Top Ten Tuesday -- Recent TBR Additions

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

1. The Martian by Andy Weir -- Heard such rave reviews about this one. I may have to put this one up for our next book club selection.

2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins -- I loved Gone Girl and this one has been said to be very similar.

3. First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen -- Love this author and must read the newest book.

4. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel -- Another one from many readers' must read lists. Definitely need to pick this one up.

5. The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma -- Just ran across this one. Seems intriguing.

6. A Vintage Wedding by Katie Fforde -- I love a good light hearted romantic novel. This might just fit the bill.

7. The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle -- Interesting premise. Hope it plays out well.

8. A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis -- Summary sounded interesting...

9. A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin -- Love the premise. Hope the novel lives up to it.

10. PRO: Reclaiming Abortion Rights by Katha Pollitt -- This one is getting very interesting reviews. I definitely need to add it to my pile.

Top Ten Books -- Tobe's Teen Years Books

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

This week's topic is those books you read as a teen that you want to revisit.  In middle school, I read a lot of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike books. As I entered into high school, the books got longer but no less dark. There's only one series that I want to revisit:

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice!

I even joined the Anne Rice Perpetual Reading Challenge just so that I could reread this series. Maybe in April?

Top Ten Tuesday -- Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Spring TBR:

1. Insurgent and Allegiant by Veronica Roth -- Been meaning to read the sequels after I really enjoyed Divergent. Plus, I want to see the Insurgent movie this summer.
2. Yes Please by Amy Poehler -- Been on my list since it came out. We're reading this for April book club so I better finish it!
3. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon -- Reread Outlander, now I need to get moving with the rest of the series.
4. Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice -- Reread as part of my perpetual Anne Rice challenge.
5. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin -- Want to finish out the series as it stands right now.
6. 2 historical romances -- My guilty pleasure escape genre. I just started a new series last month and hope to finish it out this spring.
7. 3 nonfiction books -- Besides Yes Please, I want to get some more nonfiction books in my reading rotation.

Winter TBR Recap (5/10): Not the best showing, but a few of those books were pretty long.

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien √
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth √
3. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin √
4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon √
5. Looking for Alaska by John Green
6. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
7. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
8. The Diviners by Libba Bray
9. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
10. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn √

TTT - Book Problems

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

This week's topic is all about those book related problems I have.

1. My TBR list is never ending -- I seem to add at least 10 books to my TBR list per week. I'll never get to all those books.
2. My bookshelves are full -- I literally cannot add any more books to the existing shelves. I shouldn't buy anymore books.
3. I can't read fast enough -- My reading rate has gone down considerably since having Arthur. I'm averaging only 5 books a month now.
4. Most of my friends don't read the same books as I do -- I'm the eccentric freak who reads everything. Most of my friends are more selective in the genres that they read.
5. Reviews are hard to write -- Sometimes I find it hard to write a review expressing all that I want to say about a book.

TTT -- Book Club Selections

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

I am currently in two different book clubs: one personal and one with the parents group. In both groups the members are free to suggest choices for upcoming months. Here are my suggestions for upcoming selections:

1. The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer -- I actually just finished reading this one and would love to discuss it with others...
2. Choclat by Joanne Harris -- Been meaning to read this one for years.
3. Yes, Please by Amy Poehler -- I just know this one would be great to read and discuss.
4. Anything from Jane Austen -- My favorite author. I can always talk about Austen.
5. Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple -- Just picked this one up. Heard some great things. Definitely on my short list.
6. The Martian by Andrew Weir -- Really want to read this one soon.
7. World War Z by Max Brooks -- I loved the books, haven't actually watched the movie yet. I would love to discuss this one.
8. Sunshine by Robin McKinley -- Loved this one. Would love to reread it soon.
9. Birth by Tina Cassidy -- Would love to read this one with the parents group.
10. The Awakening by Kate Chopin -- My all-time favorite book. I would love for others to read this with me, but I'm afraid of what they would think.

2014 Wrap-up

Favorite Books of the Year

• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• The Strain by Guillermo del Toro
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
• Washington by Ron Chernow
• No Turning Back by Estelle Freedman
• A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Honorable Mentions: The HM category is reserved for rereads that I really loved.

