Jan 18 2016
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Niki’s Top Ten Goals of 2016!

top ten tuesdayI really like setting and achieving goals, and declaring them publicly always seems to give me that extra bit of motivation I need to make them happen. Last year, I managed to knock out 5 of my 10 goals (all the reading/blogging ones… the writing ones didn’t go so well). This year, I’m hoping for 10/10!

Goals Achieved in 2015:

1. Continue my 1500 for 1 reading challenge.

In which I keep track of the number of pages I read, and as soon as I hit 1500, I’m allowed to buy a book. The previous year I’d been trying a 4 for 1 method, but all that did was encourage me to read the shortest books first. This method has been working splendidly for me – not only does it completely moderate my book spending, but it also curbs that almost addictive need to buy new books, as I read enough to get a new package in the mail once every few weeks. I’ve also noticed that it makes me more selective on what I bring home – after all, I only have one book “credit” to spend at a time, and I want to make sure I spend it on something I’m going to love!

2. Get rid of all the books I didn’t like:

This goal involved getting rid of books that I’d already read, but kind of hated. This one was really difficult for me because each read book on my shelf represents a little badge of accomplishment. I tackled this goal in baby steps, starting out by removing all of these titles from my shelves. I soon discovered that having bookcases only filled with both books that I absolutely loved and ones that I am super excited to read made gazing at my library a lot more rewarding than when I was having to stop constantly to lament how much I didn’t like a particular title. It sounds weird, but hey, whatever works, right?

3. Only review the books I feel strongly about.

I achieved this goal, but in a different way than I’d intended. Initially, I was thinking to review only the extreme ends of the spectrums, you know, the loves and hates. I discovered that sometimes, the ones smack dab in the middle of those extremes are the ones I felt the most strongly about. In any case, I feel like my reviews in 2015 were stronger than they’ve ever been because I wasn’t just going through the motions to get my opinion of the titles down – I genuinely felt passionate about every review I shared. I will definitely be continuing this as I go forward.

4. Add a few more buttons to my social media taskbar.

Done! It took me six hours and a lot of hair-pulling, but I’m glad I finally sucked it up long enough to get it done. And you know what? I like them. :-)

5. Stop being a phantom follower.

I still don’t comment as often as I could, but I feel good enough about my progress towards this goal to call it a win for 2015. I probably commented (with thoughtful and sincere comments) more last year than I had in my previous three years of blogging combined. This year will probably be even better.

Like I said, all of my blogging/reading goals were achieved, but for various reasons, I didn’t complete any of my writing goals. This year, I decided to make all of my goals reading/blogging/creativity related.

Niki’s Top Ten Goals of 2016!

1. Be Creative!

2016 is the year of creativity! In which I plan to do some sort of creative expression every day. I’m ready, too. I have a fresh set of paints, gorgeous high-quality colored pencils (and a nifty adult coloring book), a beautiful crossstitch project, and an organized arsenal of countless other supplies and possibilities! My first focus is to finish a gorgeous Royce Frogs crossstitch project that I started during the 2012 Summer Olympics.

9 & 1/2 frogs down, 2 (and a ton of back stitching) to go!

2. Dance to the beat of my own drum!

From a reading/blogging standpoint, of course. I’ve been kind of doing this throughout 2015 anyway, but I’d like to make an official goal for 2016.

Notes to self: [1] don’t feel like blogging this week? Whatever. I doubt it will hurt anyone’s feelings (if they even notice. I’ve seen a few of those “I’m back” posts where I went “oh, yeah… Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen a post in a while – glad you’re back!” [2] feel like posting 10 times in 2 days to effectively burn yourself out? That’s cool, too, just apologize to your readers for BOMBING their inboxes. [3] miss posting/writing a weekly feature post (like Top Ten Tuesday) that you’d wanted to do? HOW ANNOYING!!! Find a way to cope with your OCD and post it anyway. I don’t care if it’s Friday.

