My 2013 Book Challenge

First book on deck for 2013.

"Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures." ~ Jessamyn West

This year I am determined to read 2 books per month for a total of 24 books in 2013. Now, I know that doesn’t sound like a lot. I’ve seen some people with goals of 50 or 100 books over the course of the year. I don’t know how they do it. I’m convinced these people either don’t sleep, or speed read. I’d love to be able to manage that many books. Then maybe I’d put a bit more of a dent in my TBR pile, because I know I will definitely buy more than 24 books throughout the year, leaving me no further ahead than when I started. But whatever. A girl can never have too many books. 

Given my inability to read at the speed of light, I will stick with my 24 book goal. And, since I never met a list I didn’t like to make, I’ve…well… made a list. I went through my TBR pile and picked out the 24 books I plan to read. Now I say planned because, as my goals group partner Anne MacFarlane asked, “What happens if you buy a book and want to read it right away?”  My incredibly articular response was, “Uh…then I’ll probably just read it.” The list isn’t written in stone so much as a guideline. The overall number of books read is the ultimate goal. 

So here is my planned but not written in stone list of books for 2013:

 

1. The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern
2. The Dove Keepers – Alice Hoffman
3. Inside – Alix Ohlin
4. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
5. The Broker – John Grisham
6. The Litigators – John Grisham
7. The Life You Longed For – Maribeth Fischer
8. The House at Riverton – Kate Morton
9. The Rose Garden – Susanna Kearsley
10. The Lost Wife – Alyson Richman
11. Duchess (a novel of Sarah Churchill) – Susan Holloway Scott
12. The Eighty Dollar Champion – Elizabetth Letts
13. Silent In the Sanctuary – Deanna Raybourn
14. Falling Together – Marisa de los Santos
15. The Book of Negroes – Lawrence Hill
16. The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan
17. Graceling – Kristen Cashore
18. A Storm of Swords – George R. R. Martin
19. Last Night In Twisted River – John Irving
20. Rebel Heiress – Fiona Mountain
21. Sarah’s Key – Tatiana de Rosnay
22. Emily Hudson – Melissa Jones
23. The Preacher’s Daughter – Cheryl St. John
24. The Dressmaker – Posie Graeme-Evans

First up is The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.

 

So what about you - have you set any book challenges for 2013?

 

~ Kelly

In the Infamous Words of the Go-Gos...

Vacation all I ever wanted! Ah yes, I am going on vacation. Finally. I have been counting down the days for about two months now. I so need a break from the every day. So early tomorrow morning I will be off to the great Island of Prince Edward. I haven’t been there since I was about 9 years old.

I am taking with me about six different books to read, one full manuscript (Salvation Falls) to read through and edit and write the synopsis for, my netbook so I don’t have to write everything longhand, and my notebook jammed full of ideas, some on loose pieces of paper shoved between the pages. I’m hoping to decide, or at least narrow down, which idea will get fleshed out and outlined for this year’s NaNoWriMo.

I’m also taking my yoga mat so I can get in a daily workout (or just simply find some zen moments on the beach).

By the way, I finally got to watch the movie adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion the other night and loved it! I’ll have to reread that book again.

Hope everyone’s summer is going great and I’ll check back in with everyone upon my return next weekend!

Oh, and one last thing – you may have noticed I took a break from blogging over on Pop Culture Divas (formerly Miss Make A Movie). But starting in September I’ll be back to my usual monthly post over there. In the meantime, check it out – we have a new post every weekday and traffic has been increasing steadily.

The SuccessTeam

A group of my writing pals (including Anne who did a fabulous job on my new website) have gotten together to form a SuccessTeam. Basically, the gist of this group is to meet every two weeks, set specific goals and then egg / encourage / harass each other into meeting them. But, while this group consists of said writing pals, it isn’t just a ‘writing goals group’. We can set goals on anything we want to accomplish be they writing, health, money/finances, etc. And given that I function much better when I have a goal, this is right up my alley.

I mean really – if it involves a calendar, set dates, specific goals…why, I get positively giddy. It’s sad really. My friends and family razz me mercilessly about this at times, but hey, this is how I get things done. I make a plan. Then I make a back up plan (and yes, my back up plans also have back up plans – easier to shift gears at a moment’s notice if Plan A or B need tweaking). Then, I give myself a deadline, and then, finally, I put the proverbial pedal to the medal and get things done.

