2017 Biblionumerology*
78.7
Total number of books read in 2017 (approximate)
I used to have a personal rule about finishing every book I started, no matter what. That’s a rule I somewhat reluctantly let go of in 2018. So what’s up with the .7? I started tracking my finished books in April. Assuming I read at the same rate the first 15 weeks of the year as I did in the latter 37 weeks, 78.7 is the magic number. (Feel free to check my math.)
56.0
Total number of books logged and graded (from April 17 - December 31)
The relatively even split between fiction and non-fiction was unintentional, although my (decidedly geeky) reading rules make the race a tight one. I keep two or three books in active rotation all the time and generally finish them at the same pace.
Important note about my grading system: it is entirely subjective. Someday perhaps I'll create rigorous criteria to define each grade, but for now, I relish the simplicity of evaluating books solely based on how they make me feel. Did you ever get to help the teacher grade papers when you were a kid? That's the sort of gleeful, innocuously power-hungry feeling I get when rating books. If you find this disturbing, blame it on Mrs. Pierce.
The 15 Illustrious A-Graded Books of 2017
Books That Took Me Places
| F | The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
| F | News of the World by Paulette Jiles
| F | Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
| F | World Without End by Ken Follett
Books That Taught Me Important Things
| NF | The Telomere Effect by Elizabeth Blackburn and Elissa Epel
| NF | When Everything Changed by Gail Collins
| NF | Essentialism by Greg McKeown
| NF | The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Books About Happiness
| NF | The Book of Joy by 14th Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
| NF | The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
| NF | The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer
| F | Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Books About Really Cool People
| NF | My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach
| NF | Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
| NF | Daily Rituals by Mason Currey
"She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.”
– Louisa May Alcott in Work: A Story of Experience
*definitely made that word up