2016 Reading Intentions

I can't even get myself to say 'goals' or 'resolutions'. Coming up with just this list was hard! With the imminent birth of my son, I just don't know what to expect in 2016. I'm loving everyone's posts on resolutions, goals, and challenges, and the planner in me is just DYING to jump in and plan away. But the realistic side of me says "What's the point? You'd be setting yourself up for failure. You're going to have TWO kids now!"

So even though I read about 130 books in 2015, according to Goodreads, I set my new challenge at 50 books for the year. This totally saddens me, but is probably realistic. I'll reevaluate in June of course :)

STILL, I just can't help myself :) So I have come up with a list of simple bookish/bloggish intents that should be do-able even with a newborn. I knew I needed to post them on the blog and not just in my journal. I need accountability and the ability to easily find these intentions when I need motivation or just a quick reminder.

1. Sign up for less tour stops
This one will be the hardest. Seeing those awesome books makes me want to dive in and swim in all the beautifulness. However, I have already went through my favorite publisher's catalogs and written down the books I *need* to read in 2016. My intent is to stick only to this list if and when they come up on tour. Again, I'll reevaluate in June. I would still like to sign up for a few cover reveals and blitzes since I do enjoy promoting authors and their hard work.

2. Request even less from Netgalley
Don't we all say this? I probably said it to myself last year! And honestly? I DID request less from Netgalley in 2015. However, in 2016, my intent is to only request books that I *need* to read that didn't come up on tour. Otherwise, I just need to read, and review, what I have already shelved

3. Catch up on Outstanding Reviews
I have seven or eight reviews in my blogging journal that I need to get up here on the blog. I haven't even been attempting to review books I've gotten from the library, or even Audible books, because I am just trying to stay on top of tours and galleys. I'd like to keep my journal to 3-4 reviews max.

4. Clear out some Kindle books, review books, and Audible listens. 
I think this intention about sums up where the previous three were headed. I've stocked up on books for my Kindle, from Netgalley, and I have several credits available on Audible as well. I am assuming much of my reading will be done on an e-reader while nursing a baby for at least the first six months. With Baby Girl, Hubby would wake in the middle of the night with me and we would watch Netflix while she fed. With Baby Boy, I am thinking that won't be such an option. Instead, I am hoping to turn to Audible and listen to some good books during those late night feedings.

5. Be active in a book club and/or start one.
Sheila at The Deliberate Reader has set up an online book club that I am really intending on participating with starting in February. I'm worried of all my intentions that this will be the one that I let slide first. Because it is online, I will have less accountability than a face to face group. My dream intention would be to start a little book club with my mommy friends in real life....but that does seem more like a dream than an intention :)

6. Share more discussion/personal life posts
This one terrifies me. I always feel silly posting discussion posts. Hasn't it all been said and done before? What could I add to the noise? But I want to show more me, more personality around this ole place. Letting people know I have actual thoughts is a good place to start :) Nothing to do but dive in and make mistakes!

7. Comment more frequently on other posts.
 Little known fact: I read a lot of your blog posts. But I am a lurker. Half the time it is just too difficult to post on your blog while on my phone, the other half the time I am just too lazy. However, I have already started with this intention, clicking through on Bloglovin' or Twitter. I want you to know that your words are being read AND appreciated!

8. Survive the year :)
I am nervous to be a mother of two. I am not sure how I will manage or organize my time, but the best way to find out is to just do it! If I can make it to 2017 with my sanity in tact, I will consider it all a WIN!

Share your 2016 Resolutions/Goals/Intents below! Or send me those links! I would love to see what you have planned for your year :)

15 Christmas Writing Prompts

I'm not an overly busy person. Still even I need to take a pause during the holiday season to relax and take it all in. I scoured Pinterest to find some of the best journalling prompts, a list to help me stop, pause, and soak in the wonder of Christmas. Here is that list of 15 writing prompts just for you this Christmas season. So grab some hot cocoa, turn on the lights and write away!

The Shoppe from Books and Beverages

Friends I just have to share about a great new shop that just opened THIS WEEK from a fantastic blogger. Jamie is an awesome blogger who is totally smitten with Lewis and Tolkien (who better to fall in love with?!). When I saw she was going to be opening her own shop with bookish items, I knew I had to check it out. The pictures below are Jamie's, because although I took my own they totally suck and don't do the product justice. I'll continue trying and you'll probably see them on my Insta quite often.