• The Awakening by Kate Chopin
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Total Books Read – 88 books

Total Pages Read – 28,381 pages

I averaged 2365 pages per month.  My lowest month was April with only 1616 pages.  My highest month was August with 3466 pages.  I hope to read 30,000 pages next year.

Book Rating Stats –

• 5 stars — 30 books
• 4 stars — 37 books
• 3 stars — 19 books
• 2 stars — 1 book
• 1 star — 1 book
• DNFs —0

Special Projects/Features

Readathons —I completed 8 readathons this year.  My totals are down from last year, but I did well with an almost toddler running around.  I'm always up for readathons each quarter.

• January's Bout of Books 9: 750 pages, 3 books
• February's Winter's Respite: 738 pages, 2 books
• February's Love for Books: 265 pages, 1 book
• May's Spring into Horror: 348 pages, 2 books
• May's Bout of Books 10: 686 pages, 1 book
• July's High Summer: 767 pages, 4 books
• August's Bout of Books 11: 1180 pages, 3 books
• October's Frightfall: ? pages, 1 book

Bloggiesta in September — I participated again in September and loved getting my blog back-end in order. Definitely participating in 2015.

Day Zero Project  – I lost steam and ended my first attempt in failure. I am going to try this again starting January 2015.

Quote Wednesday — I kept this feature going this year.  Next year, I'm going to alternate between QW and Currently to give some variety to my week.

Music Monday —Still love sharing my favorite music videos every Monday.

Top Ten Tuesday — I don't usually participate, but every once in awhile the topic inspires me.

Fashion Friday — Love doing FF. I am definitely continuing this into 2015.

Arthur Updates — I loved sharing an Arthur update every week, but after 52 weeks, I am burned out.  I am switching to a monthly update in 2015.

Project Life — With the start of my craft blog in April, all PL spreads have moved over there...

Thanks/Odds and Ends/Fun Videos -- My Thursday rotation was a good way to break up content and not get bored with writing. I will be continuing the rotation in 2015.e

Reading Challenges

Here’s the final breakdown:

• Fantasy Project  8/20  40%
• Nonfiction Adventure  18/20  90%
• NPR Scifi and Fantasy   4/10  40%
• NPR Teen  8/10  80%
• Top 100 YA   5/5  100%
• 21st Century Women Authors  3/5  60%
• US of YA   3/5  60%
• Time Top 100   1/5  20%
• Rory Gilmore   6/10  60%
• 1001 Books  5/10  50%
• U.S. Presidents   2/5  40%
• Mount TBR  36/36  100%
• TBR Pile  7/30  23.3%
• Ebooks  23/25   92%
• New Author   15/15  100%
• Women Authors  20/20  100%
• 52 Books in 52 Weeks   52/52  100%
• Library  12/12  100%
• Read Your Freebies   12/12  100%
• Monthly Motif   10/12  83.3%
• Monthly Key Word   11/12  91.7%
• Books to Movies  12/12   100%
• Well Rounded Reader  22/25  88%
• Seriously Series  8/10   80%
• What’s in a Name   5/5  100%
• Picture Books   100/100  100%
• Rereading  3/4  75%
• Chunkster  5/10  50%
• Lucky No. 14   14/14  100%
• Back to the Classics   6/10  60%
• Fall Reading Challenge 15/20  75%

Total:  11/31 challenges   35.5% done

Total:  451/541 slots   83.4% done

Overall Thoughts/Reflections/Musings/Ideas

I anticipated that my reading totals would decrease this year and it happened. But I still read a ton of great books and wrote a lot of other blog posts. I'd say 2014 was a good year. I'm planning on continuing with a lot of my regular features. And I'm going to be adding in more personal posts tied to my new 101 in 1001 project and One Little Word. Stay tuned for a great new year!

