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2012 End of Year Book Survey

1. Best book you read in 2012?

I gave the following books five stars on Goodreads:

2. Book you were excited about & thought you were going to love more but didn’t?

Eve & Adam by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. Love Katherine Applegate, but this one wasn’t really my cuppa.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012? 

Claudia and Mean Janine by Raina Telgemeier, only because The Truth about Stacey was always my favorite BSC book, so the fact that I liked Claudia’s story more in graphic novel form surprises me every time.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

Probably The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I told almost all of my classes that I read it and liked it.

Oh, and I got both of my parents to read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

The BSC graphic novels are kind of cheating, even if they are amazing. Soooo, I guess I’ll have to go with Saving Francesca/The Piper’s Son since they’re companion books. And word on the street is a third book is on the way.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

Melina Marchetta. I did read Jellicoe Road back when it came out, but with Saving Francesca, I legit fell in love.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

The Count of Monte Cristo. (a) It’s super long. (b) It’s classic literature.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

The first and last thirds of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Saving Francesca, for different reasons.

9. Book you read in 2012 that you are most likely to re-read next year?

None. Not a big re-reader.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

Jane by April Lindner  Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

11. Most memorable character in 2012? 

Grandpa Noirtier from The Count of Monte Cristo. So badass, so amazing.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

Probably a tie between Saving Francesca and Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012? 

Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. I have an emergency fund! I’m about to start paying down my debt! So…yeah.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?

Kristy’s Great Idea only because, seriously, it was on my shelf for way too long.

15. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2012?

If I can only pick one, it’s got to be this one from Code Name Verity:

It’s like being in love, discovering your best friend.

But I’m trying to figure out a way to work this quote from Saving Francesca into a conversation one day:

“Go away,” he orders. “Rehearse the part where Lady Macbeth throws herself off the balcony.”

16. Shortest & longest book you read in 2012?

Not counting picture books, the shortest was The Enchanted Truth by Kym Petrie. Longest was Count of Monte Cristo.

17. Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Yeah, so I was totally texting my friend Jasmine during Count of Monte Cristo. I may have live tweeted it a bit, too.

18. Favorite relationship from a book you read in 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc)?

Queenie & Maddie from Code Name Verity, the friendships and familial relationships in Saving Francesca & The Piper’s Son, Claire & Einar in Son, Vera and her dad in Please Ignore Vera Dietz

19. Favorite book you read in 2012 from an author you read previously?

Saving Francesca, The Lover’s Dictionary

20. Best book you read that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else?

None of the books I read count. The closest one is The Count of Monte Cristo because of Revenge and my friend Jasmine talking about her re-read of the book.

Wrap Up: Reading Challenges 2012

Don’t worry; this post is going to be short. Mostly because I failed spectacularly at all the reading challenges I signed up for. I didn’t complete a single one. Not one! No, not even the Harry Potter one. Which is fine, really. I mean, I did read The Count of Monte Cristo, which was the biggie. And I got rid of a bunch of books on my shelf that I wasn’t going to read anyway, so you know.

That said, the one thing I wanted to do this past year was read more contemporary YA lit. I was so over fantasy and paranormal and dystopia. Obviously, I still read a few from each genre, but I got back to what I love reading. Very smart.

So next year, I am not doing any reading challenges. I’m just going to read what I want, when I want. Which is what I did anyway. That doesn’t mean I won’t sign up for something that completely pushes me out of my comfort zone (Tea & Books, for example, did help me commit to reading a big ‘un), but I’m going to keep my obligations to a minimum.

Good luck to everyone else on completing all of your challenges!

 

 

one week left

One week left in NaBloPoMo, and I am hitting the wall. I have one book left to review, and, quite frankly, it’s exhausting posting every day. So today is my “I don’t feel like posting so I’m not” post, and we’ll see what tomorrow brings. I only have ideas for two other posts. Two! And seven days left! I need to regroup and think, obvs.

Any suggestions?

