2013 Wrap-Up and 2014 Looking Forward

Now that 2013 has drawn to a close and 2014 is upon us, I wanted to take a minute to reflect on the books I read last year and what I'm planning for in 2014. The formatting of this post was inspired by this post at For the Love of Books.

2013 Wrap-Up
I read 71 books, which was one book above my goal of 70 books. I was a little surprised, because at the beginning and middle of the year I was certain would be reading quite above my goal. Near the end I knew I was struggling to meet my goal, but I did it, with one extra book!

Ratings
17 of these books were 5 stars
     4 of these 17 books were re-reads
28 of these books were 4 stars
22 of these were 3 stars
3 of these books were 2 stars
1 of these books was 1 star

My average star rating with re-reads was 3.80.
My average star rating without re-reads was 3.25.

Pages
The longest book I read was Gone by Michael Grant at 558 pages.
The shortest book I read was Glitches by Marissa Meyer at 32 pages.
In total, I read 24 128 pages total in 2013.

Shelves
4 of these books were re-reads
3 of these books were graphic novels
10 of these books that were not re-reads made it onto my favourites shelf
2 books were short stories or novellas
2 books were anthologies

This is the TBR I made last January, a year ago, for the books I wanted to read in 2014. Let's see how I did...

1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Divergent #3 by Veronica Roth
3. Study series by Maria V. Snyder (I read the first two, Poison Study and Magic Study, so close enough)
4. Gone by Michael Grant
5. Legend and Prodigy by Marie Lu
6. Angelfall by Susan Ee
7. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
8. Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness
9. Eon duology by Alison Goodman
10. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
11. The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
12. Under the Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi
13. Demonglass and Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins
14. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
15. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
16. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
17. The Giver by Lois Lowry
18. The Archived by Victoria Schwab
19. The Program by Suzanne Young
20. Mind Games by Kiersten White
21. Any John Green book
22. Any Sarah Dessen book

Fourteen out of twenty-two! That's not too bad! I still want to read all these books on this list, though some are less of a priority now than they were a year ago. Still though. I did fairly good!

2014 Looking Forward
I've pretty much given up making lists of what books I want to read in a year. However, I do have a few goals for 2014. I am going to include those goals in my resolutions post in a few days. For now, I'm going to be mentioning some must-reads and also introducing you to my new way of operating my blog! (:

If you regularly check my blog, you'll know that I never stick my TBR's (except, miraculously, I'm on an eight-book, sticking-to-the-tbr streak - who knew?). Anyways, it just wasn't working. I kept promising to read things and I either never received the book from the library in time or I just didn't get around to reading it. Well guess what? Problem solved! In replace of a TBR, I'm going to be taking a screenshot at the beginning of each month showing what my top-priority shelf on goodreads looks like. Each month there will be 18 books on that shelf. This is a great way of solving my problem, because it shows a large variety of books that are all possibilities that I may read, but leaves room for my reading "moods" or book-acquiring complications.

Here's an example of what my TBR will look like. This one is from December 24, 2013.

I will share one of my goals with you right now: Finishing series! Here is a list of series I want to finish this year.

1. The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
2. Legend trilogy by Marie Lu
3. Dustlands trilogy by Moira Young
4. Partials Sequence series by Dan Wells
5. Fairytale Retellings series by Jackson Pearce
6. Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver
7. Unwind Dystology series by Neil Shusterman

Here is also a very short list of books and series I am definitely going to start this year.

1. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
2. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
4. Breathe by Sarah Crossan
5. Across the Universe by Beth Revis 
6. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
7. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Thanks for reading! Stay updated for more posts. Happy New Year!!

Update + TBR

I literally suck. The last book review I posted was Vampire Academy... and I read that in ... September?  And before that I hardly posted any reviews as well. I also had a review I was going to do for Liesl and Po that's been sitting around since October. Have I mentioned that I suck? Anyways, in early January I will be posting some of my goals and I will expand on what I'm going to do to fix this problem. But for now, I'm going to be promising four reviews: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Partials by Dan Wells (when I finish it) and *hides* Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver.

I also have several tags planned. I apologize sincerely to Brianna @ For the Love of Books and Kalindee @ They Start Revolutions (go and follow them now - them and their blogs are fantastic!) for neglecting to complete either tag. The moment for Bookish Halloween Tag has, sadly, long passed, but I am looking forward to posting the Book Scavenger Hunt tag (check it out on Kalindee's blog). I also have two other tags planned so keep a watch for those.

Finally, what have I been reading? Now that I'm on break, I have so much more time to read. Lately I have been really slowing down with my reading and I don't like it! I have so many books to read, so it's great to get into the swing of things again. So far in December I have read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (re-read), The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson, Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (re-read), and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I am actually super excited about this! There is still almost a week left of my favourite month of the year, so I am hoping to finish another three books. Sounds ambitious, but I don't think it'll be too bad considering I'm on break.

