2013 Resolutions Bookish and Non-Bookish

It's always nice to start out the year with some goals in mind.  But first we must reflect on the previous year at hand.  One of my personal goals was to become more involved in the blogging community, and I believe I managed to do that on a local scale.  With all of the amazing bloggers in town, I always look forward to bookish events going on around the city.  

Reading challenge-wise, I wanted to read 10 books for the 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge.

I only managed to read 9 books on my 2012 TBR pile, but I still count that as a victory.  Here's what I read for this challenge:

- Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

- The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

- Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

- The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegan

- Anew by Chelsea Fine

- Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

- A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang

- Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

- Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

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Originally, I had planned to read 10 YA Mythology books for the 2012 YA Mythology Challenge.

I managed to read 5 books for this challenge, and I think it was due to being burned out on Greek mythology.  Still, I have quite a few more on my shelves so I'll have time to read more this year.  Here's what I read for this challenge:

- Everneath by Brodi Ashton

- Underworld by Meg Cabot

- Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

- Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson

- Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

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On the bright side, I met my Goodreads 2012 Challenge by reading 55 books in 2012, 5 more than my projected amount of 50 books.  I know I'd said I didn't want to count graphic novels, but I love them so much!  And there were quite a few good series that I found and just had to read.  

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For the new year, I plan to read 75 books for the Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge and I won't exclude any type of book whether it's a novel, graphic novel, or a picture book.  Books are meant to be enjoyed after all.  And because I plan on focusing on growing as a librarian, I won't participate in other reading challenges for 2013.  

This year my resolutions are to:

1) Attend TLA conference and gain as much insight from panels hosted by my colleagues.  

2) Give my library assistants opportunities that will help them grow as professionals.

3) Help my library become more active in the community through volunteering our time.

4) Spread more word about Texas authors, especially those in my city.

5) Start and stick with a proper exercise regiment with my trainer (my beau).

6) Write every day even if it's just a couple of sentences.

I hope all of these will be possible to achieve this year, and I look forward to seeing more of my bookish friends at future events held in 2013.  Good luck this year, everyone! ^_^

What are your New Year's Resolutions for 2013?

2012: An Amazing Year

At this time of year in the season of giving, I look back on 2012 and realize just how blessed I have been throughout the year.  So much has happened that I can't help being overfilled with happiness and the need to share it with my readers.

I feel that this year I was really able to come into my own as a blogger because of all of the wonderful people I've met.  The local blogging community is such a boon for this librarian, and I'm always excited to attend different bookish events to see more of the amazing bloggers around my city.  Below are just some of the most awesome bookish people I've met this year:


Christin of Portrait of a Book


Kristin of Kristin Creative


Kate of Ex Libris Kate


Katie of Blook Girl


Maria of Cari's Book Blog

Kristina of Ladybug Storytime


Jen Bigheart of I Read Banned Books (<--Not local, but still a kickin' Texas librarian/blogger)

Trust me when I say there are more because you don't need to have a book reviewing blog to be an awesome bookish person. ^_^

I've also had the chance to meet some pretty fabulous authors this year including Houston authors Mary Lindsey, Joy Preble, C.C. Hunter, Lynne Kelley, and Christina Mandelski.  Before blogging, I didn't realize how many authors are located in Texas especially Houston.  We're very fortunate!

2012 has been a very good year for me, and I hope that will continue on into 2013.  ^_^

Monday Mashup (1): Picked by Poison

Welcome to the Monday Mashup, a no frills but all thrills meme with no commitment issues!  Just fun getting to know fellow bloggers. This blog is hosted by Amy H of DJ Librarian Dishes and Poison Rose of Picked by Poison.  All we want to do is introduce you to your fellow bloggers whom you may or may not know and share the blog love!

If you'd like to be featured or know someone you'd like us to feature, contact either Amy or Poison. Welcome to the Meme and enjoy getting to know another blogger.

Today's featured blogger is: Picked by Poison

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you?