It’s an oddly liberating thing to finally realize that this is MY blog and I don’t have any rules or constraints on my creativity other than what I place on myself. Although, ultimately, I would love to dance to my own drum AND make my readers happy at the same time. I think it’s possible.

3. Finish out priority series.

This was an unofficial goal last year, and I’ve made a lot of progress with it. It goes along nicely with my “Read the best books first” mantra and has helped me focus primarily on the authors I claim as favorites. I also feel weirdly compelled to finish these outstanding series before I dive fully into new ones. Like I won’t enjoy the new ones until I finish the old ones? It doesn’t make any sense, so it’s probably just my OCD trying to rationalize this compulsion from my subconscious. I’m choosing to indulge it.

4. Respond to comments ON MY OWN BLOG!

Ugh. How embarrassing. I mean, I managed to comment on other blogs this year while awkwardly neglecting my own. This is unacceptable behavior for me because of how much I appreciate anyone who takes the time out of their busy day to visit and interact with me. I feel ultimate shame. It’s one of those situations where I read the comment in the email WordPress sends me, formulate a reply in my head, then promptly forget to actually respond. #fail

5. Get my eyes healthy.

Really, this should be my first goal this year. ANY other goals I set for reading or blogging are absolutely pointless if I can’t focus long enough to achieve them. This stupid mofo injury has had me down and out for the past 6 months and it has been MISERABLE. Imagine your 3 or 4 most favorite things to do in the world. Do they require eyes? ALL of mine do! Woe is me. I miss reading, I miss blogging, I miss TV, I even miss driving. Okay, I’m done bitching.

6. Create templates for my posts.

Why haven’t I thought of doing this before? There must be some form of brain damage to blame because it would save me SO MUCH TIME! And it only took me 4 years of blogging to figure this out… Sheesh.

7. Host a MASSIVE giveaway.

Thus far, I have over 50 titles to give away that I’ve been hoarding for the last year. Some are new, some used, some are signed, and some lack SKUs (ARCs), and they all need a new home. More to come…

8. Figure out what to do with signed (and personalized) editions of books I didn’t like.

It’s what I get for not being brave enough to say “signature only, please,” fearing it might hurt the author’s feelings or something. Does anyone have some suggestions? Should I include them as options in the giveaway? Help, lol.

9. Rate titles on Goodreads.

This shouldn’t take me too long. I’ve been assigning “no rating” to all my 2015 titles so I could more easily remember which ones I hadn’t reviewed. The trouble is, I’m so far behind in reviewing that it’s getting ridiculous. Also, per last year’s completed goal of “Only review the books I feel strongly about,” there are more than a handful of meh titles that probably won’t get reviewed ever. My reviewing habits have clearly changed, it’s time my Goodreads account adapted with me.

10. Continue my Read 1500 for 1 challenge.

Because I love it and because it works.

What goals do you have for 2016?

by Niki Hawkes

Jan 12 2016
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Book Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Title: Red Queen

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Series: Red Queen #1

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

The Overview: This is a world divided by blood – red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart …

The Review:

If I’d stopped reading Red Queen about a third of the way in, my rating would’ve been close to five stars and my review would’ve been praises out the wazoo – I loved the concept, the setting, the organic relationships, and the trajectory of the story. However, in the pages that followed, I found myself becoming increasingly disengaged with the story until it was honestly a struggle to finish. O_o what happened?! Loads of people LOVED this book, which made me wonder what was wrong with me and had me earnestly considering the possibility that I’m burnt out on YA. Okay, I know that’s a bit mellow-dramatic, but seriously, this is not the first time I’ve lost patience with a YA book/series that the blogosphere was going apeshit over (Throne of Glass #3 & The Winner’s Crime, to name a couple). Although I have read a handful of teen books I absolutely loved over the last couple of years, it is clear that the more I read, the higher my expectations become.

