2009 Stats

 2009 Statistics


Only 116 books in 2009.  In August and September only 3 books.  Only 3 books in two months!  I don't remember that ever happening before.

I intended to choose my favorites, but this year there were so many!  There were a few duds, but there really were some outstanding reads in 2009.  I'm pleased with the increase in nonfiction; it takes me longer to read nonfiction, but all of them were on topics that held my interest and made me curious, often sending me to other books on the subject.

Have to thank Lisa for sending me the ARC The Vigorous Mind by Ingrid E. Cummings because it provided such a wonderful beginning to my 2009 reading, broadening my horizons in several ways!

I don't  often accept books for Book Tours because of required posting dates.  I usually finish well before the date and don't like to wait.  I will say, however, that the ones I've accepted have been worth it!   

The Vigorous Mind resulted in so many personal benefits--from broadening my reading to my taking a 200 hour teacher training course at Yoga Yoga in Austin and becoming a certified yoga instructor with the Yoga Alliance.  I'm number 75 of 122 in the search results of registered certified teachers in Louisiana.  I'm proud of that and credit Ingrid E. Cummings with the inspiration to even consider that goal, and then with the determination to pursue it.

2009 Totals:  116
92 Fiction
24 Nonfiction
total pages: 38, 582 pages


working backward...


 December

 total books: 14
14 F
0 NF
total pages: 5,014

 

Princess Academy - F - Shannon Hale - 2007 - 336 pages
River Secrets - F - Shannon Hale - 2008 - 320

 Enna Burning - F - Shannon Hale - 2006 - 336
The Goose Girl - F - Shannon Hale - 2005 - 400
Bitter Tide - F - Ann Stamos - 2009 - 409
 Taos Chill - F - Linda Lea Castle - 2009 - 277
Coyote Horizon - F - Allen Steele - 2009 -368
The Joys of My Life - F - Alys Clare - 2009 - 224
Act of Will-F - A. J. Hartley - 2009 - 336
Dust - F- Martha Grimes - 2007- 432-
A False Mirror - F - Charles Todd -  2007 - 416
Slightly Abridged - F - Ellen Pall - 2003 - 288
Knock Out - Catherine Coulter - 2009 - 417
Out of Nowhere - F - Doris Mortman - 1998 - 455

November
Total Books:  17
17 F
0 NF
total pages:  6, 237

A Killing Kindness - F - Reginald Hill -  1980 - 277
 Alexandria: A Marcus Didio Falco Novel - F - Lindsey Davis - 2009 - 338
The Alexandria Cipher - F - Will Adams - 2009 - 336

 The Blue Last - F - Martha Grimes - 2001 - 415 pages
The Girl on Legare Street - F - Karen White - 2009 - 335
 All the Colors of Darkness - F - Peter Robinson - 2009 - 356
 The Price of Butcher's Meat - F - Reginald Hill - 2008 - 519
 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - F - Winifred Watson - 1938 - 234
Now & Then - F - Jacqueline Sheehan - 2009 - 384
 The Magician's Apprentice - F - Trudi Canavan - 2009 - 588
 Midnight Fugue - F - Reginald Hill - 2009 - 361
 By Heresies Distressed - F - David Weber - 2009 - 475
 Dante's Numbers - F - David Hewson - 2009 - 386
 How to Buy a Love of Reading - F - Tanya Egan Gibson - 2009 - 389
 Haunting Bombay - F - Shilpa Agarwal - 2009 - 359
 To Serve Them All My Days - F - R.F. Delderfield - 1972 - 594
The Baker Street Letters - F - Michael Roberston - 2009 - 277

