tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88819038613467375532024-03-05T10:09:13.582-05:00Sonshine ThoughtsRebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.comBlogger419125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-37842247445721843902022-01-08T20:13:00.003-05:002022-01-08T20:13:50.338-05:00Top 10 Reads of 2021<p> I read some amazing books this year! It was hard, but I pared my top list down to my 10 favorite books this year. Here they are in no real order beyond being my top reads of the year. I've included my mini summary - the titles link to my original Instagram post with my full review, and the authors are linked to their websites where available. Take a look and let me know in the comments what one (or two) of your favorite books was in 2021!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguxKyajVtfHjp98Nj4uQX-6Rbum5AQYF3uKih4NE9Mp8jp_dL6JVnDGWi0Ec7CMOLIO5YNje37oLajiMlTj2na-_lFzBuOCXthFQz7Wg-Fjw65JjWPKRCD2wiKrlxgsxdXlJ_7VuxQSMbBIgh0wdA7LVmJKNb2mEWUGzRA44t-5zu6dfm-OglDxcZ9=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguxKyajVtfHjp98Nj4uQX-6Rbum5AQYF3uKih4NE9Mp8jp_dL6JVnDGWi0Ec7CMOLIO5YNje37oLajiMlTj2na-_lFzBuOCXthFQz7Wg-Fjw65JjWPKRCD2wiKrlxgsxdXlJ_7VuxQSMbBIgh0wdA7LVmJKNb2mEWUGzRA44t-5zu6dfm-OglDxcZ9=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRSejZ5LcK2/" target="_blank">House of Hollow </a>by <a href="https://www.krystalsutherland.com/" target="_blank">Krystal Sutherland</a></p><h2 class="_6lAjh "><div class=" qF0y9 Igw0E IwRSH eGOV_ _4EzTm ItkAi "><span class="Jv7Aj mArmR MqpiF "></span></div></h2><span class="">Iris
and her sisters disappeared for three months when they were children.
They came back strangely changed and with no memory of what had
happened. Now they're older and each has found a way to deal with their
past. Grey is an internationally renowned fashion designer, Vivi roams
the world playing music, and Iris is finally gaining a little high
school normalcy. Then Grey goes missing again. And a strange man starts
following Iris. What really happened all those years ago? And is it
happening again </span><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSe75Ujnki0opf9DUHn-MXW1HaC_-YruLjb_yNGrKFiwTNjF3KCsC_DE8utRZYPxtGDSfOq56781x1lULX0H5I3dmJQtJGO0DkaypH9JiS9xwGec2-ayqGsRR8j-OJuVBXGfTUWs4oQ1g-kPgl8hBFtNUAT7ArsYH2OjNZVTGsuzCWH13S895gMhKd=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSe75Ujnki0opf9DUHn-MXW1HaC_-YruLjb_yNGrKFiwTNjF3KCsC_DE8utRZYPxtGDSfOq56781x1lULX0H5I3dmJQtJGO0DkaypH9JiS9xwGec2-ayqGsRR8j-OJuVBXGfTUWs4oQ1g-kPgl8hBFtNUAT7ArsYH2OjNZVTGsuzCWH13S895gMhKd=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CLhrK0XrOGf/" target="_blank">A Deadly Education</a> by <a href="https://www.naominovik.com/" target="_blank">Naomi Novik</a></p><p><span class="">El is the chosen one. Unfortunately she's the one chosen
to destroy the world, which means the Scholomance keeps trying to teach
her spells of mass destruction when she's just trying to clean the
monster stench out of her rug. That's the downside of attending a
sentient school for magic. That and the monsters who regularly try to
eat her and the annoying golden boy, Orion, who keeps swooping in to
save her life when she doesn't need it. At this rate, she'll be lucky to
make it to graduation without flunking out or killing all of her
classmates. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbLvalBL8YbURvtBW2Z0kwKtMm9E78Q_n-hNzgWp3CoBhAnbzb1jmdaeIQmFB5CQ5lvNKICtTvJoEL_x37_04_TAjpYl8pUMb_QNrj8ODLFbSolgyzfLUJ6hMTBxksbk5sNe7ThLMt2Zs8D_QwtBZrY3ocXc_So58EZvaYEJSRmR0dprPDZ7m-7ZTb=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbLvalBL8YbURvtBW2Z0kwKtMm9E78Q_n-hNzgWp3CoBhAnbzb1jmdaeIQmFB5CQ5lvNKICtTvJoEL_x37_04_TAjpYl8pUMb_QNrj8ODLFbSolgyzfLUJ6hMTBxksbk5sNe7ThLMt2Zs8D_QwtBZrY3ocXc_So58EZvaYEJSRmR0dprPDZ7m-7ZTb=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRg_fE2Lyi_/" target="_blank">The Martian</a> by <a href="https://www.andyweirauthor.com/" target="_blank">Andy Weir</a></p><p><span class="">Mark Watney may be the first man to die on Mars, which
really isn't how he expected to be remembered. Accidentally left behind,
it will take all his ingenuity, perseverance, skill, and sarcasm to
survive. </span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8Gq1fdNkWCb-alSd5QQrlrfQ_4ReqQvyQ2jQNprcIc6OLtkKybw5R73wNQTdfgDfsDH9WFErvigzTF3ZQcwvQGkxDPOP4Chi9lqZZdEW5T-xHYlho8gH2RHWEts7wrbToUZ0K1JVs7sVjICEVQLSbmOTc6Mhc5B2y1RREGMqfFMnZLi_yy8fITk3B=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8Gq1fdNkWCb-alSd5QQrlrfQ_4ReqQvyQ2jQNprcIc6OLtkKybw5R73wNQTdfgDfsDH9WFErvigzTF3ZQcwvQGkxDPOP4Chi9lqZZdEW5T-xHYlho8gH2RHWEts7wrbToUZ0K1JVs7sVjICEVQLSbmOTc6Mhc5B2y1RREGMqfFMnZLi_yy8fITk3B=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQzrFSILh6W/" target="_blank">The Kingdom of Back </a>by <a href="http://marielu.com/" target="_blank">Marie Lu</a></p><p><span class="">Nannerl has one wish: not to be forgotten. But her
younger brother Woferl is the one receiving the praise and opportunities
to share his compositions while she has to hide her talent. When a
mysterious boy from the Kingdom of Back offers her the chance for her
wish to come true, she agrees to complete his tasks. But as time passes,
she begins to wonder what her wish might cost and if the price is worth
it. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgS_psqy29udzB2mteUzfTY5gxwpnQu1yXXWtOJTtxT4h0D5eRW132j9GnYYj9d_nClMhnugCPBzZNtfcu3WUWlZJqM2uwihUwqL1XJpSPXNmKFHyKMOsC747pvCL73bZS-cTtavzZWGDP4sv93Hbai-06PYbhlGWRafdpNB8KQ6fJUvl-yspLQJgNh=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgS_psqy29udzB2mteUzfTY5gxwpnQu1yXXWtOJTtxT4h0D5eRW132j9GnYYj9d_nClMhnugCPBzZNtfcu3WUWlZJqM2uwihUwqL1XJpSPXNmKFHyKMOsC747pvCL73bZS-cTtavzZWGDP4sv93Hbai-06PYbhlGWRafdpNB8KQ6fJUvl-yspLQJgNh=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWWEc8crnFH/">Watch Over Me</a> by <a href="https://www.ninalacour.com/" target="_blank">Nina Lacour</a></p><p><span class="">Mila is aging out of the system with nowhere to go, so
when she's offered an internship at a farm working with other foster
kids, she accepts. The farm is everything and nothing she expected. It
might be a place to belong, but it's haunted, much as she is by the
shadows of her past. Does she deserve the glimpse of happiness she sees
or will the darkness of who she was destroy her life again? </span> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh45m22bYADaIhiCwOxyMwLAg-raISxNkE7VBG2107e0mxwniAdyNa7HrEutQCXbnW2RqnwPW5DfqxHpMCgIme6mnwd4PQOQGcQzzv4NTsVejtoM1AyIioGME6QotYJXJ2pH-arl5sKgdpGn_fZ8ejM9APm8dO5aylkJIM7gsDBpWkIGfS_PV-VEYqQ=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh45m22bYADaIhiCwOxyMwLAg-raISxNkE7VBG2107e0mxwniAdyNa7HrEutQCXbnW2RqnwPW5DfqxHpMCgIme6mnwd4PQOQGcQzzv4NTsVejtoM1AyIioGME6QotYJXJ2pH-arl5sKgdpGn_fZ8ejM9APm8dO5aylkJIM7gsDBpWkIGfS_PV-VEYqQ=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><p>Stalking Jack the Ripper by <a href="https://kerrimaniscalco.com/" target="_blank">Kerri Maniscalco</a></p><p>Audrey Rose is supposed to be a genteel lady of society, but she'd rather be dissecting bodies with her uncle than sipping tea with other girls. With a killer haunting the city and her uncle's new assistant driving her up the wall, Audrey Rose has to figure out the truth. Especially since it seems the killer may be closer than she could imagine. </p><p>(somehow I never posted this to Instagram and I'm appalled!)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLiKbjYkQ2X4S15bNTieRAZEnRX1E-SkAIDEZ3KG2o1MaZI-kxLxxxkk-5vlJHSUNg7XEJkWIhhzsZC9Lcxv3rljTvi0sqApnLpBfcQHaArocYHSRRDZBy_35tvL5kaA2RYAUIjTILC3jJGScv4kgnKi4et39SoFBRKWbop3Op6SFbrALUtLqzs2oi=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLiKbjYkQ2X4S15bNTieRAZEnRX1E-SkAIDEZ3KG2o1MaZI-kxLxxxkk-5vlJHSUNg7XEJkWIhhzsZC9Lcxv3rljTvi0sqApnLpBfcQHaArocYHSRRDZBy_35tvL5kaA2RYAUIjTILC3jJGScv4kgnKi4et39SoFBRKWbop3Op6SFbrALUtLqzs2oi=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CM0RO2trvY6/" target="_blank">The Empire of Gold </a>by <a href="https://www.sachakraborty.com/" target="_blank">S. A. Chakraborty</a></p><p><span class="">Daevabad is under siege, Nahri and Ali are on the run, and
Dara is struggling to reconcile his conscience with his loyalty to
Manizheh. As the conflict comes to a head, new players enter the scene
and old allies and enemies have a role to play. Will Daevabad and its
people find a way out of the cycle of vengeance and violence before
their world is damaged beyond redemption? And who will be left to pick
up the pieces in a world that hasn't known anything else for centuries? </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNzk5IQ_QKlyefCRSUxuKx5Gm5roiArkM_h2XZqGENe0pNjC5ha197ZU5_k80TYN5_kA-dE6yvflY8aeKLpg9BZL3QKy-VYZMAvZfe9MPTeIgJnr6MgbBOHt7dMISMsSfcWv63v4_-tqkQJZSWuHyks97hYiwUCDuBJ_ZDnaP653VbxwGlI6b_9sA-=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNzk5IQ_QKlyefCRSUxuKx5Gm5roiArkM_h2XZqGENe0pNjC5ha197ZU5_k80TYN5_kA-dE6yvflY8aeKLpg9BZL3QKy-VYZMAvZfe9MPTeIgJnr6MgbBOHt7dMISMsSfcWv63v4_-tqkQJZSWuHyks97hYiwUCDuBJ_ZDnaP653VbxwGlI6b_9sA-=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNjiaELfAY/" target="_blank">Entwined </a>by Heather Dixon</p><p><span class="">Azalea promised her mother she would take care of her 11
younger sisters, but it's hard to do that when the king has abandoned
them and mourning must be observed for a year. Dancing is the only thing
that helps but it's forbidden during mourning, so when Azalea finds a
secret passage that leads to a magic dancing pavilion, it seems like a
wonderful solution. But magic never comes without a price and the
secrets they're all keeping from each other could be their undoing. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisq7qcbOtvND2zQ35x-MUDmlfUFrAiP4q9G2OoNp9sVv8oKnv5ofnGNuV9fx49Aic2PfzjFnf3-UAsw2GvEvyRIrN5-21m11NTJqM6IWgkpmaW0YxEcSJa-62-yN2X2WIE84Sis4vstrFOdV6Xm6-4xamvh0xZspam6KKsfGvoXerzXZYOScuUR0O2=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisq7qcbOtvND2zQ35x-MUDmlfUFrAiP4q9G2OoNp9sVv8oKnv5ofnGNuV9fx49Aic2PfzjFnf3-UAsw2GvEvyRIrN5-21m11NTJqM6IWgkpmaW0YxEcSJa-62-yN2X2WIE84Sis4vstrFOdV6Xm6-4xamvh0xZspam6KKsfGvoXerzXZYOScuUR0O2=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTPuq22rSJ_/" target="_blank">The Penderwicks at Last </a>by <a href="https://www.jeannebirdsall.com/" target="_blank">Jeanne Birdsall</a></p><p><span class="">Book 1 introduces the 4 sisters Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and
Batty along with their faithful dog Hound and their beloved father.
