As you might have noticed, I do also have a book blog, which is, primarily, my way of keeping note of the books I have read and some of the basic details of them. Since January last year, I have read 121 books, 61 of which were read this year, which is probably quite good going.
I was looking at some of the details of the books I have read over the last 22 months and was really surprised that 60 of the books have been written by British authors, which, in case you haven’t worked it out, represents almost dead on half the books I have read. The next nationality I have read the most of is American authors – and I have read 25 books by Americans. The latter figure is probably somewhat skewed by my discovery of Paul Auster because he is my top ranking author – I have read six of his books since I started that blog and imagine I will read several more by him. The author that comes next is John Wyndham (a Brit) and I have read five of his books – of which The Day of the Triffids was the best.
Over that time period I have actually really broadened the types of books I read, thanks in part to the book ‘1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die’. I am thinking of stopping at book 1000 in case it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have also got some great book ideas from other bloggers, such as Sarah and I continue to be amazed at some of the books out there (although I have also read some that I have found absolutely dire).
I really like books and my biggest problem seems to be finding the time to read them all.
6 comments:
Sixty-one is a lot of books, and the statistics are fascinating. I was also surprised that there were so many British books; I would have expected a larger proportion to have been American. If you lump the UK and the USA together literarily (which I happily do without justification) that leaves thirty-five books from 'other' countries. Fantastic.
Thanks for the mention, Random. You neglected to mention that the 'basic details' you note down are awaited with anticipation, enjoyable to read, and a great resource for other readers!
Sarah - I suppose it is. I am quite target driven at work, so perhaps I also apply that to my reading life!
I am still surprised by the number of British books, but I think I might also have expected more by Americans. I have enjoyed reading books from a range of countries and found some good authors by broadening my horizons.
Thank you for your kind words.
Sometime last year, I noticed my reading was mostly English, and American authors, with the odd Australian/South African/Indian/Japanese writer thrown in.
Tried to do a "12 Country Challenge" this year, and it worked out quite well, and personally, I thought it was loads of fun.
The 1001 Books To Read is incredibly intimidating. I've been trying to pick and choose books from there, since I discovered it in January this year. Best of luck on getting to book #1000.
I haven't read any Wyndham or Auster....
anothercookiecrumbles - The 12 country challenge is a good way to broaden your horizons. I sure it was enjoyable.
There are some books on the 1001 list (the list changes sometimes incidentally, which means it might be impossible to ever truly complete it...) that look very dire. I also don't often recognise the descriptions given in the book when I compare them to what I have actually read.
What I tend to do is use the list to track down a book and then I decided whether to read it when I am standing there with it in my hand. Does it look readable etc? If the answer is no then I don't read it.
Both Wyndham and Auster are great authors. I would suggest giving The Day of the Triffids a go first, which is by John Wyndham. That is a very readable book.
Wow, impressive!
PS do you know how many non-fiction books, on average, the average person reads a year?
1/2.
Kahless - I don't read non-fiction very often. I probably match that average. I do sometimes have brief bursts of reading biographies etc, but generally fiction is my preference. I have no idea why that is...
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