201 reading stats:
Number of books read: 145
Number of re-reads: 2
Number of distinct authors: 114
Male authors: 12
Female authors: 102
Most frequent author: Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (8)
New-to-me authors: 74
Second-time around authors: 17
Longest book completed: Into the Wildrness (896 pp)
Shortest book completed: The Circular Staircase (148 pp)
Books from series/sequels/trilogies: 35
Number of series represented: 21
Most productive month: March, June (15 each)
Least productive month: November (8)
Books first published in 2010 (my edition):
Reviews posted in 2010:
Genres (some may overlap):
Fiction: 136
Chick lit: 1
Historical fiction: 73
Classics: 47
Mystery: 17
YA: 0
Short Stories: 3
Other:
Nonfiction: 10
History: 7
Biography: 2
Memoir: 4
Women’s Studies: 6
Essays: 3
Other:
Books from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list: 2
Virago Modern Classics: 24
Persephones: 15
Author nationalities: US, Sweden, Canada, Britain, Netherlands, Ireland
Settings (country): US, England, Italy, Sweden, France, Romania, Spain, India, Netherlands, Turkey, Jerusalem, Greece, Wales, Belgium, Austria, Egypt, Japan, Ireland, Canada, Burma, Bahamas, Scotland
Settings (US states): Iowa, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Massachusetts
Other fun stats:
Titles with place names in them: 17
Titles with colors: 2
Titles with animals: 5
Goals:
To read more nonfiction
To read more male authors
Books I loved in 2010:
Mrs. Ames, by EF Benson
Henrietta’s War, by Joyce Dennys
The King’s General, by Daphne Du Maurier
Twilight of Avalon, by Anna Elliott
Lady Rose and Mrs. Memmary, by Ruby Ferguson
The Young Pretenders, by Edith Henrietta Fowler
Nightingale Wood, by Stella Gibbons
The Carlyles at Home, by Thea Holme
Penmarric, by Susan Howatch
The Lacquer Lacy, by F Tennyson Jesse
Legacy, by Susan Kay
The Rising Tide, by Molly Keane
The Ladies of Lyndon, by Margaret Kennedy
The Distant Hours, by Kate Morton
Paths of Exile, by Carla Nayland
Good Evening, Mrs. Craven, by Mollie Panter-Downes
Jane and Prudence, by Barbara Pym
Some Tame Gazelle, by Barbara Pym
The Edwardians, by Vita Sackville-West
I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
The Far Cry, by Emma Smith
Mrs. Tim of the Regiment, by DE Stevenson
Clara and Mr. Tiffany, by Susan Vreeland
High Wages, by Dorothy Whipple
Someone at a Distance, by Dorothy Whipple
They Were Sisters, by Dorothy Whipple
The Short list:
Mrs. Tim of the Regiment
Henrietta’s War
I Capture the Castle
High Wages
2010 was quite a year for me, reading wise! I read 145 ½ books this year (despite my optimism, I don’t think I’ll get around to finishing The Little Stranger). The full list can be found here. But still, that’s four more books more than I read last year, 141. My goals for this year were to read more nonfiction and to read more by male authors, which I completely disregarded, unfortunately, reading the exact same number of nonfiction books this year as last and 12 male authors this year in comparison to 19 last year. This may have something to do with the fact that I read more Persephones this year, as well as my discovery of Virago Modern Classics.
Thanks to Virago, I discovered some new favorite authors, namely Molly Keane and Vita Sackville-West; and I also got around to reading my favorite book this year, I Capture the Castle. A very bizarre read, but you have to have that kind of sense of humor to actually appreciate it. I also re-fell in love with DE Stevenson’s books with the read of Mrs. Tim of the Regiment. It’s too bad that DE Stevenson’s books are so hard to find, because she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Thankfully, Persephone is reprinting miss Buncle Married this upcoming year, and so I’ll get more of my DE Stevenson fix in 2011. Dorothy Whipple is another favorite author, and I managed to read three of her books this year.
I didn’t read anything truly terrible this year, although there were a couple of books that just weren’t to my taste: City of Light, by Lauren Belfer; Island of Ghosts, by Gillian Bradshaw; The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno, by Ellen Bryson; Into the Wilderness, by Sarah Donati; O, Juliet, by Robin Maxwell; The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet, by Edith Pargeter; The Sheen on the Silk, by Anne Perry; Poison, by Sarah Poole; Mistress of Rome, by Kate Quinn; and Brigid of Kildare, by Heather Terrell.
I’ve found that I’m reading far fewer new books and focusing on the classics. As a result, I’m reading far fewer ARCs, though every now and then I’ll accept one for review. It’s very hard to find newer books that will appeal to me, and so I generally only accept books from authors I’ve read before.
Have a happy new year! Here’s to good reading in 2011.
Comments
Happy new year!
Happy blogoversary :)