Top Ten Tuesday -- New to Me Authors 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

1. John Green -- How has is taken me this long to read anything from him?  I love watching his vlog Brothers videos.  I finally got to two of his novels and want to read the rest...
2. Nick Hornby -- J has been hassling me to read Hornby for years.  I picked up High Fidelity and A Long Way Down and loved them both.  I need to read About a Boy next...
3. Diane Setterfield -- I love The Thirteenth Tale even when the others in my book club were not excited.  I want to read her newest novel Bellman and Black.
4. Kristen Callihan -- I started the Darkest London series and can not wait for the next book in the series to be released early next year.
5. Erik Larson -- I really enjoyed The Devil in the White City. Even though it's history, it read almost like a novel. Now I need to read his Thunderstruck.
6. Deanna Raybourn -- Loved the first book in the Lady Julia Grey series.  Need to keep reading.

A shorter list, but some great new to me authors on there.

Top Ten Tuesday - Winter TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Winter TBR:

2014 Books to Finish

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth
3. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
5. Looking for Alaska by John Green

2015 First Up Books

1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
3. The Diviners by Libba Bray
4. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
5. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Fall TBR Recap (2/10): Wow! I think this is my worst showing yet. I can't believe that I only read two out of my ten.  I really need to work these other eight into my reading soon.

1. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
2. The Awakening by Kate Chopin (reread) √
3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (reread so I can finally watch the show)
4. Shadowdance by Kristen Callihan √
5. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
7. Siddartha by Herman Hesse
8. Divergent by Veronica Roth
9. Looking for Alaska by John Green
10. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Top Ten Tuesday -- To Reread

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

As the years have progressed, I have realized that i reread books less and less.  There are just too many news ones on my TBR lists to stick with the old.  But there are a few that I do want to reread relatively soon.

1. The Magicians and The Magician King by Lev Grossman -- J just read the last book in the series.  He said it was amazing but that he should have reread the first two before. I should do this.
2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon -- Still on my list for 2014.  I want to reread so I can actually read the rest of the series and watch the TV show.
3. Vampire Chronicles series by Anne Rice -- I recently joined the Neverending Anne Rice reading challenge.  I read this series back in high school. but would love to revisit and prep for reading the newest book in the series: Prince Lestat.
4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn -- I just watched the movie and would love to revisit the book.  Thankfully one of my books clubs put this up for February.
5. Jane Austen's novels -- Of course.  I reread these every few years.  I feel like I should restart my cycle soon.

Top Ten Tuesday - New Series I Want to Start

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth -- The first book has been sitting on my iPad for awhile now.  I really want to dive in...

2. Parasitology by Mira Grant -- Loved the Newsflesh series, been meaning to pick this one up.

3. Diviners by Libba Bray -- Such rave reviews, I need to read!

4. Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay -- Looks like a fun YA series.

5. Seven Kingdoms by Kristin Cashore -- A YA series that's been sitting on my shelf for forever.

6. The Finishing School by Gail Carriger -- Another series set in the same world as The Parasol Protectorate?  Yes please!

7. Rome by Kate Quinn -- Haven't read much historical fiction lately, but this series looks great.

8. Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan -- Loved the Percy Jackson series, intrigued my a Egyptian myth series.

9. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld -- Need some more Steampunk.

Top Ten Tuesday -- Fall TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Fall TBR: My fall TBR list always focuses on the last books that I definitely want to read before the end of the year. There are some books on here that have languished on the shelf for years.  I really need to get these off and read!

1. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
2. The Awakening by Kate Chopin (reread)
3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (reread so I can finally watch the show)
4. Shadowdance by Kristen Callihan
5. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
7. Siddartha by Herman Hesse
8. Divergent by Veronica Roth
9. Looking for Alaska by John Green
10. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Summer TBR Recap (4/10):

1. Back to the Classics
2. Rereading
3. Series -- Locke and Key #6 √
4. Well Rounded Reader (self help, art/design, home) -- Becoming Mona Lisa by Donald Sassoon √
5. Movie -- Casino Royale by Ian Fleming √
6. Random ebook freebie
7. Ebook
8. Presidents -- Washington by Ron Chernow √
9. 21st Century Women Authors
10. Nonfiction Adventure

Top Ten Tuesday -- Want to Read, But Don't Own

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

This week's topic is those books that I want to read, but don't own.  Thankfully my list is short this week.  I'm trying to keep my book buying to a very small amount and actually succeeding.  But you know there are always those books that I really really want to buy and read...

