Top 10 "To-Reads" for the Summer

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish which I found out about thanks to Amber over at Me, My Shelf & I. There's a new book-related top ten list every single week and it is a great way to get to know other book-loving bloggers! Everyone is welcome to join in the weekly linky party, even if you can't think of TEN for a certain Tuesday (just think of as many as you can!), just make sure you link back to The Broke and the Bookish if you do!

This week's topic is:

TOP TEN BOOKS ON THE SUMMER TBR LIST

 

 This list is mostly comprised of books I have started and better have finished by the end of the summer! Some are new starts, but a couple have been hanging around for way too long!!

1. 

 

I grabbed this book up about a month ago, but I was already in the middle of to other must-reads for reviews I had scheduled.I have since starting getting into it and I am finding even the first chapter fascinating!

2.

 

I started Skinny last week because it is one of the books I have been looking forward to most from my BEA stash. An overweight teen has this voice in her head named "Skinny" that whispers to her what everyone else is thinking. I think this is going going to be a very important YA book coming out this Fall.

3.

 

I know this cover looks ridiculous, but this is the Philip K. Dick collection that contains the story that Total Rekall is based on. Since I am a book before the movie kind of girl, I wanted to read the story, as well as get a taste for some of Philip K. Dick's other stories. (This will increase my nerd-cred.)

4.

 

I happened to catch a really cool interview on The Today Show a long time ago (I think it was last year!) with Al Roker and the children's reading group where they were discussing this book. I thought it sounded fun and fascinating. I really do love reading kid's books, particularly like this - the title is secret, the author is "pseudonymous bosch" and the narrator is just terrible at keeping things hush hush!

5 - 10 ++ Curtis High School's Summer Reading List
About ten years ago, when I was still teaching I took home my school's summer reading list. I always taught freshmen and, while I taught mathematics, I loved to talk to my kids about what they were reading. I thought that if they had someone else to talk to about their books besides just their English teacher they could see that reading was really awesome and not just homework. Until this day, that was one of my most productive reading summers. I read every single book on the list that I hadn't already read. In many cases I read multiple books in one day! It is something I've wanted to do again.

I no longer teach, but my husband is still an English teacher at the school I used to work at. The summer reading list has been completely redrafted. I asked him to bring it home to me last week to see if there were a lot of books I hadn't read, or if it was just a couple of additions.

Here's how the numbers play out:

• Freshman reading list: I read two of the book choices and have not read nine others.
• Sophomore reading list: I read five of the book choices and have not read five others.
• Junior reading list: I read one of the book choices and have not read seven others.
• Senior reading list: I have read three of the book choices and have not read five others.

Based on this, and on my "rules" from the last time I went with the last time I tackled the summer reading list, that means I have twenty-six more book to add to my TBR list! To see the complete list, check out my post about it here.

Quickie Check-In #2 for ROW80 2/5

This might be the quickest check-in ever. It's SuperBowl Sunday, I'm a New Yorker, and the GIANTS are in the game!! Much needs to be done celebrated on this day...

With that said, I do have obligations to my ROW80 Challenge. On last Wednesday's check-in I reassessed my goals and rewrote a number of them. In the short span of time that has elapsed between then and now, some more rewriting needs to happen!

A Shift in Focus on "Spreading Out"
 
Since I have started ROW80 I have placed a large emphasis on writing for the Yahoo Contributor Network. This was part of my "Spreading Out" goals. Well, this past week I got a couple of offers to allow me to spread out without feeling like a hamster in a wheel. First off, I have been asked to do guest posts on a couple of blogs (one of them being from Chris at The Carpe Diem blog who shared his book love story with me) and secondly I have become one of the regular writers on The Word of the Nerd website, which I am very excited about. So, my Yahoo Contributor's Network is going to go on the back burner right now, which is where it was starting to feel like it belonged anyway (there is an insane amount of competition for visibility when you're a newbie like me, I have to work up my presence there slowly).

Reading Like I Have ADHD

I haven't finished any books since Wednesday (except for the preview issue of a comic book called Stick City I did a review for on Word of the Nerd), but I have started (I wish I was joking...) at least three more books on top of what I was already reading. My brain will implode shortly, but I'm riding this wave until Wednesday, at least. At which point I should have completed at least one of the books.


Three Hours of "Writing"


I forgot how much time editing takes. I was working on a short story piece for the Write On Edge prompt this week that flowed pretty quickly. I was happy with my work, but at word count time found that it was nearly 700 words. The prompt specifically said 400 words or LESS. I spent the entire day pairing it down. I made it, but my time set aside for writing on Friday was gobbled up by this process. So... does it count? I think so. Editing is a part of writing and I was working on a creative piece. Although it ended up on my blog, I don't really consider participation in the Write on Edge activities as "blog writing" in the strictest sense of the term. I participate in them regularly to hone my craft.

