An Analysis of the Books I Read in 2010 aka Nerd Alert III

Books Read: 78

• Average # of books read/month: 6.5
• Non-fiction: 22 (28%)
• Fiction: 54 (69%)
• YA Fiction: 2 (2.5%)
• Books by male authors: 53 (68%)
• Books by female authors: 25 (32%)
• Disliked: 7 (9%)
• Ambivalent about/sort of liked: 41 (52%)
• Actively enjoyed: 30 (38%)

By Genre:

• Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 10
  
• Zombie: 3
  
• Graphic novels: 2
  
• Spiritual: 3
  
• Mystery/Thriller: 5
  
• Poetry: 2
  
• Historical Fiction: 3-ish
  
• Short story collections/Anthologies: 6
  
• Contemporary fiction: 4-ish
  
• Books about food: 2
  
• Animal books: 4
  
• Books about advertising: 1
  
• Science: 5
  
• History: 4
  
• Biography/Auto-biography: 6
  
• Horror (non-Zombiefied): 12-ish
  
• Classics: 0
• Romance (barf): 4

Compared to 2009:

• I read 19 more books - whooomp there it is!
• I also read more non-fiction. Perhaps to compensate for graduating school and thus leaving the nourishing bosom of mother education for the scary reality of full-time work? Or I just had more time and read more overall, since I was no longer mired in a miasma of essay-writing and pointless group work. Your choice.
  
• I was really ambivalent about the majority of the books I read this year, which is not so much of a bummer - for the most part I liked bits and pieces of many of them even if I didn't fall in love with the whole package. The books I enjoyed, I really enjoyed; and I only disliked a handful, and even some of those were so bad as to be cheesily enjoyable (see: Romance category).
• I picked up the slack and read way more science, history & food books. I also watched more reality television this year than I ever have, so I figure it all evened out and prevented my brain from turning to goo.
  
• It may be time to retire the "zombie" category and just fold it into general horror. Zombie books are getting played out, yo! Still cooler than sparkly vampires though. ALSO I have not yet read the Twilight series. That counts for something.

Notes & Superlatives

• Repeated authors: Stephen King (Don't hate - he's the master), Joe Hill (Save some talent for the rest of us, King family), Jennifer Weiner, Stieg Larsson (me and the rest of the world).
• Authors I "discovered" this year: Emma Donoghue, Sloane Crosley, Amy Greene, Joe Hill
• Favorite book of 2009 (Fiction): A crowded field! All of my favorites are so different. I loved The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Room by Emma Donoghue, and Under the Dome by Stephen King - 3 books with very different feels. The book that touched me the most was actually poetry, Black Stars in a White Night Sky, by JonArno Lawson. You should just read them all and decide for yourself.
  
• Favorite book of 2010 (Non-fiction): A tie. Grayson by Lynne Cox was a beautiful short memoir about her encounter with a baby whale while swimming off the coast of California. Elegant, descriptive, and transporting. I also really enjoyed Furious Love, by Sam Kashner, which was a tome and half about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's relationship. The glamour! The gossip! Reading Burton's love notes made me feel like a peeper but he was a great writer so I considered the whole thing a literary exercise. Hey, at least it's not Star Magazine.
  
• Least favorite of 2010: My least favorite was not by any means the worst book I read this year (see below in the "Best excerpt" category, for that stinker). Fear of Flying by Erica Jong was just...blah. I guess I was expecting to be shocked and entertained, and I was neither.
  
• Funniest book of 2010: Packing for Mars, by Mary Roach. Space toilets and lacquered sandwich cubes provide ample fodder for Roach's trademark wit. But do not read the space toilet chapter while eating lunch. Trust me.
  
• Saddest book of 2010: A Single Man, by Christopher Isherwood. Even the title is depressing. A good, short book - but if you want to at least enjoy some visual beauty while getting emotionally exhausted watch Tom Ford's gorgeously cast and directed movie version.
  
• Scariest book of 2010: The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters. Sometimes it's the quiet creepiness that is the most unsettling. Room by Emma Donoghue is a close second, but in that case I was more terrified for the characters/narrator than creeped out for myself.
  
• Most disappointing book of 2010: The Passage by Justin Cronin. It came so highly recommended by friends with similar taste AND the press that I went out and bought the hardcover. It had a promising start but definitely fizzled out completely for me. Bummer dude.
  
• Book that most lived up to the hype: Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer. Thoughtful, moving, non-judgy. I'm a vegetarian but even if I was a rampant McRib devouring carnivore I would still be able to appreciate this book (I hope).
  
• Best excerpt of 2010: From Star Bright by Catherine Anderson. "His breath smelled of coffee, mint, and faintly of cheese, one of her favorite sinful pleasures." Woah - I cannot handle that level of romance.

Here's to a 2011 full of great reads! Sitting next to me on my bedside table is some China Mieville, Kingsley Amis and Charles Yu - a good omen, I think. This year please resolve to visit your library more often (aka, ever - and not just to use the bathroom) and remember that reading actual books has been proven to prevent all illnesses, help you lose weight, and shrink your pores.*

*May not actually be true.