2013 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

I'm a couple of months late signing up for the challenge over at Historical Tapestry,  but hey, better late than never LOL.  After all, we all know I love historical fiction and this challenge isn't limited by sub-genre, so I can flit between romance, mystery, young adult or straight historical fiction.

There is also no restriction on reading format that I can see, so I have the option of Audible, e-reads (I've collected a lot of historical fiction on my Kindle, NOOK and I-Pod Touch), or the piles of paperback/hardcover historical fiction scattered throughout my home.  I just need to stop collecting and start reading ;-)

I still have a couple of weeks left before Camp NaNoWriMo begins April 1, so I hope to get a few books read before I hunker down to write some more, and I want to be more diligent in posting reviews, so don't be surprised if book reviews start popping up from time to time ;-)

If you enjoy reading history, come on over and join us!

Let's Reboot - Happy 2013!

Life was a bit challenging during the latter half of 2012, and no blogging took place (as you can see from the date of my prior post).  June thru December took me on quite a roller coaster of good and bad and in-between, but since the Mayans were wrong and the Creator let me wake up today to a new year, I can reboot life just like we reboot our computers.

2013 will bring different topics to this blog.  I won NaNoWriMo 2012 and will be in edit mode for my book.  I still enjoy crafting and this year marks Stampin Up!'s 25th Anniversary, so I'll share some projects (if I remember to take pictures--I made some cute things for Halloween and Christmas for my office mates and didn't remember I wanted photos until after they were boxed up for mailing).

And you will see posts on healthy eating.  I lost my younger brother to a heart attack in 2012 and my physical showed high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, so I intend to use this blog to help hold me accountable. 

Finally, I didn't get the pleasure reading done that I had planned--but hope springs eternal LOL.  I will read more this year, and not only about the Civil War and health/nutrition, but also politics and fantasy and mysteries and...you get the picture.  Actually, I'm loving Audible--Tim Curry did a wonderful narration of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and since I need to be walking/exercising more and sitting less, Audible will make the exercise much more fun.

And in honor of the new year, here's my first project--a totally digital piece because one goal for the year is to learn MDS2, the digital design software from Stampin' Up!

World Book Day

Today is World Book Day, a celebration of reading that is a part of UNESCO (soon be followed by World Book Night on April 23, 2012).  Hooray for reading!  Whether physical books or e-reads, reading is the most frugal way I continue my education, plus the cheapest entertainment I know (I subscribe to both the Kindle Daily Deal and the NOOK Daily Find since I have both a Kindle and the NOOK Tablet, so I find new reading for very little cost).  Paperback Swap is still a favorite place to find great books, and I cannot say enough about my wonderful local library.

I have a TBR mountain of physical books, plus loads on I-Books, Kindle, NOOK, and let's not forget Audible, LOL.  My 2012 Reading list is already way too full, but I am enjoying the challenge of working thru mystery, fantasy, history, politics, self-help, current events--you name it.  Outside of sports, childcare, horror and a few other genres, I read a bit of everything, and encourage others to do so as well. 

Do you enjoy reading?  What genres?  Have you succumbed yet to e-reading?  Do your children enjoy reading?  I cannot imagine a life without the written word...

New Year and New Reading Goals

Since my reading the past few years has not met the massive challenges I have joined for 100+ books, I've decided to not publicly humiliate myself by setting my 2012 reading goals that high again. 

I read a lot--especially while researching the Civil War for my novel-in-progress.  I also read a lot on the art/craft of writing.  Much of this reading is piecemeal--magazine articles or certain chapters from various texts.  As an example--I currently have seven partially read Civil War books and five writing guides all in various levels of completion and I work back/forth and between them as I need the particular chunk of information.  So, these are not yet added to my "Books I've Read" pile on Paperback Swap because they aren't yet finished...yeah, I know, I'm an obsessive-compulsive nerdy geek LOL (and let's not talk about the software manuals I am currently wading thru since upgrading to Office 2010 and Windows 7).

So, I'm doing something new with my TBR mountain and reading list/book reviews this year.  Let's see how this works (and I'd love feedback either now or later on as the year progresses).  I'm adding a new page to my blog for my 2012 Reading.  As I start a book, I'll add it to the list.  As I finish it, I'll add a review (or at least a star rating).  If I post a review on Goodreads, Paperback Swap, Amazon, or anywhere else--and if that review is not a copy/paste of what I post here--then I'll add a link to the review.

Although I think the definitions I use are pretty standard among readers/writers, here's a quick glossary of my (personal favorite) acronyms:

• DNF - Did Not Finish: this seldom happens for me and I always give a book 100+ pages before giving up on it, but if I rate something DNF, I'd rather have surgery without anesthetic than finish this book--YMMV so I will always give specific reasons why I could not read to the end
• YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary: most people's opinions and tastes are quite different from mine, so please remember that I am only expressing my opinion and I'd love civilized discourse if you have a different experience with an author/title/genre
• CTT - Crime Thru Time: not only is this a great website devoted to historical mystery as a genre, but there is a very active Yahoo Group associated with the site.  Members are both readers and writers and my membership there is one reason I have a TBR mountain rather than a TBR pile LOL.  If you love historical mystery, come join us!
• TBR - To Be Read: these are books I currently own, either as an e-book (and I'm trying hard to purchase more of these, especially for pleasure reading) or as a physical tome.  My master lists of these are on Paperback Swap and my Kindle account and I try to keep the lists current to keep from buying duplicates unawares (some books I have in both formats for a reason, and some I also have on Audible so I can listen while doing other things).
• HM - Historical Mystery; HF - Historical Fiction: I read a lot of both, but since some readers enjoy one but not the other, I will always try to note which genre a title fits into best (IMHO)
• IMHO - In My Humble Opinion: an alternate for YMMV

Since this post has become a novella in itself, I'll post my system for assigning stars soon.  And once I learn how, I'll try to link this post to my 2012 Reading page as a reference (guess I'm pulling out the "Google Blogger for Dummies" guide again LOL).