While vacationing in a cottage on an estate they met Jeffrey, a lonely
boy who they quickly welcome into their hearts. Each book expands on the
adventures, heartaches, and loves of this initial cast of characters. I
would love to be neighbors with the Penderwicks.<br /><br />Books 1-3 are act 1, with book 4 act 2, and book 5 is act 3 and a nice coda to the series.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0ZKJIwosDDbqmkBl955Yd61xC1xmitq1SJatY79ZvWBaDh6NTpnATrB6zqytf7y6k7tjT7JK_B-ev9kUreWC6v_VliGtWnIGqkZpZbcCZQEgkjL2eneVTCXeNSnvS0tHC7On1gOC7wolcIcvd2pKdCFupQ9acVYvYNzJksjvayxxMk0zT6vxGvJLl=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0ZKJIwosDDbqmkBl955Yd61xC1xmitq1SJatY79ZvWBaDh6NTpnATrB6zqytf7y6k7tjT7JK_B-ev9kUreWC6v_VliGtWnIGqkZpZbcCZQEgkjL2eneVTCXeNSnvS0tHC7On1gOC7wolcIcvd2pKdCFupQ9acVYvYNzJksjvayxxMk0zT6vxGvJLl=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTVcoTEr60r/" target="_blank">The Princess Will Save You</a> by <a href="https://www.sarahhenningwrites.com/" target="_blank">Sarah Henning</a><br /><p><span class="">When Amarande's father, the Warrior King, dies under
suspicious circumstances, she finds herself a pawn in the royal game as
the neighboring kingdoms vie for her hand and control of the Sand and
Sky. But she was raised to fight fiercely for her kingdom and those she
lives, so when her best friend Luca is kidnapped to force her hand, she
sets out on a journey that will change the course of her life, her
country, and the entire continent. </span></p>Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-8814870252995370552016-07-01T20:02:00.003-04:002016-07-01T20:02:31.977-04:00Rejuvenation<i>written on Cavendish Beach, Prince Edward Island</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
The oceanside will always<br />
be a rejuvenating place<br />
for me.<br />
<br />
It holds a piece<br />
of my soul<br />
<br />
One I don't realize is missing<br />
until I<br />
<br />
see the expanse<br />
of glistening water,<br />
hear the slap splash of waves<br />
on saturated sand,<br />
and breathe in<br />
the brined air.<br />
<br />
As my feet reach<br />
the cool edge<br />
where water meets earth<br />
I feel whole<br />
once again.Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-67886157865067569772016-04-05T18:28:00.003-04:002016-04-05T18:29:21.349-04:00Reading Resolutions: March SuccessesI feel like I've been consuming books like they're vital to my life recently! I've been reading all the time, and enjoying a wide variety of books.<br />
<br />
1. Read 200 books (at least 52,000 pages):<br />
<br />
I read 20 books in March for a total of 65 for the year so far (what) and added another 5,000 pages bringing my page count so far to just under 19,000.<br />
<br />
2. Read 12 non-fiction books (preferably 1/month):<br />
<br />
I made it through 2 in March. I read Michael Rosen's <i>Alphabetical: How Every Letter Tells a Story</i>, which was a fascinating look at the English alphabet and at language in general. I also read <i>Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age</i> edited by Ariel Schrag. This was a graphic novel compilation of autobiographical stories from middle school. It was...okay. I wasn't a huge fan, but it was an interesting read.<br />
<br />
3. Read at least 2 print books I own each month (with an eye to weeding):<br />
<br />
I did manage to pull this one off. I read <i>The Agency: The Body at the Tower </i>by Y. S. Lee, which I really enjoyed - the whole series was good and I'll be writing a review of it over on the Booksellers Without Borders blog. I also read <i>The Ark</i> by Boyd Morrison, which was interesting, but went into the weed pile, because it's not something I'll read again.<br />
<br />
4. Read at least 2 eBooks I own each month:<br />
<br />
Completed this one as well making it through L.R.W. Lee's <i>Andy Smithson: Blast of the Dragon's Fury</i>, <i>The Grey Fairy Book</i> edited by Andrew Lang, <i>The Berenstain Bears and the G-Rex Bones</i> by Stan and Jan Berenstain (I didn't know there were Berenstain Bear chapter books!), and Kelly Oram's <i>Being Jamie Baker</i> which was super fun.<br />
<br />
5. Read at least 1 book off my GoodReads To-Read list:<br />
<br />
I did double duty on this one with <i>Alphabetical</i> being both a non-fiction and a To-Read book. I also read Marion Jensen's <i>Almost Super</i>, which I enjoyed.<br />
<br />
6. Read at least 2 academic articles each month:<br />
<br />
I almost didn't get to this one, but dug up 2 on the last day of the month, determined to complete the challenge I'd set for myself. I read "'Scope for the Imagination': Imaginative Spaces and Female Agency in Anne of Green Gables" by Lauren Makrancy and "Teaching International Students How to Avoid Plagiarism: Librarians and Faculty in Collaboration" by Jenny Gunnarsson, Wlodek J. Kulesza, and Anette PetterssonRebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-314046293981154082016-03-01T10:48:00.000-05:002016-03-01T10:48:01.498-05:00Bookish Resolutions: February SuccessesStill on a reading kick! And having these resolutions in place has helped me keep my reading varied.<br />
<br />
1. Read 200 books (at least 52,000 pages):<br />
I read 19 books this month and about 5,500 pages for a total of 49 books so far (what.) and about 13,000 pages total. Crazy pants. Have no idea how I've pulled that off.<br />
<br />
2. Read 12 non-fiction books (preferably 1/month):<br />
I read 2 this month. I re-read Virginia Woolf's <i>A Room of One's Own</i> and also read Kyle Idleman's <i>AHA</i> - I absolutely love Idleman's style.<br />
<br />
3. Read at least 2 print books I own each month (with an eye to weeding):<br />
I made it through 5 this month. I read <i>After</i> by Amy Efaw, which was a really thought-provoking book. I enjoyed it, but knew I wasn't going to read it again, so I weeded it. As I said, I re-read <i>A Room of One's Own. </i>Finally got my hands on <i>Assassin's Heart</i> by my bloggy/Twitter friend Sarah Ahiers when it came out at the beginning of this month and it was Ah-mazing. I also read and weeded <i>After Obsession </i>by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel - really enjoyed it. And finally, as I noted above, I read <i>AHA</i>.<br />
<br />
4. Read at least 2 ebooks I own each month:<br />
I read 9 this month. Three of those were the first 3 Anne books, since I'm trying to re-read as much of Montgomery's works as possible before the conference in June. They're like comfort food - anything of hers just makes me happy and cozy. I also read <i>All Hallows at Eyre Hall</i> by Luccia Gray, <i>A Very Special Delivery</i> by Linda Goodnight, and <i>As Red As Blood</i> by Salla Simukka (which was so interesting). I Also read Robin Lee Hatcher's <i>A Vote of Confidence</i>, which was a fun Christian historical, and C.L. Stone's <i>The Academy - Thief</i>. I also made it through another one of Andrew Lang's fairy books - the Pink one this month.<br />
<br />
5. Read at least 1 book off my GoodReads To-Read list:<br />
This month I read <i>Absolutely Truly</i> by Heather Vogel Frederick, which was adorable and <i>Adventures with Waffles</i> by Maria Parr that made me so happy I hugged the book when I finished it. I would love to own that one some day.<br />
<br />
6. Read at lest 2 academic articles each month:<br />
I read Alyson Buckman's "'Go Ahead! Run Away! Say It Was Horrible!': Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog as Resistant Text" and "What does knowledge look like: Drawing as a means of knowledge representation and knowledge construction" by Tracey Bowen and M. Max Evans.Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-55117195136100371002016-02-15T08:00:00.000-05:002016-02-15T08:00:19.402-05:00SonShine Eats - Taco BowlNow that I've been on my own for a while I've started getting more creative in the kitchen. I had a couple of big successes recently and people asking me about them, so I thought I'd start keeping track of what I've done and then post about them. I get some of my best ideas from blogs and Pinterest, so here's hoping someone else gets a little inspiration from me :)<div>
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Starting off with my taco bowl. I love crispy taco bowls, but they can be pretty expensive to buy at restaurants. And I love me some tacos in almost any form.</div>
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I started looking up ideas and saw suggestions for deep fryers and realized that my little mini deep fryer was perfect for making a taco bowl! I have enjoyed many of my Bella appliances (and no, I'm getting nothing from them for saying that :) - I love french fries, so I picked up this mini deep fryer on sale, and it's the perfect size for me. It's also the perfect size for turning medium tortillas into taco bowls!</div>
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Sometimes the shell sticks to the basket, but it pops off pretty easily. The tongs I use are bamboo toast tongs and work perfectly for fishing the bowl out if necessary.</div>
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Bon appetit!</div>
Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-12601096103801620732016-02-02T17:58:00.000-05:002016-02-02T17:58:07.317-05:00Bookish Resolutions: January SuccessesI can't believe January has passed us by already! I did a ton of reading this month - just couldn't seem to stop! Excited to see what this new year will continue to bring.<br />
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So here's how I did on my bookish resolutions:<br />
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1. Read 200 books (at least 52,000 pages):<br />
I read a whopping 26 books this month. I did read 12 graphic novels, but a couple were pretty lengthy. Counting the articles I read, I managed about 7,600 pages and since I only need about 4300 a month to make my page goal I'm off to a really good start!<br />
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books (preferably 1/month):<br />
I read 2 this month. One was the graphic novel <i>Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller</i> by Joseph Lambert, which was a fascinating look at their initial struggles to communicate and also, and to me more interestingly, a look at the plagiarism charges Helen faced which ended up effectively discouraging her from writing fiction. I also finished David S. Serchay's <i>The Librarian's Guide to Graphic Novels for Adults</i>, which was an interesting look at the history of comics and graphic novels and a good, if a bit outdated at this point, list of suggestions for collection development.<br />
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3. Read at least 2 print books I own each month (with an eye to weeding):<br />
I squeaked by on this one, reading <i>Library of Souls</i>, the conclusion to Ransom Riggs' Peculiar Children trilogy for book club and <i>Adam</i> by Ted Dekker in my continuing efforts to read through alphabetically. It's kind of depressing me that I'm still in the As, so I want to make a stronger effort to read more books I own and avoid the library for the most part.<br />
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4. Read at least 2 eBooks I own each month:<br />
Did better on this one, because I read them on my lunch breaks and can keep myself from being distracted. This month I read Andrew Lang's <i>The Yellow Fairy Book</i> (only 8 more fairy books to go...), Agatha Christie's <i>The A. B. C. Murders</i>, <i>Above</i> by Isla Morley (which was crazy and good), <i>Avalon</i> by Mindee Arnett (a YA sci-fi reminiscent of <i>Firefly</i>), <i>Before Midnight</i> by Jennifer Blackstream, Mercedes Lackey's <i>A Tangled Web</i> (a novella of the 500 kingdoms that I wish was much longer!), and <i>Arena Mode</i> by Blake Northcott. So a total of 7 eBooks for this month.<br />
