I’ve read lots this year, averaging just over two per week, and a couple recently have really quite surprised me with how good they are.
So: two recommendations today, if you’re after titles which tweens / teens might like – even boys!
Enjoy! And have a week full of lovely surprises yourself too, dear Reader!
KRidwyn
This year, I decided to try a different style with my Goodreads challenge. Ever since I started, the ‘target number’ I chose was based on a specific number of books per week. So in 2015 it was one book a week (ie 52 books) which I obliterated by reading 73, then I upped it to two books per week (104 total) in 2016, for which I managed the exact 104, right on the lead up to midnight on December 31, from memory!
For the next three years in a row, I aimed for three books per week. 156 books! Okay, sure, I only achieved that goal in 2019, reading 168 books, but still! It was a pretty good goal. And reading 81 in 2017 and then 126 in 2018 is not really to be sniffed at either, when I think about it…
I must have been pretty impressed with myself because the following year I upped it again. 2020, the year of ‘four books per week’, for a total of 208. Which I achieved, reading 210… but I’m pretty sure I added that year’s shortlisted BookWeek books into that record… which included 12 picture books!
The following year, 2021, I set the challenge back to three books per week (156 total) and even though I made it, reading 157… the following two years I stepped it back again to just two books per week (104 total) and achieved it again, each year, reading 115 and 114, respectively.
Fastforward to this year. 2024, the year of one book per week again. There were a few reasons for this: not the least of which was that I was back in the classroom, teaching, instead of in the library as librarian, and the planning / reporting / marking workload would leave significantly less time for reading. And also, I wanted to ensure that every book I recorded was a worthwhile, 250+ pager, rather than the picture book or Bible book, just to bulk out my Goodreads challenge record (I try to read my Bible each year, which in itself contains 66 books… but I don’t record these in my challenge as this is a recurring thing for me!).
Currently, I’m on 46 read out of 52. And in the main, I’m happy with that. The most recent is ‘The Space Between Worlds’ by Micaiah Johnson – a book I co-read with my bothers, so we could chat about it. Quite interesting Sci-Fi, and what made it more interesting was to pull it apart with my brothers and work out what we liked / didn’t like, and why. That one before it? Passive income? Don’t bother. It’s really short (I didn’t realise that when I downloaded it) and it’s pretty general in nature. Still, it was a book I read, which is why it’s in there. And the other 13 in the image continue the ‘reverse chronological order’ thing 🙂
The book I’m partway through right at the moment? (again!) is ‘The Brothers Hawthorne’ by Jennifer Lynn Marnes… because my local library contacted me on Friday to tell me that the fifth and final book in the series is sitting there, ready for me to collect… which I’m planning to do, tomorrow! So reading Book 4 this weekend seems the most sensible course of action 🙂 Even though I only read it, 10 books ago…
Anyway, that’s my reading so far this year. How’s yours going this year, dear Reader?
I watched ‘The Union’ with Hubby yesterday. Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry. It had exactly the right amount of humour for an action flick, I thought.
And then last night Miss 16 and I watched the Season 6 Grimm episode ‘Blind Love’ and we laughed ourselves silly. It was SO good! (And teaching A Midsummer Night’s Dream to my Year 8 English last term made it all the more relevant…)
So today, I thought I’d share some screenshots I’ve taken from my social media feeds recently. Things I’d saved because they amuse me. Hopefully you’ll get a smile out of them too?
I’m thinking I could so use one of these walkers when the time comes! And:
Not I throw punches (very often) but the timing of this phrase is very clever! And thirdly: I wonder if I could make one of these for my next online video call:
So was I successful? Did you smile? And if so, at which one?
And just to round this post off: back to Shakespeare. This final screenshot is not so much ‘funny’ as ‘clever’ and ‘I want one’. Does it remind anyone else of the bard’s play Julius Caesar? Not that he made it into fighting stance before being cut down, but for some reason it reminds me of this, nonetheless…
Anyway, here’s hoping you can manage a smile sometime this week, dear Reader – and maybe even more than one?
God bless,
KRidwyn
So I finished the trilogy I started on Monday: the Nevernight Chronicles by Jay Kristoff.
