An Analysis of the Books I Read in 2013 aka Nerd Alert VI

Books read: 63

• Average # of books read/month: 5.25
• Non-fiction: 12 (19%)
• Fiction:  51 (81%)
• YA Fiction: 4 (6%)
• Books by male authors: 35 (55%)
• Books by female authors: 27 (43%)
• Disliked (0-2 out of 5): 14 (22%)
• Ambivalent about/sort of liked (2.5-3 out of 5): 13 (20%)
• Actively enjoyed (3.5-5 out of 5): 36 (57%)
• Re-reads: 5

By Genre:

• Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 10
• Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalypse/Dystopia: 7
• Horror: 9
• Graphic novels: 3
• Mystery/Thriller: 8
• Poetry: 0
• Historical Fiction: 0
• Western: 1
• Short story collections/Anthologies: 4
• Contemporary fiction: 2
• Politics: 0
• Science/Medical: 1
• History: 0
• Humor: 2
• True Crime: 0
• Religion: 0
• Psychology: 0
• Biography/Autobiography/Memoir: 4
• Classics: 0
• Romance/Shitty Erotica: 2

Books that got a Perfect Score:

• Them by Jon Ronson
• The Age of Miracles by Karen Walker Thompson
• Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
• As I Am by Patricia Neal
• The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Compared to 2012:

• 5 more books read than last year! Aiming for at least 70 in 2014. What else am I going to do, have a baby?! LAY OFF, MOM! 
• I read way less non-fiction this year, but the true stories I did pick up I really enjoyed. Quality over quantity? 
• I read twice as much YA fiction - which truthfully makes less & less sense as a category these days. I've read YA stories that were much more sophisticated than the average novel "for adults," and plenty of contemporary novels explore the rich themes of adolescence. Basically, what I'm saying is: don't label me, man! I reject your box! Fight the patriarchy & save the whales. 
• I disliked way more books - womp womp. But I had a lot of 5s & 4.5s as well, many of them unexpected. What surprised me this year was how much I didn't like some books that got rave reviews & hype, like The Shining Girls & Divergent. Can't everybody just love the books that I love? Where is the three-movie adaptation of Lonesome Dove starring Jennifer Lawrence as Lorena and Zac Efron as Jake Spoon?* 
• I re-read a ton of books this year. I turned 30 and sought out the comforts of my past. And/or I was just a little lazy. 
• This is truly a year befitting of a nerd alert: I mostly read genre fiction. If you don't have a dragon, I'm not interested. Fun fact: that was also my pick-up line in college. HEY-OH!

Notes & Superlatives:

• Repeated authors: Jon Ronson, Scott Lynch, Michael Crichton, Leigh Bardugo, Stephen King. Should Stephen King just get some sort of Repeated Author Emeritus status so I don't have to keep repeating him? Michael Crichton's were all re-reads, because I saw Jurassic Park when it came back into theaters and DINOSAURS. 
• Authors I discovered this year and will be checking out further: Scott Lynch**, Leigh Bardugo, Kate Atkinson, Adam Johnston, & Robert Sheckley. I got my eyes on you, people! Don't disappoint me. Well, Sheckley is dead...but the rest of you - PRODUCE.
• Favorite book of 2013 (Fiction): Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. A beautiful & epic doorstop of a novel. Someone please make me a t-shirt that says "Gus McCrae is my Homeboy" so I can honor this wonderful masterwork the only way my generation knows how: a pre-shrunk poly-cotton blend. Very close runner-up would be The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnston. If Lonesome Dove is the Great American Novel, we can call it the Great North Korean Novel (Dear Leader may object, but tough beans).
• Favorite book of 2013 (Non-Fiction): Them by Jon Ronson. Jon Ronson could write about the history of the loom*** and it would be fascinating, so it's no surprise he wrote an interesting book about people who think the world is run by disguised lizard people, among other oddballs. 
• Least Favorite book of 2013: R.L. Stine, let's go back to Fear Street, far far away from the laughable evil ghost Irish laser-eyed children of Red Rain. The sex scenes you wrote in this, your first and hopefully last book for adults, were deeply uncomfortable. I truly hated this book, the recipient of the sole 0 rating I gave all year. Let us never speak of it again.
• Most Fun Book of 2013: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Capers! Cons! Derring-do! SO much derring done. This book has everything: hybrid fruits, sexy shark fighters, and false mustaches.  Everything. 
• Author I read in 2013 that I Most Want to Hang Out With: Patricia Neal, please come back to life and call me up. We can dish about G. Coops and that asshole Roald Dahl, and we can drink dry martinis and you can tell me funny stories about your early days in theatre (pronounced "the-ah-TUH," naturally). You are a delight.
• Saddest book of 2013: Wave, by Sonali Deraniyagala. The kind of sad story that is almost unfathomable to process. Kiss your loved ones right this minute. Honorable mention goes to the story "Last Contact" by Stephen Baxter, because it came out of nowhere and floored me with the feels. 
• Scariest book of 2013: None of the myriad horror books I read or re-read this year really creeped me out. And TWO of them involved torturing/murdering little kids! What's wrong with me? I'm on a list somewhere, aren't I? Anyway, instead of those logical choices, the story I keep coming back to is "Law of Survival," by Nancy Kress. There was something so deeply unsettling about her tale of mysterious, unknowable alien invaders and their demands of the protagonist and her charges. Aliens, dude. I want to believe...but I don't, you know? 