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5. Read at least 1 book off my GoodReads To Read list:<br />
These are strictly books I do not own, so these are the only books I'm going to allow myself to get from the library. Starting alphabetically I read <i>The ACB with Honora Lee</i> by Kate De Goldi which was sweet and wonderful and makes me happy just thinking about it again.<br />
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6. Read at least 2 academic articles each month:<br />
I am glad I added this challenge, because it forced me to go looking for and find articles on topics I'm interested in but might not take the time to read right now. I read "Overcoming the Barriers to Information Literacy Programs: CALM Lab for English Majors at Dickinson College" by Christine Bombaro and "'The Status is Not Quo!': Pursuing Resolution in Web-Disseminated Serial Narrative" by Anouk Lang, which was a fascinating analysis of the reception of <i>Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog</i>.<br />
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All in all I am very proud of my progress this month and looking forward to the books I have on queue for February!Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-15252291846016830862016-01-22T21:07:00.001-05:002016-01-22T21:07:31.677-05:00Inconsistencies in both Pro-Life & Pro-Choice PerspectivesThis is a post that I've been mulling over for about a year. Today, as the anniversary of Roe v. Wade decision it seemed the appropriate time to finally pull my thoughts together.<br />
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I'm not going to hide the fact that I am pro-life. I have not come to this position without serious thought and consideration, particularly as I've grown older and have many friends who are pro-choice. I want it to be something I believe with purpose and reason, knowing the arguments of both sides and choosing based on my conscience as well as critical thought.<br />
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My goal with this post is to present 1 specific issue I have seen on each side. It is not to start a war, to speak with anger, or to try to get a rise out of anyone. I am speaking in very broad generalities here and I realize this. I am intentionally painting with a very broad brush in order to point out two particular things that have troubled me.<br />
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I'm going to start with a major source of hypocrisy I often see within many pro-life speakers and people.<br />
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In too many cases when they say they are pro-life, what they actually mean is that they are pro-birth or anti-abortion.<br />
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If we are truly to be people who are pro-life, then we must be concerned with more than just the birth of the baby. We need to be thinking about how we can support the mothers and fathers who find themselves expecting a baby when they are not ready, willing, or able to care for that child. We should be supporting single mothers or single fathers who decide to keep and care for their child. We should be offering mental and emotional support, not only to pregnant women, but to them and their families after the baby is born. We should be finding ways to offer financial help if it's needed.<br />
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We should be supporting organizations that offer women with complete information about their pregnancy care.<br />
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I'm also talking very specifically to people who call themselves followers of Christ. Condemning a woman for choosing abortion when we shun, ostracize, or even just gossip about a woman who finds herself pregnant in a less than ideal situation is neither useful nor fulfilling our supposed stand of being pro-life or followers of Christ. Is it any wonder our opponents find our position to be hypocritical at times?<br />
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To those who are pro-choice, there is one particular contradiction in behavior that has consistently concerned me.<br />
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As I noted above, I have many friends (both people I know in person and people I only know via social media) who are pro-choice. I have heard them present their views, I have seen them post link after link on Facebook or Twitter. I have read many of those links, I have listened to their perspectives.<br />
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I have also seen some of them go through pregnancies, both planned as well as unexpected.<br />
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I have never seen any of them talk about the "tissue" or the "fetus" they are carrying that will be a baby when it's born. They always talk about their baby and often add the gender once they've found out ("baby boy is antsy today") or the name if they reveal it before the birth.<br />
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I have no problem with this (obviously).<br />
What concerns me in general with many people who identify themselves as pro-choice is the sense that we determine people-hood. We, as fallible humans, determine whether a life is a life or not. If we want the baby or decide to keep the baby, then it is, in fact, a baby, even before it is born. If the baby is unwanted, for whatever reason, then it is a fetus or a lump of tissue that can be disposed of.<br />
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This kind of situational perspective on life is problematic. And the question that always comes to my mind is how do we decide where to draw the line? When do we no longer have the right to decide who deserves to be considered a person?<br />
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Abortion is an extremely polarizing issue, and I understand that there are many complexities to arguments on both sides. I hope that, no matter where you stand on this issue, I've generated something for you to think about.Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-11602452121613022442016-01-10T18:50:00.000-05:002016-01-10T18:50:03.293-05:00Popsugar 2015 Reading Challenge - Completed!I stumbled across the <a href="http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-Challenge-2015-36071458">Popsugar Reading Challenge</a> last year and thought that it looked like a fun way to read some things I might not otherwise seek out. I didn't really plan ahead too much, filling in categories with books I was reading anyway, but also keeping these categories in mind. Toward the end of the year, though, I took a good look at the categories that were left and found books on my shelves I hadn't read before and did some serious googling to find titles for a couple of the categories that weren't easily identifiable (like a book set in my home town or a book published the year I was born). I completed it and was pretty happy with the variety of books I read because of it.<br />
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Here are the categories and the books I read to fulfill them:<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book with more than 500 pages: <i>The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth Century Literary Imagination</i> by Sandra M. Gilbert & Susan Gubar - I was wokring on this for a paper I'm writing and this gave me additional impetus to finish it.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A classic romance: <i>Tenant of Wildfell Hall</i> by Anne Bronte - I wasn't entirely sure what "classic romance" was, but I found some GoodReads chats where people were discussing what they read for this category. I'd had this book sitting on my eReader and kept meaning to get to it, and I'm so glad this challenge made me read it now because I fell in love with Anne Bronte's books.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book that became a movie: <i>Coraline</i> by Neil Gaiman - I haven't seen the movie yet, I'd been putting it off until after I read the book, and now I can watch it. I'm curious as to how they adapted this dark fairy tale.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book published this year: <i>The Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head</i> by Lauren Oliver & H.C. Chester - I had quite a few I could have picked for this category, but I really enjoyed this book, so it made the list.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book with a number in the title: <i>3:16 The Numbers of Hope</i> by Max Lucado - Another book that had been sitting on my shelf waiting for me to read it. I'm a fan of Lucado's style.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book written by someone under 30: <i>A Darker Shade of Magic</i> by V.E. Schwab - This category was hard to track down because most authors don't advertise their age. I basically looked at books I read and started googling authors that I knew were younger until I found one with an age listed.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book with nonhuman characters: <i>Squish: Brave New World</i> by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm - Only the Holms could write such an engaging book about an amoeba. I love their writing style!<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A funny book: <i>Not That It Matters</i> by A.A. Milne - I love Milne's work, especially his humorous essays, so when I discovered a stack of them at the library where I work I felt like I'd hit the mother lode. These are all just so fantastic.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book by a female author: <i>Thursdays with the Crown</i> by Jessica Day George - I was a little annoyed at this category, like reading a book by a woman was a big deal or something. Pretty much just picked one of the many, many books written by a female author that I read but didn't use in any of the other categories. Also wanted to highlight this series because adorableness abounds and you should read it.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A mystery or thriller: <i>The Third Twin</i> by CJ Omololu - Didn't read too many mysteries or thrillers this year, but when Omololu held a Twitter chat to promote this book and the chat was really fun and engaging and the book sounded intriguing I decided to check it out. Interesting twist on the twins switching places trope.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book with a one-word title: <i>Landline</i> by Rainbow Rowell - Enjoyed it, but this is probably my least favorite of Rowell's books.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book of short stories: <i>A Medicine for Melancholy</i> by Ray Bradbury - Bradbury's short fiction has its ups and downs for me. I really enjoy some of it and others, well, not so much. But I'm not a fan of short stories, so I was glad to find one that I found pretty entertaining.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book set in a different country: <i>The Accidental Mother</i> by Rowan Coleman - This was a cute book set in England.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A nonfiction book: <i>The Word of God and the Word of Man</i> by Karl Barth - I stumbled across this while fielding a research question and became intrigued. Really liked this series of essays.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A popular author’s first book: <i>The Carpet People</i> by Terry Pratchett - This was both his first book and not his first book as it was an edited and expanded version of his first book, but I counted it because it was so cute.