Currently I am reading Partials by Dan Wells, my epic rec for... *hides again* November. At first, I was really liking everything about the story, only I couldn't get into it AT ALL. I was practically skimming (which I rarely ever do), and it was a struggle to make it through a few pages. One chapter was a celebration! However, I read a chapter of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, then resumed reading Partials, hoping to motivate myself by rewarding myself with HP when I read so much of Partials (thanks a lot Brianna). But then I read a chapter more and it started getting super action-filled and awesome! So now I'm excited. (:

The books I would like to finish for the rest of December include Partials by Dan Wells, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling and finally, my epic rec for December, The Giver by Lois Lowry. I actually have hope to finish these by December. And if I finish two of these, my goal of 70 books read in 2013 will be met!! And guess what? I'm FINALLY back on track!

This was a very long and overdue update - but I have a lot of catching up to do! Keep updated because I am going to try to post more often in the coming weeks. What are you reading or doing on your break? And I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

Bout of Books Wrap-Up + Reading/Blogging Update

So I kind of completely forgot about the Bout of Books read-a-thon. What can I say? I had a busy week! I didn't read much at all this week. I started and finished Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (amazing!), and read only about 100 pages of my next book, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. So I didn't complete my goal of reading two books. That said, I have high hopes for the remainder of August and into September and am excited for all the books I am planning on reading.

I have several posts planned for the next few weeks. I am trying to finish or return all my library books before signing out a completely new haul, so I'd like to post that. I also will be formulating a TBR (most likely) for September, which should be posted in the next few days. I am slowly but surely going to be posting up some reviews and mini-reviews for the summer months as well, and maybe doing a few featured book spotlights. Finally, I've been doing these library challenges, and I will be posting some of those, but they're going to be surprise posts. (: I'll probably post them on random days throughout the end of August and September.

I am currently reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, and though I have some minor issues, I am still enjoying it! I will definitely post a review for this one. Next I am hoping to read The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, or A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks (I am not a big romance person, but a friend insists I read it).

Thanks for reading this post! Check back in a few days for a post about my TBR. (:

Update!

I know, it's awful, I haven't posted for a month and half! But I really haven't felt like blogging, not to mention the fact I've been away for nearly three weeks. Anyways, the good news is that I will now be posting fairly often again. I have a few things planned, including new Top Ten Tuesdays.

Over the summer I have read a fair amount of books but have been away and very busy so I've been slow at quite a few books. In the next couple of days, I'm hoping to get up my mini-reviews for books I've read lately.

As you can see on the sidebar, I am now reading Ink by Amanda Sun. So far I am really enjoying it! You can check out future status updates on my Goodreads as well.

Thanks and keep checking back for new posts!

Reading Update (7)

For a change I have decided to do a quick image college of some photos I took as my update. Check it out. :)

I also have decided to change Prodigy by Marie Lu to Prophecy by Ellen Oh for my March TBR. Prophecy is still a 2013 release. I am doing this because, though I plan on reading Prodigy soon, the due date for that one is extended further compared to others, like Altered or Revolution 19 which I plan to read before. I have also decided to make a few changes to my TBR's from now on, which I'll talk about when I do my wrap-up at the end of this month. 

Reading Update (6)

Some weeks I will be dividing this into the sections below, and sometimes through three separate categories (see this post).

Read: This is my sixth update, and since Weekly Update #5 I have read and loved Legend by Marie Lu and the Maze Runner by James Dashner. Reviews for both of these awesome dystopia books will be posted on Goodreads soon.

Currently Reading: I also have started The Stepsister Scheme by Jim Hines, which is proving to be quite entertaining so far. I also began the first 40 pages or so of Gone by Michael Grant, which is so far turning out to be a great novel.

To Read: I am so excited to start Sweetly by Jackson Pearce! I have a trip ahead of me, in which I might get some reading done. I also am dying to read Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder after loving Poison Study so much and receiving a beautiful cover of the sequel from my library, but I've heard it starts to go downhill. Anyway, I can't wait to read these two books.

I also have some somewhat exciting (to me at least :P) news. I just got a tumblr. :) It is called "Every Shade of Awesome" and will include photos about books, dance, and more of my loves and interests. I would love it if you took a look, and if you have tumblr, followed me (if you like my type of tumblr, that is). Thanks!

Reading Update (5)

I haven't done an update in a while, so I thought I would now!

Reading: I have now read and enjoyed What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen, which was a really light read in between my heavy dystopia and fantasy. After that, I bought and then read Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. And, oh my gosh, the freaking best book evvaaaa! Ok, not quite, but you know, close enough. Once I was finished the awesomeness that was Poison Study, I began Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Not going to lie, I got bored, because Poison Study was so freaking good, and then Cinder wasn't. So, about 20 pages in, I had to take a break and went into a reading slump for 5 days (a very long time for me), but then I really got into Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. I finished it yesterday, and it was a very emotional and disturbing, but very powerful, experience. What am I reading now? Hopefully I will start Legend by Marie Lu tonight. So excited for this read everyone!

