Recap Your 2010 Reading!

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Certifiable St. Vinnie's Ninny]

Here are a few questions to help you evaluate your reading for the year, and to share it with your reading buddies. Post your answers after January 1, 2011.

How many books did you read this year? What were the different genres of books and how many of each did you read? Here are some suggested categories. Feel free to add some.
• Historical romance total:
• Victorian:
• Regency:
• Traditional Regency:
• Scottish:
• Western:
• Historical Paranormal:
• Medieval:
• Contemporary category romance (such as Harlequin/Silhouette) Which ones, list them and how many in each. :
• Contemporary Romantic Suspense:
• Mainstream Contemporary Romance:
• Paranormal Romance:
• Interracial Romance:
• Young Adult:
• Children’s Books:
• Mainstream Fiction/Literary Fiction:
• Horror:
• Erotica:
• Non-Fiction:
• Classics:
• Fantasy:
• Urban Fantasy:


Various Themes (If you keep track—for example, Marriage of Convenience):

What were the top ten books that you read this year?

Were there any books you did not like? Why?

What is your top favorite book and why?

Did your reading surprise you in any way? Was it different from the usual?

Did you meet your reading goals this year?

What are your reading goals for next year?

Did you read any books out of your normal routine?

Any new genres that you got into this year? What books got you into this type of reading?

Who is your favorite new author?

Did you glom any authors this year (meaning: read as many of the author's books you could get your hands on)?

Any new authors you plant to read more of this year?

Favorite hero and why? Has this changed?

Favorite heroine and why? Has this changed?

Any authors you decided to 'fire' (meaning you no longer read)? Why?

What was the most unique storyline you read in a book this year?

Any book you liked that you were surprised that you liked?

Any books you expected to love but were disappointed by?

Favorite couple and why? Did this change?

Anything else you want to tell us about your reading this year?

[D.G.]

Great questions, Danielle! I think I'll have to start now to answer them all. :)

In the question regarding favorite hero and heroine...is that favorite ever or this year?

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Certifiable St. Vinnie's Ninny]

Glad you want to participate, DG. It's favorite hero or heroine ever. If your yearly reading changed them, indicate it.

[Bekah, Fellow Kleypasaholic]

How many books did you read this year? 121


What were the top ten books that you read this year?

Talk Me Down
Start Me Up
Lead Me On
Trolling Nights
Secret Desires of a Gentleman
One Foot In the Grave
To Seduce A Sinner
Sugar Daddy
My Dearest Enemy
Cry No More
Out of Control
That’s my 11 5* for the year 2010


Were there any books you did not like? Why?
I did not like Good Girls Don’t Have Fangs or Soulless. I found out that I don’t like vampire stories where they are ‘out’ and regulated by some government agency and can shop at walmart. I want my vamps deadly, dangerous, (rich) and kept a secret from society..in general.

What is your top favorite book and why?
This year I had quite a few good reads, so I don’t know if I can pick just one as a top fav. Um…one worth mentioning I guess would be Connie Brockway’s My Dearest Enemy.

Did your reading surprise you in any way? Was it different from the usual?
I read more contemps. That was a surprise, and I’m glad I did. I got introduced to a new author and I’m now more willing to check out more contemps.

Did you meet your reading goals this year?
I suppose, I didn’t really have any specific reading goals other than the challenges I participated in and the goal of keeping track. I liked that I kept track of the books I read this year..its nice to put a number to the year!

What are your reading goals for next year?
I think everyone knows by now: I’m reading everything published by our very own LK. I hope to get that done, write some comprehensive reviews, and fulfill any challenges I participate in. I’m sorta feeling a little overwhelmed…I think I may have over booked myself for the first three months of 2011

Did you read any books out of your normal routine?
The contemps were out of my normal routine.



Who is your favorite new author?
I was lucky to find several:
Victoria Dahl
Sherry Thomas
Connie Brockway
Jeanine Frost
Elizabeth Hoyt
Laura Lee Guhrke


Did you glom any authors this year (meaning: read as many of the author's books you could get your hands on)?
Victoria Dahl
Sherry Thomas
Laura Lee Guhrke
Elizabeth Hoyt

Any new authors you plant to read more of this year?
Gena Showalter
Nalini Singh
Karen Marie Moning

Favorite hero and why? Has this changed?
Gage Travis & Bones

Favorite heroine and why? Has this changed?
I love Liberty Jones

Any authors you decided to 'fire' (meaning you no longer read)? Why?
I don’t think so.

What was the most unique storyline you read in a book this year?
Untouched and I loved it!

Any book you liked that you were surprised that you liked?
Untouched
Talk Me Down

Any books you expected to love but were disappointed by?
Good Girls Don’t Have Fangs

Favorite couple and why? Did this change?
Gage and Liberty..no change!

