New Year's Resolutions

1. Read 50 books this year. This means planning ahead of time an average of 4 books a month and setting aside the time to get through them. If left to my own devices, depending on the book, sometimes I'll get through one in two days, sometimes I'll linger on one book for a whole month. Not this year! 50 books, let's go.
   
   First on my list: Behind the Beautiful Forevers; The Glass Castle; Middlesex; The Diviners; A Casual Vacancy.
   
2. Get a job. I need one for sure before I graduate in June, but I would love to get one by March so I can go on a spring break trip with my friends.
   
3. Finish Book 3. I need to hammer out more specific goals for this later, but I definitely need to finish my current WIP this year.
   
4. Cook more, clean more. Okay, this is not specific at all, but what I would really love to accomplish is some kind of schedule for cleaning my apartment and preparing homemade meals. You might be able to tell that I sort of think of schedules as the path to success and happiness. Probably because I'm so unorganized in my natural state.

Well... here's to success in 2013! I have some work to do to make these resolutions more doable. (Set short-, medium-, and long-term goals.) What do you hope to accomplish this year?

Happy New Year!

Books Read in 2012

Behold, the books I have read in 2012.

  * signifies a highly recommended read

  - means I do not recommend this book

  YA means it's a young adult book

  If there is neither a * nor a - you can assume I would say go ahead and read it, you'll probably enjoy it.

1. The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly *
2. Punkzilla by Adam Rapp (YA)
3. On Writing by Stephen King *
4. The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly *
5. Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block (YA)
   ~
6. Blackbird by Jennifer Lauck
7. Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald (YA) *
8. Going Bovine by Libba Bray (YA) *
9. Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes (YA) *
10. The Disenchantments by Nina Lacour (YA) *
    ~
11. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (YA) *
12. Happyslapped by a Jellyfish by Karl Pilkington
13. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley (YA) *
14. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi *
15. Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald (YA) *
    ~
16. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (YA) -
17. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery *
18. Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
19. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
20. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern -
    ~
21. Fifty Shades of Gray by E.L. James
22. The Opposite of Invisible by Liz Gallagher (YA)
23. A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley (YA)
24. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (YA)
25. An Uncommon Education by Elizabeth Percer -
    ~
26. Let It Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green, & Lauren Myracle (YA) *
27. The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly *
28. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (YA) *
29. The Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonald
30. Diary of a Blues Goddess by Erica Orloff *

Fake it till you make it

This advice applies to just about everything in life. I constantly have to remind myself of this rule. Because it's not easy, but I'm pretty sure it's magical.

Do you ever notice how some people seem to have the best luck? Everything seems to fall into place for them. Of course there are many, many factors that make one person lucky while another person struggles. But I'm pretty sure one of those factors boils down to attitude.

When you really want something -- a new job, a text from a boy, a parking spot at the mall -- it's easy to get bogged down by negative thoughts and worries. The thing is... why waste those thoughts on worry when you could choose confidence? Either way, the time will pass before you get -- or don't get -- what you want. Might as well act confident that you will succeed. There's something to be said for energy. Sending out anxious or doubtful vibes to the world seems a poor choice when you could instead radiate self-assuredness.

So if I visualize Johnny Depp showing up at my door with roses...? Okay, maybe not.

 
One trick is to visualize the feelings you will get when you achieve your goal and then snuggle into those exact feelings now like a comfy sweater. Example: when the movie theater calls you back and offers you a job, you're going to feel worthwhile and accomplished. Step into those feelings. Try them on now -- you don't have to wait for someone else to hand them to you. It's not easy to do, but it's a good exercise in sending the universe the best possible vibes.

If you convince yourself that you deserve the thing that you want (and work hard for it), chances are the rest of the world will agree with you.

It's finals week

Which means I don't have time to write a post for you lovely people. Because I'm doing the grown up thing and studying my bum off. My exams are on Tuesday. One of them is about programming data structures and involves words like algorithm and Dijkstra and minimum spanning tree.

Wish me luck?

Instead of imparting some almost-23-year old wisdom on you all, I will direct you to this hilarious Tumblr post in which Maureen Johnson discusses her attempts to chronicle her writing habits.

And I leave you with this quote from Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums:

"Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain."

Have a happy week!

Books Read in November

How is it December already? This means it's almost my birthday. And the apocalypse. And 2013. Since I don't actually think the apocalypse is going to happen.

Welp, I only read two books in November. I should start reading faster...you know, in case the end of the world actually does happen.

1. LET IT SNOW by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle.

Recommended: YES!

This book is not a novel but three holiday romances. Each one filled me with warm fuzzies and laughter and JOY. Just READ IT!

2. THE WILD ROSE by Jennifer Donnelly

Recommended: UM YES.
You know how it's always difficult to answer the question "what's your favorite book?" or "who's your favorite author?" Well, for me, Jennifer Donnelly makes it easy. She is my favorite author. Why? Because she weaves such thrilling page turners, filled with such detail that they ACTUALLY transport you to another time and place. Yes, ACTUALLY. I'm quite sure I spent the last couple weeks in the Arabian desert somewhere near Damascus. (You'll understand after you read this book.)

Now, this is the third book in a series. You'll want to start with THE TEA ROSE. As is the case with most series, I think the first one was the best. THE TEA ROSE is absolutely brilliant. The second one, THE WINTER ROSE, is also wonderful. This one rates third as far as amazing-ness goes, but it's still great.

This is an adult, historical epic series. If you're looking for something YA, check out Donnelly's REVOLUTION. (When people ask what my favorite book is, REVOLUTION is usually my answer.)

~

What have you read lately? I love recommendations. Feel free to leave some in the comments!

Happy December!