Monday, December 20, 2010

The Year In Books- The Statistical Roundup

I did this meme last year and it was really fun to take a data-driven look at my reading. 

How many books read in 2010? 84 as of December 17. (Down 3 books from last year. Thanks, The Passage and To the End of the Land- you chunksters should count as 3 book each!)

How many fiction and non fiction?
79 fiction versus 5 nonfiction. I think my preference is clear! (Last year I read 14 nonfiction books!)

Male/Female author ratio? 
Split down the middle- 42 male, 42 female. I don't pay attention to the demographic distribution of the authors I read so believe me, I did not plan this!

Favorite book of 2010?
My favorite 2010 release was Eddie Signwriter, by Adam Schwartzman, and my favorite backlister was Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee. South African writers FTW!


Least favorite?
Ugh. Something I didn't finish and have forgotten about.


Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why?
Several. The Sacred Book of the Werewolf. Just didn't hold my attention. Parrot and Olivier in America, a picaresque and I don't care for picaresques. Sorry Peter Carey- I love you!

Oldest book read?
Vivant Denon's No Tomorrow, originally published in the 18th century.


Newest?
To The End of the Land, by David Grossman.

Longest and shortest book titles?
Longest: How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone by Sasa Stanisic. Shortest: Solar, by Ian McEwan.


Longest and shortest books?
Longest: To the End of the Land or The Passage. Shortest: No Tomorrow or The Dacha Husband.

How many books from the library?
None! Sad but true.

Any translated books?
The Halfway House (Spanish), No Tomorrow (French), How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone (German), The Patience Stone (French), Broken Glass Park (German), Earth & Ashes (Dari), The Wedding of Zein (Arabic), The Wrong Blood (Spanish), The Door (Hungarian), Death's Dark Abyss (Italian), The Ladies from St. Petersburg (Russian), The Shadows of Berlin (Yiddish), The Dacha Husband (Russian), There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby (Russian), The Accompanist (Russian), Ruts and Gullies (French), Moscow 2042 (Russian), Doctor Zhivago (Russian), Madame Bovary (French), From the Land of the Moon (Italian), To the End of the Land (Hebrew).

Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?
It's a tie, two each from Nina Berberova (The Ladies from St. Petersburg and The Accompanist) and Atiq Rahimi (The Patience Stone and Earth & Ashes).

Any re-reads?
Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak, if the new translation counts.

Favorite character of the year?
Major Pettigrew of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I just loved him, contradictions and all.

Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?
Ireland, Germany, Russia, Sudan, England, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Spain, Afghanistan, China, Cuba, South Africa, Bosnia, Iran, Canada, and Jordan. And the United States!

Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation?
Any Human Heart, by William Boyd, recommended by Michael Kindness of Books on the Nightstand.

Which author was new to you in 2010 that you now want to read the entire works of?
Howard Jacobson. His The Finkler Question was great and made me want to read everything else he's written.

Which books are you annoyed you didn’t read?
I wish I'd gotten to The Outside Boy, by Jeanine Cummins. But it's tops on my list for Irish Month in March.


Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
Yes. Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert, finally!

Paul Auster in Cambridge, Mass.
2010 TOP TEN Book Events in Marie's Book Life - in no particular order:
10. BEA and Book Blogger Con! So. Much. Fun.
9. Other conferences- NEIBA, ALA Midwinter.
8. ReaderCon. Love ReaderCon.
7. Any time I'm honored to interview a favorite author, which I did a lot this year.
6. Visiting great bookstores in Seattle, Philadelphia and South Carolina.
5.Seeing my interview with Chandler Burr published in the paperback of his novel, You or Someone Like You.
4. Meeting authors Adam Schwartzman, Peter Carey, Salman Rushdie, Justin Cronin and Paul Auster, among many others, at readings and events.
3. The Boston Antiquarian Book Fair.
2. Being mentioned in Professional Blogging for Dummies.
1. Reading all of your blogs & comments!

22 comments:

ImageNations said...

