Thursday, January 1, 2015

2014 Stats and 2015 Goals


Happy New Year, my friends! It's time to wrap up the old year and take the first step into the new one. Let's start by taking a quick look back at some 2014 stats:

Pages read: 32545
Books read (or listened to): 105
Books from my TBR: 51
Re-reads: 16
Non-fictions read: 6
Books in translation: 3 (Spanish, German, Norwegian)
Most read author: Diana Wynne Jones, of course (13)
Longest book: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (734)
Oldest book: The Woman in White (1860)
(Not Fun fact: Both the oldest and the longest would have been Moby Dick (1851) if I hadn't quit at 370 pages in.)


And now for my 2015 goals:

First, I want to spend some of my reading time with some long-awaited rereads. My list will change based on my mood throughout the year, of course, but right now it looks like this --
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (before the miniseries),
To Say Nothing of the Dog (and possibly Blackout/All Clear),
a few of Josephine Tey's books,
Un Lun Dun,
some DWJs (Eight Days of Luke, The Islands of Chaldea, The Time of the Ghost),
and I'll have a few rereads for the 100 Chapter Books project: His Dark Materials series, The Little Prince, My Father's Dragon, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The BFG.

Second, I want to get to some of these new-to-me authors:
Jo Walton
Kate Milford
Patrick Rothfuss
Peter S. Beagle
Anthony Trollope

Third, I'll give in and set some "number" goals. I want to read at least 50 books from my TBR again. I also want to read more books in translation (10+) and more non-fiction (8+).

Finally, here are some 2015 new releases that I'm looking forward to:
As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust - Alan Bradley (6 Jan)
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances - Neil Gaiman (3 Feb)
Get In Trouble: Stories - Kelly Link (3 Feb)
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland - Catherynne M. Valente (3 Mar)
The Last Bookaneer - Matthew Pearl (28 Apr)
Two Years, Eight Months and 28 Days - Salman Rushdie (?)
and a new Kate Morton (?)!

So which book have I decided to start 2015 with?


Which book are you starting the new year with?

Bookishly,
K

26 comments:

  1. I think The Yr of Reading Dangerously is an apt book to start the year with! And - I haven't tried to read Moby Dick and will probably never try it after reading The Storied Life of AJ Fikry! Plus, now that I know exactly how long it is...

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    1. I'm glad that I tried it but I just couldn't finish it. I'm giving myself full credit though. ;)

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  2. Hm, I think I would like to reread Strange&Norrell too. It's been way too long. This month, I've started Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen, and How To Be a Heroine. I love literary memoirs -- The Year of Reading Dangerously is on my list too!

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    1. I know! I read Strange & Norrell right when it came out so I'm long overdue for a reread.

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  3. I read Moby Dick for an undergrad class and it was TOUGH! Not sure I could do it on my own. Happy New Year Kristen! You had a fantastic 2014 and I hope you have a great 2015!!

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    1. Thank you, Trish! I hope your year is fantastic as well. :)

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  4. I'm wanting to read Kate Milford too. And although I've read Peter S. Beagle, I just saw someone posting about his book The Innkeeper's Song and its one I want to read this year.

    I too am looking forward to the new Gaiman and Bradley. Can't wait to listen to the Bradley, the narrator is wonderful.

    I hope you have a terrific 2015.

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    1. I will probably just read the Bradley and then start back from the beginning with audio rereads through the rest of the year. And I can't wait to try Beagle finally!

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  5. Ohmigoodness, 51 books from your TBR list?! That is fantastic! I wish I had that kind of discipline but somehow, the library always calls so strongly to me. Anyway, I ended 2014/started 2015 with a book that I've had on the shelf for a while, so maybe that will get me in the right state of mind.