I am about to embark on a trip that involves roughly 50 hours of plane travel, so I will do my best to tear away from the in-flight entertainment (they have ALL of the Toy Story movies on demand! I am a child) and chomp into the first books I have queued up for 2014. Every year I write this wrap-up and I remember the experiences I had reading and it's amazing how rich they are - I remember discussions I had about the books, feelings & memories they brought up, ideas they sparked, and even where I was and what was happening in my life when I read certain passages. I truly cannot imagine a life without reading, and I can honestly say that people who get by without it puzzle and confound me. So here's hoping for dozens of indelible experiences in 2014, each one a signpost helping to fix a fleeting moment. Take a look, it's in a book. Seriously. It's ALL IN A BOOK, PEOPLE. ALL OF IT. 

Cheers & luvs. 

*This would make a billion dollars! Why is no one making this? 

**I love you, Locke Lamora. Oh my god: another character to be played by Zac Efron! I have mentioned Zac Efron too much, haven't I? Noted.

***Don't worry, I looked it up and I am now aware that the history of the loom is actually mildly interesting. Stop writing your angry emails. 

Alien Contact

Look, I *don't* want to believe. At all. Aliens are terrifying. Unfortunately I've seen the videos (okay, yes, just this one video. And yes, if you are my friend - it's the one I've made you watch. Also if you are my co-worker. ALSO if you're that person I sat next to on the train once. Sorry).

So I thought I would read this book to get a little perspective on our little green friends and it really helped. Marvel at the obnoxious, but ultimately humanity advancing, aliens in George Alec Effinger's "The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything"! Wonder at the dog-faced aliens and the many different paths intelligent societies can take in Harry Turtledove's "The Road Not Taken"! Sit quietly with a cup of tea and ponder the meaning of a friendship between a bag lady and a disembodied alien claw robot in Pat Murphy's "Recycling Strategies for the Inner City"!

There were also some scary stories in here - "Law of Survival" by Nancy Kress, featuring a starving earth and a mysterious alien race looking to train stray dogs, being a notable one (it doesn't sound that scary, I guess...but why would aliens want well-behaved dogs? Think about it - only evil can come of this). But ultimately, my feelings about the aliens who are surely already living among us are now much more well-rounded. This was a growth experience for me. Also the last story in the book, "Last Contact" by Stephen Baxter, is completely heartbreaking and moved me in a way I did not expect ("Are you crying? Reading that ALIEN BOOK?" - my fiance).

Oh GOD WHY did I write so many words for this review???? What is the point. If you are a huge nerd, read this book if you haven't already, it's got some great stories. If you are not a huge nerd, who are we kidding? You are not going to pick up a book with an alien/man riff on the "Creation of Adam" lit by a weird green glow on the cover. But it's your loss! Also I have a video you should watch...

4 statues of Zefram Cochrane out of 5.