NaBloPoMo

I signed up for NaBloPoMo, hence the posts every day this month. I’ve been pretty good about it, only missing two days of real content so far because of exhaustion/outside interests. Today is going to be my third. I hit the grading wall earlier today. (Grading, grading, always with the grading.) I also realized that I’m in a crabby mood. Crabby mood does not make for good posts. Also, I’m tired. So consider this a longer explanation of why I’m not posting a review today. I should be back in the swing of things again tomorrow.

Blogging every day probably won’t continue in December. For one thing, I’m almost caught up on all the overdue reviews. For another, the first week of December is the end of the semester, which means even more grading. I know the students think they have it bad, but I’m going to have to grade some major projects along with catching up on the grading I’m not going to finish before this weekend’s break.

Anyway, no whining here. Just a heads up for what’s going on and why all the fantastic original content will slooooow down. I do enjoy posting with regularity, though, and will try to sort out some kind of schedule for myself in the future. As for tonight, no review. Tomorrow, though!

no review!

Just got home from the church picnic, exhausted. Not sure I’ll wake up in time to do a review today. Tomorrow then!

Bloggiesta: Wrap-Up

I’m counting my first Bloggiesta as a success. I completed the pinterest challenge by creating a Books Worth Reading board, answered the unanswered comments on my posts, and read through the mini-challenges to see if any caught my eye. (So far, I saw one that I will probably do in the future: themed pages.)

I also started cleaning up my tags and labels. I’m about 1/3 of the way through, and that’ll be an ongoing project that I work on a little at a time–probably between grading papers. I like how much cleaner and neater my blog looks on the fixed ones, so that’s good.

I didn’t make a decision about the reviews by author page, which means it stays for now. I may make updating that a task for the Bloggiesta event in September. We’ll see. Next time, I’ll hopefully be able to participate more in the Twitter aspect of it all as well.

All in all: good deal. Two thumbs up, fine holiday fun, etc.

Bloggiesta 2012: To-Do

I decided to sign-up for Bloggiesta. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get to it, but: let’s be real. I don’t do anything except sit on the couch on Saturdays anyway. To be fair, I am going to a play in about a half-hour, but when I get back, I’m going to get in some quality bloggiesta time.

My planned to-do list:

  • answer comments
  • schedule a post or two
  • update books read in 2012 list
  • decide if I want to keep/update the reviews by author page
  • decide if I want to add a reviews by title page (directly related to previous bullet point)
  • participate in the Pinterest mini-challenge
  • clean up labels/tags/categories
  • read through the other mini-challenge posts (old and new!) and see if something there catches my eye

2011: Books in Review

End of the year survey, taken from Trisha.

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?
I gave the following books five stars on Goodreads:

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?
Bossypants by Tina Fey, only because so many other people I know and trust enjoyed it so much.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?
Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore. I had zero expectations of this book, and I found it to be a lot of fun. In fact, every time I see the cover, I say to myself, “I really liked that book” and I’m always kind of surprised by it.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?  
Probably Tangerine. Peace from Broken Pieces by Iyanla Vanzant.

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?
The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan. I’m hooked.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?
I really enjoyed both of Neesha Meminger’s books. Oh, and Suzanne Selfors.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
I didn’t read any new genres.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan and Tangerine by Edward Bloor, for different reasons.

9. Book you most anticipated in 2011?
Sara Zarr, Sarah Dessen, E. Lockhart, and Meg Cabot‘s new books.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?

      

 
11. Most memorable character in 2011?
Ella from Ella Enchanted and Leo from The Lost Hero.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?
Where She Went by Gayle Forman

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011? 
How Al-Anon Works for Families and Friends of Alcoholics and What Did I Do Wrong? for obvious reasons.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?
Deenie, only because…Judy Blume. But, seriously, she was so far off my radar when I was growing up, it’s not surprising.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?
Echoing Trisha here: Answering this question would just take too much time, and honestly there’s no way I could pick just one.

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012? 
Tangerine by Edward Bloor, but only because I want to see if I have the same response to it in print as I did to it on audiobook.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers! 
The cliffhanger in The Son of Neptune. I mean, SERIOUSLY?

