Maintenance Monday
2010 Goals
Welcome to the first Maintenance Monday of the year! Aren't you excited? I know I am. :)
For starters, I'm setting some reading-related goals that I wanted to share with all of you, and then I'll ask you to do the same, should you feel the urge.
1) My comic book reading last year was atrocious, and that's just inexcusable when you consider my husband has so many comic books he's got a closet devoted to them. So, goal for 2010: one comic book issue per night. That means I'll have read 365 comics by the end of this year. Plans for that reading? Mike Carey's The Unwritten is first on the rotation, and then I'm toying with starting John Constantine: Hellblazer. The latter will DEFINITELY take me all year.
2) My novel-reading goal is always 50 books a year. That's the minimum. Obviously, getting to 100 is a perk, but I'd really like to SLOW DOWN and read some stuff I just can't speed through. So instead of killing myself to reach 100 books for 2010, I'm going to aim for 75. That's a fair compromise.
3) More variety. The mystery bug is nibbling, and there's a historical fiction or two I'm wanting to try. Don't get me wrong: the majority of my reading will be some mix of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, but I would like to add a little more spice to the rotation, maybe even some non fiction. Last year, I read too many easy, fast reads, which isn't a bad thing (I'm getting ready to start one now!), but I think I wore myself out on them.
4) Put a dent in my TBR pile. I can't BEGIN to tell you how bad it is. But I can show you!
a) THIS is my immediate TBR pile. It's a very deceptive (and somewhat blurry picture) though: the first three stacks from the left over? Have stacks in front of them! But to give you a sense of organization, the first stack is fantasy, as in secondary world or close enough, the second is SF, the third is urban fantasy, or close enough, and fourth, whose spines you can't see, is YA/Other.
b) Sort of like this. This picture gives you a little more dimension, but you can't see the third pile from the left, because the fourth pile/row is obscuring it.
c) YA and Other Titles. 'Nuff said. :)
d) The Only Shelf in the Office, and it's actually an entertainment center. Don't let this scare you TOO badly. The books on the floor are those I've already read. And the very top shelf are books that belong to my hubby. First editions, and all that. The rest is mine, and they're two rows deep on every shelf. And jawastew, I'm not sure you can see it, but there's a Star Wars title peeking through (underneath the Furby--yes, that's right, I have a Furby), and several more hidden on the bottom shelf!
I know. I told you it was ridiculous, didn't I?
5) This means I'm going to seriously cut back on my buys. Not completely, because there's some sequels to things I just have to have, but as I said before, I really want to curb my impulses the best I can.
6) Figure out an order in which to read what I've got. Before, I tried to base it off what I felt like and made sure I got to the challenges on time. I've considered rotating genres before (Fantasy, SF, UF, Other), but now I'm wondering if I should just open my spreadsheet of purchases (yes, I've created a spreadsheet), and just start knocking them off. I have no thoughts on this, so we'll see what happens. It may be a mix of a specific rotation and knocking them off my list! :)
And that's all from me. Quite a lot, considering, but I thought you might be interested in what I'll be up to this year. What kind of reading goals do you have for 2010?
Book Club Selections
January: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (y'all, I just finished reading it, and it's GOOD)
February: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
March's poll will be coming sometime this month, so stay tuned! And I'll give you a hint: if you've been waiting for SF, you're going to be very happy (unless you've read all the choices, which is highly possible).
VOTE!!!: have you joined in on the The Last Unicorn discussion yet? So far, it's our best turnout ever, and I want to hear more discussion, even if you read the book forever ago and not for the challenge! Also, be sure and vote in the poll so I have accurate participation numbers, okay? Please? Pretty please? Just go here.
Book Sale: still going on. Details are here.
Top Ten List & Giveaway: coming very, very soon. I'm almost done putting the list together, but it still needs some work. I hope to have the list up this week, and perhaps the giveaway soon after. Don't miss out!
End of the Year Goodies: Did you see my final 2009 reading list? You can check that out here. There's also a very sadly populated comic book list, if you're interested.
Upcoming Reviews: In the Woods by Tana French and The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (but you won't get that one until 1/31/10).
