The totals are in for Belle, Book, and Candle for 2012:
Books read: 112
Fiction: 65 (of which 42 were mysteries)
Non-fiction: 47
Rereads: 12
Books read on the Nook: 26
Books read from my own shelves: 49
Essay collections: 10
Female authors: 60
Male authors: 52
Author events attended: Gabrielle Hamilton, Gail Collins, Patricia Cohen, Hannah Rosin, and Camille Paglia. The Kentucky Book Fair.
Longest books read: The Greater Journey (576 pages) by David McCullough; The Three Musketeers (717 pages) by Alexander Dumas; All the King's Men (656 pages) by Robert Penn Warren.
Authors I'm glad I found: Gladys Taber (Mrs. Daffodil); Maeve Brennan (The Long-Winded Lady, Notes from The New Yorker); and G.M. Malliet (St. Just mysteries).
Book read on my phone: Shrinking Violet by Karina Lickorish Quinn.
Books that made me laugh out loud: Framed and Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce; Loose Diamonds by Nora Ephron; The Provincial Lady in America by E.M. Delafield.
Book that I keep telling people about: Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn.
Favorite Rereads: Merry Hall by Beverley Nichols; Ex-Libris by Anne Fadiman.
Book of the Year: The Story of Charlotte's Web by Michael Sims (which I briefly wrote about here - E.B.White ).
Thus ends the first year of Belle, Book, and Candle. Writing a blog is like having another job and it is one I look forward to. I wasn't sure if I could come up with something to write every day about books and reading, but somehow a topic always presented itself.
I so appreciate all of you who stopped by to read and those of you who left comments. And to my fellow book bloggers, thank you for allowing me to become a part of your world.
See you in 2013. Happy Reading and Happy New Year.
Mrs Queen takes the Train is certainly a book I want to be reading in 2013. Well done for writing this blog, every day and having something to talk about. I find it a pleasure writing my blog, and would love the time to post everyday - but that is for another time!
ReplyDeleteIf you enjoy 'Mrs. Queen', do try Alan Bennett's "An Uncommon Reader" in which the Queen takes up reading.
DeleteThanks for your kind words and good luck with your blog. I decided when I began BBandC that I would post every day. It is just easier for me to keep track that way.
I like your list very much! And your categories. I haven't read anything by Maeve Brennan, but her name has come up on a couple of lists in Ireland. So is she Irish? I love the "Long-winded Lady" title!
ReplyDeleteSo many books!
Yes, Maeve Brennan is from Dublin. She moved to the U.S. as a teenager with her family. In addition to her New Yorker pieces, she wrote short stories and there are a couple of her collections available. Her Long-Winded Lady columns, although based on her observations in the city, read like short stories.
DeleteI wish to strongly second the recommendation of Alan Bennett's "An Uncommon Reader" I was lucky to heard him read from it on BBC4 earlier in the year and he was excellent.
ReplyDeleteI was quite taken away by 'An Uncommon Reader'. I read it in an afternoon. How lovely that you got to hear Mr. Bennett read from it. Jealous over here!
DeleteHappy New Year! I am just catching up after being away for a few days and have enjoyed seeing what books you have pulled off of your shelf for 2013 and your list here of all the books that brought you pleasure of one sort or another in 2012. I so enjoy your blog and I'm grateful for your writing here. Thank you - and please keep it up! Penny
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you too, Penny. I am glad you have been stopping by to see what I have been up to. Books are such a pleasure. I find that writing about the books I have read or am reading even more of a pleasure. I feel so engaged with the whole experience.
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