My 2013 Book List - and Beyond

Happy New Year!! I hope each and every one of you have a magnificent 2014 full of adventures and blessings.

Part of my yearly adventure is discovering which books ought to be grafted into my life, and then devouring them at my earliest opportunity. Thanks to Goodreads, I have kept better track of my reading habits these past two years.

My goal for 2012: 50 books.
Books read: 20.

My goal for 2013: 50 books.
Books read: 34.

My goal for 2014: 50 books.

Will I reach my goal this year? Who knows! But hopefully I will continue the trend of reading more each year than the last. Otherwise I'll have to live to be older than Methuselah in order to read all the books that I want to read.

Another great thing about Goodreads is that I've better tracked what genres of books I tend to gravitate toward. This shows me not only which genres I've neglected, but what series I've left unfinished, and which authors I ought to explore more.

Below is the full list of what I read last year, from beginning to end. If you'd like more information on any of these titles, you can view my fully hyperlinked Goodreads list here.

Also below? A preview of those books I intend to read in 2014.

ANGELA'S 2013 READING LIST

according to Goodreads

Historical Autobiography

The English Governess at the Siamese Court, by Anna Leonowens

A Voyage to Abyssinia, by Jeronimo Lobo

Umrao Jaan Ada, by Umrao Jaan

Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana

Our Nig: Sketches From the Life of a Free Black, by Harriet E. Wilson

Ancient and Medieval Literature

The Iliad, by Homer

The Odyssey, by Homer

The Aeneid, by Virgil

Agricola and Germania, by Tacitus

The Prose Edda, by Snorri Sturluson

The Lais of Marie de France, by Marie de France

Science Fiction

Gateway to Reality, by Becca J Campbell

Romulus Buckle and the City of the Founders, by Robert Preston

Around the World in 80 Days, by Jules Verne

Fantasy

Lirael, by Garth Nix

Cat’s Paw, by L. A. Taylor

His Own Good Sword, by Amanda McCrina

Gasher Creek, by J. Birch

The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland – For a Little While, by Catherynne M. Valente

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente

MG/YA Books

Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan

The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan

The Titan’s Curse, by Rick Riordan

Instructions, by Neil Gaiman

Edgar Wilde and the Lost Grimoire, by Paul Ramey

Carry On, Mr Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham

Victorian Literature

A Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sign of Four, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Lifestyle and Inspirational 

Wrecked, by Jeff Goins

The Science of Skinny, by Dee McCaffrey

Anthologies and Compilations

Dark Fairy Queen Writerly Bridal Shower (anthology)

The Viking Gods, by Lorenz Frolich

PROJECTED 2014 READING LIST

(By no means exhaustive!)

Goal of total books read: 50

Beowulf (Seamus Haney translation)
Confessions, by St Augustine
City of God, by St Augustine
Abhorsen, by Garth Nix
Battle of the Labyrinth, by Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan
Romulus Buckle and the Engines of War, by Robert Preston
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels, by Catherynne M Valente
The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart, by Mathias Malzieu
Lillian Alling: The Journey Home, by Susan Smith-Josephy
An Ottoman Traveler: Selections from the Book of Travels, by Evliya Celebi
Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake
Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip, by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns

How many books did you read in 2013?

How many do you plan to read in 2014?

Are you on Goodreads? 

Let me know in the comments below!!!

NYE VisDare: RESOLUTE(TION(S))

All right, VisDare family. Here's the scoop:

I have just finished moving two houses, an art studio, and a storage container.

I am still up to my eyeballs in edits, class reviews, and semester exam prep.

Plus, you know, life and stuff. And the holidays are coming up.

BUT GUESS WHAT.

The VisDare is NOT "going on hiatus." 

But it will be low key for the next few weeks ---- with a twist.

VisDare regulars may remember a challenge posted last January, where I COMPLETELY GOOFED UP on the link thingy. Somehow, I set the ending date for more than a year later: January 2014.

This means that the VisDare from last January is still live.

At the time of my blogging faux pas, my friend Jeff Hollar suggested that every VisDare regular should do an entry on this curious character every week until the link ran out. 

I thought - and still think - this is a fabulous idea: a rare time to take one VisDare and squeeze all the possibilities out of it - and have a grand time doing so.

SSOOOOOO……follow the link below.

Look at the photo.

Add a new entry.

Add multiple entries, if you like.

Add ons? Alternate versions?

All acceptable.

Then get your friends to add an entry.

Collaborate with others! Co-write something awesome.

Heck - you can even go over 150 words on this one. 

(I'm not counting. Not this time.)

