For Rainy Days

I LOVED Feed and I can't wait to read Deadline. Watch the trailer, then Go. Read. Now.

I haven't posted in a very long time. I'm sorry. I keep meaning to, and then never think of it when I have some extra time. And this isn't a real update either - instead, you are getting a book trailer for a series that I love by a Canadian (and local) author whose books are definitely on the autobuy list. I do not normally post things like this, but this is one  contest I would very much like to win. So check out the trailer, and I'll try to post a real update sometime soon(ish).

5. The Thirteen Treasures - Michelle Harrison
6. The Spirit Thief - Rachel Aaron
7. Pack of Lies - Laura Anne Gilman
8. Bone Gods - Caitlin Kittredge

I think that's what I've read since I last posted. (And I'm cheating a little bit, because I'm not quite finished Bone Gods, but I'll be finished soon). All were good books and I'll be picking up the follow-ups to all four of these books eventually. Loved Pack of Lies, just like I loved the first book in the series Hard Magic and all the books in the series this spun off from. Gilman is certainly one of my must-read authors.

Other than that, I've been taking part in a weight-loss challenge at work and it's been going well. I've been really motivated to stick to it, partly because everyone else is doing it and partly because my partner has been amazing at helping me stay on track. And I'm starting to see results. There's another 13 weeks to go, and every pound lost is money for charity, so I'm excited about finishing the challenge (and maybe even winning? fingers crossed...). It also helps that I really feel like this is the year to make a drastic change in my life, and I think this is a really good step. I just hope I can keep it up once the competition is over.

I didn't post last week because I was so busy with freelance stuff I barely had time to read, nevermind finish a book. I did manage to get two books in since the last post though, so I'm only a week behind. Besides freelance stuff, I've finally started work on my certificate again, taking one course online now and I'll do one in the summer. I'm not really happy about being a student again, especially since I'm gainfully employed now, but if I didn't do it soon I'd never finish - and having my certificate in publishing is a necessity if I ever want to go back and try to find a job in the industry. I'm also signing up for a weight-loss challenge at work, so I'm going to be trying to squeeze a bunch of exercise sessions into my week. I'm really determined to make a change this time, and I have friends at work who are going to help (after I got over my hesitation and asked them to) so I'm really hopeful. It lasts for 15 weeks, so I hope I can make a big improvement in my overall health and fitness levels. And I hope I'll still be able to manage lots of reading time with all this going on.

Anyway, here's what I read this week.

3. Faeriewalker - Jenna Black
This was a pretty good book, decent plot, and a new take on faeries in general. I liked it enough to pick up the second book, Shadowspell, and hope that the series lives up to the potential I saw in the first book.

4. Feed - MIra Grant
Ok, so I have to start off by saying that this author became one of my  favourite new authors of the last year with her Toby Daye series, written as seanan_mcguire . I seriously love these books and was so hoping Feed would live up to them, especially with all the good things I've been hearing about it all year. I decided it was time to finally take it off the TBR pile.

I'm so glad I did. Seriously, this book is so good. It grabbed me from the very beginning and refused to let go - even now, I can't stop thinking about it. There were moments when I laughed and moments when I wanted to yell and throw my book across the room. I was so invested in the characters, that by the end of the book, I was full out sobbing. I would have cursed and screamed if my parents hadn't been sleeping in the next room. I kept hoping for something to happen, that things weren't as they seemed, that something would come along and make everything OK. But it wasn't, and it broke my heart - but the book wouldn't have been nearly as good if it hadn't. If you haven't read this book, go out and read it. Right. Now. And I don't care if you aren't into zombie books, because this isn't really a zombie book. Feed is so much more than just a zombie book. And I cannot wait for Deadline to be out in June.

 

I'll start with a belated Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to everyone. I haven't exactly been keeping up with this, despite my best intentions. I also haven't been sticking to my book goals (it was the holidays - I had gift cards... and a coupon... and there was a sale!) or my weight-loss ones. But it is now a new year and a chance to start again. So I'm going to forget what I said before and start fresh with some goals for the year.

