19 April 2011

Book Reading Update

In September of last year, I wrote a post about slimming down my reading list.  Looking back, I'm pretty sure I never followed up on this on the blog, which is a shame since it was one of my most-commented entries.

Here are some stats (numbers = happy me!):
  • Read in 2010: 17,347 pages (35 books)
  • Left unread in 2010: 23,882 pages (48 books)
  • Eliminated: 5,449 pages (14 books)
  • Added in 2011: 10,152 pages (22 books) 
  • Read so far in 2011: 5,785 pages (12 books) + 1,245 pages (2 books) re-read = 7,030 pages
  • Left to read in 2011: 22,800 pages (44 books)
I ended up completely eliminating about 20% of my reading list, although I've certainly added back pages.  The titles that I added fall in four categories: books I owned but hadn't recorded, titles for book club, books I received for Christmas, or books published in 2011 by favorite authors. I have another 2,644 pages that are potentially going away; they're in a box that hasn't been opened since last October, probably for a reason.  I'm also thinking about taking the complete works of Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Hans Christian Anderson, and the Brothers Grimm off my list, which would eliminate another 4,000 pages.  I'd never sit down and read those works cover to cover, but I tackle one or two offerings from time to time.

At this rate, I would almost finish this group of books by the end of the year, assuming I don't go overboard buying new publications.  What do you think... do I go ahead and eliminate those 6,600 pages?  Should a few more books go?  How are your reading lists coming?

Bonus Update:  Books I've read since my last book review post, with hyperlinks going to my reviews:
Persuasion (4 stars)
Stone of Tears (2 stars)
The Forgotten Garden (3 stars)
The Wise Man's Fear (5 stars)

2 comments:

  1. Laughingly or surprisingly I am on track for my number of pages read. I recently did do a purge as I had several paperbacks that I felt would sit on my shelf indefinitely. And, the local library (my absolute favorite library) had put out a request for book donations...It was easy to hand over the books and in exchange get a tax receipt.

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  2. well, i see two options: you can either use your little one as an excuse to keep and read hans christian anderson and brothers grimm (either while s/he is still in-utero or after s/he is born) or you can use him/her as an excuse to eliminate all those books (baby making takes a LOT of time!). i tried reading to our little one while she was still growing, but it was weird so i didn't do it often. and i'm still learning how to juggle her, so i haven't read much to her yet since her birth either. i should really read more...

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