Looking back and looking forward...

It has been quite a year, ups and downs with a whole 2 months not reading at all, but some great books along the way. I did beat my total books read from last year nevertheless, with 18 books completed in 2012. One of those was a graphic novel and 2 were non-fiction books which is 3 down on last year. The ratio of male and female authors was exactly equal with 9 each, so many more female writers than last year. This is always coincidental however and the sex of the author does not drive what I read. There was one set of short stories all by the same author (Dubliners by James Joyce).

The Nationalities of authors was as follows...
English - 7
USA - 5
Swedish - 2
Irish - 1
Norwegian - 1
Chinese/American - 1
Australian - 1
The genres of the books read during 2012 were as follows...
Modern Fiction - 2
Natural World (non-fiction)- 2
Childrens - 2
Horror/Ghost Story - 1
English Victorian Drama - 1
Dystopian - 1
Semi-autobiographical - 1
Family Biography - 1
Family Drama - 1
Humourous Fiction - 1
Graphic Novel - 1
Thriller - 1
Play/Drama - 1
American History/Wild West - 1
- 2 titles were prizewinners
- 2 titles were known classics
- 4 of the titles were first works by new authors
Favourite Reads during 2012 were...
We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Notes From Walnut Tree Farm by Roger Deakin
Oldest and Newest...
Oldest - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, 1847
Newest - Harry Hop-Pole by Wispy Gorman, Nov 2011
Favourite Cover Design...
I would say the Oxford World Classics edition of Wuthering Heights depicted the mood of the book just right for me. The picture of the desolate moors provided the perfect atmospheric cover.
Unexpected disappointment...
The Lost And Forgotten Languages Of Shanghai by Ruiyan Xu
Favourite Character...
John Grady Cole from All The Pretty Horses. An old fashioned style hero with timeless qualities but still very human.

Challenges for 2012...
My 8 resolutions (and their results in red) were:-

1. To not buy any new books, only acquiring them as gifts, borrowing, or second hand if I have to. This is to get my TBR pile under control and tied in with The TBR Double Dare run by Ready When You Are, C.B.
TBR Double Dare was completed and passed as was the rest of this challenge for the year.
2. To read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Completed March 2012

3. To read 1 or 2 titles that came up during our lit hol discussions
Completed The Summer Book by Tove Jansson in April, which came up in our Jane Austen holiday in Hampshire in 2010.
Completed The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad in July, which was my lucky dip title from CS on our Thomas Hardy holiday in Dorset in 2011.

4. To read 3 literary articles and blog about them (Uncompleted)

5. To compare 3 book to film stories
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (Feb post)
We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (March post)
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (June post)

6. To read at least one dystopia novel
Completed The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist in March 2012

7.To read the Zola I have wanted to read since 2009 (this is the 3rd year it has made it on this list and still uncompleted - sigh)

8.To read another George Eliot if possible (Uncompleted but being transferred to next year)

About the same as last year. As I say, these are guidelines for the year and not set in stone.

There are also the books recommended by my work colleagues which I have marked in red if completed. We only have to read at least one of the 3.
AR - The Dubliners by James Joyce, Seize the Day by Saul Bellow and August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
BD - The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Trick or Treat by Richie Tankersley Cusick and Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer

So how about 2013...
1. Read another classic American novel
2. Find second hand copies of
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Under The Greenwood Tree and/or The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
3. Read another novel by George Eliot
4. Read a detective mystery
5. Read one or two titles that came from our literary holidays
6. Read at least one title acquired in a Book Swap at work
7. Read a book associated with a previous World Book Night event.
8. Read a prizewinner, either Man Booker Prize or Orange prize for literature, or similar.

I would also like to continue not buying any new books and try to beat this years total books read. I will let you know how I get on. There may be the possibility of another literary weekend later in the year but I will need to see how the year pans out.

Wishing you All The Best for 2013 with lots of reading time with some fantastic books.

Looking back and looking forward...

This contemplative painting (by Isabel Cortade Obrero) seemed appropriate for the time of year where I revisit the books and stories encountered during 2011 as well as share some plans for 2012.