Writing: My writing resolution of writing 15-20 minutes, whether on my blog, Goodreads reviews, or working on my stories, has been going so-so this month. There have been several days I haven't written at all, but also some times where I wrote for hours at a time. Hopefully I will finish up some of my stories in February and expand on some new ideas developing. I also plan to enter a writing contest in the next few days.

Blogging: What's posts are in store? Well, I am still hoping to brush up on my Illustrator skills and post a quote from a long time ago. I also am working on a tag, Poison Study special review, and movie review vlog of the Hobbit. If there are any posts you would like to see, please comment. I love comments, and I really appreciate all of them! :)

What have you been reading or blogging about? Leave a comment below.

Reading Update (4)

Since I last did an update, I have read the first book on my TBR for the month (Life as we Knew It), started on the next one (What Happened to Goodbye), and received the third (Poison Study)! I already have the fourth book (Cinder). So I am well on my way to fulfilling my monthly TBR.

My copy of Poison Study! 

I have also decided to do monthly wrap-ups where I talk about the books I've read, so I will not say much about it here (though you can see my review on Goodreads!). I read a good chunk of What Happened to Goodbye last night, and read more this morning, but haven't for the rest of the day!

I also just purchased Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder and I am very happy. I rarely buy books for one, two I just love this cover, and three, I really can't wait to get started reading it (besides the first 14 pages I read on someone else's copy... You know who you are ;).

Lastly, I have a poll on my sidebar and I would love for you to check it out and vote for which theme you think I should read in February. Comment here with your choice or what theme it is if you chose other. Thanks! :)

What are you reading and how are you enjoying it?

Reading Update (3)

The last time I did this was last month, so I'm going to do another update. Since then I have read Sisters Red, which I did a cover to cover for, and Let it Snow. I really enjoyed both books.

I also just finished Angelfall yesterday night, and it was phenomenal. Surprisingly, it took me a little to really get into it, but at the end, I was just completely enthralled and very throughly creeped out.


I made another trip to the library to pick up numerous holds and my stack has grown to 19 books. My stack is organized by size. The following is a list of new books I got.

1. What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
3. The Lying Game by Sara Shephard
4. Pegasus by Robin McKinley
5. Bunheads by Sophie Flack
6. Reached by Allie Condie

I am now reading Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, and Bogus to Bubbly: An Insider's Guide to the World of Uglies, a very insightful guide by Scott Westerfeld.

I can't wait to tackle this TBR pile. Thanks for reading! :)

Reading Update (2)

So I've decided not to do these every Monday, but simply when I feel the need to do them (mostly on Mondays). Anyway, this week I want to talk about a few things.

I have finished North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley, as well as Rebel Heart by Moira Young. You can see my thoughts on North of Beautiful on my Goodreads. My feelings for Rebel Heart are still a little mixed up, so I'll hopefully have a review posted soon. I've also been slacking and haven't finished my Hobbit movie review yet, despite seeing it more than a week ago! :-/

I have just started reading Let it Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle. I am on the first story, The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson, but am really looking forward to reading John Green's story. I also intend to start reading Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce in the next few days. Maybe even today, if I feel like it (unlikely, but maybe).

I also feel the need to say that I haven't read any of my December reads this month. I haven't read His Dark Materials trilogy, nor have I read A Christmas Carol (which was because I couldn't get it from the library by Christmas). So, I am definitely deciding what I'm going to be reading in the month much closer to the month. Therefore, I am unsure if I'll stick to my January list either. I will probbly be reading His Dark Materials then, as well as Sisters Red, Let it Snow, Angelfall, the Selection, and the Girl of Fire and Thorns. However, these are all "maybe's" except Let it Snow and Sisters Red.

Don't forget to follow my blog and check for my Hobbit movie review. :)

Reading Update (1)

Hello! From now on, every Monday, I will be posting a reading update which will simply detail the books I've been reading and what book I am currently reading. I'm doing it on a Wednesday today because lately I have been doing Christmas posts.

I am currently wrapping up North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley. I am enjoying the story and I love Terra's search for the true meaning of beautiful. I am finding there are some frustrating moments but I understand why they are there. Just over midnight this morning I finished the stories in the Spirit of Christmas by Marley Gibson and Cecil Murphy (and various authors), and it was a beautiful collection of inspiring stories. Before that, I read Crossed by Allie Condie... if you'd like to see my (very jumbled-up, very angry) thoughts, than you can check out my Goodreads review. As for books I plan to read, I'm super excited to read Rebel Heart by Moira Young (the sequel to Blood Red Road), Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce, and Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.

Comment below on your thoughts about these books, and the books you're currently reading!