1. The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman -- Read the first two, really want this one...
2. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs -- The sequel to Miss Peregrine... Another really really want to read book.
3. The Twelve by Justin Cronin -- The Passage was super scary and amazing.  Need the sequel.
4. Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon -- Guess I should read the rest of this series before this one, but still want it.
5. Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale -- Really enjoyed the first one, still haven't gotten around to buying this one.

Short list, but it hits the highlights.

Top Ten Tuesday -- Summer TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Summer TBR: Instead of listing specific books, I'm going to list the challenges and options for books to be read that I'm hoping to tackle this summer.

1. Back to the Classics
   1. The Beautiful and the Damned
   2. The Awakening
   3. Sherlock Holmes
2. Rereading
   1. The Hobbit
   2. Outlander
3. Series
   1. Locke and Key #6
   2. Sunrise
   3. Sea Glass
4. Well Rounded Reader (self help, art/design. home)
5. Movie
   1. Casino Royale
   2. City of Bones
6. Random ebook Freebie
7. Ebook
   1. Thirteen Reasons Why
   2. Mirror Mirror
8. Presidents
   1. American Lion
   2. Washington
9. 21st Century Women Authors
   1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
   2. House at Riverton
   3. The Time Traveler's Wife
10. Nonfiction Adventure
    1. Emperor of Maladies
    2. Living History

Spring TBR Recap (1/10): An absolutely horrid showing for spring.  What happened?  I had such good intentions, but they seemed to go nowhere.  I'm hoping summer goes a bit better.

1. Sherlock Holmes story
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
3. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
4. Locke and Key #6: Alpha and Omega
5. Stranger Than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk
6. The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
7. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
8. Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
9. Looking for Alaska by John Green
10. Becoming Mona Lisa by Donald Sassoon

Top Ten Tuesday -- 2014 Faves

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Turns out I haven't read many absolutely amazing books so far this year.  But here are four great books to highlight.

1. Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
2. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
3. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Top Ten Tuesday -- Beach Bag Books

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

This week's topic is beach bag books.  What books would I take to the beach?  This presupposes that I could actually have a day at the beach to read.  Unfortunately with three children, this just doesn't happen.  But, if I could...

1. Anything from Neil Gaiman -- It's not super light fare, but his books are great to get lost in.  I'd recommend American Gods, Good Omens, or Stardust.
2. Any historical romance -- A great romance is the perfect beach companion.
3. Collection of stories -- Short stories are great because they are easy to read.
4. YA Dystopians -- Heavier fare, but they are easy to read.
5. Lighter science fiction -- Don't pick up Asimov or Heinlein, but do go for Douglas Adams or Ray Bradbury.

Top Ten Tuesday -- Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Spring TBR:

1. Sherlock Holmes story
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
3. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
4. Locke and Key #6: Alpha and Omega
5. Stranger Than Fiction by Chuck Palahniuk
6. The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
7. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
8. Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
9. Looking for Alaska by John Green
10. Becoming Mona Lisa by Donald Sassoon

Winter TBR Recap: 8/10 red ain't bad!  I think it's my best showing yet.

1. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
2. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
3. Tanglefoot by Cherie Priest
4. Sandition by Jane Austen
5. Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir
6. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
7. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
8. Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein
9. In the Company of Secrets by Judith Miller
10. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

The Shelves Tour

Last week I did a tour of my crafting area (which has already changed with J's addition of steel shelving).  This week, I though I would do a tour of my bookshelves.  While I was gone over Christmas, J cleaned out the entire office, bought bookshelves, and emptied all the boxes.  I don't have a handy pic of the before, but imagine a closet with no doors filled with on bursting bookshelf and about 12 stacked moving boxes all full of books.  I'm happy to say that all those boxes are unpacked with their contents on display and easy to access.

