Wrap Up of 2012 Reading Challenges

Just a quick post to save my 2012 Reading Challenge info to make room for my 2013 Reading Challenge info on the tab.

I didn't complete everything, which is a little annoying, but I'm over it. I was able to complete the EBook challenge at least. I wish I could have finished my Classics Challenge, but of course, I bit off more than I could chew. And the TBR one would have gone better had I not bought so many books this year. Jessica Fail. Lol. At least I can be amused by it and not mad at myself. :P

So, here it is, all I've done in 2012. Another year of reading down. Bring it on 2013!

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2012 EBook Challenge

Level: CD - Read 10 EBooks ~ COMPLETE

Finished...

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. Confessions Of A Call Center Gal by Lisa Lim

3. Pinelight by Jillian Peery
4. Survival by A.M. Hargrove
5. Hana by Lauren Oliver

6. Resurrection by A.M. Hargrove

7. Under The Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

8. Safe Landing by Tess Oliver

9. Brightest Kind Of Darkness by P.T. Michelle

10. On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

11. Untraceable by S.R. Johannes

12. Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

13. Among The Nameless Stars by Diana Peterfreund
14. Impossible by Komal Lewis
 15. This Beautiful Thing by Amanda Heath

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2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Level: Read 21-30 Books - A Sweet Kiss

Finished...

1. The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

2. Reasons To Be Happy by Katrina Kittle
3. Beautiful by Amy Reed
4. I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
5. Divergent by Veronica Roth
6. It's Always Something by Gilda Radner
7. Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin
8. The Probability Of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

9. Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

10. Forgotten by Cat Patrick

11. Vampire Kisses: Graveyard Games Volume One by Ellen Schreiber

12. Jane on Her Own by Ursula K. Le Guin

13. Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers

14. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

15. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

16. City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare

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The Classics Reading Challenge 

Level 3: 8 books

Finished...

1. I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
2. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
3. Under The Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
4. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
6. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

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The Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge

Goal: 52 Books

1. Everblossom: A Short Story and Poetry Anthology by Larissa Hinton

2. The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

3. Get Fuzzy 2: Fuzzy Logic by Darby Conley

4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

5. Notes To Self by Avery Sawyer

6. Reasons To Be Happy by Katrina Kittle

7. Beautiful by Amy Reed

8. I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith

9. Divergent by Veronica Roth

10. Confessions Of A Call Center Gal by Lisa Lim

11. PineLight by Jillian Peery

12. It's Always Something by Gilda Radner

13. Survival by A.M. Hargrove

14. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

15. Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin

16. Hana by Lauren Oliver

17. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

18. The Probability Of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

19. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

20. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

21. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

22. Forgotten by Cat Patrick

23. Resurrection by A.M. Hargrove

24. Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

25. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

26. Life's Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown Jr.

27. What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor

28. Glitch (Glitch #1) by Heather Anastasiu

29. Vampire Kisses: Graveyard Games Volume One by Ellen Schreiber

30. Heat Wave (Nikki Heat #1) by Richard Castle

31. Under The Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

32. Determinant by A.M. Hargrove

33. Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupula

34. The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

35. Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

36. For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana Peterfreund

37. Safe Landing by Tess Oliver

38. The Princess Bride by William Goldman

39. Jane on Her Own by Ursula K. Le Guin

40. Brightest Kind Of Darkness by P.T. Michelle

41. The Forever Contract by Avery Sawyer

42. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

43. Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty

44. Defy The Stars by Stephanie Parent

45. Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers

46. On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

47. Overnight Sensation by Hal Eisenberg

48. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

49. Spells (Wings #2) by Aprilynne Pike

50. Untraceable by S.R. Johannes

51. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

52. Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

53. The Game Changer by Marie Landry

54. Uses For Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

55. Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

56. dancergirl by Carol M. Tanzman

57. The Evolution Of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

58. The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin

59. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

60. Dark Waltz by A.M. Hargrove

61. Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

62. City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare

63. All The Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen

64. Among The Nameless Stars by Diana Peterfreund

65. This Beautiful Thing by Amanda Heath
66. Impossible by Komal Lewis
67. Complete Poems, 1904-1962 by E.E. Cummings

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How did your year go when it comes to reading? Did you finish all your reading challenges? Did you enjoy most of the books you read? I'd love to know!

I finished my Goodreads Reading Challenge!

This is a little late, and by the time it is posted, I will probably have read one or two more books.

ANYWAYS.

Yay for me! I'm not done with all my other challenges, but I'm getting there. I'll post about all those at the end of the year. But, for now... here's all the books I've read so far to complete this challenge...

