When I look at my reading statistics, I think that I spend most of my free time reading. Last year I read 88 books in total. Plus I read the New York Times every Friday to Sunday, the Time Magazine every week, a few other monthly magazines, plenty of blogs, etc. Since I got my new tablet in November (my old tablet had given up), reading has become even easier. I can borrow e-books from my public library and even more e-books from the Amazon Prime list.
Many of the books I read in 2017 were popular fiction, but I do enjoy that a lot to relax after work. I discovered the Hannah Swensen Mystery series* by Joanne Fluke and read all volumes. The cute little small town world of Hannah, her friends, and her cat is just too nice – and she always solves the murder cases. Another series I loved was Artemis Fowl*. Actually I think that my “most” favorite novels combine our world with some fantastic elements – and there Artemis from our world mixes with fairies, who live somewhere underground.
The books that surprised me most of all in a good way were the Millenium Trilogy*. I had always (falsely!) assumed that the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo would belong more to the horror or thriller genre. But then a friend recommended it to me – or rather forced the first book on me – and I was enamored. They are rather crime novels and I read them all within a few days. That’s the thing: if I really love a story, I even sleep less in order to continue reading.
Other favorite books were Can Dündar’s “We are arrested”*, which I also wrote a review on; Philip Pullman’s “The Book of Dust”* (this new series is a prequel to His Dark Materials); and Elif Shafak’s “The Architect’s Apprentice”*.
I was also happy to go to readings of Salman Rushdie and Orhan Pamuk here in Cambridge. I found both men impressive in their own ways. I like their writing, but also how they presented themselves. They know so much about world literature and play with motifs and elements from different cultures.
For this year I was planning to read a little less and spend a little more time with my thoughts on and in real life, but somehow I have already finished 10 books in January. The Maze Runner series came up for instance. And right now I am lost in the “Six of Crows” fantasy novel. So I guess that resolution doesn’t really work out. You can always follow my latest reading adventures on Goodreads. I really like that website to keep track of all the books I read (and the once I want to read).
© janavar
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