You’ve likely heard the expression: There’s no “I” in “TEAM”. Maybe not. But there’s an “M” and an “E”. And ME is going to put it into high gear this year and get some serious stuff accomplished. Manuscripts revised, research done, weight lost, health improved, books read and knitting projects completed.

And I’ve got ME and the TEAM to make sure that happens.

The Chosen Classics

Well I have settled on the three classics I intend to read this year. First up is the ten pound edition of The Count of Monte Cristo. Okay, maybe it isn't ten pounds, but it is huge. I may be able to use it as a doorstop once I finish.

Next up is Middlemarch, and after that North & South by Elizabeth Gaskill. Both of these books number among my favorite mini-series.

Now all I have to do is find time between writing, work and guitar lessons and practice to actually find time to sit down and read them. Perhaps I will take a week's vacation and dedicate it to the sole purpose of putting a dent in my pile of TBR books that seems to keep growing by the millisecond.

I've recently added the second book in James McGee's series. How could I pass up a book set in Regency England with a dark hero and a tag line that says: You don't send a gentleman to catch vermin. You send Hawkwood.

That alone just makes me want to grab the book off the shelf, find a quiet corner and start reading. Sadly, however, I have several books in front of it, including the new Crusie/Mayer release that I am only half way through and have 2 days left before the library wants it back...

A Return to the Classics

I was browsing through the bookstore the other day, not a strange occurrence given the amount of hours I spend in the bookstore in the run of a week, but what was strange was the area I kept gravitating to. The books I kept picking up. Lately I've felt like changing up what I've been reading. Certainly not giving up reading romance, that's just pure craziness. But branching out. And what I keep coming back to are the classics.

Now I'll be honest - outside of some Jane Austen, I haven't read the classics. At least not all the way through. I've been known to pick up a Dickens, flip it open and read passages, or pages or even a chapter or two, then set it down and go back to what I was reading. But there has always been this part of me that wanted to read more of what created the backbone of classic literature.

I picked up The Count of Monte Cristo, Crime and Punishment, Madame Bovary. My fingers skimmed over the rows and itched to toss all of them into my arms and rush to the check-out. I did manage to stop myself. The $20 in my wallet would only go so far and pay day was another week away. But it got me to thinking maybe I should readjust my goals list and add 'reading two classic pieces of literature' onto my Personal Goals. Does anyone else have classics that are their favorites?

In other news, I am reconsidering San Francisco. The more I look at it, the more I am balking at the cost, which would probably end up being in the vicinity of $2500. As much as I want to go, I am just not sure the cost will be justified - at least as far as how much it will progress my career. By July I will have already contacted all the agents that interest me, so meeting one of them face to face doesn't justify the cost. I will have already sent Brimstone to Berkley long before July as well.

The only hitch is the Golden Heart. Should I be lucky enough to final, I would love to be there for the gala event at the end and see my name and picture flash up on the screen when they announce the nominees. But that's a really expensive ego stroke, and again, I'm just not sure I can justify it. Going to conference might get me a foot in the door somewhere, but so will staying home and doing it the old fashioned way. Sending queries, partials, contests, etc.

Now if I had the money kicking around to spare, I'd be on that plane in a heart beat and not think twice about it. But I don't. And I'm also trying to save for a trip south with friends in April 2009 and another trip to Italy in September 2009. Both of these I'm really excited about and don't want to give up.

So, it isn't written in stone yet, and if something should happen that some extra cash should magically fall into my lap I will change my mind, but for now, it looks like San Fran is not in the cards this year.

NaNo Day 3-5: Where Did The Weekend Go?

Weekends go by way too fast and this one flew by at a particularly high rate of speed. I woke up this morning and was convinced it couldn't possibly be Monday. Wishful thinking perhaps. On the plus side, Tropical Storm Noel blew through here Saturday night and while some of my roof shingles got knocked off I came out of it unscathed. Although feeling the house shudder from the wind was rather unpleasant.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, quite literally in fact, Salvation Falls and NaNo are motoring along. Poor Caleb has realized he's in it up to his armpits, and as you can tell from the picture, he still isn't quite sure how that happened.

