ŷ������

Anyone have any resolutions of what they want to read for the new year? I have so many I can't keep track of them all!

I resolve to read all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I have them all on my shelf, but have yet to start them.

I'm disappointed that I haven't read as much as I'd like in the past few months. I started caring for my granddaughter (kindergartener) & that's really put a hitch in my reading! ;-D Reading is one of my great joys in life. I have so many classics I want to read. Right now I'm reading Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens & it's enjoyable (although, so far, not my favorite of his). I'm also trying to finish Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery. Been too tired to read before bed! I thought grandkids were supposed to keep you young?!

I want to find and read any Midnight Louie mysteries I haven't read yet, by Carole Nelson Douglas. I think there might be two. I' also like to find and read any more Carol Anne O'Marie Sister Mary Helen mysteries I haven't read yet. I just discovered there are several my library didn't have, thanks to ŷ������.

I resolve to start writing that next mystery manuscript!

Also, I'd like to send out my Happy New Year wishes to everyone in the group. I hope you are celebrating with those you love, and may the new year fulfill your hopes and bring you many enjoyable mystery reads and lots of joy!

Hi - I'd like to get back into reading, more stitching, less TV. So, let's try for one a month to start.

I agree with more stitching, but I tend to combine both TV and stitching at the same time . I'd go nuts if I couldn't watch my favorite hockey team play.

As for reading resolutions, I'd like to expand the books I read. Not just fiction but some nonfiction that interests me such as books on architecture and the history of the textile industry.

I've tried reading other genres over the past year, but always seem to go back to the mysteries and thrillers. A lot of friends have recommended what I call "chickie books." They're not chick lit, but ones that women are more drawn to. Instead I've tried new authors like Nora Roberts and Sandra Brown(their suspense ones, not the romances or trilogies), Janet Evanovich, and Sarah Strohmeyer (Bubbles). This year, I've got some Heather Graham, Kathy Reich, and J. Jance in my TBR boxes.

oh and btw, the stitching is also for creative therapy to keep me out of the kitchen cabinets, too close to the tv. :)

I'd like to try one of the Miss Silver mysteries by Patricia Wentworth this year.

My resolution is to expand my mystery reading. I do read some paranormal and sports romances, but I want to get back to reading mysteries again and discover some new authors.

I've set a goal of 175 books. I'm at 56, so far! But I'm in a reading rut right now and haven't finished a book in days. :-(

I'm sorry, but I had to giggle over here - "haven't finished a book in days." I average a book a month, if I'm lucky. My goal was one book a month, and I'm already behind by three.

Either I'm choosing longer books and everybody is reading super short mysteries or I don't spend hours reading every day. How does everyone manage to read so much?

When I was single I could read a book in a weekend, or longer if it was during the week.

My reading varies. Some I can read through quite quickly no matter thick or thin, but others take me much longer, so I think a lot depends on content and writing style. Grab my attention and you've got me hooked until I'm finished. Some books just seem to plod or have too much going on to focus.

KimG wrote: "I'm sorry, but I had to giggle over here - "haven't finished a book in days." I average a book a month, if I'm lucky. My goal was one book a month, and I'm already behind by three.

Either I'm..."

I finished 8 books in July and so far this month I have read 7 books. I read a variety of books, a lot of cozy mysteries but also others. For instance the last three books that I have read are The Lost Quilter An Elm Creek Quilts Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini, (finished on Aug 6 the book before that was finished on Aug 4) then The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen finished on August 8 and then Bindweed A Gardening Mystery by Janis Harrison. Sometimes I can finish one book and start another in a day. The longest it has taken me to read a book in the last 2 months was 7 days and that was a cozy mystery. I read a lot of different kinds of books. If I'm reading non-fiction and taking notes as I read that will take me longer. And I don't just read. I work (I am fortunate to have a job that I can work out of my home) but right now I'm only getting about 20 hours a week, I watch some TV but not much (I haven't had the TV on all weekend), I like Sudoku, Logic puzzles, and Picture puzzles (find the difference). I also spend a lot of time on ŷ������! :-). I am also house hunting on the internet trying to find a place in Phoenix as I would like to get moved before the end of the year so that takes up some of my time. I guess I just read fast. Also if I am really into a book I can read until the wee hours of the morning (3 or 4 a.m.).

I read 18 books in July. I think that is a record for me since I started keeping track of what I read. Am at 102 for the year so far. I also read different things. I love UF! Put a vampire in it and I'll probably read it! Am also a sucker for pop-culture bios and love about any kind of mystery.

Melodie wrote: "I read 18 books in July. I think that is a record for me since I started keeping track of what I read. Am at 102 for the year so far. I also read different things. I love UF! Put a vampire in ..."

Exactly what is an Urban Fantasy book? Give me a couple titles please. :-)

Urban Fantasy is fantasy which is set in the real world as opposed to a made up world. Some titles would be:
Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy
The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff
Unshapley Things by Mark Del Franco

Denise wrote: "Melodie wrote: "I read 18 books in July. I think that is a record for me since I started keeping track of what I read. Am at 102 for the year so far. I also read different things. I love UF! P..."

