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2013 Book Roundup
Dec. 31st, 2013 06:48 pmAccording to Goodreads, I've had my worst reading year since I started keeping track. (admittedly, that's only three years.)
I read 59 books, of which 4 went unfinished. (3 from boredom, one from disgust. I loathed Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana. Loathed.) Only one was in translation (from Icelandic) and all were read in English. Only 19 were by women, which is actually marginally better than I expected I though I was doing. 2 were re-reads
34 were fiction, which broke down as 11 science fiction, 14 fantasy (including urban and steampunk, three of which were probably mostly romances) 7 mysteries and historicals and 2 cases of what I can only peg as 'proper literature' (Umberto Eco's Prague Cemetery and Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day.) 25 were non-fiction, of which 17 were history of some kind.
A lot, especially in the second half of the year, were not that great. I can't point at a single fiction book I totally and unabashedly loved and will be one of those I treasure forever (save for the re-reads: Remains of the Day and Wintersmith.) Though a few were quite fun, particularly Meljean Brook's Riveted, which was a bit of a departure into reading romance for me.
There were a few very good non-fic though - Anna Reid's history of the Leningrad siege (Leningrad) was riveting and Lizzie Collingham's look at the various roles food played in WW2 (The Taste of War) absolutely fascinating.
Well, for a somewhat better year next year.
I read 59 books, of which 4 went unfinished. (3 from boredom, one from disgust. I loathed Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana. Loathed.) Only one was in translation (from Icelandic) and all were read in English. Only 19 were by women, which is actually marginally better than I expected I though I was doing. 2 were re-reads
34 were fiction, which broke down as 11 science fiction, 14 fantasy (including urban and steampunk, three of which were probably mostly romances) 7 mysteries and historicals and 2 cases of what I can only peg as 'proper literature' (Umberto Eco's Prague Cemetery and Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day.) 25 were non-fiction, of which 17 were history of some kind.
A lot, especially in the second half of the year, were not that great. I can't point at a single fiction book I totally and unabashedly loved and will be one of those I treasure forever (save for the re-reads: Remains of the Day and Wintersmith.) Though a few were quite fun, particularly Meljean Brook's Riveted, which was a bit of a departure into reading romance for me.
There were a few very good non-fic though - Anna Reid's history of the Leningrad siege (Leningrad) was riveting and Lizzie Collingham's look at the various roles food played in WW2 (The Taste of War) absolutely fascinating.
Well, for a somewhat better year next year.