 October
Total books: 10
1 NF
9 F
Total pages:  3,412 pages

Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the Edge of History- NF - Sam Canyon - 009 - 246 pages
 The Little Stranger - F - Sarah Waters - 2009 - 463
 Enclave - F - Kit Reed - 2009 - 366
 God Is an Englishman - F - R.F. Delderfield - 1970 - 634
 The Girl Who Played with Fire -  F- Stieg Larsson - 2009 - 503
 Bare Bones - F - Kathy Reichs - 2003 - 380
 In the Shadow of Gotham - F - Stefanie Pintoff - 2009 - 381
 Excess Baggage - F - Tracy Lea Carnes - 2008 - 185

Grave Goods - F - Ariana Franklin -  2009 - 331 pages

 Hot House Flower and the 9 Plants of Desire - F - Margot Berwin - 2009 - 266

September

One book
 Shadow Magic - F - John Lenahan - 2008 - 278


 August

Total:  Only 2 Books
2 F
631 pages

A Circle of Souls - F - Preetham Grandhi -  2009 - 339 pages
 The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal - F - Sean Dixon - 2009 - 292

July
Total:  11 books
2 NF
9 F
total pages:  3457

 The Book of Rapture - F - Nikki Gemmell - 2009 - 269
 Find Me- F - Carol O'Connell - 2006 -352
 A Darker Domain - F - Val Mc Dermid - 2009 - 355
The Winter House - F -Carol O'Connell - 2004 - 306 
The September Society - F - 2008 - 310
The Anatomy of Deception - F - Lawrence Goldstone - 2008 - 340
Yoga for Body, Breath and Mind - NF - A. G. Mohan - 1993 - 211 pages
Lamentation - Ken Scholes - F - 2009 - 361 pages
Cemetery Dance - Doulas Preston/Lincoln Childs - F - 2009 - 435
Teaching Yoga: Exploring the Teacher-Student Relationship - Donna Farhi - NF - 166
The Private Patient - P.D. James - F - 2008 - 352


 June
June Totals:
 7 books
2 NF
5 F
2, 224 pages

For Glory - Elizabeth Lee - F - 2006 - 333 pages
Cecilian Vespers - F - Anne Emery - F - 2009 300 pages
 A Stopover in Venice - F - Kathryn Walker - 2008 - 306 pages
World Made by Hand - James Kunstler - F - 2008 - 317 pages
The Angels Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafon - F - 2009 - 370 pages
Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit - Donna Farhi - NF - 2000 - 270 pages
Yoga for Wellness - Gary Kraftsow - NF - 1999 -328 pages


May

May Totals:
8 books
2 NF
6 F
2,893 pages

Hmmm, this was a slow month. Too much to do outside in the garden...?

Yoga Anatomy - Leslie Kaminoff - NF - 2007 - 217 pages
The Heart of Yoga - T.K.V. Desikachar - NF -1995 - 242 pages
The Language of Bees - Laurie R. King - 2009 - 433 pages
Atlas of Unknowns - Tania James - 2009 - 319 pages
Bones to Ashes - Kathy Reichs - 2007 - 388 pages
Silent on the Moor - Deanna Raybourn - 2009 465 pages
The Four Corners of the Sky - Michael Malone - 2009 - 544 pages
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford -2009 - 285 pages


April

April Totals:

11 books
2 NF
9 F - (lots of fantasy for Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge)
3,804 pages

Fault Line - Barry Eisler - 2009 - 302 pages
Genesis - Bernard Beckett - 2006 - 150 pages
Dark Moon Defender - Sharon Shinn - 2007 - 466 pages
Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor - Brad Gooch - NF - 2009 385 pages
The Lost Hours - Karen White - 2009 - 368 pages
The Thirteenth House - Sharon Shinn - 2006 -484 pages
The Sharing Knife - Lois McMaster Bujold - 2006 - 372 pages
The King of Attolia - Megan Whalen Turner - 2006 - 400 pages
The Queen of Attolia - Megan Whalen Turner - 2000 - 360 pages
The Three-Pound Enigma - Shannon Moffett - NF - 2006 -237 pages
The Queen's Thief - Megan Whalen Turner - 1996 - 280 pages