The guy needs a STORY. I mean, a really REALLY good story.

He's been given over a year of "shelf life" so to speak, so we'll give him a legacy, ok?

 Or give him several.

That's the nature of fiction after all, right? One person, many lives, one grand adventure.

So here's the link to the Year-Long VisDare Challenge - live until January 16th!!

>>>> RESOLUTE(TION(S))<<<<

And the usual week-to-week VisDare challenge?

That returns on January 22nd.

(Pinky swear.)

Your devoted VisDare Cohort,

Angela

3VisD #4: SHE

Triple VisDare Rules:

Use whichever photo you like for your VisDare.

OR

Use TWO of the photos of your choosing as a combined prompt.

OR

Use ALL THREE of the photos as a combined prompt.

BONUS POINTS if you can use the prompt(s) in your current NaNoWriMo work-in-progress.

ENTRIES POSTED TO THIS SITE MUST BE 300 words - or less. <<< EXTENDED WORD COUNT JUST FOR THE NOVEMBER 3VisD!!!

Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 300 words in the comments below.

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

And absolutely FEEL FREE to display the VisDare badge on your site if you participate!

All I ask is that you use it to link back to this site.

(Badge posted below.)

photo source

photo source

photo source

If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

3VisD #3: Bewitched / Enchanted

Triple VisDare Rules:

Use whichever photo you like for your VisDare.

OR

Use TWO of the photos of your choosing as a combined prompt.

OR

Use ALL THREE of the photos as a combined prompt.

BONUS POINTS if you can use the prompt(s) in your current NaNoWriMo work-in-progress.

ENTRIES POSTED TO THIS SITE MUST BE 300 words - or less. <<< EXTENDED WORD COUNT JUST FOR THE NOVEMBER 3VisD!!!

Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 300 words in the comments below.

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

And absolutely FEEL FREE to display the VisDare badge on your site if you participate!

All I ask is that you use it to link back to this site.

(Badge posted below.)

photo source

photo source

photo source

If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

NaNo Triple VisDare 2: Eye of the Beholder

Triple VisDare Rules:

Use whichever photo you like for your VisDare.

OR

Use TWO of the photos of your choosing as a combined prompt.

OR

Use ALL THREE of the photos as a combined prompt.

BONUS POINTS if you can use the prompt(s) in your current NaNoWriMo work-in-progress.

ENTRIES POSTED TO THIS SITE MUST BE 300 words - or less. <<< EXTENDED WORD COUNT JUST FOR THE NOVEMBER 3VisD!!!

Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

(You are welcome to use these prompts as you wish, but if you link
to this site, I ask that you keep it PG for my junior high students, 
who like to frequent my site. With this in mind, please do not link entries 
that contain erotica or graphic violence.)

No blog? Post your 300 words in the comments below.

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

And absolutely FEEL FREE to display the VisDare badge on your site if you participate!

All I ask is that you use it to link back to this site.

(Badge posted below.)

Photo Source: Media Cache

Photo Source: Manolis Tsantakis

Photo Source: Morbid Silence

If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

NaNo 3VisD 1: Defiance / Water Druids

WELCOME, WRIMOS! And VisDare regulars, and anyone else who has stopped by to see what the Triple VisDare is all about ----- welcome, welcome, welcome!!!

For the third year in a row, in honor of NaNoWriMo, I am doing a special series of Visual Dare challenges that happen ONLY during the month of November. This involves posting THREE semi-related photos for my writing friends to use in their caffeine/sugar/NaNo-fueled wordmongering. It's my hope that this special flash fiction series will challenge my friends to push their boundaries and write in directions they've never considered before.

The rules for this are ALMOST the same as any other VisDare, but with a few small - yet significant - twists.

Triple VisDare Rules:

Use whichever photo you like for your VisDare.

OR

Use TWO of the photos of your choosing as a combined prompt.

OR

Use ALL THREE of the photos as a combined prompt.

BONUS POINTS if you can use the prompt(s) in your current NaNoWriMo work-in-progress.

ENTRIES POSTED TO THIS SITE MUST BE 300 words - or less. <<< EXTENDED WORD COUNT JUST FOR THE NOVEMBER 3VisD!!!

Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

(You are welcome to use these prompts as you wish, but if you link
to this site, I ask that you keep it PG for my junior high students, 
who like to frequent my site. With this in mind, please do not link entries 
that contain erotica or graphic violence.)

No blog? Post your 300 words in the comments below.

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

And absolutely FEEL FREE to display the VisDare badge on your site if you participate!

All I ask is that you use it to link back to this site.

(Badge posted below.)