First, I want to read at least 100 books this year. I should be able to read 2 books a week, so this should be doable. I also want to alternate between YA titles and adult ones, because I've been reading a lot of YA lately, which is fine but it means I'm neglecting my adult titles.
Second, I want to stop buying so many books. I think if I can stick to a couple of rules, I should be able to cut down (but let's face it, I'm not holding my breath on this one). Still, it's getting a bit out of hand and I need to get things under control.
Third, I want to lose weight and get in shape. I'm not going to set a specific number, but enough to feel healthy. Basically I need to eat better and get off my ass once in a while. Just taking care of my health in general needs to be more of a priority, and I'm starting to take steps towards improving things. I just have to stick with it for once.
Fourth, I want to update here once a week to keep track of my progress.

All of this might change, since I'm finally getting my other required course for my certificate out of the way and have freelance projects (and possible cupcake projects, yay!) to do so things may get busy, but I'm going to try.

So far, I'm on track with reading, being on book 3 of 2011. Read so far:

1. Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston
2. Crimson Wind by Diana Pharaoh Francis

These are both favourite authors (both purchased over Christmas, but they follow the rules!). I have been eagerly awaiting the release of these titles, and they didn't disappoint. I'm now reading Glimmerglass by Jenna Black, and planning to read Feed by Mira Grant this week.

Hope everyone had a good holiday!

Just a quick entry so I don't get off track completely. I finished one book and started another in the week and a bit since my last post. I didn't get as much reading done as I wanted, but Beautiful Creatures is quite a long book, especially for YA. It was pretty good. Good enough that I ordered the sequel, Beautiful Darkness. I'm intrigued to see what happens. Along with it I ordered Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick, Behemoth by Scott Westefeld, and Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George (all sequels -- see, I'm following my rules). Sadly, I'm not making much of a dent in my TBR list, but I think that will change once I finish with the cataloguing and I'm only adding books newly purchased instead of books already owned as well. 

Also, I have to mention that I finally started watching Sherlock (the 2010 BBC version) and it is AMAZING. I love Moffat so much. And Benedict Cumberbatch. So good. I do so love British television.

Week Five
Books bought: I think I bought 4 for myself, but I did a lot of ordering for other people, so I'm not sure 
Books owned: 1168 (though still not finished cataloguing, but it's mostly reference books and cookbooks left)
Books to be read: 649
Books finished: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Reading next: The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

I think I've been in denial about just how many books I buy. I'm starting to realize, and admit to myself, that I'm never going to make a dent in my TBR pile if I don't place some serious limits on what I buy. That being said, I will only buy books that meet the following criteria:

a) a new book by an author that I LOVE
b) a sequel that I am dying to read
c) that I really really want, but only if I have a giftcard/coupon if it does not meet a or b

However, I have also decided that I WILL lose 25 lbs before I turn 25. I ultimately need to lose more than that, but it will be a start. My biggest problem is motivation and sticking to whichever plan I start - so, I have decided that for every 5 lbs I lose, I am allowed one extra book that does not fall into the above categories. And I can only order these extra books once I've lost 10 lbs. Here's hoping this works, and that by announcing my intentions to you, I feel accountable to actually do this. Fingers crossed.

I have managed to finish two books since my last post. First, I finished The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare ( on Lj at cassandraclare ) was a good read and I think this series will be a good addition to the Mortal Instruments series, which I enjoyed - and now I'm eagerly awaiting the next books in both series. I'm also super excited that Cassandra Clare, along with Holly Black, will be at my old Chapters (Chapters Queensway) on November 5. Both are authors I enjoy, and I'm very happy they are coming back to Canada and that I can actually make it this time!

