Tag: reading

What I Read in February

My official goal is to read 100 books this year…but I’d like to read more like 125 or so. I read a lot last year, but I don’t want to get overly optimistic this year, what with grad school, work, training for three fall races…you know, LIFE.

In February, I read 10 books, 2 less than January, for a total of 22 for the year.

cover-pachinko

Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. (Read to review.) I found this book engrossing and sad at the same time–such persecution the Koreans faced and Sunya’s life was full of sorrow–but well-worth the read.

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Portal of a Thousand Worlds, by  Dave Duncan. (Read to review.) Asian cultures fascinate me–I’d love to visit–but sometimes the “rules” are so complex as to be mind-boggling. I loved the layers of this novel.

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I Wanna Be Loved by You, by Heather Hiestand. (Read to review.) I love reading anything set in the 20s, hence my interest in this book.

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The Weight of Him, by Ethel Rohan. (Read to review.) I also love Ireland and anything set there is guaranteed to catch my eye. This novel deals with…weighty…issues like suicide, depression, and eating disorders. It captures the struggles within a family, as well as a man’s struggle with his weight.

fatal-option

Fatal Option, by Chris Beakey. (Read to review).  This is one of the few books I’ve ever read where all the characters are “bad guys” in some shape, form, or fashion. It’s about impossible choices—and their repercussions.

Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton. (Classical book of the month.) Surprisingly engrossing, and the ending was NOT what I expected.

Breath, Eyes, Memory, by Edwidge Danticat. (Different culture book of the month.) About a family of women from/in Haiti. Not a happy book, but a book about family relationships among women, and it will give you a glimpse into Haitian culture.

Amish White Christmas Pie, by Wanda E. Bruntstetter. (From the TBR pile.)

God’s Plan for When You Can’t Sleep, by Christina Vinson. (Spiritual book for the month.)

Paper and Fire, by Rachel Caine. (Just because.) I LOVE these books! Can’t wait for the third book to come out. Such a unique premise—where the Library in Alexandria still exists and controls the flow of information in the world, and the main character is from a family who trades in illegal books.

 

What I Read in January

January was a pretty good month for keeping up with my goals. Well…most of them, anyway. I did keep up with my writing and reading goals, so I’m calling it a win. I read 12 books for the month.

  1.  The Fifth Petal, by Brunonia Barry. (Read to review.) I liked this book a lot:  elements of the supernatural, a mystery, and a town so vibrant that I want to visit.
  2. A Mad Zombie Party, by Gena Showalter. (Read just because.) Loved this series. Loved these characters. Loved this book.
  3. The Road to Enchantment, by Kaya McLaren. (Read to review.)  The New Mexico landscape is as much of a character as the actual characters. Deals with difficult times in an almost-lyrical way. Well-worth reading.
  4. Dawn Study, by Maria V. Snyder. (Read to review, and because I love this series.) Very sad to see this series end. The wold, characters, magic system…everything is fantastic! Highly recommended. (But please, start with the very first book, Poison Study.)
  5. Firstlife, by Gena Showalter. (Read just because.) It occurs to me that I had a thing for Gena Showalter this month…Fair enough. Unique concept, compelling characters, and awesome worldbuilding. I want to be Gene Showalter when I grow up (as a writer)!
  6. Ink and Bone, by Rachel Caine. (Read just because.) I’m a huge Rachel Caine fan, and when she did an event nearby, I was so there! This first book was so good I had to hide the second one from myself (or I’d never get anything else done)!
  7. Unpunished, by Lisa Black. (Read to review.) Not a bad book, but I would have been better off reading the first novel in the series…first.
  8. The Sky Between You and Me, by Catherine Alene. (Forthcoming review.) So…I didn’t realize this is written in a sort of free-form/free-verse, stream-of-consciousness style. At first, I was off-put by this, but then the story really drew me in, and I enjoyed it a lot.
  9. The Edge, by Fleur Camacho. (Read just because.) This has been hanging out on my Kindle for a while. I liked the premise, but the delivery felt a little bit patchy and underdeveloped. Plus, the world is based on something that I have a fundamental problem with—which is my problem—but did give me some reservations about the story when I realized it.
  10. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad. (Classic book of the month.) Um…this pretty much made no impression on me.
  11. Behold the Dreamers, by Imbolo Mbue. (My different-culture book for the month.) I’d heard some good things about this novel, and, for personal reasons, wanted to read it. I found it both inspiring and a bit sad, but very evocative. The dialect is so well-done and musical, that I could almost hear it! In my experience, it captures the Cameroonian mindset extremely well (Makes sense, since the author is from Limbe.).
  12. Uninvited, by Lysa TerKeurst. (Spiritual book of the month.) Really fantastic book, about dealing with all sorts of rejection.

How I Did in 2016…and Goals for 2017

happy-2017

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had/is having a good holiday weekend.

This is, of course, the obligatory re-hash of my 2016 goals, as well as a public declaration of my goals for 2017.

In 2016, my goals were:

Writing:

1) Finish Witches HTRYN. Didn’t happen. I started work on it, and realized that I have to re-write the story from scratch (mostly).

2) Finish 1st draft of Siren Song. Done! (More or less.)

3) Finish 1st draft of The Fall.   Nope. I did write some of it, but not much.

4) Start Camelot  Done! (To the tune of 1 chapter, a sort-of prologue, and some brainstorming.

5) Revise Casting Shadows. Didn’t even look at it.

6) Finish copyediting classes and make X dollars at it per month. Also no, although I did work on the classes some.

7) Have 500 followers on this blog. Only up to 314.

8) Have 200 followers on my personal blog. Only up to 199.

Reading:

1) Read Gone with the Wind. Done!

2) Read 1 book per month from my TBR shelf. Done!

3) Read all books on the reading list for my American Women Writers class (8 total). Done!

4) Read one classic per month. Done!

5) Read one book of poetry. Done!

6) Read 2 books per month to review. Done!

7) Read one inspirational book per month. Done!

8) Read 75 books total. Done! Actually, I read 128 books—WAY over my goal—which I’m pretty happy about. You can check out my books on the 2016 Goodreads challenge here.

Goals for 2017

Writing:

1) Finish draft of The Fall.

2)  Finish draft of Camelot.

3)  Finish Witches revision.

4)  Self-pub something or find agent.

5)  Revise Chasing Shadows.

6)  Publish/sub Chasing Shadows.

7) Do/win NaNo (with the Southern Fic story).

Reading

1)  Read one book per month set in a different culture or by an author from a different culture.

2)  Read 100 books.

3)  Read one classic per month.

4) Read one spiritual book per month.

5) Review 5 books per month.

6) Read one book from TBR pile every other month.

7)  Read Battlefield Earth.

What I Read in September

labyrinth-lost

Labyrinth Lost, by Zoraida Cordova (Read to review.). Loved this!

Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert (Read for school, and as one of my classics for the month.)

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Cutter Boy, by Cristy Watson (Read to review.). Quick, good read about a difficult topic.

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Darcy Moon and the Aroona Frogs, by Catherine Carvell (Read to review.) I didn’t realize this was a middle-grade book, but it was enjoyable, with a good message.

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The Sunlight Pilgrims, by Jenni Fagan (Read to review.) Wow. This novel is extremely well-done! Unique setting, and the characters are fascinating.

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Tracing the Bones, by Elise Miller (Read to review.) This book was both intriguing and painful to read.

Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles (Read for school). Read it before. It still bores me.

Scary Close, by Donald Miller (My spiritual book for the month.)

What I Read in August

Nothing like being almost a month late with this post.

Sorry about that.

I’m actually very OCD about To-Do Lists/my BuJo, but some things just get away from me. Like talking about what I read in August.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Queen’s Necklace, by Kathryn Kenny. This was from my TBR pile, and is also a book I loved when I was younger. This series is just so…innocent and happy.

the summer that melted everything
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.)

The Summer that Melted Everything, by Tiffany McDaniel. Read to review. And wow.

getting it right

Getting it Right, by Elizabeth Jane Howard. Read to review. Felt sort of like A Confederacy of Dunces to me.

the reason I run

The Reason I Run, by Chris Spriggs. Such an inspiring book, full of determination and love. Read to review.

last-road-home-flat-cover

The Last Road Home, by Danny Johnson. Read to review. Excellent read. Very emotional and poignant.

 

 

Pleasure Reading vs Required Reading

This week, I’m on Spring Break, so technically I shouldn’t be doing homework. And I’m not doing a lot, but I’m doing some. Working on an essay for grad school. Outlining the short story that is my final paper in my capstone English class. Reading.

Sounds horrible, doesn’t it?

