I’m Back! 2015 Reading and Writing Resolutions

 

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I profusely apologize for my sudden disappearance in the middle of November. I was really enjoying participating in BookBlogWriMo but not preparing and attempting to write and post all on the same day failed miserably for me.

My failed attempt at BookBlogWriMo has taught me that if I want to succeed at this blogging thing I really do need to be more organized and on top of things (aka having posts ready in advance, knowing what I want to say, etc).

Do you want to know what’s funny and totally hypocritical about what I just typed – this is entire post is being written on a whim. You know what they say…old habits die hard and all that jazz.

I think the best thing about a post reintroducing me into the blogging sphere in the new year is to post some resolutions I have for myself when it comes to reading and blogging. Let’s start with reading resolutions, shall we?

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I was really slumpy when it came to reading last year – meaning I didn’t read for months on end sometimes. I ended up completing my reading challenge of 30 books, but I personally found that number pitiful for myself. This year I am going to try my best to read 50 books in 2015. In order to complete this challenge I need to learn how to put down a book if I am not enjoying it. I’m stubborn when it comes to reading; I push myself to read things I’m not enjoying just so I can say that I’ve finished something and proved myself wrong. This is what usually leads to a reading slump (well, this and Netflix). This is one thing I 100% want to try and avoid this year.

Another reading resolution I have is to read more new releases. My attempts at reading new literature last year were pitiful as I only read two books published in 2014. I am going to try my best to read books that aren’t just on my bookshelf TBR, but new releases as well. Ideally I would love to do this every month, but knowing me that isn’t going to happen – though considering I now work in a bookshop this could very easily be done.

The next thing I want to do is read more classics. I’ve read my fair share of modern day classics, but for some reason I am horrified of old school classics. I own so many of them that this will be relatively easy to do, I just need to do it. I’m going to try and read one classic novel (modern or older) a month.

Put a dent in the ‘1001 Books You Should Read Before You Die’ list. I’m doing something similar with movies this year. I want to be able to say ‘yeah I’ve seen this’ or ‘yeah, I read this’ and actually have an opinion on it. I love pop-culture – and discussions surrounding it – and there are some movies and books I feel like I haven’t seen or read that I know I need to rectify. I will be using this list so if anyone wants to join I’ll probably be doing a post a month about my progress with that.

Read more graphic novels. I feel as though this is on my list every year. There isn’t much else to say on the matter, just that it needs to happen.

I don’t know if this belongs in my blogging resolutions or reading resolutions but I want to organize my Goodreads TBR shelves. My single want to read shelf at the moment is a mess of things I have just added for shits and giggles. I want to go through the list and add more categories to create a more plausible and organized TBR. This will probably include going through my bookshelf and finding all the books I own that I haven’t read yet and using that as one list because we all know that will be pretty long.

Okay, that seems to be enough for my reading resolutions for 2015. Some things will be expanded on in stand alone posts, but they will come later.

Now on to the blogging resolutions!

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I think the first resolution I have is pretty simple: be more organized. Make a schedule and follow it, utilize a calendar, plan ahead, make notes. I have never been an organized person – I prefer to do things last minute – but if I really want this to keep moving forward I need to get my shit together and be on top of things. This is going to be a struggle, but I think I can do it!

Utilize my multimedia skills to include more pictures, videos, and audio clips. I have the programs, I have the tools, I have the skills, I just need to actually do something with them now! This takes a bit more time, but I need to be able to make time for stuff that will only enhance the blogging experience.

Be more active in the blogging community. I started this last year but I want it to do even more next year. Making friends in the community is something I would love to do because y’all seem so awesome!

Work on finalizing a review format. I struggle with reviews, of this I am sure. I try to say knowledgable and informative things but I think they all come out in one giant ramble. I want to work on coming up with a good, concise way of sharing my thoughts on books with everyone.

And finally I want to come up with more original post and/or do more fun things like tags. Journalism taught me that content is key; if you give your audience quality content people are going to come back and seek out what you write. I want to make sure that all my posts are fun, informative, and interactive. I want to come up with original stuff and participate in things already going around. I want to make sure that my content is at a level I am happy with!

Well, that’s it for my reading and blogging resolutions for 2015! Let me know if you have anything similar, different, something I should add. If you have written your own resolutions feel free to share the link to your blog as I would love to see what you want to complete in 2015!

