I read more books than I did in 2010. Win! But I still read less than I would like. Sad face.
I don't know why I feel this need to always read more More MORE! But I do. Sometimes I get annoyed with my inner monologue for nagging at me. Shut up brain! I will read what I want, when I want. So there. Maybe that should be a resolution for 2012... hmmm. More on that in the next entry.
Reading took a backseat to life this year - and I'm okay with that. I had a lot of fun this year doing "other things," so reading was not the first thing on my mind. When I was putting books first (like during the two read-a-thons), I was happy with what I was reading. Even if I ended up hating the book, I at least never felt like I was wasting my time. Sometimes I love complaining about books; it's a nice stress reliever.
So, 2011. Not a great year, but not a horrible year. I finished 58 books totaling 14,967 pages.
[Side Note: I had some fun with Excel and discovered that, since starting this blog, I've read 535 books totaling 163,001 pages. I am coloring myself impressed.]
Reading Goals v. Reading Reality
I will not buy books.
-- I did okay. I purchased a few books - but they were mainly books to share with The Boyfriend. or books with new recipes to feed us. I ventured into the Bibliobarn while I was home in October... which is always dangerous for my reading goals. That said, I managed to not go too crazy.
I will update this blog on a more regular (and expansive) basis.
-- I like to think I did better this year. I was pretty good about keeping up with my "regular features" but I never did get around to writing random entries about reading, books, libraries, and other related content.
Read more.
-- I got in 8 extra books. Does that count? My page count, on the other hand, dropped off. Poo.
The Year in Genres
The genre totals are more than the completed book total because I classified some books into two genres. When I was compiling these numbers, I was quite shocked to see that I had read only 5 romance novels. That is quite a turn-around from my previous, double-digit numbers. It seems I have decided to read more non-fiction now that I am no longer in school. Meh. I am okay with this.
Biography = 1
History = 1
Humor = 2
Juvenile = 3
Memoir = 3
Romance = 5
Mystery = 6
Fiction = 7
Non-Fiction = 7
Library Science = 11
Graphic Novel = 14
The Year in Ratings
When I told The Boyfriend that I had no "1" ratings these year, he responded, "Maybe it's because you didn't read many romance novels." Snark. He has it.
1 = 0
2 = 2
3 = 0
4 = 6
5 = 6
6 = 27
7 = 10
8 = 7
9 = 1
10 = 0
Yikes! What an average reading year. At least the bell curve is on the "good" rather than the "bad" side of the Meh Line.
The Ten Best Books of 2011
This list was a pain in the butt to compile. When one has that many average reads, they all start to blur together.
10. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
9. Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam by Mark Bowden
7. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
6. The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
5. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
4. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
3. Deadline by Mira Grant
2. Feed by Mira Grant
and hands down the BEST book of the year (which I am considering re-rating as a 10)...
1. How I Killed Pluto (and Why it Had it Coming) by Mike Brown
There you have it, my friends. 2011 has been tabulated and reviewed. Now we move into the 2012 reading season. I will be back with my bookish related resolutions for this new year.
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