I think I may have mentioned that I like to read.
As part of that reading process, I enjoy going back and looking at the list of books I’ve read over a certain span of time and remembering the feelings each book evoked as I read it. Kind of like reading the synopses of TV shows in old TV Guides.
I also like analyzing the list and breaking it down into numbers. If you like this kind of thing, too, read on. If not, I hope whatever I post tomorrow is more interesting to you.
For 2010, I read (finished) a total of 46 books.
That’s a mean of 3.83 books per month, and 0.88 books per week.
Of these 46, 25 were fiction, 6 were memoirs (or what I consider memoirs), and the remaining 15 were other nonfiction.
I am currently reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl, and next up is The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.
In the list of books below, I’ve linked to my blogged book reviews when available. For all of the books, you can access my reviews on my Goodreads profile. I’ve listed the most recently finished books first
Title, Author, Date Finished
- Horror Story And Other Horror Stories, Robert Boyczuk, Dec 27
- By Nightfall: A Novel, Michael Cunningham, Dec 17
- Bambi: A Life in the Woods, Felix Salten, Dec 12
- The Five Love Languages of Children, Gary Chapman, Dec 10
- Half Empty, David Rakoff, Dec 08
- Super Sad True Love Story, Gary Shteyngart, Nov 26
- Addiction to Perfection: The Still Unravished Bride : A Psychological Study, Marion Woodman, Nov 15
- Coraline, Neil Gaiman, Nov 13
- What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami, Nov 09
- Lucy, Laurence Gonzales, Oct 31
- Be Happy Without Being Perfect: How to Break Free from the Perfection Deception, Alice D. Domar, Oct 26
- Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Emil Frankl, Oct 09
- The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World, Eric Weiner, Sep 23
- The Search for Fulfillment, Susan Whitbourne, Sep 11
- Bluebird: Women and the New Psychology of Happiness, Ariel Gore, Sep 08
- The Magicians, Lev Grossman, Sep 03
- American Rust, Philipp Meyer, Aug 29
- The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, Dinaw Mengestu, Aug 14
- What I Loved, Siri Hustvedt, Aug 10
- Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche, Ethan Watters, Aug 08
- All the Living: A Novel, C.E. Morgan, Jul 29
- Discover Your Child’s Learning Style, Mariaemma Willis, Jul 26
- The Keep, Jennifer Egan, Jul 25
- The End, Salvatore Scibona, Jul 23
- The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin, Jul 16
- The Postmistress, Sarah Blake, Jul 09
- The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith, Jul 05
- The History of Love, Nicole Krauss, Jul 2010
- The Children’s Hospital, Chris Adrian, Jun 25
- Love Medicine, Louise Erdrich, Jun 20
- Bad Behavior, Mary Gaitskill, May 25
- Crimes Against Logic, Jamie Whyte, Apr 27
- The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White, Apr 11
- Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffenegger, Mar 14
- The Chosen One, Carol Lynch Williams, Mar 10
- Adventures in Gentle Discipline, Hilary Flower, Mar 09
- The Reading List: Contemporary Fiction, David Rubel, Mar 09
- All Things Made New: A Comprehensive Outline of the Baha’i Faith, John Ferraby, Mar 06
- Baha’i, Margit Warburg, Mar 2010
- The Hearts of Horses, Molly Gloss, Feb 20
- The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear, Ralph Keyes, Feb 15
- Creating Sacred Space With Feng Shui, Karen Kingston, Feb 12
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott, Feb 05
- Devil’s Gate: Brigham Young and the Great Mormon Handcart Tragedy, David Roberts, Jan 27
- The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Amy Tan, Jan 16
- Brothers: A Novel, Yu Hua, Jan 12
Imperfect Happiness 
Hello! I found your blog via the #postaday2011 tag feed, and I’m so glad that I did. I struggle with perfectionism, too! Besides that, we have “Coraline” in common for 2010. I read that book last year and got a little hooked on Neil Gaiman. Best of luck with the postaday challenge, and happy new year!
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Thanks for the comment, Kathryn! I need to check out more Neil Gaiman. I’ve read The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish to my daughter, but that and Coraline are the only Gaiman books I’ve read. He’s got a rather twisted perspective of which I think I’d like to read more. So many books, so little time! Good luck with your own postaday and likewise Happy New Year!
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Fantastic post, I am truly inspired to try and read a lot more this year (I think I managed around 12 books in 2010 which really isn’t good enough). Also thanks for listing What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. I read a review of this book a while ago and scribbled down a note of it somewhere then lost it and forgot about it so now I can get a hold of a copy and finally read it!
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I’m glad to be of help! The Murakami book is an interesting one. The reviews I’ve read all seem to run either hot or cold, people either love it or they hate it. I admit, I like reading books that inspire that intensity of reaction. I hope you enjoy reading it. And thanks for the comment!
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I loved this post! It is always nice to see that I am not the only one who appreciates reading. I was going through your list hoping to find a book in common but that didn’t happen.
Your list did make me realize that I can’t remember what books I read last year. Maybe I’ll start keeping a list now 🙂
-MTO
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MTO-
Thanks for the feedback! If it weren’t for Goodreads, I wouldn’t be able to keep track of my books. It also helps me organize my “to-read” list so when I set out for the library, I’ve got some ideas in mind. I know there are other sites out there that do the same thing, but Goodreads is the only one I’ve tried. I’m happy with it. Thanks for visiting!
-CJ
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Goodreads baffled me. I gave up trying to use it to network with authors & readers. Maybe it works better to keep a personal reading list. (Yours is impressive.) Maybe I should persist; I get frustrated pretty quickly on websites.
SSC
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I haven’t tried Goodreads for networking. I’ve got a couple of other author friends on LinkedIn, though, and in general it seems to be a reasonable way for professionals to network. I only use Goodreads for my personal reading list (and to post my own reviews and read others’ reviews). I’ve liked it a lot for that purpose.
I think if a website frustrates you quickly, it’s just a sign that the design kinks haven’t been worked out yet and/or what it offers is just not what you’re looking for. There are a gazillion websites out there; chances are there’s either one out there already that’s a better fit for your needs, or one will be developed soon. I found MySpace and Friendster utterly baffling, but Facebook has hooked me way too easily. The online world is strange and often incongruous, at least from my perspective.
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Guess who is now a Goodread user?! You got it! I only created a basic profile and won’t start working on it until later but I’m sure this will make the whole process a lot easier.
Thanks for the tip!
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