Statistics
Total Books Read = 153
Total Pages Read = 46965
Average Books Read Per Month = 13
Average Pages Read Per Month = 3914
Month Read Most Books = July (23)
Month Read Most Pages = July (6609)
Month Read Fewest Books = January (2)
Month Read Fewest Pages = January (539)
Owned Books Read =70 (46%)
Borrowed Books Read = 83 (54%)
Most Read Author = Louise Rennison (11 books in total)
Top Ten Books of the Year
01. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett - reread this in December and my God, it's good. Complicated, complex and difficult, but brilliant nonetheless.
02. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray - AKA my thoughts on feminism, gender and sexuality let me show you them, all expressed far better than I ever could. With satire and politics thrown in as well.
03. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins - I love Steph's writing, and Anna and St. Clair are in it. I may have squeed a little (just a little).
04. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte - I think Anne is my favourite Bronte, and this is my favourite of her (two) books. 19th century feminism that shocked people at the time (but, why does she leave her abusive, alcoholic husband? What a dreadful woman to do such a thing), it's possibly best described as what happens when you do marry the rake.
05. Before I Die by Jenny Downham - beautifully written and had me in tears at the end. A difficult/painful subject dealt with perfectly.
06. Real-Live Boyfriends by E Lockhart - this is really to cover the entire Ruby Oliver series, which I'd put off reading because I was pretty sure it would reawaken my teenage angst (which it did) but the awesomeness of the books far outweighed any painful memories they evoked.
07. Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr - again, to cover an entire series: Wicked Lovely. All the plot threads sewn up, lots of Irial/Niall and all of Keenan's brattishness being addressed - fantastic.
08. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - my first Dickens, read because I watched the BBC adaptation and discovered that there were entire subplots that weren't, for some reason, in the musical. Enjoyed it, despite the anti-Semitism (squick me much?) and the sheer number of bloody coincidences (Dickens' favourite plot device, methinks).
09. Nation by Terry Pratchett - another book I'd put off reading because I thought it would be too upsetting. Wish I hadn't: it's absolutely brilliant and, like Beauty Queens, sums up a lot of my thoughts on 'issues'. The ending is bittersweet and beautiful.
10. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff - introduced me to one of my new favourite authors, and is fantastic. The latter half of the book is incredibly tense. The only real surprise is that the film is even more homoerotic than the book.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Friday, 2 December 2011
Month in Review: November 2011
Another lazy month, reading and blogging-wise. I have been doing some of my own writing - though not taking part in NaNo for the first time since 2009 - and this is taking priority over reading. And then I bought a couple of new games and lost some time to those (Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7, both very good and very timesuck-y).
I also don't think my reading is going to go up in December, but I do plan to do a lot of Year in Review style posts on the blog, covering things I've read this year and challenges I've completed.
Books Read in November 2011
134. The Lantern Bearers - Rosemary Sutcliff
135. The Missing - Lisa McMann
136. Real Live Boyfriends - E. Lockhart
137. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
138. Dead Girls' Dance - Rachel Caine
139. Frontier Wolf - Rosemary Sutcliff
140. Beauty - Robin McKinley
141. The Iron King - Julie Kagawa
142. Love and Other Four Letter Words - Carolyn Mackler
143. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
144. The Mark of the Horse Lord - Rosemary Sutcliff
Stats
Total Books Read = 11
Total Pages Read = 2924
Average Book Length = 266
Owned Books = 2
Library Books = 8
Bought After Borrowing & Reading = 1 (The Iron King)
Most Read Author = Rosemary Sutcliff (3).
Top Ten Books of the Month
01. Real Live Boyfriends
02. The Iron King
03. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
04. The Missing
05. The Lantern Bearers
06. Frontier Wolf
07. Beauty
08. The Mark of the Horse Lord
09. Dead Girls' Dance
10. Love and Other Four Letter Words
I also don't think my reading is going to go up in December, but I do plan to do a lot of Year in Review style posts on the blog, covering things I've read this year and challenges I've completed.
Books Read in November 2011
134. The Lantern Bearers - Rosemary Sutcliff
135. The Missing - Lisa McMann
136. Real Live Boyfriends - E. Lockhart
137. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
138. Dead Girls' Dance - Rachel Caine
139. Frontier Wolf - Rosemary Sutcliff
140. Beauty - Robin McKinley
141. The Iron King - Julie Kagawa
142. Love and Other Four Letter Words - Carolyn Mackler
143. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
144. The Mark of the Horse Lord - Rosemary Sutcliff
Stats
Total Books Read = 11
Total Pages Read = 2924
Average Book Length = 266
Owned Books = 2
Library Books = 8
Bought After Borrowing & Reading = 1 (The Iron King)
Most Read Author = Rosemary Sutcliff (3).
