Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals For 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

Bookish goals. Pretty self-explanatory this week. So without further adieu...

10. Read More

Yeah, that pretty much explains itself. Too often I get distracted by all the other media available, or bogged down with other things... Some of it can't be helped, but I do hope to try and prioritize reading a little higher than it's been before. And I hope my new dedicated reading chair will help me in this endeavor.

9. Try Out Some Group Reads

Quite a few of my GoodReads groups have monthly book discussions. Unfortunately, as of yet, I've only participated in reading/discussing one. I'm hoping this year I can clear out my schedule a little and get my eyes reading some of these group reads. I love discussing books, I'm just horrible at working on a time crunch...

8. Complete Series/Trilogies

There are quite a few series out now which I've either neglected entirely, or read the first couple and neglected the finale. This year I plan on finally putting some of these series to rest.

7. Read My Own Books

Amazon is way, WAY too generous sometimes. There are SO many free books for Kindle, and more and more cycle through every day! I've already 'purchased' over 700 in the near-year I've owned my Kindle, and I just keep buying more! One of these days (maybe this year) I need to sit down with my Kindle and just get to reading them.

Plus, I own another few dozen physical books which I haven't touched. I'm hoping the one of my reading challenges will help me finally crack down on these too.

6. Author Requests

I know, I know, I'm a horrible horrible person. I still have four books sent to me for review, a couple I've won from GoodReads, AND another seven I need to review from NetGalley! I hope to get these off my shoulders by March at the latest (preferably done this month, if I can manage it!), and finally clear off my Review Policy hiatus message (which people seem to ignore anyway...)

5. Complete Reading Challenges

Even though reading challenges are more goals, not etched-in-stone promises, it'd still be nice to actually complete one for a change. Last year I took on a ton of challenges around March (some even later) and didn't complete even one. This year, no matter how tempting, I'm restricting myself to the five (six) challenges I've taken on. If I'm making a huge headway, I might allow myself to tackle another one... We'll see.

4. Attend More Author Events

Even if the YA2U tour doesn't hit up Portland, we still get a ton of various authors stopping in. I mean, next week we get Kevin Emerson, Martha Brockenbrough, Sean Beaudoin & Cat Patrick on the same night! Not to mention all those coming to LeakyCon (which, I can't, since they haven't been announced yet).

Problem is, I tend to hold myself to reading their book(s) before attending, and if I don't I totally stress myself out about not having anything to say or sign or getting spoilers...so I don't sleep, get sick, and don't go. I missed out on an entire convention last year because of that. Not this year. I will attend and I will enjoy myself.

3. No Breaks

No, I'm not a self-imposing slave-driver. At least, I try not to be. I'm talking about month-to-three-month-long breaks of absolutely nothing going up on the blog. It's horrible. Stop it. Just read/write something! So even if it's just TTT posts (hey!) I'll at least *try* to have something up every week, if not more. And the next goal should help greatly with that...

2. Prepare

I hope to have quite a few posts pre-written days if not weeks before they're posted. I already schedule posts for 5:30am (8:30am EST) usually for the following day, just so I can hit inboxes first thing in the morning. But I figure if I can get enough content generated beforehand, then I won't have to worry about slow times, like when I go to LeakyCon in June!

1. Stop Procrastinating

I'm a master procrastinator. Did it all through high school. Did it all through college. It's resulted in greatness...and it's resulted in massive stress, failure, breakdowns, and shutdowns. Even though all my Reading Challenges and such are my own goals and don't really mean anything, I'd still like to actually get them done this year.

And that means not leaving all of them until December when I get super busy with family, church stuff, and life in general. If I could have *all* of my challenges completed by November (before Thanksgiving even!), I'd be ecstatic!

But even on a smaller scale, I tend to leave my reading until last-thing. Book's due at the library next week? I'll read it tomorrow...this weekend...the day before it's due. An author's coming next month? I'll get to their book(s) next week...the week before...the night before their event/signing. STOP IT! Just pick up the book now!!! Hopefully I'll have less self-imposed stress and burn-outs, and more happiness, confidence, and blog content.

So, what goals do you have this year?
Are you trying to read more, less, differently?
Got any major plans for your blog?
Let me hear you howl!

That's a Wrap! - Challenge Wrap-Up

Reading Challenge Addict
Hosted by Reading Challenge Addict

Completed: 0/6

Girl Power Reading Challenge 2012
Hosted by The Wolf's Den!

Completed: 11/35

1. Vamplayers ~ Rusty Fischer
2. The Dig ~ Audrey Hart
3. Settling ~ Shelley Workinger
4. Grave Mercy ~ Robin LaFevers
5. Crushed ~ K.C. Blake
6. Shatter Me ~ Tahereh Mafi
7. The Immortal Rules ~ Julie Kagawa
8. Bitterblue ~ Kristin Cashore
9. Original Sin ~ Lisa Desrochers
10. Detention of the Living Dead ~ Rusty Fischer
11. Daughter of Smoke & Bone ~ Laini Taylor

2012 Reading Challenge
Hosted by GoodReads

Completed: 23/50

Amazon's Best Books of 2011 Challenge
Hosted by Wickedly Delicious Tales

Completed: 1/5

1. Daughter of Smoke & Bone ~ Laini Taylor

Audiobook Challenge 2012
Hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner

Completed: 5/12

1. Stardust ~ Neil Gaiman
2. Bitterblue ~ Kristin Cashore
3. Personal Demons ~ Lisa Desrochers
4. Original Sin ~ Lisa Desrochers
5. Daughter of Smoke & Bone ~ Laini Taylor

The Dusty Bookshelf Challenge 2012
Hosted by Books: A True Story

Completed: 7/10

1. Vamplayers ~ Rusty Fischer
2. The Dig ~ Audrey Hart
3. Settling ~ Shelley Workinger
4. Crushed ~ K.C. Blake
5. Borderline ~ Bonnie Rozanski
6. Stardust ~ Neil Gaiman
7. Original Sin ~ Lisa Desrochers

Free Reads Challenge 2012
Hosted by Bookish Ardour

Completed: 13/15

1. Vamplayers ~ Rusty Fischer
2. The Adventures of Johnny Bunko ~ Daniel H. Pink & Rob Ten Pas
3. The Dig ~ Audrey Hart
4. Settling ~ Shelley Workinger
5. Grave Mercy ~ Robin LaFevers
6. Crushed ~ K.C. Blake
7. Borderline ~ Bonnie Rozanski
8. The Immortal Rules ~ Julie Kagawa
9. Bonds of Fenris ~ S.J. Bell
10. Original Sin ~ Lisa Desrochers
11. Guardian ~ Heather Burch
12. Detention of the Living Dead ~ Rusty Fischer
13. The Werewolf Asylum ~ Gareth Barsby

NetGalley Reading Challenge 2012
Hosted by Red House Books

Completed: 4/11

1. Grave Mercy ~ Robin LaFevers
2. The Immortal Rules ~ Julie Kagawa
3. Sneak Peek of The Archived ~ Victoria Schwab
4. Guardian ~ Heather Burch

Off The Shelf Challenge 2012
Hosted by Bookish Ardour

Completed: 7/15

1. Vamplayers ~ Rusty Fischer
2. The Dig ~ Audrey Hart
3. Settling ~ Shelley Workinger
4. Crushed ~ K.C. Blake
5. Borderline ~ Bonnie Rozanski
6. Stardust ~ Neil Gaiman
7. Original Sin ~ Lisa Desrochers

Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge 2012
Hosted by Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

Completed: 2/16

1. Crushed ~ K.C. Blake
2. Stardust ~ Neil Gaiman

Read-A-Phrase Challenge 2012
Hosted by Books, Crafts, & Life In General

Completed: 9/25

W erewolf Asylum, The by Gareth Barsby
H alflings by Heather Burch
E
N

I mmortal Rules, The by Julie Kagawa
N

D ig, The by Audrey Hart
O riginal Sin by Lisa Desrochers
U
B orderline by Bonnie Rozanski
T raitor's Son by Hilari Bell

S ettling by Shelley Workinger
H
O
O
T

T
H
E

W
I
Z
A
R
D etention of the Living Dead by Rusty Fischer

---

Well, there goes another year that I didn't meet any of my goals. I think next year I'll limit myself to 3, then add only if I'm doing well with them. I still think 50 books isn't unreasonable for the Goodreads challenge... And I think my recently dusted books will finally get read this year. Plus I hope to finally check off those requests I keep meaning to get to.

Another year, another plan. I hope the next year brings better progress and surprises than this year did! Happy New Year everyone!!!

Sharing Spiffiness Vol. 1

Hey there. I'm still here. Just working on getting a number of books read and reviewed so I don't feel so pressed all the time. Stress doesn't seem to bode well for my productivity.

In the meantime, I'll be posting little tidbits of neat bookish things I find around the web.

Pottermore

So Book One (Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone) was released to Beta users last summer, and was finally unveiled to the public earlier this year. It was met with some praise, some critiques, but mostly a lot of burn-out.

Sure, it was exciting (or confusing/disappointing) to get sorted into your house, explore the castle, brew potions and duel your classmates, but in the end it could hold our interests only so long. Even the announcement that the first House Cup would finally be awarded gave me little incentive to come back (though, I was thrilled at the reset of points - gave Huffles a long awaited chance to show our stuff.)

But then the BIG announcement was made: Book Two, Chamber of Secrets, was finally being released. The House Cup winner (Slytherin) even got to explore the book a full day ahead of everyone else! Sure, only the first four chapters have been released so far, but from what I've seen so far, I'm pretty impressed at their improvements.

