This time last year, I knew that the move would have a significant impact on my reading.  I just didn’t think it would be this bad.  Not counting the audiobooks, or the Jane Austen re-reads, I read a grand total of 20 books in 2010.  To get an idea of how bad this is, I’ve listed the previous years’ stats.  The good news?  No DNFs (I’ve put aside the holiday book I was attempting to read, but I plan to pick it up again):

• 2010: 20 (plus 8 re-reads/audiobooks=28)
• 2009: 36 (plus 14 DNF and 3 short stories = 53)
• 2008: 46 (plus 8 DNF = 54)
• 2007: 50* (plus 6 more DNFs=56)
• 2006: 52* *

* = This number includes 3 re-reads and 2 DNFs
* * = Started keeping stats in February. Includes 3 re-reads and 11 DNFs

As you can see, I haven’t been very consistent on how I keep stats. The funny thing is, I thought I was doing a pretty good job back in ’06 and ’07. I have Powerpoint slides. With graphs. And pie charts.

Anyway . . . my point is that, even with books that were Did Not Finish, I averaged 3 to 4 books a month.  I’m hoping that I can get back to amount — not counting the audiobooks.

“Speaking” of which . . .
This fall, I rediscovered the joy of audiobooks.  Not that I really ever lost it (for the last three years, I lived in with my parents and my mother loves the Harry Potter audiobooks –  she plays them constantly).  Of the six audiobooks I’ve listened to, five were checked out of the library.  I own a few, and I’ll read them in 2011, for the audio challenges I signed up for.

Time for more stats.  . .

• Total pages read (including audiobooks):  8,720 * * *
• Total audiobook time: 44 hrs, 28 mins
• Audiobook “pages” only: 1,597
• Paper pages: 7,123
• New-to-me authors: 6
• New-to-me series: 3
• Books published in 2010: 10

* * * = Compared to the 11,649 pages in 2009, and that was without the DNF books

Challenges:
The wrap-up posts are still pending (and so are some of the reviews), but I don’t need to them to know that I had a dismal year. Even so, it hasn’t prevented me from signing up for challenges hosted by various GoodReads groups (and one from Shelfari). Those tended to be mostly short-term challenges and I haven’t done so hot with them either. I’ve learned that short-term challenges aren’t for me, unless they’re something like a featured author — read a book of your choice written by that month’s featured author. That’s how I came to read Patricia Briggs. In January, I’m trying a featured book challenge.

The lack of success in 2010 also hasn’t prevented me from signing up for 2011 challenges. I really like the type that give the reader the option of different levels. I noticed a lot more of the hosts were doing that this year. I’m glad. I don’t know if I would have signed up for half of them if they all required 12+ books.

So just how badly did I do in 2010? Of the seventeen challenges hosted on personal blogs, two end in 2011 and three are perpetual. I’ve  successfully completed only three. They are:

• Pub 2010
• Romance Reading Challenge
• Holiday Reading Challenge

Yeah. Let’s not dwell on that.

Moving along . . .

Final Update on 2010 Goals:
Back in April, I did an initial “check in” regarding the goals I set in January 2010. Let’s see how it all panned out:

• Get back to reading Star Wars novels — In 2009, I did not read a single book. I have a huge backlist of the novels. UPDATE: read one in April! Final: Mostly fail. I read only one.
• Try to read more than one Georgette Heyer this year — I bought a few of her mysteries, so maybe I read one of each (romances and mysteries) Final:  FAIL. I read only one.
• Finish the backlog of last year’s reviews — I have several left to do. I posted one earlier today, here, with a new format. I’m going to try using this new format for all reviews. UPDATE: I was making progress with this until recently. Final: Good news! 2009 reviews are caught up! YAY!!
  
