In March I finished my reading list for 1963. These lists are the backbone of My Big Fat Reading Project. I had read some of the books in earlier times and did not chose to reread all of those but the total number of books read for 1963 is 57. I managed to complete the reading in one year.
This time I put together some stats just out of interest. I don't claim that these numbers mean anything more than to show the range of certain categories in my choice of books to read, except for the Bestsellers. Those ten books reflect the book buying activity of American readers according to Publisher's Weekly, the organization that compiled bestseller lists from 1912-1999.
Stats:
Books written by women: 4 out of 10 bestsellers; 2 out of 6 award winning books, 16 out of 37 books chosen by me. Totals: 22 out of 57.
Speculative fiction: 9
Books written for children or young adults: 4
Books written by people of color: 2 in the main list, 2 in the research list
Translated literature: 4 (Countries of origin: France, Norway, Hungary and Peru)
A majority of these titles are reviewed here on the blog. If you search for reviews and don't find one for a particular title it means I read the book before 2005 when I began the blog.
I publish the list here as part of my own record keeping and because some of you who follow the blog have requested that I do so. If there are any great books published in 1963 that I missed please do let me know.
READING LIST FOR 1963
BESTSELLERS
1. The Shoes of the Fisherman, Morris L
West
2. The Group, Mary McCarthy
3. Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters,
and Seymour, J D Salinger
4. Caravans, James A Michener
5. Elizabeth Appleton, John O’Hara
6. Grandmother and the Priests, Taylor
Caldwell
7. City of Night, John Rechy
8. The Glass-Blowers, Daphne du Maurier
9. The Sand Pebbles, Richard McKenna
10.
The
Battle of the Villa Fiorita, Rumer Godden
OTHERS
1. PULITZER: The Reivers, Faulkner
2. NEWBERY: A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine
L’Engle
3. CALDECOTT: The Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats
4. NBA: Morte D’Urban, J F Powers
5. HUGO: The Man in the High Castle,
Philip K Dick
6. EDGAR: Death and the Joyful Woman,
Ellis Peters
7. All the Colors of Darkness, Lloyd C
Biggle
8. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
9. The Benefactor, Susan Sontag
10.
A
Captive in the Land, James A Aldridge
11.
Cat’s
Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
12.
Children
of Capricorn, William Abrahams
13.
The
Colors of Space, Marion Zimmer Bradley
14.
The
Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan
15.
The
Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
16.
The
Force of Circumstance, Simone de Beauvoir
17.
The
Game-Players of Titan, Philip K Dick
18.
The
Girls of Slender Means, Muriel Spark
19.
Glide
Path, Arthur C Clarke
20.
Glory
Road, Robert A Heinlein
21.
The Ice
Palace, Tarjei Vesaas
22.
Joy in
the Morning, Betty Smith
23.
Leaving
Cheyenne, Larry McMurtry
24.
A Mind
to Murder, P D James
25.
The
Moon by Night, Madeleine L’Engle
26.
Mr
Stone and the Knights Companion, V S Naipaul
27.
Occasion
For Loving, Nadine Gordimer
28.
On Her
Majesty’s Secret Service, Ian Fleming
29.
Orphans
of the Sky, Robert A Heinlein
30.
Podkayne
of Mars, Robert A Heinlein
31.
The
Presidential Papers, Norman Mailer
32.
Run
River, Joan Didion
33.
Sabaria,
Gustav Rab
34.
The
Scent of Water, Elizabeth Goudge
35.
Shoo
Fly Girl, Lois Lenski
36.
A
Singular Man, J P Donleavy
37.
Sister
of the Bride, Beverly Cleary
38.
The
Tenants of Moonbloom, Edward Lewis Wallant
39.
The
Time of the Hero, Mario Vargas Llosa
40.
The
Unicorn, Iris Murdoch
41.
V,
Thomas Pynchon
42.
Witch
World, Andre Norton
BOOKS
READ FOR RESEARCH:
Path to
Power, LBJ #1, Robert A Caro
Means of
Ascent, LBJ #2, Robert A Caro
Master of
the Senate, LBJ #3, Robert A Caro
The
Rebellious Life of Mrs Rosa Parks,
Jeanne Theoharis
The
Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson
It's an impressive list for sure. Look forward to your year in '64 -- not sure what that year will entail. All the best.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan. I have my list made. Lots about the Cold War in the bestsellers. First novels by A S Byatt and Ben Bova. Favorites of mine like Iris Murdoch, J G Ballard, Elizabeth Bowen. And a couple new to me authors. Stay tuned.
DeleteYou should now have a very good picture in your mind of the year 1963.
ReplyDeleteI feel I do. Thank you Dorothy for following along, always reading my posts, and giving your comments.
DeleteCongrats on finishing your reading list for 1963!! That's an impressive list of books you've read. I'll be adding a few of the titles to my reading wishlist.
ReplyDeleteIt sure feels good to be done. I am already reading the third book on my 1964 list.
DeleteThat's such an impressive achievement! I've only read one - The Glass-Blowers - but there are a lot of others on your list that I would like to try. I'll look forward to seeing what you read for 1964.
ReplyDeleteThank you Helen. 1963 was such a long time ago that some of the books felt like historical fiction!
DeleteOn you go to 1964! It was great to follow 1963 along with you. Happy reading! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh I am glad to hear you liked following along. 1964 is going to have a big influence from the Cold War, I can already tell. So that will be interesting.
DeleteThat's my kind of year! :-)
Delete