Our first stop on the tour isn't in the office, but in the living room.  I have a small storage ottoman that holds my current month's reading choices.  When I formulate each month's TBR pile, I make sure to put those physical books inside the ottoman.  Of course, the ebooks can't be put into the ottoman, but I do reorder iBooks to reflect my current TBR.  I've found that the ottoman makes it easier to choose a new book.  Instead of perusing all my shelves, I just lift the lid and grab a book.  Usually there are only 10 choices or so.  I've also taken to keeping my library books in the ottoman.  But as I have put myself on a limited usage library plan (until I read more of my owned books), there is usually one a few library books in there.

Moving into the office proper...

Here's the big view of the closet.  Those three bookshelves span the entire width of the closet with about 2 inches to spare.  According to J, it was a chore trying to get them all in there and in position.  You can't see form this pciture, but there is room atop the bookshelves.  Mostly it holds miscellaneous computer equipment, but J did put a couple of his books sets (His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, James Bond series by Ian Fleming, etc) up there and out of the way.

The first bookshelf is full of my books.  I separated fiction from non-fiction and then authors A-L and M-Z.  The first three shelves contain fiction books grouped by author and more or less alphabetical.  The fourth shelf contains books I want to keep and the fifth holds most of our scrapbook albums.

The middle bookshelf is a hodge-podge of styles.  The top two shelves are J's books (business, comics, and science fiction).  The third shelf is my leftover mass market paperback fiction.  The last two shelves hold half of my nonfiction collection.

The last shelf in the closet is another hodge-podge.  The top three shelves are all J's books (mostly nonfiction).  The bottom two shelves hold the rest of my nonfiction collection.

The last stop on my tour is the small bookshelf in the entryway to the office.  Our apartment is cut so that there is a four foot long hallway off the main hallway leading to the office door.  It's a weird space: not long enough or wide enough to be really useful.  But it's the perfect size to stash my small bookshelf.  The double stacked shelves hold the rest of my fiction collection.  Not quite super easy access, but at least all of my books are out of the boxes.

That's it, a tour of bookshelves.  My goal for 2014 is to decrease my library (i.e. read and sell) so that my shelves aren't double stacked.  It's a tall order, but so far this year I've already made a good sized dent.

Top Ten Tuesday -- 2014 Goals and Resolutions

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Blog and Reading Resolutions:

1. Read over 50,000 pages -- Dropped it a bit from last year.  I like having a fairly manageable page goal instead of a book number goal.
2. Get rid of at least one box of books -- Again, same as last year.  Really want to free up space in the office closet.
3. Add in my new features/update weekly schedule -- Really this is adding in more of my Project Life spreads and my monthly goals posts.
4. Focus on reading my own books -- Not necessarily a library ban, but limiting my visits.  I have way too many books sitting in the closet to constantly be picking up outside books.  I'm setting a goal of 80% of my 2014 reads to be ones I own.
5. Focus on my perpetual lists -- In fact, I am using my perpetual challenges for a majority of my year's reading challenges.

Life Resolutions:

1. 30 Day Challenges --- Instead of yearly goals, I need to focus on smaller and shorter goals.  So, I will be posting monthly goals containing a mix of one time activities and 30 day challenges.  As an added bonus, many of the 30 day challenges I am scheduling will knock off a few Day Zero Project goals.
2. Documentation through Project Life -- I started in October and am absolutely loving the process.  I hope to keep my momentum through 2014.  I purchased a January PL class through Studio Calico to start the year off right.  Hopefully I will get some good tips and inspiration to sustain me.  I will be sharing our spread monthly.
3. New food adventures -- I don't really like to cook, but I love new recipes.  I want to focus on trying at least one new recipe a week.  I have many cookbooks and multitudes of recipes saved online.  I need to start weeding out the crap and the ones we love.  Maybe I'll create theme months... or weeks... or quarters.  This is one of the new features that I'm still thinking about starting on the blog.
4. Losing the baby weight -- I gained 30 pounds with Arthur on top of the extra 15 I had been carrying around since my miscarriage in August 2012.  I want to make 2014 the year of getting back to being comfortable.  I want to get down to my prepregnancy weight.  I'm starting this off with a January month goal of losing a pants size.  I'm eating better, I just need to exercise more.
5. Exploring the Bay Area -- I feel like we've only seen a fraction of things in our area. Since we won't be taking a big out of area vacation this year, I want to spend the year exploring our local region.  I've already got a few ideas of fun with the boys during the summer.  I'm also kicking around a possible weekend trip to Yosemite...  In fact, my word of the year is EXPLORE!  I don't really follow through with all the One Little Word hoopla, but I am going to attempt to use my word and feature it in my Project Life pages.

