AAAHHHHH!!! The year is almost over! How did it fly by so quickly?
I've already started thinking about what bookish resolutions I might want to make for next year. Keeping myself accountable here has really helped me to stay on track and I'm really pleased with the progress I've made.
November was a light reading month because I was doing NaNoWriMo (which I won handily this year. I'm still working on the rough draft and then I'll start the "real" rough draft of this story, but I'm really very super excited about how the character development and world building are coming together. But that's a blog post for another day).
So most of the time I might normally spend reading, I spent trying to get my word count in.
However, I think I still did pretty well.
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
I passed my goal! That's CRAZY PANTS. I'm at 205. And I still have a whole month left! I am, however, still about 5,000 pages lower than last year because of the picture books and young reader graphic novels. I'm not saying those books are somehow lesser, but it takes less time to read a 50 page young reader graphic novel than a 300 page adult novel. I've got several more books on deck for this month (and NaNo is over) so I should be able to make up a little of the page count.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (preferably 1 a month):
I did not read any non-fiction books this month (see NaNo madness), but I've done really well in this over the year, so I'm not even the slightest bit ashamed of this lack. I would like to hit one more in December, though, to end the year on an up note.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
DONE WON
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
I read 3 this month, so pretty good. The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst, which was beautiful and wonderful and definitely staying on my shelf. I also read Coraline by Neil Gaiman and Naked Heat by Richard Castle, both of which I've been meaning to eventually get around to and the PopSugar Reading Challenge pushed me to do so. Nothing weeded, but still a success.
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I own each month:
I got through 3 in this category as well. I finished The Red Fairy Book edited by Andrew Lang and Consumed by War by Samantha Hoffman, which not only took care of a Reading Challenge category, but also helped me finish off the trilogy while I still pretty much remembered the first two books. I also read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte and discovered how very much I love Anne Bronte.
All in all a successful month. Here's to a strong December!
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Bookish Resolutions: October Progress
Can't believe there are only 2 months left in the year! My goals are coming along nicely. Here's how I did in October.
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
I'm up to 196! I can't believe it! And I've caught up really nicely on page count. I just have to do about 3500 pages each in November and December, which is definitely doable. Of course, I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo once again this month, which will cut into my reading time, so we'll see how things go.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
Finished 2 non-fiction books this month, both rather lengthy - The Female Imagination by Patricia Meyer Spacks and The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar - both related to a paper that I'm preparing. And feeling a little burnt out, so I would rather do a lighter non-fiction this month, if I get to one at all. Which I'm totally okay with since I've done really well in this category so far.
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
I'm up to 196! I can't believe it! And I've caught up really nicely on page count. I just have to do about 3500 pages each in November and December, which is definitely doable. Of course, I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo once again this month, which will cut into my reading time, so we'll see how things go.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
Finished 2 non-fiction books this month, both rather lengthy - The Female Imagination by Patricia Meyer Spacks and The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar - both related to a paper that I'm preparing. And feeling a little burnt out, so I would rather do a lighter non-fiction this month, if I get to one at all. Which I'm totally okay with since I've done really well in this category so far.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I finished this one, as I'm mentioned before, but I have a couple that are new hanging out there. I'd like to clear them out, so I don't feel like I have to put this on my resolution list next year.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
I did pretty well, though I didn't pull any for weeding this month. I finished The Nest by Kenneth Oppel and illustrated by Jon Klassen and Shannon and Dean Hale's The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party. Also read Rebecca Serle's Truly Madly Famously and Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood. Having a vacation in the middle of this month helped with my reading level in October!
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:
Completed this one as well reading Amalia Dillin's Blood of the Queen and Ray Bradbury's Medicine for Melancholy and Other Stories.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Bookish Resolutions: September Progress
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
I'm up to 177! I'm still a little low on pages compared to last year, but I've got a couple of really long books I'm working on right now, so that should help. I'm also going on vacation this month, so I'll have time to just sit on the beach and read. Whee!
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
Made this (and have made significant dents in two more non-fiction books that I should finish soon. This month I read Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx by Sonia Manzano which was really interesting.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
DONE! COMPLETE! YAY!
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
Made this goal, even though so much of my reading time has gone to the aforementioned giant non-fiction books. But I did manage to finish Armada by Ernest Cline, Becoming Maria mentioned above, Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head by Lauren Oliver & H.C. Chester, and The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands.
