End of Year Wrap-Up, Reading Statistics

2011 … By the Numbers

Tara

Okay, so I know I’m incredibly late. But the holidays were insane around here for us and then we took off to Florida for our babymoon. Now that I’m home and have had a little time to rest up I’m ready to sit down and share with everyone what my reading looked like in 2011. In the years past I have just given you a bunch of different numbers. This year I’m going for a more pretty look, complete with graphs and charts! If it overwhelms you, I apologize now. I’m just trying something new out. So without further ado, drumroll please…..

In 2011, I completed 64 books. Overall, I am very pleased with that number. I had a whirlwind year complete with a trip to Alaska in May and a positive pregnancy test in September. As you will soon see, my reading dipped unbelievably after September … mid-October is when the nausea set in for me and reading was the last thing on my mind – then the holidays hit. Well, you all know how life works 🙂

I made a chart showing how my reading broke down month by month. As I stated above, I was doing really well until October 🙂 The green lines indicate the number of pages read, and if you look way at the bottom, just above the months, you can see the number of books read.

Of the 64 books I read, 61 were fiction and 3 were non-fiction. Not really all that pleased with that breakdown. I  need to read more non-fiction. I enjoy non-fiction, I love true crime and good history books. I just don’t read a lot of them any more because I’m usually looking for an escape. Maybe I can read a little more non-fiction in 2012. A girl can hope, right?

When I sat down and tried to look back over my reading list as a whole, I realized that I didn’t really read a lot of books that would make my top 10 list. I was a little disappointed by that.
So this year, I only have a Top 7 Favorite Reads list.

I started a new page on my blog for 2011. I was determined to track how many books came into my house throughout the year. Boy was I insane to do that. I am actually a little embarrassed at the number that did come in (197), especially when you compare that number to the number of books I actually managed to read for the year! Anyway, here’s a chart showing the breakdown of the books that came into my house in 2011:

Obviously, I went a little nuts in March and July. In March I posted a ton of books onto Paperbackswap and got a lot of Box-of-Books swap requests as a result. And I obviously have a control issue when it comes to pushing that “decline” button. In July I went to the library book sale and I had a big box swap come in from a friend on one of my Yahoo groups.

My next logical question was where on earth did these books come from? For this question, I created a pie chart:
Obviously most of my books came from Paperbackswap’s Box-of-Books feature. This really doesn’t surprise me at all. I know I’m addicted to that, but for $8 a year and postage I can swap unlimited without points. Can’t hardly beat that in my opinion. Plus the more you swap at a time the more you save on postage. It’s kind of a win-win situation for me! I honestly didn’t spend a whole lot on buying new books, I try to avoid bookstores as much as possible simply because I have no self-control. The amount of review books that I accepted in 2011 was way down. I became extremely selective. And I will be even more so in 2012 considering I’m probably not going to accept any review books – unless they are authors I have previously read and enjoyed.

Finally I’m going to finish with a quick by the numbers breakdown of how I rated my books, the page count breakdown and the publication year breakdown.

So there it is. That’s about all I have to share with everyone. I could have made a few more entries, but I think this adequately sums up my 2011 reading.

Now I’m off to read …. I only have about 150 more pages before I finish my first book of 2012!! Happy reading everyone!

Life

I’m off on vacation….

Tara

While the above picture is not the exact view I will be having for the coming week, it is very close 🙂

I’m off to Florida for the next week. It’s a much-needed vacation/babymoon!

When I get back I will get everything together for my end of the year stats/favorite reads. I know everyone is starting to do this now. I’m a slacker and won’t get mine done for a while 🙂

See everyone next year!

5/5, Alex Cross, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2011, SERIES

2011.64 REVIEW – Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson

Tara

Kill Alex Cross
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2011
Pages: 364
Rating: 5/5
Read: Dec. 19 – Dec. 24, 2011
Challenge: No challenge
Yearly Count: 64
Format: Print
Source: Library Copy

Blurb: Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene of the biggest casee he’s ever been part of. The president’s son and daughter have been abducted from their school – an impossible crime, but somehow the kidnapper has done it. Alex does everything he can but is shunted to the fringes of the investigation. Someone powerful doesn’t want him too close.