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Certifiable St. Vinnie's Ninny]

I'm going to post mine when I work up the energy to go back through my reading! Thanks for sharing, Bekah.

[Dina]

What Danielle said. ^_^ (I'm so lazy, LOL.)

[D.G.]

My 2010 Reading Recap. :)

How many books did you read this year? 151

What were the different genres of books and how many of each did you read?
• Chick Lit: 4
• Classics: 3
• Contemporary Fiction: 7
• Contemporary Romance: 7
• Erotica: 30
• Fantasy: 6
• Historical Fiction: 3
• Historical Romance: 30
• Mystery: 14
• Non-Fiction: 11
• Paranormal (this includes UF): 28
• Romantic Suspense: 6
• Young Adult: 2

What were the top ten books that you read this year?
Top 7 Books (only including 7 because I want to talk about top series. :)
The Name of the Wind
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Hunger Games
A Countess Below Stairs
Just the Sexiest Man Alive
Emma
Garden Spells

Top 3 New Series:
Mercy Thompson
BDB
Skin

Were there any books you did not like? Why?
Oh there were tons of books I didn’t like, here are some that almost got thrown to the wall (I’ve written reviews for all of them if you want to see I why didn’t like them):
The Frog Prince
Untraceable
Darcy's Story
To Die For

What is your top favorite book and why? Can’t say I have a top book.

Did your reading surprise you in any way? Was it different from the usual?
My reading changed drastically in the second half of the year. I read a lot of erotica during the first 6 months of 2010 because I was hanging out with a group of ladies at another site who are really into erotica but I realized that although I like spicy books, they must have a plot for me to enjoy them and I’ve found that most erotica is really thin on plot (at least for my taste.) So then I came back to Goodreads and I’ve been able to find my reading again. I’m reading more varied books and I’ve been able to come back to historical romance which is probably my favorite genre. Also, I’ve read more non fiction than usual (and found some really great books) and less mysteries.

Did you meet your reading goals this year? I finished all my challenges so I guess yes. 

What are your reading goals for next year? Mostly read what I like, finish some series and read less to tell you the truth. I need to do other things besides reading.

Any new genres that you got into this year? What books got you into this type of reading?
I started reading UF thanks to the Mercy Thompson series.

Who is your favorite new author? I have 3: Julie James, Patricia Briggs, Sarah Addison Allen

Did you glom any authors this year (meaning: read as many of the author's books you could get your hands on)? Lisa Kleypas, Julie James, Patricia Briggs, Sarah Addison Allen :)

Any new authors you plant to read more of this year? I want to continue reading Patricia Briggs other series and anything else by Julie James and Sarah Addison Allen that I haven’t read.

Any authors you decided to 'fire' (meaning you no longer read)? Why?
Lora Leigh & Stephanie Laurens – I find their books too repetitive
Mary Balogh is on probation – I love her old books but her recent stuff seems very stale to me

What was the most unique storyline you read in a book this year? The Hunger Games and The Name of the Wind.

Any book you liked that you were surprised that you liked? Not really. I read so many different genres that it never surprises me to enjoy a book.

Any books you expected to love but were disappointed by?
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Great questions, Danielle. This is going to take some thought, though. Wow.... I'll work on this.

How many books did you read this year? What were the different genres of books and how many of each did you read? Here are some suggested categories. Feel free to add some.

• Historical romance total:
• Victorian:
• Regency:
• Traditional Regency:
• Scottish:
• Western:
• Historical Paranormal:
• Medieval:
• Contemporary category romance (such as Harlequin/Silhouette) Which ones, list them and how many in each. :
• Contemporary Romantic Suspense:
• Mainstream Contemporary Romance:
• Paranormal Romance:
• Interracial Romance:
• Young Adult:
• Children’s Books:
• Mainstream Fiction/Literary Fiction:
• Horror:
• Erotica:
• Non-Fiction:
• Classics:
• Fantasy:
• Urban Fantasy:


Various Themes (If you keep track—for example, Marriage of Convenience):

What were the top ten books that you read this year?

Were there any books you did not like? Why?

What is your top favorite book and why?

Did your reading surprise you in any way? Was it different from the usual?

Did you meet your reading goals this year?

What are your reading goals for next year?

Did you read any books out of your normal routine?

Any new genres that you got into this year? What books got you into this type of reading?

Who is your favorite new author?

Did you glom any authors this year (meaning: read as many of the author's books you could get your hands on)?

Any new authors you plant to read more of this year?

Favorite hero and why? Has this changed?

Favorite heroine and why? Has this changed?

Any authors you decided to 'fire' (meaning you no longer read)? Why?

What was the most unique storyline you read in a book this year?

Any book you liked that you were surprised that you liked?