Those are my biggie thoughts about my ROW 80 challenge at this point in the week. Tomorrow begins my month long online writing workshop where I'll learn some of JK Rowling's greatest writing lessons from the expert in the matter, Susan Sipal. I can't wait!

Here's the list of the ROWers checking in this weekend - show your support!

My January 2012 in Review: Books

You may or may not have noticed the challenge button I have on the sidebar of my blog from goodreads. It's my 2012 reading challenge. If you haven't seen that, then perhaps you've been keeping up with my ROW80 check-ins where I discuss this challenge. Either way, if you have not, here it is:

I will read 52 books in the year 2012.

This is doable. All I have to do is read at least one book per week, or four books per month. Well, January ended and I was already behind! I only read three books. No worries, though. I've got a whole year ahead of me. Right now I just want to tell you about those three books!

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

I was introduced to this book thanks to the good people at the WriteOnEdge blog. This was the second selection for the online reading discussion ReadOnEdge after we read Stephen King's On Writing. I must say Lamott's book was an excellent choice.

As I am endeavoring to take the leap into the writing word it is important to get sage advice from those who have been through the ringer a couple of times. While King discussed the idea of rejection and his own experiences with it, I don't think he captured the emotional tumult that one goes through during the process of writing as vividly as Lamott did. Reading that the feelings of insecurity I am having now seem to be a natural part of the game was strangely comforting.

Along with anecdotes from a writer's insecure mind were some incredible pieces of advice. So many of them so simple one has to wonder why the thought of them has been so elusive. A perfect example of this is the story behind the title of the book. Lamott reflects upon her brother, ten years old at the time, waiting until the last moment to do a report he had months to do. He was besides himself, this project was on multiple types of birds and was overwhelmed. Their father (also a writer) walked in the kitchen to find his son distraught over his enormous project. The father calms him by saying he needs to just take the report "bird by bird." Lamott, a writing teacher, tells her students this story year after year so that they too understand that their manuscripts can not be written en masse, but rather piece by piece, or "bird by bird."

There are so many snippets of advice, so much writers can learn from reading this. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in writing at any level.


Gregor The Overlander by Suzanne Collins

I have had this audiobook for years. I bought it back in 2009 when I was first diagnosed with IIH and couldn't read anything, not even a computer screen. I had just finished The Hunger Games and I wanted to see where this Collins woman came from. I don't know if it was the narrator. I don't know if it was that I was so sick at the time. I don't know if it was because I was always laying down when I listened to it. All I do know is I literally could not stay awake in this book. When I saw it still in my iPhone in January I decided I would give it another shot, but only play it when I was wide awake.

Well, that was the trick! I really loved the book. I was listening to it like crazy just to know what happened next. I couldn't help but make comparisons to The Hunger Games while listening, but otherwise it was a book all its own. Suzanne Collins seems to have a real knack for creating worlds that run on different rules (Panem in The Hunger Games and the Underworld in Gregor). While the Underworld's rules are not as shocking as Panem's in THG, the setting is.

Taking place completely underground, this book takes a young boy, Gregor, and his little sister Booth to a place they had never dreamed of. There are larger than life creatures and characters, a prophecy and a mission to save a father. The book is filled with adventure, action and just the right touch of "icky" that I believe it would be especially appealing to a young male audience.

Although this book is the first in a six book series, the story itself contains enough closure to be a one-shot read if you so desire. However, I can tell you I'll be back! I'm too fascinated by the Underworld and the fascinating cast of characters I left there.


Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres

The third book I read in January was one of my Christmas gifts. I asked for it because I read Ellen's first book, My Point... And I Do Have One back in 1995, and I seriously thought it was one of the funniest things in print. I bought it because Ellen amused me, but the book had me wiping the laughter tears out of my eyes. My friend and I can still quote excerpts from the book.

Also, Ellen's stand up has the same affect on me. Pure, unbridled joy brought on by hilarity. My husband knows, any time it is on, he can flip over to it, I can recite the jokes along with the show and still be laughing. My husband and I often pull out some of the Ellen jokes whenever apropos.

So I'm an Ellen fan. I was really looking forward to the book. Maybe I raised my expectations too high. Maybe I'm not as easily amused anymore... who knows.

