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February was a bit of a mixed bag for me in many ways. In the “real world”, very little actually happened! It was mainly just more of the same; I’ve started an exercise routine in earnest, have been working as usual, and am in general modestly busy. Nothing to complain about but nothing to get excited about either. I did manage to finish an Xbox game I’d got for my birthday, Assassin’s Creed II, so I’m doing a decent job of keeping up my other hobbies as well.
The month was also mixed in terms of reading. I managed to keep up with part of my re-reading goal. I finished Anne of Green Gables and have just sneaked in the start of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. I’ll count that as being mostly on track. I’m still failing pretty hard at writing reviews on time, but I think I’d best just accept that and keep trying to write a full week’s reviews each weekend. The quality of the books I read varied – I had more duds than usual, but as always some good ones as well. In total I read 18 books this month.
Fiction
- To Serve a King, Donna Russo Morin
- Pictures of You, Caroline Leavitt
- The Mischief of the Mistletoe, Lauren Willig
- All That’s True, Jackie Lee Miles
- The Mistress of Abha, William Newton
- Love in the Afternoon, Lisa Kleypas
- Some Girls Are, Courtney Summers
- A Fatal Waltz, Tasha Alexander
- Dracula, My Love, Syrie James
- The Orchid Affair, Lauren Willig
- Tears of Pearl, Tasha Alexander
- Snapped, Pamela Klauffke
- When Beauty Tamed the Beast, Eloisa James
- West of Here, Jonathan Evison
Nonfiction
- Bad Science, Ben Goldacre
- Flow, Elissa Stein and Susan Kim
- She-Wolves, Helen Castor
- A Computer Called Leo, Georgina Ferry
In March, I’m looking forward to reading two more Wheel of Time books. I think this may be the year of fantasy re-reads, however, because George R.R. Martin has just confirmed that July 12th is the release date for A Dance with Dragons, the next in A Song of Ice and Fire.
I flat out loved the first three and enjoyed the fourth, so this is a must read – but I’ve been waiting five years for it to come out. That means I’ll have to read those four books as well, before July, because no way am I having that spoiled for me. And then there’s The Wise Man’s Fear, Patrick Rothfuss’s new book, which came out two days ago, and necessitates re-reading The Name of the Wind. Looks like I’ll be busy … but in a very good way.
How was your reading month?
The first month of 2011 is already past us – it’s certainly hard for me to believe! Wasn’t it just Christmas?? We only just took our tree down and I have to say, without holiday cheeriness it’s difficult to take the cold winter. I’m already set for spring yet have months to go.
My reading this month has been pretty good! I read 20 books in the month of January. I had a week off to visit my parents, plus a couple of days at the New Year, so I managed to fit in plenty of reading time. I hope I’ve set a good course for the year ahead. This year I’ve decided to simplify my wrap-ups by splitting books into just fiction and non-fiction. I’m aiming for a more even balance anyway, and classifying gets more difficult by the day!
Fiction
- Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
- Looking for Alaska, John Green
- Last Sacrifice, Richelle Mead
- A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick
- The Raising, Laura Kasischke
- Something Missing, Matthew Dicks
- The Lady Most Likely, Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Connie Brockway
- The Queen of Last Hopes, Susan Higginbotham
- Fall for Anything, Courtney Summers
- You Know When the Men are Gone, Siobhan Fallon
- The Oracle of Stamboul, Michael David Lukas
- The Nobodies Album, Carolyn Parkhurst
- Tempt Me at Twilight, Lisa Kleypas
- Married by Morning, Lisa Kleypas
- The Fallen Blade, Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Non-fiction
I can’t choose a favorite this month – I read too many fantastic books! I wholeheartedly recommend Packing for Mars, The Heroine’s Bookshelf, Notes from a Small Island, American Rose, Looking for Alaska, The Raising, Fall for Anything, and You Know When the Men are Gone.
How was your reading month?
I am an Amazon Associate. Some of these books were sent to me for review.
The last day of 2010 is upon us; that means I have ahead of me the very difficult task of choosing my favorite books for the year. I’ve seen others’ lists going up since at least late November, but I hesitated, because for me that next gem could always be around the corner. I didn’t want to post my list before the year was nearly up. And while I may finish another book before midnight tonight, I doubt it will be as worthy as the ones that follow. I’ve chosen ten fiction and five non-fiction, which I think works for the proportions I read them in. There is no way I could whittle the fiction list down to five!
   
Fiction
- The Children’s Book, A.S. Byatt
- Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson
- The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews; this year I read Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, and Magic Bleeds.
