Six Month Blog/Challenge/Book Check-up:

I figured that since it was the beginning of July, it would be a good time to check in on all things related to the blog. Not only will this help me see what I have accomplished this year, but it'll give me some goals for the remaining six months of 2012. :)

I went into this year will a lot of optimism. I already know, before looking at anything, that I have not made as much progress with my reading for the 250 project. I really stepped away from it for a couple of months in the spring to concentrate on reading for my classes, so now I am going to be focusing a bit more on those classics I am supposed to.

Below are the goals I made at the end of December...let's see how I'm doing! My comments are in italics.

Reading:

• Continue project list-main goal is to hit book 200 by the beginning of 2013: Well, I am close to hitting 150, which means I would have 50 titles left to read by the end of the year. I'm not sure how realistic this goal is, so I think I may amend it to hitting 185 :)
• 10 "fun" reads throughout the year: Well, this has totally crashed and burned. I went into 2012 hoping to be a bit more committed to the list books, but a number of things have come up-readalongs for other classics not on my list, The Classics Club, reading books for teaching requirements, and other events just too good to pass up. I'm not mad about not hitting this goal, but I am going to minimize the amount of "fun" reads from this point forward (as in, not reading one right after the other to the point that I get distracted).
• 30 minutes of reading/day minimum: This is the one goal I have been rocking this year. I can only think of a handful of days where I didn't read-due to conferences, heavy grading days, etc, so this is good. I would really like to get this time up-especially now that it is summer and I have been reading A LOT more per day in the last two weeks.

Blogging:

• Continue to post a minimum of 3x a week: Yep, rocking this one too. I've been making sure to put all my posts in my planner, which is helping me be a bit more organized in regards to obligations for reading and knowing when posts are going up. It might seem super anal to do that, but it is helping me SO MUCH.
• Sponsor 2 themed months: The second themed month is under way as I type! I think both events (Shakespeare Reading Month in January and A Victorian Celebration) have been really successful. I am thinking of hosting an American Realism Event later this year, and I am planning an Modernism Event for 2013. I really love the community aspects of the events, and while they are a bit draining to plan, I really love hosting them!
• Include more personal posts: I have been working on injecting more of myself into the blog, and I think I have been fairly successful in doing so.

Interaction:

• Comment on blogs! I am still working on commenting on a regular basis! It is something I really struggle with!
• Discover new-to-me book blogs! I have been marking quite a few new blogs from the event that I am planning on spending more time looking at when I can. But I have added quite a few blogs to my reader.
• Participate in the two Dewey's readathons in 2012-April and October: I sorta participated in April's, but I am really looking forward to October's!
• Participate in other "classic-minded" events during 2012: I have been trying to seek out classics-themed events when possible. I definitely think The Classics Club counts! I also think another blogger is planning an Austen and Shakespeare event...those will definitely happen for me!
• Continue my presence on twitter...(@alliedanielson): When I made my twitter account, I really wanted to associate it with my name as well as my blog. I kind of regret that decision, as students seem to stumble on it fairly often. With protected tweets, that makes things easier for me. I keep going back and forth on whether to change my handle...
• Continue maintaining my goodreads page and update with past books read and future books: I love Goodreads. What did I do before I started using the site? :)

Challenges (I went a little challenge happy this year...which I am regretting a bit):

• I can quit any challenge by November 30, 2012 if I am not close to completing it without any guilt: Well, my challenges are going...meh. I will totally complete the Victorian Challenge I signed up for, but I am not sure about any of the others. The other two I really want to complete are the TBR challenge and Chunkster challenges. Come August, I am really going to focus on those two to see if I can knock them out. :)

Personal:

• Go to the gym 3x per week: Ummm....nope. I started out really well, but failed back in March. Part of it is that I hate our gym. It is small and crowded. We've been looking at some other gyms to join, so I am hoping to pick up my exercising.
• Weight Loss goal: 50 lbs in 2012: Well, considering I have gained weight in the last couple of months, I really need to focus on this. When I say I need to make changes in my life regarding finding a balance, it really has to do with weight and my own self-esteem. This is one of the things I am really going to focus on this summer.
• Apply to grad school by May 1 and decide on a program to start in the fall: I applied, but I think I am going to defer until the winter semester. More on that another time.
• By the end of 2012, I should have a clearer goal in mind-either working in a permanent teaching position, or doing something else. I can't keep subbing: Working towards this...
• 1 date night per month :): We've been doing a good job of spending time together on a regular basis, so this one is definitely a success.
• Spend time on my other hobbies: crafting, scrapbooking, etc.: I haven't done too much with my other hobbies (mostly for lack of time with teaching obligations), but now that I am only working one job, I have pulled out some crocheting projects to finish in the evenings.
• Cook 3x per week: I started out really strong with this in the beginning of the year, but when I started working some weeknights and weekends, I started to crash and burn. It's been picking up again the last couple of weeks, but I really want some new recipes to make!
• Develop a daily cleaning routine: Again, I started out really good, but I fizzled out. Time to get back in the groove! I've found that setting a timer and going crazy for a set amount of time (15-20 minutes) REALLY helps!

I think I am doing pretty good, but you can see that I need to put more focus on my personal goals for the year. If that means I am a "slacker" in regards to my reading, so be it. :) 

What are your goals for the rest of 2012? Do you have any awesome recipes I can steal? ;) 

Goals for March 2012.

I decided at the end of January to create monthly goals in an effort to help myself be a little more organized in all aspects of my life. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep this up, but after a month of working towards my little mini-goals, I found that they worked for me. :)

The first thing I am going to do is recap what I had planned for February. My little insights will be next to the original goals in italics (and you can find the February post by clicking here). I think I did reasonably well all things considered. I neglected some things in favor of other opportunities! A little further down I have stuff outlined for March.

FEBRUARY RECAP-
Grad School:

• Revisit requirements for the three programs I am interested in. Create a timeline for due dates, etc. This is pretty much done. I am still applying to all 3!
• Write to old professors for letters of recommendation, etc. I am working with 2 professors, but I need a third. Would it be appropriate to ask someone I am currently working with?
• Draft personal statement Not done. I outlined some ideas, but I am struggling with this a bit.

Writing:

• Continue working on my current piece The writing I did do this month was on the same piece I started in November, so hurrah!
• Write 20,000 new words this month  Ha! I only wrote about 2,000 words this month (I blame all the reading), so not even
• Continue writing in my journal 3x per week  I'll give myself credit for this. I wrote about once a week, and that is a fine pace for now. I know it'll pick up once I start teaching.

Blog Related:

• Finish the two Dickens titles I have selected for the month (David Copperfield and Nicholas Nickleby) in celebration of his birthday I managed to finish David Copperfield. I think I could have plowed through Nicholas Nickleby in the last few days if I hadn't stopped to read a couple of books for the new teaching job.
• Make progress in War and Peace (Hoping to get to 120 chapters) Haven't even opened it. If I intend on rereading it by the end of June, I need to at least start it this month
• Start Les Miserables Haven't touched this one either. I have plans to start it in a couple more days so that I can hit the first checkpoint on the 18th.
• Read Roots for the readalong Success!
• Read other books off my project list if time. :) After realizing I needed to read some books before starting the new job, I neglected the list for awhile. I'm okay with it and I still had a great reading month.

Crafts: I'm considering this entire section a FAIL. I ended up organizing my recipe binder instead of some of these because it was more urgent. I have pictures picked out, just need to order them. We'll just scratch this section.

• Finish my senior scrapbook (from my senior year of high school. Seriously, I need to finish it)
• Finish crocheting my mom's scarf (been half done for a year now)
• Print some wedding pictures to put in our frames...we've been married for over two years. This needs to be done.

Domestic:

• Continue to try one new recipe a week (I might be combining this into my weekly update posts in my continued effort to make the blog more "me" than just books). I think I averaged it out to 2.5 new recipes a week! We had a lot of yummy dinners this month and I'm getting a bit more confident in the ktichen
• Use my crock pot more (inspired a bit by Trish and this post) Also a big success. I used the crock pot to cook a few new things, including a yummy pot roast on Sunday (it was SOOOO good).
• Clean out our second bedroom and organize (seriously, it is our dumping room) I actually went organizing crazy and went through almost everything in the apartment. The only thing that needs a good going through is our big coat closet. Matt also has a few boxes of junk he needs to organize.
• Continue my "ten-minute" clean-ups every night (basically I set the timer and clean up for ten minutes every night and stop when the timer goes off-very helpful in getting rid of daily clutter, etc.) This is probably the most helpful thing I have done for myself!