My name is Sara. I'm a single mom and Web Designer up here in MN. I have a 7 year old son, Ryan who is in second grada.. I'm a jewelry addict! I have so many pieces, but I wear the same set almost daily, with the exception of holidays/ special occasions.

2.  How long have you been blogging?  

Its been a little over a full year since Picked by Poison got started.

3.  Why did you get into blogging?
I got into blogging after I got into Romance last year. I know sad, isn't it. Here I am at 33 and JUST getting into romance and all the steamy stuff..LOL. My Fav. Author, Laura Kaye, was still unknown before then to most, as she was still doing fan-fiction at the time. BUt she was at that point in the beginning phase of writing Forever Freed and posting a few chapters on textnovel.com - next thing I knew it was pulled and being published, so I sat in wait for almost a year before Lucien finally got his story.... *le sigh*

4.  What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?

Hard choice at first, but I have to go with Big Came (the V V Inn Series #3) by CJ Ellisson because I have been waiting for a while for the book, CJ has gone through some rough patches to get it out, but delayed it for good reason.

5.  What is your favorite feature on your blog (i.e. author interviews, memes, something specific to your blog)?

Author Interviews hands down. I get to ask about back-stories of characters, research whats to come and my set of fun questions for all the authors I've been lucky to interview.

6.  Where do you see your blog in five years?
Overbooked on mysite with request from author's on from Book Tours to keep it a one person gig. At my reading page I’m only getting in one book a week, and I'm not getting to the series I want to read with my commitments. Brutal honesty there.

7.  Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read?Easy! Interview with CJ Ellisson, Vivian and Rafe.

8.  If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?
Oh, great question! With Author it would have to be Jodi Redford. She is funny, witty, and writes a sex scene that can involve objects one would NOT think can be sexy! Have you seen her guest post about Home Depot?!?!? Read it Here.

As far as characters I'd go with my first love, Lucien Demarco from Laura Kaye's Forever Freed He was my first true Romance love, and part of what got me into romance again. And got me into Paranormal Romance all around. He holds a special place on my "Book Boyfriends" list...LOL

9.  What literary location would you most like to visit? Why?
Detroit or NY where Forever Freed took place. I want to see the places described by Lucien and Sam.

10.  What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?
Meeting new book bloggers and making new friends. :)  Local groups which have lists of bloggers by region/state so I know who else is here in my area.

11.  Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?
Not as much as one would think. I still try and stay with Romance mostly, but I do go into some of the darker toned books in the PNR genre and some horror as well. I have also delved more into erotica lately as I'm finding some great Authors who can write it how I like it.

And About You: 

12.  Tell us three non-book-related things that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.
I’m a roller-coaster enthusiast. I would love to join American Coaster Enthusiasts (A.C.E.) and travel around going from one amusement park to another riding roller coasters day in and day out! LOL

I’m a very stubborn Capricorn; I don’t like being told how to do things. I would prefer to try my own way and either watch it fail and try again of find I can succeed with my own methods.
I collect pins from places I’ve been as souvenirs.

 

13.  What do you like to do in your downtime (besides read of course)?
I like to go out with my friends, whenever we can all find the time; otherwise I love to attend concerts – seeing Seether in October, Halestorm and Trans-Siberian Orchestra in December.

14.  If you were given a break to do one thing on your “bucket list” what would you do?
Eesh, morbid thought. Hmm…I might try writing, but my grammar and English would have to be professionally edited extensively!

15.  If you went to your dream vacation spot where would we find you?
As of lately, I would love to be in another Disney resort. They are so much fun and loaded with amenities and the parks are never ending fun!

16.  What are some of your hobbies and interests you enjoy?
I love designing my son’s Birthday invitations and thank you cards. I don’t like the non-customized “boxed” invitations and such.
I love doing web design – I volunteered and took on doing my son’s PTO website for his school.

I collect pins from places I’ve been as souvenirs.