I’m thinking that he’s fast becoming one of my favourite authors. His writing style is as readable as Lynette Noni’s Akarnae and as witty as Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid. But his descriptions are all his own… and they are sublime! His similes, in particular, are so cleverly crafted to fit perfectly within the exact time and place of the plot. Simply stunning writing.
It’ll be a hard act to follow these, I think.
Stay tuned though, dear Reader, as I may yet be surprised…
Have a wonderful day 🙂
KRidwyn
This morning sees me train-bound, heading for Brisbane. New beginning for a new week; it seems apt that, with an hour long journey ahead with nothing to do but sit, I reward myself and download a novel I’ve been wanting to read for a while. Jay Kristoff’s NEVERNIGHT, the first in his trilogy of the same name.
So I downloaded, and then I opened it and started reading… and then stopped after the very first sentence.
Why? you may ask.
Because it’s brilliant! say I. And such an arresting beginning must be shared! (And, speaking from experience, I must act on this now before the novel swallows me and I don’t emerge for a lengthy period of time) so… here it is! Enjoy 🙂
Have an un-soiling-yourself week too, dear Reader!
– KRidwyn
I’ve been a fan of the annual “Goodreads reading challenge” for years. Anything which pits me against me is good. Pitting me against others? Not so interested. But an app which challenges me to read, and keeps me accountable? Totally a fan. The fact that others can see where I’m up to is just added incentive.
And as a contol freak (and probably unrepentant over-achiever) I have to be ahead. It helps to be ready for any eventuality, yes? And finishing MURTAGH by Christopher Paolini yesterday keeps me on the ‘six books ahead of schedule’ margin which is my comfort zone. After all, there’s the mountain of marking assessment which I’ll be buried under for the next few weeks, to consider! Plus: it was a really good book… much much MUCH darker than anything I’ve read for simply ages, but so well written, it was hard to put down 🙂
Anyway, this is something I’m proud of this week. What makes you happy, dear Reader?
Yes, I know, it’s been 7 days already. But hey; I’ve been having a good holiday, okay?
Speaking of holidays, it’s been more of a ‘hiatus’ from this blog, hasn’t it (insert sheepish expression here). What a lovely word that is too, by the way. According to my Apple dictionary:
Hiatus, as in a ‘physical gap’, or ‘to gape’. Well, there certainly is a gaping hole in the timeline of posts on this blog! But as much as I’d like there not to be, I can’t change the past, so here’s hoping 2023 fares better for blogposts. Once a month even, perhaps?
Looking ahead, I’m also looking forward to querying again, probably around mid-March. It’s been years since dipping my toes in the querying waters, so I’m apprehensive. Well… downright terrified, truth be told. But now I’ve posted this – even if only on a sporadic blog such as this! – my brain is telling me it’s a commitment I’ll be unwilling to break. I hope…
On the reading front, I’ve challenged myself to anther 104 books this year. I absolutely LOVE that Goodreads has their ‘Reading Challenge’ function, where I can track my reading year by year. I recorded just over 110 in 2022, which I was pretty happy with. In 2023, I’m planning on the majority of those being YA, followed by MG and a smattering of adult and also non-fiction in there. Not only because those are my faves, in order, but also that’s where I’m at with the Library collection I’m trying to forge my way through at work. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned how BRILLIANT my job is, yes? Teacher Librarian for a K – 12 private school, where I get to spend the school’s money on books I know the kids will love? What can be better than that? (Well, writing full time perhaps, but that’s a scary thought right there…)
Anyway, here’s hoping all this reading I’ll be doing will help the writing some. And between the writing, the reading and the job, plus a newly-graduated daughter to help negotiate the big wide world of work and university, and two younger children completing Year 11 and Year 9 in 2023… this year’s ending will probably come around quicker than even I’m expecting! I wonder what my life will look like by then?
Well, that’s it from me, dear Reader. Have a great January and “see” you in a month!
– KRidwyn
Now I’m a Teacher Librarian, I check out the book section of each store I happen to find myself in. And boy! Have I found some bargains 🙂
I’ve been meaning to purchase the trilogy by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff THE ILLUMINAE FILES for some time now, however time has worked against me. Imagine my delight then, to find them for just $5 each from my local supermarket! Purchase acquired, I scurried home to read them… and was even more delighted that I was on holiday and could afford the time. Because I literally could NOT put these books down!
