Monday, January 17, 2011

Reading in the New Year

IN THE NEWS: Inmate sues the prison officials over rat bitten on his penis. (I'm NOT making this up) Read more HERE.
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS STILL UP: Red Bells hanging on the lights over the garage. (Hopefully they'll come down today)

Well, since it's Martin Luther King Day--and the hubby and kiddo are home staring me down, I'll make this blog post brief. Briefer than usual...

I just wanted to let you all know that I broke a record (my own record, that is) for the amount of books read in a year. Last year, I read....57 books.

Cue the oooooh aaaaaahs...

Yes, I managed to read a lot. (For me.)
Yet, strangely enough, I have NOT picked up a fiction book yet and we're already half way through January. So what am I reading now? The very first book I decided to christen the new year with is: "We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide to Social Media" by Kristen Lamb.
I'm only about 2/3 through it but already I'm wondering where this book has been all my life and more importantly when I first entered onto the Internet. Interesting stuff!


I still hope to break my 57 book record this year despite my slow start. After all, you know what Stephen King says: "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time - or the tools - to write. Simple as that."

Simple as that.

Do you know how many books you read last year? Do you want to read a certain amount this year?



A Little Holiday Extra: I don't know why this video cracks me up, but I never get tired of watching it.



CATS PLAYING PATTY-CAKE



Have a good holiday. :)

43 comments:

TheBookGirl said...

Congrats for surpassing last year's book total!
That social media books sounds like something right up my daughter's alley; I'm still not on Facebook/Twitter; managing the blog is challenging enough for me, techno-wise, lol.

Laura Pauling said...

That's great. I have an idea if I counted Goodreads because I've only been on there for about a year, but I don't usually keep track. I def. go through cycles. So you like Kristin Lamb's book. I like the advice on her blog.

Sarah Forgrave said...

That sounds like a great book! I'll have to check it out. I don't really set reading goals for the year, but I've always got a book in progress sitting on my fireplace mantel waiting for me to pick it up. :)

Maria Zannini said...

I never count books read, but with any luck I'll read more this year than last. It's starting off well anyway.

Stephanie Faris said...

That sounds like an interesting book. I didn't realize there was a book that specific to writers and social media out. I'll check it out!

Unknown said...

I'll admit it - that video made me laugh out loud!

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

I've set a reading goal to read the 2011 Debut MG/YA authors, but that's about it. I don't do so much well with those kinds of goals (strangely, since I'm normally goal driven). Thanks for the writing book rec, though! I put it on my list! ;)

Kristi said...

Congrats on the reading goal!!! You blew mine out of the water.

I read 25 books last year and have vowed to read 35 this year. In all honestly, I'm aiming for 50 but thought I better start slow. ;)

BTW - LOVE that Stephen King quote, it's one of my favorites.

Wendy Paine Miller said...

I need to start making a list of books I read.

I also need to get that book. She introduced me to a killer good lotion too!

~ Wendy

Tana said...

Yay you! I read big last year as well, but I didn't keep track. I think this year I need to try some sort of tracking system, and perhaps that would be numbers verses the method that drove me nuts before, titles. Have a GREAt day with the fam! =)

Joanne said...

I'm really glad that some people have WAY too much time on their hands and can make videos like this cat one ... What a great laugh to start out my Monday :)

Karen Baldwin said...

The cat video was hilarious. Below is a link that I think you'll find funny. I watch it often.

http://www.wimp.com/animalvoiceovers/

Linda G. said...

I don't keep count of the books I read. Much like calories. Some things you just don't want to know. ;)

Love that cat video!

Mary Curry said...

I didn't keep track of how many books I read last year because I had so many that I'd start and get distracted. I was feeling very restless as a reader until I hit the Hunger Games trilogy.
Good luck with your reading this year. Thanks for the rec.

Jaime Wright said...

Wait a sec. You all get OFF for MLK day??? :P
57 books, huh? Sounds like a great goal for 2011 too! :)

Theresa Milstein said...

57 books? Not too shabby!

I know what it's like to have a family not happy about computer time. I'm by myself now, but now for long.

Stephanie said...

Congrats!! Quite an accomplishment!!! I made a goal for last year...30 books. I knew I could not handle more than that and rather than reaching for an unattainable goal like 100, or even 52, I went with 30. I read 28. I would have made my goal, but the month of December completely slowed me down. Those darn holidays and all that goes into them!

But I was still proud if what I'd accomplished. It was a good amount more than what I read the year before!

Erin Kern said...

I've seen that cat video before. It's pretty funny. I don't think I read nearly as many as you. I only have time for read for about 15 min at night before I fall asleep. it takes me about a month to read one book

Terri Tiffany said...

I am amazed!! That many books!! Wow. I think I might have started that many but didn't finish them as they stunk. Now that the library and I are best buds, I take out piles and paw through them.
Working on some non-fiction now. But I really don't keep track. Do you keep a list?

