July 03, 2012

6 Month Recap

I originally started this blog back in January of this year to keep track of the books I read. This was influenced by my signing up for the 50 Book Pledge that The Savvy Reader started in 2011. I stumbled across The Savvy Reader on Twitter one day and saw all the talk about the 50 Book Pledge and I was intrigued. I know I read  a lot, but what's a lot? So I decided to keep track this year. I also decided to start blogging about it because, while I do read a lot, I am terrible at describing books, and wanted to see if this is something I could work on through writing about books.

Since I don't read nearly the amount of books per month that some of my favorite book bloggers do, it never seemed necessary to have monthly recaps. Instead, I told myself I would do a 6-month recap. Here's what I've learned so far:

  • I read in spurts (and I'm pretty sure I always have). I may devour a few books in a week, but then I won't read at all the next. Some days I'll be like, "oh shit, I haven't actually read anything other than other blogs since last Wednesday". I'd like to work on reading all time - meaning - consciously make the effort to read a little bit everyday. 
  • Blogging is tough. Or, finding the time to blog is tough. I'm not sure which is tougher. Sometimes the words flow, sometimes not. I was so worried at the beginning about who might read my "reviews" and judge my lack of writing competency, but now I'm trying to "just write". I'm not a reviewer, I just want to talk about books. I also have to allow myself to blog more. It's so easy to say to myself, "oh you can write tomorrow...", but then tomorrow turns into a week later.
  • Lastly, I don't think I like the name of my blog anymore. At first I liked it's bluntness, but now, not so much. I don't want to limit my blog to just talking about books (as evidenced by The Big Blue Dog posts), so I'd like a name that reflects more me and my life. This is code for: suggest new blog names for me please!  

Now for some reading stats (cause stats are fun guys!):

Books read this year so far: 19

The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay
The Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
From Away by Michelle Ferguson
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens (review to come)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell 
Beyond the Rear View Mirror by Shelley Streit
Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (review to come)
Sacré Bleu by Christopher Moore (review to come)

And yes, I did just link up every post for you! 

Number of pages read: 6416

Percentage of general fiction read: 42%

Percentage of female authors read: 68%

Percentage of Canadian authors read: 21%

This year so far has also been a year of many "firsts" for me. I listened to my first audio book. I read my first fantasy book, my first mystery novel and my first graphic novel. I received my first copy of a book from an author for review. I hosted my very first giveaway! And I've met some awesome blogger peeps on this journey. Unfortunately, I'm falling behind in the 50 book pledge (I really want to hit 50), so I need to do a little more reading and a little less time wasting! 

Thanks to my readers and followers for sticking with me and following along. I appreciate each and every one of you and your comments. 

Happy Reading!


8 comments:

  1. Well done my friend!!!! I propose a reading date. U me Saigon and a park. Coffee and minimal conversation!! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like a date!! Next nice day off - let's do it! :)

      Delete
  2. You've read some pretty awesome books! Good job!

    Personally, I like the name of your blog ... probably the one in your web address best, "Let's Eat Books." What you could do is make up a header and put some kind of tagline underneath like, "The musings of a book-lover, dog-lover, and general lover of life." That way it's not JUST about books. Or maybe make up another page that's about you or about the blog where you kind of outline what the blog is to you. Just a suggestion! :)

    I really loved The Night Circus, The Fault in Our Stars, and The Virgin Cure. I *still* need to read more grown-up Neil Gaiman books (I'm partial to his kid's lit stuff). I keep accumulating them on my shelf, but never seem to get around to them. That's what happens when your TBR pile encompasses bookcases.

    And Savvy Reader is awesome! Actually, HarperCollins Canada in general is awesome. I'm glad that the 50 Book Pledge encouraged you to start a blog! I hope you keep it up. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you found me! Your lovely comment made my day :)

      I panicked when I was creating my blog and Eat Books wasn't available as a web address, but I liked it at the time, etc etc. I wish I had given it a bit more thought though. And yes, I have been thinking of a header, just haven't decided 100% yet - although I like yours! :)

      I've always been a more fiction reader, but I am loving YA more and more. There's just not enough time to read everything I want to read! So I try and mix it up. Really, I'll read almost anything, although sci-fi and fantasy are low on my list. And don't even talk to me about my TBR pile! LOL. It's outta control. And it doesn't help that new, awesome books keep coming out everyday few days!

      Delete
    2. Ha ha ... let's NOT talk about the TBR pile! I like to buy books, so I have BOOKSHELVES of unread books! I really need to stop accepting review books and start reading the ones that I own!

      If you're looking for a simple header, I'd love to put one together for you ... if you have some pictures, or colours, or something you'd like in it, send me an email and let me know. I'm not really fancy when it comes to headers, but I like clean and simple.

      One of my favourite musicians, Ben Folds, did a CD with author Nick Hornby and there's one song on it where Nick Hornby talks to music ... one of the things he says is that a new book is published every 30 seconds and that it would take you 15 years just to read the title of every book written. That's INSANE! I have major anxiety when I think about all the good books that are out there and how I'll never get to read the majority of them!

      Delete
    3. Wow, that's so nice of you to offer! I like clean and simple, too! I will definitely put some though into it and let you know :)

      Oh my god, just reading that bit about books being published every 30 seconds gives ME anxiety! When I was little, I thought I could read every book in the library if I tried, and proceeded to check out books starting at 'A'. How naive ;p I think this is why I rarely do re-reads - there's just too many books out there!

      Delete
    4. I have hundreds of books (read: UNREAD books) in my home library and I feel like I'll never get through them ... yet I buy more ALL THE TIME! There are so many good books out there!

      I do reread sometimes ... I have some from university that I remember loving, so I'd like to check them out again. What I need is an extra 12 hours attached to each day ... that should ease the anxiety!

      Delete
    5. I think it would be impossible to never have books in my TBR pile. Unless I was on bed rest or house arrest - but then I would just order books on line!

      There are so many books on my shelf that are considered "old" in the reading world, but I still want to read them! Now that I'm blogging, I would like to re-read some of my favorite books so that I can write about them and hopefully remember more about them other than "this is my favorite book, but I can't really tell you why" LOL.

      Delete