Thursday Thirteen 447: 2016 Year in Books

Hello everyone! This week I have my annual look back on the previous year's reading. About half of these have been featured for Teaser Tuesday and all have been mentioned in Recently Read posts at some point during the year, so be sure to check out those links in the right hand sidebar if you're interested in a brief glimpse at what I've been reading.



01. Number of Books read: I had a goal of 80 and read 84. That's 23,415 pages. The shortest was Walking by Henry David Thoreau (48) and the longest was The Insider by Ridley Pearson (609). Average book length was 289 pages. Among those was a mini goal of ten classics, which I also achieved.

02. Genres/Authors I read: Among genres read were Classics, Romance, Mystery, Young Adult, and Literary Fiction. I read 58 different authors, and 11.5 by male authors (one was by a husband/wife team).

03. New-to-me authors: 23, including: Albert Camus, Jacqueline Winspear, Betty Hechtman, Amanda Flower, Fannie Flagg, David Sedaris, Rainbow Rowell, Diane Vallere, Helen Simonson.

04. Authors I read more than once: Juliet Blackwell, Agatha Christie, Kate Collins, Sheila Connolly, Roald Dahl, Charlaine Harris, Julie Hyzy, Amanda Lee, Nora Roberts, Barbara Ross, Amanda Stevens, Leann Sweeney, Diane Vallere, and Marty Wingate.

05. Most-read Author: Nora Roberts, with five books. She was followed by Sheila Connolly and Roald Dahl, at four books each, and Amanda Lee, Agatha Christie and Barbara Ross at three books each.

06. Authors I plan to read again: Ellery Adams, Nancy Atherton, Patricia Briggs, Agatha Christie, Kate Collins, Sheila Connolly, Julie Hyzy, Amanda Lee, Nora Roberts, Barbara Ross, Amanda Stevens, Leann Sweeney . . . to name but a few.

07. Classics Read: Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka; Walking by Henry David Thoreau; The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte; The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West; O, Pioneers! by Willa Cather; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain; Third Girl by Agatha Christie; The Call of the Wild by Jack London; Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer; The Stranger by Albert Camus

08. Book I did not finish: Far From the Madding Crowd. I made it about halfway through, then set it aside to read other books and never got back to it, though I would like to finish.

09. Best reads overall: O, Pioneers by Willa Cather (a reread), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte, United We Spy by Ally Carter (the book that made me miss my bus stop!), A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg, Starry Night by Debbie Macomber, Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson.

10. Biggest Disappointment: Criminal Confections by Colette London and Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris.

11. Most imaginative world(s): Ridley Pearson (The Insider), Amanda Stevens (The Visitor), and Charlaine Harris (Midnight Crossroad).

12. Weirdest read: Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, which I reread at beginning of 2016 for a classics group.

13. Reading goal for 2017: This is my seventh consecutive year joining the Goodreads Reading Challenge. In recent years I have set a goal of 100 books per year, but due to life changes lowered that goal to 80 books last year, and have set the same goal again this year. Within that are mini-goals, such as reading at least 10 classics and catching up on some of the favorite authors/series in Mount TBR.


What about you? What was your year in books like? What was the best book you read?

For a complete list of books read, click on the "Books 2016" tab at top of the page.



LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen