Last year I drafted up a post with bookish stats and my top ten favorite books completed (not necessarily published) in the previous year.  I had so much fun looking back over my year of reading that I knew I had to repeat the exercise this year… only this time, I had even MORE pie chart fun!  Here’s 2013 by the numbers, followed by my top ten favorite books read this year.

In 2013, I read 118 books, for a total of 38,566 pages.  Of those books, 98 were fiction and 20 were non-fiction.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the different fiction genres I read:

(It’s worth noting that I assigned these categories myself.  There were probably some books that I assigned as “literary fiction” that someone else might call “general fiction,” or books I put into “classics” – like the Anne of Green Gables series – that another reader might consider “children’s.”  But this pie chart is based on my own impressions of what I read, so there you have it.)

Then, there’s the 20 non-fiction books:

(The “other” category included two knitting books, one book of poems, one advice book, and one travel book.)

Well, that was fun!  In fact, it was so much fun that I thought this year I’d make a few more pie charts, you know, for giggles.  First, I thought it would be neat to see where most of the books I read were set, geographically speaking:

A couple of things, I thought, were interesting about this chart.  For one, I thought England would wipe the floor with the rest of the categories, and it did win out with 38 of my books having English settings.  But the good old US of A was right behind, with 36!  I also read five books set in fictional realms, which is unusual for me.  (Note that the setting I chose was the main setting of the book.  So, for instance, Royal Blood and Naughty in Nice both got assigned to “Europe – Other,” because although the stories begin in England, Georgie spends most of her time on the Continent in both novels.  And A Tale of Two Cities was also assigned to “Europe – Other,” because the main action took place in Paris, although plenty happened in London, too.  If a book involved multiple settings, I just chose the setting where either the majority of the action took place, or where the most important events took place, as I saw fit.)

I also thought it would be fun to take note of how many books by male authors and how many by female authors I read:

Well, I’m definitely not that dude who only likes male authors!  Next year, I need to work on giving the guys a bit more attention, clearly.  (Note: this pie chart counts the number of books read, not the number of authors.  So authors by whom I read more than one book last year, got counted more than once.  For example, I read five books by Rick Riordan, so Rick Riordan counted five times for the guys.  I read eight books by L.M. Montgomery, so L.M. Montgomery counted eight times for the ladies.  Make sense?)

Since we also know that I have no willpower when it comes to the library, I thought it would be interesting to see where the books I read this year came from:

So, the vast majority were from the library – no surprise there!  (Twenty of the library books were from the Buffalo library; the rest hailed from Fairfax County.)  Maybe next year I’ll do a little more reading off my own shelves… but probably not.  I’m always going to be an enthusiastic library patron.

Whew!  Okay, I think that’s probably enough pie charts for now.  So onward to the last part of my 2013 reading retrospective: my top ten favorites, in no particular order.

What a year 2013 was!  I read some really amazing books, by some fantastic authors.  Can’t wait to see what 2014 will bring!

Whew!  Here we go – the final two volumes, and the epilogue (“Finale” as George Eliot calls it) of Middlemarch.  Warning: spoilers abound, and I’m going to tell you the ending.   If you’re planning to read Middlemarch yourself and don’t want it ruined, skip this post and come back on Wednesday!

Volume VII – Two Temptations

I almost thought this volume was misnamed, because it seemed to me that there were many more than just two temptations.  People were being tempted left and right!  Fred Vincy was tempted to go back to the gambling parlor, just to see what was going on with his old crowd.  Farebrother, upon learning that Fred might be up to his old tricks (he wasn’t) was tempted to let Fred backslide and then claim Mary Garth for himself.  But the main two temptations of the volume involved Lydgate and Bulstrode.

First, Lydgate.  The good doctor’s marriage is continuing to deteriorate, as he tries to convince Rosamond to adopt some austerity measures to stop their financial bleeding.  Rosamond is convinced that Lydgate is in the wrong – anyone who opposes Rosamond is necessarily in the wrong – and takes it upon herself to hinder his attempts to get their money situation under control, in any way she can.  Lydgate realizes two things simultaneously: his wife is determined to get in his way at every opportunity, and he is personally incapable of consciously doing anything that will make her unhappy.  Since she has made it clear that it would make her unhappy if Lydgate moved them to a more affordable house or sold off some of their luxurious furniture to pay down their creditors, Lydgate tries to get the money he needs in other ways.  He starts gambling, wins a bit, then begins to lose.  Fortunately, before things can really go downhill, Fred Vincy saves the day by dragging Lydgate out of the gambling den.  (And then gets roundly chewed out by Farebrother for being there in the first place… but it’s a good thing he was, since he managed to save Lydgate from himself.)  Lydgate, out of desperation, appeals to Bulstrode for a loan.  Bulstrode coolly and unsympathetically suggests that Lydgate declare bankruptcy.  Thanks for nothing, Old Nick.

Speaking of Bulstrode, he’s the other victim of temptation in this volume.  He’s been trying to keep his reputation secure from Raffles’ tale-telling, and not entirely successfully, as Caleb Garth comes to him and resigns his post as Stone Court’s manager.  Looks like Raffles got to Garth… but fortunately for Bulstrode, Garth is an ethical man who has no intention of spreading Raffles’ story around Middlemarch, even if he himself doesn’t feel comfortable working for Bulstrode any longer.  Soon after this encounter, Bulstrode learns that Raffles has been taken ill (alcohol poisoning, big shock there) and is lying insensible at Stone Court.  Bulstrode summons Lydgate to attend his tormentor and sits up with the good-for-nothing himself, resolved to carry out Lydgate’s instructions for saving Raffles’ life even while he contemplates how useful it would be if Raffles would die. Worried that Raffles will do some ranting and raving in front of Lydgate, Bulstrode reconsiders his position on Lydgate’s loan request and quickly writes a check for one thousand pounds.  Lydgate gratefully accepts without thinking too much about the possible reasons behind Bulstrode’s sudden change of heart.  Lydgate leaves and Bulstrode retires to bed, leaving Raffles in the care of the housekeeper, who questions Lydgate’s orders not to administer any alcohol to the patient.  Without telling the housekeeper to do one thing or the other, Bulstrode lets her know where the brandy is located in the wine cellar.  She goes ahead and gives Raffles brandy, and he dies.

Bulstrode and Lydgate enjoy a brief period of happiness – Bulstrode is thrilled that Raffles has gone to the grave and, presumably, taken his tale with him, and Lydgate pays off his debts with much relief.  But soon both men can’t fail to notice that folks are avoiding them.  Together, they attend a town meeting to discuss efforts to improve sanitation and prevent cholera… but the meeting quickly turns into a condemnation of Bulstrode, for his actions (looks like Raffles spread the word after all), and Lydgate, for presumably accepting a bribe from Bulstrode and either concealing or perhaps colluding in the efforts to speed along Raffles’ demise.  All of Middlemarch gangs up on Bulstrode and Lydgate, and everyone believes them guilty as sin… except for one person.  Dorothea Casaubon.  And if there is one person you’d like in your corner, it’s Dorothea.

Volume VIII – Sunset and Sunrise

Dorothea ends Volume VII determined to clear Lydgate’s name.  She likes him personally, she knows he’s a friend of the Farebrothers, and she believes wholeheartedly in his work with the fever hospital.  But she’s hindered in her detecting efforts by the well-meaning cabal of Mr. Brooke, Sir James, and the Cadwalladers, who advise her against getting involved.  Dorothea listens for a little while, but finds that she has the perfect opportunity to find out what happens when Lydgate visits her to explain that he is planning to leave Middlemarch and will not be continuing his work with the hospital.  Dorothea admits that she has heard the gossip about Lydgate and Bulstrode and asks him to tell her, in his own words, what happened.  Lydgate, overwhelmed by the first expression of support he’s heard since the scandal breaks, confesses everything about his marital difficulties, his financial woes, and the circumstances of his treatment of Raffles and acceptance of Bulstrode’s loan.

True to form, Dorothea has a plan.  She first advances Lydgate one thousand pounds, enabling him to return Bulstrode’s money and get out from under the taint of supposed bribery.  She then spreads the word to her uncle, Mr. Farebrother, and the other men of her acquaintance that Lydgate has told her his side of the story and that she believes him.  Next, Dorothea undertakes a visit to Rosamond, to assure her that her husband still has friends who support him in Middlemarch.  Unfortunately, Dorothea stumbles onto a scene she immediately wishes unseen: the sight of Rosamond throwing herself at Will Ladislaw.  Dorothea stumbles out, blinded by misery, and doesn’t witness the next part: where Will scathingly rejects Rosamond and manages to throw the first verbal darts ever to lodge in that absurdly thick skin of hers.

Dorothea passes a miserable night, but resolves to return to Rosamond’s home the next day and finish her business of assuring her of local support for Lydgate.  When she is announced, Rosamond is terrified, wondering what this woman she has wronged has come back to say or do to her.  Dorothea is grace itself and the two women cling to each other in their sorrow.  Meanwhile, Rosamond confesses that she was the one to put the moves on Will, and that Will’s heart is entirely Dorothea’s.  Dorothea is intensely relieved and she urges Rosamond to look back to her own husband for love and affection.  Will, upon learning that Rosamond has explained things to Dorothea, rushes to his love’s side and they are immediately engaged.  Dorothea convinces Will that she doesn’t mind giving up her wealth – Casaubon’s money is nothing but a weight on her.  (And, anyway, it’s not like they’ll be destitute; Dorothea does have her own personal fortune still.)  She promises that she’ll learn to economize… and one expects she will be a darn sight better at it than La Rosamond.  Of course, Dorothea’s family and “friends” (the Chettams and Cadwalladers) are shocked and dismayed at the engagement, but Uncle Brooke feels himself powerless to stop it.  And so Dorothea has her intellectual companion at last.

Finale

The quick finale gives us a brief glimpse of the main characters’ future.  Fred Vincy and Mary Garth live a long, happy, noisy, child-blessed life together.  Rosamond is happier than she deserves to be, with Lydgate leaving Middlemarch after all and becoming a wealthy, successful doctor in London and at a resort on the Continent, but Lydgate feels deeply his failure to accomplish what he set out to do with his hospital, and dies young.  (Don’t worry about La Rosamond.  She remarries, more money this time.)

As for Dorothea and Will, they live a simple, happy life together.  They have a son, who provides the means of reconciling Dorothea to her family.  (Celia can’t resist a baby.)  Will enters politics and Dorothea’s life is quiet, but she gets to be the helpmate she always wanted to be.

Thoughts on Middlemarch

My one regret about reading Middlemarch is that it took me so long to finally open this book.  It’s been sitting on my shelf for years, and on my “to-read” list for even longer than that.  I was intimidated by the length of the book (silly, since I blazed through some Tolstoy chunksters with no issue), by the setting in a time period that isn’t especially familiar to me, and by the multiple complex story lines.

When I finally started it, I found something out: Middlemarch is an easy read.  Oh, it’s beautifully written and meticulously plotted and absolutely deserves its place in the canon.  But here’s the thing.  The characters are real.  Dorothea, Casaubon, Lydgate, the Chettams, the Vincys, the Garths and Farebrothers, the Bulstrodes, and all the supporting characters who make up the texture of Middlemarch – they’re all real.  And Middlemarch itself is a layered, complicated, oh-so-real place.  And that makes this book very easy to read.  It only takes a few sentences to hook you and pull you in, and you find yourself sinking deeper and deeper into Eliot’s rich world.  And that’s how you find yourself turning page after page until you realize you’ve read 150 pages straight and haven’t actually seen or heard anything in “the real world” for hours.  This is that kind of book.

I already know I’m going to re-read Middlemarch.  Not right away, because I want to let it sink in a bit more, since I’ll never again have the pleasure of reading it for the first time.  But I’m going to re-read it.  And then I’m going to re-read it again.  And again.  And again and again for the rest of my life.  This is now one of my favorite books.

Buy it!  Middlemarch, by George Eliot, available here (not an affiliate link) or support your local indie bookstore.

I’m submitting this post as my review of Middlemarch for The Classics Club.  Thanks for coming along on this journey, and Beth, thanks again for hosting this readalong!

Volume V – The Dead Hand

The fifth book, “The Dead Hand,” focuses mainly on Dorothea and Casaubon’s marriage, which is continuing to deteriorate.  When the volume opens, Dorothea has decided to seek out Lydgate and find out exactly what he has told Casaubon about the nature of his illness.  Dorothea presents herself at Lydgate’s house, where she does not find the doctor, but she does find his wife entertaining Will Ladislaw.  Confused and dismayed, wondering how many other women (aside from herself and Rosamond Lydgate) have entertained Ladislaw alone, Dorothea flees to the fever hospital, where she finds Lydgate.  Lydgate confirms that he has given Casaubon the full information about his condition, and then solicits a donation to the hospital from Dorothea.