I also finished The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu. I have to say, I really couldn't get into this book. From the cover and the flap copy, I was expecting a cute love story, aimed towards a younger audience. It was nothing at all like that - sure, the description was accurate enough for the first few chapters, but the middle section is (more or less) about two 14 year olds shacking up with each other and hiding their relationship. At least, I think that's the basics - the language was so... flowery, for lack of a better word, it was sometimes hard to follow. And my 'cute love story' ends not so happily. Apparently this book is a bestseller in France (it was originally written in French, which may explain a few things... I think some of it may have been a bit lost in translation) but I didn't love it. It was alright, and a quick read, but I think it was too far from my expectations to be truly enjoyable. I still adore the cover design, even if the rest of the production value leaves a bit to be desired (pages starting falling out when I was reading it, and ink transfer was present throughout).

Week Four
Books bought: 4 (one was ordered months ago, but finally shipped, and the others fit the criteria, even though I just came up with them)
Books owned: 1164 (though still not finished cataloguing)
Books to be read: 641
Books finished: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu
Reading next: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Well, that didn't work out. I'm two weeks AND several books behind my goal. Things have been busy, but that's not much of an excuse.
 
I've only managed to finish one book, The Grimrose Path by Rob Thurman. This is the second book of this series (and sadly, most likely the last) and it had a lot to live up to. (Trick of the Light had, without a doubt, the best twist ever. I mean EVER. I didn't see it coming at all - it was fantastic.) I think it was a successful sequel - though it didn't have quit the twist as the first book, there were definitely turns along way, and I absolutely loved the characters and their various relationships. Also, the editor geek part of me has to point out that the book was so well edited! This is definitely a series, and an author,  I would recommend for fans of the genre (and if you're interested, the author can be found here or as robgoodfella  on LJ).

One of the reasons I did so little reading these past two weeks was a whole weekend devoted to books - the Smart Chicks tour and Word on the Street. Smart Chicks was fun (mostly because Jen came along and kept me company in line) but very crowded, which meant things felt a little bit rushed. It was very hard to hear the opening presentation from where we were standing in line, then it was a lot of waiting. Still, I got to meet a whole bunch of wonderful authors and get many (many) books signed. Worth the wait, even if I would have liked to spend more time talking to the authors one-on-one.

The next day was Word on the Street. I arrived early in the day in order to hear Kenneth Oppel speak, and I was able to get a few books signed from him. I read Silverwing when I was little, so it was nice to meet an author I've been reading for a long while. His new book, Half Brother, sounds interesting (it was bought for the occasion) and I'm looking forward to giving the Airborn series a try as well. After, I spent some time wandering around the booths (and managed not to buy too many books) before heading to the Remarkable Reads tent. I head presentations by Dominique Fortier and Andrew Kaufman. I was not familiar with Dominique Fortier, but the exerpt she read was quite interesting, and the description of On the Proper Use of Stars was intriguing, so I picked it up and had it signed while I was there. I knew of  Andrew Kaufman from one of my publishing courses (he is represented my one of my former instructors) and decided to give his book, The Waterproof Bible a shot as well. (When I will get around to reading them, I don't know, but you sometimes have to get these things when the opportunity presents itself. This is the reason why I also purchased Evolve, edited by Nancy Kilpatrick, as she was there and offered to sign it for me - and it was on my TBR list anyway.) The rest of the afternoon was spent listening to authors whose books I had brought with me to get signed, namely Giles Blunt, Linwood Barclay, and Howard Shrier (all very funny), Kevin Sylvester (again, very funny), Kim Echlin, and Yann Martel. This was my first time going to Word on the Street, and though I was quite tired by the end of the day, it was well worth the chance to meet all these wonderful (Canadian) authors. If you are in the Toronto area next year, at the end of September, I highly recommend the trip to Queen's Park for this festival.

Besides all that, it was also my parents' anniversary and my mom's birthday, and I had some other cleaning and running around to do, so my reading time was drastically reduced these past couple weeks. I am halfway through Clockwork Angel  by Cassandra Clare
(cassandraclare) so hopefully I can get caught up and have two books finished by Sunday. Here's hoping.