Revisiting the 2013 blog and reading resolutions:

1. Read over 60,000 pages -- Nope...  Got pretty close with 53,622 pages.
2. Get rid of at least one box of books — Definitely accomplished this one.  However, I think we only got rid of one box.  I hope to make a bigger dent in 2014.
3. Finish any series started — I did a fairly good job on this one.  I joined the Seriously Series Reading Challenge to help me focus.  With that, I finished 10 series.  I'm hoping to repeat my success next year.
4. Finish 75% or more of the reading challenges I join —Woohoo!  This is the first time that I met this goal.  So excited!
5. Read more on the iPad — Read more than I have ever have before on the iPad. But I still need to decrease our physical book inventory.  I'm sure I'll keep reading ebooks in 2014.
6. Be stricter about DNFs — I DNF'd 3 books this year.  I probably could have added about 2 more to that total, but I'm okay with not.  I am getting better at putting books aside if they don't interest me at all.
7. Read the book before seeing the movie — Fairly decent job at this.  I read a ton of books that I had already seen the movie years ago.  I also read a few in anticipation of their movie release.  Continuing this in 2014.
8. Do at least six readathons — I did 10 throughout the year.  Great accomplishment.  I'll probably do most of these for 2014.
9. Focus on my perpetual lists -- Failed at this goal.  I read maybe 6 books off my perpetual lists.  My failure is the reason I decided to change up my reading challenges for 2014.
10. Limit by book buying — I think I only bought 7 or 8 books throughout the entirety of 2013.  I call that a success!  Unfortunately, I probably added about 30 free ebooks to the iPad.  I really need to work on resisting those free deals.  Just because it's free, doesn't mean that I have to download it...

2013 Wrap-up

Favorite Books of the Year

1. A Song of Fire and Ice series (Books #1-3)
2. The Passage
3. Let's Pretend This Never Happened
4. Neverwhere
5. The Mark of Athena
6. The Book Thief
7. The Angel's Game
8. The Lace Reader
9. Hyperbole and a Half
10. Me Before You

Honorable Mentions: The HM category is reserved for rereads that I really loved.  

1. Persuasion
2. Mansfield Park
3. Coraline
4. The Secret Garden
5. Emma
6. The Host

Total Books Read – 160 books

Total Pages Read – 53,622 pages

I averaged 4468 pages per month.  My lowest month was June with only 2669 pages.  My highest month was January with 6823 pages.  I hope to read 50,000 pages next year.

Book Rating Stats –

• 5 stars —63  books
• 4 stars — 63 books
• 3 stars — 33 books
• 2 stars — 0 books
• 1 star — 1 book
• DNFs -- 3

Special Projects/Features

Readathons —I completed 10 readathons this year.  Amazed by my totals!

• Bout of Books 6.0 (January) -- 2671 pages
• A Winter's Respite (January) -- 1135 pages
• Wicked Valentine's (February) -- 2113 pages
• Take Control of Your TBR Pile (March) -- 787 pages
• Bout of Books 7.0 (May) -- 1230 pages
• High Summer (July) -- 924 pages
• Bout of Books 8.0 (August) -- 1976 pages
• Tackle Your TBR Pile (September) -- 2310 pages
• FrightFall (October) -- 1304 pages
• End of the Year (December) -- 2354 pages

Bloggiesta in September — Second time around!  I got so much done in one weekend.  Cleaned up a ton of back-end issues on the blog.  I am going to try to make this a yearly activity.  I may or not do both the March and September events, but I'm hoping to do at least one a year.  It helps me focus on cleaning up my blog periodically.

Day Zero Project  – I made some progress on my goals list, but not as much as I would like.  I have the first half of 2014 to finish as many as I can.  I'm going to attempt to knock off a few by scheduling them as monthly goals.  We'll see how it goes...

Quote Wednesday — I'm always on top of this one.  It's so easy.  I have so many great quotes laying around, I always find one to use.

