2012 - Recap and Resolutions

There is only one more day left of this year which is a perfect opportunity to do a small recap of this last year and maybe mention some plans for 2013.

This year was the first time World Book Night happened in the U.S. and I was able to hand out 20 copies of Ender's Game to unsuspecting students at my community college. I hosted Script Frenzy at my library. I went to LOEX of the West in California and also traveled to Cancun with my family. My brother was married in November. Despite much procrastination I've managed to make it to the 3/4 mark in my story during NaNoWriMo and I've broken back into the music scene and have been playing timpani for a great wind ensemble. I've also started taking classes to get a certificate in Music Technology.

Best:

Movie - The Avengers

Books

I managed to read 44 books, only one away from my goal of 45. Of those books there are two that have stuck with me: Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake and Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers. I would recommend both to almost anybody. 

Oryx and Crake is written with an amazing narrative voice. I slipped right into the story and it left me wanting more. Luckily, it's a series and I plan on reading the next hopefully after I read Atwood's well-known and highly recommended A Handmaid's Tale. 

 

Behind the Beautiful Forevers was written by a journalist and is a non-fiction story about people who live in the slums of Mumbai outside of an airport. Boo tells the story with great clarity yet it didn't feel like non-fiction. It was interesting to see how each of the characters viewed their world and how they tried to survive in such a bleak environment.

Music

I have to say my favorite finds for this year were:

Gotye and Jalan Crossland

Plans or Resolutions

Someone told me that my "resolutions" for the new year were not creative enough so here is my tentative list of hopeful goals for this next year:

• Actually finish my first story
• Read 35 novels - I know this is 10 less from 2012 but part of this goal is to read more classic novels which will take me a bit longer and I want to make sure I actually have the time to enjoy them.
• Work on researching and then outlining a libretto or musical
• Research grad schools (possible apply for grad school)
• Write more
• Research and possibly publish an article
• Finish a self-designed quilt
• Design and start a steampunk &/or Renaissance costume(s)

...and so on

Anyways, it's been a great year and I look forward to all the possibilities that 2013 can bring!

Happy New Year!

Holiday Reading

Drawn from my library's popular reading collection, here are some titles our users have checked out for the holiday break:

• Sacre Bleu/Christopher Moore
• The Twelve/Justin Cronin (Sequel to The Passage)
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy/John le Carré
• The Paris Wife/Paula McLain
• Tigerheart/ Peter David
• The Shoemaker's Wife/Adriana Trigiani

What will I be reading over the holiday break? Hopefully two Wheel of Time novels, a novella by one of my all time favorite authors, Deanna Raybourn, and quick mystery by Lisa Jackson.
 

What are you reading this winter?

Review - Daughter of Smoke and Bone

 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

 

I’m one of those people who picks up a book based on the cover, and the blue masquerade mask on this one is what caught my attention. When I read the description about angels verses demons and the girl caught in between I was intrigued enough to look into it further and purchase this YA fantasy book for my library. So far the people I know who’ve read it have really enjoyed it.

 

Karou is a unique student with naturally growing blue hair and plenty of tattoos who attends a special school in Prague and has a best friend who comes from a long line of puppeteers. If you don’t think that’s fun and interesting enough, let’s throw in her demon-based family who live in a room that has a front door which opens to anywhere in the world. And teeth, don’t forget the teeth.

 

The first third of this book I really did enjoy: strong female character, wonderful cities, cool demon-like characters, neat artistic ideas. This only changes when black hand marks begin showing up on doors and dark angels appear. Then you shoved into the love story. If you are a fan of romance, great. You’ll really enjoy this. I like small bits that support plot and don’t get too cumbersome. I found the romance to be a bit too intense, too fast and too…much. But after we got through the initial part of it (the second third of the book) the story continues on with plot, which I love.

 

If you like this, pick up the second in the series, Days of Blood and Starlight.

 

 

 

Read-alikes: Brian K. Vaughn’s Saga – this is a new graphic novel series. I just happened to pick this up at the same time and I was impressed with how they complemented each other. Highly recommended.