I suck at blogging

My last post was in October! Crapsticks!

Sorry guys! Maybe I'll feel a little bit better now that my life is a bit different, and I can actually update more regularly. In fact, here's a giant excuse that I've never been able to talk about before but now totally can:

My job sucked. There were a few good points (best boss ever, nice and casual work environment, etc.), but those were the only perks. My stress levels were always through the roof over the last few years, and without going into details, I was just really miserable. But luckily I have left for greener pastures at a new employer, and I have high hopes for my blogging schedule.

So things are going well. I'm still horseback riding and loving it, except for that one incident that involved me hitting the ground in a rather hard manner and resulted in several weeks of chiropractic work. ;) That aside, it's been a good time. I even got to jump Buckie about a week ago, which was great! It wasn't a high jump, but considering I haven't gone over a fence on horseback since I was 17, it really felt great.

I've also read two books so far this year. The first, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, was utterly adorable. This book was just so cute, slightly whimsical, and it made me want to be back in high school flirting with cute boys with accents. I really loved this book!!

The second book I read was Vixen, the first book in the series The Flappers by Jillian Larkin. Having recently read Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen, it was interesting to compare and contrast the two since they're both YA books taking place only five years from each other in the 1920s. I really liked both, but there were things I disliked about both as well. For instance, I preferred the characters in BYT, but I thought Vixen has a stronger storyline. Either way, I would absolutely recommend both books, and I have to say that both books have absolutely stunning artwork. In fact, here they both are:

So yes. Hoping for a little blog renewal action here in 2011!

Back in the groove?

Miss me?

So here's the deal: Work has been killing me the past few months. I mean seriously, I feel like I've been to hell and back, which hasn't left much time for anything extra, blogging included. At the moment it's sort of a calm between the two storms though because I'm gearing up to get super busy again. Let's hope I can get through this busy period with a little more grace than I did the last one!

So here's an update on my life: I am now at 52 new books for the year, and I'm currently working on my ninth reread. I'm not going to do a blog post on every book I've read since Wake, but I can give you a quick summary here (and I just listed them, I think I have them all...):

Fade by Lisa McMann (Dream Catcher #2) - Good, but majorly awkward to read.
Gone by Lisa McMann (Dream Catcher #3) - Good ending to the series.
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #2) - Good, once I got into it.
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #3) - Best of the series, I think!
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games #3) - Uh-may-zing, but no shocker there!
Columbine by Dave Cullen - Wonderful book about a horrific event. Definitely recommend!
A Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (The Infernal Devices #1) - I went all fangirl. Loved.
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory (Cousins' War #2) - Good, but not her best.
While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin - Beautiful! I loved it, like I love all her books.
The Exile by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Graphic Novel) - First graphic novel I've read, and not bad!

Out of all those, I would have to say my favorites were: Mockingjay, Columbine, A Clockwork Angel, and While We're Far Apart.

Let's see... what else. Since my last blog update, I went on a business trip to California that I was NOT looking forward to, but shockingly I ended up having a great time! My dad flew in for a meeting the evening my meetings wrapped up, and so we were able to spend a couple days hanging out on the west coast. Kinda fun that this summer he and I spent time on the east coast and the west!

In September I made an impromptu visit to Maryland/Washington DC for my best friend's birthday. I've never been to DC (or Maryland), so that was great to not only see her, but have her show me around somewhere I've never been. It was wonderful! The weekend after that, the hubs and I went to St. Lucia for a few days. It was g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s. Even though it rained most of the time we were there, it was so beautiful and relaxing. I don't know if he agrees, but I wouldn't mind going back someday! We went ziplining while we were there too, and let me tell you: If you have never ziplined, you NEED to. Even Hubs, who is scared of heights, had an absolutely amazing time doing it.

After we were back from St. Lucia, I then took a road trip up to Chicago with my mom for her 30th high school reunion. It was fun to visit my hometown, and I was able to visit my grandpa's grave a few times as well (it was somewhat cathartic). My only regret about the whole thing is that by that time I was TIRED of traveling! I wish we had gone at a time when I wasn't so busy and tired and stressed out because I would've appreciated it even more.

In between travel and excessive work, I've been keeping up with horseback riding and LOVING it. It's hard, and my muscles are certainly not in the shape they used to be (or my lungs!). But I'm working on it. Just last night I rode a new horse named Buckie. Buckie is a (formerly wild) mustang, and I have to say that was a first! I've never ridden a mustang before. He was a lot of fun though, even though he was a bit difficult to ride. My instructor brought up the idea of possibly leasing him since his owner has several other horses and doesn't ride him often. Leasing wouldn't cost much more per month than my lessons, and it would give me the opportunity to ride a LOT more often. While I love the idea of riding more than once a week, I admit I was on the fence about the idea last night. I brought it up to hubs, and he said I should do it. This morning I woke up thinking about it, and all day I've been thinking about it and getting a bit giddy at the same time. In other words, I think I knew what I wanted long before my mind officially made itself up to the idea. Hopefully it will be something that can be worked out!

