Starting Fresh in 2015

It's a new year and I figured I'd give this reading thing another shot. To simplify my life I'm going to make a static page for the list, because I don't even know how many books I read last year, and I doubt it was even 25, much less 50! So I'll have another blog page with the list so I can keep track at a glance.

Book List 2015

What is My Thing For Thick Books?

Books I've finished recently: Game of Thrones and Winter's Tale. Both were quite long, so I'm behind.

Right now I'm reading Faery Reel, which is an anthology of fairy stories. I just haven't had a lot of time since starting Give it 100. Working on my other goals takes up the lion's share of my days.

Now Reading the Faery Reel

Waiting For the Last Sacrifice

I've finished Blood Promise and Spirit Bound. I didn't realize there was another book in the series, but there is. It's Last Sacrifice. So I used my computer to request a copy. In the meantime I'll probably go back to reading Witch Boy, a book I started during a car trip back and forth to Monrovia. I've really lost track of where I am with my reading goals.

Thinking Woman's Guide

I'm currently reading The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker. I mentioned it on Twitter, and I'll be darned if the author didn't follow me back. How cool is that? Great read. I'm going to be sad when it's over. I also love the cover illustration. Drat it all, I wish I could find my camera so I could show you.

Another Magical Novel

I took the book Blythwood down to Monrovia with me. Can't pack boxes all the day long. I got enough reading time to finish the book, and I enjoyed it a lot, though I think she could have come up with a better name for the bird boy than Raven. I returned it yesterday and forgot to take a photo of the cover. With all this moving and sorting I keep losing track of my camera.

I grabbed a new magical novel to read while I was at the library. I think it's going to be a fun read. It's called The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker. It's 563 pages. I'm about four chapters into it. I don't have much planned for the day, so hopefully I can read for an hour or two. But right now I need to make breakfast.

Vampire Academy Book

Hi gang,
I'm behind in my reading goals mostly because I got really bogged down in Game of Thrones. I am about 3/4 of the way through it and when I needed to renew it I couldn't. Someone else had placed a hold on it. So I turned it in and requested it again.

Vampire Academy Book by Richelle Mead

In the meantime, I started reading Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.  I'm just loving it. It flows like butter into my mind. After picking my way through Game of Thrones, it's nice to just read and have a flow and not have to reread every other page in case I missed something. It's the perfect 'take to the beach' kind of a book. I love the main character Rose.  She is curvy, feisty, independent and smart. Judging by the illustration on the cover, the illustrator screwed that part up. On the cover she looks thinner than the co-star. That's Hollywood for you.

Summer Sisters

For my next book I'm reading Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. I haven't gotten into it deep enough to tell if I like it or not.

All my friends have been talking about Game of Thrones lately so I'm going to see if the library has them. I'll probably have to wait for them.

Happiest New Year 2014

Let the reading begin. The first book I've chosen for week one is Destined by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. It's part of a vampire series that I'm well in the middle of. I just finished reading the Shattered Vine, which I was kind of bogged down in, so I'm happy to get back to the vampire books. They just flow for me. This book makes reference to Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Maybe I can find time to read that one as well.

Goodreads

Someone on my Facebook mentioned Goodreads.com. I see they have a place to set reading goals. 2014 doesn't seem to be up yet, but I'll join it when it shows up. When I titled this blog I was going to do 50 books a year but that title was taken so I went with the next number which is 51 and then two days later I realized since there are 52 weeks in a year, it would have been more logical to pick 52. Ah well, if I can keep up with the pace of a book a week I'll be lucky. This week I finished reading Awakened by Cast. I had read part of it last July then  had to return it while I went out of town. So when I recently got it back I couldn't remember where I stopped reading and ended up reading the whole book again, which was very frustrating.

I just started reading an Alaskan story called the Raven's Gift. I like the way the chapters alternate between the present and the recent past. It's a bit of a thriller at this point, though I'm not sure where the author is going with it.

Reading Goals First Post

Since I think reading is very important, especially when you are a writer, I've decided to read 51 books a year, starting in 2014. I'll keep track of them here, maybe even write a mini-review of the ones I like the most. Keeping track of them will help me to stay motivated, and maybe inspire others to put more reading into their lives. Sounds like fun. My local librarians are very good about getting a hold of books for me too. I just hope that when January rolls around I remember my goal.