In Sorcerer's Stone, there was a lot missing. The scenes zoomed in twice, but you could basically see everything as it stood in the first screen, making it all too easy to continue on without knowing to click in to explore further. The sounds (which were added after Beta) seemed overly stock, some of which I recognized from JK's own website. And the interactions, which were only required on maybe 5 pages, were simple point and click. The only one with any difficulty was Snape's logic puzzle, making it the only thing which might have required referencing the book.

Chamber of Secrets, I'm happy to report, has upped the anti. Scenes vary from zooming in, zooming out, entering closed doors, entering shops...and that's only the first four chapters! The sound effects and background noise seemed more varied and tailored to fit the sections, not nearly as stock as Book One. And treasures seem a lot more plentiful - this book takes the scavenger hunt to another level with even more Chocolate Frog cards and Bertie Bott's Beans to find.

But the overall interaction is really where I was impressed. There's a puzzle which actually requires you to reference the order objects are listed in the book. So if you're reading along (which the website strongly encourages) you can solve the puzzle in a few seconds, or if you're one for memory challenges, you can try your hand at making the right order on your own. There's also a very fun de-gnoming the garden game which I've played several times (though it can be extremely difficult on slower internet/browsers).

Overall, if you haven't yet checked out Pottermore, or if you haven't yet ventured back for Book Two, I'd encourage you to try out the new features for yourself! And I'll probably be listing an update when the next section of chapters is released, so stay tuned.

Book Announcements

I'm definitely on board for this new dystopian, though I do hope we get more information on the society than the trailer suggests. I mean, I guess tribal politics and island survival are interesting and all that, but I'm already looking forward to them getting off the island and taking the fight to the streets. But I guess I'm just an urban girl at heart.

This was one of my Creative Writing professors at my college. I definitely be reading (and reviewing) her book in the near future. Even though it's not my usual book preference, I do enjoy reading historicals now and again, and I hope to find a great heroine, too.

Fill In The ______ 2010

Found this fun activity via Consumed by Books, who found it at The Book Rat.

Pretty much you just answer the questions using the name of a book you've read in 2010. You can go for serious answers that most closely match what your real answers would be, or you can go with the funniest ones you can come up with for your available titles.

I went ahead and linked my answers to my reviews (except for 1, which was from before I started reviewing) so you can check them out if you're curious.

Have fun!

Describe yourself:
Moon Called
What can I say? I'm a night-owl.

Describe where you currently live:
Northanger Abbey
Okay, not really. But I am in the north.

What's the weather like?
Heat Wave
Can below freezing be considered a heat wave?

If you could go anywhere, you would go to...
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Now that would be fun!

Your favorite form of transportation is...
Personal Demons
They're speedy, eco-friendly, and automatically reduce the number of other idiot drivers.

Your favorite time of day is...
Homecoming
It'd be a lot better if I had a job to be coming home from.

Your best friend is...
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
What better friend than a book that tells you not to panic?

You and your friends are...
Wizards at War
Don't worry—we made a truce for the holidays.

You feel...
Mostly Harmless
As opposed to Very Nuclear.

Life is...
Paranormalcy
Chocolates are nice, but hawt shapeshifters are nicer.

Your greatest fear is...
The Strangers Outside
Unless it's Ed McMahon and his crew—I want my giant check!

You would prefer to die by...
Fire
Wait, what?! O_O

Your soul's present condition is...
High Wizardry
I swear I'm high on life...

What is the best advice you have to give?
So You Want to Be a Wizard
I hear it's a very lucrative field!

Thought for the Day:
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Now I can open up my own fish store and supplement my writing! As soon as I have my nose removed.

You can find the full list of books I read this year HERE!

Hope You All Have A Safe And Happy New Year!

26 Days Later - A Blogging Recap

26 days of daily posts. 2 guest posts. 1 tired blogger.

In case you hadn't noticed, my posts kinda deteriorated there at the end. Even now, my brain's not quite in the right mode for quality work. I definitely don't think I have it in me for daily posts. At least, not without having planned everything out beforehand.

Even if the posts didn't take much time to compose, the planning and anticipation of writing them definitely cut into my other blogging 'duties'. For example, I have at least 1200 unread blogs from the past few weeks, 2 unread ARCs which expire in just over a week, and one ARC which gets 'officially' released this next Tuesday! I'm planning a mini-marathon this weekend to catch up as much as I can.


Now that it's all said and done, I'm ready for a vacation. I don't plan on disappearing entirely—got an In-My-Mailbox coming together and book reviews planned for next week—but I probably won't be posting much not having to do with books. Then again, you might all prefer that. Who knows? Well, you do, of course.

Still, if there's a post or two you've missed, you can check them out by clicking the corresponding image above. Or, if you'd prefer, you can find them named on my Previous Ventures sidebar down and to the left. And, as always, if you have questions, complaints, or insights, please don't hesitate to comment below

This is Vicki, over and out.