March

March Totals:
11 books
2 NF, 9 F
3,286 pages

The Beach Street Knitting and Yarn Club - Gil McNeil - 2009 - 404 pages
The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng - 2007 - 444 pages
The Risk of Darkness - Susan Hill - 2009 - 374 pages
Hungry Ghosts - Susan Dunlap - 2008 - 264 pages
The Mao Case - Qui Xialong - 2009 - 289 pages
Exploring Other Worlds - David Chapin - 2004 -220 pages
The Brain that Changes Itself - Norman Doidge, M.D. - NF - 2007 - 408 pages
Saffron Dreams - Shaila Abdullah - 2009 - 232 pages
Jane Austen: A Life - Claire Tomalin - NF- 1998 -228 pages
Among the Mad - Jacqueline Winspear - 2009 - 303 pages
The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett - 2007 - 120 pages

February 2009

Not a bad month. Fewer books this month and fewer NF, but I've some good NF in progress right now.

Feb. totals:
10 books
3 NF, 7 F
3, 216 pages

An Inconvenient Wife - Megan Chance - F - 2004 - 404 pages
Fatal Legacy - Elizabeth Corley - F - 308 pages
The Hellfire Conspiracy - Will Thomas - F - 311 pages
A Rule Against Murder - Louise Penny - F - 322 pages
The Creative Habit - Twyla Tharp - NF - 243 pages
Where Memories Lie -Deborah Crombie - F- 295 pages
Hatha Yoga Illustrated - Kirk Martin, et al. - NF - 232 pages
Bone by Bone - Carol O'Connell - F - 340 pages
Talking to the Dead - Barbara Weisberg - NF - 273 pages
Gauntlet - Richard Aaron - F- 488 pages


January 2009

January has been an unusually good reading month! Only two books that I did not care for and 12 books that were very good experiences. I did much better than I expected at increasing my nonfiction and biographical selections, largely because each book was as entertaining as it was informative.

14 books
10 NF, 4 F
4,040 pages

1. The Mighty Queens of Freeville - Amy Dickinson - NF - 225 pages
2. Frozen in Time - Owen Beattie & John Geiger - NF - 168 pp
3. The Seance - John Harwood - F - 328 pp
4. Blink - Malcolm Gladwell - NF - 254 pp
5. The Immortal Prince - Jennifer Fallon - F - 512 pp
6. The Great Mortality - John Kelly - NF - 303 pp
7. Galileo's Daughter - Dava Sobel - NF - 368 pp
8. The Vigorous Mind - Ingrid Cummings - NF - 316 pp
9. The Polysyllabic Spree - Nick Hornby - NF - 140 pp
10. Surely, You're Joking Mr. Feynman - Richard Feynman & Ralph Leighton - NF- 346 pp
11. Mind the Gap - Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon -F- 368 pp
12. Away - Amy Bloom - F - 235 pp
13. Resolute - Martin Sandler - NF - 249 pp
14. Chakra Yoga - Alan Finger - NF - 138 pp

Favorites and a New Direction

My Very Favorites of 2008

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - F, YA -Terry Pratchett
A Pigeon and a Boy - F- Meir Shalev
Eden's Outcasts: the Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father - NF, B -John Matteson
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - F- Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
The Intention Experiment - NF- Lynn McTaggert
The Wasted Vigil - F- Nadeem Aslam

There were others that I truly enjoyed, but when I went back through, from January - December, the above books stood out.

My goals for next year will reflect a new approach. I want, as I mentioned in this post at Bayou Quilts, a Renaissance Mind, or as Ingrid E. Cummings describes it, a more vigorous mind. I've always loved the concept of the Renaissance Man - soldier, scholar, courtier. When discussing the Renaissance Man with my students, I put it in contemporary terms as well: athletic, well-read & knowledgeable on a variety of topics, and socially capable of carrying on interesting conversations.

I have tried to pursue athletics through tai chi and yoga; I certainly read abundantly, but lately, not with discrimination; I fall quite short in conversational skills, more so now, because I have become more insular.

