Reading Stats and Top Reads of the Year

I'm not sure I stuck to any of my reading goals this year, but that's not particularly unusual.  I'd intended on reading more nonfiction, more Atlantic Canadian poetry and fiction, and I'd planned to be more selective in general.  I'm still too often responding to that 'compelled to finish every book I start' weakness, which is a big time waster.  That habit must be broken!  There are great reads out there and the time wasters are just in the way.

Number of Books read: 112

Books by men: 55

Books by women: 56  

Books written or edited by both: 1

Books in translation: 6

Books that were re-reads: 17

Fiction read: 92


Goodness, I guess my goal of reading more nonfiction really did fall by the wayside.  Must do better!

Of the Fiction . . .

Novels (literary and otherwise): 63 

Poetry: 9

Plays: 3

Short Story collections: 4

Children's/YA fiction: 13

Nonfiction read: 20

Of the Nonfiction . . .

Essays/lectures/letters: 4

History/Biography/Memoir: 8

On Literature and/or Poetry: 2


Gardening/Outdoors/Food: 6


Books By Year of Publication


21st century: 52


Second half of 20th century, 1950-1999: 18


First half of 20th century, 1900- 1950: 28


19th century: 11  


I'd intended on reading more 19th century.  And I thought I had. But, like the nonfiction, somehow that goal got away from me.  


Pre-19th century: 3

TOP FIVES: 


The top 5 prose fiction reads from this past year (regardless of year of publication and excluding canonical and/or quasi-canonical). Listed in no particular order (oh, and not including re-reads):

• That Forgetful Shore by Trudy Morgan-Cole (pub: 2011)
• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (pub: 2005) 
• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (pub: 1987)
• The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch (pub: 1993)
• When I Was Young & In My Prime by Alayna Munce (pub: 2005)   

Top 5 poetry reads of the year. These are in no particular order (excluding re-reads/classics/canonical):

• Guesswork by Jeffery Donaldson (pub: 2011)  Donaldson is simply one of the best poets writing in Canada right now.
• Maps of Invariance by John Smith (pub: 2005)  Just mind-blowingly wonderful.  What he does with the prose poem (and I'm not even much of a prose poem fan)! Brilliant collection.    Dense in the best sense of the word.
• A Page from the Wonders of Life on Earth by Stephanie Bolster (pub: 2011) 
• Games of Chance by Gerard Beirne (pub: 2011)
• Horoscopes for the Dead by Billy Collins (pub: 2011) Yes, I have a weakness for Collins.  

Top 5 nonfiction books read this year (not including re-reads):

• The Price of Honesty: Life, Laughter and Liquid Lunches by Ralph Costello (pub: 2011)
• Bound To Last: 30 Writers On Their Most Cherished Book ed. by Sean Manning (pub: 2010)
• The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time by Judith Shulevitz (pub: 2010)
• Serve It Forth by M.F.K. Fisher (pub: 1937)
• Glenn Gould by Mark Kingwell (pub: 2009)

Reading goals for the coming year: Let's see if I can stick to last year's goals in the coming year.  Especially the being more selective part.  Read a little less, read a lot better, and live much more.  Yes, that'll be the goal. And I want to get in more classics.

I wish you all a fun, safe evening of celebrations, and a brilliant, book-filled new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!