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:
Made this one by a lot! Read Awaking by Madeline Freeman, Batgirl #1 by Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf, A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan, Bear is Broken by Lachlan Smith, and The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang.
I'm excited to see how this will all look at the end of the year.
I'm up to 177! I'm still a little low on pages compared to last year, but I've got a couple of really long books I'm working on right now, so that should help. I'm also going on vacation this month, so I'll have time to just sit on the beach and read. Whee!
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
Made this (and have made significant dents in two more non-fiction books that I should finish soon. This month I read Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx by Sonia Manzano which was really interesting.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
DONE! COMPLETE! YAY!
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
Made this goal, even though so much of my reading time has gone to the aforementioned giant non-fiction books. But I did manage to finish Armada by Ernest Cline, Becoming Maria mentioned above, Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head by Lauren Oliver & H.C. Chester, and The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands.
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:
Made this one by a lot! Read Awaking by Madeline Freeman, Batgirl #1 by Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf, A Girl Named Digit by Annabel Monaghan, Bear is Broken by Lachlan Smith, and The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang.
I'm excited to see how this will all look at the end of the year.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Bookish Resolutions: August Progress
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
I'm up to 169 and the page counts on this month's books were a little higher. I'm still about 20,000 pages lower than my 2014 total, so I'll just have to make sure I read some longer books :)
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
I read Karl Barth's The Word of God and the Word of Man, which I found quite interesting. This was my first encounter with Barth, but I have a feeling it won't be my last.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I DID IT! I finally got through the last pending book that was sitting here, reading The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross. Which I loved. I can't wait to read the next one in the series. I still have 2 non-fiction books on this shelf (in addition to the active currently reading ones), but they are both ones I'm just going to pick at as I feel like it, so they are actually currently reading as opposed to all of the books I had started and then stopped that were just sitting there forever. I feel really good about this.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
I did well on this goal this month. I read James Dashner's The Kill Order, the prequel to the Maze Runner trilogy, and while I enjoyed it, I won't reread it, so I am weeding that one. I also read The Girl in the Steel Corset as I noted above as well as a couple of ARCs that I picked up at BEA including Will Walton's Anything Could Happen and Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit both of which were good, but are on my potential weeding pile.
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:
Knocked this one out of the park again. I finished the Grace S. Richmond collection, which gave me Red Pepper's Patients, The Second Violin, Strawberry Acres, and Under the Country Sky. I also read Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (I swear if I had had to read 1 more description of fish I would have found a real copy to throw out the window) and Lorena Angell's A Diamond in My Pocket. I also made it through Asylum by Madeleine Roux, Goddess Girls: Athena the Brain by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, and Awaken by Rachel M. Humphrey-D'aigle. Some of them I enjoyed, some of them I wanted to enjoy but just didn't do it for me. But I'm working my way through the A's and I think I'm pretty close to hitting the B's!
Forcing myself into a structure has certainly kept me on task with my reading and made me read things I might not have gotten to. I'm enjoying this journey!
I'm up to 169 and the page counts on this month's books were a little higher. I'm still about 20,000 pages lower than my 2014 total, so I'll just have to make sure I read some longer books :)
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
I read Karl Barth's The Word of God and the Word of Man, which I found quite interesting. This was my first encounter with Barth, but I have a feeling it won't be my last.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I DID IT! I finally got through the last pending book that was sitting here, reading The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross. Which I loved. I can't wait to read the next one in the series. I still have 2 non-fiction books on this shelf (in addition to the active currently reading ones), but they are both ones I'm just going to pick at as I feel like it, so they are actually currently reading as opposed to all of the books I had started and then stopped that were just sitting there forever. I feel really good about this.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
I did well on this goal this month. I read James Dashner's The Kill Order, the prequel to the Maze Runner trilogy, and while I enjoyed it, I won't reread it, so I am weeding that one. I also read The Girl in the Steel Corset as I noted above as well as a couple of ARCs that I picked up at BEA including Will Walton's Anything Could Happen and Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit both of which were good, but are on my potential weeding pile.
