yeah, the time of the 2011 recap has come, and this is my BEST YEAR EVER, as for reading.
Books read/listened to in 2011: 99 [61 in 2010]. This is an average of 8.25/month.
– 83 were in print [5 were graphic novels (1 in 2010, seriously?)]. With an average of 6.9 books /month.
Total of 23685 pages, with an average of 1973 pages/month
– 16 were Audiobooks [16 in 2010]. This is an average of 1.3/month.
Total of of 11461 mn with an average of 955 mn/month = 16H30/month.
I could add 4 books I translated, and one was over 250 pages.
I also had fun making 2 graphs, representing my average of pages/day per month, and hours/day per month for audiobooks:
Favorites:
my favorite fiction book:
my favorite historical fiction:
Madame Tussaud: A Novel of The French Revolution
my favorite non fiction book:
my favorite spiritual book:
my favorite audiobooks: – non-fiction:
– fiction:
my favorite ebook:
Everything Beautiful Began After
my favorite graphic novel:
Fiction/Non-Fiction ratio: 71/28 [29/32 in 2010]
Male/Female authors ratio: 56/43 [30/25 in 2010]
Books by the same author:19 [12 in 2010]:
– 2 by PJ Wodehouse, W. Mosley, L. Cossé, A. Patchett, H. Grant, B.Selznick, SJ Parris, and 5 by Bernard Cornwell
Re-Reads: 4 [1 in 2010] : The Crying of Lot 49, I And Thou, Cien Sonetos de Amor, Being As Communion
Oldest: The Canterbury Tales – end of 14th century
Newest: The First Rule of Ten – 1/10/2012!
In translation: 13 [7 in 2010]
- 4 from French
- 3 from Japanese
- 2 from Russian
- 1 from Portuguese
- 1 from German
- 1 from Greek
- 1 from Yiddish
2 in original language: 1 in French and 1 in Spanish
Other countries these books led me to (I’ll be more specific with book titles next year): South America, Amazon River Region, Turkey, Iran, India, Southeast Asia, Greece, Germany, France, England, Ethiopia, Sudan, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Spain
Set in the Middle-Ages:9 [4 in 2010]
Shortest: The Night Bookmobile – 40 pages
Longest: 1Q84 – 924 pages.
Funniest: Do Butlers Burgle Banks?
Favorite character of the year: Victoria, in The Language Of Flowers
Which author was new to you in 2010 that you now want to read the entire works of?
Michelle Moran, Benjamin Hale, Bernard Cornwell, Helen Grant, Simon Van Booy, SJ Watson, SJ Parris
Best title: 1Q84
Longest book title: The Band That Played On: The Extraordinary Story of the Eight Musicians Who Went Down With The Titanic
Shortest book title: Doc
Books coming from:
- my personal bookshelf: 4 [1 in 2010]
- books received for review: 19 [1 in 2010]
- my city Public Library: 69 [59 in 2009]
- other online free downloads: 7
And now to a very fun wrap up. There are a lot of those online, but these are my favorites:
– When I was younger I was : Tevye The Dairyman
– People might be surprised to discover that I’m: The Spy Who Came From the Cold
– I will never be: The Edible Woman
– At the end of a long day I need: Light From the Christian East
– Right now I’m feeling: Strong As Death
– Someday I want to: Settle(d) In The Wild
– At a party you’d find me: In Constant Prayer
– I’ve never: Caught In The Winds
– I really don’t enjoy: The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
– My advice is to: Be(ing) As Communion
– In my next life I want to be: The Alchemist
– If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Lost City of Z
– Your favorite form of transportation: The Night Bookmobile
– Your best friend is: Madame Tussaud
– You and your friends are: The Innocents Abroad
– What’s the weather like: The Worst Hard Time
– Favorite time of day: Endless Night
– If your life was : Metamorphosis
– What is life to you: The Great Railway Bazaar
– Your fear: The Glass Demon
– What is the best advice you have to give: The First Rule of Ten
– Thought for the Day: All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost
– How I would like to die: Wonderstruck
– My soul’s present condition: State Of Wonder
I began the day with French Milk
On my way to work I saw The Pale Horseman
and walked by The Lake
to avoid [the] Lords Of The North
but I made sure to stop at A Novel Bookstore
In the office, my boss said : Do Butlers Burgle Banks?
and sent me to research The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore
At lunch with The Lost Cyclist
I noticed The Broken Teaglass
under A Distant Mirror
then went back to my desk In A Strange Room
Later, on the journey home, I bought The Touchstone
because I have Germs
then settling down for the evening, I picked up The Planet in A Pebble
and studied Bel Canto
before saying goodnight to Bartleby the Scrivener
Now don’t tell me it’s not fun! Have you tried with the titles of the books you read in 2011?