Although I read a lot, my reading itineraries have become less and less organized in the last couple of years. Bringing more focus to these itineraries will take precedence in 2009; I want to be more selective. Examining my long list of books read was a disappointment; so much time spent on books with so little to recommend them.

No regrets on spending so much time on fiction (although I do intend to include more nonfiction this year), but regrets about the time spent on mediocre (at best) books. I am not an advocate of reading only educational books, classics, or "award-winning" fiction; books that are simply great entertainment should always be in the mix, even dominate the mix.

There will always be mystery, fantasy, and science fiction in my reading because I love those categories-- and from well-written books in those genres, I also learn something.

This year, however, I want to direct some of my reading in ways that broaden my horizons. (...and do more than just think about doing it--I have dozens of great books on my TBR list that have been neglected).

I've begun a list of topics that interest me and/or that I know very little about. :) Not surprisingly it is quite long and growing! Some of these topics merit a more organized study (yoga is one that I intend to study in a more orderly manner), others I'd like to explore just to gain a broader understanding, and then, perhaps, decide to devote greater effort.

My "curriculum" for a more well-rounded, Renaissance mind includes reading, study, yoga practice, physical fitness in general, watching documentaries, reading magazines, stepping outside of my comfort zone, being more socially involved, attending more art exhibits.... In small increments of time, one baby step after another.

stats (updated)

January

Consequences - Penelope Lively -258
Death of the Fat Man- Reginald Hill -404
Interred With Their Bones- 416
Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire - Mignola & Golden - 285
Hunting Fear - Kay Hooper -338
Outlander - Diane Gabaldon - 627
An Absolute Gentleman - R.M. Kinder -288
Dedication - Emma McLaughlin/ Nicola Kraus - 278
Forgive Me - Amanda Eyre - 234
The Winter Rose - Jennifer Donnelly -707
total pages Jan. - 3835; 10 books

February

Immortal - Traci L. Slatton - 513 pages
Raven Black - Ann Cleeves - 376
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett - 241
Standing Still - Kelly Simmons -262 pages
War of Honor - David Weber - 861
Why Mermaids Sing - C. S. Harris - 342
Silent in the Grave - Deanna Rayburn - 552
The Sonambulist - Jonathan Barnes - 353
Nameless Night - G.M. Ford - 338
total pages Feb. -3838; 9 books


March

In an Instant - Bob & Lee Woodruff - 292 pages
The Devil's Bones -Jefferson Bass - 309
Shadow of Saganami - David Weber - 755
Notorious - Michele Martinez - 336
The Serpent's Tale - Ariana Franklin -i371
The Book of Old Houses- Sarah Graves -294
Dance of Death - Douglas Preston, Lincoln Childs - 451
Letting go of the Person You Used To Be - Lama Surya Dad - 210
Christine Falls -Benjamin Black/John Banville- 340
Zel - Donna Jo Napoli- 227
Mystic and Rider -Sharon Shinn - 440
East -Elizabeth Pattou - 494
The Dream-Maker's Magic - Sharon Shinn - 261
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Maggie O'Farrell - 245

March - 5,025 pages; 14 books

April

An Ice Cold Grave - Charlaine Harris - 280 pages
The Ghost Brigade - John Scalzi - 314
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer - 563
City of Bones - Cassandra Clare - 485
Aphabet of Thorn - Patricia A. McKillip - 314
Mad Kestrel - Missy Massey - 320
Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale - 305
Death Walked In - Carolyn Hart - 293
Cauldron - Jack McDevitt - 373
A Flaw in the Blood - Stephanie Barron - 286
American Bloomsbury - Susan Cheever -200
Assassins at Osprey - R.T. Raichev - 222
The Pandora Prescription - James Sheridan - 414
The Fault Tree - Louise Ure - 336
The Girl with No Shadow - Joanne Harris - 444