• Finish re-posting the “lost posts” from the last time I tanked the blog — Yeah, that’s still not done. Final: Did a few and the rest are in the draft folder. Save for Bloggiesta.
• Fix, again, the Author Index — goes in hand with the above. Final: Save for Bloggiesta
• Track number of pages read — includes remembering to annotate the page # I stop at when I decide a book is DNF. UPDATE: Yes!! Final: YAY!! Kept it up!
• Try to read more than one “In Death” books — I will never get caught up with this one if I don’t Final: FAIL
• Use my Sony Reader more — I bought it mainly to stash books/short stories for the time of the move. Final: FAIL. I’m just not an e-book person
• Look at my “books read” list from 2006-2008 and see if there’s a author I’ve been meaning to read again — and do so. Final: Mostly fail. I did read a short story by Gayle Wilson in the Christmas anthology, but I didn’t conscientiously make that choice. I also listened to the audiobook version of a Stephanie Rowe novel I’d already read. Not planned either.
• Do not get behind on 2010 reviews — even if it means not working on a 2009 backlogged one UPDATE: I was doing so good there for awhile. Final: *sigh* FAIL!

Wow. Only two goals met. Since I chose to defer the two “Tanking of the Blog 2009″ projects for Bloggiesta, I gave myself a pass on those.  I could have finished them over Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Top Ten:
Considering how few books I read this year, that would be half the list! I’ll have to come up with something else. I would love to do something clever again, something like this or this.   Whatever I decide, it’s a topic for another day and another post.

And on That Note:
So, that’s that.  Time to get all those pesky “incomplete challenge” posts out of the way, decide if there’s anything else I want to sign up for (on the fence about a few), and start “my goals for 2011″ post.  May I do better in 2011.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading,

Last autumn, I crashed my blog (which I haven’t had the time to finish reposting “lost” entries). I was behind with the scribblings that I call “reviews” before the event, and I was about to participate in the Read-a-Thon. Needless to say, I’ve had this stack of books just waiting for me to do something. On top of this, there’s another Read-a-Thon coming up, which could only make things worse. So, I thought, “Hmm. Mini reviews”. Now that I’m almost completely settled into my new home, I’m going to try to do individual, quick reviews, with links (hopefully) to what others have said.

Below is the list. I’ve added notes:

• Duel of Hearts ~~ may have to re-read this one (skip)
• Time Raiders: The Seduction (Cindy Dees)(Nocturne Bite) ~~ short story, so I’ll skip
• For the Love of Pete ~~ mini
• Three Bags Full ~~ mini
• “Falling for Anthony” (Meljean Brook), Hot Spell(anthology) ~~ first book in series is in TBR, will skip and re-read later.
• The Battle Sylph (McDonald, L. J.) ~~ want to do a longer post,  first in a series
• Magic Bleeds (Andrews, Ilona) ~~ either/or
• Secretive Stranger (Greene, Jennifer) ~~ mini
• Winter Kiss (Cooke, Deborah) ~~ either/or

Both Magic Bleeds and Winter Kiss are 4th books in my favorite on-going series. I can either yammer on about them, and be all spoiler-y in the process, or just be short. Whisper Kiss, book 5 in Cooke’s series, is currently sitting on my immediate “to read” list (potential Read-a-Thon candidate).

We’ll see how it all turns out.

I also got cable and internet connection set up.  I was suppose to have that done last weekend, but there were technical difficulties.

The new commute is pretty painless — and it would be even less painful if it wasn’t so hot and humid.  I like the new building and I can live with the new setup.

Have I got any reading done?  No.  Too tired when I’ve had free time.  However, I think I read when I’m doing the laundry, instead of unpacking.  And yet . . . most of the boxes in the basement are full of books — so, who knows?  I haven’t seen some of them in YEARS!  They’ve been in storage.

Your browsing through your feed reader (or whatever) and you come across a book cover for a book that’s not out yet, but the couple on the front looks just like/reminds you of characters from a totally different book??

It happened to me recently.  I was just minding my own business and suddenly, there they were:

The hero had short blond hair and well-muscled.  The heroine had long brown hair and it looked like she could wield a sword.   It was them. . .