Top Ten Books of the Month
01. Real Live Boyfriends
02. The Iron King
03. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
04. The Missing
05. The Lantern Bearers
06. Frontier Wolf
07. Beauty
08. The Mark of the Horse Lord
09. Dead Girls' Dance
10. Love and Other Four Letter Words
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Rereadathon: End Result
Oh, look at that, no extra posts over the weekend and this is going up Tuesday not Monday. And I only reread two books over the weekend because I was sucked into the world of Lego Harry Potter, trying to find any character who could do dark magic (oh, Bellatrix, that was possibly the first time I've ever been happy to see, thank you for hovering over Hagrid's hut like that).
Anyway, the books read were...Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Paper Towns. So, the first two on my list. The others on there are, however, still books I very much want to reread (and review) so that will happen soon, I hope.
The Rereadathon was hosted by The Perpeutal Page Turner, who put up some questions over the weekend which I missed owing to time zone differences and lack of internet, but here are my answers now:
Friday/1. What books are you planning on rereading? Why did you pick those?
I have a list of the books I was planning to reread on my masterpost, and the main reason for picking all of those was: I love them. And I haven't read some of them for a while (Harry Potter, how have I gone so long without touching those books?). Those I have reread recently I've skimmed/skipped to my favourite bits - or skipped over bits I find boring. The plan was to revisit and re-evaluate a lot of my favourites, which didn't really happen. Still, all those books on that list: I love and recommend.
Saturday/2. How are your general feelings towards rereading? Are you finding yourself remembering [more] things about these books than you thought you would? Are you feeling like you are moving quickly through the books because you've already read them. Are you enjoying them as much as you did the first time you read them?
I reread a lot - it often stops me from reading new books - but, as I say above, I often skip. I also hadn't read the two books I reread this weekend for a while. I don't think I got through them faster (I read them both in one sitting originally) and I definitely enjoyed them as much as the first time. There were things I'd forgotten in both books, which were often things that made me laugh, but I could remember the basic plot which is how it tends to go with me and books: basic plot, few set pieces, none of the jokes.
Sunday/3. Overall, how was your experience rereading? Do you feel like it's something you want to do more or do you feel like you'd rather read new books?
I love rereading, but actually think it's something I should do less: I miss out on trying new books because I'm so happy with my old ones. It's easier to stick to what I know than experiment - except that when I do experiment I find something I really like. It also prevents me doing little things like returning books to the library on time rather than renewing and renewing because I haven't got round to reading them yet. Still, the books I read this weekend were as fantastic as I remembered, and I'm definitely going to reread the other books on that list.
Now I have to get back to reading a book the library wants returned tomorrow.
Anyway, the books read were...Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Paper Towns. So, the first two on my list. The others on there are, however, still books I very much want to reread (and review) so that will happen soon, I hope.
The Rereadathon was hosted by The Perpeutal Page Turner, who put up some questions over the weekend which I missed owing to time zone differences and lack of internet, but here are my answers now:
Friday/1. What books are you planning on rereading? Why did you pick those?
I have a list of the books I was planning to reread on my masterpost, and the main reason for picking all of those was: I love them. And I haven't read some of them for a while (Harry Potter, how have I gone so long without touching those books?). Those I have reread recently I've skimmed/skipped to my favourite bits - or skipped over bits I find boring. The plan was to revisit and re-evaluate a lot of my favourites, which didn't really happen. Still, all those books on that list: I love and recommend.
Saturday/2. How are your general feelings towards rereading? Are you finding yourself remembering [more] things about these books than you thought you would? Are you feeling like you are moving quickly through the books because you've already read them. Are you enjoying them as much as you did the first time you read them?
I reread a lot - it often stops me from reading new books - but, as I say above, I often skip. I also hadn't read the two books I reread this weekend for a while. I don't think I got through them faster (I read them both in one sitting originally) and I definitely enjoyed them as much as the first time. There were things I'd forgotten in both books, which were often things that made me laugh, but I could remember the basic plot which is how it tends to go with me and books: basic plot, few set pieces, none of the jokes.
Sunday/3. Overall, how was your experience rereading? Do you feel like it's something you want to do more or do you feel like you'd rather read new books?
I love rereading, but actually think it's something I should do less: I miss out on trying new books because I'm so happy with my old ones. It's easier to stick to what I know than experiment - except that when I do experiment I find something I really like. It also prevents me doing little things like returning books to the library on time rather than renewing and renewing because I haven't got round to reading them yet. Still, the books I read this weekend were as fantastic as I remembered, and I'm definitely going to reread the other books on that list.
Now I have to get back to reading a book the library wants returned tomorrow.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Re-readathon Masterpost
I signed up for the Re-readathon here - it's being hosted by The Perpetual Page Turner. It is now here, and because I am me I'm already behind with my own (somewhat daft) self-imposed schedule. I meant to start this morning, but instead I've been running round Constantinople screaming at Templars and then Hogwarts trying to hex Umbridge (for some reason I can't, which is annoying me). So, new plan:
- Start reading tomorrow (Saturday) morning.