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:
Knocked this one out of the park again. I finished the Grace S. Richmond collection, which gave me Red Pepper's Patients, The Second Violin, Strawberry Acres, and Under the Country Sky. I also read Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (I swear if I had had to read 1 more description of fish I would have found a real copy to throw out the window) and Lorena Angell's A Diamond in My Pocket. I also made it through Asylum by Madeleine Roux, Goddess Girls: Athena the Brain by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, and Awaken by Rachel M. Humphrey-D'aigle. Some of them I enjoyed, some of them I wanted to enjoy but just didn't do it for me. But I'm working my way through the A's and I think I'm pretty close to hitting the B's!
Forcing myself into a structure has certainly kept me on task with my reading and made me read things I might not have gotten to. I'm enjoying this journey!
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Bookish Resolutions: July Progress
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
I'm up to 148 already. I can hardly believe it! But 73 of those have been under 200 pages (and half of those under 100 pages), so page-wise I'm further behind last year. Still pretty happy with my progress here, though. My book count will be higher because I've been reading so many that are fewer pages.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
I finished Ann Thwaite's A.A. Milne: His Life which was absolutely and completely fascinating. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes biographies.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
Still have one left sitting here, so no additional progress this month.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
Other than the Milne biography, I read The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure by James Dashner. I had read them before, but have been wanting to do a re-read ever since The Maze Runner movie came out. So, not planning on getting rid of them right now, but I technically completed this goal :/
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:
Did much better on this goal than on the print goal. I read Jus Accardo's A Darker Past, The Adventures of Zelda: Pug and Peach by Kristen Otte, and Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places (which just ripped me up in the best way). I also read most of the novels/novellas/short stories in the collection of Grace S. Richmond's works that I downloaded ages and ages ago. They were interesting and definitely not something I would have read if it hadn't been sitting in my queue for this reading resolution quest.
Overall pretty pleased :)
I'm up to 148 already. I can hardly believe it! But 73 of those have been under 200 pages (and half of those under 100 pages), so page-wise I'm further behind last year. Still pretty happy with my progress here, though. My book count will be higher because I've been reading so many that are fewer pages.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
I finished Ann Thwaite's A.A. Milne: His Life which was absolutely and completely fascinating. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes biographies.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
Still have one left sitting here, so no additional progress this month.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
Other than the Milne biography, I read The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure by James Dashner. I had read them before, but have been wanting to do a re-read ever since The Maze Runner movie came out. So, not planning on getting rid of them right now, but I technically completed this goal :/
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:
Did much better on this goal than on the print goal. I read Jus Accardo's A Darker Past, The Adventures of Zelda: Pug and Peach by Kristen Otte, and Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places (which just ripped me up in the best way). I also read most of the novels/novellas/short stories in the collection of Grace S. Richmond's works that I downloaded ages and ages ago. They were interesting and definitely not something I would have read if it hadn't been sitting in my queue for this reading resolution quest.
Overall pretty pleased :)
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Bookish Resolutions: June Progress
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
I'm up to 129, so doing well on this front. Slowed down this month a little bit as I hit some slightly longer/more involved books.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
Made my one this month, finishing A.A. Milne's Not That It Matters. However, I've made significant progress on the thick and densely printed Milne biography, so I'm more than content with that.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
Cleared out one more, finishing Willa Cather's My Antonia finally. I've got one more to go before I consider this goal complete and considering that I have 6 months left, I'm confident I'll make it!
4. Read at last 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
Did well on this one, reading three books, all of which I am passing on, giving away, or donating. I read Rowan Coleman's The Accidental Mother, which I really enjoyed, but know I won't read again. I also read 2 of by new BEA books. I finished The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels, which isn't out until November. I already gave that one to my sister. And I just finished Gregory Maguire's upcoming book After Alice, which I think I may run an Instagram giveaway for on our Booksellers Without Borders NY account.
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:
Just barely squeaked this one out. I read Darker Days by Jus Accardo and My Antonia was an ebook, so it counts. I've been watching X-Files on my breaks at work, which is usually when I read ebooks, so that accounts for less reading done this month. I'm back to reading on my breaks though, so it might tick upward next month.
I know no one probably cares about this but me, but posting here at the beginning of each month inspires me to actually read with more purpose and I've read quite a few books I probably wouldn't have read if I wasn't doing this, so yay for me :)
I'm up to 129, so doing well on this front. Slowed down this month a little bit as I hit some slightly longer/more involved books.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
Made my one this month, finishing A.A. Milne's Not That It Matters. However, I've made significant progress on the thick and densely printed Milne biography, so I'm more than content with that.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
Cleared out one more, finishing Willa Cather's My Antonia finally. I've got one more to go before I consider this goal complete and considering that I have 6 months left, I'm confident I'll make it!