THE END of THE SURVEY

As for my reading challenges, I completed them all this year, but mostly because, as I said previously, I chose gimmes. Next year will be different.

Reading Challenges 2012

My brain is so fried from grading that I am currently incapable of posting any reviews. I wish I were joking, but alas. Every time I think of writing a review, my brain just kind of shuts down, like, “Seriously? You want me to think right now? Do you know what I’ve been doing for the past three weeks?” And then I go take a nap.

So! I will post instead about the reading challenges I’m going to do next year.

At first, like Vasilly, I was all, “I’m not doing any challenges. Imma read what I wanna read.” But then I read this post she linked and had an a-ha moment. The issue for me wasn’t signing up for challenges; the issue was the type of challenges I signed up for. I mean, signing up for gimmes isn’t really challenging. Yes, I read almost exclusively YA so why sign up for a YA challenge? Same with the library book challenge, etc. Also, I was lowballing my numbers, which is not really a challenge either.

On the flip side, when I signed up for the Women Unbound challenge, that really pushed me to seek out and read books I might not have otherwise. So, with that in mind, I’m participating in the following challenges:

Off the Shelf: My bookshelves are ridiculously full of books I haven’t read yet. I mean, it’s kind of a problem. I really want to cull my shelves, especially since I’m moving this summer. So that means I’m going to do the Making a Dint level, 30 books.

  1. Fatherhood by Bill Cosby
  2. The Romantic Obsessions & Humiliations of Annie Sehlmeier by Louise Plummer
  3. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
  4. Jane by April Lindner
  5. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra
  6. And This Is Laura by Ellen Conford
  7. Now and Zen by Linda Gerber
  8. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
  9. Kristy’s Great Idea by Raina Telgemeier

TV Reading Challenge: I love reading books that have been turned into other media, and I’m already planning to read The Count of Monte Cristo (see: Revenge on ABC), and this challenge will finally give me an excuse to read Peyton Place. Normally, I don’t list the books I’m reading in advance, but well, there go two right there. I’m doing the Series level, 3-4 books.

  1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  2. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Tea & Books Reading Challenge: Since I was already planning on reading CoMC, which is a bazillion pages long, I thought this challenge, which focuses on books with more than 700 pages might be fun. Because I don’t really read long books, I’m going for the Chamomile Lover level, 2 books. Second book TBD, obvs.

  1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Classic Double Challenge: It’s possible that CoMC might also qualify for this challenge–as long as I can find a corresponding contemporary retelling. Can I just say I had a slight nerdgasm when I saw this challenge? SUCH A NERD. I’ll probably be taking most of my cues from the book From Hinton to Hamlet, but I could be lying. WE’LL SEE. I mean, Melissa has her own pretty comprehensive list up, so I may let that guide me. I’m doing Medium, 4 pairs of related books.

  1. The Count of Monte Cristo/Murder on the Orient Express/”Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”

2012 Audiobook Challenge: I am all about some audiobooks, and this is kind of a gimme, except I’m going to push myself by signing up at the Going Steady level, which is 12 books. This year, I read ~8 books on audiobook, so that’s a good push. One book a month. I think I can handle that.

  1. Seriously…I’m Kidding by Ellen Degeneres
  2. Let It Go by T.D. Jakes
  3. Invisible by Pete Hautman
  4. Matilda by Roald Dahl
  5. Jeremy Brown: Secret Agent by Simon Cheshire
  6. Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach

And that’s it unless some super sexy challenge comes along in the next week or so. Oh, and the people who run the blog haven’t said whether or not it’s coming back, but I’m all aboard the People Of Color Reading Challenge train if it does. So I’ll just leave this here as a placeholder until it’s official.

And it’s back! I’m doing Level 5, 16-25 books.

  1. Fatherhood by Bill Cosby
  2. No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
  3. Angry Management by Chris Crutcher
  4. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  5. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra
  6. Let It Go by T. D. Jakes
  7. Now and Zen by Linda Gerber
  8. Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
  9. Claudia and Mean Janine by Raina Telgemeier
  10. A La Carte by Tanita S. Davis