A deadly contagion in the DC water supply endangers the capital, and Alex sees the looming threat of the most devastating attack the United States has ever experienced. He is already working flat out on the abduction, and this massive assault pushes him completely over the edge.

With each hour that passes, the chances of finding the children alive diminish. In an emotional private meeting, the First Lady asks Alex to please save her kids. Even the highest security clearance doesn’t get him any closer to the kidnapper – and Alex makes a desperate decision that goes against everything he believes. A full-throttle thriller with unstoppable action, unrestrained emotion, and relentless suspense, Kill Alex Cross is the most gripping Alex Cross novel James Patters has ever written.

Review: Oh how I do love a good Alex Cross book! This is one of the very few book series that I am actually caught up on. And considering I haven’t really been reading (this is the first book I’ve finished in December), I *knew* Mr. Patterson’s Alex Cross would not disappoint me!

As usual this book sucked me in from the first page. It brought flashes back to me of the very first Alex Cross book, Along Came a Spider, where Alex is involved in a high-profile kidnapping. The terrorist portion of the storyline was very interesting as well, especially considering *SPOILER*: one of the terrorists gets away *END SPOILER*

Let’s just face it, I’m a huge fan of the Alex Cross series. I have nothing bad to say about this book. All I can do is recommend this series and this book to every single one of my readers.

READING CHALLENGES 2012

2012 Challenge: Mystery & Suspense Challenge 2012

Tara

*Clicking on the image will take you to the information page on Book Chick City’s site.

This is always my favorite reading challenge! Mystery and Suspense books are my absolute favorites! So naturally I’m always looking forward to this book year after year! This year there’s a slight change, there has been two levels added. Any other year I would probably choose to go with the second level (24), but since 2012 is likely to be insane for me with Baby Boy due in June, I’m just going to stick with 12 books. Read on for what the instructions are:

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2012 – 31 Dec 2012
• Rules: There are TWO LEVELS you can choose from:
– Read TWELVE (12) mystery & suspense novels in 2012 – Read TWENTY FOUR (24) mystery & suspense novels in 2012
• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.
• You can join at anytime. All books read in 2012 count towards the challenge regardless of when you sign up.
• At the beginning of Jan 2012, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews.
• Audiobooks do not count, but all other formats are accepted.
• This challenge can crossover to other challenges.

• You don’t have to have a blog to join in – for those without a blog but who use Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing etc, you can add the URL to where you track your books. If you don’t have a URL at all then choose a name you would like to use and then copy and paste the following link:http://www.bookchickcity.com/2011/12/sign-up-mystery-suspense-reading.html
• You can choose from the numerous sub-genres of mystery and suspense, from cosy mysteries such as Agatha Christie to the more hard-boiled kind like V I Warshawski by Sara Paretsky, or romantic suspense written by the likes of Linda Howard, forensic crime such as those written by Kathy Reichs and even paranormal/supernatural suspense such as Kelley Armstrong. I’m sure this challenge will have something for everyone! 🙂
To help you figure out and decide, I have updated a sub-genre list – to view this list go HERE.
READING CHALLENGES 2012

2012 Challenge: Off the Shelf 2012

Tara

*Clicking on the image will take you to the information page on Bookish Ardour’s site.

This will be my final challenge for 2012. And this is one that I need *desperately*.  I have way too many books on my shelves, I need to either purge them or start reading them … and I’m not a purger! This challenge requires us to choose a participation level. I am going to go with Making a Dint – 30 books, even though I know that this is a stretch for me for 2012 … but this is a *challenge* and I need to challenge myself 🙂 However, I’m not going to do the extra challenges.

Here’s the details as posted on Bookish Ardour’s site:

The Deets

  • The Main Rule: Do not include books acquired during 2012, it defeats the purpose, read those books from before 2012 started!
  • Running Dates: 1st of January – 31st of December 2012
  • When Can I Sign Up: All the way up to the last two weeks of December!
  • Crossover Genres: Anything! The name of the game is to turn those unread books into read ones.
  • Mr Linky: To use the Mr Linky you’ll need to click on the graphic then enter your link. These will be updated and posted into this page every couple of weeks or so.
  • Further Details: Crossover challenges are fine, you can change levels at any time, this is eBook, short story, and graphic novel friendly, and you don’t need a blog to join in (read further for details).