Knowing that Casaubon is aware of his condition, Dorothea devotes her attention to keeping the old windbag as calm and serene as possible.  Casaubon, for his part, has decided that he must involve Dorothea more fully in his work if he is to have a chance of completing his Key to All Mythologies before he goes to see for himself which mythologies are true.  He keeps Dorothea busy, even waking her up in the middle of the night to read and make notes for him.  One night, Casaubon is oddly energized.  He asks Dorothea to promise him that after he departs this life, she will not do anything which he finds “repugnant.”  Basically, he wants to tie her down even as a widow.  Dorothea balks at giving this promise in the middle of the night and assures Casaubon that she will answer him the next day.  She believes that he intends to extract a promise from her that she will carry on his work after he is gone.  Dorothea has started to doubt the genius of the Key to All Mythologies, and she has no interest in being yoked to the project for the rest of her life – even if she would have happily helped a living Casaubon with it as long as necessary.  (My personal feeling is that Casaubon was thinking of Will Ladislaw when he asked for this promise – but such a thought doesn’t enter Dorothea’s somewhat naïve mind.)

The next morning, Dorothea still doesn’t feel ready to give her answer.  Casaubon informs her that he is going for a walk and she can come to find him when she’s ready.  Pitying the old grump, Dorothea decides that she will promise Casaubon whatever he wants.  She hurries out to the yew tree walk, where she finds her husband, but (spoiler alert!) it’s too late for her to promise him anything.

Going through Casaubon’s will, Sir James and Uncle Brooke discover that he recently added a codicil stating that all of the property he was leaving to Dorothea would be forfeit upon her marriage to Will Ladislaw… but not anyone else.  Sir James and Mr. Brooke are shocked and disgusted by the codicil, which they consider ungentlemanly.  They worry that Dorothea’s reputation will be compromised by the imputation, which all Middlemarch will take, that there is something inappropriate between her and Will Ladislaw.  Dorothea, when she learns of the codicil, is shocked as well, and dismayed that Casaubon hid this jealousy from her.  As for marrying Will… well, that hadn’t occurred to Dorothea.  (I’ll bet it will now.)  Will, for his part, feels he can’t marry Dorothea unless he makes something of himself.  So… nothing to worry about?  (Famous last words.)

There are a few side trips in this volume, mainly discussing Mr. Brooke’s continuing political aspirations, which serve as a platform for George Eliot to discuss the economic issues of the day (whilst adding a little bit of humor) and Lydgate’s problems with the medical establishment in Middlemarch.  Lydgate’s well-meaning but thoughtless comments about doctors who run up big bills for “cures,” read as harsh criticism by the newcomer, and the local doctors don’t appreciate it – pitting Lydgate and Bulstrode against the rest of the community, and potentially jeopardizing the fever hospital unless they can drum up some more donations and some more visiting physicians.  Oh, and speaking of Bulstrode, he’s purchased Stone Court from Mr. Rigg Featherstone, and seems to be sitting pretty… until Rigg Featherstone’s stepfather, one Mr. Raffles, appears and seems to have something on Mr. Bulstrode.  What kind of damaging information he possesses, I can only begin to speculate… but I’ll bet we find out soon, because Raffles doesn’t seem the type to let go.

Volume VI – The Widow and the Wife

Volume VI sees Dorothea returning to Lowick to take up her role as single mistress of the estate.  She spends the beginning of her widowhood with her sister, Celia, until she can’t stand to spend any more time ogling Celia’s baby.  Meanwhile, Sir James, Mrs. Cadwallader, and the local gentry scheme to marry Dorothea off to a suitable aristocrat.  Their plotting comes from a good place – Casaubon’s unwarranted suspicion, memorialized in his obnoxious codicil, could compromise Dorothea’s reputation and the sooner she gets married again – and to someone appropriate – the better.  Dorothea, for her part, assures Celia that she has no intention of marrying anyone ever again.