Upcoming for me? Work and NaNoWriMo in December. I don't know how successful I will be this year because I'm just as busy this year as I was last year. But I'm going to give it a shot! It always is fun!

I guess that's about it. You're caught up on my life. :) I'll try to get to updating the blog a bit more frequently now. I promise.

It's a confession kinda day

Confessions of a nerd (enjoy!):

1. I rarely pick up coins from the ground (unless it's a quarter or something awesome like that). However, on occasion if I see a coin on the ground that's tail-side up, I'll reach down and turn it around to heads. The reason? Some people think if you find a penny, it's only lucky if you found it heads-side up. So in a way I feel like I'm giving someone else good luck, which is total karma for me.

2. I've been running with a friend and making an attempt at Couch to 5k for the fourth time. Tonight will be Week 2 Day 3, and it is KILLING me. I can't tell if it's the fact that it's been 100+ degrees the past two weeks or if I'm just totally out of shape. Blaming the heat. Totally blaming the heat.

3. I want to love running so bad, and it scares me that I might be one of "those" people who just hates it. I always hated in when I was younger, and my 10-year-old self is probably wanting to strangle me for even trying it now. But I want to be that person that feels like something is missing if I skip a run. I want to be that person that breezes through 3 miles and feels great and accomplished after.

4. I'm a total planner, especially when it comes to vacations. Whenever we're getting ready to go on a trip, a few months out I begin researching like crazy about different activities we might want to do, where to stay, where to eat, how much things will cost, etc. And I talk my husband's ear off about it all, and he just nods and smiles before turning back to Mafia Wars and tuning me out. I can't decide if it bothers me or not.

5. My office is a freaking mess. And I even have "clean desk" on today's to-do list. But instead I'm doing this. Will it get clean today? Unlikely.

6. I want to write a novel (and actually finish it and edit it and query agents with it!) so bad. I just have the worst time starting one because I have this insane fear of rejection. I need to get over that and grow some cahones, but I'm so afraid all my ideas are either too lame, too unoriginal, or too "last year" and won't stand a chance of selling.

7. I recently started horseback riding again. The first place I went to I had two lessons (one which didn't even involve me getting on a horse, talk about a waste of money!). I stopped going, because aside from the fact that it was insanely far away, it was too regimented. I recently found a new place, and I love it. Why? It's laid back, and the barn is totally filthy. Just like a barn should be.

8. I wish that when I went to college I had the guts to major in something totally cool, like archaeology. Don't get me wrong, I did do some gutsy things, like work hard to score an internship with my favorite radio show. And it was an awesome experience! But there's something insanely appealing about being outside and digging up history.

9. If you don't think I'm already weird, then read this: I keep a copy of the book Graveyards of Chicago by Matte Hucke and Ursula Bielski (who signed it) on my desk. I don't remember exactly why I brought it up to the office (to show an old co-worker maybe?), but it's been here for over a year now, and probably won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

10. I want to go cage diving with sharks really bad. I'm not talking one of those cages that's like half open that leaves your arm susceptible to getting ripped off (I'm not stupid), but one that's really well-enclosed so that no part of me can be eaten. I think sharks are so fascinating, even though if I saw a Great White Shark I'd probably pee myself. But it would be from more excitement than fear, I think.

Any confessions you want to share?

Wake by Lisa McMann

17-year-old Janie has a secret: She gets sucked into other people's dreams. Whether she wants to or not, it doesn't matter. If someone is dreaming near her, chances are Janie is witnessing their darkest secrets: Their secret crushes on classmates, those annoying wearing-no-clothes at the big meeting dreams, the falling dreams, and the worst nightmares. She wishes she could stop this descent into other people's minds, but she just can't figure out how.

My friend Angel at An Everyday Angel recommended this book to me, and I'm so glad she did! I love the idea of falling into someone's dreams. If someone saw my dreams, what would they think? What would my dreams say about me? And likewise, what would I think about someone else whose dreams I saw?

While I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing in this book (it felt super choppy), I nevertheless really enjoyed it. About halfway through the book, I stopped briefly and thought about Janie and her friend Cabel. How would I describe them? More importantly, could I describe them based on what the writer told me about them? Much to my surprise and delight, I could. They were both incredibly well-rounded and flawed, and McMann had successfully given me all the information I needed about them without me even noticing. This is good stuff!

I currently have the next book in the series waiting for me at the library. Hopefully I'll get to it soon!