Kate and Curran.

The cover reminded a little of the scene in Magic Strikes, near the end of Chapter 27. They just defeated a silver golem and both are wounded. Kate chews him out and Curran swoops her into his arms and asks if she had been worried about him.

Here’s the book cover. Cassie Ryan’s Seducing the Succubus. Added to the wishlist.

“Kiss me and I’ll kill you,” [Kate] warned.
“It might be worth it,” [Curran] said softly.

With a move cross country pending this summer (thanks to the Base Re-Alignment Commission), I have to be really flexible about any goals I’m going to set for myself. I’m not going to bother with setting a total number of books for the year. I only managed to finish 36 in 2009. If you count the short stories and the DNFs, I got closer to my goal of 60.

So instead, there will be just general type of goals (some just blog related). For instance:

• Get back to reading Star Wars novels — In 2009, I did not read a single book. I have a huge backlist of the novels.
• Try to read more than one Georgette Heyer this year — I bought a few of her mysteries, so maybe I read one of each (romances and mysteries)
• Finish the backlog of last year’s reviews — I have several left to do.  I posted one earlier today, here, with a new format.  I’m going to try using this new format for all reviews.
• Finish re-posting the “lost posts” from the last time I tanked the blog — Yeah,  that’s still not done.
• Fix, again, the Author Index — goes in hand with the above.
• Track number of pages read — includes remembering to annotate the page # I stop at when I decide a book is DNF.
• Try to read more than one “In Death” books — I will never get caught up with this one if I don’t
• Use my Sony Reader more — I bought it mainly to stash books/short stories for the time of the move.
• Look at my “books read” list from 2006-2008 and see if there’s a author I’ve been meaning to read again — and do so.
• Do not get behind on 2010 reviews — even if it means not working on a 2009 backlogged one

That’s all I can think of at the moment.  I’ll probably come up with several more after I post this. 

At the end of 2008, I had a hard time narrowing my list down to something less than half the list, so I never got around to actually doing one. At some point, I may re-visit the issue, but not today.

I had a slightly different problem in 2009. I haven’t finished scratching out my thoughts on six books. This, however, will not prevent me from making a list. I already know which books were my favorite among them.

In 2009, I read multiple books by the same author. In most cases, the books were from the same series. If I liked both equally, I counted both as one. There are fourteen books and one short story that received a 5-Star rating from me. Only two of those did not make the list.

So…on the the list:

10. The Man Behind the Cop (Janice Kay Johnson) — To quote myself: “This is definitely Bruce’s book. He’s a great character, even when he’s stubbornly clinging to the belief that he’ll morph into his father if he got too angry or pissed off. Fortunately, Karin is a grounded, quiet person. Normally. The scene where she gets into his face about his issues is my favorite. It didn’t surprise me when this book was nominated for a RITA.”

09.  Bedded for Diamonds (Kelly Hunter) — I read two books by Ms. Hunter, both featuring Bennett siblings (the other book is The Maverick’s Greek Island Mistress). Ms. Hunter’s books are humorous and her characters are likable, people you can relate to. I liked this book better than Maverick. Both Tristan and Pete (hero of Maverick) are wounded souls, but I liked Tristan’s story more than Pete’s. I was happy to learn that Ms. Hunter will be releasing books about the other two Bennett brothers. Both will be this year in the UK, through Mills & Boon.

08. Dark Crusade (Lori Devoti) — I’ve been hooked on Ms. Devoti’s Unbound series from the first. This one takes place entirely in a mythological place and definitely has a “Dorothy in Oz” feel to it. And a dragon.

07. Kiss of Fury (Deborah Cooke) — This is the second Dragonfire book. I also read the third book, Kiss of Fate. The reason I like Fury more than Fate is Donavon and Alex. I liked Donavon from the first moment we meet him in the prologue of Kiss of Fire, and Alex is perfect for him. Had I gotten around to reading Winter Kiss (book 4), I imagine that it would have been tougher to call. Delaney and Ginger, just from the sneak peek, grabbed me.