Meanwhile, Fred Vincy is in search of a future, too.  Fred’s hopes of marrying Mary Garth appear to hinge on his finding an appropriate career.  Mary has told him, in no uncertain terms, that she will never marry him if he becomes a clergyman – the career his father has sent him to university for – because, let’s face it, we all know that Fred would be an absolutely abominable clergyman.  Fred asks Mr. Farebrother, a Garth family friend and the new Vicar of Lowick, to find out if Mary has any feeling for him whatsoever, regardless of his career – unwittingly putting the poor Vicar in a very uncomfortable position, because he had cherished hopes of making Mary “Mrs. Farebrother” one day.  Mary, also not realizing Farebrother’s feelings for her, admits that she does have feelings for Fred.  That’s all Fred needs to get himself up and on the job market… and he ends up convincing Mary’s father, Mr. Garth, to hire him and teach him the land management business.  Fred’s family is dismayed, thinking he’s chosen a position that will bring him down in the world, but Fred doesn’t care.  As long as he has the hope of winning Mary, he could dig ditches.  (Am I the only one who is kind of starting to root for Fred and Mary?)

Meanwhile, Rosamond Vincy, who married “up” to become Mrs. Lydgate, is going through a bumpy patch.  While entertaining one of Lydgate’s aristocratic relatives, she goes out riding (against Lydgate’s wishes) and ends up losing her pregnancy as a result.  Lydgate waits until Rosamond has recovered before giving her more bad news: they’re deeply in debt and will have to sell off some of their household furnishings.  Rosamond has a not-very-becoming temper tantrum over this.  When I started this book, I was all set to sympathize with Rosamond, but she is seriously bugging me.  I just have no patience with risky pregnancy behavior.  Rosamond, you are dead to me.

Another Middlemarcher who’s having some serious trouble in this volume?  Mr. Bulstrode.  We finally find out the secret that Raffles has been using to blackmail the banker (spoilers ahead!): back in the day, when he was very young, Bulstrode married a wealthy widow and managed to contrive inheriting all of her property, by hiding the fact from her that her runaway daughter was still alive.  (What a jerk!)  He justified this by casting Sarah, the daughter, as an unrighteous enemy of God, and convinced himself that it would be serving God to keep Sarah’s rightful inheritance from her.  Lovely!  /sarcasm.  Turns out, Sarah had a son, and Raffles knows about him, too.  Bulstrode decides that the only way to protect his righteous tush is to bring Sarah’s son in on it, give him some money (although he has “no legal claim” as Bulstrode repeats over and over) and hope he’s satisfied.  But there’s a little wrinkle: Sarah’s son wants nothing to do with the money.  His inheritance came from the proceeds of a business that was, maybe, on the wrong side of the law, and was certainly unsavory, and this young man doesn’t feel that he could preserve his honor or his reputation as a gentleman if he takes this dirty money.  The name of this principled guy?  Will Ladislaw.

Poor Will.  It’s one thing after another for him.  He’s already miserable enough when La Rosamond lets slip the gossip about Casaubon’s codicil – news to Will.  Given these new developments, he decides that he can’t delay leaving Middlemarch anymore, but he feels he has to see Dorothea one more time, to assure her that he’s never done anything blameworthy.  Will and Dorothea are thrown together when she unexpectedly turns up at Uncle Brooke’s house while Will is searching for something in the library, and they both leave the interview pretty discontented.  Will says more than he is really willing to say about his true feelings for Dorothea, and Dorothea (true to form) misinterprets his statements.  She thinks that maybe Will is saying he cares for her… but he could just as easily be talking about Rosamond Lydgate.  Both feel the gulf widening between them (ah, young love and its inability to just say what it really means!) and the volume ends with Dorothea returning to Lowick and Will quitting Middlemarch – forever, he believes.

Thoughts Thus Far

Ugh, Casaubon.  What a creep!  It’s bad enough that he made Dorothea miserable while he was alive – he has to control her from beyond the grave, too?  Jerrrrrrrrk.  As I tweeted, the lawyer in me immediately started brainstorming ways that Dorothea could get around the codicil.  (“Gift” Will all the property, and then marry him?)  Too bad I don’t know anything about the justice system in 1830s England.  And too bad those two can’t seem to just say what they mean to each other.

And double ugh, Rosamond!  I want to pity her – after all, she’s never known anything but indulgence, so why should she be expected to immediately grasp the necessity of budgeting?  But I just can’t get on board with this spoiled brat.  Rosamond’s selfishness has too many consequences – plunging Lydgate into debt, causing her to lose a pregnancy because she capriciously went riding with Mr. Rich Relation – for me to feel for her.  Even though Lydgate is partially to blame for his financial problems, he has my hearty sympathies for being stuck with this harpy.

Are you following along with #Middlemarch13?  What did you think of Volumes V and VI?  Lots of action here!  Stay tuned for the conclusion of the readalong, coming next Monday.