Any books you expected to love but were disappointed by?

Favorite couple and why? Did this change?

[D.G.]

A tip to get some of this information somewhat easy (this assumes you have shelves organized by genre.)

Go to your profile. Underneath the shelves there's a link called 'Stats.' Once you click stats, it will take you to a page with some details of the books you read by year. If you click on 'view details' it show you the books organized by stars (5 stars, 4 stars, etc.) If you click on view books from 2010, it will show you the list of books from 2010. From there, if you have your shelves organized by genre, open the link from the shelve in another tab and it will only show you the books from a particular genre that you read in 2010.

[Dina]

Thanks for the tip, D.G.! That will make my job much easier, because I read a lot of books last year. :)

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Awesome, DG!!! Thank you!

[Bekah, Fellow Kleypasaholic]

That's really cool, but it says I only read 89 books for 2010 and I know I read 121....There are two books I read twice...but still...

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

The thing I learned is that unless the book is marked as "read" on GR shelves, they don't count. And I have my shelves labeled as "own have read" or "own need to read" so they aren't on GR's exclusive shelf.

[Dina]

Thankfully, I have only one "read" shelf. :)

[D.G.]

Bekah wrote: "That's really cool, but it says I only read 89 books for 2010 and I know I read 121....There are two books I read twice...but still..."

For this to work you need two things:
- Books need to be marked as 'read'
- Books must have the 'date read'

If the book is marked as read but doesn't have the date read, the book won't show up in the stats because they are organized by year.

When I came back to using Goodreads (I signed up in 2007 but didn't use it much for more than a year), I exported my books from PBS. A bunch of them didn't have the date read but I'm so anal and I like looking at the stats page that I added the date! It was a pain in the neck but now all my books are neatly organized. :)

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Certifiable St. Vinnie's Ninny]

I have found GRs does a lot of work for me, if I figure out how to access the info. I'm going to try to work on my post for this tomorrow.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Certifiable St. Vinnie's Ninny]

How many books did you read this year?

Approximately 250 books.

What were the different genres of books and how many of each did you read? Here are some suggested categories. Feel free to add some.

• Historical romance total: 35
• Victorian: 7
• Regency: 11
• Traditional Regency: 0 (other than Harlequin Historical-4)
• Scottish: 7 (not all historical)
• Western: 8 (not all historical)
• Historical Paranormal: 3 (Outlander by D. Gabaldon, Lair of the Lion by C. Feehan, Soulless by G. Carriger
• Medieval: 1
• Contemporary category romance (such as Harlequin/Silhouette) Which ones, list them and how many in each. : 77
 Harlequin Presents: 42
 Silhouette Desire: 12
 Harlequin Superromance: 2
 Silhouette Romance: 1
 Harlequin Intrigue: 1
 Silhouette Intimate Moments/Romantic Suspense: 4
 Harlequin Medical: 1
 Loveswept: 4
 Harlequin Romance: 7

• Contemporary Romantic Suspense: 4
• Mainstream Contemporary Romance: 4
• Paranormal Romance: 46
• Interracial Romance: 17
• Young Adult: 20
• Children’s Books: 3
• Mainstream Fiction/Literary Fiction: 0
• Horror: 18
• Non-Fiction: 0
• Classics: 2 Classic Horror: 10
• Fantasy: 15
• Urban Fantasy: 32


Various Themes (If you keep track—for example, Marriage of Convenience):

I’m too lazy to count them. Sorry! My favorite themes (I choose books based on those):
• Revenge
• Stalkerific/Possessive/Jealous Hero
• Marriage of Convenience
• Dangerous Hero
• Fated to be Mated
• Hero in Pursuit
• Spinster/Old Maid
• Marriage of Convenience
• Greek Mythology
• Norse Mythology
• Warriors/Military

What were the top ten books that you read this year? What is your top favorite book and why?

Argh!!! Very tough question. Here are some of my top favorites from 2010:
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
• Ruthless by Anne Stuart
• Reckless by Anne Stuart
• The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
• Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas
• Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale
• Lover Mine by JR Ward
• Water Bound by Christine Feehan
• His at Night by Sherry Thomas
• Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
• Untamed by Pamela Clare
• Untouched by Anna Campbell
• Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
• Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
• Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
• Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland
• Soulless by Gail Carriger
• Street Game by Christine Feehan

Were there any books you did not like? Why?

Loving Jiro by Jordyn Tracy-way too descriptive on sexual abuse, love scenes clinical and off-putting, no connection b/w H/h; Back to Life by Linda O. Johnston-story not well-written, unlikeable hero; The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink-boring, unlikeable characters.

Did your reading surprise you in any way? Was it different from the usual?

I read some very long books this year. I don’t like long books. The longest was 901 pages. I was pretty happy that I accomplished this.