Health:

• Go to the gym 3x per week I'm going to be honest and say it was probably only 1x per week. With the mild weather, I've been doing a lot of walking.
• Work-out videos and Wii Fit 3x per week
• Carry water with me everywhere! Matt makes fun of my water bottles, so success!
• Continue my diet! I did better this month than last, but I still need to improve.

 

MARCH GOALS-
Grad School:

• Finish Personal Statement 
• Order transcripts from MSU
• Hopefully get letters of rec back?

Writing:

• Continue progress on WIP-Add 5,000 to it?
• Continue weekly journal writing

Blog Related:

• Finish Nicholas Nickleby
• Start Les Miserables-hit first checkpoint
• Participate in Adam's Magical March event (finish the books I selected)

Crafty/Domestic Goodness:

• One new recipe/week
• Pack my lunches the night before (I sometimes have the habit of skipping lunch while teaching)
• Continue to cook 1 new recipe a week 
• Work on scrapbook since it was a fail in February
• Put our pictures in frames!

Health: 

• In bed by 10:30 on school nights :)
• Water, water everywhere! (I'm hoping for 3 bottles during the day at school)
• No getting overworked with school stuff!

There you have it! I'm hoping that getting back into a normal schedule will help me as I start teaching again. Keeping regular hours and staying busy always makes me more productive!

Weekly Wrap-up for February 19, 2012: Productivity, Good News, and Reading Plans.

This has been a cuh-razy week. I mean CRAZY. It finally hit me that the month was slipping away and I had made no progress on any of the plans I had to get things in order around here, so I told myself that by today, I had to get something done.

I tackled a couple of big projects this week. The first thing I did was organize my recipe binder (also jump started by the fact that Matt knocked my card box off the counter and broke it. After watching the cats bat my recipe cards everywhere-including under the fridge (that was fun to retrieve)-I decided to tackle this project this month instead of next). While doing my laundry at my mom's on Friday, I also tore through her recipes and wrote down the ones I wanted. I am still waiting for my specialty page protectors to come in the mail. As soon as they do and everything is perfect, I'll show you what I did. I foresee lots of cooking in the future. :)

My new goal of trying one new recipe a week is still completely successful. :) We've liked everything I've made so far, but the trick is going to be keeping this up as we get busier!

I also went on a cleaning/organizing RAMPAGE yesterday. We've been dealing with some clutter and mess in our second bedroom, so I finally decided to tackle it. Most of it was just tossing old magazines, filing bills and paperwork, and putting things away. I also cleaned out my desk and put some of the things away that have been out for no reason (like our Christmas wrapping paper. It was still out). From there, I got into a zone and tackled our bedroom. I did laundry on Friday, so I started organizing and putting clothes away. But then I was digging in my drawers and closet and wound up with a bag full of clothes to donate. THEN, I noticed my jewelry was a certified mess, so I spent 2 hours sorting out my jewelry, re-arranging, and setting aside a PILE of old jewelry for my nieces. I figured they would appreciate some new sparkles. :)

By the time I finished everything, I had a small pile of stuff to donate (I'm taking it all this afternoon), two bags of garbage, and it was 10:00 PM. I told you I was productive. But the apartment looks awesome and I feel really good about getting that all taken care of so I don't have it lingering over my head.


It also comes at the perfect time because I got some good news on Friday afternoon. If you were on twitter, you probably saw, but I got a long-term subbing position for the rest of the school year! :) I interviewed for the job on Tuesday morning, and they called to tell me Wednesday that they wanted a second interview next week. I was incredibly surprised to see the school calling me Friday afternoon, and the principal offered me the job! My mom and I did a happy dance.

I'm really excited to be going back into a classroom. The last 3 or 4 months have been hard with nothing to do. I'm even MORE excited that I'm going to be back in the school I worked in LAST year. It was a great environment, so I can't wait to be returning.

I'll be teaching sophomore English again (I get to teach The Crucible again! Yay!), a section of eleventh grade English (research papers), and a class called Exploring Literature. I'm really excited for the last class, since it is geared for students who don't like reading. I think it'll be a great avenue to push some books on kids and test my own abilities to engage non-readers. :) I'll know more about what I'm doing after our meeting Thursday morning.

