May Recap

Books:
Total Books: 11  | YA: 10 | MG: 0 | Adult:  1 | Fiction:  10  | Non-fiction:  0   | Re-reads: 1
Hardcover:   0 | Paperback:  2   | Kindle: 9  | Audiobook: 0  | Computer: 0
Total Pages Read: 3,397 |  Pages per day: 109

Best Book(s) Read: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Most Disappointing Book(s) Read: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Movies:
Total Movies:  7  | Comedy: 3  | Drama: 2  | Horror: 0 | Action: 2
New:  5  | Re-watch:  2  | Theater:  3

Best Movie(s) Watched: The Avengers
Worst Movie(s) Watched:  This Means War

Other and Miscellany:

• I wrote 31 posts this past month
• I reviewed 15 books and 1 movie
  
• In addition to weekly meme posts, I reviewed the (terrible) TV movie The Princess and the Marine,  posted about the Network Upfronts (and which shows I’m looking forward to), and told you about 5 things I’m into right now.

Goals for Next Month:

• Read at least 12 books
• Watch at least 5 new movies

March Recap

Books:
Total Books: 20 | YA: 13 | MG:  1  | Adult:  6  | Fiction:  19  | Non-fiction:   1 | Re-reads: 1
Hardcover:   3  | Paperback:  0  | Kindle:  13  | Audiobook: 2  | Computer:  2
Total Pages Read: 4,485 |  Pages per day: 156.3

Best Book(s) Read:   Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol; The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
Most Disappointing Book(s) Read:  Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter; The Queens of All the Earth by Hannah Sternberg

Movies:
Total Movies:  17 | Comedy: 7 | Drama: 10  | Horror: 0
New:  10 | Re-watch:  7  | Theater: 4

Best Movie(s) Watched:  The Hunger Games
Worst Movie(s) Watched:  Rise of the Planet of the Apes (seriously, the worst)

Other and Miscellany:

• I wrote 31 posts this past month
• I reviewed 13 books and 2 movies
  
• In addition to weekly meme posts, I posted about 5 books high on my TBR pile and the 5 things I’m currently obsessed with.

Goals for Next Month:

• Read at least 15 books
• Review at least 10 books
• Post at least 20 days out of the month
• Watch at least 5 new movies (this seriously has to happen)

February Recap

Books:
Total Books: 20  | YA: 17  | MG:  0  | Adult:  3   | Fiction: 20  | Non-fiction: 0  | Re-reads: 2
Hardcover:  3  | Paperback:   2  | Kindle:  15 | Audiobook: 2
Pages Read:     | Pages Per Day:

Best Book(s) Read:  This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers, Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Most Disappointing Book(s) Read:   Jersey Angel by Beth Ann Bauman

Movies:
Total Movies:  8 | Comedy:  3 | Drama:  3   | Horror: 2
New:  3  | Re-watch:  5  | Theater:  2

Best Movie(s) Watched:   My Week with Marilyn
Worst Movie(s) Watched:    Insidious

Other and Miscellany:

• I wrote 28 posts this past month
• I reviewed 11 books and no movies (what?)
  
• In addition to weekly meme posts, I posted about some random internet happenings, my 5 pop culture obsessions, movies I’m looking forward to this year, and my love for the Academy Awards

Goals for Next Month:

• Read at least 15 books
• Review at least 10 books
• Post at least 20 days out of the month
• Watch at least 5 new movies (this seriously has to happen)

January Wrap-Up

Books:
Total Books:  9 | YA:  8   | MG: 0  | Adult:  1 | Fiction: 9 | Non-fiction: 0  | Re-reads: 0
Hardcover: 0  | Paperback:  0 | Kindle: 9
Pages Read:   2,783   | Pages Per Day: 89.8

Best Book(s) Read:   Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar (so good!)
Most Disappointing Book(s) Read: The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler  

Movies:
Total Movies:  14  | Comedy:  8  | Drama:  4  | Horror: 2
New: 4   | Re-watch:  10 | Theater: 2

Best Movie(s) Watched:  Contagion, Young Adult
Worst Movie(s) Watched:     Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Other and Miscellany:

• I wrote 30 posts this month
• I reviewed 12 books and 2 movies
  
• In addition to weekly meme posts, I posted about my 5 current pop culture obsessions and my reading goals for 2012.

Goals for Next Month:

• Read at least 10 books
• Review at least 10 books
• Post at least 20 days out of the month
• Watch at least 5 new movies]

Happy reading and watching, y’all.