On the downside, the grey font on grey background pages were a little frustrating. And a second downside was that finishing the series meant I had to integrate back into reality again, however I am immensely glad for the experience while it lasted, and have been recommending these books left, right and centre ever since. It’s no wonder they won a Prime Minister’s Literary Award, an ABIA Award, an Aurealis Award and an Inky Award – they’re well deserved winners!
So. If you have a few hours and want to be immersed in a gripping storyline, check these out. And who knows? Perhaps you’ll also be fortunate enough to find the entire trilogy for just $5 each!
Have an immerseful day yourself, dear Reader!
– KRidwyn
Welcome back, dear Reader!
Last year was a ‘photo’ post each week, which challenged me to improve my photography skills. Which worked… to some extent. In fact, I even considered challenging myself further and committing to a years’ worth of “selfie” posts (because those ones are like, a zillion times worse than actual photos. Well, for those of us who remember a time before the internet was even invented. Am I right?)
But no. Perhaps next year. But I’ll still attempt to include a photo with each post this year. Let’s see how we go with that, huh?
But today’s post is still about challenges. Specifically, the Goodreads challenge I set myself last year. 3 books per week. That’s 156 books in the year. Which seems a lot.
And I made it!!! So proud of me 🙂
Admittedly, numbers of those were the picture books which I ended up reading to my classes after being made redundant mid-year and being blessed enough to get Teacher Librarian work in July. But still 🙂
So. Goodreads challenge this year. 208 again – because I can! and it’s only 4 per week. right? – but the aim this year is to have only one picture book per month. Perhaps two. But no more than 24 of those 156 will be picture books. Because, well, why not? 🙂
How about you, dear Reader? Are you planning on reading books this year? How many? And if you’re also on Goodreads, want to connect?
Oh! And I almost forgot. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
– KRidwyn
As a Reider – a commenter on (literary agent extraordinaire) Janet Reid’s blog – I was fortunate enough to hear about this book, WRITING WITHOUT RULES by Jeff Somers.
Now, I’ve read numbers of titles on ‘how to write and sell your book’, ranging from Stephen King’s ON WRITING to Chuck Wendig’s THE KICK-ASS WRITER. These particular two have stood out to me as the two ends of a spectrum, and many, many, MANY other titles within that spectrum have inspired me and encouraged me in my whole ‘get-your-butt-in-your-chair-and-get-your-novel-finished’ aspirations.
Not since reading Catherine Deveny’s USE YOUR WORDS though, have I read a more down-to-earth ‘just write, and finish what you write’ philosophy espoused so clearly. And it’s exactly what I (in my current “I can’t do this” frame of mind) needed to hear. And the footnotes! Hilarious!
Jeff’s wit sparkles, and I laughed aloud throughout each of the 20 chapters. The first ten chapters – on writing – were more applicable to me than the second – on selling – however now I’m in the winding down chapters, drafting Book 6 of a 7 book series, I can see that the latter half of his book may indeed become more important to me in the (hopefully not too distant) future.
As Jeff Somers is a client of Janet Reid’s, and as I am an unashamed Reider familiar with her take on literary agenting, it was not only a pleasing confirmation to note that her own views are firmly held by her client, but that the ‘inside jokes’ he made, were ones I am also (partly) familiar with. I smiled, I laughed, I took copious notes, and the fact that emblazoned across the back cover demanded that I:
STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND WRITE!
YES, YOU: WRITE!
made me smile every time I picked it up. [Because even though the blurb insisted I write, the premise behind actually being able to read the hard-cover book I’d been given for my birthday (thanks, Mum!) was that I needed to stop what I was doing – even if my current activity were writing – if I was to read the book!]
But it was worth it. Worth missing out on the writing time. Because it’s a great book. And it you’re an unpublished writer – or even a published one, come to that – you’d find this a good read. And if you missed clicking on that link at the top, it’s here again now if you wanted to buy it directly from Jeff Somers’ blog.
And have a great week, dear Reader!
– KRidwyn