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet: <i>The Actor and the Housewife</i> by Shannon Hale - So very glad I got to this one. I loved this book a lot.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book a friend recommended: <i>The Nest</i> by Kenneth Oppel - My sister really liked this book, so I was excited to read it. Also, Jon Klassen's illustrations are spot on as always.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A Pulitzer prize winning book: <i>March</i> by Geraldine Brooks - This has been on my TBR list for ages, so I was glad to have a reason to finally get to it. It wasn't a favorite, but it was interesting.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book based on a true story: <i>The Monster of Florence</i> by Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi - Picked this one up on audio from my local library. I found it a lot more intriguing and interesting than I anticipated.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book at the bottom of your to-read list: <i>20,000 Leagues Under the Sea</i> by Jules Verne - I read this as part of my through the alphabet quest even though I didn't really have any burning desire to read it. Now I kind of wish it had been in print so I could give the book away. Not a fan.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book your mom loves: <i>Good Omens</i> by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - After our book club read a Terry Pratchett book my mom has been picking up his books left and right. She recommended this as another book club read and I finally got to it. Hilarious.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book that scares you: <i>The Key to Midnight</i> by Dean Koontz - I don't really get scared by books often - the only one I can think of that really gave me the creepy, heart thumpy book scare was Koontz's <i>What the Night Knows</i>. I had this book waiting on my shelf so I read it and, though it wasn't a horror book it is all about brainwashing and identity and not knowing who you really are, all concepts that creep me out, so I kept it for this, even though it didn't really "scare" me.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book more than 100 years old: <i>The Art of War</i> by Sun Tzu - I'd read excerpts before and I'm glad I read the whole thing, but it was just kind of an, oh yeah I read that, type of book for me.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book based entirely on its cover: <i>Labyrinth</i> by Kate Mosse - I really liked the cover on this. The content of the cover didn't thrill me as much, though.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t: <i>Hope Leslie</i> by Catharine Maria Sedgwick - This was sitting on my Currently Reading shelf, so reading it completed this challenge and part of my personal challenge as well.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A memoir: <i>Bossypants</i> by Tina Fey - This was highly entertaining.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book you can finish in a day: <i>Anne & Henry</i> by Dawn Ius - This popped up as one of the publisher's free reads on their website. It's a modern high school retelling of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn that I'd had on my TBR list. It was a Saturday and I had no plans, so I sat down and read the whole thing in a couple of hours. Entertaining.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book with antonyms in the title: <i>Always Never Sometimes</i> by Adi Alsaid - I actually picked up this ARC at BEA specifically because it had antonyms in the title. It was all right, but not a favorite.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit: <i>Emily of New Moon</i> by L.M. Montgomery - I reread this for the paper I'm working on that I will be presenting in PEI, so not only did I read it, but this year I finally get to visit this place!<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book that came out the year you were born: <i>The Ordinary Princess</i> by M.M. Kaye - Not only did this come out the year I was born, but it's one of my favorite books of all time that I've really been wanting to reread. It's as wonderful as I remember it.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book with bad reviews: <i>We Are Pirates</i> by Daniel Handler - This one had the lowest star rating out of the 400 odd books in my TBR GoodReads list. It's ... odd. Very Handler. Very ... weird.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A trilogy: <i>The Arena Wars</i> by Samantha Hoffman - I think I picked up the first book in this series as a free eBook and enjoyed it so much that I did what I rarely do and bought the second one. When I was looking at this list toward the end of the year I decided to buy the third book and finish off the trilogy.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book from your childhood: <i>The Giver</i> by Lois Lowry - It's so interesting revisiting books you haven't read in years and years. I still liked it, but not as much as I remember liking it when I was younger.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book with a love triangle: <i>Famous in Love</i> by Rebecca Serle - I really like these books, even if the love triangle drove me a little batty.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book set in the future: <i>Armada</i> by Ernest Cline - Love.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book set in high school: <i>Also Known As</i> by Robin Benway - This book was so cute. Very happy I read it in my alphabetical challenge.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book with a color in the title: <i>The Blue Fairy Book</i> edited by Andrew Lang - Collected fairy tales; what more could you want?<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book that made you cry: <i>Penderwicks in Spring</i> by Jeanne Birdsall - Man, this book made me sob my eyeballs out. And laugh. And *sigh* these books are just perfection.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book with magic: <i>Kill Me Softly</i> by Sarah Cross - A really inventive fairy tale retelling. I'll be looking up the rest of the series.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A graphic novel: <i>The Sculptor</i> by Scott McCloud - I found this interesting, though I wasn't as big a fan as I wanted to be.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book by an author you’ve never read before: <i>Strawberry Acres</i> by Grace S. Richmond - I had a collection of Richmond's books sitting on my eReader. They were sweet and light. A perfect old-fashioned delight.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book you own but have never read: <i>The Girl in the Steel Corset</i> by Kady Cross - This was another book good for both this list and my personal clearing out of my Currently Reading list<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book that takes place in your hometown: <i>Susquehanna</i> by Harriet Segal - I had such a hard time with this one. I had 3 hometowns to choose from and finally ended up with the area where I currently live in order to find a book I could actually get ahold of. I wouldn't have sought this book out otherwise, but I did enjoy it.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book that was originally written in a different language: <i>Poetics of Reverie</i> by Gaston Bachelard - Oh Bachelard. I'm such a fan.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book set during Christmas: <i>My True Love Gave to Me</i> edited by Stephanie Perkins - Collection of lovely holiday stories.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book written by an author with your same initials: <i>Space Cat</i> by Ruthven Todd - Other than book set in my hometown, this was probably the category that caused me the most grief. In all of the books I own but haven't read (+2,000) and all the books on my GoodReads TBR list (+400) not a single one was written by someone with the initials RT. Not. A. Single. One. So I browsed the fiction and Juvenile section at the library where I work. Nada. YA section at the local library. 1 that really didn't look that interesting, though I kept it in mind in case I needed it. Finally found this one in the Young Readers section and I'm so glad I did because it's about a cat that goes to the moon and saves the astronaut. It was written before the moon missions and it's a really entertaining look at the speculation of what would be found on the moon as well as just an adorable story about a cat.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A play: <i>Taming of the Shrew</i> by William Shakespeare - Hate this play with a burning passion.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A banned book: <i>The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian</i> by Sherman Alexie - Hit this in my alphabetical challenge and really enjoyed it.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book based on or turned into a TV show: <i>Naked Heat</i> by Richard Castle - I've owned this for a while and just never got around to reading it. It's like reading a fanfic of the show, so it cracks me up.<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A book you started but never finished: <i>The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls</i> by Wendy Delsol - Another one on my GoodReads Currently Reading list that I cleared out. It was interesting, but not my cup of tea.<br />
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And that's the lot. I'm looking forward to diving into their <a href="http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-Challenge-2016-39126431">2016 challenge</a> this year!</div>
Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-43045338202716282152016-01-06T10:30:00.000-05:002016-01-06T10:30:22.159-05:002016: A Review of a Year in BooksA few years ago, I came across a blog post where someone (I honestly have no idea who it was now, or I would link to it!) had kept track of what they read in Excel and used it to make little graphs to see stats on their reading for the year. I love that kind of stuff, so I bounced off their idea and created my own categories, just for my own curiosity.<br />
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I kept it up again this year, and decided to make my own graphs just to visually view the types of reading I had done over the course of 2015.<br />
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If you're curious, here they are!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmy7cGVDCcnxYpFqrCwcky5Cvz6cxPqY9aopR1itMo1ahYrQE643Mfi9-OUwhaSlUO1Hlk61-gp4y8MmMO6Hv_v6c4ecd-pVVHv1YplQQ-vQYj-7aRZ6Y1cIY0Wk4b3f66QOtUcHnGEvU/s1600/MC+Gender.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmy7cGVDCcnxYpFqrCwcky5Cvz6cxPqY9aopR1itMo1ahYrQE643Mfi9-OUwhaSlUO1Hlk61-gp4y8MmMO6Hv_v6c4ecd-pVVHv1YplQQ-vQYj-7aRZ6Y1cIY0Wk4b3f66QOtUcHnGEvU/s1600/MC+Gender.PNG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmln-XW4ewOeT7JWo72FOO1PPjvhmAeTCDnWW4bcyLIvJ3XwJfnFeMROLXPqhW0N9B9cFkm0VVMlQSvy84tr9Z9RJEGklPT9OO5ym_Q-s2sEWGKlF3pEAeyVNHhzaNJFudCsGnEds_Pg/s1600/Author+Gender.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmln-XW4ewOeT7JWo72FOO1PPjvhmAeTCDnWW4bcyLIvJ3XwJfnFeMROLXPqhW0N9B9cFkm0VVMlQSvy84tr9Z9RJEGklPT9OO5ym_Q-s2sEWGKlF3pEAeyVNHhzaNJFudCsGnEds_Pg/s1600/Author+Gender.PNG" /></a></div>
Sort of an unspoken goal for me this year was to read more books by female authors than by male authors. This wasn't really a big goal, since I think a good story is a good story, no matter the gender of the author, but I was pleased to see I succeeded in my goal.<br />