But I am stoked. :)

I'm celebrating by reading all day today (and since I failed to read anything yesterday). I'm going to join in on the readathon going on with Literary Stars. Having other people reading today is good motivation, and since Matt has to work on homework, I know he'll leave me alone. ;)

Goals for today:
-Finish David Copperfield
-Read the third section of Roots for my post due Wednesday!

I hope you all had a marvelous week-Happy Reading!

A Nice Little Saturday.

This week has been a little all over the place, as I will explain in tomorrow's weekly post. Because of all the insanity, I haven't had a lot of time to read or work on many of my monthly goals. I did manage to organize most of my recipe binder the other night, but I am waiting for some special page protectors to arrive in the mail before I'm going to share what I did. :) But so far? It looks awesome.

Anyway, today I have some big plans and by posting them here, I'll have some pressure to complete them. :)

I have two main goals for the day. First, I need to finish cleaning out and organizing our second bedroom. There are a few boxes and piles of "stuff" that need to be sorted, thrown out, or given away. I haven't seen the top of my desk in months! It should only take a couple hours and a quick trip to Goodwill.

When I finally finish that, the plan is to sit down and read as much of David Copperfield as possible. I am past the halfway mark and I really just want to finish it. I'm still loving it, but it is LONG. There are only 300ish pages left, so I can do it, right? Let's hope so!

I hope you're all having a good weekend! Let me know what you're up to!

Goals for February 2012.

Since the month of January has pretty much gone by without any progress towards some of the goals I made in my 2012 Goals and Resolutions Post, I decided I need to intervene.

In case you haven't noticed, I am a very goal-oriented person. I like to make them, talk about them, and work steadily towards them. However, I also lack a great deal of motivation. And, let's be honest, since going back to daily subbing near the end of November, I haven't been working a great deal. I have been lazy, uninspired, and spend WAY TOO MUCH time watching TV instead of taking care of things that need to be taken care of around the apartment.

So, I am making monthly goals. These are things that I want to finish by the end of the month. Some are book-oriented, some are personal. But, no excuses, by the end of the month, I want to have them finished and completed. You'll see some of them say "continue" and such, and that is mainly to keep myself on track with things I am already doing. I also left some areas broad and some goals broad, since too much confinement will make me a bit batty. ;)

I'm not sure how much I am going to love this process, but I am all for self-improvement and sharing that process with you. If I fail miserably this month, I can always reevaluate and try again next month, right?

Here are my goals for February (some are smaller pieces of my larger 2012 goals, and some are just for the month):

Grad School:

• Revisit requirements for the three programs I am interested in. Create a timeline for due dates, etc.
• Write to old professors for letters of recommendation, etc.
• Draft personal statement

Writing:

• Continue working on my current piece
• Write 20,000 new words this month 
• Continue writing in my journal 3x per week 

Blog Related:

• Finish the two Dickens titles I have selected for the month (David Copperfield and Nicholas Nickleby) in celebration of his birthday
• Make progress in War and Peace (Hoping to get to 120 chapters)
• Start Les Miserables
• Read Roots for the readalong
• Read other books off my project list if time. :)

Crafts:

• Finish my senior scrapbook (from my senior year of high school. Seriously, I need to finish it)
• Finish crocheting my mom's scarf (been half done for a year now)
• Print some wedding pictures to put in our frames...we've been married for over two years. This needs to be done.

Domestic:

• Continue to try one new recipe a week (I might be combining this into my weekly update posts in my continued effort to make the blog more "me" than just books).
• Use my crock pot more (inspired a bit by Trish and this post)
• Clean out our second bedroom and organize (seriously, it is our dumping room)
• Continue my "ten-minute" clean-ups every night (basically I set the timer and clean up for ten minutes every night and stop when the timer goes off-very helpful in getting rid of daily clutter, etc.)

Health:

• Go to the gym 3x per week
• Work-out videos and Wii Fit 3x per week
• Carry water with me everywhere!
• Continue my diet!

There you have it, some detailed goals for the month of February.

How do you feel about making monthly goals? Anyone want to join in?

2012 Goals and Resolutions.

With the new year fast approaching, I think it is time to make plans for 2012. I know that some people scoff at the idea of making resolutions-I mean, why wait until the new year, right? I happen to like the idea of starting fresh....with a clean slate in a brand new year. There is an optimism in the air in the beginning months of the year!

I make goals and resolutions every year, but it is new to share them openly. I did post my blog related goals last year, but I am also including some personal goals as well-more on that at the end of the post.

