Reading Challenge 2026
A new year is here and, while there are a lot of new releases coming out for all of us book lovers, I’m taking on a new reading challenge.
Posts tagged ‘books’
Jan 19
Apr 17
What I Got From the Bookstore – Spring 2019
New stuff from the bookstore!
My dad knows me well and got me a bookstore gift certificate, so I recently put it to good use. All the books are non-fiction this time around. This is a bit different from my usual reading, but this year I wanted to read different kinds of books, such as biographies, writing books, etc. There was a time when I devoured every writing book I could get my hand on. The writing life genre is still one of my favorite subcategories of non-fiction. I’m always fascinated by other writers and how they navigate this world.
Thrill Me – Essays on Fiction by Benjamin Percy
I haven’t started reading this yet, but it has been in my Amazon wish list for a while. When I saw it on the shelf, I decided to go for it. I’ve read a few of Percy’s works and follow him on Twitter. Plus there was an endorsement from Karen Russell on it. When one of your favorite writers likes another writer, you buy. (One of my personal beliefs.)
You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
This is a follow-up to her first book entitled You are a Badass. I didn’t realize it at first, but no worries. You don’t need to have read the first to understand the second. I found Sincero’s writing funny and relatable. This book is all about firing you up to make more money and be unapologetic about it. While money is not the most important thing in life, it is necessary and wanting to make more shouldn’t be shamed. Notice in my last post I wrote about getting paid for my stories? This book just reinforced my ideas about writers needing to get paid. The myth of the starving writer is a damaging one and I want to make sure that I never fall into that category.
E -Squared by Pamela Grout
I’ve always been interested in the law of attraction. I had heard the general idea of it and watched a few videos on YouTube where someone says how they “manifested” $1,000 in 24 hours (or something like that). But this was the first time I bought a book on the topic. Grout breaks down the idea into 9 “experiments” that you can try in your everyday life. I tried a few and one did work (One didn’t and I haven’t tried any others). It was an interesting read and I have tried in my everyday life to be more conscious of the energy I’m putting out in the world. Grout, too, is funny and the book had a casual, friendly tone to it. I think I may pick up some of her other works later.
Happy reading everyone. Hope you get some fun stuff from your bookstore!
Mar 20
Happy Spring 2016!
Happy Spring!
I spent today submitting and thinking of my spring plans. My word count is behind, but the year isn’t over yet. Still plenty of time to get lots done.
Also, I’ve been slow on reading. I realized that I had been reading a mystery story for the last few months. I would read a few chapters, take a break, and start something else, only to come back to the first book again. That prompted me to skip to the end of this never ending book, find out who the killer is, and move on from the book.
It is something that I find myself doing more in my writing. It’s okay to change your mind about the story. Sometimes I need to just set the old draft away, pull up a new document, and start again. The novel that I’m writing now is a restart. Letting go of the old draft saved the story. Of that I am sure.
So my advice to everyone out there is this – It’s spring, a fresh start. If your work (or anything else) is stale. Go back the the blank page and begin anew.
Jan 31
I Self-Published a Book!
My new chapbook of short stories – Hypergraphia and Other Odd Stories – is available to purchase!
Exactly one month ago, I sat hunched over my computer staring at the Amazon Kindle store screen. Most Decembers, I have almost half the month off and this time around I decided to take advantage of all my time off. I had been tossing around the idea of self-publishing and figured why not?
I did this to see if I COULD do it. Could I format a book and upload it to Amazon? Could I design my own book cover? It was a challenge to figure out. One I enjoyed.
I had the stories. These five were written over the past three years. Some written and worked in class. Some I written on my own. All of them fun and interesting (to me at least).
Right now the e-book is only available on Amazon, but I am working on formatting it through Smashwords for other places (Kobo, iBooks, Nook, etc.)
I’m sure if I spent more time and energy mailing them out, eventually they would’ve found homes in various markets, but in a way this was a nice to set them free by self-pubbing them. They are out in the world and now I am writing more stories.
I definitely think I will keep doing this. I hope to do another chapbook this summer.
Buy Hypergraphia and Other Odd Stories here.
Dec 21
All the Books I Have Read in 2015
Some of the books I read this year.
All the books I have read in 2015 (in no particular order): Get In Trouble – Kelly Link The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova Life After Life – Kate Atkinson Well of Ascension – Brandon Sanderson Hero of Ages – Brandon Sanderson Alloy of Law – Brandon Sanderson Shadow of Self – Brandon Sanderson Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman The Shining Girls – Lauren Buekes Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury One Hundred Thousand Kingdoms – N K Jemison Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town – Cory Doctorow Quatrain – Sharon Shinn The Corrections – Jonathan Franzen Millionare Women Next Door – Thomas J. Stanley Career of Evil – Robert Galbraith The Heart Goes Last – Margaret Atwood Dear Robot Anthology – ed. Kelly Ann Jacobson
Nov 21
Dear Robot Anthology
My short story is in the new anthology Dear Robot. Get it here.
Here’s the full Table of Contents:
1 NICKERSON INTERSTELLAR STUDENT EXCHANGE BEHAVIORAL CONTRACT by Tara Campbell
2 GOD ARTICLE by Rafael S.W
3 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE by Misha Herwin
4 DRINK, KILL, CONTRACT by Michelle Vider
5 FUN(DRAISING) WITH METEOROIDS by Sarena Ulibarri
6 SLEEP FOREVER by Tabitha Sin
7 DODONA 2.0 by Llanwyre Laish
8 SELECTIONS FROM THE INTRAGALACTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HABITABLE PLANETS by Kate Lechler
9 DUO-13-TRIP by Marlena Chertock
10 DEAR R.A.Y. by Tanya Bryan
11 SO YOU’VE BEEN CHOSEN TO FOSTER by Jamie Killen
12 WELCOME TO OASIS by Terri Bruce
13 AL’S ROBOT REPAIR by Bruce Markuson
14 USGITP COMMUNIQUE #544 ERC by Johnna Schmidt
15 THE INSTITUTE by Diana Smith Bolton
16 THE WRATH OF SEPHILEMEA by Gargi Mehra
17 CONSIDERATIONS OF HAVING ROYALTY AS NAMESAKE by Juliana Rew
18 #IAMHUMAN by Christina Keller
19 COUNTDOWN (MY DEAR ONE) by Jacquelyn Bengfort
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