Category: Reading

Reading Goals 2018

I have been in a reading slump for years now. I just can’t get into a book. I have started so many books but put them down and not felt motived to pick them up again.

So this year my goal is simple

12 books – 1 a month read and reviewed

12 graphic novels – 1 a month read and reviewed

I am not doing any of the many amazing challenges out there this year. I am not pressuring myself to read any kind of book. I just want to find the joy in reading once more. But if you love a good challenge there are so many to find over at A Novel Challenge.

So far I have finished my January book, The Power. Look for a review in the next week or so. Additionally, I have downloaded Bitch Planet, Vol 1 for my next graphic novel.

So it is a simple plan (keep life simple):

  1. Read 20 minutes a day.
  2. Blog 1 a week
  3. Repeat

The Power -30%
The Power
Price: $18.20
Was: $26.00

Hoopla!

I am thinking that this year is going to be the year of micro-blogging. Short, sweet, to-the-point. I miss sharing here but often get bogged down in the stress of not enough words and “I can’t post this, it is not a FULL blog post.” So I am hoping to get over that, I guess it is perfectionism, by doing micro posts and reviews all year. Today’s topic: Hoopla.

Hoopla has just been adopted by our local library and it is wonderful. It is:

“is a groundbreaking digital media service offered by your local public library that allows you to borrow movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics and TV shows to enjoy on your computer, tablet, or phone – and even your TV!”

I am thrilled with their graphic novel selection and the fact that you can double-click on any panel and them scroll through panel by panel. I hated reading Graphic novels on my tablet because the other things I had tried only had full-page viewing and there was so much zooming in and out. Since January 3 I have breezed through most of Joe Hill’s Locke & Key.I have favorited all of the Buffy comics and Fables.

I have looked at the audiobook selection and have decided that renewal of Audible I was considering can wait. The e-book, movie and music selections seem great and up-to-date. The only disappointing selection for me was TV. But since I am knee-deep in Netflix, Hulu and Amazon that is not an issue for me. However for the things I want to watch Hoopla is integrated with Chromecast, so it is super easy.

If your library has Hoopla I highly recommend it. If not start asking why not now.

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Things I Love About You

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Today is not really about you, but I do love you if you are stopping by here to read. OK, I also love some folks who are not reading, but I love you more. The actual theme is “10 things I love about ‘x'”, where x=thing I love. Since I am trying to focus on both running and read you’ll get 5 about each love.

Reading

  1. “The Zone” – I know you know what I mean. That place where you don’t want to put down the book, where the story is everything, where hours fly by and suddenly you realize you have missed meals and phone calls and texts.
  2. “Signings” – I have not been to many but I have discovered I am willing to drive a ridiculous distance to listen to a favorite author speak/read and get a copy of a favorite book signed.
  3. “Sharing recommendations” – “Wait have you read this one?” “You need to borrow this one!” “I love this book and I know you will too.”
  4. “Escape” – Whether it is Narnia, Brakebills, Hogwarts, Pern or 100 other worlds, I get to be there for a little while. Sometimes for much too short a period of time. Sometimes I get to visit over and over. But those worlds are always beckoning me.
  5. “The Library” – I have been going to the same library now for about 15 years. I love the people and the events and the way that is smells and looks and the calm that exists in the place where I find community and books and laughter.

Running

  1. “Sleep” –  When I run I sleep. When I don’t run I don’t sleep much. This has a huge impact on my life. Sleep is good. As Jim Butcher says in Death Masks “Sleep is God. Go worship.”
  2. “Accomplishment” – I ran .25 miles more today. I got a PR. I ran for longer without stopping. There are very tangible achievements in running. If the rest of my day sucked often I can say but at least I ran.
  3. “Other Runners” – From the runners at races to the ones who help me find shoes that helped me run better to the ones online who answer 700 dumb questions a month. From the ones who run a 17 minute pace to the ones that run a 7 minute pace. I have yet to meet an unfriendly, unhelpful runner.
  4.  & 5. “Zombies, Run” – This is the thing I love the most. I love the app. I love the company. I love the developers. I am so in debt to this thing and those people who make it. I am Runner 5 and I have saved Abel Township. I have laughed, cried, yelled and punched the air while running all because the world is so immersive.  Now add to this a group of people online who I love more and more every day as they share my love for the app and I am discovering mutual support and encouragement and tons of love for each other. Yup this deserves two spots on the list.

Ten (Fiction) Books Every Sociologist Should Read

 Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Most of these will lean heavily toward science fiction or fantasy. In other life I was a sociology professor who taught at a mid-sized university. My dream course, the one I never got to teach, was one called Sociology through science fiction. We were going to include books, movies and TV as a way to explore sociological concepts. There have been a few books I would add to list I had back then but here are my top ten and one of the concepts illustrated in the story.

The Hunger Games Trilogy: The Hunger Games / Catching Fire / Mockingjay A Canticle for Leibowitz  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Omnibus
 Inequality and Revolution  Religion  Stratification
 The Man Who Sold The Moon  Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited  The Forest of Hands and Teeth
 Capitalism  Eugenics  Culture
 Soylent Green Childhood’s End  The Left Hand of Darkness
 Overpopulation Race Gender
 Minority Report
 Crime and Punishment

 

Is it as simple as simple?

photo credit: pedrosimoes7 via photopin cc
photo credit: pedrosimoes7 via photopin cc

I have discovered that maybe getting back to reading means getting back to books. And by books I mean actual physical books.

Distractions abound in this life I lead. I am doing to many things to often and finding that I am losing what I love in the hustle and bustle of notifications and electronic reminders. So what if I turned them all off. What if I just pick up an actual book, not an e-book and let myself fall into the story again?

Top Ten 2015 Releases I Meant To Get To But Didn’t (1/12/16)

toptentuesday2

There are so many more. I am hoping this year to make up for some of the time lost to other things but I am not pressuring myself.

The Girl on the TrainFuriously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible ThingsRed Queen
The Darkest Part of the ForestA Darker Shade of Magic: A NovelThe Cinder Spires: the Aeronaut’s Windlass
AliceBlackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to ForgetThe Witches: Salem, 1692
Paper Girls #1 1st Printing