Here’s what I’m supposed to be reading this week:

  1. simplify, by Bill Hybels (for my monthly reading goal):  10 pages a day
  2. Against All Things Ending, by Stephen R. Donaldson (monthly goal):  30 pages a day
  3. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott (for school):  35 pages a day
  4. The Coquette, by Hannah W. Foster (for school):  20% on 5 days
  5. 2 chapters in Connected:  living in the Light of the Trinity, by Sam Alberry (for school)
  6. 2 chapters and the introduction in Truth Decay:  Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism, by Douglas R. Groothius (for school)
  7. The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever, by Jeff Strand (reading to review)

You see my problem? I love to read. I’m a quick reader. But….I’m where I’m supposed to be on #1 and #4. I intend to catch up on #3 and #2 today, and start #5. That leaves me #6 and #7 for…sometime.

Sigh.

 

Series, Interrupted

How do you feel about starting a series of books…in the middle? Or at least, not at the beginning? I don’t mean deliberately, I mean you find a book that looks completely amazing, you buy it and start reading, and then you realize it’s part of a series…and not the first book.

What do you do?

Throw it down in disgust and walk away forever?

Keep reading, on the assumption that you’ll figure out what happened before?

Stop, buy and read the previous books in the series, and then read your enchanting new love?

(Is there some other option/reaction I haven’t mentioned?)

I won’t purposefully start reading in the middle of a series. Are you kidding me? And not get the whole story? And, generally, I try to ensure that whatever fabulous new book I’ve stumbled across and been intrigued by is not in the middle of a series. But it has happened. Occasionally. Recently. Like last week.

I started reading Suddenly Spellbound by Erica Lucke Dean to review it, and then realized it was not the first book in the series. Since I was reading it for something other than pure enjoyment, I kept reading, but the bits of backstory and mentions of past shenanigans bothered me, because I didn’t know the details of what had happened.

If I’d been reading just for me, I would have gone with either option one or three above. I would not have kept reading, because not knowing drives me up the wall.

So, what would you have done?

 

New Year, this Time with Some Actual Goals

Happy new Year 2016 Images (20)
(I do not own this image.)

Happy New Year!

I used to make very complicated, intricately planned-out lists of resolutions every year. A few years ago, I stopped that, but this year I decided to give it another go. I ended up with three separate lists (Life, Writing, and Reading), each with eight goals.

Here are my Writing goals for the year:

1) Finish Witches HTRYN.

2) Finish 1st draft of Siren Song. 

3) Finish 1st draft of The Fall.   

4) Start Camelot

5) Revise Casting Shadows.

6) Finish copyediting classes and make X dollars at it per month.

7) Have 500 followers on this blog. (I can dream, right?)

8) Have 200 followers on my personal blog (It’s a goal.)

HNY

Here are my Reading goals:

1) Read Gone with the Wind (for at least the 25th time. I normally read it every year, but it’s been a few years.).

2) Read 1 book per month from my TBR shelf.

3) Read all books on the reading list for my American Women Writers class (8 total).

4) Read one classic per month.

5) Read one book of poetry.

6) Read 2 books per month to review.

7) Read one inspirational book per month.

8) Read 75 books total.

The Week of Big Goals: Result Update

So, I was supposed to be off all last week, and I had big goals:  “writing two essays, starting another, and beginning work on a leadership project, in addition to a plethora of textbook-reading), but I’m also going to get in six solid writing sessions. At least that’s the plan. And six brainstorming sessions as well.” How’d that turn out?  I’m glad you asked. (I’m pretty sure you asked, didn’t you?)

I actually ended up working Monday evening  and Thursday morning for a few hours, so the week wasn’t quite as free as I planned. But…I got those two essays written, and 1/5 of the third one done as well. Made a start on the leadership project. Did all the homework/quizzes/reading for this week. I think I only got in four writing sessions, but that’s twice as many as a normal week, so I’m calling it a win. I also edited TWELVE FREAKING CHAPTERS in Witches (I totally didn’t realize it was that many. Wow.) I also moved all my drafts to Google Docs, which took a ridiculous amount o f time, considering there were 10 manuscripts. I worked on brainstorming/outlining for my three current WIPs. Wrote a total of six blog posts. And read six books.

Dang. I was way more productive than I thought. Even snuck in a couple of naps, too.

That was my week, for the win!

Community

Holly Lisle is looking for readers and writers to build a community that fosters the growth of new writers.  The readers will have the opportunity to help writers they support to grow and learn, the writers will gain support and assistance where they need it.  Holly does wonderful things for other writers, and this is a fantastic new idea of hers that is still in beta development.  If you’re interested, check it out here.