I am 90 years old and writing a life history for my friends and relatives. An important part of those memories is the book reading I have been doing over the last 50 years.
Having spent my whole professional life in computer-based analysis, I have built my 1600 book library in Goodreads and Library Thing so I could analyze those books very carefully. I am searching for an understanding about what I call my Reading Fingerprint…
We all know that every reader gravitates to genres, or topics, or themes in a mixture that is as unique to them as their physical fingerprint.
I discovered that at the core of mine is the desire to read Literary Mysteries along with a mix of underlying sub-genres.
The process that I followed can’t be described in this context, but I can say that a good representation is a group of 52 books which had the most impact on my understanding of who I am as a reader. A picture of the covers of those book is presented now.
I need to mention that for many of these books, I have read many additional books. These are simply the first books when I discovered the author. Some of these other books might be a higher rating, so look at this list as a starting point for the author. Kate Atkinson might be my personal favorite author, but all of these authors are favorites of mine.
While this picture of my books is OK, I find more emotional impact by the same display as found in this link My Milestone Books - Google Slides
You are amazing - not just for what you’ve read, catalogued and organized in the book cover representation included in your post, but also because you’re including your love of reading in your life history.
By the way, several of the book covers you selected reminded me of books I neglected to add to my reading list. Thanks so much for sharing.
Your project just blew my mind, Joe! I’ve read 13 of the books on your list. I love the fact that this has been a lifelong journey for you. The compilation is so intriguing and colorful and makes me wish I had kept better track of the books I have deeply enjoyed. But, it’s not too late to start. Thank you most sincerely for sharing such a personal, integral part of your life with us.
Wow, that truly is amazing. I’ve only read 11 but the rest are now on my TBR! But beyond that, just the effort and tracking and thought you put into this project is astonishing. I’m seriously impressed. You have used your time on the planet well!
You might be surprised at some of those books being on my list… For example, Possession is a top book for almost everyone, but in my case, it was an eye opener to me, who thought they were strictly a mystery reader.
It definitely isn’t too late to do what I did. While I have books earlier than 2000, I’ll never forget the book My Life as A Fake by Peter Carey. Possession is another one that I’ll never forget. Enlightenment from this year, in my mind had almost as big an impact.
I too have been pleasantly surprised when I enjoy reading a book that I would never have thought could be my cup of tea. The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern was just such a book for me.I do tend to get stuck in a genre rut at times. Enjoying something out of my normal reach of established interest is refreshing and a reminder that keeping my focus too narrow might actually rob me of reading books that delight.
Joe, I’ve been thinking about my Reading Fingerprint since reading your post. Perhaps like you, mine changed throughout the decades. My youngest self would display book covers of the many Nancy Drew mysteries consumed. Then came the teenage period of Victoria Holt, et. al. During a grad school lit class I recognized my huge gap in any and everything sci fi and fantasy. Another student, who couldn’t comprehend this genre lack, quickly produced a list of must-reads. Asimov, Tolkien, Bradbury and many more. Four+ decades later and my Reading Fingerprint has expanded to include historical, dystopian, more mysteries especially fond of Scandinavian authors, international authors, and the occasional Booker and Pulitzer winners from the past. Isn’t it wonderful to have choices in this ever expanding reading universe? We are so fortunate to have access to books and the freedom to choose what we want to read. This is the greatest adventure of being a lifelong reader.
You are so right about our book reading journey. I have always been a mystery reader, but not just any old mystery. It has to be well written, and my preference isn’t to figure out who did the crime. Always more about what was going on with the people in the story. I really prefer non-crime mysteries. My genre list has grown over the years like yours, but I am not fond of dystopian, postmodern or thrillers for example. That’s why no one has exactly the same reading fingerprint. My children and grandchildren are really into sci-fi, and I have occasional interests in them.
Joe, Well done! How interesting to see the journey of your reading. I so appreciate that you have been able to share this information with your family so that they too will have the memories.
Reading really is the best at opening up different viewpoints, attitudes and insight.
I certainly learned a lot about myself through reading and my subsequent thinking about the reasons why some books really clicked with me. I’m sure that a lot of my learning through the years came from reading certain books. That is really what my reading fingerprint is all about. By the way those covers represent growth through the years as they are displayed by the date of reading the book, starting early and ending with the books in 2024.
This is awesome, Joe. I am going to take the same approach. I have a list of 36 authors who I consider Favorite. I’ll start there. I will identify the first read of each of these authors on Goodreads as My Reading Fingerprint.
