Books I Read in 2012

BOOKS I CONSUMED IN 2012 (An unscientific snapshot of one person's book buying & reading habits) MY TOP 7 READS ALL BOOKS 1. Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand (harrowing true account of WWII fighter pilot Louis Zamparini's 47-day ordeal at sea & years as a Japanese POW) 16% Bought used 2. Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn (page-turning thriller about a husband & his missing wife) Borrowed 3. The Devotion of Suspect X, by Keigo Higashino (Japanese crime thriller pitting two geniuses against each other, with an unusual love story & great twists) 37% Bought new 4. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (WWII tale of a German orphan whose adopted family hides a Jewish man; narrated by Death; will make you cry) (YA) 147 BOOKS Bought: 78 (23 used) Borrowed: 69 5. REAMDE, by Neal Stephenson (a wild, funny, geeky 1000 page techno-thriller involving hackers, gamers, Jihadists, survivalists & a man-eating mountain lion) 6. Chime, by Franny Billingsly (lyrical, steampunkish fantasy about a girl believed to be a witch finding her identity and love) (YA) FORMAT 7. Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall (fascinating study of ultrarunners, including reclusive Tarahumara tribe) 7% Audio 15% Ebooks 76% Physical GENRE 24% Adult fiction 26% Picture books Physical books: 114 Ebooks/apps: 22 Audiobooks: 11 17% Adult Nonfiction 28% Kids 6% YA OTHER 2012 FAVORITES Adult fiction: 36 Adult nonfiction: 23 PICTURE BOOK: Goldilocks and Just One Bear, by Leigh Hodgkinson (a modern day fairy tale set in the city) YA: 9 Kids: 41 Picture books: 38 GRAPHIC NOVEL: Anya's Ghost, by Vera Brosgol (a mystery, horror, coming of age story & the friendship of a teenage girl & a ghost) (YA) AUDIOBOOK: Then There Were Five, by Elizabeth Enright (an old-fashioned classic of the Melendy children's summer adventures) (youth) PERCENT OF BOOKS READ INDIE BOOK: Dhampyr Heritage, by E.G. Gaddess (a Victorian-era coming of age story of a vampire hunter, in the tradition of Bram Stoker's Dracula) (YA) 14% Unread 86% Read HOW I FOUND THE BOOK 3% Reviews/other Books Read: 126 Books Unread: 21 25% Like Author 45% Browsed Browsed on shelf: 66 Book clubs picks/word of mouth: 17 Twitter/blogs/Facebook: 22 15% Social Fan of author: 37 media Reviews/Other: 4 12% Word of Mouth CONCLUSIONS: I am a surprisingly old-fashioned reader, finding many of my books by browsing physical books on library & bookstore shelves. Most of my favorite reads came from word of mouth or book club picks, followed by some good finds from known authors and social media. Method to the Madness: In January 2012, I had the idea to do this infographic. Over the course of the year, I jotted down all the books I bought or borrowed for myself or my kids and where I had heard of the book. I didn't include books my kids borrowed for themselves or the books my husband aquired/read over the year. The list of picture books is incomplete because I often bring stacks of them home from the library for research and I didn't always remember to record those. Most of the books I didn't read are the kids' books. This is a lot more detail than you probably wanted to know. Do you also read all the Terms of Service and fine print of contracts you sign? © 2012 Sylvia Liu