Sunday, February 08, 2009
The book audit.
I have mentioned on this blog some 35 books that I have read. Some books I have rated highly, some okay and others a clear MISS. I wondered what percentage of the books I have read I consider a Pass, so I decided to do an audit. Out of these 35 books I considered 26 a Pass and 9 a Fail, giving a 74% pass rate. That is not bad and shows that I have chosen my books wisely but there are some lemons out there! I would have liked a higher percentage pass rate but looking at the 9 failures, they each showed such promise due to content or critical acclaim. It is a bit of a gamble buying a book and I do not know how to increase my pass rate. Certainly taking notice of book awards clearly does not help! The Richard and Judy book club is also hit or miss! The back cover of the book can also be misleading. Other bloggers reviews of books are good though, because they have bought the book with their own cash and have read it in their own time.
Below is my 35 book audit with my Pass or Fail rating:
Pity the Nation - Lebanon at War by Robert Fisk - Pass
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins - Pass
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - Pass
Margrave of the Marshes by John and Sheila Ravenscroft (John Peel) - Fail
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie - Pass
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln - Pass
The Last Testament by Sam Bourne - Fail
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - Pass
Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie - Pass
Deception Point by Dan Brown - Fail
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany - Pass
Out by Natsuo Kirino - Pass
The Truth about Muhammad by Robert Spencer - Pass
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Pass
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris - Fail
Animal's People by Indra Sinha - Pass
the collectors by David Baldacci - Pass
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Pass
A Quiet Belief in Angels by R. J. Ellory - Pass
The Hundredth Man by Jack Kerley - Pass
The Mission Song by John le Carre - Pass
Severed by Simon Kernick. - Fail
Avenger by Frederick Forsyth - Pass
Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart - Pass
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid - Fail
In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar - Pass
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - Fail
simple genius by David Baldacci - Pass
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella - Pass
The Woods by Harlan Coben - Pass
Broken Skin by Stuart MacBride - Fail
Dead Man's Footsteps by Peter James - Pass
Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka - Pass
What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn - Fail
No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay - Pass
I have mentioned on this blog some 35 books that I have read. Some books I have rated highly, some okay and others a clear MISS. I wondered what percentage of the books I have read I consider a Pass, so I decided to do an audit. Out of these 35 books I considered 26 a Pass and 9 a Fail, giving a 74% pass rate. That is not bad and shows that I have chosen my books wisely but there are some lemons out there! I would have liked a higher percentage pass rate but looking at the 9 failures, they each showed such promise due to content or critical acclaim. It is a bit of a gamble buying a book and I do not know how to increase my pass rate. Certainly taking notice of book awards clearly does not help! The Richard and Judy book club is also hit or miss! The back cover of the book can also be misleading. Other bloggers reviews of books are good though, because they have bought the book with their own cash and have read it in their own time.
Below is my 35 book audit with my Pass or Fail rating:
Pity the Nation - Lebanon at War by Robert Fisk - Pass
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins - Pass
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - Pass
Margrave of the Marshes by John and Sheila Ravenscroft (John Peel) - Fail
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie - Pass
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln - Pass
The Last Testament by Sam Bourne - Fail
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - Pass
Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie - Pass
Deception Point by Dan Brown - Fail
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany - Pass
Out by Natsuo Kirino - Pass
The Truth about Muhammad by Robert Spencer - Pass
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Pass
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris - Fail
Animal's People by Indra Sinha - Pass
the collectors by David Baldacci - Pass
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Pass
A Quiet Belief in Angels by R. J. Ellory - Pass
The Hundredth Man by Jack Kerley - Pass
The Mission Song by John le Carre - Pass
Severed by Simon Kernick. - Fail
Avenger by Frederick Forsyth - Pass
Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart - Pass
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid - Fail
In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar - Pass
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - Fail
simple genius by David Baldacci - Pass
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella - Pass
The Woods by Harlan Coben - Pass
Broken Skin by Stuart MacBride - Fail
Dead Man's Footsteps by Peter James - Pass
Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka - Pass
What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn - Fail
No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay - Pass
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