In 2011, I participated in 9 Reading Challenges, 1 Read Along, and 1 Tour. see my recap here. The most fun was probably What’s In A Name; I’ll do it again this year.
***
And now to 2012:
I have signed up to 23 Reading Challenges: it probably sounds totally insane, and it IS. But some titles will work for several challenges, I’m going to travel to 52 countries! See this Google spreadsheet to see what titles I plan to read for what challenge – so far, only a few titles are listed, but that can give you great ideas of Challenges.
2011 was such an exciting year of reading for me, thanks to you other book bloggers, and all my readers who subscribed to this blog through email, google reader, wordpress, facebook, twitter, etc, and to all your comments! Thanks again for following this blog!
HAPPY NEW YEAR OF READING TO YOU!
Words And Peace 
As a Spanish reader, I would love to know which one you read this year. There have seem some recent detective series that I loved but have not been translated!
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sure, that was Cien Sonetos de Amor, by Pablo Neruda, my favorite poet. here is my review: https://wordsandpeace.com/2011/07/14/review-51-cien-sonetos-de-amor-100-love-sonnets/
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Thanks! I’m sorry I can’t comment on Neruda because I studied him back in high school and I’m not really into Spanish literature (prefer English) so I’ve forgotten most of it!
Ironically, when someone reads in Spanish I usually imagine them reading a novel, because I find them easier to understand even by native speakers. I hope you keep reading in Spanish since, for what I see in the review, you love it.
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Thanks for encouraging me, I should definitely read more Spanish. I love it, it is so much more musical than my native language, French. These past years, I had to review articles and books in Spanish, but no longer, for now. I teach Spanish online for students who need to prepare for the Reading Knowledge of Spanish, for the Ph.D., but apart from that, that’s pretty limited right now. Any good novel you would recommend? I want to read Love In The Time of Cholera, maybe I should try in Spanish.
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I loved Hugo Cabret too. I have got to get to Madame Tussaud. I loved the 2 books by Michelle Moran I read but have not gotten to this one yet.
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yes Madame Tussaud is outstanding, the choice of that character for a book on the French revolution was a genius idea, you will see when you 5ead it. I have just started listening to Cleopatra’s Daughter, and I enjoy it very much as well
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You are certainly to be commended for tackling 1Q84! I know fans of Murakami just love him, but I am way too intimidated to read him!
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this one is actually a very easy read, and the suspense pulls you effortlessly from chapter to chapter
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Why did you have so much time in September? 🙂
I really loved 1Q84 too, and I’m so glad I read it in 2011. Here’s to another year of great reading… Happy new year!
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Just checked what happened. Actually one was Wonderstruck, thick but not too much text. and 2 big ones I had started the month before, that explains it. Happy New Year!
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Omai, I love your list! It’s funny. 😀
Where do you get such a diverse international list of books! It’s great you read books with different country settings. All the best with the 23 challenges!
I liked the Victoria character in The Language of Flowers, too. I think she really matured in the novel.
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you can find books by countries on goodreads, google, and other bloggers who do the same challenge. it should really be fun, cheaper than real travel too! any recommendation for YOUR country?
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23 challenges is quite ambitious! That should put you over 100 books in 2012.
1Q84 is one I want to read, just need to make some time for a book of that size.
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actually, it reads quickly. yes, made it to 99 this year, so I hope to reach 100 in 2012
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I loved Madame Tussaud but it’s not my favorite of hers. That would be Nefertiti or The Heretic Queen.
Happy New Year!
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thanks for the recommendation. right now enjoying a lot Cleopatra’s Daughter
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WoW! You’ve had a great year!…I’ve signed up for a medieval challenge this year…so am hoping to conquer a few of those old English Texts (in translation, of course). And all the best for your 23 challenges!….:D
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wow, a Medieval Challenge! The Middle Ages are my favorite period, but I don’t think I’ll read many Medieval authors in 2012, though I would like to get to The Divine Comedy, finally! I read and loved Beowulf, a few decades ago
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Oh, which version of Beowulf did you read? I’m currently reading the Gunemere translation and find it a bit hard. I think it’s the only one in the public domain. So I figured I’d get myself a paperback, but I’ve no clue what translation to get!
And I’m planning to tackle Dante after I’m done with Beowulf…am really excited about that one! 🙂
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sorry Risa, I read it back in France, I have no idea what publisher it was, that was decades ago. it was bilingual with notes, that’s all I remember, but we have lots of bilingual publishing companies in France
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Congratulations on accomplishing so much! I was on my way to grab Madame Tussaud out of my stacks recently and I got de-railed by a Christmas book. I will get to it soon!
