Books « A Progressive on the Prairie

An updated snapshot of the book-buying public

A survey conducted by an advertising firm at the end of last year seeks to give us a picture of book buying in America. I can’t vouch for the statistical validity of the internet-based survey, which had 2,200 respondents, It claims to have a 1.5 percent margin of error.

So what did the survey results [...]

Pretty much 0-fer again

Last year I read nearly 150 books, with fiction (74) slightly exceeding nonfiction (67). In the latter category, about one third of the books were biographies or autobiographies. So how did I do in voting for the National Book Critics Circle awards? Once again an 0-fer in the finalists in four main categories: fiction, biography [...]

Fighting the urge

Remember my “nonresolution” to read what I want when I feel like it? Given that I posted it just 10 days ago, temptation has already reared its head. It sneakily arrived in the mailbox.

When I got home last night there were two catalogs from a major publishing house of forthcoming books on a number [...]

My nonresolutions

The only New Year’s resolution I think I’ve ever kept is the last one I made. Years ago, I resolved to not make New Year’s resolutions and have been very good at it since. (I don’t remember if that was before or after I decided that each Lenten season I would give up giving up [...]

January Bibliolust

It’s the time of year where we look both forward and back. In looking back, I am surprised at how closely the percentage of Bibliolust books read last year is to the all time percentage. I doubt there’s any significance but I do find it interesting. Looking forward means half the books this month actually [...]

2011 in books — By the numbers

Want to know what happens when I combine a lengthy vacation with our “empty nest”? It means I read more books than in any year since I started keeping track in 1976. This year I read 147 books, compared to the prior record of 127 last year. And although the number may be somewhat squishy, [...]

2011 in books — My favorites

As longtime readers likely are aware, I don’t do my “best of” for books until the year has ended. I always fear I am going to read THE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR after I post that if I do so before year-end.

This is another year, though, where I can say nothing in the [...]

So, how many pages are in a book?

This year for the first time I decided to keep track of how many pages were in the books I read. I never did before because I figured it wasn’t fair to include the index and didn’t want to go through the hassle of counting pages, subtracting index-like matter and adding in prefaces and the [...]

Books as gifts — in April

Anyone who is thinking about giving a book for a gift is thinking of Christmas. But four months from now is the perfect opportunity to give someone a book as World Book Night premiers in the U.S. on April 23, 2012. And now we know the 30 books that will be given away and the [...]

Newton’s first law sets in

I’m behind on writing reviews and have not been implementing ideas for other posts. I have several review books lined up ahead of even more books I’ve been wanting to read for a while. Still, I find a touch of consolation in the fact the same thing is happening in London.

I actually have a [...]

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An updated snapshot of the book-buying public

Pretty much 0-fer again

Fighting the urge

My nonresolutions

January Bibliolust

2011 in books — By the numbers

2011 in books — My favorites

So, how many pages are in a book?

Books as gifts — in April

Newton’s first law sets in

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