I didn't read as many books as I would have liked during 2011, clocking up a total of 15 books altogether. I am a much slower reader than other bloggers but this is 4 down on last year. It may be my commitment to the Lit Theory book that I wanted to make notes on each month, taking up novel reading time, or that I chose a couple of longer books later on in the year. Also there were 5 non-fiction books in that total, more than usual. There were also much more male authors, at 9, as opposed to female writers at 4, with 2 sets of short stories with various authors. This is a complete reversal of male/female ratio compared to last year. While interesting this is always coincidental, the sex of the author does not determine what I read.
The Nationalities of the authors was as follows...
English - 5
American - 4
Portuguese - 1
Scottish - 1
Peruvian - 1
- 2 of these titles were in translation.
The genres of the titles read in 2011 were as follows...
Historic Drama - 4
Gardening (non-fiction) - 3
Drama - 2
Modern drama - 2
Short Stories - 2
Apocalyptic/dystopia - 1
Literary History - 1
- 3 of these titles were prizewinners
- 4 of the titles were known classics
- 1 of the titles was by a new writer
Favourite reads during 2011 were...
Blindness by Jose Saramago
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Tinkers by Paul Harding
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
Oldest and Newest...
Oldest - The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy, 1887
Newest - Ox Tales: Water by various authors, July 1999
Favourite cover design...
The Great Gatsby from the Oxford World Classics range, use the link to have a look.
Unexpected disappointment...
Whit by Iain Banks
Favourite character...
The hobo requiring dental attention in Tinkers by Paul Harding, one of my favourite passages from a book this year. I laughed and cryed within the space of a few pages, then had to read the passage again. Pure magic.
Challenges for 2011...
My 8 resolutions (and their result in red) were...

1. Read another Bronte not yet, but I have Shirley and Wuthering Heights


2. Read Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Completed


3. Read an Eastern European writer Uncompleted


4. Read an Isabel Allende The House of the Spirits


5. Read a short story collection Ox Tales: Water


6. Read an Iain Banks Whit


7. Read another Carson McCullers Uncompleted


8. Read another Zola (carried from 2009) not yet, but I have L'Assomoir

Not as good as last year, but as I always say, they are guidelines and not set in stone.

I also found an unread Literary Theory book, The English Novel in History 1895 - 1920 by David Trotter, on my shelf and set myself the task of blogging about my progress each month, which I did complete.

My work friend AR and I set each other 3 books each, of which we had to read at least one during the year, and we both read one of them. Mine was The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, his was Moments of Reprieve by Primo Levi. I have just started Generation X by Douglas Coupland which was one of his other titles for me.

Other events for 2011 included my 2nd Novel Holiday based on Thomas Hardy in Dorset.

So what about 2012? My 8 resolutions this year are...

1. To not buy any new books, only acquiring them as gifts, borrowing, or second hand if I have to. This is to get my TBR pile under control and ties in with the The TBR Double Dare run by Ready When You Are, C.B. (see my sidebar)


2. To read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte


3. To read 1 or 2 titles that came up during our lit hol discussions


4. To read 3 literary articles and blog about them


5. To compare 3 book to film stories


6. To read at least one dystopia novel


7. To read the Zola I have wanted to read since 2009 (this is the 3rd year it has made it on this list)


8. To read another George Eliot if possible

We'll see how I get on.

My work friend AR and I are swapping some titles again to challenge each other, and we have another friend in the loop this year too. So AR and BD between them have given me The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Trick or Treat by Richie Tankersley Cusick, Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer, The Dubliners by James Joyce, Seize the Day by Saul Bellow and August: Osage County by Tracy Letts. I really enjoyed doing this last year.

Mainly I hope I fit in more books than I did last year. Other things coming up in 2012 will hopefully be another lit hol, as well as a sort of lit weekend, details to follow shortly. All very exciting.