4. Read at last 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
Did well on this one, reading three books, all of which I am passing on, giving away, or donating. I read Rowan Coleman's The Accidental Mother, which I really enjoyed, but know I won't read again. I also read 2 of by new BEA books. I finished The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels, which isn't out until November. I already gave that one to my sister. And I just finished Gregory Maguire's upcoming book After Alice, which I think I may run an Instagram giveaway for on our Booksellers Without Borders NY account.
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:
Just barely squeaked this one out. I read Darker Days by Jus Accardo and My Antonia was an ebook, so it counts. I've been watching X-Files on my breaks at work, which is usually when I read ebooks, so that accounts for less reading done this month. I'm back to reading on my breaks though, so it might tick upward next month.
I know no one probably cares about this but me, but posting here at the beginning of each month inspires me to actually read with more purpose and I've read quite a few books I probably wouldn't have read if I wasn't doing this, so yay for me :)
Monday, June 1, 2015
Bookish Resolutions: May Progress
This is really helping me focus my reading! So here's how I've done this month.
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
Well, number-wise I'm up to 120, which is crazy, but page-wise I'm less than half way to what I read last year. I've read quite a few picture books and early reader graphic novels, which I count as books, but which don't bump the page number that much. So, while the book count is good, I'm hoping to bump the page count a bit in the next month.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
WOW! I read 5 non-fiction books this month (and 1 of those I enjoyed, but am weeding from my collection to make room, so double win!). I read Sun Tzu's The Art of War, G. Neri's graphic novel biography Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, Max Lucado's 3:16 The Numbers of Hope, If I May a collection of essays by A.A. Milne, and The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived by Allan Lazar, Jeremy Salter, and Dan Karlan.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I finished Wendy Delsol's The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls bringing it down to 2 1/2 books left lingering (that I'm not actively reading). So nice to start seeing this actually represent what I'm actually currently reading. (And that 1/2 is a book I was reading for research for a novel that I've temporarily shelved, so I am going to read it sometime, but if it's not read this year, I'll be okay with that.)
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
I started reading through alphabetically by title, so I've actually made progress on this one! I read Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived (mentioned above in #2), The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls (mentioned in #3), Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers, 3:16 (one of my non-fiction reads), and The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale. Out of those 6, I weeded 3. It's nice to finally see a win in this resolution! I may be taking a break from the alphabetically to work through the books I just picked up at BEA, though, so I can review close to release dates, rather than sitting on them for five years as has happened in the past. We'll see what happens.
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month (I upped this from 1 to 2, because I've been blowing it out of the water each month):
Another alphabetical win! I read a total of 9, though 2 of those were superhero weeklies and a couple were more novellas. But still! Books read that I own. I read After the End by Amy Plum, Apocalypse Weird: The Red King by Nick Cole, Aquaman 1: The Trench by Geoff Johns, The Arena Wars and War of Hearts by Samantha Hoffman, 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass, Arrow #1 by Marc Guggenheim, A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont, and The Art of War (one of my non-fiction titles).
How about you? What have you read that you've loved? Have you made any bookish resolutions? How's it going?
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
Well, number-wise I'm up to 120, which is crazy, but page-wise I'm less than half way to what I read last year. I've read quite a few picture books and early reader graphic novels, which I count as books, but which don't bump the page number that much. So, while the book count is good, I'm hoping to bump the page count a bit in the next month.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
WOW! I read 5 non-fiction books this month (and 1 of those I enjoyed, but am weeding from my collection to make room, so double win!). I read Sun Tzu's The Art of War, G. Neri's graphic novel biography Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, Max Lucado's 3:16 The Numbers of Hope, If I May a collection of essays by A.A. Milne, and The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived by Allan Lazar, Jeremy Salter, and Dan Karlan.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I finished Wendy Delsol's The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls bringing it down to 2 1/2 books left lingering (that I'm not actively reading). So nice to start seeing this actually represent what I'm actually currently reading. (And that 1/2 is a book I was reading for research for a novel that I've temporarily shelved, so I am going to read it sometime, but if it's not read this year, I'll be okay with that.)
