Some Reading Stats for 2016

One of the book blogs I follow, Stuck In A Book, did a post about Reading Stats for 2016 and I thought it was interesting, so I'm stealing most of the categories and doing my own list.  :)   For shits and giggles as they say.  :)

Number of books read

97.  The last few years I've shot for 50, figuring a book a week is an eminently do-able number and won't discourage me if I read lots of bricks or just fall behind.

Male/female authors
23 male authors and 74 female to the best of my knowledge.  :)

Fiction/non-fiction
96 Fiction and one non-fiction which is Andy Cohen's book, The Andy Cohen Diaries.

Most-read author

Louise Penny.  I read her first 11 Inspector Gamache mysteries over the course of the year and still have the latest one left to read.  I'm saving it.  :)

Re-reads
No Re-reads.

New-to-me authors
31

Oldest book read
Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff - published in 1994.  I seriously wonder how I missed this!  :)

Newest book read
Glass Tidings by Amy Jo Cousins - published December 5, 2016.

Most disappointing book
The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev.  I had been so looking forward to this romance and it came highly touted from some of my favourite authors as well as the majority of romance readers on my Twitter feed, but oh... I really disliked it.  A lot.  My thoughts on it, and there were many, are here.

Most frustrating book
Again, I'd have to say The Bollywood Bride.  See above.  :)

Most surprising delight
I would have to say Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell.  It was a guts call and I'd never even heard of the author before and I just adored it!  AND subsequently the next two books in the series!

The book I’d been nagged about for ages
Nagged about is pretty strong, but the books I kept seeing recced in all my online places were the afore-mentioned The Bollywood Bride and then The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin.  Thankfully, the Jemisin book was much, much, MUCH better for me than the other one.  :)

Best title
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny.  This title, not only is it from a Leonard Cohen (RIP) song, Anthem, but it's a perfect, perfect title for this installment of the mysteries of Armand Gamache. :)

Worst title
None of them are really bad, but I'd have to say of all the books I read in 2016, it'd have to be Percepliquis by Michael J. Sullivan simply because it's an unwieldy mouthful.

Animals in book titles
Hmm... Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny, Fish Out of Water by Amy Lane, Black Dog Blues by Rhys Ford, Tequila Mockingbird by Rhys Ford,

Strange things that happened in books I read in 2016

I read a lot of fantasy.  All KINDS of strange things happen in those books!  *LOL*  

The 7 Deadly Book Sins

Found this on Hunger for Knowledge's blog and thought I'd give it a shot. :)

The 7 Deadly Book Sins


1. Greed- What is your most expensive book?

To the best of my recollection it would be the original Metallica photo book by Ross Halfin. I paid through the nose on Ebay to add this sucker to my collection!

  

2. Wrath- What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Anne Rice. I love much of her earlier work, including most of the Vampire books and the Mayfair Witches books. Interview with a Vampire, I think, is pretty damned awesome. That being said, she has shown herself to live in her own little navel-gazing world and so many of the statements she's made in the past decade have been way too over the top for me. So... I love a lot of her work but think she's a total nutjob.


3. Gluttony- What book have you devoured over and over again with no shame?

Oh, there are so many! To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Rings, many of Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series, my Trixie Belden books - to be honest, anything I read I read without any kind of shame whatsoever. :)


4. Sloth- Which book have you neglected reading due to laziness?

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clark. I really, really want to read this one, but for some reason I have the sense that it's going to be a slog and I'm going to feel bad for finding it such slow going. One day I will read it. One day.


5. Pride- What book do you most talk about in order to sound like an intellectual reader?

I don't believe that I do that, but if I had to pick something, I'd pick the D'Artangnan Romances by Alexandre Dumas.


6. Lust- What attributes do you find attractive in a male or female character?

Smarts and a sense of humour are most important. As well, I like characters that have depth and that we see growing in their journey.


