing fiction and non-fiction pretty well. I loved a few books I read this year, specifically the book about the WPA writer’s project by Kurlansky and the fiction book by Howard Frank Mosher that was set in Vermont. Now that the bus to MA has wifi and I have an EVDO card for my laptop, I read less when I’m in transit. Now that I play scrabble most evenings with my boyfriend 9and also, that I have a boyfriend at all) I red less at night. I haven’t gone over to ebooks in any way though I bet I’m reading the same amount of words, but less of them are in book format.
I have a few books that I got mostly through in 2009 that I’m sure I’ll finish off in 2010. I also have a bedside table for books now that I didn’t have before. Wish me luck, and happy reading in 2010!
Howard Frank Mosher is a wonderfully nice man, and he started my small collection of autographed books. About 8 years ago, I worked in a small bookstore where I lived, and he came in. I had no idea who he was – he did not introduce himself, and I didn’t know he was in town doing an author talk. He picked up a few titles, and while paying, a bee landed on his neck. He didn’t seem aware of it, so I said, “Hold still,” and I brushed it away. When he realized what had happened, he whipped out a copy of Fall of the Year, asked me my name, and signed the book, thanking for me for “saving his life.” Turns out he’s deathly allergic to bee stings. He was just so sweet.
It would help if I could spell my own name….
I am surprised that anyone else does this! My family laughs at me because I’ve been doing this for years. Mine is not detailed enough to divide by years but I keep track of the author, the title and a brief synopis of the plot. Might sound to anal for some but its too late to stop now (smile).
Um wow, seeing your list of books per year, and considering you’re not a “voracious reader” I really need to read more!