It’s time for another “52 Books in 52 Weeks” recap.
The grand total was 66 books this year, well above last year’s total. I posted back in October when I met my yearly goal, so the last ten weeks of the year were pretty much gravy.
This year’s histogram:
By comparison, the same chart for last year:
My reading rate was more consistent this year, with two outliers. September was a busy month at work, which I suppose could explain why it was light on reading. June surprises me; you’d think the summer months would be more conducive to reading, but maybe not.
I really focused on continuing series this year. In addition to continuing to work through series by Jim Butcher, Lee Child, and Michael Connelly, I started reading Jasper Fforde, Charlie Huston, and Arthur Phillips.
Yes, I read the Twilight series. No, I’m not ashamed of it; now I know what all the fuss is about. I won’t go on about what I think is wrong with them; others have covered those issues better than I can, though perhaps not quite as humorously as in this comic. I’ll limit myself to saying that anyone who thinks that the Harry Potter series is bad for kids but Twilight isn’t has a misguided set of priorities, in my opinion.
Other quantitative facts:
- Books by authors whose blogs I read regularly: 4
- Books I own, signed by the author: 2
- Books made into movies: 4 (with at least 3 more likely to be in the future)
- Books that now I can’t remember having read: 2
That last one is probably an indication that I’m reading a little too much, at a rate above my retention level. One of the things I’m planning to do this year is capsule reviews after reading, which should at least give me something to refer back to.
Here’s the entire list for 2009, in reverse chronological order:
- Coupland, Douglas. Generation A.
- Fforde, Jasper. Lost In a Good Book.
- Butcher, Jim. Death Masks.
- Meyer, Stephenie. Breaking Dawn.
- Locke, Christopher. Gonzo Marketing: Winning Through Worst Practices.
- Philips, Arthur. The Egyptologist: A Novel.
- Posnanski, Joe. The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds.
- Eggers, Dave. Zeitoun.
- Niven, Larry and Lerner, Edward M. Destroyer of Worlds.
- See, Lisa. Shanghai Girls.
- Brown, Dan. The Lost Symbol.
- Joss, Morag. Half Broken Things.
- Milton, Giles. Nathaniel’s Nutmeg, or, The True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History.
- Almond, Steve. Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America.
- Silbert, Leslie. The Intelligencer.
- Stafford, Tom and Webb, Matt. Mind Hacks: Tips & Tools for Using Your Brain in the World.
- Larsson, Stieg. The Girl Who Played With Fire.
- Bernstein, Peter L. Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk.
- Grossman, Austin. Soon I Will Become Invincible.
- Parker, T. Jefferson. Cold Pursuit.
- Child, Lee. Echo Burning.
- Hornfischer, James D. The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.
- Fforde, Jasper. The Eyre Affair.
- Grann, David. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon.
- Huston, Charlie. No Dominion.
- Lewis, Michael. The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.
- Petroski, Henry. Paperboy: Confessions of a Future Engineer.
- Connelly, Michael. The Last Coyote.
- Potter, Christopher. You Are Here: A Portable History of the Universe.
- Meyer, Stephenie. Eclipse.
- Bonner, Kevin Jan. Furniture Restoration and Repair for Beginners.
- Butcher, Jim. Summer Knight.
- Schramm, Ken. The Compleat Meadmaker.
- Nissel, Angela. Mixed: My Life in Black and White.
- Meyer, Stephenie. New Moon.
- Joss, Morag. Fruitful Bodies.
- Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong.
- Huston, Charlie. Already Dead.
- Safina, Carl. Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth’s Last Dinosaur.
- Connelly, Michael. The Concrete Blonde.
- Schneier, Bruce. Beyond Fear.
- Philips, Arthur. Prague: A Novel.
- Fowler, Chrisopher. The Victoria Vanishes.
- Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight.
- Rowling, J.K. The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
- Roach, Mary. Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.
- Child, Lee. Running Blind.
- Petroski, Henry. The Evolution of Useful Things.
- Butcher, Jim. Grave Peril.
- Hodgman, John. More Information Than You Require.
- Sedaris, David. Holidays on Ice.
- Carlsen, Spike. A Splintered History of Wood: Belt Sander Races, Blind Woodworkers, and Baseball Bats.
- Vanderbilt, Tom. Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us).
- Baricco, Alessandro. Silk.
- Berenson, Alex. The Faithful Spy.
- Zoellner, Tom. The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire.
- Larsson, Stieg. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
- Schwarz, Christopher. Workbenches: From Design & Theory to Construction & Use.
- Dublanica, Steve. Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip – Confessions of a Cynical Waiter.
- O’Connell, Carol. Dead Famous.
- Jay, Ricky. Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women.
- Sobel, Dava. Galileo’s Daughter.
- Pelecanos, George. The Turnaround.
- Hieronymus, Stan. Brew Like a Monk.
- Wright, Evan. Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War.
- Rucka, Greg. A Gentleman’s Game.
