Tallies for 2007
And now for a tradition that is entering its second year. Here is the list of books I read in 2007, followed by some statistics:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
Mountain Man Dance Moves: The McSweeney's Book of Lists - various
Running with Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
For One More Day - Mitch Albom
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Cage of Stars - Jacquelyn Mitchard
Leaving Mother Lake - Yang Erche Namu & Christine Mathieu
Wisconsin 24/7 - Rick Smolan & David Elliot Cohen
Alternadad - Neal Pollack
Love is a Mix Tape - Rob Sheffield
1001 Ideas for Color and Paint - Emma Callery
Historic Homes of America - Ernest Wood
Bill Bryson's African Diary - Bill Bryson
Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom - David Wilkes
On The Wealth of Nations - PJ O'Rourke
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
The Fortress of Solitude - Jonathan Lethem
Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares
Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
Not a Genuine Black Man - Brian Copeland
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
The Children in Room E4 - Susan Eaton
IV - Chuck Klosterman
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
Divisadero - Michael Ondaatje
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime - Miles Harvey
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
The Body Artist - Don DeLillo
After the Quake - Haruki Murakami
One Sunday Morning - Amy Ephron
Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
The Cabin Faced West - Jean Fritz
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War - Tony Horwitz
Disney's Winnie the Pooh: A Celebration of the Silly Old Bear - Christopher Finch
Poster Child: A Memoir - Emily Rapp
Da Vinci's Kitchen: A Secret History of Italian Cuisine - Dave DeWitt
Gravity's Arc: The Story of Gravity, from Aristotle to Einstein and Beyond - David Darling
The Tiger in the Attic - Edith Milton
Becky's Christmas - Tasha Tudor
Still Life with Woodpecker - Tom Robbins
The Curse of Ravenscourt: a Samantha Mystery - Sarah Masters Buckey
Shadows on Society Hill: an Addy Mystery - Evelyn Coleman
The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation - David Kamp
Midnight in Lonesome Hollow: a Kit Mystery - Kathleen Ernst
Sala's Gift: My Mother's Holocaust Story - Ann Kirschner
A Spy on the Home Front: A Molly Mystery - Alison Hart
Jesus Land - Julia Scheeres
Away - Amy Bloom
Peril at King's Creek: a Felicity Mystery - Elizabeth McDavid Jones
Tests of Time - William H. Gass
Silent to the Bone - E.L. Konigsburg
The Little Friend - Donna Tartt
A Spy on the Home Front: A Molly Mystery - Sarah Masters Buckey
The True and Amazing Adventures of the Hunt Sisters - Elisabeth Robinson
Songs Without Words - Ann Packer
The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food - Judith Jones
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain - Oliver Sacks
A Little House Christmas Treasury - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
The Child in Time - Ian McEwan
Snowbound with Betsy - Carolyn Haywood
The Christmases We Used to Know - Reminisce Books
Betsy's Winterhouse - Carolyn Haywood
Betsy and Billy - Carolyn Haywood
Back to School with Betsy - Carolyn Haywood
Betsy's Little Star - Carolyn Haywood
My Year of Meats - Ruth L. Ozeki
The 1927 Sears & Roebuck Catalog
The Stolen Sapphire: A Samantha Mystery - Sarah Masters Buckey
Betsy and the Boys - Carolyn Haywood
Betsy and the Circus - Carolyn Haywood
Betsy's Busy Summer - Carolyn Haywood
Total books read: 77
Nonfiction books: 32 (42%)
Fiction books: 45 (58%)
By female authors: 47 (61%)
By male authors: 27 (35%)
By both: 3 (4%)
Marketed for children/teens: 26 (34%)
Read previously: 16 (21%)
You should definitely read:
The Child in Time by Ian McEwan. It was a book that made me miss my days of studying literature in a classroom setting, because upon finishing I itched to go back and take notes on themes and motifs and things. I started out unsure of how the threads in the story would tie together, but ended up impressed by the way they did.
You also should definitely read I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, but I figure I might have been the last person who hadn't already read it.
You absolutely should not read:
On the off chance you checked out my list of books and thought, "Hey, I should read some of those American Girls mysteries!" ... really, not so much. I mean, they're fine if you're nine years old. If you're not, I'd only recommend them if you need some palate-cleansing fluffy reading material featuring characters you first met when you were nine years old. And even then, the Carolyn Haywood books are a much better use of your time.