The How To

  1. Choose Your Level:These are listed further down and you can change levels at any time.
  2. Grab The Badge: Place it somewhere on your blog, profile, or in a signature where possible and link back (main page or this page, it’s up to you).
  3. Sign Up Post: Create a post on your blog, in a group, or on a forum (only if allowed) to let others see what you’re aiming for (a predefined list of books is optional).
  4. Link Up: Grab the direct URL to your sign up post, not your blog, click the Mr Linky graphic and enter your link!
  5. Blogless? Don’t worry, you can sign up with your social network profile (YouTube, Twitter, GoodReads, Shelfari included), just make sure you link to your review list, shelf, tweet, or category. If you don’t have any of those feel free to comment!

Afterwards

  1. Your Reviews: Reviewing is optional! But if you do review we’d love for you to share them by submitting them on the Review Page (including social networks).
  2. Finished: When you’re done it’s completion post time and you can share these on the Completion Post page!

Challenge Levels

  1. Tempted– Choose 5 books to read
  2. Trying – Choose 15 books to read
  3. Making A Dint – Choose 30 books to read
  4. On A Roll – Choose 50 books to read
  5. Flying Off – Choose 75 books to read
  6. Hoarder – Choose between 76-135 books to read
  7. Buried – Choose between 136-200 books to read

Extra Challenges

If you feel like that extra kick to your reading challenges here’s a couple you can choose from.

  • World: Choose a country as your theme, reading only books from that country or where it’s the setting. For how high you go you can choose more than one country;
    • Level Tempted and Trying: Choose one country
    • Level Making a Dint and On A Roll: Choose two countries
    • Level Flying Off to end of Hoarder: Choose three countries
    • Level Buried: Choose four countries.
  • Gender Battle: Read books only by female or male authors. Another alternative is to read equal amounts of both.
READING CHALLENGES 2012

2012 Challenge: Eclectic Reader Challenge

Tara

*Clicking on the image will take you to the information page on Book’d Out’s site.

This is the first challenge that I am signing up for in 2012. This challenge will force me to expand my horizons (fantasy and science fiction will be a challenge for me), but it is still open enough that I am confident I can be successful. I’m definitely looking forward to this challenge!! Below you can find the instructions as found on Book’d Out.

  • The challenge will run from January 1st to December 31st 201. Participants may join at any time up until December 1st 2012
  • Create a blog post committing to  your participation in this challenge.

Select, read and review a book from each genre listed below during the year for a total of 12 books.

*  You can choose your books as you go or create a list in advance. You may combine this challenge with others if you wish.

*  Where a book is identified by more than one genre eg historical romance, it may only count for either the historical fiction or romantic fiction genres – not both.

Genres

  1. Literary Fiction
  2. Crime/Mystery Fiction
  3. Romantic Fiction
  4. Historical Fiction
  5. Young Adult
  6. Fantasy
  7. Science Fiction
  8. Non Fiction
  9. Horror
  10. Thriller /Suspense
  11. Classic
  12. Your favourite genre
  • Each time you read and review a book as part of this challenge, make sure you identify it by adding either a direct statement  and /or the challenge image badge to the post.
  • Share your review with other challenge participants by posting your name/blog name and title of the book with a direct link to your review in the Linky.

All participants that complete the challenge by December 31st 2012 will be eligible to win a book of their choice to the value of $15 from bookdepository.com (or paypal funds of  US$10) to be drawn via random.org Jan 1st 2013.

Mailbox Monday, Meme

Mailbox Monday, December 19, 2011

Tara

Mailbox Mondays

Mailbox Monday is on tour, with December’s location being at Let Them Read Books.

I actually received these books last week, but I never got around to creating a post, so I’m sharing them now. The first was a book I got from Bookmooch, the second was a win from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.