Sound good?? Ready for some NaNoWriMo wordmongering in VisDare style?

THEN HERE YA GO. 3VisD #1!!!

Photo Source: Spyros Christopoulos

Photo Source: Lifetime Photography

Photo Source: Tumblr

If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

VisDare 44: Parallel

photo source

RULES:

150 words - or less.
Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 150 words in the comments below.

(Please - no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

As always - thanks for participating!



If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

VisDare 43: Memory

photo source

RULES:

150 words - or less.
Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 150 words in the comments below.

(Please - no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

As always - thanks for participating!

If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

VisDare 42: Outnumbered

photo source

RULES:

150 words - or less.
Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 150 words in the comments below.

(Please - no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

As always - thanks for participating!







If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

VisDare 41: Transfixed

photo source

RULES:

150 words - or less.

Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 150 words in the comments below.

(Please - no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

As always - thanks for participating!

If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

VisDare 40: Oblivious

photo source

RULES:

150 words - or less.
Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 150 words in the comments below.

(Please - no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

As always - thanks for participating!


If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

VisDare 39: Adore

photo source

RULES:

150 words - or less.

Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 150 words in the comments below.

(Please - no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

As always - thanks for participating!

If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

VisDare 38: Chase

NOTICE, WITH APOLOGIES: In the past week, the new blog page format somehow jettisoned the Disqus and any related comments. This was a technology interface issue beyond my control. I apologize for any deletions that have taken place in the process. Everything, now, appears fixed --- so there should be no more problems from here on out. My sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

AND NOW........

It's that time again!! Are you ready?

photo source

RULES:

150 words - or less.
Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 150 words in the comments below.

(Please - no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

As always - thanks for participating!

If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

VisDare 37: Trajectory

OH GOOD GRIEF. I had this all ready to update at midnight, per my usual schedule....and I forgot to hit "PUBLISH."  D'oh.

All that, and a new blog format too. SO SORRY for the delay and for any inconvenience this may have caused my VisDare regulars!!!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled VisDare......

Where does this one take you?

photo source

RULES:

150 words - or less.
Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 150 words in the comments below.

(Please - no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

As always - thanks for participating!

((Questions and comments about the new blog format are welcome, too.))

If you participate in the VisDare, feel free to add this little badge to your site! Link it back to the Anonymous Legacy home page (or directly to the VisDare challenge you chose to participate in), and claim your corner of the VisDare family!!!

VisDare 36: Implore

FIRST - BEFORE WE GET TO THE NEW PROMPT:

Surprise!! A couple weeks ago, someone (I believe it was the lovely AR Neal) asked if there was a badge for the VisDare challenge; and I thought: "Woah!! Have I stopped posting that one with each challenge?" Sadly....yes. And purely on accident. At some point I became so focused on posting the weekly VisDares that I completely forgot to put the badge with it. SORRY!!

I've had this badge for over a year, thanks to the wonderful Donna McNicol, but now it makes its long overdue return!!  Maybe at some point I'll have a new badge that actually says "VisDare Flash" or similar, but in the meantime ---- feel free to post this little beauty on your blog and link through to this page, and show everyone your flash fiction moxie!

And now for your regularly scheduled VisDare.....!

Here's another prompt that I've sat on for a while, waiting for the right time to spring it on my flash fiction regulars.

What do you think? Is it sinister, romantic, fantastical, surreal, gritty, or sterile? Remember, the word "implore" is there as a potential springboard, but it is not required to use with or in your entry.

photo source

RULES:

150 words - or less.

Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 150 words in the comments below.

(Please - no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

As always - thanks for participating!

VisDare 35: Ephemeral

SO. I thought I'd stretch your vocabulary a bit this time. Or at least it stretched mine. :-)

Please keep in mind that while the word given in the VisDare title -- in this case "ephemeral" --- is there as part of a springboard, it is NOT necessary to use the word in your VisDare entry. If the photo does not speak "ephemeral" to you at all - then don't use it!! Go with the photo. That is what makes the VisDare its own unique prompt after all.

For the morbidly curious, here is a definition for ephemeral, from my favorite online dicitonary, Ninjawords:

ephemeral

noun

°Something which lasts for a short period of time.

adjective

°Lasting for a short period of time.

°Existing for only one day, as with some flowers, insects, anddiseases.

synonyms: temporary, transitory, fleeting, evanescent more»

photo source

RULES:

150 words - or less.
Post entry to your blog and "link in" using the link tool below.

No blog? Post your 150 words in the comments below.

(Please - no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON'T FORGET to read and comment on others' entries!!

As always - thanks for participating!