50 books down, 50 to go...

At the start of the year, I set myself a goal to read 100 books in 2011. I know some people read more than that, but for most people, that's a lot - and for me it's a big target, especially as I have a full-time job that can take up a good 60-70 hours a week, plus freelance writing and many other commitments on top of that. So it's not like I have a lot of leisure time to read. But I am a fast reader, and I do love it.

I've also got into the habit of reading almost every day, even if it's only a few chapters, so it seemed like a 100 books goal was achievable, if still difficult. I estimate I read about 70 novels last year - I'd have weeks where I read three or four books, and weeks where I read none. So I thought if I could average two books per week, then my 100 books target would be achievable.

And hey, even if I didn't make it, I'd still have plenty of fun getting to 60, 70, 80 books, or wherever I ended up, after all. I'm pleased to say, as we've just ticked over halfway through the year, that I am bang on target. I started my 51st book yesterday (1 July). In six months I read 50 books. Not bad. I'm also trying to include plenty of new-to-me readers.

Here's the line-up thusfar (in some semblance of reading order):

• LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS by James Lee Burke
• IN PLAIN SIGHT by CJ Box
• PROMISED LAND by David Hewson
• THE EXECUTIONER by Jay Bennett
• THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN by James Lee Burke
• BURIED ALIVE by J. A. Kerley
• BOUND by Vanda Symon
• STILL MISSING by Chevy Stevens
• SHATTER THE BONES by Stuart MacBride
• FOLLOW THE MONEY by Peter Corris
• BORDERLANDS by Brian McGilloway
• A POLITICAL AFFAIR by Andrew Porteous
• THE MOON & FARMER MCPHEE by Margaret Mahy
• THE SENTRY by Robert Crais
• HOLLYWOOD HILLS by Joseph Wambaugh
• FRIENDLY FIRE by Michael Wall
• SHAOLIN BURNING by Ant Sang
• LIVE WIRE by Harlan Coben
• YOU'RE NEXT by Gregg Hurwitz
• CANDIED CRIME by Dorte Jakobsen
• THE CRIME OF HUEY DUNSTAN by James McNeish
• LOVE YOU MORE by Lisa Gardner
• THE FIFTH WITNESS by Michael Connelly
• MIXED BLOOD by Roger Smith
• PAYBACK by Simon Kernick
• SHADOW SISTER by Simone van der Vlugt
• SMILING JACK by Ken Catran
• CURLY FROM SHIRLEY by Emma Pullar
• CITY OF BONES by Michael Connelly
• THE JANISSARY TREE by Jason Goodwin
• DROP SHOT by Harlan Coben
• BLACK WATER by T. Jefferson Parker
• THE ATHENIAN MURDERS by Jose Carlos Somoza
• NO OPPORTUNITY WASTED by Phil Keoghan
• CARTE BLANCHE by Jeffery Deaver
• IRON HOUSE by John Hart
• KILLING HOUR by Andrew Gross
• LIFE'S GOLDEN TICKET by Brendan Burchard
• BLEACHERS by John Grisham
• THE KILLING PLACE by Tess Gerritsen
• THE WRECKAGE by Michael Robotham
• MYSTERY by Jonathan Kellerman
• EXACERBYTE by Cat Connor
• IT'S NOT HOW GOOD YOU ARE, IT'S HOW GOOD YOU WANT TO BE by Paul Arden
• RED WOLF by Liza Marklund
• THEODORE BOONE: THE ADBUCTION by John Grisham
• BACK OF BEYOND by CJ Box
• THE TROUBLED MAN by Henning Mankell
• BY ANY MEANS by Ben Sanders
• LETHAL DELIVERIES by Kenn Benn

That's the fifty books so far. I also read about five in the last few days of 2010, just before the New Year ticked over. At a quick skim, I've read 10 New Zealand books, and 40 from overseas (not a bad split, 20% local writers). I've read 44 books that come within crime/mystery/thriller, and six others (mainly non-fiction). So 88% of my reading this year has been crime/thriller - that perhaps is a little high, and I might have to purposely read a few other things to keep balance, although I'm happy with 75% or so being crime, because it's a genre I love reading. But it's always good to get some perspective too.

In terms of diversity of authors, I've read books by authors from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, USA, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Denmark and Spain. The books have been set in even more countries, as some authors have set books in other countries (eg British author Simon Kernick's book is set in the Phillipines, Jason Goodwin's book in 1830s Turkey, etc).

There were also 27 new-to-me authors in the 50 books (and 46 authors), which is great. The only authors to feature more than once so far are James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, and John Grisham (interestingly, in the latter case, neither book was one of the adult legal thrillers he's most famous for).

So at the halfway mark, I'm pretty happy with where things are.

I'd love to read your comments on my reading list so far