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Update: World (One Country) Traveller

Hello all! In case you were wondering about the lack of posts as of late I managed to find a cheap last minute flight to Croatia for four days…so that’s where I am. When I’m back on Saturday I’m going to be writing another few reviews, an audiobook first impressions post, AND literary places I’ve been this month since, in the past week, I have been to TWO places from book adaptations (pictures will be included).
So yeah, that’s what has been happening recently. I was going to write a post here but then I realised I had no idea how to format anything on the iPad.
Here is a little sneak peek at what I’ve been up to:

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I’ve also been doing some more reading of The Maze Runner and I’m almost finished listening to City of Bones on audiobook…you know, on top of all the reading for my dissertation I’ve been doing.
What have you all been reading this week?

Dissertation: Adults and YA

Fellow book bloggers and book lovers, I am in need of some help.

I am currently working on my dissertation on Young Adult fiction and its adult readership and it would be great if you all could answer the following few questions in the comments and pass it around to other book lovers you know.

1. How old are you?
2. Do you read YA? Why or Why not?
3. How did you start reading YA?
4. Do you think YA books are marketed differently to other books? Expand

And that’s it! I know some of the questions might hold rather difficult and long answers but any help you can send my way will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance and you all deserve a (cyber) cookie or two.

J.K. Rowling Gives Us a Glimpse Into Grown Up Harry Potter’s Life and it’s Perfect

I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to wake up as I was yesterday. I was doing my daily morning social media cruise and I came across the announcement that, my queen, J.K. Rowling would be releasing a short story about none other than Mr. Harry Potter himself at age 34.

I think I may have shed a mini tear, but don’t tell anyone.

Of course, in my haste and shock I forgot my Pottermore username AND password – the fates were working against me. Once I finally got into the site I told myself I needed to calm down because I was going to scare my roommate and my neighbours with my constant shrieking.

And then I finally read it (I probably shed some more tears here).

It was written by Rita Skeeter, so you know from the get go things are going to be fantastic.

Things we learned (and cried about) from the short story:

  • Harry’s going grey. Something I am not surprised at; LOOK AT HIS STRESSFUL LIFE.
    • He’s also still an Auror and is said to have a cut on his cheek. Potter, chill out.
  • Harry took James and Albus to meet Viktor Krum and were friendly (I teared up…I was very emotional all morning)
  • Ron’s hair is thinning – I laughed.
  • He also left his job at the ministry to co-manage Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes with George (insert SO many tears here).
  • Hermione is as boss as ever. Literally and figuratively; she’s the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement AND she’s pegged to move even higher. YOU GO GIRL.
    • Skeeter kept calling her by Granger and it makes me wonder if she kept her last name. If she did I’ll just add that the my current list a mile long about why Hermione is the best role model for girls/women/boys/men/people/frogs/dogs/cats/unicorns/everyone.
  • Charlie is still unmarried and as Skeeter put it so well: “why?” Why indeed, Skeeter. Why indeed.
  • Luna Lovegood is still the Luna Lovegood we all know and love  as she was “sweeping around the VIP section in robes composed of flags of all sixteen qualifying countries.”
    • She also has twin boys
  • Neville is a Herbology teacher (which we knew) and his wife, Hannah, is applying for a job at Hogwarts as Matron. I guess ol’ Pomfrey has had enough.
  • Last, but certainly not least (because this is probably my favourite update) Teddy Lupin is a little blue haired 16-year-old  rebel who is always in dark corners (*wink wink nudge nudge*) with Bill and Fleur’s kid Victoire.

Wasn’t it nice to hear about the old gang again? It’s crazy that it is 2014 and yet this small article can throw an entire fandom into a frenzy like we were back in the golden ages.

I think the only thing I was disappointed in was that this was not about the Marauders, but that is because I am biased and love them more than is probably natural (Lupin’s story on Pottermore was like a godsend for me).

How did you like the update? Is it everything you wanted? Are you Marauder crazy like me and want ALL THE INFORMATION? Let me know!

I got a new Twitter for this page, it is @throughpgs so give it a follow and join the fun!

Dishonour me, dishonour my cow

Surprise! I’m back.

So, I’m a horrible person and I am extremely sorry about completely neglecting this blog for almost an entire year. I feel bad enough as it is, but please feel free to dishonour me more than Mushu did Mulan.

The last time I posted I was all about changing my blog to a multi-purpose blog, but now I’m going to go back to my roots and keeping with an all out book blog. No more ramblings of my life and what not.

I’ve done a bit of reading since the last time I posted so right after this post I’m going to start doing a whole bunch of reviews, stuff on movie adaptations and so on and so forth. First up, since it was the first book I finished after I stopped blogging, is going to be a little review on John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines. After that I’ll try my best to remember the order of things I have read/movie adaptations I have watched because there has been a LOT going on!

I’m going to end this post now so I can write up my review. I hope you will all welcome me back with open arms, and hopefully grab a few new arms as I go along.

See you very, very soon!
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