Happy New Year! I'm starting off with a roundup of my reading from 2017!
2017 Reading Stats
As usual, borrowed and modified from Boston Bibliophile.
How many books read in 2017? 64, 12 more than my goal of 52!
How many fiction and non fiction? 40 fiction, 21 nonfiction (who am I???), and 3 books of poetry.
Male/Female author ratio? 40 women, 21 men, 1 multi-author poetry collection, 1 multi-author short story collection, and 1 book by a husband/wife team
Writers of Color/Minority Writers? 17 writers of color/minority writers, 14 of whom are Jewish, including one African American Jewish author (my former Hebrew school teacher, Michael Twitty)
Favorite book of 2017? The Magician King and The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman. After taking such a long break since reading the first book, which deeply and painfully affected me, it was incredible to see the development of Quentin as a character and of The Magicians itself as a world.
Favorite book of 2017? The Magician King and The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman. After taking such a long break since reading the first book, which deeply and painfully affected me, it was incredible to see the development of Quentin as a character and of The Magicians itself as a world.
Also, Victims and Neighbors: A Small Town in Nazi Germany Remembered by Frances Henry deserves a special mention because I'm still thinking about its lessons, which unfortunately reverberate today. All my other favorite books read in 2017 are listed here.
Least favorite?
The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop Cafe by Mary Simses and The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig. These both caught my eye because of their delicious covers, but apparently I should know better. What I thought would be books about baking were more contemporary romance, which others may enjoy, but is not typically my cup of tea.
Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why? I DNF’d Voyager by Russell Banks. I was looking for travel writing, but didn't relate to his personal stories. Again, just not my cup of tea.
Oldest book read? Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman, published in 1964
Newest? Mandelbrot the Magnificent by Liz Ziemska, published in Nov. 2017
Longest and shortest book titles?
Shortest title: Warp by Lev Grossman
Longest title: The Jewish Feminist Movement in Germany: The Campaigns of The Judischer Frauenbund, 1904-1938 , by Marion A. Kaplan
Longest and shortest books?
Longest: The Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, at 768 pages.
Shortest: Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich, at 72 pages.
How many books from the library?
18--not as well as last year's 32, but including all 12 audiobooks I listened to this year.
I also read 5 books found at my local Little Free Library, as compared to last year's 8.
Any translated books?
Spark Joy from Japanese. Otherwise, not too well on translated books.
Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?
Nigeria, a fictionalized Kenya, a tour through the history of the Southern United States and several parts of Africa including Nigeria and Ghana (The Cooking Gene), Fillory, a lot of Nazi-era Germany, Nazi-era France, a fictionalized 1960s Boston suburb, Denmark, Philip Pullman's Oxford, a Slavic fantasy world, and more.
Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?
Four books by Lev Grossman, counting my read of the entire Magicians trilogy, plus Warp.
Four books by Lev Grossman, counting my read of the entire Magicians trilogy, plus Warp.
Any re-reads?
The Magicians by Lev Grossman and Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
Favorite character of the year?
Quentin Coldwater
Quentin Coldwater
Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific
recommendation?
I read Purple Hibiscus because it was the One Maryland, One Book, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie came to speak near me. I wanted to read Mandelbrot the Magnificent when I heard about it on Tor.com.
recommendation?
I read Purple Hibiscus because it was the One Maryland, One Book, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie came to speak near me. I wanted to read Mandelbrot the Magnificent when I heard about it on Tor.com.
Which author was new to you in 2017 that you now want to read the entire works of?
Which books are you annoyed you didn't read?
Again, there wasn't anything specific I wanted to read this year, beyond research for my book, which I did, so I"m pretty happy!
Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
The Book Thief had been on my TBR list for a long time, and The Wizard of the Crow had been on my TBR shelf for a while as well.
How many books did you read on your ereader?
Like, 3. Hopefully, I'll do better on that next year.
How many SFF books did you read?
15. Specifically, 13 fantasy, which I think is more than it's been the past couple years.
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