Sophia Rose's Blog - Posts Tagged "reading-challenge"
First Time on the First- A Return to Milton, Margaret, & Thorton
For my inaugural First Time on the First post, I chose two firsts that have little in common save they are books.
This marked the first time I read fan fiction for Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South (if you've not read the book or seen the movie adaption, might want to get on that).
North & South constitutes one of the few times I watched a movie before reading the book. I admit shamefaced that I hadn't even heard of Elizabeth Gaskell before I saw an earlier movie adaption of her Wives & Daughters. She was a contemporary Victorian era writer who has given us some fantastic books.
Here's her GoodReads page for further investigation: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
I came to read my first N&S variation as a result of reading a review at Rita @ From Pemberley to Milton's blog. My initial reaction was to think, 'clearly I've been missing out and I must remedy this'. I entered the giveaway as a result of my comment and voila- I was the lucky lady going home with the prize. Isn't it gorgeous? And that card the author included, she found an American tie-in to the book's Hale family that tickled me by the bit of whimsy.
And better than being gorgeous, this book was an engaging sweet yet slightly tangy gently paced story. The author, Trudy Brasure, asks the question in the first chapter, 'What if Margaret had said 'yes' to John Thornton's first proposal?' And it was fun to explore this premise through to the swoony end.
Now that I've been bitten, N&S fan fiction is definitely on the table. Feel free to recommend to me others that you have read and appreciated (aka went out of your mind with joy over). Update: Thank you for those who read my review and saw the obvious plea for more so gave me suggestions already.
My next first time is more on the silly side. And it was a sheer unplanned accident. But details. This will make no sense without them.
See, as a rather involved hobby related to book loving, I review books. Some I request while others are offered and I accept the requests. I tend to organize my review reading in a first come first served manner (note this b/c this is an important factor). I usually have about a two month backlog- though I'm worked on that issue by participating in Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reader's May ARC reading challenge. I killed that goal.
So all that leads up to last week's review reads. Motorcycles. Four books in a row with motorcycle riding heroes and three of them involving MC biker heroes.
Remember, I don't plan this. It was the order of the queue. Talk about a funny coincidence. Here they are all neat little ducks in a row.
And with that, take care until my next first.
First Time on the First- It's NaNo Time
November begins NaNo Time. No I'm not talking about Mork from Ork's alien greet 'na-nu na-nu'. NaNo is short for NaNoWriMo which is short for National Novel Writing Month.
Woohoo! I'm cracking my knuckles (figuratively mom, keep your shirt on) and digging in to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Glad to know I have several NaNo buddies this year and lots of well wishes.
Link to check it out and maybe sign up: http://nanowrimo.org
And, when I'm not busy NaNo-ing, I'll be off reading some fun winter/holiday themed stories for #HoHoHoRAT
No, I am not making these acronyms up. LOL!
This one stands for Ho Ho Ho Read-a-thon and is hosted by the delightful Kimberly of Caffeinated Reader blog.
Here's the link if you want to check it out and sign up for yourself: http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/20...
Annnnd, here's my goal post: http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/20...
Busy, busy month and I need all the good vibes I can get. Are you doing either of these challenges? Got any suggestions for how to make burning the midnight oil more pleasant and easier?
First Time on the First- New Goals For the New Year
Yes, I'm aware it's not the first of the month. In short, I forgot to do my post. Oys! What a way to start off, right?
I have excuses though- good ones. The first was a holiday. I was busy writing out my New Year's resolutions. I was sorting out what I wanted to say for high impact. I was spending time with family. I was organizing my calendar, my book challenges, and my work schedule. I was lazy. Wait, scratch that last one.
It was really something of all of those
But this year...
I like to put up some of my plan so that by going on public record; it will hold me somewhat accountable. I've included here three facets of the plan with a few of my goals.
Reading Goals
1. Complete reading challenges to which I committed.
2. Interact with other readers to gain insight and a different perspective.
3. Reduce reading when it overtakes the time needed for other worthy goals.
4. Accept fewer review commitments to give quality time to the ones I choose and to give time for other reading goals.
5. Support local library with at least one book check-out a month.
6. Read non-fiction how to and resource books on list.
7. Reduce purchased books and freebies to work on current TBR pile.
Writing Goals
1. Complete each quarter's short story on time for the writing group.
2. Finish NaNoWriMo story for publication
3. Shop a publisher for a completed story and continue to polish this story.
4. Edits/rewrites/publication of a story.
5. Read two writing craft books on shelf.
6. Write thoughtful and quality reviews.
Well Being Goals
1. Try four new recipes this year.
2. Continue goal of improved diet.
3. Continue goal of daily walks and three times a week exercise routines.
4. Spend more time in my garden. Try new plantings.
5. Spring and Fall Cleaning DIY projects and Chores.
6. Practice music once a week and continue guitar lessons.
7. Correspondence particularly on special occasions consistent and on time.
8. Seek opportunities to volunteer and give back.
Do you make goals like this? Feel free to share some of your own and yes, do hold me accountable throughout the year. :)
Happy New Year, GoodReads Friends!