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1. Everblossom: A Short Story and Poetry Anthology by Larissa Hinton
2. The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodki
3. Get Fuzzy 2: Fuzzy Logic by Darby Conley
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
5. Notes To Self by Avery Sawyer
6. Reasons To Be Happy by Katrina Kittle
7. Beautiful by Amy Reed
8. I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
9. Divergent by Veronica Roth
10. Confessions Of A Call Center Gal by Lisa Lim
11. PineLight by Jillian Peery
12. It's Always Something by Gilda Radner
13. Survival by A.M. Hargrove
14. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
15. Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin
16. Hana by Lauren Oliver
17. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
18. The Probability Of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
19. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
20. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
21. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
22. Forgotten by Cat Patrick
23. Resurrection by A.M. Hargrove
24. Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
25. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
26. Life's Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown Jr.
27. What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor
28. Glitch (Glitch #1) by Heather Anastasiu
29. Vampire Kisses: Graveyard Games Volume One by Ellen Schreiber
30. Heat Wave (Nikki Heat #1) by Richard Castle
31. Under The Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hard
32. Determinant by A.M. Hargrove
33. Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupula
34. The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee
35. Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
36. For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana Peterfreund
37. Safe Landing by Tess Oliver
38. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
39. Jane on Her Own by Ursula K. Le Guin
40. Brightest Kind Of Darkness by P.T. Michelle
41. The Forever Contract by Avery Sawyer
42. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
43. Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty
44. Defy The Stars by Stephanie Parent
45. Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers
46. On Dublin Street by Samantha Young
47. Overnight Sensation by Hal Eisenberg
48. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
49. Spells (Wings #2) by Aprilynne Pike
50. Untraceable by S.R. Johannes
51. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
52. Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

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Have you finished your Goodreads challenge this year?

~Jessica

To Be Read... Or Not

I read an article about managing your TBR (or To Be Read) pile of books. You can take a look at that article through this link. One of the suggestions was to periodically go through your list and remove books you’re not interested in reading anymore. I’ve been on Goodreads for, what is it, two years now? I don’t think I’ve taken a moment to make sure that all the books I’ve marked are ones I still want to read. Considering how my tastes have changed here and there, I felt this was a necessary step to take.

I log on to Goodreads and click on my To Read link. Start from the earliest added books. Scroll down… hmm… interesting. This is a lot of books. This is going to take FOREVER. (Not really, I’m just being dramatic.)

There were surprisingly quite a few strange choices in there. Various books in certain genres I used to be obsessed with. (Twilight, anyone?) Not that I don’t like books in the genre, I just don’t have the same fascination that I used to. I saw some and couldn’t remember what it was about, read the synopsis, and got a puzzled look on my face. Why is that on there?! I had even added whole series of books even though I hadn’t read the first book. Now that was stupid.

No wonder my TBR list was so long!

I probably only deleted around 50 books, but it certainly made my pile seem much less intimidating. Not to mention it saved me from accidentally attempting to read something I’m not going to enjoy without thinking and waste my time.

It’s a good thing to keep in mind as time goes on. Reevaluate what’s on your TBR list and delete where necessary. Not only is it good for book reading, but it’s also a good thought for life in general as well.

Happy reading (the books you really want to read)!

~Jessica

Update Thursday #17

Update Thursday #17

Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

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Reading, Writing...

Books I finished this week:

~At The Party (Books 1-4) by Lauren Barnholdt (Nookbook)

~LoveSick by Jake Coburn

~Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

Books I'm reading now (and some still):
~The Other Boy by Hailey Abbott (Nookbook/Summer Romance Challenge)
~Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin
~The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
~Afterlife by Claudia Gray
~The Grand Escape by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
~The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols (Nookbook/Summer Romance Challenge)

I updated my Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge! My new 2011 reading goal... (drumroll)... 75 BOOKS! It makes me technically behind at the moment but I'll be able to catch up soon. ^_^

Regarding my blog redo status: I will have a Grand Blog Reopening on August 1st. I hope you all will be able to check it out. I won't be having a giveaway (even though I kinda wanted to). I'll just be posting an overview of what will be posted and when, and then you'll be seeing some articles and book reviews soon after (once I hit 200 followers there will be a giveaway). I can't wait to get my blog back up and running like normal!

My writing status: Not too much to report. It's pretty much the same, a little bit written here, a little written there, some editing here, some editing there. I've got a list of background things to come up with to give the story the details it really needs. I decided I'm going to change the title of the one I'm focusing on. It just doesn't have that type of name that clicks, you know?

And Otherwise...

It's been a slow week at work. Summers are always slower in the pharmacy. It's been a good thing though because I've been able to leave an hour early every day, which means one more hour I can spend at home doing something constructive. I have tomorrow off work entirely (WOOT!), and I plan on organizing my room a little (and writing in between!). It's a disaster area. Mainly because I have no time, but also because there's a leak in the roof above the one corner of my room. We're getting it fixed next Tuesday, so once that's done, my room can get completely to the point it should have been when we first moved in.

My brother's planning on wiping the computer... again... So I only have like an hour before that happens. I'll be gone most of the day shopping (Borders, here I come!!! *squeeee!*) so I am hoping he will have it done by the end of the day, or at least by Friday night.


That's all for now! Have a great and wonderful day! See you tomorrow!

~Jessica

Coming up...

I was wondering what book I should review next. Then I finished Sisters In Sanity last night. Definitely worthy of being next. I originally planned on catching up with all the older books I've read, then add in some of the ones I've recently read. Considering I'll be reading 50 books this year, I may have to tweak it to one older book, then the current one I've just finished. Now to find some time this weekend to write out my next review...

I just joined a couple of book blog groups on Goodreads to connect with some fellow book bloggers/book blog lovers. Best thing I've done today. Already got some great followers and it hasn't even been an hour! :D Love it.

Hearts and hugs to all of you fellow book lovers! <3

~Jessica

2011 Reading Challenge

Just noticed while editing my profile on Goodreads that there's a 2011 Reading Challenge. You set your goal, you read! I added the widget to my blog here so everyone can see my progress. I decided to read 50 books. According to Goodreads, I only read 23 books last year. This year will be better. Don't forget to set a reading goal too!

~Jessica