Books I've read in 2013

I read almost 35 books in 2013! That is totally a record for my book-reading--over twice the normal amount. In 2012, which was a 'typical' year, I read about 14 books. But thanks to my degree, my comprehensive exams, lots of bus rides, and a month in Ireland with a lot of airplane time, I got a lot of reading done. So many of the books were about sound art and multimedia for my doctoral exams- I have a much better grasp on many topics that I've always loved, but previously only known at surface-level.

I don't have a lot of qualifications as to what constitutes a 'book', but it has to be more than just pictures. Novels are just as included as small books, though, as well as reference books/non-fiction.

Some of my favorites from the past year were:

Sound (from the Documents of Contemporary Art Series)
Francis Bacon's Studio- Coppock
The Soundscape- R. Murray Schaffer
Janet Cardiff- A Survey of Works
Two Boys Kissing- Levithan
Kafka on the Shore- Murakami

There were also two great graphic novels-slash-storytelling books in the mix:
Marbles, by Ellen Forney
The Principles of Uncertainty- Maira Kalman

I love when the format of a book surprises me. Kalman's book reads like a memoir, but is full of paintings, photographs, hand-written stories, historical tidbits, and has the feeling of looking through someone's scrapbook. I liked it so much I read it twice this year.

I don't even want to know how many music albums I've listened to, or how many electronic music projects from students I graded. Some numbers are just best left unknown.