Skip to main content

Bookish (And Not So Bookish) Thoughts

1. I'm more than 70% done with my NaNoWriMo word count!!! I think my novel may need to go over the 50,000 words, but it looks like I'm going to win on my first try! I rigged it a little, since I've purposely avoided doing it until such year as I had enough time. Also, I got some advice from a friend who's done it in the past that really helped. She told me to get as far ahead as I could in the first few days, and that even if I write, say, 4,000 words in one day, don't use that as an excuse not to write the next day. When she told me that, I laughed because I thought there was no way I could write 4,000 words in a day, but I surprised myself by writing 4,000 words the very next day and over 5,000 on one other day. Keep in mind, this is definitely an Ann Lamott-esque first draft, but 38, 769 words and counting!

2. My library reduction project has been started and completed! Using the KonMari method as outlined in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I went from 700+ books in my personal library to 449. The piles of books are still on the floor and I still need to come up with an organizational method, but now, each and every one of the books I own has been chosen by me. And that is a really amazing feeling. I also learned all kinds of interesting things about my preferences in books, which I'll probably talk about in a separate post.



3. I'm also using the KonMari method for tidying up the rest of my life. The method starts out with clothes, which was easy for me, since I hate clothes, but books are second, and that is obviously huge for me. On to komono (miscellaneous items), papers, and, what I'm dreading most of all, sentimental items. I'll let you know if it works!

4. The library system that I've been using for my entire life recently demanded proof of residence, and while I work and spend almost 100% of my family and social life in that county, I technically no longer live there. I am really upset. Besides the fact that I'm emotionally attached to my library card, which I've had since I was five (did I mention I'm dreading discarding sentimental items?), it's an especially good system where I can almost always get what I want, unless it's super brand new. I stalked the web catalog of the library nearest to my residence, and it took 12 tries to find a book that I want that they actually have available. Boohoo. =(

5. I celebrated paring down my library by...ordering myself new books! Okay, actually, they are more pity party books because I ordered them when I was really upset about the library thing. Needless to say, neither of these books are available at my local library. Also, I bought the Japanese flower print spiral notebook because I am really happy that I realized I specifically like using spiral notebooks of this size with inspiring images on the cover (a side effect of the library tidying, wherein I also discarded never-used journals).



Comments

Christine said…
Congrats on the NaNoWriMo progress! I started strong... for the first two days. I'm off this next week and hope to put in some more time, but there's no way I'll even come close.

Popular posts from this blog

Books with Single-Word Titles

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl! Books with Single-Word Titles These are all my favorite books that I could think of with one-word titles. A lot of fantasy, a few nonfiction (minus subtitles) and Kindred , whether you consider it scifi or historical fiction. Also two portmanteaus using the word "bitter." I suppose it's a word that lends itself to amelioration. 1. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler 2. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore 3. Fire by Kristin Cashore 4. Heartless by Marissa Meyer 5. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini 6. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 7. Stoned by Aja Raden (has a subtitle) 8. Educated by Tara Westover 9. Fledgling by Octavia Butler 10. Kindred by Octavia Butler

Book Review: The Speed of Clouds by Miriam Seidel

Book Review: The Speed of Clouds by Miriam Seidel *To Be Released from New Door Books on April 10, 2018* Mindy Vogel is haunted by the future. In frequent daydreams, she toggles between her real, wheelchair-bound life and the adventurous life of her fanfic alter ego, SkyLog officer Kat Wanderer. She's haunted by all that Kat can do which she cannot---belong to an organization of comrades, walk, and fall in love---yet. Because at twenty-four, Mindy's future is very much ahead of her, wheelchair notwithstanding. Through Mindy's "SkyLog" fanzine and related emails, Seidel evokes Star Trek fandom around the turn of the millenium, but also creates a new and compelling science fictional universe, similar to what Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl  does for the Harry Potter fandom with "Simon Snow." Mindy is among the pioneers transitioning fandom from print to digital, boldly encountering like-minded individuals from the comfort of her chair behind the monito

Books On My Summer 2024 TBR

 I've been fairly successful with my reading goals so far this year (40 out of 42 read!), but I still have some goals to catch up on or exceed (books by authors of color and women in translation). I've also got my book club books, and I'll throw a few new and/or summery titles into the mix for inspiration. Hoping to read many of these outside, basking in beautiful weather! Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Books On My Summer 2024 TBR She's Up to No Good by Sara Goodman Confino--This is technically for a book club, although I probably won't be able to attend the meeting.  I've heard so many good things about this one, and it looks like a good summer read, so I'm planning to read it anyway. Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia by David Greene (Book club read)--I already have it out of the library, but have to get on this one! It sounds very interesting but nonfiction usually takes me a little longer. The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris (Book cl