I'm up to 16,048 words as of this morning and hoping to get a little more done today at lunch and maybe in the evening. Somewhere in there I also have to start writing my synopsis (gag!) for Brimstone to send with the GH submission. I've handed off my manuscript to my critique partners in all it's imperfect glory so that's done.

I'm hoping by the end of this week to get up to 30,000 words for NaNo. That will give me a nice chunk done before I have to switch over and give Brimstone the majority of my attention. I just hope I can get that cleaned up in time to courier out on the 23rd. I'm feeling the time crunch but trying not to stress on it. I'll get it done. Somehow.

Meanwhile, if anyone is looking for a great read, check out Julianne MacLean's new book that was just released last week. In My Wildest Fantasies is the first book in her new Pembroke Palace series and she has definitely outdone herself with this one. You'll love these characters and, as always, the romance is top notch. I'm finding it hard to put down to get my own writing done! It's a definite must read.

Strange Going-Ons

I am beginning to think the universe has a strange way about it that I will never understand. Sometimes you think you can grasp the way of things, but then something comes up and makes you do a double-take and you wonder if you ever really knew anything at all, or if it was all just trickery--smoke, lights and mirrors. But you don’t really mind so much, because in the end the way it works out is the way it should be. And that the universe knew this in advance, in its own strange and funny way, is of some comfort. Since it seems like someone should know what they are doing, and that someone apparently isn’t me.

But meanwhile, back in the strange little world I live, I have taken in a second viewing of 3:10 to Yuma and determined it was even better the second time around. Which leads one to think that perhaps the third viewing will be even more spectacular. And since I like to test theories, there is only one way to find out. I see another trip to the theatre in my near future.

Revisions: They are coming along much better than I anticipated. I am relatively on target with my word count, timing of when I want this finished, and the scenes seem to be gelling together and no tufts of hair being ripped out in the process.

Eyeball Surgery: Preliminary consultation is booked for October 2nd. Can’t wait. A lot of people are nervous about surgery to the eyeballs, and with good reason. It isn’t like you have an extra set of corneas kicking around. But I know a whole ream of people who have had the surgery including my boss, my mother, close friends, etc and all have told me it is the best thing they have ever done. And given that I like to stay active and play sports and my contacts are not behaving as they should be, this is the best option for me. And oddly, as a kid when I first started wearing glasses, I always had the sense that one day I would see just fine without them again.

New Additions: My brother has informed me that he and his wife will be adding number three to the brood in early March. That brings the total of nieces and nephews to five. And all five and under. We’re overrun with munchkins in Boyceland. It's just a matter of time before they take over.

Weight Loss: Still plugging away. I'm losing about 1 lb a week and for a total of 7 lbs so far. Just 7 left to go before I hit the goal weight. It's getting darker in the evenings which means my outside walks will have to be curtailed soon, so I picked up some yoga DVDs to help get me through the winter.

Looking forward to: In My Wildest Fantasies – Book I in Julianne MacLean’s new Pembroke Palace series. Look for it in bookstores this November. This series is going to be awesome!

Mental Explosions and the TBR Pile

The day started out normal enough. Well, if you call normal wanting to bang your head against the keyboard and take up basket weaving. Which, I’m guessing as writers is pretty normal. Anyway, as noted below, I was struggling with plot issues, which made me abandon my WIP and segued into trying to figure out characters who appear later on in the series.

That’s when it started. The insistent tapping in my brain to pay attention to something I’d been trying to ignore. No matter how much head shaking I did, I couldn’t rid myself of the tapping. And finally, on the drive home, stuck in traffic due to road construction, it hit me.

The characters and the plot for Book 4 were wrong. That’s why I couldn’t get the earl and Jack off my mind. They were trying to tell me I had the wrong hero for Book 4, that Jack was the proper hero and if I didn’t stop ignoring this fact they were going to kick me in the cranium until I paid attention.

Suddenly things started falling into place. I got home and since it was a beautiful, warm day after 4 days of rain and mist, I went out for my walk, working my imagination as hard as I was pumping my legs. And my arms. I noticed partway into the walk that I was talking to myself and gesticulating wildly while working through the plot. I’m sure I looked like a crazy person to all the passing motorists.