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. And these women are exceptional all right: Even though to the outside world the school is simply a preppy boarding school for girls, it in fact is a secret school for spies. Cammie speaks fourteen different languages, can kill a person in at least seven different ways, and is known as the "Chameleon" for her ability to stay invisible during covert operations. But when an ordinary boy does see her, she has no idea what to do, especially when he thinks she's an ordinary girl. Straddling the real world and the world of Gallagher Academy, Cammie tries to figure out out how to have a normal relationship with a boy who can never know who she really is.

I've been wanting to read this book for a while. I remember seeing the book on the shelf at Target and thinking what a cute cover it had. Then I found out Ally Carter is from Oklahoma, which means of course I have to represent! However, it took a while for me to finally pick it up...

I thought this book was utterly adorable. Was it life-changing? No. But did it accomplish its goal of entertaining young teenage girls? Absolutely. It was just plain fun to me. I loved Cammie's voice, which I think really caught the "feeling" of a typical, yet not-so-typical teenage girl. It reminded me a bit of Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries in that Mia and Cammie in some ways have a lot of similarities: They're both extraordinary in some way, but yet still face the same teenage troubles that every girl goes through.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series!

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Even though she had no memory of exactly how the fire started that killed her friend Trevor, Luce is nevertheless the one everyone immediately pointed fingers at. After all, they were alone, and while he died she escaped with nothing but singed hair.

And so that's how Luce ended up as one of the newest students at Sword & Cross, a reform school for teenagers. She immediately feels out of place, but it isn't long before she sees him: Daniel Grigori, that oh-so gorgeous guy... who made eye contact with her and promptly flipped her off. Great.

But for some reason Luce can't stop thinking about Daniel, nor can she help but feel like they've met before...

I liked Daniel, but I really think Luce is one of the worst-written characters I've read in a long time. I didn't like the contradictions, like how it was mentioned that she avoided mirrors these days, but then later she was wishing she had a mirror because she was afraid her hair was a disaster. There was very little depth to her as well, which was disappointing.

I also didn't care for the fact that hardly anything was explained. The book started off so slow, but by the time it caugh...more I liked Daniel, but I really think Luce is one of the worst-written characters I've read in a long time. I didn't like the contradictions, like how it was mentioned that she avoided mirrors these days, but then later she was wishing she had a mirror because she was afraid her hair was a disaster. There was very little depth to her as well, which was disappointing. It seemed her entire existence at Sword & Cross revolved around the "Does he like me? Does he hate me?" back-and-forth attitude with Daniel and another potential love interest, Cam. She has no backbone, makes stupid decisions, and is really just devoid of any personality.

I also didn't care for the fact that hardly anything was explained. The book started off so slow, but by the time it caught up to the meaty plot points, nothing was explained. Just done. I didn't care for that. I'm sure a lot of the mystery will be explained in the rest of the series, but that's the problem: Each book needs some closure, and this one just didn't have nearly as much as I'd like. For example, the catalyst that led Luce to Sword & Cross is barely even touched on. There are some mentions of it, but soon it is eclipsed by other plot points and entirely forgotten. I would have liked to have seen a few more answers. By all means, please leave me hanging, but just not that much. I at the very least want to at least think I know what's going on.

On the plus side though, the cover was gorgeous!

So overall, this was definitely not my favorite book for the year, which is disappointing because I was so excited about it! However, I will likely pick up the rest of the series because that's how I roll.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

It all started when 15-year-old Clary Fray witnessed a murder inside Pandemonium Club in New York City. But the problem was that she seemed to be the only person who witnessed this murder, along with the body disappearing into thin air.

One night later she has a run-in with one of the murderers, the beautiful, golden-haired, and impossibly-egotistical Jace. But Jace isn't your average teenage boy: He's a Shadowhunter, a group of Nephilim whose job is to kill demons and other "downworlders." So when Clary's mother disappears and a demon suddenly shows up in her apartment, Clary can't help but wonder: What does her mother have to do with all this? And why can Clary see things that other people can't?

The premise of this book was very good, and I did enjoy it. However, it felt extremely disjointed to me: It seemed like it just jumped from scene to scene sometimes without a whole lot of flow, and I thought some parts were unnecessary to the overall story as well. I can sort of see why there's a lot of hype surrounding this book and the rest of the series, but I'm not sure if I'm buying into it.

I will say that I love Clary. I think she's a great character with some great wit and fearlessness. Jace's arrogance felt incredibly forced, and while I know there was certainly some depth there, it just made him feel so flat to me. It's a shame because I think he has the potential to be so great, so I'm hoping Clare is able to really bring this character to new levels in the next books in this series.

One other problem I had with this book I can't really discuss because it's a major spoiler. However, I call it the "Star Wars Syndrome." This book has it in spades, and I really wish it didn't because it really detracts from the rest of the story.

I will continue with the rest of the series because Cassandra Clare really has made an incredible fantasy world come to life in these books. I figure since this is the first, they can only get better from here... right?