Everything is broken down by category. I have a lot of lofty goals for this year!

Reading:

• Continue project list-main goal is to hit book 200 by the beginning of 2013
• 10 "fun" reads throughout the year (I strayed a LOT this past year from my project list. To clarify, a "fun" read is anything not considered a classic)
• 30 minutes of reading/day minimum (This is an old habit I am reinstating. I used to read for 60 minutes every day in college, but sometimes I let a day or two go by without picking up a book. I want to be reading on a daily basis).
  

Blogging:

• Continue to post a minimum of 3x a week
• Sponsor 2 themed months (Shakespeare Reading Month is taking place in January. I am thinking of doing a Victorian Month in the summer...)
• Include more personal posts (this is something I really want to do. While I know it may take me out of the realm of "book blogger," this is something I need to do for myself as an outlet)

Interaction:

• Comment on blogs! Probably my biggest failure as a blogger is reading posts and not commenting.
  
• Discover new-to-me book blogs!
• Participate in the two Dewey's readathons in 2012-April and October
  
• Participate in other "classic-minded" events during 2012 (Classics Circuit and Persephone Reading Weekend come to mind-these titles do not count as part of my 10 "fun reads")
• Continue my presence on twitter...(@alliedanielson)
• Continue maintaining my goodreads page and update with past books read and future books

Challenges (I went a little challenge happy this year...which I am regretting a bit):

• I can quit any challenge by November 30, 2012 if I am not close to completing it without any guilt :)

Personal:

• Go to the gym 3x per week
  
• Weight Loss goal: 50 lbs in 2012 (This would be a good start. And after Amanda did it, why can't I?)
• Apply to grad school by May 1 and decide on a program to start in the fall
• By the end of 2012, I should have a clearer goal in mind-either working in a permanent teaching position, or doing something else. I can't keep subbing.
• 1 date night per month :)
• Spend time on my other hobbies: crafting, scrapbooking, etc.
• Cook 3x per week (I am not a bad cook, but sometimes it is hard to cook when I might be the only one home-Matt works a lot of nights. I also want to learn some new recipes and share a little bit of that here).
• Develop a daily cleaning routine (I think my mental health will improve if I become a little neater-not that I'm a slob, but it would be a good habit to make sure all the dishes are washed before bed, trash is out, etc.)

I feel like 2012 has a lot of great things in store. In many ways, I feel like 2011 was a really hard year. While it certainly had its good moments, there were also a lot of negatives. I battled some serious depression in late summer/early fall that I am still recovering from. It was bad enough that I came home many, many days and cried for no good reason besides feeling worthless. I've gained even more weight after losing about 15 pounds earlier in the year. I'm struggling to maintain a healthy balance in my life. And while I know it won't all change at once in the new year, I am excited about turning over a new leaf. I am ready to put everything behind me and move forward.

How long can I really let the past bother me? I can't continue to let life pass me by. I can't continue to let forces outside of my own control dictate the kind of life I have and the kind of person I become. If I let that happen, I won't like the person I become.

So, you will definitely see more of me on the blog in the new year. I have held back some...and I felt that for awhile, I lost my passion for this project. It has come back after some tough conversations with various individuals, so I am bringing it back. I am excited and motivated once more. :)

Thank you all for your kind comments in 2011. I look forward to getting to know you all better in 2012!

Oh yeah, let's hope we all read some phenomenal books! :)

Summer Reading and Bookish Plans.

I am incredibly fond of organization when it comes to certain things. While I may leave my dirty laundry two feet away from the hamper, I am incredibly organized when it comes to things like school, writing, and blogging. Matt thinks it is hysterical that I make list after list, but my method works for me. I keep small notebooks filled with "to-do" lists all neatly written and checked off. That was how I managed to take 20 credits a semester in college and survive.

It was also how I managed working two jobs for three months.

Anyway, all of my lists, post-its, calendars, and planners keep me on track. I go insane without them from having too many options. That is why my book list has worked for so long and why I am still chugging along almost two full years into the project.

