The statistics are valid as of December 26.
How many books read in 2011?
108! 108 books is a record for me!
How many fiction and non fiction?
93 fiction versus 15 nonfiction. I read more nonfiction this year than in past years, mostly due to the number of audiobooks I read, all of which were nonfiction.
Male/Female author ratio?
41 female authors to 63 male authors. The numbers don't quite add up; I had two books by two different authors plus a pseudonymous author whose gender I don't know (Tim Davys). And I don't want to spend all day going over it with a fine-tooth comb honestly!
Favorite book of 2011?
My favorite 2011 release was The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson.
Oldest book read?
Heinrich von Kleist's
The Duel, originally published in 1810.
Newest?
The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker, out in June 2012
Longest and shortest book titles?
Longest: A Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, by Amara Lakhous
Shortest: Lucy, by Jamaica Kincaid
Longest and shortest books?
The longest book was probably
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. The shortest, probably
The Duel, by Heinrich von Kleist.
How many books from the library?
Six, mostly audiobooks:
Bossypants,
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,
I Was Told There Would Be Cake,
My Fair Lazy, Minotaur and
In Cold Blood.
Any translated books?
I read books translated from the following languages: French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Norwegian, German, Hebrew, Yiddish and Dari.
Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?
I read two books by the unbelievably awesome Christopher Priest
, The Prestige and
Inverted World, and two by the great Amélie Nothomb,
Hygiene and the Assassin and
Tokyo Fiancée.
Any re-reads?
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, and
The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy, and
In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, all favorites.
I'd really like to re-read
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood in 2012. Anyone up for a readalong?
Favorite character of the year?
Probably Abir Ganguly from
My Friend Sancho. Loved that book and Abir is its heart and soul.
Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?
Through books, I traveled to France, Austria, Japan, Tibet, Afghanistan, Argentina, Cuba, Ukraine, Scotland, Iceland, Colombia, India, Norway, China, Kenya, South Africa, El Salvador, Germany, Russia, Israel, Jordan, Ireland, Palestine, Poland, England, New Zealand, Brazil, Bolivia, Pakistan, Mauritius and Egypt.
Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation?
Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, recommended by Phil of
Read Irresponsibly. And am I ever glad I did. What a fantastic story collection. I would not have read
Inverted World without my husband Jeff's recommendation, another great choice!
Which author was new to you in 2011 that you now want to read the entire works of?
Daphne du Maurier. I was just blown away by
Rebecca. And Christopher Priest. I'm such a Priest fan now that I'll read any book he even blurbs, never mind writes.
Which books are you annoyed you didn’t read?
I still haven't gotten to
The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox, or
Catherine the Great by Robert Massie.
Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson
, The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken, and
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown.
2011 TOP TEN Book Events in Marie's Book Life - in no particular order:
 |
| Author Roland Merullo at Porter Square Books |
10. Finally getting to work at a bookstore. Let's try that again in 2012, please!
9. Getting blurbed in the paperback of
The City and The City and hearing China Miéville say he remembered meeting me two years ago!
And the Miéville elf.
8. ReaderCon.
Love ReaderCon.
7. Visiting the office of
Europa Editions in New York City and starting the
Europa Challenge. Along the same lines, meeting the publishers and publicists of
Melville House Books.
6. Any time I've gotten to meet up with blogging pals, like when Sandy Smith Nawrot of
You've Gotta Read This! came up and hung out with Dawn of
She is Too Fond of Books and me.
5.
Having the honor of doing a bookstore event with the wonderful Carmela Ciuraru at one of my favorite indies, Porter Square Books, for her awesome book
Nom de Plume.
4. Meeting lots of authors at readings and events, particularly longtime literary icon Roland Merullo.
3. Appearing on blogger panels at two literary festivals,
Newburyport and
Salem, and meeting news reporter and award-winning mystery writer Hank Phillippi Ryan at the Salem festival. Getting to know Jen Entwhistle and Sarah Ditkoff, the organizers of the Newburyport and Salem festivals, respectively.
2.
Interviewing Salman Rushdie, even if it was via email.
1. Reading all of your blogs and comments!
