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Monthly Update – November 2011

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November

Not a good reading month for me.  One book.  All I managed to finish was one book.  And that one book?  I actually started in October.  Currently, I have three books waiting for my attention: Bespelling Jane Austen, First Grave on the Right, and Catching Fire.  It’s not that I can’t get into them, it’s just that I haven’t devoted any time to reading lately.  I started Catching Fire so I could complete the 2nd in a Series Challenge.  I’m enjoying both the Jane Austen anthology and First Grave on the Right, so I will be picking those back up.  Soon.  I’m beginning to think that, perhaps, I should start considering October my unofficial “year end” for reading challenges.

I also only posted one review.  It would have been two, but I haven’t taken the time to rewrite/revise the second one yet.  It’s for Darkfire Kiss.  I had issues with the heroine and I’m trying not to be snarky.  It’s not as bad as it was when I first read the book, time has soften some of that, but I tend to backslide if I spend too much time looking at it.

November was the month I prepared for next year’s reading.  I signed up for several blog-hosted challenges, I unveiled my personal challenges, and I set up my 2012 pages.  Though I didn’t plan on it, I also ditched the Thesis framework — I don’t know enough about the technical side (unlike html) to attempt major changes in the layout.  I initially switched to one of the themes that comes with WordPress (Twenty-Eleven), but I liked the Twenty-Ten theme better.  We’ll see how long this one lasts.

I’ve been keeping up with the “Waiting on Wednesday” meme.  I try to have at least three Wednesdays worth of posts scheduled, so I’m not scrambling on Tuesdays.  I also have a tentative schedule of which books will be featured so I know before I start a new entry which book is next, based on its release date.  The meme itself is quite popular, so there are a lot of participants.  It’s a bit daunting to try and visit all of them.  I’m thankful for the bloggers who stop by and leave a comment.

I signed up for two book swaps and The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge.  I got my gifts this past week — though I have no idea who sent me the book for the Book Geeks Gift Exchange.  I will be doing a separate post for those this week, to display the books and thank my Santas.  And, no, I haven’t started the challenge yet.

Looking ahead to 2012: Below are the challenges I’ve signed up for, so far — plus the personal challenges I’ve created for myself.  I was trying to cut back on challenges, but I think it’s safer to say I’m looking to commit to lower levels (going for 6 books instead of 12, optional reviews in some cases, too).

Books Read:

Note: “Goodreads” means the book fit one or more of the challenges hosted by the various groups I joined. The link is to my tracking post on that site. “Personal” means the book fit one or more of the challenges I’m doing for myself (not hosted somewhere else). The link is to the master list under the “2011” tab.
  • Serpent’s Kiss (Harrison, Thea) – Goodreads

Audiobooks:

Note: I will continue to count audiobooks toward “total pages read”, using the physical book’s page count. If I own a copy, the page number will be the page the story ends on (not counting any excepts, author’s notes, etc.). If I don’t, I will get the page number from a on-line source (Amazon, Goodreads, etc). Unless otherwise noted, the audiobooks count toward the two audiobook challenges only.
  • NONE

2010 – 2011 Backlogged Reviews:

Posted:

The Challenges:

Challenges Completed this month:
Connie Willis Mini Challenge: 2/2

Incomplete (Ended in Novemer):
N/A

= Will complete; = Maybe; X = Won’t

2011 Challenges:
The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge (2-4 books): 0/?
2nds Challenge: 11/12
X Audiobook Challenge: 5/20
X Blogger Recommendation: 3/5
X Contemporary Romance: 4/10
X Cruisin’ Thru the Cozies:3/6
X Harlequin/Silhouette: 2/6
X Historical Fiction Challenge: 8/15
X Retold Fairy Tales: 0/3
X SF Romance: 2/5
X Whisper Stories in My Ear (audio): 5/12

Perpetual Challenges:
101 Fantasy Challenge (Month): 0
101 Fantasy Challenge (Year): 2
Grand Total since 2009: 6
~~ & ~~
Georgette Heyer (Month): 0
Georgette Heyer (Year): 2
Grand Total since 2008: 4
~~ & ~~
In Death (Month): 0
In Death (Year): 0
Grand Total since 2010: 0

Totals (Monthly/Yearly)

Total Read (Month): 1
Total Heard (Month): 0
Grand Total w/o Audiobooks (Year): 64
Grand Total w/Audiobooks (Year): 69
~~ & ~~
Total Audio Hours(Month): 0
Total Audio Hours (Year): 63h, 26m
~~ & ~~
Total Pages Read (Month): 312
Grand Total w/o Audiobooks (Year): 21,051
Grand Total w/Audiobooks (Year): 22,874

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Comments

Monthly Update – November 2011 — 4 Comments

  1. Hello, Christina,

    I got your name in the Book Geek exchange, and, glad to hear your book arrived. I hope you enjoy it, and, Merry Christmas!

    • Thank you! I’m working on an official thank you post (darn camera battery needed to be recharged. I send you a link when it’s up! 😀

      Merry Christmas!

  2. November wasn’t a very good reading month for me, but December sure has been! Especially thanks to your Secret Santa present! I read Blue Nights in one sitting. Thank you so much. 😀