Well, it looks like I've read 72 books this year, after all. I like 72; it gives me a neat average of 6 books per month. And of course that got me thinking. I've seen a lot of other bloggers publishing statistics about their reading year, so I had a little fun with Excel this afternoon.

So yeah, 6 books per month on average, but I also see that I ramped up over the year, and I tend to read a lot more when I have time off from work (we took a family vacation in July/August, and I've been off the last part of December as well).

So then I was on a roll. Moving on from quantity to quality, I took a look at my ratings. On a scale of 1-5, my average rating was 3.5. That kind of surprised me, because lately I've read a lot of 4's.

I guess it's all those 3's bringing my average down to, well, average.  I certainly don't read a lot of rubbish do I?  I do know for sure that I've become a more discerning reader this year.  And the numbers don't lie!

Well, that was a bit of statistical fun, and a fun way to wrap up a great year of reading as well!

Happy New Year everyone!!

• Love, Again

2003 - J. M. Coetzee

• Elizabeth Costello (but I didn't finish it! Is that cheating?)

• Song of Solomon
• Beloved
• Paradise
• Love

• Lord of the Flies

1982 - Gabriel García Márquez

• One Hundred Years of Solitude - completed 4/6/2007 (review)

• Grapes of Wrath - completed 1/17/2007 (review)
• East of Eden - completed 10/6/2007 (review)

1. Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell (read in 2006)
2. The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai
3. Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky
4. Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (completed 3/26/07)
5. Old Filth, by Jane Gardam (completed 3/31/07)
6. Beasts of No Nation, by Uzodinma Iweala (completed 4/13/07)
7. One Good Turn, by Kate Atkinson (completed 5/25/07)
8. The Translator, by Leila Aboulela (completed 5/28/07)
9. Alentejo Blue, by Monica Ali (completed 6/17/07)
10. Gate of the Sun, by Elias Khoury (completed 7/25/07)
11. Arthur & George, by Julian Barnes (completed 8/26/07)
12. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (completed 9/2/07)
13. A Woman in Jerusalem, by A.B. Yehoshua (completed 10/7/07)

Favorite Book of the Challenge: This is a real toss-up. I enjoyed Suite Francaise, Half of a Yellow Sun, and The Road the most.
Least Favorite Book: One Good Turn. This crime mystery was a pretty light read compared to the others on this list.

What I learned through this challenge: Every one of these authors was also new to me, and many of them are from outside the United States. This challenge really opened my eyes to the wealth of great literature in the world, and has inspired me to continue seek out authors from around the world.

50bookchallenge

15000pages

"People with a high need for achievement ... seek to excel and thus tend to avoid both low-risk and high-risk situations. Predominantly Achievement-motivated individuals avoid low-risk situations because the easily attained success is not a genuine achievement. In high-risk projects, the Achievement-motivated see the outcome as one of chance rather than one's own effort. High nAch individuals prefer work that has a moderate probability of success, ideally a 50% chance."

• Reading Across Borders:  books written by authors from outside the United States
• New York Times Notable Books and Book Awards: prize winners, future "classics"
• Unread Authors:  trying someone new rather than sticking with the familiar

So far I've had a great year using challenges to guide my reading.  Of the 37 books read year to date, I've only rated 5 at less than three stars.  I've discovered some great works and some great authors.  The blogging has been great, too.  This journal has created a lasting memory of my reads, and I've truly enjoyed the comments and discussions that come from blogging about books.  I never realized there was such a wonderful community of readers out there!

Keep on reading, everyone ... and enjoy yourself no matter what your reading goals!