January Wrap-Up & P.O.M. Award

Illustration by Abby Wright

(Given that it's 60 degrees here in Southern Indiana at the end of January that picture isn't as representative of the month as it normally is....)
 
I'm ready for another year of tracking reading progress and statistics for all things bookish on the Block. I will also be contributing to Kerrie's Crime Fiction Pick of the Month. So, here we go--let's take a look at January....


Total Books Read: 14
Total Pages: 2908
[That's a bit of drop from last year (15 books and 3709 pages. But still a good start to the new year.]
Average Rating: 3.23 stars  
Top Rating: 4 stars 
Percentage by Female Authors: 43%
Percentage by US Authors: 57%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors:  7%
Percentage Mystery:  64% 
Percentage Fiction: 86%
Percentage written 2000+: 7%
Percentage of Rereads: 7%
Percentage Read for Challenges: 100% {It's easy to have every book count for a challenge when you sign up for as many as I do.}    
Number of Challenges fulfilled so far: 2--final posts coming (7%)


AND, as mentioned above, Kerrie had us all set up for another year of Crime Fiction Favorites. What she was looking for is our Top Mystery Read for each month. January found me with nine mysteries and one true crime novel--which is pretty good considering that I was participating in two science fiction reading events. Here are the books read:


Hunt with the Hounds by Mignon G. Eberhart (2 stars) 
Murder at Arroways by Helen Reilly (3.75 stars) 
The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth (3 stars) 
Red for Murder by Harold Kemp (3.5 stars) 
Hardly a Man Is Now Alive by Herbert Brean (3 stars) 
Puzzle in Petticoats by Samuel M. Kootz (3.5 stars) 
Four Against the Bank of England by Ann Huxley [true crime] (3.75 stars) 
Which Doctor by Edward Candy (3.75 stars) 
The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont by Robert Barr (2 stars) 
Who's Calling? by Helen McCloy (4 stars)

As we can see, the only four star winner in the mystery category this month is Helen Mccloy with Who's Calling, one of my Dell Mapback editions. 

It is, in part, about a poltergeist. A poltergeist who plays tricks on Archie Cranford's fiancee Frieda Frey. A poltergeist who calls her up and threatens mayhem if she comes to Willow Spring to meet Archie's mother and friends. A poltergeist who knocks on doors and disappears, who wrecks her guest room and writes messages in in lipstick, and who leaves ugly caricatures strewn about. I enjoyed both the psychological elements as well as the political commentary. One of the primary characters is Mark Lindsay, a senator who will soon be up for re-election. Lindsay is weary of the political scene--at least as he is forced to play it. And he gives us a nice peek at the way the politics of the day work (not so different from now). The mystery itself was entertaining and kept me thinking the entire time. McCloy provides interesting characters and Dr. Willing is always welcome as an investigator.