The book was funny, but not hilarious. It was more of a memoir with a twist. It was a stream of monologues from the Ellen show all wrapped up together. Do I recommend the book? Absolutely. It is a fun, quick read and I still love Ellen for her messages of positivity and living in happiness. She is my idol in this way and in her silliness (when my students would tell me I reminded them of Ellen I would secretly dance in my heart for the greatest compliment paid, second only to, "Thank you, Miss."). She explains why she left American Idol, she discusses her pride in her show and being the spokeswoman for CoverGirl, her love of her wife and family, and she even included coloring pages for your kids (I thought that was pretty great)! There are some seriously funny parts, I suppose I just wanted more.

Want To Get Your Own?

If you suddenly feel so inclined to purchase one (or more) of these books, and you were planning on doing it through Amazon.com, I would be extremely grateful if you followed one of the links below to do so. By following these links, rather than going to Amazon directly, Amazon will pay me a commission at no extra cost to you. It's just one small way you can show your support for the Rivera Runs Through It blog. Thanks!

ROW80 Wednesday Check-In 2/1

Today marks one week since I first learned about the ROW80, or A Round of Words in 80 Days Challenge. It's also time, believe it or not, for my second check-in! I decided on Sunday that I would do "Quickie" Check-Ins on the Sundays and give you a more specific picture of what is going on with my challenge on Wednesdays. So here we go...

These are my goals as I defined them last week, and what I have done to accomplish them so far:

Writing:

• Write three hours per day Mon-Fri. I am extremely happy to say that I have accomplished this so far. There is one issue I have with my accomplishment, however. When I wrote this goal, in my mind I had imagined this to mean three hours devoted to my creative writing only. This week I have spent some of that time writing for Rivera Runs Through It (not a bad thing!). I am trying to schedule some posts ahead since I have signed up for a writing workshop for this month (more about that later). NEW GOAL: Write three hours per day Mon-Fri in addition to writing for blog.
• Become an active member of a writing group. Most of the writing I have accomplished above has been during #wordmongering sessions on twitter with my online writing peeps ( Morgan, Tui, Julie, Chasing Joy, and Susan). This has been awesome and while I have been able to connect with each of them via Twitter, I would like to become a little more active and interact with each of their blogs in the coming weeks.NEW GOAL: Become more involved with my online writing group's multiple platforms.

Reading: 

• Read at least one hour per day I honestly don't know how I've done with this. I don't time myself when reading, so this was a silly way for me to write this goal. I know there are some days I definitely didn't reach an hour and other days where I exceeded it. On average, I think I definitely read at least one hour per day. However, this goal needs to be rewritten if I am to truly hold myself accountable. NEW GOAL: [This terrifies me...] Complete at least one book per week.
• Complete goodreads 2012 challenge of 52 books this year This goal and my new goal above are now in sync with each other. When I originally wrote my goals I had completed no books in the year 2012. As of this morning I have finished FOUR. I am well on my way to completing this challenge especially if I stick to the new goal above. NO NEW GOAL NEEDED.

Spreading Out/Getting Published:

• Start claiming and completing assignments from the Yahoo Contributor's Network of which I am a part. (Although I have yet to submit a single piece of work!!) I am most proud of making headway here. If you click the Yahoo link you will see my profile which now has two pieces of content published by me. They have not received a ton of traffic, but I still don't know how the Yahoo world works, so hopefully they will soon. I am particularly proud of my short story fairy tale called "The Peanut in the Woods" so if you get a chance I'd love to hear what you think of it! NEW GOAL: Continue claiming and completing assignments from the Yahoo! Contributor's Network
• Enter at least one writing contest per month. Unfortunately, I failed for January on this one. Although, technically, I am waiting to hear about two contests I entered earlier that had January deadlines - does that count? OK, no. Of course not. I put all focus on Yahoo! and forgot about this. GOAL MISSED: try again!
• Send at least one piece to a literary magazine per month. Oh dear... who wrote this goal? I don't remember this one at all. I blame Yahoo! for this one as well. OK, OK! I know what I need to do this week! GOAL MISSED: try again!

One goal I would like to add after watching this earlier today:


Well, it is co-inspired by that and the hike I went on with my dogs yesterday... the one where I came home and felt like sleeping for the next month straight because I was so exhausted (I still hurt).

NEW GOAL: Walk 10 miles per week.

This is a lot less than what I used to do, but I'm not sure my body is even up to that yet, so we shall see. If ten miles is a cake walk, I'll up it next week. And if it is, pathetically, still out of my reach, then I will adjust it where needed.

So, that's it for now. On Monday I will be starting a month-long online writing workshop that I am extremely excited about (you should check it out). I can't wait to learn a ton, and I'll be ready to readjust all my goals to fit around my education!

Here are the other brave souls on this journey with me, be sure to show your support! (I'm the 24th link!):