7. Envy- What book would you most like to receive as a gift?

Back in 1974/1975 when I was working at W. H. Smith, we were selling hardcover copies of Lord of the Rings (all 3 books) that had the most lovely onionskin type pages with gold edging. It came with a slipcover - no dust jacket. And we were selling it for $45, a HUGE amount back in the day. ( I just went to a conversion site and it seems that the buying power of that today is almost $220.) I coveted that book and would LOVE to have a copy. I've not seen one in the past 30 years though.

10 Books That Made an Impression on Me

As others have done (thanks Liz Loves Books.com), it occurred to me that I should add this list here, in my book blog, where I talk about books. *LOL* So, in no particular order, these are 10 books that made an impression on me.

1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.- The first time I read this I was in Mr. Wallace's grade 7 English class and I have read it every couple of years since. It's my favourite book of all time.

2. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay - This is a close second to To Kill A Mockingbird. It's simply one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. It's a fantasy, yes, but the magic or fantastical parts are far from the most important thing about it. Everything about it is perfect. Including the ending which has the most perfect cliffhanger EVER. And it stops there. No sequel, no series, this is a one shot deal. And couldn't have ended any other way.

3. A Private Gentleman by Heidi Cullinan - An excellent romance. This was the first historical m/m romance I had read and the characters were so beautifully flawed. I think this is the book where I fell in love with Heidi's writing.

4. High Deryni by Katherine Kurtz - This was the first fantasy book I ever read and it began an odyssey that has spanned over 40 years now. At the time, I was a teenager, maybe 14 or 15 and hooked on historical romances. I found this book in a pile of second hand books at my aunt's that had come from a friend of hers. It had kings and queens and, how interesting, magic! So I gave it a try. The Deryni books are still favourites today. :)

5. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas - I was around 12 or 13 when I read this for the first time. It was my dad's book. It was also the first 'classic' I had ever read. I loved it! I have read most of the others in the D'Artagnan romances since.

6. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (Vol. 3 in the Song of Fire and Ice saga) - This was the book that taught me that authors were not to be trusted and I mean that in the best way, really. I learned that favourite characters are expendable no matter how 'main' they are. I learned what a ruthless storyteller really is and that I could adore an author while hating him with the fire of 10 burning suns.

7. The Golden Hawk by Frank Yerby - The first 'grown-up' book I remember reading. Pirates. Big blond heroes. Action, adventure, romance. A real pot-boiler. :) I LOVE IT!

8. Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams - Really the most charming anthropomorphic book. Better than Watership Down even and not just because it's about cats! It's a really beautifully written book.

9. Swordspoint by Ellen Kusher - You've seen my love for swashbuckling and historical settings in many of the other books of this list. Swordspoint was special in that it was probably the first book I read where the heroes weren't straight. It's also a terrific story and wonderfully crafted and written.

10. Under the Rushes by Amy Lane - I just recently read this book and I cannot get it out of my mind. Even though I have read a couple of really good books since, I find that when not otherwise occupied, my thoughts continue to stray back to this wonderful world that Amy created and peopled with such enchanting characters. Superhero Steampunk Sci-Fi - that's how I classify it.

50 Essential Works of LGBT Fiction

Full list behind the link. A list of 25 Essential Works of LGBT non-fiction you can find here.

I'm reblogging to keep the list handy.

Found on FB...

... and I thought it would be fun here too. :) So, copied from my FB page...

So Amy Lane had this up on her FB page, and I loved the idea. Only I won't tag anyone. If you go ahead and do it, please tag me so I don't miss what you wrote.

Rules: In your status line list books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes and don't think too hard they don't have to be " right" or " great" works just the ones that have touched you.

So...

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
3. Deryni Rising & Harrowing of Gwynedd by Katherine Kurtz
4. Practically Perfect by Janet Lambert
5. Roots by Alex Haley
6. The Robert the Bruce Trilogy by Nigel Tranter
7. Still Glides the Stream by D.E. Stevenson
8. Dance with Me by Heidi Cullinan
9. Beau Geste by P.C. Wren
10. With Angus in the Forest by Meta Mayne Reid