Forgiven {Review}

Forgiven by Terri Roberts

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Bethany House

Publishing Date: October 6, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

After a son does the unthinkable, how can a mother go on?

On October 2, 2006, a gunman entered an Amish one-room schoolhouse, shooting ten girls, killing five, then finally taking his own life. This is his mother's story. Not only did she lose her precious son through suicide, but she also lost her understanding of him as an honorable man. It was a trauma that none should ever have to face.

But the biggest headlines came when her Amish neighbors did the unimaginable, reaching out to the family of the shooter with comfort and forgiveness. Today Terri lives in harmony with the Amish and has built lasting relationships beyond what anyone could have thought possible. From the grace that the Amish showed Terri's family from day one, to the visits and ongoing care Terri has given to the victims and their families, no one could have foreseen the love and friendship that have been forged from the fires of tragedy.

A Weekend Unplugged

I recently came back from a weekend up North. It's what Minnesotans do :) We packed up Baby Girl, dumped the dog at my father-in-laws and took off on our four hour drive. Away from the cities, away from the suburbs, away from cell phone service.

Surrounded by green, dirt roads, and the best lake on the planet, it was easy to relax and let go. I honestly don't feel like I spend much time on my cell phone. My father in law would disagree, but he would. As I take stock of the people around me and see how much time they spend plugged in (phones, computer, TV), I don't feel 'that bad' about my own cell phone use.

The Importance of the Review

This post was completely inspired by Josephine from Word Revel. Stop everything you are doing and go read her well articulated post right HERE. I will wait here for you to come back. She has some good points and shares it very thought out. Expect nothing similar here. While I LOVE words, I struggle picking the right ones :/

I have thought similar thoughts before, wondering if it is even worth rating a book with a rating system (stars, coffee cups, smiley faces). I have also witnessed several bloggers do away with their rating system completely because they found it too subjective. And I completely get it. Plus their reviews are still top notch and worth reading even without that expected star rating. 

Will I do away with my rating system, loose as it is? I'm not sure yet. As much as I understand that rating books is so subjective, it is kind of stuck in my brain. Review a book, rate a book. Goes hand in hand, doesn't it? And what about when I want to review the book on Goodreads, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble? 

And this is where the post's title finally comes in :) Reviews are important! I've said it before and I will say it again, when I see book bloggers saying they don't read reviews, I am shocked. You cannot just look at a blogger's book rating and assume you know how good the book will be. A book can be rated 5 stars by one friend and then only 2 stars by the next. So which is it? And what about your two friends who both rated it 4 stars but only one friend is truly raving about the book? Reviews hold the answers. 

Reviews should explain why we liked or didn't like a book. They should easily convey to others who read the review what we believed made or broke the story. "Why did I like Book X? Well because the characters were relatable, realistic, and charming. But I didn't like the way Author carried the pace so slowly through the first half..." Someone should be able to read this and go 'Hey, I can see why Blogger rated it with 4 stars. When I read Book X, I can expect it to be a bit slow and that's okay'. 

The review should explain and reinforce the rating. Reading will always be subjective, but a review helps others understand how you interpreted the book. Reviews offer clarity, sparks discussion and helps us relate to other readers, bloggers, authors, etc. 

Could you ever do away with your rating system? Are the relevant any more? Other thoughts??

Managing the To-Be-Read Pile

The irony of this post is not lost on me. I feel I must first clarify that when I drafted this post, I was on a roll. I had my ARCs listed neatly in my notebook, I had a schedule almost a month out of posts, and I only ever had about five books on my physical/Kindle TBR list (YES! FIVE). All it took was a wee bit of a reading slump, it lasted about two weeks or so, and things were out of control. 

But still, these are the thoughts I had before the reading slump when I had my A game. Hopefully we can all glean something from this....

Pinterest 

1. Prioritize 

First off all, I like to sit down and list out all the books that I have committed to read from Netgalley, BookLook, or publishers. These are the books that I will read first. That lovely pile of books I just picked up from the library ('Fangirl'!!) or the books I won from giveaways, those books get pushed to the very bottom of the list.