Flash round:

17.  Cake or pie?  Hands down, Cake!

18.  Coffee or tea?)  Neither – give me hot cocoa or apple cider!

19.  Beach or mountains?  Beach

20.  Night owl or morning dove?  Night Owl!

Thank you so much for visiting, Poison!  It's always great to learn more about blogging friends.  You're the peachiest! *huggles*

TGIF (24): A Book Blogger is Born

TGIF is a weekly meme created and hosted by Ginger of GReads! that recaps the week's posts and has a different question each week.

Question: What made you decide to start your very own book blog?

My Answer: I was inspired by Karen of Books Beside My Bed to start my book blog. As a librarian, it's a great way to talk about books (whether new or classic) and meet other readers. I've met some awesome and amazing people through blogging, and I'm sure there will be plenty more as I continue to read, learn from other bloggers, and keep on talking about books. :) So a special thanks to Karen. 


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This week on Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes:

Stacking the Shelves (2)

Happy Mother's Day!

Beaux Livres

Top Ten Tuesday (46): Books That You Think Deserve Their Own TV Show

Reviews:

ARC Review: Underworld (Abandon Trilogy #2) by Meg Cabot

Giveaways: 

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop

Top Ten Tuesday (43): Tips for New Book Bloggers

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted by one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. Everyone is welcome to join, just make sure to link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so everyone can check out other blogger lists. Have fun!

Top Ten Tips for New Book Bloggers

(Disclaimer: I still consider myself a novice book blogger, but I will give advice on what I've learned as a book blogger.)

1. Participate in the community.

There are many different ways to become involved in the blogosphere whether it's taking part in weekly memes or attending blogger meet-ups or book signings.  It's a way to get to know other book bloggers and let them get to know you as well.

2. Don't be afraid to say 'no'.  

This applies especially to review requests because it can really bog you down.  Not all review requests will be for books that you enjoy reading, so never feel like you have to accept every review request.

3. Network, network, network.

In order for others to learn about your blog, you must find other ways to put yourself out there.  Using Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads are excellent ways to put your name in the blogosphere.

4. Make sure to post regularly.

Even if it's just one or two posts a week, an active blog is a more noticeable blog than one that goes several weeks without a single new post (unless you are on hiatus).

5. Your blog should make others feel welcome.

Make sure that your blog is tidy and uncluttered, especially in the sidebars.  Also, if you do have music on your blog, make sure it doesn't automatically play.  It's quite startling when either a trailer or music plays suddenly when I visit a blog.

6. Refrain from "bashing", "flaming", and "disrespecting."

This goes for authors, books, and other bloggers.  Keep your reviews constructive, back up your critiques, and never let your review be about the author.

7. Take time to visit other blogs.

To have blog readers, you must first be a blog reader.  And if you like a post or want to contribute to the conversation, definitely leave a comment.

8. Reviews aren't everything.

Don't feel like you have to review everything you read, especially if you're a speed-reader *cough*Karen*cough* or read more than one title at a time.

9. Be sure to give back to the blogging community.

If you receive ARCs or participate in giveaways on other blogs, give it back to the community by hosting your own giveaways.

10. Above all, love what you do.

If blogging stops being fun and becomes more like a chore, take a break.  You don't want it to turn into something that's not enjoyable, so make sure it stays fun.

TGIF (13): Book Blogger Pride

TGIF is a weekly meme created and hosted by Ginger of GReads! that recaps the week's posts and has a different question each week.

This week on Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes:

Top Ten Tuesday (35): Books That Broke My Heart a Little

Review: Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

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Book Blogger Pride: What do you take pride in when it comes to blogging?

My Answer:  I take pride in knowing all of the wonderful bloggers and authors I've been able to meet both online and in person thanks to joining the book blogging community. There's so much to learn and talk about with everyone, I can't help but be proud that I'm part of the community (even though my reviewing isn't as consistent as I'd like it to be).

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!  While I didn't reach my reading goal on Goodreads of reading 75 books (fell flat at 72, including graphic novels), I'm happy with the reading I did accomplish.  For awhile it seemed as though I was having trouble getting into books again.  However, seeing my Review list grow and grow makes me so very happy and proud with what I have done in the first year of blogging.  And it's also thanks to my fellow bloggers and readers.  I want to thank all of you that follow and read my blog and all of you that I am inspired by.  Here's hoping 2012 will be an even greater year for everyone!