An Analysis of the Books I Read in 2012 aka Nerd Alert V

Books read: 58

• Average # of books read/month: 4.7
• Non-fiction: 14 (24%)
• Fiction: 42 (72%)
• YA Fiction: 2 (3%)
• Books by male authors: 36 (62%)
• Books by female authors: 22 (38%)
• Disliked: 5 (9%)
• Ambivalent about/sort of liked: 19 (32%)
• Actively enjoyed: 34 (59%)

By Genre:

• Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 13
• Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalypse: 4
• Horror: 11
• Graphic novels: 5
• Spiritual: 0
• Mystery/Thriller: 4
• Poetry: 1
• Historical Fiction: 4
• Short story collections/Anthologies: 4
• Contemporary fiction: 3
• Politics: 2
• Science/Medical: 0
• History: 4
• True Crime: 3
• Religion: 1
• Psychology: 1
• Biography/Autobiography: 8
• Classics: 0
• Romance/Shitty Erotica: 1

Compared to 2011:

• I read 3 more books! Baby steps. Got to bring it back up to the 60-70 range this year. Oh, and unlike *some people* I don't count each individual slice of a graphic novel as a separate book...just sayin', dude. J'accuse! 
• I joined a book club at work, so I think that put some books I wouldn't have otherwise read onto my bedside table. I've really enjoyed it, even if not all of the choices have been favorites - the discussion is actually often better when it's about a book's flaws. Deep thought! Put that in a fortune cookie!
• I read almost the same percentage of non-fiction/fiction and male/female authors. Do I have some unconscious literary sweet spot guiding my selections? Just checked 2010 - it's also within a few percentage points! Dear. GOD. Someone craft an elaborate conspiracy theory about this and have a report on my desk in the morning.
• I really got into the apocalypse/post-apocalypse genre this year, and a few of the sci-fi books I read were very dystopian. One of the first books on the docket for 2013 is The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker - what can I say, I love a good world ruining. 
• I read more graphic novels. The Walking Dead is WAY grosser in comic form than on AMC, amazingly enough. If anyone has any graphic novels I should read, send suggestions my way - I think I'll try and do my homework and read some of the classics in the medium. 

Notes & Superlatives:

• Repeated authors: Gillian Flynn, Scott Snyder, Erik Larson, Charlaine Harris (I know, but sometimes you mainline True Blood episodes for a week straight and you need a way to wean yourself off of the Skarsgard - the books help), and for the 4th straight year in a row, Stephen King. Can't quit him, don't want to.
• Authors I discovered this year and will be checking out further: Maureen F. McHugh, Gillian Flynn, Chad Harbach, Christopher Buehlman, Jon Ronson, Donald Ray Pollock, Laini Taylor, and Colson Whitehead. A good year for library browsing and Library Journal review-heeding (yes, I have a subscription to Library Journal. Nope, I don't know how I got to be so cool. Just lucky, I guess).
• Favorite book of 2012 (Fiction): The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. Nothing else came close to it. This book will be considered a classic in 50 years, I feel like I was at the start of something great by reading it only a year after it came out. You guys, this book is my friiiiennnnd. I have friend feelings about this book. Read it, love the characters, grow your own friend feelings. 
• Favorite book of 2012 (Non-Fiction): A lot more competition in the non-fiction category. I got really into true crime, and People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry was a superb example of that, coupled with a fascinating deep dive into Japanese culture. Another stand out was Columbine by Dave Cullen, a stark and meticulously researched look at what actually happened in Colorado in 1999 - an especially sad & thought provoking read given current news. But I think I have to make it a two-way tie between The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson and Game Change by John Helleman. One is a story full of psychosis, delusions of grandeur, and horrifying demented personalities - and the Erik Larson book is about a notorious serial killer and the Chicago World's Fair. See what I did there? 
• Least Favorite book of 2012: 50 Shades of Grey by a landslide of horrible writing & cringe-worthy dialog. It gets two awards this year, see below. I also thought Summer of Night by Dan Simmons and the Wasp Factory by Iain Banks were disappointing, speaking as someone who didn't read them when they first came out (both were well received critically, I believe) - maybe they just haven't aged well and I need to stay away from 80s/early 90s horror. 
• Funniest book of 2012:  Mindy Kaling's memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? takes it. I didn't actually read a ton of laugh-a-minute books this year, but even so I think Mindy's charming effervescence would have won me over. This is a great book to give a chubby teen girl - is there any higher praise?
• Saddest book of 2012: A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck. Always and forever. This would also have been a candidate for favorite fiction if it hadn't been a reread. Prescription for testing to make sure you're still a breathing, feeling human being: read this book once a year, if you don't cry & go hug your dad you are dead and/or a robot. 
• Scariest book of 2012: I read a ton of horror this year, so it's really chilling that this superlative goes to Jon Ronson's non-fiction work, The Psychopath Test. A riveting read and a reminder of how scary actual people can be. Runner-up: 50 Shades of Grey, for obvious reasons.
• Least erotic book of 2012 (and potentially ever): 50 Shades of Grey. I can't. I've seen advertisements on amateur porn sites that are more finely crafted and believable (um, I mean, a friend of mine saw them and told me about them...yeah). Sexual without being sexy. Graphic without being intimate. Saccharine without being romantic. My original review summed it up perfectly when I stole some timeless dialog from Billy Madison: "E.L. James, I award you no points - and may God have mercy on your soul." 