Overall, my 2007 reading stats are quite similar to those from 2006. I need to bust out with some crazy trends in 2008! Or, you know, just keep reading what I clearly enjoy reading.
Because I like lists and stats, here are some more for 2007.
Total concerts attended: 46, counting each day of multi-day events (like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass) separately
Seen the most often: Wilco, Andrew Bird, Jon Brion
Performers seen for the first time (headlining): 5 (Scott Amendola Band, Badly Drawn Boy, Joseph Arthur, Arcade Fire, Crowded House)
Performers seen for the first time (support or festival): 15+ (Carrie Rodriguez, Ferraby Lionheart, Jon Rauhouse, My Brightest Diamond, Low, Chris Mills, Blue Mountain, Liam Finn, Richard Swift, Art Brut, Dr. Dog, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Doc Watson, Kim and Kelley Deal, and many more)
Performers for whom I am a repeat customer: at least 20 (it gets hard to count with festivals)
Foreign countries visited: 1 (Mexico)
Foreign countries visited for the first time: 1 (Mexico)
States visited (for work, fun, or both): 17 (Illinois, Texas, New Mexico, Washington, Iowa, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nevada)
States visited for the first time: 4 (New Mexico, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont)
Homes purchased: 1
I expect to surpass at least two of those totals in 2008. Though probably not "homes purchased."
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
Mountain Man Dance Moves: The McSweeney's Book of Lists - various
Running with Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
For One More Day - Mitch Albom
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Cage of Stars - Jacquelyn Mitchard
Leaving Mother Lake - Yang Erche Namu & Christine Mathieu
Wisconsin 24/7 - Rick Smolan & David Elliot Cohen
Alternadad - Neal Pollack
Love is a Mix Tape - Rob Sheffield
1001 Ideas for Color and Paint - Emma Callery
Historic Homes of America - Ernest Wood
Bill Bryson's African Diary - Bill Bryson
Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom - David Wilkes
On The Wealth of Nations - PJ O'Rourke
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
The Fortress of Solitude - Jonathan Lethem
Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares
Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
Not a Genuine Black Man - Brian Copeland
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
The Children in Room E4 - Susan Eaton
IV - Chuck Klosterman
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
Divisadero - Michael Ondaatje
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime - Miles Harvey
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
The Body Artist - Don DeLillo
After the Quake - Haruki Murakami
One Sunday Morning - Amy Ephron
Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
The Cabin Faced West - Jean Fritz
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War - Tony Horwitz
Disney's Winnie the Pooh: A Celebration of the Silly Old Bear - Christopher Finch
Poster Child: A Memoir - Emily Rapp
Da Vinci's Kitchen: A Secret History of Italian Cuisine - Dave DeWitt
Gravity's Arc: The Story of Gravity, from Aristotle to Einstein and Beyond - David Darling
The Tiger in the Attic - Edith Milton
Becky's Christmas - Tasha Tudor
Still Life with Woodpecker - Tom Robbins
The Curse of Ravenscourt: a Samantha Mystery - Sarah Masters Buckey
Shadows on Society Hill: an Addy Mystery - Evelyn Coleman
The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation - David Kamp
Midnight in Lonesome Hollow: a Kit Mystery - Kathleen Ernst
Sala's Gift: My Mother's Holocaust Story - Ann Kirschner
A Spy on the Home Front: A Molly Mystery - Alison Hart
Jesus Land - Julia Scheeres
Away - Amy Bloom
Peril at King's Creek: a Felicity Mystery - Elizabeth McDavid Jones
Tests of Time - William H. Gass
Silent to the Bone - E.L. Konigsburg
The Little Friend - Donna Tartt
A Spy on the Home Front: A Molly Mystery - Sarah Masters Buckey
The True and Amazing Adventures of the Hunt Sisters - Elisabeth Robinson
Songs Without Words - Ann Packer
The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food - Judith Jones
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain - Oliver Sacks
A Little House Christmas Treasury - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
The Child in Time - Ian McEwan
Snowbound with Betsy - Carolyn Haywood
The Christmases We Used to Know - Reminisce Books
Betsy's Winterhouse - Carolyn Haywood
Betsy and Billy - Carolyn Haywood
Back to School with Betsy - Carolyn Haywood
Betsy's Little Star - Carolyn Haywood
My Year of Meats - Ruth L. Ozeki
The 1927 Sears & Roebuck Catalog
The Stolen Sapphire: A Samantha Mystery - Sarah Masters Buckey
Betsy and the Boys - Carolyn Haywood
Betsy and the Circus - Carolyn Haywood
Betsy's Busy Summer - Carolyn Haywood
Total books read: 77
Nonfiction books: 32 (42%)
Fiction books: 45 (58%)
By female authors: 47 (61%)
By male authors: 27 (35%)
By both: 3 (4%)
Marketed for children/teens: 26 (34%)
Read previously: 16 (21%)
You should definitely read:
The Child in Time by Ian McEwan. It was a book that made me miss my days of studying literature in a classroom setting, because upon finishing I itched to go back and take notes on themes and motifs and things. I started out unsure of how the threads in the story would tie together, but ended up impressed by the way they did.
