Tuesday, January 1, 2019

2018 Statistical Roundup

How many books read in 2018?
I read 72 books in 2018. That's up 3 from last year.

How many fiction and non fiction? 
50 fiction to 22 nonfiction. That's six fewer nonfiction books but more fiction. I attribute this to my effort to plow through my hardcover fiction bedside. I read about half of my hardcover fiction TBR pile. Yay!

Male/Female author ratio? 
32 female to 29 male. I have been making an effort to read/listen to more memoirs by women and read nonfiction by and about women. It's been great. I love learning about our stories.

Diversity?
Of 61 authors, 17 are people of color. It's 18 if you count a book I'm currently reading (My Own Country, by Abraham Verghese). Six authors from my 2018 list are Jewish; at least 3 are Muslim. One author is Mennonite and I am probably not 100% informed on the religious affiliation of the rest.

Favorite book of 2018? Code Girls, by Liza Mundy; Sargent's Women, by Donna Lucey, and My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovici.

Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why? Oh so many DNFs this year. If it's not grabbing me, it out.

Oldest book read? Skylark, by Dezso Kosztolányi, published originally in 1924.

Newest? Women Talking, by Miriam Toews, coming out in April 2019.

Longest and shortest book titles? 
Shortest title: C, by Tom McCarthy
Longest title: Her Mother's Mother's Mother and Her Daughters, by Maria Jose Silveira

Longest and shortest books?
Longest: Buddha, 8 volumes, by Osamu Tezuka
Shortest:  Varamo, by Cesar Aira

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

Any translated books?
I read books or stories translated from Italian, Berber, French, Swedish, Russian, Spanish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Japanese, Portuguese, Finnish, and German.

Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?
I went to Japan, Albania, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Haiti, Cuba, Russia, Chechnya, Morocco, Germany, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Argentina, Israel, England, Hungary, Bolivia, Sri Lanka, France, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Brazil, England, Scotland, Mauritius and North Korea.

Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author? 
Eight books by Osamu Tezuka- his Buddha series. I also read four books by Edward St. Aubyn, and two books each by Miriam Toews and A.S. Byatt.

Any re-reads?
Varamo, by Cesar Aira, for a book club.

Favorite character of the year? 
Tatta in the Buddha series.

Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation?
Mister Memory, by Marcus Sedgwick, was recommended by my husband.

Which author was new to you in 2018 that you now want to read the entire works of?
Edward St. Aubyn

Which books are you annoyed you didn't read?
Warlight, by Michael Ondaatje

Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
Yes, Tezuka's Buddha series and most of the Patrick Melrose series by Edward St. Aubyn.

Bookish Events in Marie's Life
Not much, honestly. This year has been more about quilting and working as a background actor than bookish things. I'm starting a new bookstore job soon and expect my bookish life to pick up. What I can say:

1. Visited my favorite San Francisco bookstores like City Lights and Alexander Book Company
2. Spent a week at Bread Loaf in Middlebury, Vermont, at a translator's conference,
3. Went to Book Expo in May,
4. Went to a great author dinner.

Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2019:
1. Bowlaway, by Elizabeth McCracken
2. Insurrecto, by Gina Apostol
3. Warlight, by Michael Ondaatje
4. Proust's Duchess, by Caroline Weber
5. The Witches, by Stacy Schiff

2 comments:

Emma at Words And Peace / France Book Tours said...

nice!
I could not imagine not going to the library. I go there about 3 times a week, it's just 10 mn away from home on foot.
here is my recap: https://wordsandpeace.com/2019/01/02/year-of-reading-2018-part-2-statistics/

Unruly Reader said...

I'm excited about Bowlaway, too. Every time I read anything by Elizabeth McCracken, I'm delighted by it.