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
I started reading through alphabetically by title, so I've actually made progress on this one! I read Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived (mentioned above in #2), The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls (mentioned in #3), Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers, 3:16 (one of my non-fiction reads), and The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale. Out of those 6, I weeded 3. It's nice to finally see a win in this resolution! I may be taking a break from the alphabetically to work through the books I just picked up at BEA, though, so I can review close to release dates, rather than sitting on them for five years as has happened in the past. We'll see what happens.
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month (I upped this from 1 to 2, because I've been blowing it out of the water each month):
Another alphabetical win! I read a total of 9, though 2 of those were superhero weeklies and a couple were more novellas. But still! Books read that I own. I read After the End by Amy Plum, Apocalypse Weird: The Red King by Nick Cole, Aquaman 1: The Trench by Geoff Johns, The Arena Wars and War of Hearts by Samantha Hoffman, 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass, Arrow #1 by Marc Guggenheim, A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont, and The Art of War (one of my non-fiction titles).
How about you? What have you read that you've loved? Have you made any bookish resolutions? How's it going?
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
A Funny Thing Happened On the Way Through My Books
After moving to my new place and sifting through all my print books twice (once while packing them, once while unpacking them) and getting rid of probably 2-3 boxes of them and getting them all cataloged in LibraryThing (which is a magical site that allows me to stop buying duplicates of books ALL THE TIME) I decided that I really needed to catalog my eBooks too.This took a long time and a lot of patience and several restarts as I changed the way I wanted to organize them.
Then I decided I really should mark every book that I haven't read.All of these things combined to open my eyes to the plethora of books I own but haven't read, or am dying to reread, or will probably never read in a million years.
So a few more books went out the door. A handful of eBooks got deleted from my Nook account.
And I decided there had to be a better way of systematically reading all of those free eBooks and ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies or Galleys) that I had picked up over the years. So I did the logical thing and started with A. Well, actually I started with the books that have numbers for titles, because those get put before the As. And when I finish one I take of the "Unread" label and, if it's an eBook, I archive it so it doesn't show up on my Nook anymore, but I can download it again should I ever want to, or, if it's a print book, decide whether to put it back on the shelf or plop it in the to sell or donate box.
I started this toward the end of last year with my eBooks, and last month for print books. And so far I've read 30 eBooks and 4 print books I probably wouldn't have read (or wouldn't have read yet). Some of them I would have gotten to before others, since they were by favorite authors. But honestly, many of them would have probably languished on my Nook or bookshelf forever.Some of them have been wonderful books. Some of them have been good. A couple have been awful. Many have been just okay. But they are all now read.
But I noticed something in the last week.
See, I get daily e-mails from three wonderful sites: BookBub, The Fussy Librarian, and Bookperk. You sign up for free, in some cases you select the genres, formats, content that you like and then they magically deliver a list of books that are cheap or free. Every. Day. It's magical. I've discovered sales on some of my favorite authors this way. I highly recommend them.
And it used to be that every day I would be downloading at least one free book. Every. Day.
That adds up to a lot of books. A lot of eBooks that were languishing on my Nook.
I noticed, now that I'm actively reading through many of these free books that I've downloaded in the past, I am much pickier about the ones I buy or download. Even if they're free. Because I have, according to my LibraryThing shelf, over 1,200 books I haven't read yet. TWELVE HUNDRED.
So instead of saying, like I used to, HEY IT'S FREE. DOWNLOAD ALL THE BOOKS, I say, Do I really want to add this to my list?
Sometimes the answer is YES.
Sometimes the answer is perhaps.
But more often now it's... probably not.
So by reading the books I already own I'm not only weeding out my personal collection, but I'm also keeping myself from adding to it!
A side benefit I never expected.
How are you at reading books you've already bought? Do you keep a tight rein on yourself or are you like me and own almost as many books you haven't read as those you have? Do you have a system that keeps you from buying or downloading more books than you could possibly read in one lifetime or did you give up on that long ago?
