Proving, I suppose, the old rule that "once an accountant, always an accountant" is a real thing, I always post a statistical accounting of my completed reading year before beginning the new one. (I do realize that no one other than me is likely to care about these numbers, but I post them as a reference point I can use in future years, so bear with me for a moment.)
2019 was another good year filled with remarkable books that I will long remember. But I will primarily recall 2019 as the year that I returned to book-blogging after more than a year's absence due a couple of automobile accidents that put me out of commission for a long time. Recovery was slow, painful, and often discouraging, but I came away from the whole process with a new appreciation for the simple pleasures of books, friends, and family. And it is wonderful to be back here.
So, finally, the stats:
2019 was another good year filled with remarkable books that I will long remember. But I will primarily recall 2019 as the year that I returned to book-blogging after more than a year's absence due a couple of automobile accidents that put me out of commission for a long time. Recovery was slow, painful, and often discouraging, but I came away from the whole process with a new appreciation for the simple pleasures of books, friends, and family. And it is wonderful to be back here.
So, finally, the stats:
Number of Books Read - 132Fiction - 87:
- Novels - 84
- Short Story Collections - 3
Nonfiction - 45:
- Memoirs - 7
- Biographies - 6
- Books on Books- 5
- Sports - 1
- True Crime- 5
- History - 6
- Music - 2
- Sociology - 7
- Instructional - 2
- Politics - 1
- Essays - 2
- Travel - 1
- Written by Men - 84
- Written by Women - 45
- Written by Both - 3
- Audio Books - 34
- E-Books - 22
- Library Books - 92
- Review Copies - 29
- From My Shelves - 11
- Pages per Day: 120
- Total Pages Read: 43,650
I'm disappointed (as usual) by the small number of works by foreign authors that I read in the past year. I did manage to read 35 books from other countries but 28 of those were from either the U.K. or Canada, and that seems too easy. The others came from Sweden, Australia, Germany, Ireland, and Belgium. I hope to have more variety to report this time next year.
Now it"s time to move on not just to a new year, but to a whole new decade...this is going to be fun. Happy New Year, y'all.
I'm afraid I don't read many books by foreign authors either, and like you I don't consider Canada, the USA etc. to be 'really' foreign. I read 10 books for the European reading challenge but 8 were by British or American authors. The other two were a Belgian author (Georges Simenon) and an Icelandic, a bit of a poor show. I need to try and do something about that next year.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you too, Sam. It's been a pleasure getting to know you via your book blog. Here's to 2020 in one hour from now.
Sounds like we've both identified a goal for 2020, Cath. :-)
DeleteI enjoy seeing people’s stats, I find them interesting. Congrats on your reading accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteThanks, for that. I'm on my way to take a look at your book blog, and I appreciate you stopping by here.
DeleteHappy reading in 2020! :D
ReplyDeleteEver onward, Lark. I love the feeling of starting on a whole fresh decade again. Have a great reading year.
DeleteI am probably even narrower in my reading. Some Americans, but mostly English. I stopped jotting down which country. But my college degree is in English and American LIt so ... It is truly good to have you back. I am inspired every time I visit. 120 pages a day!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Nan. I can't begin to express how great it is to be regularly blogging again - and to find so many old friends still around. That will be the thing I remember most about 2019. And how content I am right now because of the pleasures of talking books with so many friends.
DeleteI especially admire your nonfiction reading, Sam. I'm going to try to read more nonfiction this year!
ReplyDeleteI find nonfiction to be more of a chore than fiction, but I've identified a handful of nonfiction writers whose styles fit me perfectly, and that makes it easier.
DeleteI really want to work on reading translated works this year. That's pretty much my only goal for 2020.