Wishing you all lots of lovely books and lots of reading time during 2012

Looking back and looking forward

I love this part of the year, reviewing what we have done, and setting some goals for the next year.
The image on the left will accompany my reading resolutions for 2011. You will see this picture on my sidebar which will link to my progress throughout the year. Many thanks to my friend LCS who designed this picture for me. My 2011 reading resolutions are explained further on in this post, first the stats from 2010...
In total I have read 19 books, one up on last year but in keeping with my pace of reading. Nothing like many blogs who are into the 100's but a good amount for me. The female writers clocked up as 12, whereas the male writers came in at 7, so very different to last year when it was equal. While interesting, it is purely coincidental.
The nationalities of the authors was as following...
English - 8
USA - 4
Canadian - 2
Danish - 1
Brazilian - 1
Icelandic - 1
Russian - 1
British (as in born in Northern Ireland and then living in Scotland and Wales) - 1
- Three of these books were in translation
- Three were non-fiction
The genres of the books read in 2010 were as follows -
Historical drama - 7
Drama - 3
Fantasy - 2
Spiritual Adventure - 1
Crime drama - 1
Romantic drama - 1
- 3 of the books were prizewinners
- 5 of the books are known as classics
- 2 of the books were short story collections
- 1 book was by a new writer
Favourite reads of 2010...
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Emma by Jane Austen
The Blue Fox by Sjon
A Month in the Country by J L Carr
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Magic Apple Tree: A Country Year by Susan Hill
Favourite Cover Design (a new category for this year)...
The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint, design by John Jude Palencar (click the title to see)
Other accomplishments during 2010...
Organizing and taking part in my first Novel Holiday, the Jane Austen literary holiday in August.
I also set myself some directional reading challenges to complete during the year and the results of these are printed in red...

1. Read another Jane Austen - Emma
2. Read another Russian - The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
3. Read another short story collection - Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett
4. Read another American classic - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. Read an Irish classic - uncompleted
6. Read another Zola - uncompleted (but carried to next year)
7. Read another Charles de Lint - The Mystery of Grace
8. Read another Elizabeth Gaskell - Cranford

I enjoyed setting these goals, not as a rigid challenge, but just to organise and focus my reading with my TBR pile in mind, and to see where I got with it.

So onward into 2011...

My new reading resolutions, 8 in all, in keeping with the spirit of The Octogon...

1. Read another Bronte
2. Read Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
3. Read an Eastern European Writer
4. Read an Isabelle Allende
5. Read a short story collection
6. Read an Iain Banks
7. Read another Carson McCullers
8. Read another Zola (carried from last year)

These choices are simply prompted by my TBR pile as well as personal wishes. It is not set in stone and will be interesting to see how far I get.

Also for 2011 there is a possibility of another Novel Holiday to organise. I'll be getting on to that in January so watch this space!

There it is, a whole year in one little post, although we know it is so much more than that. Many thanks to all of you who have joined me along the way, checked out the blog from time to time, left comments. Also thanks is due to all the other book bloggers who make up this unique and inspiring community. All the best for 2011.

Looking back and looking forward...

It is the time of year where we evaluate what we have done, and what we hope to do in future. I quite like lists so I will start with some statistics from my reading in 2009...
In total I have read 18 books. Not much compared to some blogs but quite a few for me.
These books were split equally between male and female writers, so 9 each. This was coincidental.
The nationalities of the authors was as follows...
English - 7
USA - 7
Spanish - 1
German - 1
Australian - 1
Irish - 1
-Two of these books were in translation.
-Three of these books were non-fiction.
The Genres of the books read in 2009 were...
Historic drama - 7
Mystery/thriller - 2
Comedy/drama - 2
Psychological mystery - 1
Ghost Story - 1
Childrens - 1
General drama - 1
-Four of the books were prizewinners.
-Four of the books were known as classics.
-Two of the books were collections of short stories.
-One book was by a new writer.

Favourite Reads of 2009...
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Other accomplishments during 2009...
Completion of the 2009 mini challenges hosted by caribousmom.
Attending a one day course 'The Hour for Loving':Texts in time.
Organizing 2 book swap events at work.
Releasing a few bookcrossing books

Onward into 2010...
I have my Writing America course coming up, starting at the end of January.
I have also compiled a list of personal challenges which I hope to use as a guideline to shape my reading in 2010. Because these are my own challenges, I have 8 in total to tie in with the spirit of The Octogon...

1. Read another Jane Austen
2. Read another Russian
3. Read another short story collection
4. Read another American classic
5. Read an Irish classic
6. Read another Zola
7. Read another Charles de Lint
8. Read another Elizabeth Gaskell

These are not set in stone but will be used as a point of reference throughout the year. We'll see how I get on!

I am still currently reading Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Its quite a tome and although I am quite enjoying it, it is slow progress simply because of its length. I will keep you posted.

Wishing you all a prosperous and happy new year, hopefully surrounded by those you love, and lots of books!