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Bookish Resolutions: April Progress
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
I hit the library for picture books again. So I'm up to 87 of the 200 ... really good considering it's only April! I have read other books, though, not just picture books and graphic novels. This month I've read 15 books over 200 pages and 7 of those were over 300 (1 over 400). So they balance out the 11 that were under 100 pages.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
I have 7 read so far! And 2 read this month. I listened to The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, which was fascinating. I also read Harry Potter's Bookshelf: The Great Books Behind the Hogwarts Adventures by John Granger, which was an interesting look at the literary influences in Harry Potter.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I didn't get through any of these this month, but I only have 4 left and still have 8 months, so I'm not too concerned.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
I read 3 books (all of which had been sitting on my shelves for a while) so this one was finally a win. I read Janet Gurtler's #16 Things I Thought Were True (though to be fair, I knew that one wouldn't get weeded), 5 Cheesy Stories by Patsy Clairmont (I will be holding onto this one to read with my nieces and nephew), and 29 by Adena Halpern (which I enjoyed but will be weeding because I probably won't read it again). I did better this month because I adopted the strategy I've been applying to eBooks and just started alphabetically on my unread shelf in Library Thing. So rather than dithering about what to read or heading toward more recent acquisitions that I would most likely not be getting rid of, I'm forced to just read what's next on the list.
5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:
Did well on this one again. I read 4 eBooks this month. These included A Dangerous Inheritanceby Alison Weir, Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton, Angels Watching Over Me by Michael Phillips, and Anni Moon & the Elemental Artifact. I'm almost done with the As! Maybe I can finish them off in May!
Yay for books!
I hit the library for picture books again. So I'm up to 87 of the 200 ... really good considering it's only April! I have read other books, though, not just picture books and graphic novels. This month I've read 15 books over 200 pages and 7 of those were over 300 (1 over 400). So they balance out the 11 that were under 100 pages.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):
I have 7 read so far! And 2 read this month. I listened to The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, which was fascinating. I also read Harry Potter's Bookshelf: The Great Books Behind the Hogwarts Adventures by John Granger, which was an interesting look at the literary influences in Harry Potter.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I didn't get through any of these this month, but I only have 4 left and still have 8 months, so I'm not too concerned.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):
I read 3 books (all of which had been sitting on my shelves for a while) so this one was finally a win. I read Janet Gurtler's #16 Things I Thought Were True (though to be fair, I knew that one wouldn't get weeded), 5 Cheesy Stories by Patsy Clairmont (I will be holding onto this one to read with my nieces and nephew), and 29 by Adena Halpern (which I enjoyed but will be weeding because I probably won't read it again). I did better this month because I adopted the strategy I've been applying to eBooks and just started alphabetically on my unread shelf in Library Thing. So rather than dithering about what to read or heading toward more recent acquisitions that I would most likely not be getting rid of, I'm forced to just read what's next on the list.
5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:
Did well on this one again. I read 4 eBooks this month. These included A Dangerous Inheritanceby Alison Weir, Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton, Angels Watching Over Me by Michael Phillips, and Anni Moon & the Elemental Artifact. I'm almost done with the As! Maybe I can finish them off in May!
Yay for books!
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Bookish Resolutions: March Progress
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
Still moving happily along. 56 books putting me at 28%. Still ahead for the year and with a few books right on the edge of being finished.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015:
I squeaked in on this one, listening to Tina Fey's Bossypants during a long car ride since I realized I hadn't even started reading one this month. That puts me at 5 so far, so still ahead of the game, but my goal is really to read at least 1 non-fiction book a month, so I'm still on target for that.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I cleared one more out - Hope Leslie, an old school read I'd never finished. That leaves me with 3.5 (one of them is sort of actually currently reading, sort of just hanging out there). Still, nice progress with plenty of time left in the year.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month, with an eye toward weeding:
This resolution continues to be my downfall. I did read Thursdays with the Crown by Jessica Day George, but I also knew I was not going to be getting rid of it. I squeaked in Dangerous by Shannon Hale (another keeper) with six minutes left in the month. But both of those titles were on my to read list and I do own them. I'm going to try some sort of alphabetical thing like with my e-books because that is helping me rock the goal.
5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:
I honestly think by just working through alphabetically by title, I'm not worried about which book I should read next or figuring out what I'm in the mood for. I just click on the next title. I've enjoyed some of them a lot. Others have made me roll my eyes. But there are less books I own that I haven't read, so that's a good thing. This month I read Hope Leslie by Catharine Maria Sedgwick, 1/2986by Annelie Wendeberg, Also Known As by Robin Benway, Altdorf: A Novel of the Forest Knights by J. K. Swift, Anathema by Megg Jensen, A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist, Andy McBean and the War of the Worlds by Dale Kutzera, and Angel in the Shadows by Lisa Grace so 8 books. Pretty impressive. And it also makes me feel better about the print goal, because this is where a lot of time went.