I laughed, cried, shuddered - a pretty good year. I am again reminded of how little I understand people who say they don't read. What lulls your brain to sleep at night? What do you do on the train? How do you get new ideas? What do you do when the power goes out? And don't tell me you don't have time: I manage to read AND watch all the must see TV out there (Breaking Bad OMFG!!!?!) - the key is having no social life! I know that in 2013, you too can live the dream! Take a look, it's in a book. Bitch.

Ready Player One

This is a book perfect for gaming nerds, and I really enjoyed it - despite being TOO nerdy for it. See, I never played the adventure, shoot 'em up, wizard & dragon games. My favorite computer game was Civilization. Yes - you could spend the game waging war and taking over the earth, which I suppose would be pretty badass. I say "suppose" because I always preferred to win using SCIENCE and become the first civilization to reach Alpha Centauri. I WAS SUCH A GODDAMNED NERD.

Anyway, I have friends now and I have kissed a boy, so it's fine. And my lack of experience with 80s arcade staples and dice-based adventures did not diminish my enjoyment of Ready Player One. It's set in a dystopian future where everyone spends most of their time plugged into a massive online role-playing game. When the eccentric, 80s-obssesed creator dies, he wills his vast fortune and control of the game to whoever can first solve a series of clues that will lead them to three challenges, three keys, and three gates.

My only complaint is a pretty literal deus ex machina that pops up near the end - but by that time you're already casting the inevitable movie version of the story* so I guess I'll allow it.

4 epic Rush guitar solos out of 5.

*Wade = Donald Glover , Art3mis = Lena Dunham, Sorrento = Willem Dafoe. Are you telling me you wouldn't watch that movie? Exactly.

An Analysis of the Books I Read in 2011 aka Nerd Alert IV

Books read: 55

• Average # of books read/month: 4.6
• Non-fiction: 16 (29%)
• Fiction: 39 (71%)
• YA Fiction: 4 (7%)
• Books by male authors: 34 (61%)
• Books by female authors: 21 (39%)
• Disliked:14 (25%)
• Ambivalent about/sort of liked:9 (17%)
• Actively enjoyed: 32 (58%)

By Genre:

• Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 8
• Biography/Memoir: 7
• Science/Medical: 3.5 (I’m only counting the UFO book as half of a science book. There, are you happy skeptics???)
• Mystery/Thriller: 4
• Graphic novels: 0
• Spiritual: 1
• Poetry: 0 (This is bad/It makes me sad)
• Historical Fiction: 1
• Short story collections/Anthologies: 2
• Contemporary fiction: 5
• Books about food: 2
• History: 3
• Horror: 14
• Classics: 0 (Haha take THAT Literature!)
• Romance: 0

Compared to 2010:

