End of Year Meme

Except, naturally, it's the beginning of the year - but this is my little sum-up of 2010 in books. I'm using the same meme I've been using since 2007, which adds a nice continuity to it all. And here goes...


- How many books read in 2010?
115, which is rather fewer than last year, but I'd wager I've read more pages this year.

- Fiction/Non-Fiction ratio?
96/19 - surprising few non-fiction titles, given how much literary theory I've been reading. I intend to read more non-fiction this year, but then again I intend that every year.

- Male/Female authors?
47 by men; 67 by women; 1 by one of each. Not an unusual ratio for me...

- Favourite book read?
Nella Last's War by Nella Last, as I mentioned in my Top Ten List.

- Least favourite?
I gave up on one or two, but of the ones I finished I confess I was disappointed by The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

- Oldest book read?
I think that honour goes to Mary Shelley and Frankenstein (1818).

- Newest book read?
This little lot were all published this year.

- Longest book title?
I must confess, I haven't done a thorough count of all the titles, but, discounting subtitles, I think Pont wins with The British Character Studied and Revealed and 37 characters.

- Shortest book title?
I've had three-letter titles and four-letter titles win this accolade in past years, but in 2010 the shortest I managed was Christos Tsiolkas' The Slap at 7.

- How many re-reads?
Only 13, which is far fewer than last year's 31 - not something I noticed decreasing, and I can't beging to imagine why.

- Most books read by one author this year?
E.M. Delafield and C.S. Lewis tie on four apiece, despite not having read any Lewis this year until the 20th December. Barbara Comyns is snapping at their heels with three.

- Any in translation?
Probably the most ever, at 12, mostly from the French but with a Scandinavian title or two.

- How many books were borrowed from the library?
27 from the library this year, and at least half a dozen borrowed from friends.

- Name a book you've read this year which was recommended by a blogger?
Annabel (aka Gaskella) not only recommended, but lent, All Quiet on the Orient Express by Magnus Mills - thanks Annabel (and thanks for pointing out that I'd written the wrong title here!)