And Yet Again...

Well, it's May again: the only time I ever seem to write any posts for this red-headed step-child of a blog of mine. I was a little disappointed last May that I didn't reach my goal of 100 books; but this year I'm back with a vengence! 121 books, Booyah!





So without further ado, here is the list for Year Three of Bibliomania, (and please, please, please click some of the links so that I won't feel that I've completely wasted the 3 or 4 hours it took to put this together):

The List

Stats, Stats, Who wants stats?

Some stats:
Total number of books: 121
Most books in month: January 2008- 18
Least books in month: May 2007- 3
Average per month: 10

Total number of authors: 90
Male authors:57
Female authors:33
Most books by same author: Agatha Christie x27
Most common author's names: Ben, Daniel, Emma, Jason, Michael, Steven 2 each

By genre:
Mystery: 32
Memoir/Biography: 27
Classics: 10

I read an absolute ton of Agatha Christie again this year, sometimes 4 or 5 a month. I read a few graphic novels, (including the wonderful 'Persepolis'), several kids books, a bunch of memoirs, lots of modern classics, and the usual trashy paperbacks. (I can't believe I read 'Legally Blonde' , but I did)

THE BEST



My favorite book this year was definitely 'Bad Monkeys'. It's one of the most original books I've ever read, and the narrator just keeps you second-guessing, and third-guessing and fourth-guessing until you really have no idea what is true and what is just in her crazed imagination. It's fast-paced and creepy and funny all at the same time. A must read!







THE WORST
My pick for worst book of the year is 'The Lost Van Gogh'. This could have been a great book; it has an excellent premise (long lost Van Gogh painting turns up, all sorts of nasties come out of the woodwork trying to do each over for it), an uber-nasty villian (a crazed knife-wielding Nazi), and enough thrills, chills and chases for 2 or 3 action movies, but the writing SUCKS! You can tell it was co-authored (by a husband and wife team BTW), because the style is very uneven and one of the authors (I'm guessing the husband) has a real yen for bad puns and wordplay. Don't get me wrong, I love puns and wordplay, proabably a lot more than the average person, but a mystery/ action novel is not the place for them. When you can sense that the author is trying to be clever, it really breaks the flow and detracts from the story. Two thumbs down.

THE WEIRDEST

Even weirder than 'Bad Monkeys' is 'The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil'. I think you can pick up a little bit of the weirdness just from the title, but anyway, if you can find this; buy it and read it! You won't be disappointed. Also it's very short, so if you're looking for a little breather between serious books, it's perfect.

See you next May!!!