April - 5,149 total pages; 15 books

May

The Forgery of Venus - Michael Gruber - 318 pages
A Lady Raised High - Laurien Gardner - 284
Belong to Me - Marisa de los Santos - 388
Late Night Talking - Leslie Schnur - 308
Shadow of Power - Steve Martini - 390
Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen - 290
Souls of Angels - Thomas Eidson - 286
A Pigeon and a Boy - Meir Shalev - 311
The Stone Gods - Jeannette Winterson - 207
May - 2,782 pages; 9 books

June

The House at Riverton - Kate Morton - 473
A Fatal Waltz - Tasha Alexander - 289
Dreamers of the Day - Mary Doria Russell - 253
Eden's Outcasts - John Matteson - 428
Rubicon - Lawrence Alexander - 295
Blue Smoke and Murder - Elizabeth Lowell - 404
Ivory - Mike Resneck - 315
The Year She Disappeared - Ann Harleman - 306
Go Green - Nancy H. Taylor - 135
The Chameleon's Shadow - Minette Walters - 370
A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth's Castle - Liza Campbell - 321

June - 3, 589 pages; 11 books

July
Dark Summit - Nick Heil - 251 pages
A Pale Horse = Charles Todd - 360
The Sorcerers' Plague - David B. Coe - 393 pages
The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square - Rosina Lippi - 351 pages
Shadow Gate: Book Two of the Crossroads - Kate Elliot - 475 pages
The Poisoner of Ptah - P.C. Doherty - 378
The Crows - Maris Soule - 262
Light of the Moon - Luanne Rice - 386
A Magic of Twilight - S.L. Farrell - 526

July - 9 books, 3,382 pages

August
Touchstone - Laurie R. King - 548
A Slice of Organic Life - Sheherazade Goldsmith, ed. - 347
Moving Forward: Taking the Lead in Your Life - Dave Pelzer - 192
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows - 274
The Calling - Inger Ash Wolfe - 371
Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth - Stacy Cordery - 483
The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick - 533
Hand of Evil - J. A. Jance - 384
An Advancement of Learning - Reginald Hill - 288
The Primrose Convention - Jo Bannister - 267
By Schism Rent Asunder - David Weber- 494
Fathers and Sins - Jo Bannister - 201

August - 12 books; 4,382 pages

September
The Blood of Caesar - Albert Bell - 252 pages
A Clubbable Woman - Reginald Hill - 255
In Fury Born - David Weber - 828 pages
Pharmakon - Dirk Wittenborn - 403 pages
The Intention Experiment - Lynn McTaggert - 222
At All Costs - David Weber - 864
Calling Home - Janna McMahan - 307
Written in Blood - Sheila Lowe - 306

September 8 books; 3, 437 pages

October
Exit Lines - Reginald Hill -255 pages
The Blackstone Key - Rose Melikan - 435
Wild Life - Molly Gloss - 255
O'Artful Death - Sarah Stewart - 277
Mesmerized - Gayle Lynds - 451
Dark Celebration - Christine Feehan - 301
The Crystal Skull - Manda Scott - 365
Live Bait - P.J. Tracy - 204
I Am Legend - Richard Matheson - 170
A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle - 309
My Lady of Cleves - Margaret Campbell Barnes - 328
The Mindful Woman - Sue Patton - 219
Mansfield Park Revisited - Joan Aiken - 201
The Society of S - Susan Hubbard - 304
In the Woods - Tana French - 429
The Likeness - Tana French - 466
The Poet of Lochness - Brian Jay Corrigan - 302
Dead Run - P.J. Tracy - 324
Snow Blind - P.J. Tracy - 320
Still as Death - Sarah Steward -304

October: 20 books; 6,219 pages

November
March to the Stars - David Weber & John Ringo - 526
Laced - Carol Higgins - 352
How We Choose to Be Happy - Rick Foster & Greg Hicks - 228
The Wasted Vigil - Nadeem Aslam - 320
Blasphemy - Douglas Preston - 416
The Reluctant Widow - Georgette Heyer -316
Brother -James Fredericks - 410
The Book of the Dead - Patricia Cornwell - 511
Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer - 392
Dune - Frank Herbert - 517

