06 January 2012

On Little Cat Feet

I vlog'd.




The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.


~ Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)


Happy commuting,

Zen

03 January 2012

We read to know that we are not alone

Happy New Year!

I've pretty much established the fact that I don't have much use for New Year's Resolutions in general. But, for 2011, I did set a resolution-like goal for myself: To read a minimum of 60 books.

Based on recent years, that seemed like a realistic, but challenging goal.

I'm pleased to say I made it to 61. Though, I have to admit, I know I could have read more. There were a few times this year when I went weeks without any "pleasure reading" at all - which is very unlike me and is probably a testament to just how crazy 2011 was. (As is the dearth of posts here on the ol' blog-front, I know.) In fact, about 45 of those 60 books were all read in the first 6-7 months of the year. So, fall and winter were obviously pretty lacking in "me-time".

Still, I've set the same goal for 2012 ... but (shhhh!) I'm secretly hoping to beat it buy a greater margin than my stunning one-more-than-planned in 2011. ;)

Like my reading lists for the last few years, 2011 was chock full o' brain candy and speculative fiction. But there are a few exceptions.

One notable standout - for me - is an actual best-seller! I almost never read those. I guess I'm something of a ... what's the opposite of a books-snob? Wait, I think that's still a book snob. Just a different kind. ;)  But, in general, if it's "popular", I'm almost almost instinctively averse to reading it. Strange, I know. But, still true.

And yet, something about this one appealed to me ... so, for one of my last reads of 2011, I got a copy of The Hunger Games on Kindle ... and read it straight through (virtual) cover to cover in about 4 hours. And then I did the exact same thing with it's two sequels. (Those are on my 2012 list.) I have to admit - they were really good books. You should read them.

What did YOU read that was pleasantly surprising this year? :)

Happy Reading,

Zen

"We read to know that we are not alone." ~ C.S. Lewis 

Good Reads 2010  |  Good Reads 2009  |  Good Reads 2008



2011 Reading List


Kick Ass


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Black Magic Sanction


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Blameless


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Bayou Moon


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Storm Front


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Unshapely Things


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Beg For Mercy


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


How to Traumatize Your Children


2 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011, funny, non-fiction, and parenting


Curran


5 of 5 stars




tagged:
urban-paranormal-fantasy and 2011


Hunter


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and sf


Serenity: Those Left Behind


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011, graphic-novel, and sf


The Guild


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and graphic-novel


Better Days


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011, sf, and graphic-novel


Fool Moon


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
urban-paranormal-fantasy and 2011


Grave Peril


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
urban-paranormal-fantasy and 2011


Wicked Appetite


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
funny, mystery-suspense, and 2011


Sizzling Sixteen


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
funny, 2011, and mystery-suspense


Summer Knight


5 of 5 stars




tagged:
urban-paranormal-fantasy, mystery-suspense, and 2011


Kitty Goes to War


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
urban-paranormal-fantasy and 2011


Angel Of Mercy


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
urban-paranormal-fantasy and 2011


Cry Mercy


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
urban-paranormal-fantasy and 2011


A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Sherlock Holmes in Orbit


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
sf, 2011, and mystery-suspense


A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Hard Magic


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
urban-paranormal-fantasy, mystery-suspense, and 2011


Secrets of the Demon


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011, mystery-suspense, and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Spirit Dances


0 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Magic Mourns


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Indulgence in Death


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and mystery-suspense


The Atlantis Complex


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011, fantasy, and kids-ya


Fathers and Sons


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


You Suck


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011, urban-paranormal-fantasy, and funny


River Marked


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Magic Slays


5 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Pale Demon


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Death Masks


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Blood Rites


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Dead Beat


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Mysteria


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Phenomenal Girl 5


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Proven Guilty


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
urban-paranormal-fantasy and 2011


Smokin' Seventeen


5 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011, mystery-suspense, and funny


Treachery in Death


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and mystery-suspense


The Electric Church


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and sf


White Night


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Small Favor


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


The Digital Plague


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and mystery-suspense


Good Eats: The Early Years


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and non-fiction


Good Eats 2: The Middle Years


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and non-fiction


Blood Work


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Necroscope


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Silver Shark


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Explosive Eighteen


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011, mystery-suspense, and funny


Down These Strange Streets


3 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


Shady Lady


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
2011 and urban-paranormal-fantasy


New York to Dallas


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
mystery-suspense and 2011


Heartless


4 of 5 stars




tagged:
urban-paranormal-fantasy and 2011







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