- The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell
- Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay
- Brooklyn, Colm Toibin
- Monsters of Men, Patrick Ness
- Mistress of the Art of Death, Ariana Franklin
- The Tiffany Aching quartet by Terry Pratchett (The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, and I Shall Wear Midnight)
- Delirium, Lauren Oliver
  
Non-fiction
I wholeheartedly recommend each and every one of these books to you; they are simply incredible each in their own way.
In terms of statistics, I read:
- 253 books in total by 198 different authors
- 89,895 pages (may be inaccurate – some were ebooks)
- 101 books for review, 98 books of my own, and 54 library books
- 43 non-fiction books (17%)
- 170 books by women (67%)
- 19 were ebooks (7.5%)
The authors I read the most by this year were Anchee Min and Ilona Andrews with 5 books each.
Overall, I think it’s been a good year. I aimed to read deliberately and for the most part, I feel I truly did. Tomorrow, I’ll be back with a few of my goals for 2011. I’ll still be reading deliberately, I can tell you that.
How was your reading year in 2010?
Happy December everyone! It’s hard to believe we’re already in the swing of the Christmas season. Since it’s been snowing regularly for the past three days, I’m feeling more in the mood for the season than I have for a good few years. We haven’t set up our Christmas tree or anything yet, but we’re having Christmas at home this year so I’m excited to host it for the first time in my entire life, though I will be missing my Italian American family’s wonderful cooking (and, of course, my parents).
I read 16 books this month. I’ll chalk the slightly lower than normal count up to a few chunksters and a few unfinished books, as well as the fact that I finished another Xbox game, but honestly, I’m still very happy with that count. It does mean I acquired a lot more books this month than I read, but that’s okay. I’ll make up for it before Christmas – I’m on a book buying ban until then!
Fiction
- Remedies, Kate Ledger
- The Prince of Mist, Carlos Ruiz Zafon
- Dead in the Family, Charlaine Harris
- By Fire, By Water, Mitchell James Kaplan
- Dark and Stormy Knights, ed. P.N. Elrod
- Company of Liars, Karen Maitland
- Eleanor the Queen, Norah Lofts
- Wedding of the Season, Laura Lee Guhrke
- Revolution, Jennifer Donnelly
- Scandal of the Year, Laura Lee Guhrke
- The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett
- The Fall, Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
- A Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett
Non-fiction
As always, quite a few of my reviews are still in progress. There aren’t too many here, so unless they’ve been scheduled well ahead, you should see them popping up next week.
Far and away my fiction favorites for this month were The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky. For once I remembered who influenced me to read these, and this time it was Nymeth. I can guarantee you I’ll be reading Wintersmith and I Shall Wear Midnight next month. I’ve only held back so far because I don’t want to run out of books just yet! In non-fiction I just adored Chasing Aphrodite. The other two were good, worthy reads, but this was on a subject close to my heart and completely fascinating. My review is held back until the book’s release, but trust me, when that day comes, there will be gushing.
In December, I’m committing to read those books I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I intended to read this year. I have a week off for Christmas, so if they’re not read by then, I plan on hunkering down over a couple of days and just reading the hours away. I can’t wait! This month I’d also like to reread one of my favorites, Jane Eyre, as I’ve just received a lovely new edition from a publicist, and if we’re going crazy, I’d like to fit in Room by Emma Donoghue and Wedlock by Wendy Moore as well.
How was your reading month in November? Any reads to look forward to in December?
I truly can’t believe that October has ended and we’re almost in the long, cold, dark stretch of winter. About the only thing winter is good for is reading – as well as my birthday, but I’m sure I won’t like that any more either soon! – and I have a lot of that lined up this winter. Unread book numbers have been pretty constant since July, which isn’t terrible but isn’t great either. I doubt I’ll make a dent in them this winter with the holiday season coming around, but I can dream, can’t I?
I read 19 books, which is a bit less than normal, but still an entirely satisfying month. Here’s the breakdown:
Non-fiction
Historical Fiction
Historical Romance
Literary Fiction
- The Passport, Herta Muller
Contemporary Fiction
- A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby
Fantasy
- Of Saints and Shadows, Christopher Golden
- Spirit Bound, Richelle Mead (YA)
- Angel Souls and Devil Hearts, Christopher Golden
- The Demon’s Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan (YA)
This may be the first month ever where my largest category of reading was non-fiction. I think I like it! I felt like I was learning a lot this month, and while it may have meant I read less fiction, I really found myself craving facts and history. There are also a few memoirs in there, which I found quite interesting as well.
The clear favorite for fiction for this month is Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin – I still haven’t got my hands on the sequel, but it’s sitting in the library reservation basket and I’m just waiting for it to come in so I can get to it right away.
How was your October reading? Are you looking forward to settling in with a book on the ever-colder November nights?
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