By the time I got back home, I ran down to the computer and typed it all up to send to my CP. I was so excited. The kind where you feel like there is this explosion of joy welling up inside of you and you just want to scream and laugh at the top of your lungs because EUREKA – you’ve figured things out and ohmygod this is going to make things SO MUCH BETTER!!!

I slumped back in my chair after I hit the send button, exhausted. And a little perturbed that it didn’t help my plotting issues with Book 1 in the least. Oh well, can’t have everything.

Then, since I was in front of the computer I decided to flip through my blog roll. I was reading Jill Shalvis’s blog and clicked on the cover of her new book, Shadow Hawk, which took me to amazon. Now, to be honest, I’ve never read a Harlequin Blaze before, but this past year I’ve been branching out, reading more contemporary. I scrolled down to the plot blurb. My eyebrows shot up. Wounded hero...handcuffs...Now this sounds interesting...

By the time I finished reading the blurb I was reaching for my purse and keys and was out the door and off to the bookstore. I arrived to find only two copies left. I snagged one, nearly running into the bookshelves because I couldn’t take my eyes off the abs. Seriously, that cover should have come with a warning...I looked up just in time to see another cover that caught my eye. Hot Dish by Connie Brockway. Hmm, I thought. Picked it up. Read the back. Added to my pile. Okay, now I’m leaving. I swear, I’m not buying anything else. I’m go—

Oh. Jo Beverley has a new book out?? Lady Beware?

Sigh. I swear I only went there to buy one book. But three books later I made it home. Oh well, I’ll think of it as reward for figuring out Book 4!

The End is Near

I've been making progress with my writing this week. I've reached the big love scene, which was part of the plotting issue I was having. There were two places I could have had it happen, and trying to figure out which worked best proved a bit of a headache, but I think I've got it in the right place now. However, since I was experiencing a bit of a roadblock with my writing, I did what I normally do in cases like that. I moved upstairs to the couch with my Alphie and my notebook. The first part of the scene I wrote on the Alphie. When I started to blank out though, I switched to the notebook and that's what I've been working on for the past two days. My work is slower, but it makes me think more about what I'm putting down which in this case works better. I feel like I've stopped running in sand though and am back on solid ground.

I am also in the last day of the pedometer challenge - whew! It was beginning to feel like this day would never get here. I'll be happy to return to my regular 5.5K walk in the evenings instead of walking every spare minute I was upright. Oddly enough, I haven't lost a bloody pound, but my legs feel as solid as tree trunks and I swear to God you could bounce a quarter off my ass. So I tell myself I'm merely exchanging muscle for fat.

Unfortunately, after all that hard work, I don't think I'm going to win the challenge. Each of our offices across the country sent in their office averages and top three highest steppers. My office was in the lead, and the top spot for individuals was a close race between me and another lady in Ontario. Unfortunately two days ago I learned a guy in our Mississauga office apparently had an average of 30,000 steps a day. I went back to the sheets that were sent out. How had I missed that? Turns out I missed it because the Mississauga office never reported their totals either time the sheet went out. And now, with only 4 days left, there was no way I could catch up to overtake 30,000 steps. Which was disappointing. It would have been nice to have had that information back on the 13th when the first totals went out so I at least knew what I was up against. Some suggested that now I could at least kick back and relax. If I couldn't catch up with him why kill myself trying. Oddly the thought never even entered my mind. I figured, if I was going down, then I was going down swinging, and I upped my daily totals from 23,000 steps on average to 28,000 steps. I may not catch up to him, in fact I know I won't if his total really is 30,000 steps, but damned if I'm just going to roll over and die without at least trying.

In other news, I finished Susan Elizabeth Phillips book, Match Me If You Can last night. As some of you might recall I had tried to read it before after finishing Ain't She Sweet and loving it. But I couldn't get into Match Me. So I tried the book on CD, thinking maybe that would help, but, well turns out books on CD aren't my thing. Then I read Natural Born Charmer. And I loved it. So, I decided to try Match Me again. And I'm glad I did. It was great. So great that I don't even know why I couldn't get into it in the first place. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind. Have you ever had that happen? Pick up a book and not be able to get into it, and then go back and read it later and have it be the best book you've ever read?