I consider any of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books to be urban fantasy. The Twilight books are YA fantasy, but not what I would consider urban fantasy as they don't have all the necessary world building to qualify, IMHO. And Sandy mentions Tanya Huff & Mark Del Franco. I loved Huff's Blood Books which the Lifetime TV show Blood Ties was based on. Del Franco's Conor Grey books are good, too. They deal with the fae. Patricia Briggs has a series with a heroine named Mercy Thompson who is a shapeshifter. She's a coyote in her non-human form. UF is only good when the writer does good world building. They have to be in what we consider the "real" world, but it has to be a world in which supernatural beings exist and are more or less "out" to the world.

Melodie wrote: "Del Franco's Conor Grey books are good, too. They deal with the fae."

Thank both you and Sandy for this info. You can tell I have not read this type of book as I had to go look up "FAE". I went to my favorite informational site, Wikipedia and if there are others reading this that are as clueless as I was here is a really good article at . I printed it off for future reference! I like the shapeshifter idea (of course that reminds me of Lon Chaney Jr in "The Werewolf". And if you ask who is Lon Chaney Jr you are way too young for the reference. But then there was a Shapeshifter on Deep Space Nine (ie Odo) also).

Denise wrote: "Melodie wrote: "Del Franco's Conor Grey books are good, too. They deal with the fae."

Thank both you and Sandy for this info. You can tell I have not read this type of book as I had to go look u..."

If the shapeshifter idea appeals to you, you might consider Patricia Briggs' series. The first book in the series is Moon Called. There are also vampires and fae in the series. They are quite good.

Okay everyone, it is time to start thinking about our reading resolutions for 2010. I will start us off by saying that I resolve to go back through all my cozy series and try to catch up with the books I haven't read in series that I have started. I want to do this before I start adding new series. So I will just have to put blinders on when everyone is talking about new series that they are reading. I just feel like I have a lot of loose ends. I will start January off by catching up with Donna Andrews's Meg Lanslow series. I need to read Six Geese A-Slaying and Swan for the Money. Then I will move on to Cynthia Baxter's Reigning Cats & Dogs series. I have three to read starting with Who's Kitten Who?.

If I get off the track (with cozies) someone in the group, please, remind me of my resolution. (Now mind you I will have to read some non-cozies along the way and that will not be breaking my resolution.)

A timely revival of an old thread! I have been thinking of 2010 reading goals for the past few weeks, and considering a number of reading challenges to help me along. At the beginning of this year I set a goal of 75 books, four of which were to be classics. I am currently on book 76, and will be working that final classic in this month to coincide with a (Capote's A Christmas Memory).

I read primarily in the mystery/thriller/rom suspense categories, with or without paranormal elements, but try to work in a few other genres here and there as well. I get bored if I read within any one genre for a prolonged period of time, and that translates into reading less.

Aside from setting a goal of 75 books again for the coming year, I have already committed to and the . The latter requires the reading of only one pre-1600 classic by end of February (I have Homer slated for this), and the Historical has no set limit, but I am planning to use it to catch up on my Johanna Lindsey's, one book per month. I've also just received a "first reads" book that will fit that, The Botticelli Secret.

I am also considering the , picking titles from my TBR mountain range. Took me forever to come up with names for I, Q, N, and V, and I'm still looking for an author whose last name starts with U (feel free to offer suggestions).

Heather L: In regards to your A-Z Author Challenge here is some help for the letter U: try this link--
it lists 32 authors with the last name starting with U (ie two popular ones are John Updike and Leon Uris, neither of which have I read but of course have heard of)

Denise wrote: "Okay everyone, it is time to start thinking about our reading resolutions for 2010. I will start us off by saying that I resolve to go back through all my cozy series and try to catch up with the b..."

Ive heard alot about the Donna Andrews
series..please keep us posted on your views for her cozy series!

Thanks, Denise. Don't know why I didn't think of Updike. I have read one book by him previously, and know he has an extensive backlist. Too bad none of them are already in the TBR! Guess I'll have to hit the UBS. Oh, the horror! hehe...

Melissa: I have read 9 of Donna Andrews' Meg Lanslow series. Andrews writes with humor, not as much as Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. In the beginning books of the series Andrews spends more time on Meg's craft, which is working with metal (welding etc). Meg's family, especially her dad, is kind of wacky. The dog, Spike, is a holy terror. I can't say that this series ranks in even my top 10 but since I have read 9 of them I feel like I should read the rest. They are in the "okay" range but not like the ones I can hardly wait until the next book comes out.

I have set myself to read 75 books. My resolution is not to buy any books until I read all thevones on my TBR first. Hopefully I have that much self control.

Britney: I too vow to read more than I did last year and keep telling myself that I wont buy more...but I just can't help myself when I shop the used books for $1...at least I buy books that are part of the series or an Author I love...Good Luck and Happy New Year!

New Years resolution to read more of the different series books that I have already read one or two books in the series.