    I am excited for you to read JS&MN! I just read Clarke's book of short stories and it reminded me all over again about why I loved her massive book. I think I may try it on audiobook this year. And yay for Jo Walton and To Say Nothing of the Dog - looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

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    1. I was surprised when I saw 51 too! It's confusing though as to why my TBR shelf is still so full! ;)
      And maybe I'll do I joint audio/paper read on JS. It gives me more possible time to work on it! I hope I love it again as much as I did the first time.

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  6. I have Jonathan Strange on audio and am looking forward to listening to it soon. I didn't know there was a mini series coming out. I'll have to look that up! (And make sure to read/listen before it comes out too)

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    1. There's no set date on the miniseries which is driving me crazy because I want to plan! ;)

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  7. Oo, is the Salman Rushdie book another memoir? I heard verrry not good things about Joseph Anton, so I wouldn't be that psyched for more of his nonfiction. But I'd love it if he were releasing a new novel. The Enchantress of Florence was excellent.

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    1. The Rushdie is a shortish fiction, supposedly around mid-200 pages. He seemed really excited about it so I am too! And I'll still probably try and get to Joseph Anton this year (and Enchantress ... gah! I'm so behind!)

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  8. I've been following the "read whatever the heck I feel like" plan for several years, and while it's fun, there are a bunch of books I really WANT to read that I never seem to get around to.

    So this year, I'm making myself a plan - we'll see how long I stick to it. =)

    Happy 2015!

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    1. Yes, I think there usually needs to be some kind of balance. You can definitely overschedule AND underschedule. I hope your plan works out well for you!

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  9. Un Lun Dun has been on my list for years! If you're going to read something by Jo Walton, I'm suggesting My Real Children. It's a fantastic read. I started the year with children's books, but I'll start an adult read soon. Happy New Year!

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    1. Thanks for the suggestion! I haven't been sure where to start because almost all of her books seem interesting.

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  10. To re-read more is also one of my goals, together with finally reading Moby Dick. Hope I have more luck than you. I'll read it with a virtual book club, so hopefully that'll help.

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    1. My book club kind of dissolved slightly before I stopped. I think I might have finished it otherwise. But I'm not feeling a huge sense of loss over it!

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  11. I'm currently reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell for the first time and loving it. Why didn't I read it years ago?! I hope you enjoy Jo Walton. "Among Others" and "My Real Children" were two of my favourite reads of 2014.

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    1. That book sure scares readers! I can't wait to love it again. :) And I really am looking forward to Jo Walton. I feel a bit ashamed for not picking up any of her books yet!

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  12. I so admire your organization!

    I just finished reading The Last Policeman (largely on your recommendation) and loved it! I'm thinking that you would really enjoy Jo Walton's Small Change series; it has similar themes of maintaining ones own morality or sense of order when society is going in a very different direction (in this case, fascism). But I also highly recommend Among Others, and I'm looking forward to My Real Children. Don't think you can really go wrong! (And if you read Trollope, you'll probably want to read Walton's Victorian novel with dragons, Tooth and Claw. I haven't read it yet and am thinking I should find me some Trollope to read first.)

    Yes to all the rest of your new author list, too! (Gave Rothfuss to my 24 yr old son for Christmas, and he's happily devouring it.)

    To Say Nothing of the Dog is one of my favourite comfort reads, up there with DWJ.

    Looking forward to what you have to say about all that reading you're going to do!

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    1. I'm so glad you loved The Last Policeman! And thank you as well for the Jo Walton recs. I will probably choose one this spring. Like you said, I probably can't go wrong no matter what I choose. I think her books are all a good fit with my reading tastes!

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  13. It looks like you have had a great year of reading!! Woohoo!

    I am hoping to get some good re-reads in this year, including Howl's Moving Castle (and then finish out the series), Wicked, and I think Shadow of the Wind are at the top of my list. I didn't get near as many re-read as I was hoping for in 2014!

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    1. Those are great reread choices too! I can't wait to get to some of mine. I feel like there's no point in keeping books if I'm not going to reread them and I've kept, well, a lot. ;)

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