How exciting is the end of financial year? So exciting I forgot it had even happened. Sixteen days later I remembered I usually (OK, once) do a quick countdown of how my reading has gone in the first six months of the year. Last time I might have done the whole financial year. Who knows. I certainly don’t. Anyway, this time I’m doing six months. Let’s see where we’re at.
- I have started 60 books, and also read three manuscripts.
- I gave up on five of them.
- 12 books were published this year, 18 in 2017, 7 in 2016, 2 in 2015, 1 in 2014, 3 in 2013, 1 in 2012 and – weirdly – 7 in 2011. No idea why I love that year so much. Of the rest, there were four from the 2000s, three from the ’80s (Mrs Caliban, Sister Kate, An artist of the floating world), one from 1961 (The prime of Miss Jean Brodie) and one from 1944 (Christina Stead’s For love alone).
- 40 books were written by women, 22 by men; 19 were by writers of colour; 25 were Australians.
- I’ve read 20 books that I felt obliged to.
- I’ve totally loved 12 books, among them Ruth Ozecki’s A tale for the time being, China Mieville’s This census taker, Eley Williams’ attrib., Wu Ming-Yi’s The man with the compound eyes, Robbie Arnott’s Flames, Michael Ondaatje’s Warlight and Dasa Drndc’s Trieste.
- I seem to be ordering a lot of books from Booktopia or getting them from the library. Sorry local bookshops…
See you back here at the end of the year for the full write-up WITH GRAPHS AND CHARTS.
