Tuesday, December 26, 2017

2017 Statistical Roundup


How many books read in 2017?
I read 68 books this year, up 10 from last year's total of 58. Yay! I attribute this to audiobooks, bringing books to the gym and all the time I have spent in holding as a background actor, where I could sometimes read a book in a day.

How many fiction and non fiction? 

40 fiction to 28 nonfiction. The high nonfiction number is attributable to audiobooks and keeping nonfiction on my bedside table and at the gym.

Male/Female author ratio? 

28 male authors to 40 female authors. This is the first time in a long time that the number of female authors was higher than the number of male authors. I attribute this in part to prioritizing nonfiction by women. And yes it's weird how the numbers split across the two different metrics.

Favorite book of 2017? Either Made for Love, by Alissa Nutting, or Dinner by César Aira. I loved Dinner more in the moment but Made for Love has stayed with me.

Least favorite? I'd rather not say.

Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why? A few. Sometimes it just doesn't work out or it's the wrong time or the wrong whatever. There were a couple of very lauded 2017 releases I could not get into. That sort of thing.


Oldest book read? Ourika, by Claire de Duras, published in 1823.


Newest? The Golden House, by Salman Rushdie, a recent-ish 2017 release.


Longest and shortest book titles? 
Shortest title: Véra, by Stacy Schiff
Longest title: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

Longest and shortest books?
Longest: The Son, by Philipp Meyer

Shortest: 
 Dinner, by César Aira

How many books from the library?
None! I didn't visit a library all year. Sad! For the second year in a row, too.

Any translated books?

Haha one or two. I read books translated from French, German, Spanish, Hebrew, Italian, Russian, Serbian and Japanese.

Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?

I went to Japan, Yugoslavia, Russia, Italy, India, France, Greece, Iran, Congo, England, Rwanda, Lebanon, Canada, Israel, Argentina, Germany, and Mauritius.  I also went to the moon and Mars via a graphic novel.

Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author? 
A tie between C
ésar Aira and Roz Chast, with three books each.

Any re-reads?
I re-read The Son, by Philipp Meyer, in anticipation of watching the TV series. I liked the book better!

Favorite character of the year? 
Hazel's dad in Made for Love.

Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation?
The Romanov Sisters, by Helen Rappaport, was a staff pick at Greenlight Books in Brooklyn and I wouldn't have found it otherwise.

Which author was new to you in 2017 that you now want to read the entire works of?

Alissa Nutting

Which books are you annoyed you didn't read? I still haven't gotten to The Nix and that bugs me.

Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
Yes, I read Jacqueline Susann's classic Valley of the Dolls.

Bookish Events in Marie's Life

1. Attended Book Expo America
2. Attended a week-long literary-translation workshop at the Bread Loaf campus of Middlebury College in Vermont. Amazing week.
3. Finally got to Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C.and the Palm Beach Bookstore in Palm Beach, Florida.
4. Worked as a background actor on an episode of "Orange is the New Black," which was adapted from a book of the same name.
5. Celebrated 10 years as a book blogger!

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