And so that is what I've been up to this week. Walking, reading and writing. Although I just picked up the first season of the HBO series Carnivale on DVD from the library, and now that I'll have my evenings back, I'm going to kick my feet up and watch the circus freaks. After reading Water for Elephants (awesome book!) I'm obsessed with the Big Top.

A Meandering Monday Post

I am convinced it is impossible for Mary Balogh to write a bad book. No scratch that, a mediocre book. Wait...no...anything beyond just a flat out, brilliant book. I've read all of the Slightly series, two of the Simply series, The Secret Pearl and now have just finished More Than A Mistress. I have The Gilded Web, A Summer to Remember and one other which I think might be something about Mistletoe. Possibly a Christmas anthology. I'm not sure. I just saw her name on it and grabbed it.

Thankfully I still have a fair bit of her backlist go get through but I'm still trying to pace myself. I've already exhausted my Lisa Kleypas backlist and am up to date on her books (except for the new contemporary that's out, I have to wait for it to go paperback, although I might get the HC from the library first). I'm up to date on all of Deb Hale and Julianne MacLean's books. I'm perilously close to finishing up Kathryn Smith and Cathryn Fox. And Maggie Osborne has retired so there will be nothing new coming from that front. Please a moment of silence whilst I mourn...

I'm almost afraid to start reading the few Elizabeth Chadwick books I have left although thankfully there are two new ones I haven't purchased yet, so there's something to look forward to. And Victoria Alexander has three left I haven't read and Julia Quinn has two. In fact, I don't even know what I'm complaining about (was I complaining? This post has begun to meander, I forget what I was talking about). I have plenty of books left. In fact, my TBR pile has taken over the back wall of my bedroom, multiplying beneath my desk at an alarming rate.

Which reminds me - here's a trivia question for all of you Jo Beverley readers. I purchased The Rogue's Return last night and this book features Simon St. Bride. Now, when I first picked the book up I thought...wait a second...isn't Simon the friend from the Company of Rogues who was supposedly killed in the war but his body was never found? Wasn't one of the Company of Rogues killed in the war? Because they mention the dead guy in every Rogue book, and every time I keep thinking - this guy isn't dead, he's going to show up somewhere with his own book. So is it Simon, and if not, does anyone remember who because I've been wracking my brain all day and it's driving me crazy!

Okay, so that's all I have for today. Pardon my rambling, but it's Monday, I'm tired and now I'm leaving because I'm out of animal crackers, still kind of hungry and about to go scrounging for more food.

Aha! An addendum because it was driving me crazy. I checked out Jo Beverley's website (I blame the hunger for not making me think of that sooner...). Anyway, turns out two of the guys were dead and apparently plan to stay that way, neither of which were Simon. Simon has been in Canada. But it was Darius Debenham I was thinking of. He was only presumed dead, although has apparently picked up a nasty opium problem. His book is out now too - To Rescue a Rogue. From his opium addiction one would assume.

Good thing payday is Friday.

The Book On Tape Debacle

I've never listened to a book on tape before. For me, there's too much pleasure in reading a book to give that pu for a listen. But there was a book coming out and I knew I wouldn't have time to read the one preceding it. I had managed the first chapter, but it wasn't completely grabbing me. But I liked the author and wanted to read it. Especially since the new one coming out seems to be a continuation of sorts, using characters from this book. I figured if I borrowed the BOT from the library, I could listen to it in the car on the way to and from work, or while I got supper ready.

So this morning I popped the first CD into the car's player. It's going good. The woman doing the reading had a clear voice and she did the heroine's voice in a believable manner. But then we got to the hero.

Uh...yeah. No.

Because listening to a woman do an impression of a guy's voice totally threw me out of the story. Plus the guy was supposed to be this sexy, hot, business mogul type, but the impression just made him sound kind of...dumb. A bit of a buffoon. Very unmanly. I kept telling myself to hang in there that maybe after a few minutes I'd get accustomed to it, but...nope.

It was bad.

I hit the eject button before I became so disturbed by the pseudo man/woman voice I drove myself off the road.

I think I'll stick with the print versions from now on.