As we approach the end of the year everyone and their dog are writing “best of the year” lists. I kid you not, I just caught my own dog penciling her own list of “Best Things I Sniffed This Year”. Okay, but seriously. I decided to take a quick run through my reading list this year (and previous years) and see what it revealed. Here are a few thoughts:
– Brandon Sanderson heads the list of most-read authors this year. Out of thirty-three books I read/listened to, five were by him. There are only a couple of other authors who appeared on the list more than once: Michael J. Sullivan and Brandon Mull. So I suppose it’s safe to say I’ve moved from ambivalence toward Brandon Sanderson to liking him. On the other hand, the all-time winner is Brandon Mull–I read six of his books in one year back in 2012, and nine appear on my list since it began in 2012, compared to eight of Sanderson’s (on the other hand, one of Sanderson’s is like two or three of Mull’s–they don’t call him “Sanderson Tree-killer” for nothing).
– There aren’t many more writers that appear on my lists from year to year–Jessica Day George, Tyler Whitesides, and William Gibson, to name a few. Mostly this is because most authors only produce one book a year. But other than that, I appear to be sampling what’s out there. One of most authors is enough to sate my curiousity, it seems.
– So far thirty-three books in a year seems to be my limit.
– The list doesn’t include at least two drafts of novels I read for friends this year. I wasn’t sure what to do with those. I read them, certainly, and they were novels. But does reading a novel before it’s officially a novel really count? If so, I could also include my own. In all cases I don’t think the authors would really feel I’d read “their novel”.
– Assuming I live another thirty years and continue to read at this pace I have about a thousand books left to read. Now there’s an odd thought.
– Since I only consume between twelve and sixteen audio books in a year, I’m still managing to find a great deal of time for reading. Go me!
– Now that I think of it, audio books are something I added last year, so my 33 books in 2012 is all that more impressive now that I realize I actually read all those books, not just had them read to me.
– Regardless of medium, that’s just under three books per month on average, at least two of which are “analog”. Clearly reading is a priority for me or I wouldn’t find that much time.
– Though clearly if I could spend as much time writing as I do reading I would be able to write two to three novels in a year. But reading requires a lot less work, and I usually do my reading in the evenings when I’m too brain-dead to write. Still, if I could find a way to stay awake longer/better, it might be best to shift my priorities toward the writing side of things more.
– Four to five books a year are books I read to my kids. I like doing that. And considering they range from thirteen to nine, I’m glad they still like doing that, too. The record, though, is seven books in 2012. Clearly the trend is toward fewer books together. It’s primarily become a means of resolving the fight over “who gets to read it first” when a new, much-anticipated installment in a favorite series comes out. I can live with that.
– I built new shelves for our living room this year to help house the growing library of books in our house. This should surprise no one.