Music Monday — This past year was mostly about highlighting my all time favorite songs.  2014 will be about going back to focusing on single songs I like.

Top Ten Tuesday — I'm really sporadic with these...  I just don't always feel inspired by the topic, but I always check because sometimes I love the topic.

Fashion Friday -- I love looking at pretty clothes and found myself playing on Polyvore a lot.  But no one ever saw my creations.  So, I created a new feature on Fridays to showcase my creativity.  This will be carried forward into 2014.

Pregnancy Updates and Baby Milestones -- I had to include these in 2013.  Obviously I won't be continuing the pregnancy updates.  The baby updates will continue weekly for a few months and then I'll probably only do them monthly.

Good Things -- Utter fail on continuing this past the first couple of months.  I was just completely uninspired.

Book of Lists -- See above...

Project Life -- I started using the Project Life method for scrapping in October.  I wanted to show off my weekly spreads, so I created a monthly feature.  With participating in a PL class this January, I hope to get some great ideas to use in the coming months.

Reading Challenges

I started out with a GoodReads challenge, but with their change in policies in September, I decided to part ways with the site.  I've shopped around and decided not to replace GR with anything for the moment.  Instead, I will just be tracking books read and books to read on my blog.  As to the other RCs, here's the final breakdown:

• Fall into Reading 35/35 100%
• The Four Month Challenge Part 11 19/20    95%
• The Four Month Challenge Part 12 15/20   75%
• Sub Genre   15/15  100%
• Nerdy Nonfiction   15/15  100%
• Genre   18/18  100%
• Paranormal    10/12  83.3%
• Dystopia    4/6  66.7%
• Witches   5/5  100%
• Telling Tales   3/5  60%
• Historical Fiction  1/5   20%
• Back for the Classics   10/10  100%
• Romance  5/5  100%
• Neil Gaiman  15/15  100%
• Jane Austen  10/10  100%
• YA/MG Fantasy  2/5  40%
• Graphic Novel  20/20   100%
• Steampunk  5/5  100%
• Zombies  6/6 100%
• New Author   25/25  100%
• What’s in a Name   6/6  100%
• Monthly Key Word   12/12  100%
• Women Authors  25/25   100%
• Ebooks  25/25  100%
• Mount TBR  60/60  100%
• TBR Pile  30/30  100%
• Library  24/24  100%
• Seriously Series  8/8   100%
• Dusty Bookshelf  15/15  100%
• Books to Movies  20/20  100%
• Eclectic  12/12 100%
• Blogger Recommendation  10/10   100%
• 52 Books in 52 Weeks   52/52  100%
• Book Bingo   63/73  100%  86.3%

Total: 26/34 challenges   76% done

Total: 600/624 slots    96.2% done

Overall Thoughts/Reflections/Musings/Ideas

2013 was a great year for reading.  Overall, I didn't read as many books or pages as 2012 (life happens), but I did encounter some great finds.  I'm really looking forward to reading from my own stacks this coming year.  I'll be carrying most of my features over to the new year.  I'm thinking about adding a few new ones, but they are still in the planning stages.

Top Ten Tuesday -- New to Me Authors 2013 Class

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

I love finding new-to-me authors each year.  Of course, their back catalogs always make my TBR list even longer, but it's worth it to discover great talent.  I only found six authors to highlight, but they are good ones...

1. Neil Gaiman -- Okay, okay, not really new to me in 2013.  But this past year, I really came to appreciate his writing.  I can't wait to read everything else he has ever written.
2. Sarah Addison Allen -- I love her magical realism...  Need to read the rest of her books.
3. Justin Cronin -- The Passage was amazingly terrifying.  I really need to read The Twelve.
4. Colleen Gleason -- I really really enjoyed the Victoria Gardella series.  I finally downloaded the first in the next related series.  Can't wait to read it!
5. Laurie R. King -- A book club friend recommended her mystery series and I really liked it.  We also saw the author speak at the local library (she's based in the Bay Area).
6. George R.R. Martin -- I finally jumped on the band wagon and made it through the first three books.  I plan on reading the fourth in the Song of Fire and Ice in January.