Goals for 2014 (and the sad truth about Bout of Books)

Last year, I made a few vague, last-minute goals for the new year. I was still new to blogging and I wasn't even sure what I was trying to accomplish in 2013. (I reviewed those goals in this post.) This year, though, I have just a bit of book blogging experience under my belt, and I've been able to come up with goals that I think will actually help focus my reading and blogging for the next year.

Reading Goals: 

• Read more than last year. More books, more pages. 
• Always have at least one book that I'm reading just for fun, and allow reading for fun to be a priority. 
• Use my e-reader. 
• Save the hard stuff for school, and focus more on light, fun books. (I read a lot of dense, thought-provoking classics for school, and then I go and try to read even more of them on my own. This year, I don't want to push myself so hard. Fun books are not just okay, they're good for me.) 

Bout of Books Sign-up

Excited for another round of Bout of Books? I am!

I don't know how much reading I'll actually be able to do given that it's the first week of school (reading aside from assigned reading, that is). So, my only goal is just to try to read for fun as much as I can in my spare time.

See you on Monday! I'll be reading!

The Best (and worst) of 2013

So I mentioned in my last post that I was excited to do an end-of-year book survey. I've noticed that not everyone loves these, but I love reading them on other people's blog and this is my first chance to do one of my own! 2013 was a great year for reading and I'm excited to look back with this end-of-year survey hosted by Jamie at the Perpetual Page-Turner.

1. Best Book You Read In 2013? (If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

This is a serious toughie--as I think it is for all of us...so yeah, I'm totally breaking it down by genre. 

Classic: The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (still working on that review, by the way...) 

Non-classic Fiction: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Non-classic Non-Fiction: This one is oddly the hardest to choose, but I think I'll go with Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard and My Life in France by Julia Child...closely followed by Help, Thanks, Wow by Anne Lamott.  

2013 Challenges Wrap-up

It's that time of year...challenge wrap-up time!

Back to the Classics Challenge 2013

I managed to complete all the required categories:

1. A 19th-century Classic: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
2. A 20th-century Classic: A Room With a View by E. M. Forster
3. A Pre-18th or 18th-century Classic: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
4. A Classic that relates to the African-American experience: The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (it doesn't deal directly with the African-American experience, but it's about the American South and has a few very key African-American characters, so I'm counting it...)
5. A Classic Adventure: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
6. A Classic that prominently features an animal: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

I wanted to do the optional categories, but I had way too much school stuff on my plate! I'm still really happy I completed all the required categories, though. 

2014 I Love Library Books Reading Challenge

I'm obsessed with the library, so this is naturally the perfect challenge for me.

2014 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

I did this challenge this year and I have almost made my goal! This coming year, I want to read even more--but, since it'll probably be a really busy year, I'll keep my goals minimal. 

Back to the Classics Challenge 2014

The Back to the Classics challenge is back! (Thanks to Karen for hosting it this time!) I had to sign up just to support, so hopefully I will be able to complete all the required categories this coming year (which I anticipate will be very busy)...