I hope to be able to get through my 2012 series challenge which involves my Harry potter series and Debbie Macomber series and I hope to read 20 books this year for the goodreads challenge only got 3 out of 15 last year, fingers crossed :)

My resolution is to resist the urge to take on any reading challenges and just read what I want, when I want! I never finished the 2011 A-Z challenge, I had about eight books left. So this year, no challenges (at least no big ones.) One little one for myself is that I'd like to read the 2nd and 3rd Flavia de Luce books so that in December I can be on the 4th one, which is Christmas themed.

I was just talking about setting reading goals down in the 2012 ŷ������ Challenge thread. It was kind of a longish post, so if interested, please pop over and join us. ;-)

Last year I set 75 as my goal and read 117 books! I even surprised myself. I met so many new authors through my ŷ������ groups. Being retired allows me to be lazy, but there are times when I feel guilty too. I'm going to set my goal this year at 100 books. I'm down in Costa Rica right now visiting my 96 year old mother and my sister. Have almost finished two books already because it has been cold and drizzly and I haven't been out of the house. Happy New Year to all and may there always be a good book on your stack to read!!!

I'm going to try and catch up on all my series, be they cozy, paranormal, sci-fi, or mystery. I'm so far behind on some that I can't remember what's going on in the storyline.

I recently retired, so I set my goal to 350 books this year. It's long been a dream of mine to read a book a day and I almost made it to that last year. Maybe this year will be the year. However, I also plan to read for pleasure and not let myself get pressured.

My resolution is to read 50 books. I set a goal last year to read 100 but fell short due to wedding planning :) I figured with my wedding coming up, 50 was realistic.

I was back in college in 2011, and then my husband had another hospital stay last summer, and I was tending to him again afterward. All of this really slowed up my cozy reading! I still read 88 books last year, even if some were school books.
My only resolution is to get my TBR pile down a bit!

I hope to read more history than I did last year, finish Chris Grabenstein's Ceepak and Dannny series, and read the books by Reginald Hill that I haven't gotten to yet. I hate it that there will be no more adventures of Dalziel and Pascoe.

My total goal for the year is 150 books. I read 156 last year, so hopefully, I can reach that again. I also try to read at least one non-fiction book per month, but I'm less than halfway through a 480-page book for January, and I'm not sure I can complete it in two days, even though it's fascinating. I'm planning on spending more time writing this year (need to finish my 2011 NaNo book even if I don't plan on publishing it), but I'll still try to keep up on my reading. There are just too many good books out there! I keep downloading books to my Kindle, but I still have several boxes of books in my room that need to be read and donated first.

I can't believe I havent' responded to this thread yet!

I read an even 100 last year, short of my goal of 150, but I hadn't anticipated meeting the love of my life, remarrying and having a somewhat 'normal' life again. Gone are the 6 hour reading marathons where I'd finish a book a night for 3 nights out of the week. This month I still managed 14 books, but I set my goal for the year at just 100 again. Some month's last year I read as little as 3 or 4 books a month. I may need to re-calculate!

Not sure where the extra reading hours came from this month. I'm keeping busy with other hobbies, not sleeping any less...curioser and curioser!

Yeah, getting married last fall put a crimp in my reading time too. lol I didn't read a thing in all of Nov. However, he's on the road as a truck driver now and that's given me more reading time again. Do wish he was home more often though.

Try to read 3-4 hours a day. Much more than that and nothing gets done. Don't let your Kindle fall on your head when you are trying to read and keep falling asleep. Doing the cozy challenge and the 100 book read.

�� Briansgirl "Book Sale Queen"�� wrote: "Yeah, getting married last fall put a crimp in my reading time too. lol I didn't read a thing in all of Nov. However, he's on the road as a truck driver now and that's given me more reading time ag..."

Maybe you could go with him now and then? You could read while travelling;D

I have to stay home with our three sons Brenda, so that isn't an option unfortunately.

�� Briansgirl "Book Sale Queen"�� wrote: "I have to stay home with our three sons Brenda, so that isn't an option unfortunately."

Sorry, didn't realize you had 3 boys! They'd love you home anyway, plus it'd be great when Dad gets home!

My reading goal is 25 books but also to explore new authors. I have already found two so far that I did not expect to enjoy. Oh and find some genre my husband might be interested in.

Hi Courtney! You're sure to find plenty of new authors here. You might want to start by scrolling down to the "featured author" section of the group's main page. ; )

I have a long list of reading resolutions - the one most appropriate for here is to finish my "read the USA" challenge which I started in Aug or Sep. I'd also like to do at least a few of the monthly mini-challenges (although covers are hard for me to browse on my Kindle).

Leslie, you could create a shelf in GR with your kindle books on it, then browse the covers that way :)

Barb - that's a good idea! I have lots of books on my Kindle I haven't put on my GR shelves (my to-read list is already too long) but that would help...

I did not get to read much this past year which is really bumming me out. Hopefully with my new Kindle Fire that will change. I want to catch up on all my series reads which are mostly copied and a few urban fantasies.