- Stay up as late as I can that night reading.
- Keep notes about how much I read each hour (because this is the mad type of thing I do anyway).
- Try and read some of the following books:
-- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
-- Paper Towns
-- Anna and the French Kiss
-- Devilish and/or Girl At Sea
-- Game of Kings
- Try and read a book by the following authors:
-- Antonia Forest
-- Terry Pratchett
-- Dorothy L Sayers
-- JK Rowling
And a couple of quick rules for myself: 1) reread properly, don't skim bits like the code cracking in Have His Carcase; 2) don't start Game of Kings until Sunday afternoon/have read 5 other books because that book is intense/dense/complicated/long/will eat my life.
I'll post as much as I can although internet is a bit patchy over weekend. Will link to all posts here. If not: giant retrospective post on Monday.
Right, back to forming the DA.
- Start reading tomorrow (Saturday) morning.
- Stay up as late as I can that night reading.
- Keep notes about how much I read each hour (because this is the mad type of thing I do anyway).
- Try and read some of the following books:
-- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
-- Paper Towns
-- Anna and the French Kiss
-- Devilish and/or Girl At Sea
-- Game of Kings
- Try and read a book by the following authors:
-- Antonia Forest
-- Terry Pratchett
-- Dorothy L Sayers
-- JK Rowling
And a couple of quick rules for myself: 1) reread properly, don't skim bits like the code cracking in Have His Carcase; 2) don't start Game of Kings until Sunday afternoon/have read 5 other books because that book is intense/dense/complicated/long/will eat my life.
I'll post as much as I can although internet is a bit patchy over weekend. Will link to all posts here. If not: giant retrospective post on Monday.
Right, back to forming the DA.
Friday, 4 November 2011
Month in Review: October 2011
Slightly lazy month, both for reading and blogging. In a minor defence it was my birthday, which meant I actually had a social life but that I also attempted to make some resolutions which I promptly broke and didn't post about. And then November started and I still hadn't done anything new. I need to make some plans and stick to them (this applies to my writing as well as my reading and blogging). However, I have done quite a bit of reading in October - but am really looking forwards to the Re-readathon later this month.
NB: While I did read Dante's Inferno this month (review here) I'm not listing it as it's part of my doorstop Oxford Classics Divine Comedy so I'll count it when I've finished Paradiso.
Books Read in October 2011
121. Stop in the Name of Pants - Louise Rennison
122. Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? - Louise Rennison
123. Frostbite - Richelle Mead
124. Valiant - Holly Black
125. Ironside - Holly Black
126. Let It Snow - Maureen Johnson, John Green & Lauren Myracle
127. The Labours of Hercules - Agatha Christie
128. Destination Unknown - Agatha Christie
129. Beauty Queens - Libba Bray
130. Wish Me Dead - Helen Grant
131. Seven Sorcerers - Caro King
132. Before I Die - Jenny Downham
133. A Murder of Quality - John le Carre
Stats
Total = 13
Total Pages = 4317
Average Book Length = 332
Most Read Authors = Holly Black, Agatha Christie and Louise Rennison (2 each)
Cover of the Month
Top Ten Books of the Month
01. Beauty Queens
02. Before I Die
03. Let It Snow
04. Ironside
05. Valiant
06. Wish Me Dead
07. Seven Sorcerers
08. Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?
09. Stop in the Name of Pants
10. Frostbite
NB: While I did read Dante's Inferno this month (review here) I'm not listing it as it's part of my doorstop Oxford Classics Divine Comedy so I'll count it when I've finished Paradiso.
Books Read in October 2011
121. Stop in the Name of Pants - Louise Rennison
122. Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? - Louise Rennison
123. Frostbite - Richelle Mead
124. Valiant - Holly Black
125. Ironside - Holly Black
126. Let It Snow - Maureen Johnson, John Green & Lauren Myracle
127. The Labours of Hercules - Agatha Christie
128. Destination Unknown - Agatha Christie
129. Beauty Queens - Libba Bray
130. Wish Me Dead - Helen Grant
131. Seven Sorcerers - Caro King
132. Before I Die - Jenny Downham
133. A Murder of Quality - John le Carre
Stats
Total = 13
Total Pages = 4317
Average Book Length = 332
Most Read Authors = Holly Black, Agatha Christie and Louise Rennison (2 each)
Cover of the Month
Top Ten Books of the Month
01. Beauty Queens
02. Before I Die
03. Let It Snow
04. Ironside
05. Valiant
06. Wish Me Dead
07. Seven Sorcerers
08. Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?
09. Stop in the Name of Pants
10. Frostbite
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