Reading Goals for 2012

This past year, I read 160 books.  I managed to meet–and exceed–my goal of reading 100 books in a year (with no rereads), which is awesome.  Let’s see how all my goals turned out:

1. I will read (at least) 100 books.  (Done!)
2. I will not reread any books (Done!)
3. At least 10 books (roughly one book per month) must have been published before 1950. (1/10–FAIL)
4. I will read at least 10 books by authors of color/featuring a character of color. (9/10–FAIL)
5. At least 10 books will be nonfiction. (Done!)

With that in mind, my goals for 2012 are only slightly altered.  Here they are, in all their glory.

1. Again, I’ll try to reach 100 books–and I will avoid rereading any titles.
2. 15 books written before 1980.
3. 15 books featuring a POC and/or GLBTQ characters (or the author self-identifies as a POC)

Fairly simple.  We’ll see how it goes.  What are your goals for 2012?

Year-in-Review Recap (and December Monthly Wrap-Up)

Because December was such an embarrassing month for me, reading-wise, I decided to forgo an individual monthly recap and just put it together with the year-in-review.

Here’s how December shook out:

Books:
Total Books: 6  | YA:   3| Adult:  2  | Fiction:  5  | Non-fiction:   1   | Re-reads: 0
Hardcover:   2 | Paperback:  0   | Kindle: 4
Pages Read: 2,118    | Pages Per Day: 68 (gah)

Best Book(s) Read:  Girls In White Dresses by Jennifer Close
Most Disappointing Book(s) Read:   Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Movies:
Total Movies:  16  | Comedy: 11   | Drama: 4   | Documentary: 1
New:  5  | Re-watch: 11    | Theater: 1

Best Movie(s) Watched:  Winter’s Bone
Worst Movie(s) Watched:    Princess: A Modern Love Story

2011: The Year that Was*

Books:
Total Books: 160 | Children’s:  4 | YA:  112 | Adult: 22  | Non-fiction/Memoir:  9/10    | Re-reads: 0
Hardcover: 69  | Paperback:  22  | Kindle: 46  | Audiobook: 1  | Computer: 18

Total Pages Read: 47,237  | Average Pages Per Day: 129.4

Best Books Read: Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick, The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Most Disappointing Books Read: Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison, Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, But I Love Him by Amanda Grace

Movies:
Total Movies: 145|Comedy: 73  | Drama: 45   | Documentary: 7  | Horror: 5 |  Thriller: 4
New:  70  | Re-watch: 75    | Theater:  26

Best Movies Watched: Cairo Time, Winter’s Bone
Worst Movies Watched: The Romantics, Beastly, Prom

Blog Stuff:

• I was one of WordPress’s “Freshly Pressed” in July and saw my readership and page views rise exponentially
• Most popular posts this year include my Top 10 Love Stories of all Time; a review of the TV show Greek; and my review of Aimee Bender’s The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (which was my freshly pressed post)
• Most popular search terms that led to my blog: greek, titanic, roswell, and felicity

So that was my year.  Here’s to hoping that 2012 is just as productive (if not more so)!

*My math is a little off.  I spent an embarrassingly long time trying to find my errors and couldn’t, so this is as close as it gets this year.

November Recap

Books:
Total Books: 10  | YA:   2 | MG:  4   | Adult:  4  | Fiction:  8  | Non-fiction:   2   | Re-reads: 0
Hardcover:   4  | Paperback:  0   | Kindle: 6
Pages Read: 2,275    | Pages Per Day: 90.8

Best Book(s) Read:  Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
Most Disappointing Book(s) Read:   Teens Happen by Shea Rouda

Movies:
Total Movies:  6  | Comedy:  3 | Drama:  2  | Horror: 1
New:   4 | Re-watch:  2  | Theater: 2

Best Movie(s) Watched:  Like Crazy
Worst Movie(s) Watched:    Monte Carlo, Breaking Dawn Part I

Other and Miscellany:

• I wrote  30  posts this month
• I reviewed 8 books and 1 movie, as well as reviewing Drake’s new album
  
• In addition to weekly meme posts, I posted about my 5 current obsessions, came up with a list of 10 winter reads I’m looking forward to, and gave you a couple of top 5 lists: 5 great Thanksgiving movies and my 5 favorite episodes of Veronica Mars
• I also joined the 2012 Debut Author Challenge

Goals for Next Month:

• Read at least 10 books (let’s be realistic, right?)
• Review at least 10 books
• Post at least 20 days out of the month
• Watch at least 5 new movies

2012 Debut Author Challenge

This year, I’ve been participating in the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.  The challenge is pretty simple: readers try to read at least 12 MG/YA books published in 2011 by debut authors.  So far this year, I’ve read 26, which is well past what I expected to accomplish.  For a full list of what I’ve read, you can see my Debut Author Page.