And there you have it. Any resolutions you've kept up with or are struggling with?
Still moving happily along. 56 books putting me at 28%. Still ahead for the year and with a few books right on the edge of being finished.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015:
I squeaked in on this one, listening to Tina Fey's Bossypants during a long car ride since I realized I hadn't even started reading one this month. That puts me at 5 so far, so still ahead of the game, but my goal is really to read at least 1 non-fiction book a month, so I'm still on target for that.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I cleared one more out - Hope Leslie, an old school read I'd never finished. That leaves me with 3.5 (one of them is sort of actually currently reading, sort of just hanging out there). Still, nice progress with plenty of time left in the year.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month, with an eye toward weeding:
This resolution continues to be my downfall. I did read Thursdays with the Crown by Jessica Day George, but I also knew I was not going to be getting rid of it. I squeaked in Dangerous by Shannon Hale (another keeper) with six minutes left in the month. But both of those titles were on my to read list and I do own them. I'm going to try some sort of alphabetical thing like with my e-books because that is helping me rock the goal.
5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:
I honestly think by just working through alphabetically by title, I'm not worried about which book I should read next or figuring out what I'm in the mood for. I just click on the next title. I've enjoyed some of them a lot. Others have made me roll my eyes. But there are less books I own that I haven't read, so that's a good thing. This month I read Hope Leslie by Catharine Maria Sedgwick, 1/2986by Annelie Wendeberg, Also Known As by Robin Benway, Altdorf: A Novel of the Forest Knights by J. K. Swift, Anathema by Megg Jensen, A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist, Andy McBean and the War of the Worlds by Dale Kutzera, and Angel in the Shadows by Lisa Grace so 8 books. Pretty impressive. And it also makes me feel better about the print goal, because this is where a lot of time went.
And there you have it. Any resolutions you've kept up with or are struggling with?
Monday, March 2, 2015
Bookish Resolutions: February Progress
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
Still doing quite well on this front. I've read a total of 41 putting me at 21% of my goal. Pretty good, considering we're only 2 months into the year.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015:
I knocked this out of the park this month. I finished A Life and Its Mirrors: A Feminist Reading of L.M. Montgomery's Fiction by Gabriella Ahmansson as well as The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career by L. M. Montgomery, AND I finished Poetics of Reverie: Childhood, Language, and Cosmos by Gaston Bachelard. So, feeling pretty good about this.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I finished another book for this one, bringing my total down to 6, with only 2 of those being actual currently reading books. That means I only have 5 more to finish this year. Totally doable.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month, with an eye toward weeding:
Didn't do as well with this one, though. Technically I "completed" this, finishing off Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz from my currently reading list and then reading My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins. I am getting rid of Splendors and Glooms but I don't feel that the other one really counts as it's a fairly new purchase and I knew I wouldn't be getting rid of it. But I was deep in the two ILL non-fiction books I had to get back, so I give myself a little bit of a pass this month.
5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:
Did quite well on this goal as well. I finished off The Adventures of Gerard by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Aerisia: Land Beyond the Sunset by Sarah Ashwood, The Adventures of Zelda: A Pug Tale by Kristen Otte, Alessandra by Lizzy Ford (though this was a short story), Alice in Zombielandby Nickolas Cook and Lewis Carroll, A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist, and The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career by L. M. Montgomery (one of my non-fiction reads). Rousing success on the e-book front. I think working my way through (roughly) alphabetically is keeping me from dithering over what I should or want to read on my Nook and I just move to the next one.
I am, however, in a bit of a reading dry spell at the moment, so I'm hoping I can get back into the swing of things and stay on top of my goals for March.
Any reading successes you'd like to share?
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Bookish Resolutions: January Progress
I think that updating on my blog every month how I'm doing on my resolutions will help me stay on track! So here goes:
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
I've been marking picture books To Read as I go through Publisher's Weekly for my job - kind of a side perk - so a couple weeks ago I took the list to my local library and checked out a stack of picture books and middle grade graphic novels and devoured them, which helped my total quite a bit.