Reflections and 2012 Reading Challenges

As we look forward to the new year, it's also a time to look back and reflect on the old year.  While my blog was originally created in October of 2010, I really didn't become active in the community until February of 2011.  One of my goals for this year was to put more effort into networking in the blogging community, and though I feel I have accomplished that, I know there is still much to still learn as a blogger from both veteran bloggers and novice bloggers.  I still consider myself a novice blogger, and there's nothing wrong with maintaining the mindset of a student.  Even the veterans I follow are most likely still learning, and that's part of what makes them great.

For the new year, I aim to comment more on my fellow bloggers' reviews and review on a more regular basis.  I was very happy with how much reviewing I did in November, and my stats definitely improved in the latter half of the year.  With the amount of books I've squirreled away (like the book squirrel I am), I have more than enough to keep me busy even with the amazing new titles being released in 2012.  Because of all the books I've acquired in the past year, I feel inspired to participate in the 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge.  Here's a picture of some of the titles I'd like to read for this challenge, and here's hoping I can do it in a year!

I'm also going to set myself a more realistic goal on Goodreads for 2012.  This year I felt pressured by wanting to read 75 books, and now that I'm down to the wire, I'm reading more graphic novels in order to attain that goal.  While they are books, I would like to have non-graphic novel titles for the majority (if not all) of my list.  So this year I plan to read 50 books that are not graphic novels for my Goodreads 2012 Challenge.  That's not to say I won't be reading any graphic novels, I just won't count them towards this particular challenge.

2012 promises to be a great year, and I'm looking forward to it as both a librarian and a blogger.  Here's to a new year for all of us, my fellow bloggers and my dear readers!

What reflections do you have for 2011 and what challenges for 2012? ^_^

TGIF (7): Most Popular

TGIF is a weekly feature created and hosted by GReads! that recaps the week's posts and has a different question each week. 

This week on Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes:

In My Mailbox (16)

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Want to Give as Gifts

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This Friday's Question:

Most Popular: What blog post has gotten the most comments/activity on your blog this year?

My Answer:

I think my most popular post (that was non-meme related since I usually get a lot of activity with those posts) was a tie between my review of Raised by Wolves and my Born at Midnight review and Giveaway. Although the latter had more comments, giveaways tend to have more. ^_^

Book Blogger Hop: October 7-10

This week on Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes:

In My Mailbox(13): Austin Teen Book Festival

October RAK: Random Acts of Kindness

Teaser Tuesday: Raised by Wolves
Austin Teen Book Festival Recap

As Crazy For Books says:

Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!

This week's question is:

“It’s time to spread some love beyond the borders of the Book Blogger Hop! This week, we aren’t answering a question. We are spotlighting our fellow bloggers. Find your favorite(s) author interview(s), guest post(s), book review(s), or bookish article(s) that ANOTHER BOOK BLOGGER featured on their site recently and tell us why you love it/them! As an additional challenge, find your favorite one of EACH of the categories above and spotlight all 4 (interview, guest post, review, article).”

My Answer: Hmmm, this is quite the tricky question especially since there are so many great posts to choose from, but I've noticed several that I really liked this week. ^_^


Review & Interview from Carmel at Rabid Reads - If you're into paranormal novels (particularly those on werewolves), Carmel will never disappoint with her honest critiques. Author interviews are a common theme for her, and when you get both of them together like this, it's made up of awesome.


Review from Marla at Starting the Next Chapter - I have been wanting to real Brian Selznick's Wonderstruck, and Marla's review only makes me want to read it even more.  She'll always give a thorough review (and personally, I think she's a book reviewing dynamo!)


Bookish Articles from Arianna at Wandering Librarians - They always post some of the most fascinating and sometimes bizarre articles revolved around reading, libraries, books, authors, etc.  I know when they post the news there will definitely be some articles worth checking out. I especially enjoyed reading the article "YA Comes of Age."