However, all my methods of organization are sometimes too much for me to keep up with, so I am making some goals of bookish things that need to get done over the course of this summer. I don't know what the fall will bring (a job? I hope?), so I am going to use August 31 as my cut-off date. Here are the things I am hoping to accomplish:

Reading:

At the moment of writing this, I am currently in the middle of books 93 and 94 off my list. I would love to hit book 120 by the end of the summer. Considering that would mean reading 25ish books in two month where I have only read 40 in six months seems like a tall order, but it is a perfectly doable goal if I stop slacking. :) I have plenty of free time now and I should be taking advantage of it! So, in more detail...

• Read 25 books from the Book list by August 31.
  
• 5 books must be from Adam's TBR Challenge (since I have only read ONE title. I STINK at challenges btw).
• 1 or 2 titles must be a Shakespeare play. I have neglected the bard.
• Make further progress in my Bible Reading Project (this has also been neglected recently due to my busy schedule)

Vacation Reading:

The only exception to the above guidelines are for the vacation I am taking on July 10 to the 17th. Since this is my first vacation since our honeymoon, I am going to take a long some "fun" reads for sitting poolside (and a classic or two). I am taking The Year of the Flood and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, as well as The Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (I have refused to watch the mini-series until I read the book).

Book Organization:

I shared with you my book database not too long ago, and I mentioned that I was struggling with it. I lost the most updated version of the file last year with a slew of computer problems, and I have been slowly trying to bring it up to date. The biggest issue with that is that most of my massive collection is boxed up, so hauling out boxes and checking them in is a pia. I kind of "gave up" back in April with the intensity of school, so this is a big project that needs to be fixed. More specifically, this is what I want to accomplish by August 31:

• Update book database by relogging in EVERY title I own
• Cull duplicates and books I no longer want. Either donate or ship to bloggers who want them
• Re-organize bookshelves in the living room. I have three-two big bookcases and one narrow case. Currently the narrow bookcase is home to some hardcover collections and newer YA titles. One big bookcase is full of classics, as well as two and a half shelves on the other. And, with recent acquisitions, some of the shelves are being double-stacked...that needs to be fixed.

Blog Issues:

For the most part, I am happy with how things were running. I know I need to get back into the groove, so I am working on that. There is really only one thing that I think I need, and that is a single list of all the reviews I have written since starting my blog. I'm not sure how to organize it given my reviewing style, but I really think I need to get this done at some point. This one is a massive undertaking, but I want to make progress on it so I can launch it at the end of August....but it may take longer.


I'm perfectly okay with the fact that I may come off as crazy to all of you, but it works for me. :) I need organization and structure, and I will do what I must to achieve that.

But I do have something I need your help with...

I have been in a bit of a reading slump in regards to getting into books off my list. I have picked up a few things in last two weeks where I have read a couple pages, set it down, and moved on. And while I do have a few things I know I want to get to (Daisy Miller and To Kill a Mockingbird), I am at a loss as to what to read next. So yes, I am looking for recommendations. Here is a link to my Book List, which has my 250 on it, as well as my Books Finished list. Please recommend something for me, even if YOU haven't read it, and I will try to get to it!

THANK YOU!!

Weekly Wrap-up for May 1, 2011.

I'm trying really hard to believe that I just wrote "May" up there. This year is flying by!

I have had quite the month. Pneumonia, working two jobs, trying to keep the apartment looking like its livable, and of course, maintaining the blog. It has been stressful, and I can't wait to move forward. Something about the idea of starting a new month had given me a little resurgence of energy and motivation. I have 7 weeks left of teaching before I go down to one job. That'll feel like a vacation! :)

I had a fairly successful month of April when I look at the numbers. I read 9 books this month, including starting over Atlas Shrugged last Monday when I was already over 600 pages into the chunkster. THAT I am proud of, but 3 of those books were "fun" reads that I picked up and don't give me any forward progress in my project goals. Another one of those titles was A Raisin in the Sun, which was a reread for me as I taught it to my sophomores last week. 5 books off my list in a month just isn't enough forward progress.

I have been growing increasingly discouraged with the state of my progress. I feel like I haven't been doing enough to get through titles on my list. Since the fall, I have felt stalled in my reading. I have been diving into too many "fun" reads. Then I get distracted, and well, you know. I feel frustrated. The numbers upset me. I have only read 87 titles from my list of 250. When I originally set out to do this, I really felt like it would only take me 2 and a half years to get through my list. And I am already past the 1 and a half year mark. See my frustration?

