At the end of June we are halfway through this year – I am not at all sure where all the time has gone so far but the calendar must be believed. I thought, therefore, that I would take this opportunity to take stock of my reading for the first six months.
In June I read 35 books which highest number for any one month so far this year. That brings the grand total at the end of the month to 181. Assuming that I carry on reading at much the same rate that gives an anticipated total for the end of the year to be 360 which is what I read last year.
I notice that this year I am reading more books in paper form than on my Kindle. This is a change from previous years but reflects the fact that I am trying to get rid of my physical to-be-read pile, or at to least reduce it significantly, as it takes up too much space. My Kindle to-be-read pile grows at an alarming rate but at least I don’t have to keep finding new shelves to put the books on ! I have to say that as I have a weakness for charity shops and book sales that my physical to-be-read pile doesn’t seem to be reducing as much as it should do given the number of paper books I have read !
I aimed to read 25% of my books as non-fiction. I am failing at that and, in fact, in June read only one non-fiction book. Most of the factual books I have read so far this year have been history or memoirs. I shall try and improve the numbers but, as I blogged last month, I do find it difficult to read so many non-fiction books as I seem to gravitate towards stories. Maybe I need to be more realistic about this goal.
Most of the books I have read so far this year have been novels, especially romances and a good selection of classics. I make no apologies to anyone for the romances which I do very much enjoy although I wouldn’t like my reading diet only to be limited to one genre. I have also read more poetry this year than I have ever read in a single year since I was studying English Literature.
I have read some excellent books this year and blogged about them on this page and this month was no exception. I shall try and blog separately about some of the best in the next few days.
This month also saw me read the 150th book of the year. This was an audiobook “Our Man in Havana” by Graham Greene. It is a novel set in the 1950s in Cuba where an English vacuum cleaner salesman is recruited as a spy. It is a multi-layered novel, some of which is very funny, about the meaning of truth and the consequences of lying. I enjoyed it a lot.
We progress onwards to the rest of the year. I have some excellent books lined up to read and am looking forward to reading and sharing my thoughts.
Keep reading ….
Anne Is Reading 