Wednesday, January 5, 2011

2010 Books in Review

FINE! I lied when I said I was done with the review posts. So sue me.

Really, don’t sue me. We had someone bring a frivolous lawsuit against us once and it was painful….and very, very expensive…..and took forever (2 stinking years) to get resolved. And even though we had done nothing wrong and the judge, in the end, dismissed the suit that didn’t mean that we didn’t have to pay 2 years worth of legal bills and……

Bitter much Deb?

But I digress.

I might have mentioned that I like to read. And I also like Excel. And years ago I started to track all the books that I read.

I know, I know, I am odd and weird and obsessive and whatever the adjective that you want to add. I just like to see what I have accomplished in any given year reading wise. And it also prevents, most of the time, my reading of a book that I have already read.

And so, I thought I would share the year end results with you and tell you some of my favorite books that I read this year. I know that you have been dying to know.

In total I read 99 books this year. That was one shy of my goal. But I am not beating myself up about it because it seems I had a fairly busy 2010, busier than I thought actually. I will make the goal this year I am sure.

This was the year of reading Fiction. In total I read 72 books in the Fiction category. Some good, some real stinkers. And I long ago decided that if I got 1/2 way through a book and I really didn’t like it then I had permission to stop reading and go on to the next book on the list. There are just too many books that I want to read for me to waste my time on a book that I really just want to chuck against the wall.

I also read a total of 27 Non-Fiction books. These covered a wide range of topics like: Vietnam POW, Medal of Honor recipients, WWI, female serial killers, homeschooling, living off the land, knitting, WWII nurses, Hurricane Katrina, traveling, the Civil War and so much more.

Of the 99 books that I read 42 were in “ebook” form. Oh how I love my Nook. LoveLoveLove. I can get ebooks from the library and read to my hearts content.

And last I read a total of 32,027 pages both paper and electronic. Not too bad.

Some of my favorite reads, in no particular order were.

Surviving Hell by Leo Thorsness
The Stars in Their Courses by Shelby Foote
On Hallowed Ground by Robert M. Poole
Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
The Devil’s Rooming House by M. William Phelps
On The Beach by Nevil Shute
The Sisterhood of the Dropped Stitches by Janet Tronstad
How to Knit a Love Song by Rachel Herron
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
In the Company of Others by Jan Karon
The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall
The Long Way Home by David Laskin
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
Last Words of the Executed by Robert K. Elder
American Nightingale by Bob Welch

This is by no means an exhaustive list of what I read, just some of my favorites from last year. Who knows what I will read this year? Although I can tell you that I just downloaded George W. Bush’s new book.

Now I just have to find some time to read.

5 comments:

  1. My Hubby is a big fan of Shelby Foote. I've never read any of his stuff, but we have visited Gettysburg (him being an American history major and all). Good job on 99 books.

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  2. Oh nooo! More books to add to my to-read list. I'm a MUCH slower reader than you (as evidenced by my unchanging Shelfari web account). But thanks for the suggestions none-the-less. I'm always looking for recommendations.

    Ninety-nine books. Man, I can't even imagine!!

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  3. I just read Jane Slayre. Since you liked Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, you'd probably love it. It's so much fun to read Jane Eyre as a vampire slayer.

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  4. I think you'll like Bush's book. I've looked at your list in the sidebar from time to time last year and see we enjoy some of the same authors.

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  5. I've heard the new book by George Bush is VERY good. A friend is currently reading it.
    I bought my husband a cheap knockoff of the Nook for Christmas and it's slow slow slow. So he took it back for a new hard drive... We'll try again on his birthday.

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