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Because what I should be doing is prepping for work tomorrow.
How many books read in 2023?
In 2023, I read 105 books cover-to-cover, defined as always as reading every chapter, glossary, index, author’s note, etc. in the volume.
Favorite first-time read?
Fiction: Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's The Scum Villian's Self-Saving System vols. 2 & 3, which really catered to my id, (Runner up: Melissa Albert's Tales from the Hinterlands.)
Nonfiction: Hands down, Nerys T. Patterson's Cattle Lords & Clansmen (runners up: Fintan O'Toole's We Don't Know Ourselves and Rachel E. Gross's Vagina Obscura).
Least favorite first-time read?
Fiction: D.P. Costello’s The Rag Tree. Oh, the dangers of self-publishing. (Runner up: Gerald Morris's The Ballad of Sir Dinadan. While not badly written from a technical perspective, Morris sure did eschew the perceptiveness and subtlety that made his earlier books so good.)
Nonfiction: Anne Ross's The Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, which is what you'd get if the previous president rambled about Celtic mythology instead of political persecution. (Runner up: Peter Ackroyd’s Queer London, which purports to be nonfiction but is really conjecture and cherrypicking).
Fiction/Non-Fiction ratio? 58 fiction : 47 nonfiction (counting Ciaran Carson's Still Life and The Star Factory as nonfiction.)
Author gender breakdown? (Counted by volume, not number of distinct authors.)
Women: 51
Men: 42
Multiple authors or anthology: 12
Most books read by one author this year?
I read five by Gerald Morris.
Any in translation?Yes, five, all from Chinese:
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System vol. 1 vol. 2, vol. 3, and vol. 4., and Meng Xi Shi's Thousand Autumns
In languages other than English? Eleven to 13, depending on how you count. Eleven were fully in Japanese, one was written in the Dorset dialect of English, and one had both English and Gaelic passages.
Oldest?
The Pied Piper of Hamelin was written Robert Browning and illustrated by Kate Greenaway 1888. (Runner up: Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire's Children of the Northlights, which was originally published in 1935, although my edition was printed in 1953.)
Newest?
Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen’s How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney, making this the second year running in which this duo penned the newest book I read.
Longest Title?
Robin Williamson's English, Welsh, Scottish & Irish Fiddle Tunes .
Shortest Title?
Mac Barnett & Christian Robinson's Leo.
Longest book?
I think this is probably Fintan O'Toole's We Don't Know Ourselves, in terms of both wordcount and number of pages.
Shortest book? Higuri You's Kinku
Format of books read?
Paper: 82
Ebook: 22
Paper/Ebook both: 1
Audiobook: 0
Great Course: 0
Re-reads?
Seventeen, which is pretty low for me.
First book acquired:
An ebook of Jeremy Wallace's Seeking Truth and Hiding Facts, which I have yet to start.
Last book acquired:
Diana L. Paxson's Taking up the Runes.
First book finished:
Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen’s The Rock From The Sky which was a delightful way to kick off the year.
Last book finished:
Meng Xi Shi's Thousand Autumns, which I wrapped up yesterday.
Book that most changed my perspective:
I didn't read anything that changed my perspective, per se, but Nerys T. Patterson's Cattle Lords & Clansmen and Rachel E. Gross's Vagina Obscura certainly broadened it.
Favorite character:
Two decades on I still adore Seimaden's Tethyus (who stars in Higuri You's Kinku).
Favorite scene:
That scene from Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen’s The Rock From The Sky. If you've read it, you'll know what I'm talking about.
Favorite Quote:
Pretty much the entirety of Rachel E. Gross's Vagina Obscura. I also loved this exchange, from Gerald Morris's The Squire, the Knight, and His Lady:
Number of in-progress books as of December 31
My LibraryThing tags inform me that I had 92 in-progress books as of that date, of which I started 23 in 2023.
What do you want to read in 2023?
I want to read through my backlog of danmei novels. I'm excited about Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, the sequel to Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies that comes out this month. And I am super stoked for Melissa Albert's The Bad Ones because holy fuck can that woman write, and her take on the '80s toxic friendship novel is going to be epic.
Finally, each year for Snowflake Challenge, I make a list of 50 books I theoretically want to read that year. As of December 31st, I had read 14 from 2023's list, given away 5 before I finished them, and never actually acquired one to start reading it in the first place. Stay tuned for this year's list.
Happy New Year, everyone!
これで以上です。
How many books read in 2023?
In 2023, I read 105 books cover-to-cover, defined as always as reading every chapter, glossary, index, author’s note, etc. in the volume.
Favorite first-time read?
Fiction: Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's The Scum Villian's Self-Saving System vols. 2 & 3, which really catered to my id, (Runner up: Melissa Albert's Tales from the Hinterlands.)