Book Blogger Hop: Sept 16-18

This week on Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes:

In My Mailbox (12)

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Read Because of Another Blogger

Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

As Crazy For Books says:

Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!

This week's question is:

“As a book blogger, how do you introduce yourself in your profile?”

My Answer: My profile is kept short and simple without getting too specific. As a librarian, I find it's a good idea to read within almost all genres, so I keep an open mind when it comes to most books. There are some genres that I tend to read more often, such as YA Literature and Paranormal/Fantasy, but I do like to see what other books are out there that might draw my interest. I find it fascinating to read others' profiles to get to know their tastes in reading, and I've found some great blogging friends because of that. 

How do you introduce yourself in your blogging profile?

Liebster Award Nomination from a Wonderful Blogger

Kelly at The Bookscape Report was such a peach to nominate my blog for the Liebster Blog Award. Thank you so much, Kelly! ^_^

The goal of this award is to recognize new bloggers who have less than 200 followers and help spread the word about their blogs. Here are the rules for this award:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you. (Again, thank you, Kelly!)
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
5. And most of all - have bloggity-blog fun!

There are so many awesome blogs out there that not everyone has had the chance to visit, so I nominate the following blogs for this award:

1. Books Beside My Bed (And I'm proud to welcome a new librarian in Karen! ^_^)

2. Wandering Librarians
3. YA Litwit
4. The Book Garden
5. The Book Gatherer

Keep spreading the blog love! <3

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Reasons I Love Being a Book Blogger/A Bookish Person

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, a state that you don't have to worry about being deprived of more books as long as you're near a library. ;) This week's Top Ten is:

Top Ten Reasons I Love Being a Book Blogger/A Bookish Person

(In no particular order)

1. My job. :) As a librarian, I have to stay on top of what's new, popular, or even unknown potential, and being a book blogger allows me to feel out what will most likely circulate in our library.

2. Sharing unique and unknown titles. It seems as though most major blogs know what will become popular, but sometimes I really like to see the indie titles make it big. Having the chance to see a self-published author rise up in the book world is awesome, and being able to share their work with the public is even more amazing.

3. Never being anywhere without a book. You would be surprised at the times when a book would be so handy even when just running errands like having your car detailed, going to see the doctor, or even waiting at the airport for your beau to arrive. I never go anywhere without a book. :)

4. Meeting new people. This applies to my fellow bloggers and followers since everyone can offer their input on a book whether you enjoyed it or it just wasn't your cup of tea. :) Books can definitely spark many discussions, and it's always fun to just recommend a title to someone like your hair stylist.  (<--True story on Paranormalcy after she asked about it!)

5. Having a full bookshelf. Yes, it's a shallow reason, but the top two rows of my shelves used to have collections of breakables. I've condensed them to just the top row of each bookshelf, but eventually, I'll need a new shelf for the breakables or the books to-be-read-in-2011. ;)

6. Talking about books. Even if it's an oldie but a goodie, I still love to just talk about different titles, and if I see a review for one I love, you can bet your boots I'll leave a comment. :) It's amazing at how many new people are getting into the book-blogging world every day, and you might just recommend a title they had never heard of before. 

7. Recommending titles to friends. This isn't always met with success which translates to my friend enjoying the book, but for the most part, I have a pretty good record of book title recommendations to my friends. One friend who loved a recommended title shared it with her mom who also ended up enjoying the book. Two readers for the price of one recommendation, woo-hoo!

8. The book memes. I only participate in a few weekly memes, but I still love participating in them whenever I can contribute. It makes my inner Pandora eager to see what my fellow bloggers have to share as well.

9. The authors. Whether it's following an author's blog, reading an author interview on another blog, or getting the chance to finally meet an author, you cannot beat this kind of closeness. It used to feel as though they were on another planet, but blogging really opens more doors for the readers to meet their favorite authors. :)

10. THE BOOKS!!!