Currently Reading: Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughn
2010 Reading Total: 2 out of 50 (once I hit 50, I'll move that number up to 75).
Welcome to the first Maintenance Monday of the year! Aren't you excited? I know I am. :)
For starters, I'm setting some reading-related goals that I wanted to share with all of you, and then I'll ask you to do the same, should you feel the urge.
1) My comic book reading last year was atrocious, and that's just inexcusable when you consider my husband has so many comic books he's got a closet devoted to them. So, goal for 2010: one comic book issue per night. That means I'll have read 365 comics by the end of this year. Plans for that reading? Mike Carey's The Unwritten is first on the rotation, and then I'm toying with starting John Constantine: Hellblazer. The latter will DEFINITELY take me all year.
2) My novel-reading goal is always 50 books a year. That's the minimum. Obviously, getting to 100 is a perk, but I'd really like to SLOW DOWN and read some stuff I just can't speed through. So instead of killing myself to reach 100 books for 2010, I'm going to aim for 75. That's a fair compromise.
3) More variety. The mystery bug is nibbling, and there's a historical fiction or two I'm wanting to try. Don't get me wrong: the majority of my reading will be some mix of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, but I would like to add a little more spice to the rotation, maybe even some non fiction. Last year, I read too many easy, fast reads, which isn't a bad thing (I'm getting ready to start one now!), but I think I wore myself out on them.
4) Put a dent in my TBR pile. I can't BEGIN to tell you how bad it is. But I can show you!
a) THIS is my immediate TBR pile. It's a very deceptive (and somewhat blurry picture) though: the first three stacks from the left over? Have stacks in front of them! But to give you a sense of organization, the first stack is fantasy, as in secondary world or close enough, the second is SF, the third is urban fantasy, or close enough, and fourth, whose spines you can't see, is YA/Other.
b) Sort of like this. This picture gives you a little more dimension, but you can't see the third pile from the left, because the fourth pile/row is obscuring it.
c) YA and Other Titles. 'Nuff said. :)
d) The Only Shelf in the Office, and it's actually an entertainment center. Don't let this scare you TOO badly. The books on the floor are those I've already read. And the very top shelf are books that belong to my hubby. First editions, and all that. The rest is mine, and they're two rows deep on every shelf. And jawastew, I'm not sure you can see it, but there's a Star Wars title peeking through (underneath the Furby--yes, that's right, I have a Furby), and several more hidden on the bottom shelf!
I know. I told you it was ridiculous, didn't I?
5) This means I'm going to seriously cut back on my buys. Not completely, because there's some sequels to things I just have to have, but as I said before, I really want to curb my impulses the best I can.
6) Figure out an order in which to read what I've got. Before, I tried to base it off what I felt like and made sure I got to the challenges on time. I've considered rotating genres before (Fantasy, SF, UF, Other), but now I'm wondering if I should just open my spreadsheet of purchases (yes, I've created a spreadsheet), and just start knocking them off. I have no thoughts on this, so we'll see what happens. It may be a mix of a specific rotation and knocking them off my list! :)
And that's all from me. Quite a lot, considering, but I thought you might be interested in what I'll be up to this year. What kind of reading goals do you have for 2010?
Book Club Selections
January: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (y'all, I just finished reading it, and it's GOOD)
February: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
March's poll will be coming sometime this month, so stay tuned! And I'll give you a hint: if you've been waiting for SF, you're going to be very happy (unless you've read all the choices, which is highly possible).
VOTE!!!: have you joined in on the The Last Unicorn discussion yet? So far, it's our best turnout ever, and I want to hear more discussion, even if you read the book forever ago and not for the challenge! Also, be sure and vote in the poll so I have accurate participation numbers, okay? Please? Pretty please? Just go here.
Book Sale: still going on. Details are here.
Top Ten List & Giveaway: coming very, very soon. I'm almost done putting the list together, but it still needs some work. I hope to have the list up this week, and perhaps the giveaway soon after. Don't miss out!
End of the Year Goodies: Did you see my final 2009 reading list? You can check that out here. There's also a very sadly populated comic book list, if you're interested.
Upcoming Reviews: In the Woods by Tana French and The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (but you won't get that one until 1/31/10).
Currently Reading: Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughn
2010 Reading Total: 2 out of 50 (once I hit 50, I'll move that number up to 75).