Unknown said...

Last year was my first year back in years. I hadn't read novels since High School and it's been a pleasure getting back into it. I'd say I read around 30-40 novels and I'm looking to at least match that this year! The more I enjoy the better I can tell my writing gets!!!

Wow. You'd think they'd make up the rat bite article. I've heard some crazy things though recently in the news. A few I've heard...

A man's tongue was bitten off by his wife after he tried to kiss her (while she was on the toilet). So many wrongs.

A man had asked for two strippers, one was worth $40 and one worth $20for their 'services' he only got the $20 service so called the police because he either wanted his $40 back of for the ho to do her business. Hope that $500 bail he owes the police made him think. Probably not.

Cindy R. Wilson said...

I definitely need to read more books this year! I think I didn't read as many last year because I was reading more non-fiction and trying to delve into genres I usually don't read. As a result, it took me longer to read each book. Hmm...I guess there's a reason I stick to reading certain genres of fiction!

Kara said...

You read a lot of books, that is great! I don't know how many I read, but the one you are reading now sounds like a good one:)

Colene Murphy said...

Awesome! I hope you and the gang had a nice day off together!!

Jennifer Shirk said...

That list includes fiction AND non fiction-fyi.
And yes, Terri, I do keep a list of what I've read. :)

Anonymous said...

за каждое опубликованное объявления вы получаете 0.5 wmr

Rula Sinara said...

Hilarious video!
I read a ton, but I've never counted how many books a year. Now I'm curious and since it's still January, I'm starting a tally! I've already read 3 since Jan 1st.

Liz Mays said...

I think I used to be able to read at that pace but I can't now. I'm so impressed! I probably read more like half that amount. I'd LOVE to read one a week though.

DawnB said...

Congrats on 57 books. I've never kept track of how many books I've read in a year, but I going to this year. Mostly out of curiosity. Good luck surpassing your number this year.

Anonymous said...

CONGRATS on reading 57 books last year! Awesome!!

Janna Leadbetter said...

Impressive number of books! I don't keep track, though I probably should. Go you!

Hmm. That headline is somethin'.

Heather Sunseri said...

I've heard a lot of great things about Kristen Lamb's book. I need to check that one out.

Linda Kage said...

Okay, I can't stop laughing over this video!! Great.

Congrats on all the book reading. That's more than a book a week. Better than I do!!

PatriciaW said...

126. But don't be impressed. I'm trying to reduce that number because when I'm reading that much, I'm not writing as much as I want to be. Sounds easy, but trust me, it's not easy for someone who reads at stoplights.

Jessica Nelson said...

Ewww on the rat thing! LOL

I have no clue how many books I read because I don't count, but I'd say I average two books a week, sometimes more, sometimes less.

Kristi said...

So, my big question for you Jennifer, is DID YOU WATCH???? I'm curious what my fellow American Idol lover thought last night!

Anonymous said...

I know I didn't read as many as you! But happy I did read at least one per month (dependant on length). I think I'll be trying more books on tape this year, so my driving time can be reading time too.

Carolyn V. said...

I didn't read as many as I wanted. I do have to read 30 books for my new class. I'm a little nervous. =)

Clarissa Southwick said...

Wow. 57 books. I'm so jealous. :)

Walt Mussell said...

Fifty-seven? So you're probably ahead of the two I've already read this year.

Love the Stephen King quote.

Caryn Caldwell said...

That's one of the great things about being a writer - you *have* to read! :-D

Julie Musil said...

OMG, I laughed so hard I cried while watching that video. That's hilarious.

Books, I have no idea how many I read this year, but I know I read a lot of YA. Immersing myself in books really does make all the difference in the world.

C R Ward said...

I was part of a reading challenge last year. My goal was a book a week, 52 books for the year, and I actually read 82 books in 2010.

This year I'm keeping track on Goodreads, which is much easier. They also have a reading challenge, which I signed up for, and my goal for the year is 80 books.

SuseADoodle said...

I'm ADDICTED to audiobooks -- so a book has to be something extremely spectacular (or very short) for me to pick it up to read it -- so reading total last year was about 3. However, if you count in all the unabridged audiobooks (this allows me to keep doing my art at the same time as "reading") -- then my total goes up to almost 300! :-)
I gave up TV a few years ago and discovered audiobooks to take its place. I never really "watched" TV anyhow -- listened to it while doing my art and occasionally looked up if something sounded interesting. With 10 to 12 hours of listening time available a day -- I get lots "read" to me :-)
Our public library uses OverDrive Media to provide downloadable audiobooks to its patrons -- the license expires in a week so some longer books (like one that is over 36 hours long) sometimes need to be renewed to get them finished. Sometimes, when I have to rewind and relisten to a section more than three times, I end up turning off that book and moving to another for a while, then back to the first later on.
This year I intend to keep track of my listening and reading so I know my total at the end of the year. :-)