This is very interesting Marie. I have copied the questions and would provide my responses before the year finally ends. This is lovely. You really have read a lot... 84! Wonderful. That gives you an average of 7 books per month, approximately 2 books per week. Impressive stats.

Michelle said...

You had a fantastic year in so many respects! I hope 2011 is just as fun and productive.

JoAnn said...

An excellent year! Glad to hear Major Pettigrew was so memorable. He will be the first character I meet in 2011 - our January book club selection.

Anonymous said...

A good year of reading indeed! Do you find that you are able to finish more books because you're willing to give up on others? I'm on track for my highest total of books completed ever this year. Also helps that I read a lot of YA and graphic novels. ;-)
www.newcenturyreading.com

Zibilee said...

What an eventful reading year you've had!! You have read a lot of amazing books this year, and I have to say you have inspired me to pick up a few that I have never considered before. I find it cool that your male/female author split was even and am wondering if you are planning on reading more non-fiction next year? Great post, Marie!

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I'm so glad to see you loved Major Pettigrew! I loved him too, and am not sure why the book got such mixed reviews!

Anonymous said...

great questions and reading. I'm going to do this one too. it's fun. not sure I kept all the stats but I'll give it a go. I can't believe you never take out library books!

Marce said...

Really great stats you keep, thanks for sharing.

I like how the male/female author stats came out completely coincidental.

You read a ton of translated books, wow.

And no I can't believe none were from the library :-)

Anonymous said...

You've had a good year! Nice post with your stats.

Michael Kindness said...

Hooray! Glad I got you to read Any Human Heart!

The UK miniseries will play here on Masterpiece in February!

Unknown said...

I am totally impressed with your reading. I am too busy with school at this time. I like how you catagorized your reading for 2010. I am going to take notes as well, and see what I come up with. You are a great blogger, and thank you for starting the Jewish Carnival. Thank you,

Marie Cloutier said...

Nana, thanks!

Michelle, thanks! i hope so too!

JoAnn, I hope you enjoy it!

Amy, I find that giving up on the dogs helps my morale and probably my numbers too, since I'm not crawling my way through something that's boring. Graphic novels & YA tend to help those numbers, too!

Zibilee, I'm not really planning on anything for 2011; I just kind of take it as it comes when it comes to reading. I don't know if I'll read more nonfiction; I suppose if there's more nonfiction I'm interested in, I will.

Rhapsody, I don't get it either. I thought that book was a winner.

AS, yeah, just not a library user I guess, LOL.

Marce, it's a fun little exercise to do at the end of the year.

Jewwishes, thanks!

Michael, thank you for the tip! it's a great book.

Susan, you are too sweet! :-)

Erin said...

How funny that your M/F split was dead even! I really like this survey and will borrow it, if you don't mind. With credit, of course :-)

bermudaonion said...

Wow, you had some fabulous highlights this year! I hope 2011 is as good.

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a fab year! Hope 2011 is even better.

Kathleen said...

Sounds like you had a great year Marie!

Allison said...

What a great year you've had!! I love your breakdown list of all you've read. I have been reading your blog for a while now..and it is still one of my top 3 blogs I love!!! Keep it going!!
Wish I knew of some Midwest book/blogger conventions/meetings..any suggestion of a site that shows any??

Hugz! Merry Christmas!

allisonsattic at gmail dot com

avisannschild said...

What a great year! I must admit that Disgrace is one of my least favourite books of all times though... I didn't keep track of how many books I read this year, which I really regret. Must do it in 2011!

Tasha said...

Paul Auster is such an interesting looking man. And I like his voice. I count myself as a fan, though I've read only one of his books - Man in the Dark - in its entirety.

Anonymous said...

Funny about the male/female breakdown. I'll need to check my own stats. Fun meme :)

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a good 2010! What was Justin Cronin like when you met him? I loved The Passage.

Marie Cloutier said...

Nan, Justin Cronin was a DOLL. He was one of the nicest authors I've met.