My desire for this review is not to bash the book, by any means – I know a ton of people are going to really love it – but I feel the strong need to analyze exactly why the last two thirds of the book just didn’t work for me. Here goes:

There was one circumstance surrounding my reading experience that helps shed light on my opinions of Red Queen: I had just finished the most recent book in the Game of Thrones series (A Dance with Dragons). I’d had 1100+ pages to get use to expansive world building, complex and widespread conflicts, and (most notably) a memorable cast of shrewd royals who always demonstrated clear motive, direction and, even more importantly, a fierce protectiveness over their children – heirs to the thrones representing the pivotal futures for each family. Switch gears to Red Queen, it really bothered me how casual the decision-making of the royals was (lacking any clear motive that I could see at the time) and how seemingly illogical that decision-making manifested in regards to the heirs. Some motives became clearer as the story went on, but unfortunately that did nothing to alleviate all the frustration I felt early on, it just slapped a Band-Aid on after my patience had long since bled out.

Recognizing motives and getting a clear sense of character early on is really important to me, and there were parts that were done brilliantly (like with Mare’s family) and parts that left me wanting (enter the royals, where it felt almost as if the author assigned them certain M.O.s early on, only to change her mind halfway through the story and start over).

I also really liked the main character at first, finding her lack of ambition and skills oddly interesting in a market where the heroines always seem to be adept at EVERYTHING. But when the story needed her to be clever, putting her in a position where she could really manipulate gameboard and affect change, she contented herself with incessantly complaining that things were unfair without EVER presenting an idea to help make it better. I found it insufferable. I mean, offer a solution or shut up – you’re not helping the problem. My trending thought was – the royals are sure lucky she wasn’t a bit more clever or autonomous, else the entire plot would have crumbled. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe her personal story arc will be that she finally figures out how to stop being a pawn and start moving the chess pieces herself. That would be great, I just don’t think I have the patience to keep reading long enough to see her get there.

Overall, how much I loved the first part of the book balances out with how much I didn’t love the rest. There were a ton of awesome story elements that just didn’t quite all come together for me. I doubt many other readers would be nearly as critical as I was, and will probably recommend this one a fair amount despite my own personal reservations. It has many elements that account for its popularity and I am (as usual of late) in the minority.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jan 8 2016
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Tackling the TBR [7]: January 2016

tackling the TBR

It’s once again time for my favorite feature: Tackling the TBR! There’s nothing I love more than picking out which books to read next, and this slightly organized method of reading has really amped my enjoyment to the next level. Bring on the mantras!

Read the best books first.
&
Life is too short to read books you’re not enjoying.

However you put together your TBR for the next month, the goal is to reduce the amount of obligation in reading and increase the fun.

You may have noticed that this feature (and my blogging presence in general) kind of disappeared over the last few months. I’ve still had a mental tally of the books I want to read each month, but blogging and actually getting to enjoy those books was almost impossible as I did everything I could to deal with an eye strain injury and extreme nausea that came along with my first pregnancy. Luckily, I’m feeling a little more like myself and am on the mend – let the reading/blogging resume!

Here’s a look at how the system works:

1. Identify the titles that take top priority in your TBR.
2. Combine them all in your own Tackling the TBR post.
3. Throughout the month pick from that pile as the mood strikes you.

Here’s what mine looks like:

January 2016 TBR Tackler Shelf:

There is a great caliber of authors on this list, but I think I’m most excited to finish off the Paradox series with Heaven’s Queen.

Now, I can tell you from experience that this Tackling the TBR experiment is so much more fun and rewarding when there’s more than one person (me) participating. Does anybody want to play along?

Even if you don’t specifically use my system, feel free to share your versions of how you manage your TBR pile (and the links to your posts if applicable) in the comments!

Maybe we can help make each other’s systems even better. :)

What books are you Tackling this month?

by Niki Hawkes

Jan 7 2016
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Book Review: How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

Title: How to Ditch Your Fairy

Author: Justine Larbalestier

Series: N/A

Genre: Teen Fiction

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: Welcome to New Avalon, where everyone has a personal fairy. Though invisible to the naked eye, a personal fairy — like a specialized good luck charm — is vital to a person’s success. It might determine whether you make a sports team, pass a class, or find that perfect outfit. But for fourteen-year-old Charlie, having a parking fairy is worse than having nothing at all — especially when the school bully carts her around like his private parking pass.

