Books read in 2007: 30
Books read in 2008: 66
New to me authors I read: Stephanie Meyer, Susan Richards Shreve, Laurel K. Hamilton*, MaryJanice Davidson, Jordan Dane, Sheila Connolly, Candace Havens*, John Grogan, Brian Lies, Mary Ann Shaffer/Annie Barrows, Elle James, Terri Thayer, Charlaine Harris
Genres I read: A lot! Romance, romantic suspense, classics, Chick lit, thriller, literary fiction, nonfiction, childrens/YA, mystery.
Authors I read more than once: MaryJanice Davidson, Kay Hooper, Nora Roberts, Rebecca York, Gemma Halliday, Stephanie Meyer, Jane Austen
Authors I plan to read again: Jane Austen, MJ Davidson, Rebecca York, Nora Roberts, Gemma Halliday, Toni Blake, Charlaine Harris, Ann Voss Peterson, Rita Herron, Patricia Rosemoor, Elizabeth Berg...
Best overall read of the year: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society -- Yes, the title is quite the mouthful, but it truly is a great book. It is told through a series of letters and telegrams exchanged between an author in post-WWII London and inhabitants of the isle of Guernsey who survived five years under Nazi occupation. I literally could not put this book down!Best overall romance read of the year: This is a difficult question to answer, since I read few books that were straight romance, and not a sub-genre such as para-rom, rom-suspense, etc. I also seem to have read more older books than books actually released in 2008. I think it's a toss up between Nora's The Reef and Nora's The Villa. But then there were some good Kay Hoopers from her romance days, and Guernsey had a bit of romance in it as well. *Sigh* Decisions, decisions...
Most imaginative world: MJ Davidson's mermaid series, Stephanie Meyer's vampires.
Weirdest read: Laurel K. Hamilton -- Okay, granted this was a short story (Cravings anthology) in the midst of her popular series, and it probably helps to read her books from the beginning and if you absolutely love vampires and shape-shifters, but this short did nothing to recommend her to me. By contrast, the short in this anthology by MaryJanice Davidson had me hunting down her first two books...and then the next, and the next... And then I had to find the werewolf and mermaid books as well. So I think you really can judge an author's vast body of work based on their shorts.
Most-read Author of 2008: The vast majority of books read in 2008 were by MaryJanice Davidson and Kay Hooper, though Nora Roberts started to gain on them at end of the year. I have a tower of hers waiting to be read.
Something I am tired of: Trite titles. Seriously, there is a reason I find myself reading fewer category romance books and more single titles, and that is that I cannot stand the trite titles such as "The Cowboy Billionaire's Secret Baby." Marketing gurus need to be whacked upside the head if they honestly think those titles are what sell books. It's NOT the title, it's the author and/or cover. That is not to say I've never picked up a book because the title caught my attention, because clever and amusing titles easily pique one's curiosity.
Biggest confession: I honestly have NEVER cared for the vampire culture and thought television and book worlds overpopulated with them. Still do, for the most part. I hated the entire "Buffy" craze and have usually avoided any book about vampires like the plague. And then I got hooked on the series by MaryJanice Davidson and Stephanie Meyer. *Sigh* Yes, I fell for both Sinclair and Edward. That is not to say I will now read any book that has a vampire in it, just that I am more open to reading books about them. I'm especially "dying" to try the series by Charlaine Harris. I don't have HBO so have missed the "Tru Blood" phenomenon, but am interested in her premise.
Reading goal for next year: Read more of those books stagnating in the TBR pile, including a few classics I've been meaning to read, and try to read more in general. Maybe I can get above 75 this year! Maybe...
What about you? What was your year in books like? What was the best read? To see more of what I've read, or want to read, click on the "books" label below, or check out my page at Goodreads.com .
* Denotes authors/books that were recommended but did not like.
5 comments:
I'll have to pick up a few books based on what you've said here.
Believe me, you will like the Charlene Harris books about Sookie Stackhouse. In fact, my sister Angela got hooked on the TV series. When I told her I had read all the books, she decided to try them. She just wrote a blog entry about them yesterday. You can find her on my blog and click the link.
Cool! I have to count how many books I read during 2009.
Speaking of MJD... Did you read the third Fred the Mermaid-novel?
Nina
Melissa - I definitely want to give the Sookie books a try. I had the first one on my Christmas list, but did not get it. Might have to put the Borders GC towards that. Will pop over to Angela's blog later and read what she had to say about them!
Nina - I bought the third Fred book, but have not read it yet. First I was distracted by holoday books, then the Lisa Gardner I'm reading now. Am thinking Fred will be next!
You read just a few more than I did. I think I just hit 60 during the holidays. lol
I remember when I used to read more than a 100 a year. Back when I read during classes. hehehehe
Jana - Wow, I actually read more than you this year? And yeah...I remember the days I could read 150-200 books a year as well. Ah, those were the days, weren't they? ;)
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