Furthermore

Book Stats

I just looked at my reading list and I noticed that at the end of 2006 I shall have been logging books I've read for 20 years. Since the rate has dropped off to almost nothing I thought I'd pre-empt the anniversary and see what interesting stats I can derive from it.

The numbers are that I've read about 700 books - that's about 35 a year average, but the numbers are skewed as my reading habit has dropped right off in the last couple of years (partly having children, partly not commuting to London). There are about 630 distinct titles, but only 240 distinct authors - so I don't re-read that much, but I do read more by the same person if I like something.

Top re-reads by Title:

• AEgypt by John Crowley
• Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

I've read both of these 4 times it seems, and funnily enough I was just talking about both these authors recently. I'm not sure they have much in common, apart from both evoking very fully realised characters in a world that seems just a little richer than the one we inhabit day to day.

3 readings:

• Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger - my favourite Salinger. Short, but wonderfully drawn characters.
• Little, Big by John Crowley - start here with Crowley if you have time to read it.
• Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons - I re-read this quite recently and it holds up well. The ending now has (to me) a layer of sad irony since 9/11.
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig - I read this when I was very unhappy at college and it resonated with me then. I've read it again since and it still seems to say some smart things.
• The Mathematical Experience by Philip Davies and Reuben Hersh - I read this first in 6th form and it was one of the books that inspired me to do my degree in mathematics. It bears re-reading, and it gives a real insight into the range and depth of the subject.

The strange thing about the lists above is that they omit my favourite author - Gene Wolfe. I don't seem to have re-read any of his stuff more than once - I'm not sure why, maybe they seemed too daunting. Also, Wolfe is a lot more prolific than Crowley. If you look at the list of most-read authors though, you get a more accurate view of who I read the most:

• Gene Wolfe - 40 readings
• John Crowley - 18 readings
• Armistead Maupin - 16 readings

The author distribution has a more interesting long tail than the books, so I might post about that later.

Posted by MFreestone at June 28, 2005 12:38 PM