06.  Lie to Me (Starr Ambrose) — To quote myself: “One of the things I liked was that, absurd as it was for Ellie to break into the Banner’s house in the first place, Ellie never came across as a too-stupid-to-live heroine. She may be completely clueless about computers and can’t keep a job — even her cousin fired her from his hardware store because she talked people out of buying things. But Ellie can think on her feet and has a way with people that makes her likable, whether she’s chatting with the gathered Payton and Westfield relatives or talking to clients with her “business associate”, Rocky.” I have her next book in my TBR.

05.   For the Love of Pete (Julia Harper) — Like Lie to Me, if Zoey had crossed the line into the “too stupid” zone, I wouldn’t have liked the book as much as I did. The author writes historicals as Elizabeth Hoyt, however, I hope she continues to write contemporaries as well.

04.  Ravenous (Sharon Ashwood) — To quote myself:  “I really loved this book. I liked the author’s style and I loved the characters. Holly is just your average girl next door (almost) — the woman on the cover can’t possibly be her. Alessandro is strong, but not over-the-top alpha. I’m looking forward to the next book.” Had I been more pro-active with reading lately, the second book would also be on this list. I’ve read a bit of the sneak peek for the third book and I’m looking forward to that one also.

03. Jessica Andersen’s The Final Prophecy — Dawnkeepers (Book 2) and Skykeepers (Book 3) — Of the two, I liked Skykeepers more. Michael was a mystery and Sasha was a new character. Looking forward to the next book.

02. Line of Scrimmage (Marie Force) — I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did. Football isn’t my thing. Fortunately, it’s in the background (the season is over when the book starts). It’s a “second chance” book, and when it starts out, it seems all the blame for the breakup lies with the guy, Ryan. But as you get to know them and learn about them, it becomes clear that Susannah wasn’t entirely fault-free and Ryan is a good guy.

01. Ilona Andrews — Magic Strikes and “Magic Mourns” (Must Love Hellhounds) from the Kate Daniels series; On the Edge — There is no way I could pick just one. The Kate Daniel series just gets better and better. The fourth book is due out in May and is a turning point for the characters and the series. The short story was a real treat. There will be another short story, this one about Kate and Saiman’s first meeting. As for On the Edge, it was the first full-length book I read entirely on my Sony Reader. And though I didn’t enjoy the experience of reading it on the Reader, I really loved the book. A follow-up is due later this year.

Today, I got my gifts.  My secret Santa is Heather from Gofita’s Pages.  The thing that brought the biggest smile to my face was the hat.  I recently took up loom knitting and to get a knitted hat was such a kick!  I just finished a dishcloth, over the Thanksgiving holiday, with the same pattern.   I also got a book, Intimations of Austen: Stories Inspired by the Works of Jane Austen by Jane Greensmith; a box of candy canes and assorted chocolate candies (more in the bag).  The gift bag, sadly, received grievous wounds during transport.  I will not be able to reuse it.

Thanks, Heather, for the lovely gifts!!

Below are the pictures (including two of the dishcloth and the project I’m currently working on).

Intimations of Austen

Knitted Pink Ribbed Hat

Candy Canes, Chocolate, gift bag, and card

The dishcloth that matches the hat. . .

Side 1 and

Side 2

. . .and the scarf that doesn’t.

Pink Scarf

I’m new to loom knitting. I don’t know how to knit using needles and my crochet skills are very limited. My mother, however, can crochet. She’s been on a crocheting binge for several months, after finishing up a huge plastic canvas project that took over a year to do (20 bags). She had already purchased the knitting looms, but hadn’t sat down to figure it out. There was a hat that caught her interest and she attempted to make it.