It's also interesting looking at the break down of the main character's gender. Some books (such as books of essays) don't have main characters, so those fall under the n/a and if a book has multiple viewpoints from both male and female perspectives I categorize them under "multiple" but overall it's a fairly balanced pie, with a definite leaning toward female main characters.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinyDzUzCR3DbGzMv-pDdMCDhBh0r3Ju668uam7a8onKdoosAVDzi8e8uKjivJj-0Va6_572EBvLSzVNvWGVG7MAc2tXZrZN4TisDlUko17h008BQH8vYZbDD-5R6cnHpDBYPtVithhrYU/s1600/Publication+Format.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinyDzUzCR3DbGzMv-pDdMCDhBh0r3Ju668uam7a8onKdoosAVDzi8e8uKjivJj-0Va6_572EBvLSzVNvWGVG7MAc2tXZrZN4TisDlUko17h008BQH8vYZbDD-5R6cnHpDBYPtVithhrYU/s1600/Publication+Format.PNG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0swQOlRI729cyMSQkWUPRyYJOclhw3M7k-GB-QjzVh25QypNw9JzwihjEyW74i7TUV4f0_uUADFIFUOb8UEx8Z9ZYYmFj4dn3_Os3Nv1PC4CquqvE-Yh8DpJfrF8hqVkL9GT3eyXuNk/s1600/Book+Format.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0swQOlRI729cyMSQkWUPRyYJOclhw3M7k-GB-QjzVh25QypNw9JzwihjEyW74i7TUV4f0_uUADFIFUOb8UEx8Z9ZYYmFj4dn3_Os3Nv1PC4CquqvE-Yh8DpJfrF8hqVkL9GT3eyXuNk/s1600/Book+Format.PNG" /></a></div>
For this chart, standard means just the standard type of text format that most books are. Mostly I was curious about the other types of books I was reading.<br />
And then of course, a look at the format in which I read them. I listen to audiobooks in my car, but didn't hit as many this year as I usually do. 13 of those were also from the <i>Series of Unfortunate Events</i>, so that accounts for most of the audiobooks I listened to this year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6pWrkFQxR5vqJv8Vq2MEkFnna4M49A1ROtuGuN32Iz_Msi7yDMkK5n5X8wqrg-MRYDVtz_flhK268e0l9FmgR0NSUCLOIQMB7rgkdPh3MH2wB7e_EnuIy5FPMBD5HPanWyHGKTWwDag/s1600/Focus+Age.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6pWrkFQxR5vqJv8Vq2MEkFnna4M49A1ROtuGuN32Iz_Msi7yDMkK5n5X8wqrg-MRYDVtz_flhK268e0l9FmgR0NSUCLOIQMB7rgkdPh3MH2wB7e_EnuIy5FPMBD5HPanWyHGKTWwDag/s1600/Focus+Age.PNG" /></a></div>
Although many books don't fit into hard and fast age ranges, they do tend to be marketed toward a particular age group. These are based on either where they tend to be sold in a bookstore, or my own perception (especially for the New Adult category).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrpGQjlGikjyUTB9as7ZY-xVPgvicVTCEKTdq5xpABiU2K66lKmnwBQUtvoOWNY_sy99YL40A9xiaSJPnEwwYjMAyofaIcRBWA6rUHmLSGu7A9F6WYj16GIckBniFleLiHQiq5AS_tYU/s1600/Genre.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrpGQjlGikjyUTB9as7ZY-xVPgvicVTCEKTdq5xpABiU2K66lKmnwBQUtvoOWNY_sy99YL40A9xiaSJPnEwwYjMAyofaIcRBWA6rUHmLSGu7A9F6WYj16GIckBniFleLiHQiq5AS_tYU/s400/Genre.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
This is the chart that intrigued me the most. I apologize for the fuzziness - I've tried a couple times, and can't seem to get it to render any more clearly. Anyway, I was shocked to see that I read more contemporary books than anything else this year, but looking back at the last couple of years I can see that, it's not that I read more contemporary (it's pretty equal with the last two years), but that I diversified in my other reading, spreading it out. These categories are also completely subjective to me, so a book I labeled as paranormal, someone else might have labeled fantasy. I just like creating fairly specific categories for myself. I also self-define some of them (such as magical realism, which I attached to books that had magical elements, but were set in a contemporary world).<br />
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Just out of curiosity, I like to see what different narrative styles I come across (a lot of non-fiction falls under the n/a category). The thing I found most intriguing this year, was how many books I read that had a mix of narrative styles, such as a book in both 1st and 3rd person.<br />
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I still tend to rate books high, but I don't have a problem with that. I tend to round up (so if I give a book a 3.5, I'll make it a 4 star on GoodReads). But that also means that if I give a book 1 or 2 stars I <i>really REALLY</i> didn't like it.<br />
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And finally, looking at page ranges. I read almost 52,000 words total (at least according to GoodReads and my own calculations), but this breaks it down for me a little more and I can see that I read quite a quantity of books with a fairly low page range. I don't think longer books are better, by any means, but I can see that a 50 page graphic novel will probably take less time to read than a 300 page novel. So it's just interesting to see it play out this way.<br />
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I can't say I'm planning on making any specific changes to my reading style based on these numbers, but I do find it really fascinating to look at my reading habits in a more graphic (pun intended) way :)Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-73525225117741352712016-01-02T13:57:00.001-05:002016-02-02T17:39:30.901-05:00Bookish Resolutions: 2015 Review, 2016 Plans2015 is over! I can't believe we're into a new year already.<br />
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Here's a look back at how I did on my resolutions for last year and a quick look at what I want to do in 2016.</div>
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1. Read 200 books in 2015:</div>
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DONE WON</div>
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I read 230 books and hit about 52,000 words, which was a little less than last year (even though I read more books), but close enough to make me satisfied.</div>
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (preferably 1 a month):</div>
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DONE WON</div>
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Topped this off at 19 for the year. Finished December strong with <i>It's Too Late Now: The Autobiography of a Writer </i>by A. A. Milne. Really pleased with myself for how well I did on this goal, since I have a tendency to stick with non-fiction. I have a couple of books slated already for next year that I'm really excited about.</div>
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3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:</div>
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DONE WON</div>
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4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):</div>
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DONE WON</div>
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In December I read <i>Never Always Sometimes</i> by Adi Alsaid, <i>The Key to Midnight</i> by Dean Koontz, and <i>The True Meaning of Smekday</i> by Adam Rex. I'll be weeding the Koontz book - enjoyed it, but don't need to keep it - so a successful month. Overall this year I read 38 books from my shelves and weeded 13 of them. I consider this goal a rousing success.</div>
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5. Read at least 2 eBooks I own each month:</div>
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In December I read A. W. Hartoin's <i>A Fairy's Guide to Disaster</i>, <i>Good Omens </i>by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, <i>The Green Fairy Book</i> edited by Andrew Lang, the first volume of <i>Batman</i> by Bill Finger, <i>The Beautiful and Damned</i> by F. Scott Fitzgerald, <i>A Soul for Trouble</i> by Crista McHugh, and Anne Bronte's <i>Agnes Grey. </i>I've eased into the B's in eBooks. Can't believe it took me an entire year to get through one letter of the alphabet. At that rate, I've got a good 25 years worth of books waiting for me just on my eReader. But, I read a lot of books I wouldn't have by doing it this way, many of which I thoroughly enjoyed! That means that over the course of 2015 I read 73 (though this did include a few short stories, novellas, and comic issues). I'm very pleased with the success of this goal as well.</div>
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For next year I've been thinking about what I would like to do and I've got the following goals in place:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Read 200 books in 2016 (at least 52,000 pages) - I'm keeping this the same, but adding a page count goal as well.</li>
<li>Read 12 non-fiction books (1 a month) - I think aiming for 12 works for me. I'd like to go above that, but I'm setting the goal at 1 a month.</li>
<li>Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding) - There were a couple of months where I barely squeaked by with this, so I'm keeping it at 2/month.</li>
<li>Read at least 2 eBooks I own each month - as I head into the B's maybe I can scoot through more than just one letter this year.</li>
<li>Read at least 1 book off my GoodReads TBR list - since I cleared out my Currently Reading list, I thought it would be good to attack the TBR list. The thing about my GoodReads TBR list, is that it doesn't include any books I own. I keep it strictly for books I read or hear about that I don't own. But the list keeps getting longer and longer, so I'd like to take a stab at trying to whittle it down just a little bit.</li>
<li>Read at least 2 academic articles each month (1 library related/1 literature related) - I read articles pretty regularly as part of my job, so I'm thinking of articles above and beyond those - things I've been curious about or that I just want to read more on. I figure if I add it as a goal, I'll have to force myself to go looking for things to read and will branch out a bit more.</li>
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So those are my goals. Any bookish plans you have for the next year? I'd love to hear about them!</div>
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Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-26493921116665232882015-12-02T11:20:00.001-05:002015-12-02T11:20:46.219-05:00Bookish Resolutions: November ProgressAAAHHHHH!!! The year is almost over! How did it fly by so quickly?<br />
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.<br />
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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).<br />
So most of the time I might normally spend reading, I spent trying to get my word count in.<br />
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However, I think I still did pretty well.<br />
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1. Read 200 books in 2015:<br />
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.<br />
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (preferably 1 a month):<br />
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.<br />
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3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:<br />
DONE WON<br />
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4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):<br />
I read 3 this month, so pretty good. <i>The Girl Who Could Not Dream</i> by Sarah Beth Durst, which was beautiful and wonderful and definitely staying on my shelf. I also read <i>Coraline</i> by Neil Gaiman and <i>Naked Heat</i> 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.<br />
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5. Read at least 2 eBooks I own each month:<br />
I got through 3 in this category as well. I finished <i>The Red Fairy Book</i> edited by Andrew Lang and <i>Consumed by War</i> 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 <i>The Tenant of Wildfell Hall </i>by Anne Bronte and discovered how very much I love Anne Bronte.<br />
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All in all a successful month. Here's to a strong December!<br />
