In 2010 I got this meme, I think from Boston Bibliophile. It was a fun way to summarize the year, so I now do it every year. Two years ago I added a couple of new categories (how many books for work and how many different publishers).
How many books read in 2020? 120. Barely, by the skin of my teeth. Going to reduce this number for next year.
How many fiction and non fiction? 48 fiction, 72 nonfiction. Pretty skewed this year.
Male/Female author ratio? 47 male, 73 female. Skewed almost identically to the fiction/nonfiction split. Interestingly, male/fiction was by far and away the most unlikely pairing. Because fewer men write novels, fewer men write palatable novels, I don't like the novels that men write, or why, I wonder?
Favorite book of 2020? What Matters Most: The Get Your Shit Together Guide to Wills, Money, Insurance, and Life's "What-ifs" by Chanel Reynolds
Least favorite book? We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence by Becky Cooper. Has all the pitfalls of true crime--doesn't really solve the crime, author inserts herself in the story everywhere, and for no good reason--she has no connection to the case aside from having attended the same college.
Any that you simply couldn't finish and why? Not this year!
Oldest book read? The Pine Barrens by John McPhee (1978)
Newest? The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe (Coming out in September 2022)
Longest and shortest book titles? (not including subtitles) Longest: You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey Shortest: 3 way tie! Brat, Fuzz, and Dirt.
Longest and shortest books? Longest: A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020 by David Sedaris 576 pages Shortest: History Comics: The Stonewall Riots: Making a Stand for LGBTQ Rights by Archie Bongiovanni
How many books from the library? 30 all but one of them audiobooks!
How many audiobooks? 30 all but one of them from the library!
How many graphic books? Thirteen.
Any translated books? One--So Much for Love: How I Survived a Toxic Relationship by Sophie Lambda (from French)
Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author? Becky Chambers, Lindy West, and David Sedaris--2
Any re-reads? Three! So rare these days! Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, and The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler, both on audio. And Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland.
Favorite character of the year? Mosscap from Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy.
Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading? Austria, France, England, Canada, China, Japan, Israel, Indonesia, Ireland. Much fewer than usual. Are books also not traveling during the pandemic? Or do I like armchair travel less when I can't travel myself? Like my books to stay close to come which is more comfortable? Partly I'm sure this was impacted by my trip to France and me reading quite a few books set there instead of more variety.
Which book wouldn't you have read without someone's specific recommendation? Hooked by Sutton Foster recommended (and sent to me by) Julie, a friend who is a sales rep for Hachette, the publisher. The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design by Roman Mars and The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr I'm pretty sure these were both recommended by Emilie at East City Books in DC. Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland, way back in 2001 when I first read this, it was recommended by my then-boyfriend Nick. The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harper was recommended by my colleague Sage.
Which author was new to you in 2020 that you now want to read the entire works of? Eh, no one really. The authors who I am dying to read more of either I was already familiar with and had previously read, or this was their first book.
Which books are you annoyed you didn't read? The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven by Nathaniel Ian Miller and Falling by T.J. Newman
How many books did you read for work? 88. I actually read 89 books published by Macmillan or its distributed lines but I didn't count the John McPhee from 1978.
How many different publishers (not imprints) did you read? 15 (including 3 publishers that are distributed by Macmillan, my employer, but are not owned by them, so I count them separately.)
Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read? The Pine Barrens by John McPhee
2020 TOP FOUR Book Events in Carin's Book Life (this used to be 8 but that was always very difficult to do, and is more so since I have a steady job and am no longer on the WNBA board):
1. Got through 2021! Healthy and employed!
2. Visited eight bookstores! For 2021, I think this number is impressive. Four of them I'd never been to before.
3. Did not move this year! But bought a townhouse for next year! Will then be able to unpack all of my books (currently half are still in boxes.)
4. I think I'm past my doldrums of almost-reading-slump. It was a miracle that I read my 120 books.
That's all we can expect from 2021 and I consider those really great accomplishments this year!
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