(no subject)
Book meme!
How many books read in 2011?
I kept a list in the back of my diary, I approve of myself! Let's see: 38. This seems good, in 2010 I barely read anything.
Fiction/Non-Fiction ratio?
31:7. This surprises me as I don't think I read much non-fiction at all. However I read a couple of books on feminism, a couple of memoirs, and Trouble In Paradise by Kathy Marks which is about the sexual abuse on Pitcairn Island. I really recommend that, by the way.
Male/Female authors?
18 books by men, these were mostly Ian Rankin or Peter Robinson books, and 3 Patrick Gale books. Peter Robinson is from Yorkshire but now lives in Canada, his main novels are a detective series about a DCI called Alan Banks - they made it into a TV series with Stephen Tomkinson as Banks, which is way off because Banks is supposed to be small and wiry and Stephen, although lovely, isn't? I did like the TV show though, and I love all the Banks books, they're very evocative of Yorkshire. He's also written a few short story collections which are great.
That would leave 21 books by women/co-authored by women (ie I read a book about zines by a man and a woman), so without realising I read more by women. I was a bit more varied here, reading a lot of authors I'd never read before.
I don't choose books by author gender though, I will read anything, and I do for instance love the way that Patrick Gale writes women. I fell in love this year with an author called Elly Griffiths who writes about a (female) forensic archaeologist who ends up helping the police with murders and things - they're very much based in fact but also explain a lot of British mythology, and also Ruth Galloway is such a believable character - I really recommend these books.
Favourite book read?
My absolute favourite was Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher. It's a Young Adult novel about a boy (Logan) who falls in love with a girl (Sage) who is a transgirl. Logan is a great protagonist and it's easy to fall in love with him, and Sage is just an absolute delight - she's a perfect character in an almost perfect novel. There are moments of incredible sweetness and sensitivity in this book. To be honest I just want to live in it.
I wrote an email to Brian Katcher when I finished the novel, telling him how much I'd enjoyed it, and he replied to me :) He was a complete sweetheart in his reply. I would share it but it would spoil the novel. If you read it let me know!
Honourable mentions
Trouble in Paradise by Kathy Marks ~ as above, it's about Pitcairn Island and it's fascinating - the history and the isolation and how that brought about a culture where sexual abuse was normalised/tolerated.
We Are A Muslim, Please by Zaiba Malik ~ a really interesting memoir about being a Muslim in Bradford and how this relates to the July 7th bombings. I read this in London which moved me even more.
XVI by Julia Karr ~ a YA novel about a world where turning sixteen means you get a tattoo that says XVI on it, meaning you're okay to have sex. It's a dystopian novel in the best way, I loved it.
All My Sisters by Judith Lennox ~ it's about 4 sisters from an upper class Sheffield family in the early 1900s and the lives they all live. I read it at the same time as Downton Abbey was on and that really gelled it.
Least favourite?
I gave up on a few books: Wicked by Gregory Maguire, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and Second Chance by Jane Green, who I used to like but now she just irritates me.
Oldest book read?
I don't know ~ I don't tend to read old books, or notice their publication dates. Let's have a think, though: possibly A Good Hanging by Ian Rankin, published in 1992. See, I told you I don't read old books.
Newest?
I had a few books on pre-order, which was a bit nice when they turned up :)
Longest book title?
A Beginner's Guide to Acting English by Shappi Khorsandi
Shortest title?
Gone by Michael Gant ~ a YA novel where this dome-shaped force field falls upon California and all the adults disappear. It's a bit Lord of the Flies. I didn't read the rest on the series because I only thought this was okay.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman ~ a YA novel (okay yes I read far too many YA novels last year) about kids who are 'unwound' by the system ie killed for their organs. It's REALLY good, but very disturbing.
I really love YA novels because they put things across in simple ways, and I really love dystopian novels because I like the religious aspects of them, and the two together is just amazing :)
How many re-reads?
Just one ~ Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris ~ aka my favourite book EVER.
Most books read by one author this year?
5 by Ian Rankin. Who until very recently I didn't like.
Any in translation?
No
How many of this year's books were from the library?
About two ~ I need to get back into the habit of visiting my library before the government shuts it down!
Most of the books I read were mine, either bought by me or gifted to me. Lee and I have a habit of piling things badly in the back bedroom (which is tiny to begin with, as anyone who has slept in there will attest), but when we got home on Tuesday the top shelf of the bookcase had collapsed under the weight of a million books and magazines, so we took ourselves to the British Heart Foundation shop on Thursday and bought a much taller and wider bookcase for £20! (Yay charity shops!) it arrived yesterday and we went through EVERY. SINGLE. THING in the back bedroom. I am getting rid of a LOT of books!
I also got a Kindle for Christmas from my mum and stepdad, I LOVE it! It's amazing to just be able to choose between a ton of books, and to be able to read on the go so easily. I will still buy paper books, for sure, and will never complain if you give me one, but I am also going digital :)
How many books read in 2011?