First Time on the First- It's a LOVEly Time of the Year
February really came fast for me. I've been
If I want a new, better habit to form, I can't get all drastic about it. I've learned to taper into big changes. Like, let's take eating right. I can do this and do it well if I can also have moments of eating entirely wrong (yep, still had some Christmas chocolate calling my name and whew boy, stressed is Rootbeer spelled forward).
But seriously, I've made strides in the right direction and I'm content because I've made progress and actually still have my list of goals in sight and on my mind. I've hit more goals than not and I'll take that as a win.
Speaking of working on goals, one of my goals was connecting more with folks here on GoodReads in a positive way. One of those ways is my Sofa Chats.
I want to continue on with these so if you don't mind chatting with me here on the blog in the form of a series of casual interview questions, drop me a comment or send me a message to sign up or inquire further.
And another of my goals was reading challenges. I tried the COYER (Clean Off Your E-Reader) Challenge (clever name by the by) for the first time last summer and did the winter challenge and I really made a dent in my older TBR pile books. There is the challenge of course, but also a fun and lively Facebook Group with daily activities that are optional, but oh so encouraging and fun. The three bloggers, Stormi, Berls, and Michelle, who host this challenge do an abso-fab job. So I am giving them a shout out, but also plugging it shamelessly to you all to join. :)
February really is a LOVEly month for me in that I get to celebrate my folks' anniversary, several family birthdays, and it was also the month years ago that I went on a blind date and later married the charmer who is still a charmer (he enables my reading and writing habits).
November's Not Kidding Around
Wow! This month promises some wonderful things that I just had to share with everyone.
First up, I've signed up for NaNoWriMo 2017. This is the National Novel Writing Month challenge to write a novel or 50,000 words in 30 days. I find this sort of pressure a great way to get busy on my writing. Its a big rush and I'm looking forward to working on a story I've had brewing for over five years. Here's the link if you think this might be something you're interested in doing: https://nanowrimo.org/
Secondly, I'm participating in a fun week-long reading challenge. The Ho Ho Ho Read-a-thon hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviews blog. My goal is to read five holiday/winter-themed books. Here's the link if you're interested in checking it out for yourself (and you don't have to be a blogger to participate. I do it with just a GoodReads shelf set up to link to): https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2...
And finally, drum roll please, we begin our blog tour for the stories of some devastatingly handsome rascals in Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen's Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues.
The tour begins on November 6th. We'd love to have you stop by along the tour and say hey. My own particular stop is for Nov 24th when my book pal Anna is going to
Between you, me and the lamppost... you are probably going to want to hit every stop for the opportunity to get snatchy-hands on those two fabulous prize packages.
Here's the schedule:
Dangerous to Know Blog Tour:
💗Monday, Nov6: REVIEW: Margie's Must Reads, https://margiesmustreads.com
💗Thursday, Nov9: REVIEW, Obsessed with Mr. Darcy, https://obsessedwithmrdarcy.wordpress...
💗Monday, Nov13: REVIEW, Austenesque Reviews, http://austenesquereviews.com
💗Tuesday, Nov14: REVIEW, Olga, ROSIE AMBER team, http://www.authortranslatorolga.com/
💗Wednesday, Nov15: (release day) REVIEW, Just Jane 1813, http://justjane1813.com
💗Thursday, Nov16: REVIEW, Diary of an Eccentric, https://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com
🎩Monday, Nov20: FEATURE w/Kathy Toigo (Wickham), From Pemberley to Milton, https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpre...
🎩Wednesday, Nov22: FEATURE w/Joana Starnes (Willoughby), Babblings of a Bookworm, http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.com
🎩Friday, Nov24: FEATURE w/Sophia Rose, (GenTilney), Herding Cats & Burning Soup, http://www.herdingcats-burningsoup.com
🎩Monday, Nov27: FEATURE w/Amy D'Orazio (CaptTilney), My Jane Austen Book Club, http://thesecretunderstandingofthehea...
🎩Wednesday, Nov29: FEATURE w/Brooke West (Crawford), VVB32 Reads, https://vvb32reads.blogspot.com
🎩Thursday, Nov30: FEATURE w/Lona Manning (Tom Bertram), Lit 4 Ladies, http://lit4ladies.com
💗Friday, Dec1: REVIEW, Lit 4 Ladies, http://lit4ladies.com
🎩Monday, Dec4: FEATURE w/Beau North (Fitzwilliam), Obssesed with Darcy, https://obsessedwithmrdarcy.wordpress...
🎩Thursday, Dec7: FEATURE w/ J Marie Croft (Thorpe), Harry Rodell blog/ROSIE AMBER team, https://harryrodell.wordpress.com/aut...
💗Friday, Dec8: REVIEW, From Pemberley to Milton, https://frompemberleytomilton.wordpre...
🎩Monday, Dec11: FEATURE w/Jenetta James (William Elliot), Austenesque Reviews, http://austenesquereviews.com
🎩Thursday, Dec14: FEATURE w/ Karen M Cox (Churchill), Darcyholic Diversions, http://darcyholic.blogspot.com
🎩Monday, Dec17: FEATURE w/ Christina Morland (Sir Walter Elliot), Of Pens & Pages, http://www.ofpensandpages.com
Oh, and we must not forget my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. I love spending the day with family and friends, but also reflecting on the good that has come into my life and how I can do good in other's lives.
So, that's November. How's this month shaping up for you?