November - 10 books; 3,988 pages

December
The Grift - Debra Grinsberg - 329
Still Waters - Nigel McCrery - 275
The Broken Window - Jeffrey Deaver - 414
The Terror - Dan Simmons - 776
Pardonable Lies - Jacqueline Winspear - 352
An Incomplete Revenge - Jacqueline Winspear - 320
Second Hand Smoke - Karen E. Olson - 259
Water Like a Stone - Deborah Crombie - 407
Careless in Red - Elizabeth George - 640
The Mermaid Chair - Sue Monk Kidd - 332
The Book of Lies - Brad Meltzer - 344
Last Post - Robert Barnard - 241
The Keepsake - Tess Gerritsen - 368
On Account of Conspicuous Women - Dawn Shamp - 304
The Mephisto Club - Tess Gerritsen - 448

December: 15 books; 5, 809 pages

------
total pages read: 47,846
total books:142

books by female authors: 90
books by male authors: 52

fiction: 128
nonfiction: 14 (OMG - how sad is that?)

Oops, thought I'd already posted this--

I thought I'd posted this the other day, but found it still in draft form.

Sam over at BookChase posted about an interesting and disconcerting new possibility: ad placement in books. Check it out. His latest post is about fake memoirs and those who create lies out of whole cloth and then are published, becoming best-selling authors.

My reading so far this year:

January

Consequences - 258
Death of the Fat Man- 404
Interred With Their Bones- 416
Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire - 285
Hunting Fear - 338
Outlander - 627
An Absolute Gentleman -288
Dedication - 278
Forgive Me - 234
The Winter Rose - 707
total pages Jan. - 3835

February

Immortal - 513 pages
Raven Black -376
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - 241
Standing Still - 262 pages
War of Honor - 861
Why Mermaids Sing - 342
Silent in the Grave - 552
The Sonambulist - 353
Nameless Night - 338
total pages Feb. -3838

total pages read: 7, 673

female authors: 13
male authors: 6

fiction: 19
nonfiction: 0

mystery/suspense: 9
crime: 1
gen. fiction: 3
historical fiction 2
romance 1
YA: 1
sci. fic.: 1
fantasy:
horror: 1

March will be my first nonfiction, and I have several in the works, but January and February are all escape fiction.

Sometimes a series of events or coincidences coalesce and become an example of synchronicity. Les was interested in the Lee & Bob Woodruff memoir, In An Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing (genuine, by the way - unlike the recent incident Sam posted about). I decided to go ahead and read it so I could send it on to her (Les, I need your address).

Although initially, I planned to just switch back and forth among the other books that I have going, it pulled me in, and I finished it last night. Yesterday, I received another book, one that I had ordered for specific reasons: Letting Go of the Person You Used to Be: Lessons on Change, Loss, and Spiritual Transformation by Lama Surya Das. This one I ordered because of someone I know who is going through a period of serious change and because my brothers and I are slowly losing our father to Alzheimer's. I couldn't resist opening it and perusing a few pages, which turned into nearly 50 pages, before I could put it down.

There are several places already that I've added sticky notes because of how well the lines coincide with Lee Woodruff's account of her husband's traumatic injury and the effect it had on her family. I almost wonder if she read the book during her journey because the echoes are so strong. Letting Go is an excellent book for dealing with loss of all kinds and would have been an aid to Lee (just as I hope it will be for the person for whom I ordered it.)

I suppose in a way it is an inadvertent reading itinerary, closely connected to real life. I will send the Woodruff memoir to Les and pass on the Letting Go book to the person for whom I purchased it, order another book by Lama Surya Das, and see if I can locate the Woodruff documentary...

I will be drawing names tonight for the two books I'm giving away. If you are interested, go here and comment.