I kept a list in the back of my diary, I approve of myself! Let's see: 38. This seems good, in 2010 I barely read anything.
Fiction/Non-Fiction ratio?
31:7. This surprises me as I don't think I read much non-fiction at all. However I read a couple of books on feminism, a couple of memoirs, and Trouble In Paradise by Kathy Marks which is about the sexual abuse on Pitcairn Island. I really recommend that, by the way.
Male/Female authors?
18 books by men, these were mostly Ian Rankin or Peter Robinson books, and 3 Patrick Gale books. Peter Robinson is from Yorkshire but now lives in Canada, his main novels are a detective series about a DCI called Alan Banks - they made it into a TV series with Stephen Tomkinson as Banks, which is way off because Banks is supposed to be small and wiry and Stephen, although lovely, isn't? I did like the TV show though, and I love all the Banks books, they're very evocative of Yorkshire. He's also written a few short story collections which are great.
That would leave 21 books by women/co-authored by women (ie I read a book about zines by a man and a woman), so without realising I read more by women. I was a bit more varied here, reading a lot of authors I'd never read before.
I don't choose books by author gender though, I will read anything, and I do for instance love the way that Patrick Gale writes women. I fell in love this year with an author called Elly Griffiths who writes about a (female) forensic archaeologist who ends up helping the police with murders and things - they're very much based in fact but also explain a lot of British mythology, and also Ruth Galloway is such a believable character - I really recommend these books.
Favourite book read?
My absolute favourite was Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher. It's a Young Adult novel about a boy (Logan) who falls in love with a girl (Sage) who is a transgirl. Logan is a great protagonist and it's easy to fall in love with him, and Sage is just an absolute delight - she's a perfect character in an almost perfect novel. There are moments of incredible sweetness and sensitivity in this book. To be honest I just want to live in it.
I wrote an email to Brian Katcher when I finished the novel, telling him how much I'd enjoyed it, and he replied to me :) He was a complete sweetheart in his reply. I would share it but it would spoil the novel. If you read it let me know!
Honourable mentions
Trouble in Paradise by Kathy Marks ~ as above, it's about Pitcairn Island and it's fascinating - the history and the isolation and how that brought about a culture where sexual abuse was normalised/tolerated.
We Are A Muslim, Please by Zaiba Malik ~ a really interesting memoir about being a Muslim in Bradford and how this relates to the July 7th bombings. I read this in London which moved me even more.
XVI by Julia Karr ~ a YA novel about a world where turning sixteen means you get a tattoo that says XVI on it, meaning you're okay to have sex. It's a dystopian novel in the best way, I loved it.
All My Sisters by Judith Lennox ~ it's about 4 sisters from an upper class Sheffield family in the early 1900s and the lives they all live. I read it at the same time as Downton Abbey was on and that really gelled it.
Least favourite?
I gave up on a few books: Wicked by Gregory Maguire, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and Second Chance by Jane Green, who I used to like but now she just irritates me.
Oldest book read?
I don't know ~ I don't tend to read old books, or notice their publication dates. Let's have a think, though: possibly A Good Hanging by Ian Rankin, published in 1992. See, I told you I don't read old books.
Newest?
I had a few books on pre-order, which was a bit nice when they turned up :)
Longest book title?
A Beginner's Guide to Acting English by Shappi Khorsandi
Shortest title?
Gone by Michael Gant ~ a YA novel where this dome-shaped force field falls upon California and all the adults disappear. It's a bit Lord of the Flies. I didn't read the rest on the series because I only thought this was okay.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman ~ a YA novel (okay yes I read far too many YA novels last year) about kids who are 'unwound' by the system ie killed for their organs. It's REALLY good, but very disturbing.
I really love YA novels because they put things across in simple ways, and I really love dystopian novels because I like the religious aspects of them, and the two together is just amazing :)
How many re-reads?
Just one ~ Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris ~ aka my favourite book EVER.
Most books read by one author this year?
5 by Ian Rankin. Who until very recently I didn't like.
Any in translation?
No
How many of this year's books were from the library?
About two ~ I need to get back into the habit of visiting my library before the government shuts it down!
Most of the books I read were mine, either bought by me or gifted to me. Lee and I have a habit of piling things badly in the back bedroom (which is tiny to begin with, as anyone who has slept in there will attest), but when we got home on Tuesday the top shelf of the bookcase had collapsed under the weight of a million books and magazines, so we took ourselves to the British Heart Foundation shop on Thursday and bought a much taller and wider bookcase for £20! (Yay charity shops!) it arrived yesterday and we went through EVERY. SINGLE. THING in the back bedroom. I am getting rid of a LOT of books!
I also got a Kindle for Christmas from my mum and stepdad, I LOVE it! It's amazing to just be able to choose between a ton of books, and to be able to read on the go so easily. I will still buy paper books, for sure, and will never complain if you give me one, but I am also going digital :)