I guess I should also confess to ordering some new books last week (and buying some at Costco, but they don't count as they've been put away in the closet as my brother's Christmas present to me). In fairness, my parents wanted a book and I needed to order enough for free shipping, and I had a coupon - but it still means I bought more books than read, which is completely against what I'm trying to do. For the record, I ordered Dreadnought by cmpriest  (which I havee been looking forward to since I read Boneshaker), Firelight by Sophie Jordan, and Another Faust by Daniel & Dina Nayeri (both of which I've heard good things about). I would promise to be good this week, but Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld  came out today, and I've been dying to read it. I'm hoping the new cover style will still match the original version of Leviathan (I haven't seen it in person yet, but I'm not sure I like it as much as the original).

Week Three
Books bought: um... 9, I think (including books acquired at WOTS - not horribly bad for two weeks)
Books owned: 1160 (though still not finished cataloguing)
Books to be read: 639
Books finished: The Grimrose Path by Rob Thurman 
Reading next: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I just finished An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire  (seanan_mcguire ). I have to say it was the best yet in the Toby Daye series, and I am eagerly awaiting the next book, Late Eclipses, which is due out next year. Definitely recommended.

This means I am on track to meet my two-book goal this week. I even had time to do other things this weekend, including some shopping (new work shoes, badly needed, and on sale at Payless - how can you go wrong?) and seeing a movie with friends. We went and saw Easy A, which was was pretty good - definitely funny, and it didn't  resort to crude jokes or gratuitous nudity. Not what I was expecting, and I was pleasantly suprised.

So, one down and one to go. But I find it harder to get in reading time during the work week, and with this being Fall premiere week, I'm worried about my odds. Still, I plan to start The Grimrose Path by Rob Thurman (robgoodfella ) and I've been waiting to read this book since I finished Trick of the Light. (This is why so many of my books remain in the TBR pile - new books come out that I just have to read.) I'm hoping this will combat the desire to start watching new shows that I don't really need to watch (or can at least wait until the dvd comes out) and keep me away from the TV. I will be watching the new seasons of How I Met Your Mother and Castle, but I'm hoping that will be all for Monday nights. Fingers crossed.

Oh, I should also confess - I bought seven books this weekend. But, in my defense, five of those were for my mom. So they don't count (though admittedly, they will eventually make their way into my library). The other two were impulse purchases, as I was already buying books for Mom (and they were at Costco - cheaper than other stores, and only there while quantities last - so you have to get them when you see them). I will try to do better this week, but with several book-related events going on next weekend (namely Smart Chicks and Word on the Street) I'm not making any promises.

Week One
Books bought: 7
Books owned: 1147 (caught up a bit, but still not finished)
Books to be read: 630
Books finished: An Artificial Night, by Seanan McGuire
Reading next: The Grimrose Path by Rob Thurman

Hi. My name is Breanne and I am a book addict.

While I've always had a love of reading and of books, in recent years it's turned into something more like an obsession. I buy books faster than I can read them. I keep track of my collection using an Excel spreadsheet, in addition to a online catalogue. I've taken over my parents' guest room, double-stacked my shelves, and still have to pile books wherever I can find some extra space. When I finally move out, whatever house I move into had better have an extra room -- just to hold all my books. It's a problem.

A serious problem.

But, let's face it. I'm not alone and, chances are, I'm not changing my book-buying ways anytime soon. Instead, I'm going to start this blog as a way to keep track of what I'm buying and what I'm reading, and, most importantly, to keep track of the books bought to books read ratio. I find I don't spend as much time reading as I used to, and with my new ten-minute commute, I've lost my transit reading time. So, I'm setting myself a goal of two books a week -- which means I'll have to spend less time watching TV and less time in front of the computer. The hope is that this blog will keep me accountable (even if I'm the only one who reads it). With any luck, I can start making a dent in my to-be-read list, and keep my book purchasing in check.

Week One
Books bought: 0 (I should hope so, it's Day 1!)
Books owned: 1,088 (this isn't entirely accurate - I'm a bit behind on my cataloguing)
Books to be read: 627
Books finished: n/a
Reading next: An Artificial Night, by Seanan McGuire