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The "Standard of Ur" from ancient Mesopotamia

The "Standard of Ur" from ancient Mesopotamia

12 January 2011

Books read in 2010: stats


I didn't read many books this year compared with the years since I started keeping track of what I read.

Here's how the stats break down:

• I read 44 [wince] books total.

• 11 books (25%) were written by people I know.

• 5 books (14%) had something to do with Turkey.

• 13 books (30%) were first books (to my knowledge).

• 7 books (16%) were recommended by friends.

• 4 books (9%) were self-published.

• 10 books (23%)were published by micro- and small presses.

• 31 books were fiction (70%).

• 13 books were nonfiction (30%).

• Of the 31 fiction books,
—20 were fantasy, of which 7 were short story collections.
—5 were romances
—2 were classics
—1 was a mystery
—1 was a Western
—1 was literary fiction
—1 was suspense

• Of the 13 nonfiction books,
—4 were on Oriental rugs
—2 were self-help
—2 were on writing
—1 was a memoir
—1 was on Ottoman music
—1 was on "hobbits" (Homo floresiensis)

• I read 5 books (11%) on Kindle and the rest on paper.

I hope your reading year turned out more prolific than mine. I always hear that to be a writer, one must read, read, read. And I would like to read, read, read because it's one of my favorite things to do. But where to find the time without getting even more unhealthily sleep deprived than I already am?

How was 2010 for your reading? And do you have any advice for carving out time from writing and chores for pleasure and work-related reading?

7 comments:

Farrah Rochon said...

Shauna, I'm impressed with your reading totals. My reading has dropped so significantly over the past couple of years. And, as you state in your post, if I add in any more reading, I'll be depriving myself of sleep.

When you figure out a way to add a few more hours to the day, share the secret. :)

Charles Gramlich said...

I'm grinning about the four books on Oriental rugs. It's fascinating to see the particular interests that people have. And it shows up in their reading. That's cool.

Lana Gramlich said...

I read a fair bit in 2011, actually. Still nothing near what y'all read, though. 99% of what I read is related to art or the art business. Someday I should read for fun again...

AvDB said...

You were far more prolific than I. I'm not going to get into my dismal totals. Nice to see so much fantasy on your list (not that I'm biased in any way).

I love the range of topics in your nonfiction list.

Travis Erwin said...

I always enjoy reading others book lists.

Real cab driver said...

Which works made you laugh out loud?

Shauna Roberts said...

Interesting question, REAL CAB DRIVER. None of them were humor books, but I think several of them had laugh-out-loud moments.