<br />Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-77030822434091592832015-11-03T19:43:00.003-05:002015-11-03T19:44:01.606-05:00Bookish Resolutions: October ProgressCan't believe there are only 2 months left in the year! My goals are coming along nicely. Here's how I did in October.<br />
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1. Read 200 books in 2015:<br />
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.<br />
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):<br />
Finished 2 non-fiction books this month, both rather lengthy - <i>The Female Imagination</i> by Patricia Meyer Spacks and <i>The Madwoman in the Attic</i> 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.<br />
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<br /></div>
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3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:</div>
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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.</div>
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4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):</div>
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I did pretty well, though I didn't pull any for weeding this month. I finished <i>The Nest</i> by Kenneth Oppel and illustrated by Jon Klassen and Shannon and Dean Hale's <i>The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party</i>. Also read Rebecca Serle's <i>Truly Madly Famously</i> and <i>Inherit the Stars</i> by Tessa Elwood. Having a vacation in the middle of this month helped with my reading level in October!</div>
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5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:</div>
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Completed this one as well reading Amalia Dillin's <i>Blood of the Queen</i> and Ray Bradbury's <i>Medicine for Melancholy and Other Stories</i>.</div>
Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-53843637145587611172015-10-05T21:05:00.000-04:002015-10-05T21:05:22.886-04:00Bookish Resolutions: September Progress1. Read 200 books in 2015:<br />
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!<br />
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):<br />
Made this (and have made significant dents in two more non-fiction books that I should finish soon. This month I read <i>Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx </i>by Sonia Manzano which was really interesting.<br />
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3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:<br />
DONE! COMPLETE! YAY!<br />
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4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):<br />
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 <i>Armada</i> by Ernest Cline, <i>Becoming Maria</i> mentioned above, <i>Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head </i>by Lauren Oliver & H.C. Chester, and <i>The Blackthorn Key</i> by Kevin Sands.<br />
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5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:<br />
Made this one by a lot! Read <i>Awaking</i> by Madeline Freeman<i>, Batgirl #1</i> by Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf, <i>A Girl Named Digit</i> by Annabel Monaghan, <i>Bear is Broken</i> by Lachlan Smith, and <i>The Blue Fairy Book</i> by Andrew Lang.<br />
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I'm excited to see how this will all look at the end of the year.Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-63970599673302725782015-09-01T20:58:00.000-04:002015-09-01T20:58:33.976-04:00Bookish Resolutions: August Progress1. Read 200 books in 2015:<br />
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 :)<br />
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):<br />
I read Karl Barth's <i>The Word of God and the Word of Man, </i>which I found quite interesting. This was my first encounter with Barth, but I have a feeling it won't be my last.<br />
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3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:<br />
I DID IT! I finally got through the last pending book that was sitting here, reading <i>The Girl in the Steel Corset</i> 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.<br />
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4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):<br />
I did well on this goal this month. I read James Dashner's <i>The Kill Order</i>, the prequel to the <i>Maze Runner</i> trilogy, and while I enjoyed it, I won't reread it, so I am weeding that one. I also read <i>The Girl in the Steel Corset</i> as I noted above as well as a couple of ARCs that I picked up at BEA including Will Walton's <i>Anything Could Happen</i> and <i>Anna and the Swallow Man</i> by Gavriel Savit both of which were good, but are on my potential weeding pile.<br />
<br />
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:<br />
Knocked this one out of the park again. I finished the Grace S. Richmond collection, which gave me <i>Red Pepper's Patients, The Second Violin, Strawberry Acres,</i> and<i> Under the Country Sky</i>. I also read Jules Verne's <i>20,000 Leagues Under the Sea</i> (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 <i>A Diamond in My Pocket. </i>I also made it through <i>Asylum </i>by Madeleine Roux, <i>Goddess Girls: Athena the Brain</i> by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, and <i>Awaken</i> 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!<br />
<br />
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!Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-67758907419377715392015-08-08T12:37:00.001-04:002015-08-08T12:37:45.478-04:00Bookish Resolutions: July Progress1. Read 200 books in 2015:<br />
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.<br />
<br />
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):<br />
I finished Ann Thwaite's <i>A.A. Milne: His Life</i> which was absolutely and completely fascinating. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes biographies.<br />
<br />
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:<br />
Still have one left sitting here, so no additional progress this month.<br />
<br />
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):<br />
Other than the Milne biography, I read <i>The Scorch Trials</i> and <i>The Death Cure</i> by James Dashner. I had read them before, but have been wanting to do a re-read ever since <i>The Maze Runner</i> movie came out. So, not planning on getting rid of them right now, but I technically completed this goal :/<br />
<br />
5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:<br />
Did much better on this goal than on the print goal. I read Jus Accardo's <i>A Darker Past</i>, <i>The Adventures of Zelda: Pug and Peach</i> by Kristen Otte, and Jennifer Niven's <i>All the Bright Places</i> (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.<br />
<br />
Overall pretty pleased :)Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-75669843594874039242015-07-02T16:29:00.000-04:002015-07-02T16:29:10.315-04:00Bookish Resolutions: June Progress1. Read 200 books in 2015:<br />
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.<br />
<br />
2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):<br />
Made my one this month, finishing A.A. Milne's <i>Not That It Matters</i>. However, I've made significant progress on the thick and densely printed Milne biography, so I'm more than content with that.<br />
<br />
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:<br />
Cleared out one more, finishing Willa Cather's <i>My Antonia</i> 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!<br />
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4. Read at last 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):<br />
Did well on this one, reading three books, all of which I am passing on, giving away, or donating. I read Rowan Coleman's <i>The Accidental Mother</i>, which I really enjoyed, but know I won't read again. I also read 2 of by new BEA books. I finished <i>The Adventures of Miss Petitfour</i> 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 <i>After Alice</i>, which I think I may run an Instagram giveaway for on our Booksellers Without Borders NY account.<br />
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5. Read at least 2 eBooks I already own each month:<br />
Just barely squeaked this one out. I read <i>Darker Days</i> by Jus Accardo and <i>My Antonia</i> was an ebook, so it counts. I've been watching <i>X-Files</i> 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.<br />
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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 :)Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-64216536397697050832015-06-01T20:36:00.003-04:002015-06-01T20:36:59.350-04:00Bookish Resolutions: May ProgressThis is really helping me focus my reading! So here's how I've done this month.<br />
<br />
1. Read 200 books in 2015:<br />
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.<br />
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):<br />
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 <i>The Art of War</i>, G. Neri's graphic novel biography <i>Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty</i>, Max Lucado's <i>3:16 The Numbers of Hope</i>, <i>If I May</i> a collection of essays by A.A. Milne, and <i>The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived</i> by Allan Lazar, Jeremy Salter, and Dan Karlan.<br />
<br />
3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:<br />
I finished Wendy Delsol's <i>The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls</i> 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.)<br />
<br />
4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):<br />
I started reading through alphabetically by title, so I've actually made progress on this one! I read Sherman Alexie's <i>The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian</i>, <i>The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived </i>(mentioned above in #2), <i>The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls </i>(mentioned in #3), <i>Mortal Heart</i> by Robin LaFevers, <i>3:16</i> (one of my non-fiction reads), and <i>The Actor and the Housewife</i> 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.<br />
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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):<br />
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 <i>After the End</i> by Amy Plum, <i>Apocalypse Weird: The Red King</i> by Nick Cole, <i>Aquaman 1: The Trench</i> by Geoff Johns, <i>The Arena Wars</i> and <i>War of Hearts </i>by Samantha Hoffman, <i>11 Birthdays</i> by Wendy Mass, <i>Arrow #1 </i>by Marc Guggenheim, <i>A Breath of Eyre</i> by Eve Marie Mont, and <i>The Art of War</i> (one of my non-fiction titles).<br />
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How about you? What have you read that you've loved? Have you made any bookish resolutions? How's it going?Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-42295730857437271872015-05-06T17:55:00.002-04:002015-05-06T17:55:40.200-04:00A Funny Thing Happened On the Way Through My Books<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HBLuQS6ID5Vjyfp_ZvFsKjWxiUsn9N9ALaSrcxogEryzLVGYqRV-W7BGZ9O5SV5vSI17guvOIbhEeIeXE46wKbJgFr2gf7lL1lphLqZAerBu7QTUVB3Ff-XjMQAHtC-Mx4aOI1jM_bQ/s1600/book+meme+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HBLuQS6ID5Vjyfp_ZvFsKjWxiUsn9N9ALaSrcxogEryzLVGYqRV-W7BGZ9O5SV5vSI17guvOIbhEeIeXE46wKbJgFr2gf7lL1lphLqZAerBu7QTUVB3Ff-XjMQAHtC-Mx4aOI1jM_bQ/s1600/book+meme+5.jpg" /></a>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 <a href="https://www.librarything.com/">LibraryThing</a> (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.<br />