Unfortunately, she chose one of the harder patterns. The top of the hat was a weave, similar to those potholder projects I did as a little girl. The instructions were confusing to someone who never worked with looms before. Seeing how frustrated she was, I took over and she went to crochet. I didn’t know what I was doing anymore than she did, but I was interested in the had too, so soldiered on until I got the hang of it. The first hat was somewhat of a success: the weave came out correct, but the brim wasn’t right — it still looks nice though. The second and third attempts came out better.  At some point, I may even post pictures of the hats.

After that successful endeavor, I decided that I would make my mother the Mobius Shawl and it would be a Christmas gift (I was giving myself plenty of time to finish it).  The pattern looked interesting and simple.  No skipped pegs or changing yarn, just “knit” and “purl”.  The project suggested  Lion Brand Moonlight Mohair, which I thought was very pretty, and I chose “Tundra”.  The pictures don’t do the yarn justice.  It’s very elegant looking in real life.

Since I had to order the yarn, I also looked over the other projects and decided which ones I would like to do, and pick the yarn I wanted to use.  After the yarn arrived, I got off to a rocky start.  I was getting frustrated with the casting on part of the project, which is the very first thing you do.  I kept making mistakes or the tension was too tight.  Eventually, I manage to do 30 rows, which is the base pattern for the shawl.  By that point, I needed a break.  I found a nice box with a lid, put the loom, yarn, and my notes in it, and set it aside.  That was back in March.  I didn’t touch it again until the beginning of November.

Crunch time!  I was going to be off for a week, so I figured I could get most of it done then.  I could work on the remainder, I told myself, on weekends and after work (seriously cutting into my reading time I might add).  So, I pulled out the box and re-familiarized myself with the techniques.  I was surprised to find that the pattern seemed way easier than it looked back in the spring.  I figured that I need 165 rows to have the right size shawl.  Breaking it down into groups of 15 made it even more manageable, and less daunting, than just seeing the number 165 when you only had about 35-40 rows done!  By the time I return to work (as I reported), I was in the home stretch.  I finished the project on 12 November.  I was elated!  I had a bit of trouble with the finishing (joining the two ends together to make the twist), but it sorted itself out and it didn’t turn out too bad.  I even made a major goof (started binding off on the wrong end) that was fixable — and you can’t even tell I made a mistake!

Then I tried it on.

It’s too small.

It needs to be at least 30 rows longer.  When I read the instructions, I thought I was 100% clear on the number of times to repeat the 1-30 pattern.  And I was, except I counted the initial row of 30 when I sat down to figure out the total number of rows.  This is what the instructions said:

• [Rep rows 1-30] 3 (4, 5)
• [Rep rows 1-15] once.

I needed to repeat the pattern 5 more times: 30 x 6 + 15 = 195.  Instead, I repeated it only 4 more times: 30 x 5 + 15 =  165

So, what did I do with it?

I gave it to my father’s other “official traveling companion”, Nancy the rat bear. My mother will understand completely (she made a shawl that ended up being the size of a tablecloth):

Nancy, the OES Bear

Below is a close up of the shawl.

The twist

Pattern Book

These last few days I’ve been neglecting blog maintenance and reading in favor of working on a project I started earlier this year, and I want to give my mother for Christmas:  a shawl, made using a knitting loom.  I probably would have had it done today had I resumed working on it a day earlier (or if today hadn’t been devoted to errands and a visit from my brother and his family).   The project is 165 rows.  I had only 33 rows done when I put it aside originally, and I have approximately 45 rows left to knit.  I got the bulk of it “knitted” Thursday afternoon and Friday.  I actually resumed working on the project Wednesday, but very little progress was made due to the need to re-familiarize myself with the techniques and the pattern.  The shawl will be only the second project I’ve ever loom knitted.   Prior to that was a hat from the same leaflet — and I had to do three of them before I got the hang of it.

I’ll try to post a picture when I complete it.  Note:  It is NOT the one one the front cover of this leaflet.