 During a crowded service at a cathedral in Germany, armed intruders in monks’ robes unleash a nightmare of blood and destruction. But the killers have not come for gold; they seek a more valuable prize: the bones of the Magi who once paid homage to a newborn savior … a treasure that could reshape the world. With the Vatican in turmoil, SIGMA Force leaps into action. An elite team of scientific and Special Forces operatives under the command of Grayson Pierce and accompanied by Lieutenant Rachel Verona of Rome’s carabinieri, they are pursuing a deadly mystery that weaves through sites of the Seven Wonders of the World and ends at the doorstep of an ancient, mystical, and terrifying secret order. For there are those with dark plans for the stolen sacred remains that will alter the future of humankind … when science and religion unite to unleash a horror not seen since the beginning of time.

Nashville private investigator Jared McKean has a son with Down’s syndrome, a best friend with AIDS, an ex-wife he can’t seem to fall out of love with, and a weakness for women in jeopardy – until one frames him for murder. His DNA and fingerprints are found at the murder scene. his voice is on the victim’s answering machine, and the victim was killed with a bullet from his gun. To make matters worse, his teenaged nephew comes out of the closet and runs away to join a dangerous fringe of the Goth subculture. Now Jared must find a way to clear his name, hold his family together, and solve a case that could cost him his life.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Looking forward to 2012….

Tara

….2012 is going to be an unbelievable year for my family and I. It’s also going to impact what happens here on the blog. So I thought I would sit down and try to lay out what I want to happen in 2012.

First and foremost, as things continue with my pregnancy, I feel like I should warn my readers that this blog is going to continue to evolve. It will no longer be strictly a book blog. I have already been posting updates about my doctor appointments and what I’m going through. Expect to see a lot more of that. And when June rolls around and our little *boy* bundle of joy is welcomed into our lives, expect to see a lot less of me as I adjust to being a first-time mommy. But I won’t be giving up my blog completely. Just be patient with me 🙂

I am stepping away from accepting books to review from publishers/authors/publicists. I think it’s time to for me to end this completely. In 2011, I took a step back and evaluated where I was and how I felt about accepting books for review. I took a break from accepting books, but I ended up breaking my own vow. This time I’m completely done with it. With the baby coming it’s going to be hard enough to read, the last thing I’m going to need is a responsibility to read something by a certain date. That’s just not going to work out for me. I will end up not reading at all and I don’t want that to happen, ever.

Challenges. I’m torn on my feelings about these. I have already been through the Novel Challenges blog and picked out 6 challenges that sound good to me for 2011. However, I know that this is not going to be in the realm of possibilities for me. So I have decided instead that I’m going to limit myself to only 3 challenges. I will be posting about those in the coming days.

I am determined to make the most of what I can do in 2012. I know that come June my life is going to enter into a whirlwind. I’m ready for it. But that doesn’t mean I’m not scared, nervous, excited, etc. If I read 10 books in 2012, I will be happy. If I read 5 books in 2012, I will be happy. If I read like a mad woman and read 25 books before June (kind of my goal), I will be ecstatic! Because after June, well, who knows.

It also doesn’t help that I have actually not finished a single book in the month of December! Eek! I’ve picked up numerous books and just haven’t been able to finish them. I haven’t posted a DNF post about these books, because they are books that I intend to come back to at some point in the future. It may be weeks, months or years from now. But they are all books I intend on finishing one day.

So reading back over this post it sounds so disorganized. I apologize for that. That’s kind of how my brain is working these days. But I hope I got my point across and to briefly recap in case I didn’t…..

In 2012 you will see:

  • More personal posts.
  • Less of a presence come June, but I’m not disappearing completely.
  • No more review books. I’m getting back to reading what I want to read, when I want to read it.
  • Only 3 challenges that I’m participating in. And I feel absolutely no pressure to complete these, either.
  • No pressure to read a set amount of books. What I read is what I will read and I will be happy no matter what.
Announcements

I’m being spotlighted today….

Tara

20111214-060857.jpg

I just wanted to let all of my readers know that I’m being spotlighted today over at Kittling: Books as part of her Scene of the Blog series.

To go directly to the post where I’m spotlighted at please go here.

I hope you’ll go over to her blog and check her place out and find out a little more about me!