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2017: The Year In Books

With another year coming to an end, it is time to take a look back at the 28 books I read over the past year, 3 less than last year.  Of those 28, 7 were non-fiction and, of the 21 novels, only 4 were TV show tie-ins.  For the first time, none of the books came out of my “to-read” drawer, and a record 16 were e-books.  I read over 80,000 pages, my lowest total since at least 2013.

Once again, a majority of the books I read this year were by authors I’ve never read before. The 15 authors that I read for the first this year were:
Amy Schumer
Jessie Humphries
Gene Kim
Tod Goldberg
Matt Zoller Seitz
Philip K. Dick
Harland Sanders
Paul Levine
William J. Mann
Matthew V. Clemmons
Chris Smith
Riley Sager
Whitney Cummings
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Tom Perrotta

There were 4 authors I read multiple titles from during 2016, the ghost writer for Richard Castle, Jeffery Deaver, David Mack, and Erle Stanley Gardner.

7 of the books I read were released this year, while 3 of them were released last century.

Finally, the breakdown by month.  Vacation in December certainly helped pad its totals a tad bit.

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Book 28 (of 52) – The Leftovers

The Leftovers – Tom Perrotta

Following the end of the television show on HBO earlier this year, I was interested in the book that started it all.  Loosely adapted as the first season of the show, The Leftovers tells the story of a small town three years after a rapture-like event causes people to disappear.  Some, like Nora Durst, lost their entire family.  Some, like Laurie Garvey, don’t know how to cope with the new world order and leave their family to join a cult.  Others, like Kevin and Jill Garvey, learn to deal with the losses around them.

It had been a few years since the first season of the show aired, so, aside from the characters, I wasn’t too familiar with the beats of the tale.  While there were obviously some liberties taken in the adaptation, the book brings you back to a simpler time, just as everyone is starting to really deal with the events of October 14.

This was my first experience with Perrotta’s work, though it appears that I’ve seen movie adaptations of some of his other books.  I may try to track down some of those other books and see if the experience is as good as this one.

 

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Fitbit III: Week 47

Yet another disappointing week, as I failed to make my goal for the 5th straight week.  Things got off to a decent start on Sunday, where trips to two different movie theaters helped me come in near 7000 steps.  Monday fell back a bit, just managing to surpass 6500 steps.  Tuesday was back up over 7300 steps, my second best day of the week.  Wednesday was a big dropoff, falling under 4700 steps, despite a trip out at night with Val.  Thursday was my best day of the week, thanks to a trip down to Wrigley Field to check out their Christmas market with Tina.  Friday was another down day, just barely surpassing 3700 steps.  Saturday used trips to multiple grocery stores to enable me to finish the week on a high note.

Total steps: 43,940

Daily average: 6277.1

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2018 Calendar

Now that Christmas has come and gone, we can unveil the cover to this year’s calendar gift, given annually to my mom and sister, made up of pictures I have taken throughout the year. Once again. this year’s calendar was produced by the good folks at Shutterfly. As in year’s past, we will unveil each month’s photo on the first day of the month throughout 2017.

This year’s cover features Angelina, Danny, and Michael at Lincoln-Way Central following Angelina’s high school graduation last June.  The main picture has the three of them together, with cut-ins of her hugging both of her brothers.

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Book 27 (of 52) – The Empty Chair

The Empty Chair – Jeffery Deaver

In this third entry of the Lincoln Rhyme saga, the criminologist and his girlfriend/side kick head down to North Carolina, where Rhyme is scheduled to undergo an experimental surgery.  While waiting, they get dragged in to help the local police locate a kidnapped girl before she starves to death.  When Amelia breaks the suspected kidnapper out of the jail, she tries to stay a step ahead of the locals and her mentor.

While this was the third book of the series, it is at least the sixth that I’ve read.  Deaver knows how to keep things interesting enough to keep you coming back for more.  There are a few more of his works waiting on my Kindle, so I’m sure to add to this total as the years go on.

 

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Fitbit III: Week 46

A fourth straight disappointing week, as my yearly December vacation got underway.  A 4300 step Sunday got things off to a slow start.  Monday picked up a bit, as I came in just under 7000 steps.  Tuesday used a trip in to the city to pass 8000 steps.  Wednesday and Thursday both hovered around the good side of 6500 steps, before Friday cratered down under 3300 steps.  Saturday was back up over 6500 steps.

Total steps: 42,308

Daily average: 6044

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Prolific Authors 2017

Way back in December of 2011 (and again in the Decembers of 2013 and 2015), we took a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 47 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span. Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 54 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

Author Name Current Total 2015 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 15 13 2

A new leader in the clubhouse, as Nancy Holder adds 2 new additions over the past 2 years to put her out front.

Richard Castle 14 9 5

The second largest increase (or largest for someone I had read before) goes to the writer (or writers) using the nom de plume of the main character from the television show Castle.  I’m guessing this total will stay pretty static, with the show off the air for over a year now.

Greg Rucka 13 13 0
Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Stephen King 12 12 0

These three round out the top 5 with absolutely no movement over the past 2 years.

Brad Meltzer 11 9 2
Jeffery Deaver 8 5 3

Slight increases for both of these authors, with more to come.  Meltzer’s next book is already pre-ordered, while there are a few unread Deaver works on my Kindle. Continue reading →

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Book 26 (of 52) – Astrophysics For People In A Hurry

Neil deGrasse Tyson – Astrophysics For People In A Hurry

Neil deGrasse Tyson, quite possibly the most famous astrophysicist in the game today, checks in with a quick primer on what’s going on in the universe, written for a lay audience who, as the title suggests, don’t have time for a deep dive in to the technical details.  Tyson explains how the universe was created, starting with the big bang, and then goes through many scientific discoveries through the centuries that became the basis of our understanding of the universe, and our role in it, today.

 

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Fitbit III: Week 45

Another disappointing week, caused in part by my Fitbit finally failing before being replaced by the Charge 2 on Saturday.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, which turned out to be my best day of the week with just over 7400 steps.  My last week of work for 2017 started on Monday, which again crossed the 7000 step mark.  Tuesday was down a bit, coming in just over my goal of 6500 steps.  Wednesday was another decent day, coming in just over 7100 steps.  Things started going south on Thursday, when I fell just short of 5500 steps.  Friday was my last day at work of the year, but I only managed to get up to 5800 steps.  Saturday was when I finally swapped out the old Fitbit, which caused me to finish the day with only 4700 steps.

Total steps: 44,207

Daily average: 6315.3