<br />
This took a long time and a lot of patience and several restarts as I changed the way I wanted to organize them.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpS8vKBM_OjthHmWH0mJ64IGQ6wSFiVu-2pzfyGJScKDCCXkZFCnzz5WegDwXATowyosB71AxrOMA9RPQyWz1Z-c5Vg9zxPYPwWKeE6PtFIFJ1iyPpBLR9XZVpriBpnZ2pztyggrrfmQ/s1600/book+meme+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpS8vKBM_OjthHmWH0mJ64IGQ6wSFiVu-2pzfyGJScKDCCXkZFCnzz5WegDwXATowyosB71AxrOMA9RPQyWz1Z-c5Vg9zxPYPwWKeE6PtFIFJ1iyPpBLR9XZVpriBpnZ2pztyggrrfmQ/s1600/book+meme+4.jpg" /></a>Then I decided I really should mark every book that I haven't read.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
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So a few more books went out the door. A handful of eBooks got deleted from my Nook account.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJOi6krvNQkstMxybKqqWBOKAgOBbcioo5WcSHVxwAtEersNFvYmAO1BuhzfA2phxOWXQIXBOBmOZBTgfLcEGpTB9q0htOdcFZCFPouxCAdF9mOPxxO505OecfiEVBiVvSIWy9sm4MTLY/s1600/book+meme+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJOi6krvNQkstMxybKqqWBOKAgOBbcioo5WcSHVxwAtEersNFvYmAO1BuhzfA2phxOWXQIXBOBmOZBTgfLcEGpTB9q0htOdcFZCFPouxCAdF9mOPxxO505OecfiEVBiVvSIWy9sm4MTLY/s1600/book+meme+3.jpg" /></a>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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfwmOKRSXihn9-0DlW9YhVlj8oEPefWWmK267rfZp1qJwhv2xI1nCU4Pq8x9yiDRVGXivBX-HWL6ZhIFupmhFLXdnAxtDSLXJrFl2V1Txc01B9PD5CDeHGsUTpboSBXsvD7YvXONjaVME/s1600/book+meme+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfwmOKRSXihn9-0DlW9YhVlj8oEPefWWmK267rfZp1qJwhv2xI1nCU4Pq8x9yiDRVGXivBX-HWL6ZhIFupmhFLXdnAxtDSLXJrFl2V1Txc01B9PD5CDeHGsUTpboSBXsvD7YvXONjaVME/s1600/book+meme+2.jpg" /></a>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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
But I noticed something in the last week.<br />
<br />
See, I get daily e-mails from three wonderful sites: <a href="https://www.bookbub.com/home/">BookBub</a>, <a href="http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/">The Fussy Librarian</a>, and <a href="http://www.bookperk.com/">Bookperk</a>. 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.<br />
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And it used to be that every day I would be downloading at least one free book. Every. Day.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhyKJF4fgPvzV25HzNJzvWxSwq1o3PuE5UT-HJ3R2SPutDBmMb3CzgKhsgHO_oRwFof5iVhRyTBMqSFr5VxUiUzBu6IaBbRScankVbMMa8SQO_TFevS9E8HQ9vEn_DfRlUT1yxHFcx2I/s1600/book+meme+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDhyKJF4fgPvzV25HzNJzvWxSwq1o3PuE5UT-HJ3R2SPutDBmMb3CzgKhsgHO_oRwFof5iVhRyTBMqSFr5VxUiUzBu6IaBbRScankVbMMa8SQO_TFevS9E8HQ9vEn_DfRlUT1yxHFcx2I/s1600/book+meme+1.jpg" /></a><br />
That adds up to a lot of books. A lot of eBooks that were languishing on my Nook.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
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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?<br />
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Sometimes the answer is YES.<br />
Sometimes the answer is perhaps.<br />
But more often now it's... probably not.<br />
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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!<br />
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A side benefit I never expected.<br />
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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?Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-41645418609886971122015-05-02T09:20:00.000-04:002015-05-02T09:20:08.510-04:00Bookish Resolutions: April Progress1. Read 200 books in 2015:<br />
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.<br />
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015 (1 a month preferably):<br />
I have 7 read so far! And 2 read this month. I listened to <i>The Monster of Florence </i>by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, which was fascinating. I also read <i>Harry Potter's Bookshelf: The Great Books Behind the Hogwarts Adventures</i> by John Granger, which was an interesting look at the literary influences in Harry Potter.<br />
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3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:<br />
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.<br />
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4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month (with an eye to weeding):<br />
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 <i>#16 Things I Thought Were True</i> (though to be fair, I knew that one wouldn't get weeded), <i>5 Cheesy Stories</i> by Patsy Clairmont (I will be holding onto this one to read with my nieces and nephew), and <i>29</i> 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.<br />
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5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:<br />
Did well on this one again. I read 4 eBooks this month. These included <i>A Dangerous Inheritance</i>by Alison Weir, <i>Angelfire </i>by Courtney Allison Moulton, <i>Angels Watching Over Me </i>by Michael Phillips, and <i>Anni Moon & the Elemental Artifact</i>. I'm almost done with the As! Maybe I can finish them off in May!<br />
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Yay for books!Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-32199997817283652972015-04-01T08:00:00.000-04:002015-04-01T08:00:06.957-04:00Bookish Resolutions: March Progress1. Read 200 books in 2015:<br />
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.<br />
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015:<br />
I squeaked in on this one, listening to Tina Fey's <i>Bossypants</i> 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.<br />
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3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:<br />
I cleared one more out - <i>Hope Leslie</i>, 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.<br />
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4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month, with an eye toward weeding:<br />
This resolution continues to be my downfall. I did read <i>Thursdays with the Crown</i> by Jessica Day George, but I also knew I was not going to be getting rid of it. I squeaked in <i>Dangerous </i>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.<br />
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5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:<br />
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 <i>Hope Leslie</i> by Catharine Maria Sedgwick, <i>1/2986</i>by Annelie Wendeberg, <i>Also Known As</i> by Robin Benway, <i>Altdorf: A Novel of the Forest Knights</i> by J. K. Swift, <i> Anathema</i> by Megg Jensen, <i>A Bride in the Bargain </i>by Deeanne Gist, <i>Andy McBean and the War of the Worlds</i> by Dale Kutzera, and <i>Angel in the Shadows</i> 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.<br />
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And there you have it. Any resolutions you've kept up with or are struggling with?Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-53054567188400765162015-03-02T21:02:00.000-05:002015-03-02T21:02:27.891-05:00Bookish Resolutions: February Progress<br />
<div>
1. Read 200 books in 2015:</div>
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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.</div>
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015:</div>
<div>
I knocked this out of the park this month. I finished <i>A Life and Its Mirrors: A Feminist Reading of L.M. Montgomery's Fiction</i> by Gabriella Ahmansson as well as <i>The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career</i> by L. M. Montgomery, AND I finished <i>Poetics of Reverie: Childhood, Language, and Cosmos</i> by Gaston Bachelard. So, feeling pretty good about this.</div>
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3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:</div>
<div>
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.</div>
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4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month, with an eye toward weeding:</div>
<div>
Didn't do as well with this one, though. Technically I "completed" this, finishing off <i>Splendors and Glooms</i> by Laura Amy Schlitz from my currently reading list and then reading <i>My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories</i> edited by Stephanie Perkins. I am getting rid of <i>Splendors and Glooms</i> 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.</div>
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<div>
5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:</div>
<div>
Did quite well on this goal as well. I finished off <i>The Adventures of Gerard </i>by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, <i>Aerisia: Land Beyond the Sunset </i>by Sarah Ashwood, <i>The Adventures of Zelda: A Pug Tale</i> by Kristen Otte<i>, Alessandra</i> by Lizzy Ford (though this was a short story), <i>Alice in Zombieland</i>by Nickolas Cook and Lewis Carroll<i>, A Bride Most Begrudging </i>by Deeanne Gist, and <i>The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career</i> 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.</div>
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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.</div>
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Any reading successes you'd like to share?</div>
Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-9829660766602290252015-02-01T16:42:00.001-05:002015-02-01T16:42:41.630-05:00Bookish Resolutions: January ProgressI think that updating on my blog every month how I'm doing on my resolutions will help me stay on track! So here goes:<br />
<br />
1. Read 200 books in 2015:<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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2. Read 12 non-fiction books in 2015:<br />
I squeaked this one out by finishing <i>Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> 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.<br />
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3. Clear out my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf:<br />
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 <i>The Boyfriend App</i> 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.<br />
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4. Read at least 2 print books I already own each month, with an eye toward weeding:<br />
I didn't really do as well with this resolution. <i>The Boyfriend App</i> 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' <i>Isla and the Happily Ever After</i>. 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!)<br />
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5. Read at least 1 eBook I already own each month:<br />
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 <i>44 </i>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 <i>A Beautiful Heist</i> and <i>Adam Bede</i> by George Eliot, and I'm almost done with <i>The Adventures of Gerard</i> by Arthur Conan Doyle. So I call this one a roaring success (especially since <i>Adam Bede</i> was over 400 pages long :)<br />
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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!Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-19225112130405229592014-12-31T14:21:00.000-05:002014-12-31T14:21:08.527-05:002015 Book ResolutionsI'm not one to really make resolutions, but this is the 2nd year in a row I decided to make some book-ish ones.<br />