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yes, it’s a must, it is so well done
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You are SO organized! I wish I could be more like you 🙂 And so many challenges too, I thought I was doing a lot, hahaha. 1Q84 is on my reading list this year (yay for the continuation of the Murakami challenge) and I should read Madame Tussaud too. What is the book you read in French?
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I need to be organized to get through all these challenges…
looking forward to seeing your reaction to 1Q84, readers either adore or hate it. And Madame Tussaud, you really need to get back to it, it’s a real feat!
In French, I read Proust’s Du côté de chez Swann [Swann’s Way], and the first part of A l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs, the sequel. I am currently reading the 2nd part, it’s on a slower side, and also Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier, one of my favorite books in around 7th grade
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Wow, you are insanely organized, Emma! Love those graphs and spreadsheets (ha ha, maybe that’s one of the secrets to reading almost twice as many books as I did?). In any event, good to hear that you liked the Murakami so much (people have been all over the map on that one) and nice to see another thumbs-up for a David McCullogh work so soon in succession (somebody mentioned him highly on my blog the other day). Bon année and continued happy reading to you in 2012!
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well, I have to be somewhat organized to get through all these challenges, LOL!
Bonne année à toi aussi!
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I LOVE the Saxon Chronicles series. I’ve read a lot of Cornwell’s other work, but nothing gets me like Uhtred and the Norsemen!
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yes, great character! actually, I have a library hold on the very last on that series. And now I would like to read his Grail Quest series
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I just got Before O Go to Sleep. Glad you liked it.
23 challenges… I think it is a mix of couragoues and crazy… But if some books apply for different challenges.
Have you seen my Literature and War readalong? If any of the challenges have something to do with historical fiction and or WWII/WWI … that’s the place to look. 🙂
Good luck and enjoy it.
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That book was really fabulous, with the amazing Orlagh Cassidy as the narrator. I think this is the perfect book for the audio format.
yes, I can be nuts, as for books, and yes mercifully, some books will count for a few challenges.
Because I have had to read on/study so much on WWI and WWII and the Holocaust as a French student, I usually stay away from those now, so I did not join for that one, although I saw it
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Great post! I never thought of analyzing my reads in the way you have here. I’m going straight for my 2011 list to see what I’ve been up to ;-D Thanks!
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thanks. I believe that was the common model a year or 2 ago for book bloggers, I prefer it to the one often found in 2011 blogs. do you have a book blog? the link did not seem to work properly
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I loved Everything Beautiful Began After and Hugo. I’ve been incredibly curious about 1Q84 and it’s good to have another vote for the pro column.
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yes, and he deserves this positive vote, according to my humble opinion. let me know when you’ve read it
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Wow! I love all your stats that you included, particularly those graphs! It looks like September was a really good month for you! I really want to read 1Q84 and I see a few others I need to put on my list as well and a few that already are! Can’t wait for 2012! Good luck on all those challenges!
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Thanks, and happy new year of reading to you too!
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Nice list! You’ve reminded me I should read my copy of IQ84 soon before someone tells me what it’s all about (although it’s usually not that easy to do that with Mr Murakami!) Also loving the slightly geek-fabulous graphs. I used to have a spreadsheet on my blog, but I’m trying to whim read and pretend I don’t have over 100 unread books stacked up at home to get on with 🙂
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LOL! thanks for your comment. YES go run to 1Q84, before you read one of those crazy very negative reviews about it. sounds like you are a fan of his, so I’d like to know what you think about this one
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Wow, what a fantastic reading year! I’m so happy for you! I’ve wanted to read Atlantic for awhile. Maybe i’ll get it on audio if it’s that great.
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yes Winchester reads all of his own books, he has a great voice, and perfect tone
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I loved your wrap-up! Those funny sentences are great!! One of the books that you read that I really want to read this year is The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
Thanks for stopping by my wrap-up post!
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Yes, this book is amazing, the author is as good a writer as an illustrator. And if the movie Hugo is close to you, run to it, in 3D, it is sooo good!
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What a brilliant summary. I have never thought of analysding the number of pages. I must dfo that for 2012. I love the professionalism of your graphs – so smart.
And what a lot of TBRs you’ve given me.
Thanks for a great post.
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Thanks for your nice comment. actually some other bloggers have more cool graphs, for instance pies to show the stats for male/female writers, where books were coming from, etc, so I’ll have more of these next year!
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I think State of Wonder was the only of those books I read last year. I must say I’ve enver seen those other two groupings so I’m going to have to remember them.
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Yes, they are really neat
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These memes must have taken forever to do, but I can see you had fun with it! I just do some shorter ones!
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it was so much fun, I don’t mind spending time for my yearly recap
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