I know it is not a race, it is not something I should rush through. But I need to stop making excuses and push forward. I have felt disheartened about everything in the last couple of weeks. I have to mentally make the decision to ignore things out of my control and focus on what I can control, like coming home and vegging in front of the TV instead of doing something productive.

It is definitely a personal issue I need to work on, but I want you all to know that I am going to be working hard to try and get my little butt in gear-in writing and reading. :)

This coming month will be busy to begin with, but halfway through some of the stress will go away. At school, the seniors are finishing up their final group presentations and will be leaving in only 3 weeks. My sophomores are finishing up a unit on the 1960s, the Vietnam War, and Feminist literature before starting a series of two big projects that will take us to the end of the year (they have a poetry project and a mini-research project). The only class that is going to require a little more on my end in regards to completing lectures and powerpoints is U.S. History (everything is done for the English classes). This means less grading for me after I finish this last stack of essays.

I can do it, right? Sure!

Anyway, my hopes for May are to be more productive and get 10 books checked off my list. That is probably a very lofty goal, but I am creeping up on 100 books read and I want to get there sooner rather than later. I haven't decided on a reading list, but I know that two of those books will be a Dickens novel (for the Classics Circuit) and The Iliad for my readalong. I also have Their Eyes were Watching God sitting on my nightstand, as well as George Eliot's Silas Marner. Does anyone have any other suggestions for me?

This week I began posting my series of Jane Eyre posts and they'll finish this week. I also think I'll get my posts up for Wide Sargasso Sea (I have to check that they are all set to go). You'll also see my post on Atlas Shrugged go up tomorrow (even though it was supposed to be up yesterday). It is going to be a busy posting week. :)

In any case, I have essays to grade since my students are probably going to revolt if I don't get them back to them soon. :)

Happy Reading!

Changes and Goals.

While I have been away from here, I have been reflecting a lot on the blog, the books I have chosen to read, and my goals for this coming year.

To start with, I simply planned on chronicling my reading of a set list of books that were predetermined in advance. Based on everything I researched, I simply selected 250 of the most recognizable classics. Even as I was making the list I was questioning myself. I wasn’t sure if I should slim down the list to a more “manageable” number (like 100), or if I should cut out all dramas, which slim the list down even more. It was a hard task, and inevitably, some books didn’t make it on the list while others did.

In the time since then, I have come to realize that there are 2 authors NOT on the list that should be. Both of these authors are considered among the “classics” and their work is from the same time period. I feel like it is only fair to myself and the credibility of my list that they be added. However, I didn’t want to add more numbers, so I decided, after a lot of indecision, to remove 5 books from the list.

Choosing which books should be removed was difficult. I honestly just wanted to remove the entire remaining Dickens novels….but I figured that would not be a good thing in regards to my goal of reading the classics (classics and Dickens seem to go hand in hand). I eventually decided to remove some of the few volumes of autobiographical work, as well as a few nonfiction titles. Pretty much everything on my list is fiction or drama, so those few volumes seemed to stick out.

So, here are the new changes.

Titles I will be removing:
Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass
Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
Utopia by Thomas More
Autobiography by Malcom X

With the exception of Origin of Species, I have read all of these books in college, so I won’t be missing out on too much.

Here are the authors and titles I will be adding in their place:
Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell (I am leaving North and South off the list since I have watched the BBC mini-series more times than I can count and know nothing of her other work).
The Woman in White and The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.

I am also going to give myself 5 free passes to take a break from this list to read something NOT on the list. I am doing this for a few reasons…but mainly because there are a lot of great concluding novels coming out in the next year or two to series that I have been following. I don’t want to have to avoid reading other book blogs for a time period because of reviews on those books. Also, I will need that opportunity for a break.
Don’t get me wrong, I love reading these classics, but they take a lot more brain power than a fantasy novel, or a young adult read. My reading pace has slowed considerably and it is hard not to get discouraged.

I am also going to be networking a little more than I was. I kind of “Gave up” on reaching out to other bloggers in the last month or so (the wedding being the main reason), so I want to really pick that up and discover some other new blogs to read.

As a personal “book” oriented goal, I really want to hit the magical 100 again this year, since I only hit 90 last year (a huge disappointment), so I will be trying to pick up some more things, or trying to switch between a few things if I get into a rut.

Anyway, that seems to be all of my thoughts on the blog and blog details for now. I am updating the book list (which was posted back in August) to reflect my new changes.

Happy reading everyone!