2013 Year in Review

Time to quickly look back at 2013, before I mention that I've already read 3 books in 2014. So here goes:

Books read: 47 (decent)
Of those, how many were:
*Romance novels: 9, let's say
*Owned by me: 15 (down a little from last year, but still respectable)
*YA: 9 (mostly trilogies)

*Written by female authors:  28 (60%, down from 70% last year. Additionally, if you take out the YA trilogies and the romance novels, we're down to 11 of 30. Hmm.)

*Non-fiction: 9. Plus 4 were histories! Good work

Favorites:

The Shadow of the Wind

Overseas

Gone Girl

Tell the Wolves I'm Home

Wife 22

Divergent

Was one of those a clear "best read of the year"? I don't think so. But each of them not only compelled me to keep reading and reading, but they also raised questions that kept me thinking well after the book was over.

Goals for 2014? None yet. This is going to be a busy year - good heavens wedding planning is a project - but I want to keep carving out reading time. I'm trusting myself to follow my instincts on what I should be reading. Hopefully that will mean continuing to whittle down that big "to-read" shelf a bit too.

2012 Reading in Review

As promised, a quick look back at what I read in 2012, based on what this blog seems to say, as well as my own memories.

Books read: 50 (not bad)
Of those, how many were:
*Romance novels: approx. 11, depending on your definitions (hmmm...)
*Owned by me: 19 (!!!!! This constitutes balance for me, since usually my borrowed percentage is much higher)

*Written by female authors:  35 (i.e. 70% - wow)

*Non-fiction: 8 (perhaps a little low, but I clearly prefer fiction)

Books still on my "to read" bookshelf next to my bed: somewhere around 50 (improvement)

Books on my "ready to give to a new home" shelf: 9 (time for someone to have a book swap party!)

Fave reads:
The Night Circus (probably my all-out favorite of the year)
Queen Margot
Sarah's Key
We Need to Talk about Kevin (probably the book I've thought about the most since finishing)
A Visit From the Goon Squad
Enchantments
The Other Guy's Bride (the one that made me smile the most)
The Count of Monte Cristo

Which is to say, I liked a lot of books written by women plus a couple by Dumas.

Goals for 2013: I'm not really sure. I'm going to keep plugging away at my bookshelf and my "to read" lists. I'm also going to make more of an effort at non-fiction - let's aim for 10 NF books, and at least two of them history. I miss you, history. (Thank goodness for historical fiction!)

Hey A's

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game - Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton & Co., 2003)


In 2002, I lived in Berkeley. And somewhere along the line, I became an A's fan. Probably because they had this unreal winning streak, setting MLB records. I was at 2 or 3 of the games in that streak. And baseball was fun.

I've been wanting to read this book for awhile. I've picked up enough here and there to know that by using statistics in a different way, Billy Beane had upended all the typical rules about what you needed for a successful team. And could do it on the cheap. Coooooooooool.

Somehow, it never occurred to me that the book covered the same season that I remembered so well. But then, suddenly it did. And it wasn't just names like Miguel Tejada, Eric Chavez, and Mark Mulder (yum!) that were popping up. All the people I forgot: Dye, Scott Hatteberg, Chad Bradford of the craaaaaazy pitch, etc etc etc. Oh, and Nick Swisher, who joined the A's after I left for the East Coast. Ah, sigh.

So honestly, the chapter about the game where they went for the MLB record.... that was my favorite part of the book. I was at that game. It was one of the most wild sports experiences I've ever had. It rivals the hockey stuff even. Just.... oh, it was amazing. And I bet it's fun to read about even if you aren't reliving it. :)

The book itself is fascinating too. Lewis explains Beane & DePodesta's strategy essentially like this: what's most important is ability to avoid making outs. Look for players who are good at that - focus on the stats that really matter. Find the ones who are good at that who are undervalued for some reason, and snap them up. Generally these people don't "look" like baseball players, so are discounted. And thus, your 2002 Oakland Athletics.

Of course, the A's haven't been much to look at in awhile, and I'm curious about how one would analyze Beane's tenure now. Lewis is an admirer, or was in 2002-03. I want to hear more about now (perhaps I should actually go look and see what he's written).

And yet, I say Lewis is an admirer, but he may not be entirely sold, and here was his comment to Beane that stood out, even amidst all the (lovely lovely) statistics: "Every player is different. Every player must be viewed as a special case. the sample size is always one" (p. 248).