When I am super organized, which is hopefully often, I list the review books by date as well. Books that are 'past due', coming up, and then a month or two out. I can then easily see what books I need to read straight away and which ones I can put off for another week or two. In the past, I have managed this with pen and paper but it is time for me to move on to an Excel spreadsheet methinks.

2. Purge

Yes, I said PURGE. When I am falling behind, I first purge all the library books I have checked out. It hurts, but I can always check them out again. It is a major plus side to libraries :) If I have books that I have borrowed from others (which is rare) and I have had them too long, I just immediately return them to their rightful owner. Again, if I really want to read the book I can check it out.

3. Stop the insanity!

Now this is going to be the hardest part, so bear with me: Quit adding books to your reading lists!! No more Netgalley, Edelweiss, or library. I literally block myself from Netgalley during 'busy periods' because I know that as soon as I log on, I request tons of books! Personally, I haven't even tried Edelweiss 1)because it looks so horribly designed and hard to use but mostly 2)because I know it will cause me to request ALL THE BOOKS.

4. Read, Read, Read! 

 I could write a separate post about this alone. Most importantly: pick books you are most likely to read. Seems obvious doesn't it? But how many times have we gotten sucked in by a pretty cover or a well-written synopsis? Know what you like and stick with it!

Secondly, make time to read. Read during baby nap times, read on the bus or listen to audiobooks while driving everywhere, or read on lunch breaks. Always keeps a book on you whether physical in your purse or ebook on your phone. Or both!

Schedule reading in if you have too! Negotiate time away from the family to read at the local coffeeshop. Block off an hour or two every weekend. Get up early, stay up late :)


I need to start myself over at step one and more strictly adhere to step three. And because I am in a crazy place myself, please share with me your tips for managing that *giant* TBR pile!

Inspired Thoughts

I finished reading "Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" recently on a 2 hour car trip. It was a fascinating read, and while I am not looking to do a full review on the title, it did leave me with some lingering thoughts.

"Mr Penumbra" is a great combination of old, dusty books and shiny, new Google things. Normally, people would view those two at odds with each other, but here they played together so nicely. Author Robin Sloan was out to prove that you don't need one OR the other, but that the two can co-exist.

During one point of the novel our MC, Clay and girl interest Kat start talking about the Singularity. In layman's terms it is basically the point in humanity's future where technology becomes smarter than it's creator. This is apparently difficult for the human brain to grasp. Kat challenges Clay to think as far ahead into the future as he can; what will it be like. Of course he lists the things we all think of, flying cars, video phones, travelling in space, colonies on the moon and/or Mars....but what comes beyond that? What will humanity look like in 3014?  What comes after flying cars and virtual reality? Body and/or mood enhancers? (Never works. Ask the Doctor...) But what about beyond then? Where else can our ''me'' obsessed culture go?

One hundred years ago people would have had no concept of smart phones, e readers, Targets; how can we then try to fathom the future 1,000 years from now? Consider how quickly we have grown technologically since even the 1980s. Those smart phones people could never have dreamed of are so fully integrated into our everyday lives.

Since I struggle with the future, I thought back to the past; were there answers there? I was reminded of all the great inventions that have gotten us to where we are. And there is a difference between the 'most useful' inventions and the 'coolest' inventions. So I created a little list :) I tried to think of the inventions that truly revolutionized our world, and that I would hate to live without, versus inventions that we could do without, but are pretty cool and we wouldn't want to do with out

Most Useful:
-Plumbing
-The printed press
-Automated 'house servants' (dishwashers, washing machines)
-motorized transportation
-Sliced Bread :))

Coolest:
-Touch Screens
-Blu Ray/DVDs
-CDs
-MP3s
-Video games in general

I can't wait until those lists include flying cars, sonic showers, cancer cures, living books, holodecks, time travel, transporters, and lightsabers.

So what do you hope to see invented in the future?? What items can I add to my lists??



PS For more resources that explore this and similiar ideas read anything by Isaac Asimov, Johnny Depp's newest movie "Transcendence", and even season 4 episode 2 of the Big Bang Theory, to name a few