Kristi at the Story Siren hosts the challenge, and she’s recently opened up the sign-up for 2012.  This is an easy challenge, and since I’m obsessed with YA anyway, there’s no reason for me not to sign up.  It gives me a chance to read the newest voices contributing to YA.

There are a lot of great debuts next year.  Here’s the link to the Goodreads list for 2012 debuts.

Some books I’m hoping to get to next year:

1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer (January 3, 2012)
2. The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani (January 10, 2012)
3. Tempest by Julie Cross (January 17, 2012)
4. Fracture by Megan Miranda (January 17, 2012)
5. The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker (February 1, 2012)
6. Someone Else’s Life by Katie Dale (February 2, 2012)
7. This One Time with Julia by David Lampson (February 2, 2012)
8. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (February 7, 2012)
9. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood (February 7, 2012)
10. Article 5 by Kristin Simmons (February 14, 2012)
11. The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg  (February 21, 2012)
12. When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Helliseth (February 28, 2012)
13. Shooting Stars by Alison Rushby (February 28, 2012)
14. Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler (March 6, 2012)
15. A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont (April 1, 2012)
16. The Selection by Kiera Cass (April 24, 2012)
17. Kiss the Morning Star by Elissa Janine Hoole (April 28, 2012)
18. Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelly Coriell (May 1, 2012)
19. Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield (May 10, 2012)
20. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (June 2012)
21. Reuinted by Hilary Weisman Graham (June 12, 2012)
22. Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (June 19, 2012)
23. If I Lie by Corinne Jackson (September 4, 2012)
24. Time Between Us by Tamara Island Stone (October 9, 2012)
25. Level Two by Lenore Appelhans (Release date unknown)
26. What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen (Release date unknown)

There are sure to be other books that end up making this list, but these are the ones I’m most excited for.  Are you participating this upcoming year?  What books are you looking forward to?

October Recap

October is my favorite month.  Unfortunately, it was a bad month for reading.  Here’s how it shook out:

Books:
Total Books: 9 | YA:  7 | MG:  2  | Adult:  0 | Fiction:  9 | Non-fiction:  0   | Re-reads: 0
Hardcover:   4 | Paperback:  4  | Kindle:   1
Pages Read:  2,376  | Pages Per Day: 77 (an all-time low)

Best Book(s) Read: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Stay With Me by Paul Griffin, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Most Disappointing Book(s) Read:  None this month.

Movies:
Total Movies:  12 | Comedy: 8  | Drama:  3 | Horror: 1
New:  5  | Re-watch:  7  | Theater:  3

Best Movie(s) Watched:  50/50
Worst Movie(s) Watched:  Take Me Home Tonight

Other and Miscellany:

• I wrote 33  posts this month (yikes)
• I reviewed 13 books and 0 movies, though I did review the TV show Privileged
  
• In addition to weekly meme posts, I posted about my 5 current obsessions, came up with a list of 10 of my favorite Halloween reads, and updated y’all about the TV shows I’m still watching.

Goals for Next Month:

• Read at least 10 books (let’s be realistic, right?)
• Review at least 10 books
• Post at least 20 days out of the month
• Watch at least 5 new movies

September Recap

Books:
Total Books: 11 | YA: 8 | MG: 1  | Adult: 2 | Fiction: 10  | Non-fiction: 1  | Re-reads: 0
Hardcover:  3 | Paperback:  0 | Kindle:  7 | Computer:  0 | Audiobook: 1
Pages Read: 3,163  | Pages Per Day:   105.4

Best Book(s) Read: Blood Red Road by Moira Young; Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Most Disappointing Book(s) Read: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Movies:
Total Movies: 6 | Comedy: 4 | Action/Adventure: 1 | Documentary: 1
New:  3 | Re-watch: 3  | Theater: 0 (ugh, how depressing)

Best Movie(s) Watched: See What I’m Saying: The Deaf Entertainer’s Documentary
Worst Movie(s) Watched: Prom

Other and Miscellany:

• I wrote 41 posts this month (yikes)
• I reviewed 15 books and 3 movies
• In addition to weekly meme posts, I posted about my 5 current obsessions and started participating in the 40 day book challenge.

Goals for Next Month:

• Read at least 15 books
• Review at least 10 books
• Post at least 20 days out of the month
• Watch at least 5 new movies

September took a hit in terms of reading and reviewing, especially near the end of the month as my life got crazier with school and personal stuff.  I’m still reading, but not as much as I’d like to, and I don’t have as much time (nor the energy) to watch movies.  Here’s to hoping October is a little better!