Thank goodness, 2020 is done.
Not that I believe 2021 will be back to normal (whatever that may be). The only thing I wish for is that it is not worse than 2020. Or at the very least, the beginning of the post-COVID-19 world.
I wrote little in 2020. As is my wont (or lack of wont) when things are a bit overwhelming. However, as it also quite common, one starts the year by wanting to get back on track. A new year is as good a point as any to pick up threads again. So here I am. To ease into things, I thought I would write an easy post about my book-year 2020.
I like lists, and keep lists of the books I read. Several lists. One is a list of books I read per year, one is my personal reading challenge (a useful tool to help me choose books, otherwise I struggle to choose). I also have a list of all books that I have ever read (as far as I have been able to recall); books by genre; books by award; and finally keep track of reading books in series or with common characters in order. I am also on Goodreads and enjoy the annual Reading Challenge there.
Yes,
I like lists.So, according to my own list, I read 131 books last year. According to my Goodreads challenge in 2020, I read 139 books. The discrepancy is due to registering novelettes online, but not on my personal list. My goal was only 100 books, but unlike an earlier year, I did not update the challenge when I reached that goal.
In 2020 I read 73 books written by women and only 56 books
written by men. I long assumed that I read more books by women than men, but when I
actually counted, I found that I in fact read slightly more by men than women. That had to be remedied. I also made a concerted effort to read more
translated and non-Western European authors. I read books in three languages last year - English, Norwegian and Swedish (the latter purely in audiobooks).
More specifically about books that I read last year:
First book finished: Let it bleed by Ian Rankin.
Last book of the year: A Bali conspiracy by Shamini Flint.
Best books I read: The keeper of lost things by Ruth Hogan; Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison; The monster at our door by Mike Davis; The riddlemaster of Hed by Patricia McKillip; Odinsbarn by Siri Pettersen.
Re-reads I loved: Taken at the food by Agatha Christie and The furthest shore by Ursula K. le Guin.
Book that surprised me: The keeper of lost things by Ruth Hogan; The lamb will slaughter the lion by Margaret Killjoy; Norge - et lite stykke verdenshistorie by Stian Bromark & Dag Herbjørnsrud; The city & the city by China Miéville; The stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley; River of teeth by Sarah Gailey; The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Hossein; Hyttebok fra helvete by Are Kalvø and A man of repute by Elizabeth Edmondson.
Most challenging book to finish: Norge - et lite stykke verdenshistorie by Stian Bromark & Dag Herbjørnsrud.
Most decorated books (most literary prizes): The city & the city by China Miéville (six prizes, two shortlists and one longlist) and Every heart a doorway by Seanan McGuire (three prizes).
Number of authors I had never read before: 62
Of these, authors I look forward to reading more of: Elizabeth Edmondson, Ken Liu, Siri Pettersen, Patricia A. McKillip, Alex Gray, Martha Wells, Frank Aarebrot, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Fredrick Backman, Samantha Schweblin, Sarah Gailey, Kameron Hurley, Maria Turtschaninoff, Malin Persson Giolito and Margaret Killjoy.
Number of audio-books: 45
Books that disappointed (and that I nevertheless finished): 3001: The final odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke and The ascent of money by Niall Ferguson.
Number of books I started by didn't finish: 38. (These include some I will most likely finish in the future. One which stands out is the award winning The goldffinch by Donna Tartt, where I shared the view of a writer on electricliterature.com that the pre-Vegas part of the book is lovely, after that, I got bored).
Making this post was considerably more challenging than before. This is my reward for not following the changes to Blogspot closely enough I suppose.
Well, here is to a good literary year 2021, no matter what else happens.
Oh, and happy new year! Keep safe, healthy and a good book close.
