Best of 2007
I've been keeping track of how many books I've read each year for the past nine years. The lowest amount was back in 1999 with a total of 42. The best year was 2003 with a total of 88, but that included the books I gave up on. I have no idea what the true number was. Last year I read 73, but gave up on another 17, so that beats 2003 with a total of 90. Are you bored yet? ;)
Here are my stats for 2007:
Books Read - 58
DNF - 9
Male Authors - 19
Female Authors - 39
New-To-Me Authors - 24
Audio - 2
Fiction - 40
Nonfiction - 18
Classics - 0
Poetry - 3
Young Adult - 7
Sci-Fi - 0
Fantasy - 4
Horror - 2
Romance - 0
Humor - 1
Travel - 2
Memoir - 6
Culinary - 3
Mystery/Thriller - 6
Re-read - 4
Mine - 38
Borrowed - 20
I'm surprised there weren't any classics in the list this year... or Sci-Fi. While I borrowed quite a few, I'm happy to note that the majority came from my own shelves. Of course, I probably added that many new books (if not more) back to my stacks.
In no particular order, other than the only perfect 5/5 heading the list, here are my favorites of the year:
Click on the title to be re-directed to the review within my blog.
Dispatches From the Edge by Anderson Cooper (5/5)
Lottery by Patricia Wood (4.75/5)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (4.75/5)
The Good Guy by Dean Koontz (4.5/5)
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (4.5/5)
Dreamcatcher by Stephen King (4.5/5)
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (4.5/5)
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (4.5/5)
Julie & Julia by Julie Powell (4.5/5)
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron (4.5/5)
One True Thing by Anna Quindlen (4.5/5)
On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town by Susan Hermann Loomis (4.5/5)
iPod: The Missing Manual by J.D. Biersdorfer (4.5/5)
More like a Top Thirteen than a Top Ten.
Favorite Character: Perry (from Lottery)
Best Young Adult Fiction: Twilight
Most Humorous: I Feel Bad About My Neck
Scariest: Tied between Heart-Shaped Box and Dreamcatcher
Most Disappointing: Dream When You're Feeling Blue; Birth House; Brother Odd
New-To-Me Authors to Watch: Patricia Wood, Joe Hill, Will North and Kelly Corrigan
Labels: Top Ten
posted by Les | 8:00 AM
9 Comments:
Good picks. I'll FINALLY be getting started on One Thousand Splendid Suns this month. Gosh, it takes me forever to finish books...
A great list. I have several of your Bests on my TBR. I can't wait to read Heart Shaped Box!! I'm almost done with Great Expectations for the Year of Reading Dangerously, so I should start HSB soon. Whee!
Good list, Les. I have several of your top reads on my shelves or in my closet. I'll have to move them up the list.
I was wondering if it'd be okay to do this challenge but just 6 books in the year.
I read a lot more books from my stacks than library books but I didn't take into account how many books I purchased in the year! This time I'm totally doing that.
Yay you for getting in 3 poetry books. I had 0 this year. bah.
My list of bests is up now.
Sounds like you had a pretty good year. Quantity isn't everything, at least that's what I tell myself.
You might not have read any classics but well done on the poetry. I haven't even tried to read any for quite some time.
Here's wishing you a new year full of great reads! :)
Mary Kate - You are in for a great read! (By the way, thanks for linking me to your blog. Hope I don't embarrass myself with any mistakes!)
Andi - I'm so slow here. I already know that you've started Heart-Shaped Box. Isn't it amazing?! I have his collection of short stories to read sometime in the future. I know Nancy liked a lot of them, so I'm excited to read more by JH. Did you know his dad has a new book coming out? It's called Duma King and it's due out this month. Wonder if it'll be any good.
Kay - Yes! Get them out of that closet and on to your nightstand! :)
ilovemyman70 - I don't see why not. Thanks for stopping by. I'll have to pop over and check out your blog.
Iliana - I'm trying not to buy too many books this year. Actually, believe it or not, I don't buy too many books anymore. Most are from my mom, friends, comps/ARC, etc. I have tons from when I lived in TX, working at Borders. I used to go to Half-Price Books every weekend. Oh ya, I did buy a few on our vacations this summer... Gotta get to those this year!
I'm going to try to read more poetry this year. Every once in a while, I stumble on a great poem. Ted Kooser is doing a book signing at our store next month, so I'll have to snag a copy of his new book (Valentines) before then.
Nat - See my note above to Iliana about the poetry.
I'm going to work hard on reminding myself that it's quality, not quantity. Here's to a great year of reading.
Oh good, I've got some of these books sitting on the shelves just waiting to be picked up. I believe some were chosen based on your reviews. It's always good to know there are some great books to look forward to.
Framed - Always happy to help add to your TBR stacks. :) Enjoy!
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