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Last year I challenged myself to read 200 books in the GoodReads challenge and made it with flying colors.<br />
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I also wanted to read one non-fiction book a month, which I pulled off, scraping by the skin of my teeth with finishing the 12th one yesterday.<br />
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And finally I wanted to read at least one book off my shelves a month. That one I didn't do so well on.<br />
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So here are my resolutions for 2015:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Once again I've set my GoodReads goal for 200 - it's a good number for the mix of books I read including a smattering of picture books and graphic novels.</li>
<li>Once again I would like to read 12 non-fiction books. I kind of want to up this number, but knowing myself, it's just not going to happen. I want to challenge myself but not make it undoable.</li>
<li>I want to clear out my "Currently Reading" shelf on GoodReads. Either I need to take the books off or I need to actually finish the book. By next December I want it to be down to only the books I'm actually actively reading.</li>
<li>I want to read at least 2 print books I own a month - with the goal of getting rid of any that I've just been holding onto.</li>
<li>And finally, I want to read at least 1 eBook I already own a month.</li>
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And that should do it! Any resolutions for you this year? Bookish or otherwise?</div>
Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-68001194562747322092014-09-06T17:20:00.001-04:002014-09-06T17:20:29.016-04:00No Colored Text: An Open Plea to PublishersI am very disappointed right now.<div>
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I recently finished Marie Lu's book <i>Legend</i>. I really enjoyed it. I'm dying to know what happens next. I found the second and third books at my local library and sat down this afternoon to lose myself in her story.</div>
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Except I can't.</div>
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Once I hit the second chapter I had to put the book down. They're being returned to the library unread and since my library doesn't have them on audio, I don't know when I'll end up getting a chance to finish the series.</div>
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What made such a dramatic turn around? The sections from Day's perspective are printed in a bright aqua with rather bold squarish letters.</div>
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After reading only a paragraph my eyes were straining and my head had started throbbing.</div>
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And that's honestly not an exaggeration.</div>
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The square text would have been enough to differentiate the voices, The blue really isn't necessary. The third book has Day's perspective in vivid red. My vision was spotting just opening to book to see.</div>
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And I'm not one to normally be very bothered by this. I managed to get through Maggie Stiefvater's <i>Shiver</i> trilogy (though the third one was a struggle). And I barely even noticed that the text in Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo's <i>In the Shadows</i> was colored.</div>
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However, I have a sister who has difficulty with colored text. She still hasn't finished the <i>Shiver</i> trilogy and had some problems finishing <i>In the Shadows</i>. I know for a fact she will never be able to read these books.</div>
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I read <i>Legend </i>on my Nook, so perhaps these would be safe there, but I wouldn't want to risk it.</div>
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I'm only calling these out because these are the books I've encountered with colored text.<br />
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So Penguin, Scholastic, and any other publisher considering printing books with colored text, please don't. It might seem like a nice feature, but I guarantee that you are losing readers over it.<br />
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Perhaps print a special edition with the colored text, but most of them with black ink. That way people who don't mind/like the colors could have them, but people like me and my sister and many others with sensitivity to colored fonts can enjoy the authors we want to read.</div>
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Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881903861346737553.post-5772858986456531372014-06-17T08:38:00.003-04:002014-06-17T08:38:52.742-04:00Moving Right AlongIt's happened. I'm actually in my new apartment. Woot! I still find it weird to look around and think, this is where I live now...<br />
I had a bunch of wonderful people help me move and they only razzed me a little bit about all the books I own. (Since I used almost all B&N boxes to pack they seemed to believe I had bought out the entire store before I left :)<br />
So we moved all the stuff in on Saturday and then I returned "home" to stay one more night so I could spend Father's Day with my Dad and then Sunday night I came "home" for the first time. (finding both places are now considered home which adds to weirdness)<br />
I am so glad I planned on doing this because after people who helped had left and it was just family, Mom and Dad and sis asked what they could do to help, but I was just totally overwhelmed and couldn't even think, so Mom and I went shopping for things I realized I really really needed (like a kitchen trash can and a shower curtain) and I just left everything to start on Monday.<br />
Monday morning I was up bright and early because my internet installation appointment was between 8 and 10 am. The Comcast guy came right around 8:30 and set everything up within about half an hour. He was super nice and I was relieved I didn't have to go more than half a day without internet (I may have a problem).<br />
The kitchen was my first project and I kept a running list of things I discovered I still needed (like a step stool and sponge caddy). The biggest strain of unpacking the kitchen was washing all of the wonderful new things I go like all of my canisters, my new dishes and silverware. I did things in batches. Unpacked a couple of boxes until the counter was piled high, washed them, let them dry while I unpacked more boxes or ran to the store or ate breakfast or lunch. But I got most of the kitchen done. I have a few more boxes to tackle today and then I can move on to my bedroom.<br />
Here are the "before" pictures of my apartment. As I finish or after I finish unpacking I'll post the after ones.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdeaFdIquOG3NQ_xdM7POSI2-XTi6MZpLGYRk9Ky_i5wm0bbtnezYJ7ebHg2_wjnR0xACTFqvj8-lSnmUsjhv6Wk3ZCzNf9cvo7grq-iQ1xNtF8-7LTWmrANQt81oMSuRKsp4v3jW-_iU/s1600/20140614_144210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdeaFdIquOG3NQ_xdM7POSI2-XTi6MZpLGYRk9Ky_i5wm0bbtnezYJ7ebHg2_wjnR0xACTFqvj8-lSnmUsjhv6Wk3ZCzNf9cvo7grq-iQ1xNtF8-7LTWmrANQt81oMSuRKsp4v3jW-_iU/s1600/20140614_144210.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen 1<br />We did move the boxes<br />around the stove before we left</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJvJPWRpL3LW1QuX2xvf0uxYK1qjh9innkFhCqJ5PKX5alW2d6gpNDnIQgHvj9qFgPlYnHkd5it5e9BNWQ32EQ9n6NmmPa7md8GMT7yy34xaeK74BH4BYFQDfW2sRkZRx8nCGHwZe5vc/s1600/20140614_144252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJvJPWRpL3LW1QuX2xvf0uxYK1qjh9innkFhCqJ5PKX5alW2d6gpNDnIQgHvj9qFgPlYnHkd5it5e9BNWQ32EQ9n6NmmPa7md8GMT7yy34xaeK74BH4BYFQDfW2sRkZRx8nCGHwZe5vc/s1600/20140614_144252.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen 2<br />Love all my cabinets</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvgH_1NXGqnqVjijjTAm-VmXhWnttZEWfrC0lwHB-c24VkkRHtlwBc-IBS7n6lSfS4hX-nUiek6lTVNLam4_k3Zth_hlbbTMMb8qD351gQKNm0c7NiYalWp07LRbwq0rheiNAdoImGmE/s1600/20140614_142209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvgH_1NXGqnqVjijjTAm-VmXhWnttZEWfrC0lwHB-c24VkkRHtlwBc-IBS7n6lSfS4hX-nUiek6lTVNLam4_k3Zth_hlbbTMMb8qD351gQKNm0c7NiYalWp07LRbwq0rheiNAdoImGmE/s1600/20140614_142209.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Living Room 1<br />I don't have a couch yet</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEs_NEf1ZnLTd9qpu-ucLXi5eHnVvCkbh_l8ZgL6VyxqV32P8jk2k3dlczGLp2Z4S_Q1r8t19esiTCIrRDaKkuzMUrskUiwArd0fhZxK2HDo5JHDNUrNS3IWDJU8PN5ItGFT45orrnXyI/s1600/20140614_142152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEs_NEf1ZnLTd9qpu-ucLXi5eHnVvCkbh_l8ZgL6VyxqV32P8jk2k3dlczGLp2Z4S_Q1r8t19esiTCIrRDaKkuzMUrskUiwArd0fhZxK2HDo5JHDNUrNS3IWDJU8PN5ItGFT45orrnXyI/s1600/20140614_142152.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Living Room 2<br />So this is where a lot of boxes<br />ended up temporarily</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9VkcugpXMfb3rFz-tzxpFt1R6qRkYanro0XNMYT28ocbvgZ8V1WxmZrrgvLS0_nnOFUhCDR3jTdtFcLtL3G0-3zp0NwtW5EK30NdtdpxoaIiG3_YrFW3M37klHIn_jtwa26bQyr6ETc/s1600/20140614_144014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9VkcugpXMfb3rFz-tzxpFt1R6qRkYanro0XNMYT28ocbvgZ8V1WxmZrrgvLS0_nnOFUhCDR3jTdtFcLtL3G0-3zp0NwtW5EK30NdtdpxoaIiG3_YrFW3M37klHIn_jtwa26bQyr6ETc/s1600/20140614_144014.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bedroom 1<br />Yay for closet space!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-EKpcngZ3mBN6_HOKIi8LAKje6sZ0RzCd1YBBql1tQAx1GskpUMXIHTsnnK09qZTJT-12TTAJL8uNEL-3KzJAg8idx2vCwqStMz0d7dzs7xZl3BsB0pkBE5AUcydBkHzJ84y_2etong/s1600/20140614_144002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-EKpcngZ3mBN6_HOKIi8LAKje6sZ0RzCd1YBBql1tQAx1GskpUMXIHTsnnK09qZTJT-12TTAJL8uNEL-3KzJAg8idx2vCwqStMz0d7dzs7xZl3BsB0pkBE5AUcydBkHzJ84y_2etong/s1600/20140614_144002.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bedroom 2<br />So grateful Mom made up the bed<br />Made Sunday night less stressful</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIwwqSWQ1YE2SVoEEm0hY4V-RdfDlecOukWagqXIK-I_6DdblFQH3uTl2KOf-lba4Qo1OYAPCRsiU9AXkdQolLdkIioZeSzwDi51R-f93C0pBBZzW5VYU5cB_UNnQ2G1BWHfPsnyh5kg/s1600/20140614_144038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIwwqSWQ1YE2SVoEEm0hY4V-RdfDlecOukWagqXIK-I_6DdblFQH3uTl2KOf-lba4Qo1OYAPCRsiU9AXkdQolLdkIioZeSzwDi51R-f93C0pBBZzW5VYU5cB_UNnQ2G1BWHfPsnyh5kg/s1600/20140614_144038.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Office/Spare Room 1<br />This is such a nice extra space for me</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAOc9hOOXxVsRhuY_WsIQsxfWNpOD7J6fwl8P7jDXRgesVq0Tkrdl8EpgIqho7vDQR1GTYCa_hcamrF2c7c9FIhApCmnNpNI-vUfRcrDbjSvJJ-p27UUAgc1TV_4XvGeqI8IvIDYNmmI/s1600/20140614_144028.jpg" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="180" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Office/Spare Room 2<br />Everyone was jealous of my<br />rolltop desk - my favorite<br />piece of furniture</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulm1ZwXqFQFez8IkPCXg31_025w79Cu4LObIrXt4eOll4v6opJQgcEMnskxONH_lIlm73sOjr0ce_vcbrUenmqEAh01Lx_u2Gwu3RJwFogPor-Ne39Z3FKwxtIdODtbI6FjZ6Kiyl9N8/s1600/20140614_144044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulm1ZwXqFQFez8IkPCXg31_025w79Cu4LObIrXt4eOll4v6opJQgcEMnskxONH_lIlm73sOjr0ce_vcbrUenmqEAh01Lx_u2Gwu3RJwFogPor-Ne39Z3FKwxtIdODtbI6FjZ6Kiyl9N8/s1600/20140614_144044.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are pretty much all book boxes...</td></tr>
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<br />Rebecca T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11994380364321336824noreply@blogger.com0