Nonfiction: Hands down, Nerys T. Patterson's Cattle Lords & Clansmen (runners up: Fintan O'Toole's We Don't Know Ourselves and Rachel E. Gross's Vagina Obscura).
Least favorite first-time read?
Fiction: D.P. Costello’s The Rag Tree. Oh, the dangers of self-publishing. (Runner up: Gerald Morris's The Ballad of Sir Dinadan. While not badly written from a technical perspective, Morris sure did eschew the perceptiveness and subtlety that made his earlier books so good.)
Nonfiction: Anne Ross's The Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, which is what you'd get if the previous president rambled about Celtic mythology instead of political persecution. (Runner up: Peter Ackroyd’s Queer London, which purports to be nonfiction but is really conjecture and cherrypicking).
Fiction/Non-Fiction ratio? 58 fiction : 47 nonfiction (counting Ciaran Carson's Still Life and The Star Factory as nonfiction.)
Author gender breakdown? (Counted by volume, not number of distinct authors.)
Women: 51
Men: 42
Multiple authors or anthology: 12
Most books read by one author this year?
I read five by Gerald Morris.
Any in translation?Yes, five, all from Chinese:
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System vol. 1 vol. 2, vol. 3, and vol. 4., and Meng Xi Shi's Thousand Autumns
In languages other than English? Eleven to 13, depending on how you count. Eleven were fully in Japanese, one was written in the Dorset dialect of English, and one had both English and Gaelic passages.
Oldest?
The Pied Piper of Hamelin was written Robert Browning and illustrated by Kate Greenaway 1888. (Runner up: Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire's Children of the Northlights, which was originally published in 1935, although my edition was printed in 1953.)
Newest?
Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen’s How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney, making this the second year running in which this duo penned the newest book I read.
Longest Title?
Robin Williamson's English, Welsh, Scottish & Irish Fiddle Tunes .
Shortest Title?
Mac Barnett & Christian Robinson's Leo.
Longest book?
I think this is probably Fintan O'Toole's We Don't Know Ourselves, in terms of both wordcount and number of pages.
Shortest book? Higuri You's Kinku
Format of books read?
Paper: 82
Ebook: 22
Paper/Ebook both: 1
Audiobook: 0
Great Course: 0
Re-reads?
Seventeen, which is pretty low for me.
First book acquired:
An ebook of Jeremy Wallace's Seeking Truth and Hiding Facts, which I have yet to start.
Last book acquired:
Diana L. Paxson's Taking up the Runes.
First book finished:
Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen’s The Rock From The Sky which was a delightful way to kick off the year.
Last book finished:
Meng Xi Shi's Thousand Autumns, which I wrapped up yesterday.
Book that most changed my perspective:
I didn't read anything that changed my perspective, per se, but Nerys T. Patterson's Cattle Lords & Clansmen and Rachel E. Gross's Vagina Obscura certainly broadened it.
Favorite character:
Two decades on I still adore Seimaden's Tethyus (who stars in Higuri You's Kinku).
Favorite scene:
That scene from Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen’s The Rock From The Sky. If you've read it, you'll know what I'm talking about.
Favorite Quote:
Pretty much the entirety of Rachel E. Gross's Vagina Obscura. I also loved this exchange, from Gerald Morris's The Squire, the Knight, and His Lady:
"What more could Guinevere want than Arthur's love?" he demanded.
"It is not that she wants more, child. It is that she wants less. Arthur's love for her exceeds reason, surpasses all the prescribed rules, and it frightens her. Lancelot courts her according to the rules."
"What rules?"
"The rule that handsome men and beautiful women must always love each other. The rule that men show their love for women by defeating other men. The rule that love is won as one wins tournaments, by proving yourself the most beautiful. The rule that love for a famous person is nobler than love for a humble person."
Number of in-progress books as of December 31
My LibraryThing tags inform me that I had 92 in-progress books as of that date, of which I started 23 in 2023.
What do you want to read in 2023?
I want to read through my backlog of danmei novels. I'm excited about Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, the sequel to Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies that comes out this month. And I am super stoked for Melissa Albert's The Bad Ones because holy fuck can that woman write, and her take on the '80s toxic friendship novel is going to be epic.
Finally, each year for Snowflake Challenge, I make a list of 50 books I theoretically want to read that year. As of December 31st, I had read 14 from 2023's list, given away 5 before I finished them, and never actually acquired one to start reading it in the first place. Stay tuned for this year's list.
Happy New Year, everyone!
これで以上です。
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Hopefully 2024 will be even better!
Good Luck and Happy Reading!
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Here's to another good year for reading in 2024!
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I more than hear where you're coming from. XD Just PLEASE let it be a special interest I have ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST in myself.
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and so nobody can rescue him XD