52 Books Wrapup!

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Robin asked us these questions:

Did you reach the goal of 52 books or did you manage to beat your own personal best?

I blogged about over 100 books, so yep. I have no idea how that measures up to the quantity of books read in the past, but I had less time for reading this year so I expect I read less.

What book are you ending the year with?

I'm preparing for my Greek Classics challenge with The Classical World, and for the Medieval Challenge with Reading the Middle Ages (which I am loving, thank you Eva!).

Did you discover a new author or genre? Did you love them or hate them?

This year I discovered H. R. James, Joyce Dennys, and Erin Bow, among others. I guess if I read an author I didn't like, I didn't think of it as a discovery, more like a chore.

Did you challenge yourself to read more non fiction if prefer fiction or more fiction if you prefer non fiction?

No, I just read whatever I wanted. It turns out that I read almost exactly 50% of each--I counted up (for the first time ever) and got 71 fiction titles and 71 non-fiction, but that does not include mystery novels or other fluff I didn't bother to document, and most of that was probably fiction.

Did you read from a list or wing it?

I only read from a list when I have to, and I did with the Feminist Classics Challenge. Otherwise I winged it. I have a very hard time sticking to a list.

How many classics did you read? What did you think of the writing style or author?

I enjoyed reading Pushkin most, and I also really liked Trollope and Thackeray. And Nabokov too! But I don't know exactly how many I read.

Name one book that you thought you'd never read and was pleasantly surprised you like it.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

What are your top ten favorite books?

The Scent of Water
Nine Lives
Plain Kate
The Rational Optimist
Little Princes
The Con
Albion
Count Magnus and Other Stories
Who Killed Homer?
One of Our Thursdays Is Missing
Henrietta's War
end-of-year bonus: Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History


What are your ten least favorite books?

What the Tortoise Taught Us
Radical Homemakers
Gender Trouble
The Twentieth Wife
The Beauty Myth
Farm City (I liked parts but not other parts)
The Secret History
The Fall of Troy

Did you start any books that you just simply couldn't finish?

The Twentieth Wife--I didn't bother to finish that one. And Gender Trouble. Any others I couldn't finish were forgotten. I often don't finish things if I don't like them, but then they don't get written down either.

What did you think of the mini challenges and did you join in or complete any?

I thought they were a good mix. I did the one about reading in different countries and got about 30.

Did your family join in on the fun?

No, but my older daughter sure does covet a book blog now.

How many books have you added to your wishlist since the beginning of the year?

Way too many, but I don't know a number.

What was your favorite thing about the challenge?

This is the challenge that got me started in book blogging and challenges, so I'm grateful to Robin because I'm having a lot of fun with it! I especially like how many WTM people participate so we can trade titles easily.

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