Did you meet your reading goals this year?

By and large, yes. I was happy that I have read quite a few books that had languished on my tbr pile for years. I’d like to continue this trend.

What are your reading goals for next year?

Read 240 books. Read these series in entirety
1. Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer (have read book 1)
2. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
3. Chronicles of Narnia (reread) by CS Lewis
4. Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle
5. Ice Series by Anne Stuart (reread-already did Black Ice)
6. The Guild-Hunters by Nalini Singh
7. The Fever series by Karen Marie Moning
8. The Night Angel series by Brent Weeks
9. Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre
10. Blades of the Rose series by Zoe Archer
11. Tairen Soul series by C.L. Wilson

Get Caught up on These Series:

1. Immortals After Dark by Kresley Cole
2. Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
3. Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
4. Artemis Fowl series by Ioin Colfer
5. Half-Blood series by Rick Riordan
6. Royal Four series by Celeste Bradley
7. Carpathians by Christine Feehan
8. House of Rohan series by Anne Stuart
10.Travises by Lisa Kleypas
11.Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger

Harlequin/Silhouette Reading Challenge:

Read a minimum of 100 Harlequin/Silhouette books over the year (includes all lines from any year, new or old in collection and any category book).

Finally read books by these authors:

Meredith Duran
Tessa Dare
Robyn Carr
Linnea Sinclair
Stephanie Tyler
JRR Tolkien

Did you read any books out of your normal routine?

More epic fantasy. I read more classic books this year. Two Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Any new genres that you got into this year? What books got you into this type of reading?

I read more fantasy than ever last year, particularly epic fantasy. I’m not overfond of long books, but I was pleasantly surprised at the ones I read, such as The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey.

Who is your favorite new author?

Zoe Archer, Ava Gray, Rick Yancey, Donald Allen Kirch, Ann Aguirre, Gail Carriger, Emery Lee

Did you glom any authors this year (meaning: read as many of the author's books you could get your hands on)?

Christine Feehan, Gena Showalter, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews

Any new authors you plant to read more of this year?

Zoe Archer, Ann Aguirre, to name a couple.

Favorite hero and why? Has this changed?

Still is Sebastian Ballister, Lord Dain from Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. He’s just wonderful. Bad, but good at the same time.

Favorite heroine and why? Has this changed?

Still Jessica Trent from Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. A fantastic heroine.

Any authors you decided to 'fire' (meaning you no longer read)? Why?

I don’t think I will read more books by Michelle Zink or Linda O. Johnston. They wrote the two one star books I read. I won’t be reading more Jordyn Tracy, because I was very disappointed with the book I read by her last year.

What was the most unique storyline you read in a book this year?

That’s a tough one. I read a lot of fantasy, and there were so many good books in that genre.

Any book you liked that you were surprised that you liked?

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. I don't care for the BDSM subject matter, or long books, or political intrigue-filled books, and this book tackled those brilliantly.

Any books you expected to love but were disappointed by?

Loving Jiro by Jordyn Tracy

Favorite couple and why? Did this change?

Still Jessica and Dain from Lord of Scoundrels.

Anything else you want to tell us about your reading this year?

It was a great reading year. I hope this one is as good or better.

[D.G.]

How interesting that we both got The Name of the Wind as one of our favorite books of last year, Danielle. :) I'll check out Kushiel's Dart! I've seen it in a few lists and I know it's a long book but I haven't been tempted to check it out until now.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Certifiable St. Vinnie's Ninny]

I noticed that you liked The Name of the Wind too, DG. I was in raptures over that book. I'd love to see what you think of Kushiel's Dart.

[D.G.]

I already checked and my library has a copy. I'll put it in my library shelf to request one of these days. :)

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Certifiable St. Vinnie's Ninny]

Cool!

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Wow, has over 9,000 ratings and it's still a 4.5! That's amazing!

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Certifiable St. Vinnie's Ninny]

D, it was a fantastic book. I know I like a lot of books, but I really loved this book!

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

I added it to my list of books. It'll have to wait til 2012, but I added it!

[D.G.]

It's probably good to wait to read it. The 2nd book in the trilogy is coming this year and the first one was published in 2007 so it's taken a while for the author to write those books!

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Thanks, DG. That's good to know. I really hate having to wait forever to get the next book in a series/trilogy.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Certifiable St. Vinnie's Ninny]

Yes, there are people gnawing at their digits over the next book. These authors need to write faster, but still produce fantstic books! :)

[UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish, Your Humble Servant]

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "Yes, there are people gnawing at their digits over the next book. These authors need to write faster, but still produce fantstic books! :)"

Hear, hear! You get right on that, Danielle, contacting them and making sure they listen!

Let us know how that goes, ok? LOL

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Certifiable St. Vinnie's Ninny]

I'll do my best!