So as of right now, I've read 26 books - which is 9 ahead of schedule and putting me at 13% of my goal. * of those were picture books and 8 of them were MG graphic novels. Being ahead now will help me as I get slowed down on some of the longer books I know I want to read this year.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015:
I squeaked this one out by finishing Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer last night. This was a really good read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm also about half way through another non-fiction book, so February is looking quite promising already.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I am doing all right here. I deleted 2 that I knew I wasn't going to be getting to any time soon, so there was no need to have them sitting there. I also finished The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, so I am now down to 10 on this list, 4 of which are ones I'm actually currently reading. That's only 6 more I need to attack and clear off.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month, with an eye toward weeding:
I didn't really do as well with this resolution. The Boyfriend App did double duty here, being both on my Currently Reading shelf and a print book I own that I hadn't read yet. The other book I read was a purchase at the end of last year, and is one I knew I wouldn't be getting rid of - Stephanie Perkins' Isla and the Happily Ever After. It had been sitting in my TBR pile, but I really want to try to read books I own that have been sitting there for a long time for this resolution - in addition to the books I "want" to read right now. I did a lot of library-ing this month too, so I had books I had to read so I could return them. I think I need to cool it on the library until I get through some of the books I own (but libraries are awesome-sauce!)
5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:
I'm pretty happy with my progress here. I did a mini purge of my eBook collection, deleting a handful of books. Then I just started with the A's (well, actually with the numbered books, since the Nook forefronts numerals in front of A) and began working my way forward. This month I finished 44 by Jools Sinclair - well, I finished the books I own. It's a YA serial and I had a set with the first 5 books, so I finished the 4th and 5th. Then I also read Kim Foster's A Beautiful Heist and Adam Bede by George Eliot, and I'm almost done with The Adventures of Gerard by Arthur Conan Doyle. So I call this one a roaring success (especially since Adam Bede was over 400 pages long :)
So that's where I stand with my bookish resolutions. Did you make any book-related resolutions for the year? I'd love to hear about it!
1. Read 200 books in 2015:
I've been marking picture books To Read as I go through Publisher's Weekly for my job - kind of a side perk - so a couple weeks ago I took the list to my local library and checked out a stack of picture books and middle grade graphic novels and devoured them, which helped my total quite a bit.
So as of right now, I've read 26 books - which is 9 ahead of schedule and putting me at 13% of my goal. * of those were picture books and 8 of them were MG graphic novels. Being ahead now will help me as I get slowed down on some of the longer books I know I want to read this year.
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015:
I squeaked this one out by finishing Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer last night. This was a really good read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm also about half way through another non-fiction book, so February is looking quite promising already.
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:
I am doing all right here. I deleted 2 that I knew I wasn't going to be getting to any time soon, so there was no need to have them sitting there. I also finished The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, so I am now down to 10 on this list, 4 of which are ones I'm actually currently reading. That's only 6 more I need to attack and clear off.
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month, with an eye toward weeding:
I didn't really do as well with this resolution. The Boyfriend App did double duty here, being both on my Currently Reading shelf and a print book I own that I hadn't read yet. The other book I read was a purchase at the end of last year, and is one I knew I wouldn't be getting rid of - Stephanie Perkins' Isla and the Happily Ever After. It had been sitting in my TBR pile, but I really want to try to read books I own that have been sitting there for a long time for this resolution - in addition to the books I "want" to read right now. I did a lot of library-ing this month too, so I had books I had to read so I could return them. I think I need to cool it on the library until I get through some of the books I own (but libraries are awesome-sauce!)
5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:
I'm pretty happy with my progress here. I did a mini purge of my eBook collection, deleting a handful of books. Then I just started with the A's (well, actually with the numbered books, since the Nook forefronts numerals in front of A) and began working my way forward. This month I finished 44 by Jools Sinclair - well, I finished the books I own. It's a YA serial and I had a set with the first 5 books, so I finished the 4th and 5th. Then I also read Kim Foster's A Beautiful Heist and Adam Bede by George Eliot, and I'm almost done with The Adventures of Gerard by Arthur Conan Doyle. So I call this one a roaring success (especially since Adam Bede was over 400 pages long :)
So that's where I stand with my bookish resolutions. Did you make any book-related resolutions for the year? I'd love to hear about it!
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