You also should definitely read I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, but I figure I might have been the last person who hadn't already read it.
You absolutely should not read:
On the off chance you checked out my list of books and thought, "Hey, I should read some of those American Girls mysteries!" ... really, not so much. I mean, they're fine if you're nine years old. If you're not, I'd only recommend them if you need some palate-cleansing fluffy reading material featuring characters you first met when you were nine years old. And even then, the Carolyn Haywood books are a much better use of your time.
Overall, my 2007 reading stats are quite similar to those from 2006. I need to bust out with some crazy trends in 2008! Or, you know, just keep reading what I clearly enjoy reading.
Because I like lists and stats, here are some more for 2007.
Total concerts attended: 46, counting each day of multi-day events (like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass) separately
Seen the most often: Wilco, Andrew Bird, Jon Brion
Performers seen for the first time (headlining): 5 (Scott Amendola Band, Badly Drawn Boy, Joseph Arthur, Arcade Fire, Crowded House)
Performers seen for the first time (support or festival): 15+ (Carrie Rodriguez, Ferraby Lionheart, Jon Rauhouse, My Brightest Diamond, Low, Chris Mills, Blue Mountain, Liam Finn, Richard Swift, Art Brut, Dr. Dog, Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Doc Watson, Kim and Kelley Deal, and many more)
Performers for whom I am a repeat customer: at least 20 (it gets hard to count with festivals)
Foreign countries visited: 1 (Mexico)
Foreign countries visited for the first time: 1 (Mexico)
States visited (for work, fun, or both): 17 (Illinois, Texas, New Mexico, Washington, Iowa, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nevada)
States visited for the first time: 4 (New Mexico, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont)
Homes purchased: 1
I expect to surpass at least two of those totals in 2008. Though probably not "homes purchased."
posted by BeeKay at 1:18 AM
7 Comments:
Things I learned from this post:
1) Damn, you read a lot. I feel like I'm lucky if I read seven books a year, much less 77. I blame it on the New Yorker and other magazines. Also, my non-fiction to fiction ratio would be like 7 to .5.
2) We hang out a lot for two people who live in not just separate states, but regions.
3) I also expect you to surpass the totals for foreign countries this year. :)
4) I think I know what to get you for your birthday next year.
I do not understand how you find the time to read so much - so I must ask, how do you do it? You seem to work/travel and go to shows quite often, so where the heck do you fit in reading so much?
Are you some freaky speed-reader?
I think I met my goal of 12 for last year, so I'm happy!
=D
list-tastic! Would you mind terribly if I copied you idea and listed books I read on my own blog? Must. Make. Lists.
Must. Also. Avoid. Original. Ideas.
Feel free to take the concept and run, Allison. I'd love to see what you read in 2007.
I'm not sure how I read so many books. I read a lot in the evenings when I'm not doing other things ... ha, that's not very informative, is it? Well, the books intended for kids typically don't take very long to finish.
I think one book a week is about right for me, so I'd be sitting at 52. But I hate making lists, so we'll never ever know.
I do stay perpetually around five months behind on the New Yorker, so that helps.
In my experience, people who want to read more books should 1). Take public transportation 2). Read before sleep and 3). Travel a lot (reading is my #3 airplane activity, after sleeping and eating peanuts).
As the author of SALA'S GIFT, I am delighted to find myself on the list of such a wonderful reader! Thanks for including my book, and I hope your 2008 reading continues to grow and prosper.
ANN KIRSCHNER
author, Sala's Gift
www.salasgift.com
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