Enter: The Plan. At first, teaming up with her archenemy Fiorenze (who has an all-the-boys-like-you fairy), seems like a great idea. But when Charlie unexpectedly gets her heart’s desire, it isn’t at all how she thought it would be, and she’ll have resort to extraordinary measures to set things right.

The Review:

I admit I probably wouldn’t have picked up this book of my own accord, but my best friend (who has impeccable taste in books) claimed it early on as one of her favorites, talking about it for years. When it got chosen for our book club, I finally had the excuse I needed to drop everything else and pick it up. And you know what? I liked it.

I will also admit that I was a bit wary at first – I haven’t had the best patience with books geared towards younger audiences lately, so I was worried it would be too immature for my tastes. While it definitely had a younger feel (largely because of the subject-matter) the author wrote it in a way I found accessible (and entertaining) as an adult. It made me nostalgic of all of the books I read when I was a tween, and that aspect was easily my favorite component of the book.

I also loved the concept – come on! A fictitious world in which people towed around invisible fairies who offered them various forms of luck? Not to mention the rules surrounding this phenomenon were as complex as they were weird. It was a recipe for fun, and led to a couple of laugh out loud moments for me as the main character fought to get rid of a fairy she most desperately despised. This concept made for both entertaining reading and some excellent discussion at our book club meeting – we all tried to figure out what type of fairy each of us had and, even more fun, speculate on the types of fairies we’d like to have (for example, it was unanimously determined that I am in the possession of an “organization” fairy, as I always manage to make things fit (gorgeously) into a given space… with a possible “color-coding” fairy as my secondary. If I could, I’d opt for a “sleep” fairy that would allow me to wake up refreshed no matter how little I slept – just think of all the books I could read with all that extra time!).

Anyway, back to the actual book, aside from some weird made up words that led to some confusion (which could’ve been avoided had I realize there was a glossary at the back… why don’t they ever indicate that within the text?), How to Ditch Your Fairy was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I recommend it for younger teen girls or adults in the mood for something 100% lighthearted and fun.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jan 6 2016
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Bout of Books Read-a-thon! (4)

bout of books

This is my favorite Read-a-thon to participate in, and even though I’m still dealing with an eye strain injury, I’m going to give it a go! (Are you all sick of hearing about my eyes yet? I sure am sick of talking about it… and, you know, dealing with it). Even when fully healthy, I’ve learned that I just can’t seem to compete with the numbers I put up during my first BoB (I was a reading machine!), So my goals this time around are somewhat less ambitious than they have been in the past.

Here’s a little more about the event:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 15 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Niki’s Goals:

– Finish 3 books

– Read 800 pages

– Don’t overdo it (eyes)

that’s it.

Here’s a look at the books on my immediate radar:
(subject to change if I see something shiny)

Three of my options are audiobooks, so I can still feel like I’m accomplishing something if my eyes don’t cooperate.

Daily Updates:

 Monday:

Pages: 120 / Books Finished: 0

 Tuesday:

Pages: 47 / Books Finished: 0

Wednesday:

Pages:  170 / Books Finished: 1

 Thursday:

Pages: 128 / Books Finished: 0

Friday:

Pages: 134 / Books Finished: 1

Saturday:

Pages: 139 / Books Finished: 0

 Sunday:

Pages: 176 / Books Finished: 0

Total:

Pages: 914 / Books Finished: 2

Two out of three goals completed! Not bad. :)

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 31 2015
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Top Ten Most Anticipated Book Releases in Early 2016!

top ten tuesday

Yeah, yeah – I know I missed Tuesday again. 2016 might be the year I dance to my own drum. In any case, here’s a look at the new releases in 2016 that I am just dying to get a hold of:

Top Ten Most Anticipated Book Releases in Early 2016!

With so many good options, how do I pick a favorite? It might come down to the new Mercy Thompson book against the new Selection book… thank goodness I don’t have to buy just one!

What books are you most excited for?

by Niki Hawkes