2011 in Review

I posted my top ten books read in 2011 yesterday, but there’s still quite a bit left to say.  Bear with me.

The Stats:

My goal was to read 75 books. That felt wimpy, but knowing that I had recently started a new job when I was setting my goal for this year, it felt realistic. I do not have any reading time at my current job and that was all I did at my old one!

I read 104 books and chose not to finish an additional four. Woohoo! I’m very happy I’m managed this!

I finished 20 audio books.

I read only 5 ebooks. That somehow doesn’t sound right, but that’s all I’ve shelved on GoodReads.

I read 15 young adult books and 18 middle grade books.

According to GoodReads, I read 28,872 pages.

Longest book: A Storm of Swords, by George R. R. Martin, weighing in at 973 pages.

I read 50 books by men (48%) and 54 books by women (52%).  I am surprised by this. I thought I would lean more heavily toward the women. Huh!

You can see my year in review on GoodReads.

Reading Challenges:

Southern Literature Challenge (Hosted by me)–I read 12 books and my goal was only 4.

Dewey Decimal Challenge (Also hosted by me)–I read 15 books and my goal for this one was also 4.

Immigrant Stories Challenge–4 books read and a goal of 1-3. Two of my favorite books of the year counted for this challenge.

Fairy Tale Challenge–Read 8 books, read 2 original tales, watched 1 movie, with a goal of 1 each. Two of my favorite books of the year also counted for this one!

Off the Shelf Challenge–I squeaked by with 17 and a goal of 15.

Graphic Novel Challenge–Breezed through with 8 books read and a goal of 3.

Page to Screen Challenge–11 books read and a goal of 5

Read Me Baby, 1 More Time–6 books read with a goal of 3

Gothic Novel Challenge–1 book read and a goal of 1. I was panicking a little about this one; it kind of came down to the wire. Then I realized The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is very gothic. Whew.

Heroine’s Bookshelf Challenge–I technically met the challenge (1-5 books) by reading two, but I was hoping to get to three. Scarlett O’Hara, you are going down soon. I mean it.

Genres

There is some overlap, and these are fairly arbitrary based on my own thoughts.

Audio
Read: 20
Favorite: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson, read by Peter Altschuler

Banned Book
Read: 5
Favorite: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Chick Lit
Read: 3
Favorite: The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig

Classics
Read: 2
Favorite: East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Ebook
Read: 5
Favorite: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Fairy Tale
Read: 8
Favorite: Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess’ Stardust

Fantasy
Read: 30
Favorite: I can’t choose between Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint and A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin. So I’m not. It’s a tie.

General Fiction
Read: 6
Favorite: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson, read by Peter Altschuler

Graphic Novel
Read: 8
Favorite: The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Historical Fiction
Read: 13
Favorite: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Horror
Read: 5
Favorite: ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Humor
Read: 6
Favorite: Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore, read by Bill Irwin

Middle Grade
Read: 18
Favorite: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Mystery
Read: 8
Favorite: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle

Non-fiction
Read: 19
Favorite: Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

Science Fiction
Read: 3
Favorite: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Southern Literature
Read: 12
Favorite: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Young Adult
Read: 15
Favorite: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

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