• I read 23 fewer! Unbelievable. I blame society, and the presence of so many excellent scripted shows on television. Also I should probably stop re-reading huge, 1000+ page Stephen King books that I have already read. Especially when he’s still writing NEW 1000+ page books I have yet to read!/Give other authors a chance, Jane! (Ok my first book of 2012 was 11/22/63, but after that’s done I will branch out, I promise).
• I liked most of the books I read this year, a 20% increase over last year! If I was a company and those were my financial results, my shareholders would be rich! Which is to say, can I somehow make money from this book picking ability?
• I was all about revealing/trashy celebrity biographies this year - Oh-ooh-oh-ah-oh-prah's taking the cake, of course. Celebrities whose biographies I will seek out in 2012: Coco (does she have one? SHE MUST), Mindy Kaling, Darrell Hammond, Diane Keaton, Lucille Ball.

Notes & Superlatives

• Repeated authors: Stephen King (2 years running! I'm sure this means more to him than all his other accomplishments), and George R.R. Martin (ironic considering he finishes a book every 10 years). Wow this list is really earning it's nerd alert title.
• Authors I discovered this year: I'll definitely be picking up some other books by William Gay, Yannick Murphy, Ben Winters, and Jonathan Carroll.
• Favorite book of 2011 (fiction): The Call by Yannick Murphy. In a year filled with genre fiction this subtle epistolary story set on a farm surprised me with how much I enjoyed it and how much I kept thinking about it after the fact. I also really liked A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. I guess the Pulitzer Prize *does* mean something.
• Favorite book of 2011 (non-fiction): Bossypants! The only book I read last year to get 5 stars. Tina Fey you glorious monster, please never stop shining your light on our sad little world. I also really enjoyed Keith Richard's autobiography, if only for the pictures inside of a young, hot Keith, taken before his face turned into an old leather baseball mitt.
• Least Favorite book of 2011: Mini-Shopaholic. Maybe it was the recession but somehow I couldn't enjoy or relate to a book about an irresponsible twerp and her whiny brat shopping and having HIGH-larious misunderstandings and hi-jinks. OR Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games series. This book should have never been written. If you do want to read the series (overall I give it a rating somewhere between a slightly interested raised eyebrow and a grunted "meh") stop after the second book. I beg of you!
• Funniest book of 2011: Bossypants. Even the cover with the disturbing man arms makes me laugh uncomfortably!
• Saddest book of 2011: The Long Goodbye, by Meghan O'Rourke. It's a memoir about her mother dying. I CAN'T. I love you mom!
• Scariest book of 2011: Bedbugs, by Ben Winters. I'm still feeling itchy and thinking every stray lint ball is the scouting party of a giant army of bloodthirsty insects.
• Things the books I read made me want to do this year: Go to Papua New Guinea, try umeboshi plums, check my mattress for bedbugs (see above), call my mom, be nicer to retail employees, add more sea vegetables to my diet, watch 80s movies, write more, and read more. Read everything!

What's your first book of 2012? Authors currently hanging out on my bedside table include Glen Duncan, Dorianne Laux, S.J. Watson, Mindy Kaling, Cormac McCarthy, Annie Proulx, and Louis de Bernières. It's going to be a good year....!

In sum: I love books. You should too. I now have a Nintendo Wii but I'll try not to let Mariokart eat into my reading time. YAY LIFE!

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.

An Analysis of the Books I Read in 2009 aka Nerd Alert II

Books read: 59 (Disappointed in myself, you guys. I blame grad school!)

• Average # books read/month: 5.5
• Non-fiction: 7 (12%)
• Fiction: 32 (54%)
• YA Fiction: 20 (34%)
• Books by male authors: 37.5 (63.5%) *
• Books by female authors: 21.5 (36.4%)
• Disliked: 19 (32%)
• Ambivalent about/Sort of liked: 15 (25%)
• Actively enjoyed: 25 (42%)

By Genre

• Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 5
• Zombie: 4
• Graphic novels: 4
• Spiritual: 3
• Mystery/Thriller: 9
• Poetry: 1
• Historical Fiction: 4
• Short story collections/Anthologies: 4
• Contemporary fiction: 8-ish
• Books about food: 0 (SHOCKING!)
• Science: 0 (Wow. Lame!)
• Biography/Auto-biography: 1
• Horror (non-Zombiefied): 7
• Classics: 0.5 *
• Romance (barf): 7

*Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was half-written by a woman (J.Austen) and half by a dude. It was also half a classic, and half zombies. FYI, the combination produced a mediocre whole.

