Looking Back at 2011’s Books

Published on by Margaret

Here are some statistics – I’ve read a total of 103 books, most of which I’ve enjoyed very much. The full list is on my Books Read in 2011 page.

My ratings are purely based on how much I liked them and anything less than a 3 star rating means that the books were just OK – nothing special. Fortunately I only had 6 books that failed to make the 3 star rating. I try to be selective so that I don’t waste time reading books that are not so enjoyable.

These are the figures:

5 star books = 7
4.5 star books = 15
4 star books = 36
3.5 star books = 19
3 star books = 20
2.5 star books = 1
2 star books = 5
Each month I’ve been keeping a record of ‘the book of the month’. They are as follows (with links to my posts):

My Book of the Year and also my Best Crime Fiction Book is:

Blood Harvest by S J Bolton. It’s set in the fictional town of Heptonclough in Lancashire where the Fletcher family have just moved into a new house built on land right next to the boundary wall of the churchyard.  I was completely convinced not only by the setting but also by the characterisation that the place and the people in this book were real. It’s full of tension, terror and suspense and I was in several minds before the end as to what it was all about. I had an inkling but I hadn’t realised the full and shocking truth.

A few more statistics:

  • Male Authors: 37
  • Female Authors: 59
  • New-To-Me Authors: 38
  • Fiction: 93
  • Crime Fiction: 61
  • Non-fiction: 10
  • Memoir/Biography/Autobiography: 7
  • Re-read: 4
  • Mine: 77
  • Library books: 25
  • Borrowed: 1
  • E-Books: 14

6 thoughts on “Looking Back at 2011’s Books”

  1. Happy New Year to you, Margaret! I plan to read S.J. Bolton’s books this year. All of them. I’ve meant to for a while and need to start before there are too many of them. In any case, it’s good to know that BLOOD HARVEST comes with a nice recommendation from you. Hope your 2012 is full of the best of things.

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  2. I love these end-of-2011 stat posts! I also love the idea of counting new-to-me authors, which I’ll certainly include in my end-of-2012 post (if I remember!) So far, I’m one book in, and one new-author in.

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  3. Margaret – You’ve definitely read some excellent books! I’m also impressed with the variety of books that you’ve read. Like you, I try not to spend a lot of time reading books that I don’t think I’ll enjoy; I’m glad you found so many that you did like. I’m looking forward to your reviews this year!

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  4. Snap on the 103 books, and just about on the non-fiction element (mine 11). My spread of review ratings was also very similar (one of the reasons I stay mostly away from review copies is that I want to read good books, not just any books). I had a lot more new to me authors though (71). An interesting set of books and some there that I’ll probably give a go.

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  5. I really like SJ Bolton. Her latest one, Now You See Me, is particularly excellent, but they’re all great. Here’s my review. Also love how you rounded things up. I’m doing that at the end of this year. Genre matters and now I’m curious. Hope 2012 is a great reading year for you!

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