Compared to 2008:

• I read 12 fewer books. My true nerdery is revealed by how much this fact sincerely bothers me! I also read less non-fiction! Sad.
• I disliked more and actively enjoyed fewer of the books I read this year, percentage-wise. How depressing. But I was also ambivalent about fewer than last year, so maybe this just means I became less wishy-washy.
• Last year I read 0 zombie books, this year I sought them out and read 4…but none were that great. Still: they are cooler than vampires.
• I can’t believe I went a year without reading any food or science books! I resolve to not let this continue through 2010 (in 2008 I read 4 and 2, respectively).

Notes & Superlatives:

• I had a class this year on YA literature, so that took over my reading list for a while. It introduced me to some great books, but also forced me to read things like Seventeenth Summer and Boy Meets Boy, two saccharine romances that I could have lived without. So it totally skewed my list and took time away from other books I wanted to read. I got an “A” though, so it was worth it.
• Some common themes were: dystopias, plagues, missing/murdered children (disturbing!), Buddhism. My reading was very disjointed and random this year.
• Favorite book of 2009 (Fiction) = The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff (I read it all the way back in January, sheesh)
• Special category! Favorite YA book of 2009 (Fiction) = TIE : The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
• Favorite book of 2009 (Non-fiction) = Bonk: The Curious Couple of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
• Least favorite of 2009 = TIE: Dymond in the Rough by Precious (YA) and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
• Funniest book of 2009: John Hodgman takes it two years in a row, this year with More Information Than You Require. Well done, Mr. Hodgman! The aforementioned Dymond in the Rough almost stole it from him, but it was disqualified since it was only unintentionally hilarious.
• Saddest book of 2009: Another year, another dead dog! The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. Bonus sadness points for basically being Hamlet. With dogs.
• Scariest book of 2009: Promise Not to Tell: A Novel by Jennifer Mcmahon. Creepy ghost child!!!

Upon review, 2009 was kind of a crappy year for me and books, both in quality and quantity. I am starting 2010 off with the new Stephen King, so that bodes well! Oh, you’re too good for one of the best-selling novelists of all time? He won an O. Henry award, what have you done?! Ahem.

To 2010! May it be full of excellent reading for you and your loved ones. Turn off the TV.

An Analysis of the Books I Read in 2008 aka Nerd Alert

Books read: 71

• Average # books read/month: 5.9
• Non-fiction: 24 (34%)
• Fiction: 47 (66%)
• Books by male authors: 42 (59%)
• Books by female authors: 29 (41%)
• Disliked: 18 (25%)
• Ambivalent about/Sort of liked: (31%)
• Actively enjoyed: 31 (44%)

By Genre

• Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 9
• Zombie: 0 (surprising!)
• Graphic novels: 2
• Spiritual: 6
• Mystery/Thriller: 7
• Poetry: 4
• Historical Fiction: 7
• Short story collections: 3
• Contemporary fiction: 6
• Books about food: 4
• Science: 2
• Biography/Auto-biography: 3
• Horror: 3
• Classics: 2
  

Notes & Superlatives:

• Only one author had more than one book on the list (George R. R. Martin)
• Books by Japanese, Australian, British, American, Canadian, Colombian, and German authors were read
• 6 books by dead authors were read (spoooooky)
• Some common themes were dogs, Japan, quirky short fiction, the politics of food, and Eastern religions
• Favorite book of 2008 (Fiction) = TIE: A Clash of Kings, by George R.R. Martin & The African Queen, by C. S. Forester
• Favorite book of 2008 (Non-fiction) = Red China Blues, by Jan Wong
• Least favorite of 2008 = TIE: The Tea Rose, by Jennifer Donnelly, & In the Miso Soup, by Ryo Murakami
• Funniest book of 2008: The Areas of my Expertise, by John Hodgman
• Saddest book of 2008: Marley & Me, by John Grogan (spoiler alert: THE DOG DIES)