Happy New Year Blather-- A Bit Late!

Resolutions. Yes, I always make them, and do fairly well at implementing them. I know what I can and can't do. For example, I should resolve to spend more of 2014 on the computer. But I really don't think that will happen. Part of this is because I am old, and I'd much rather type on my Smith-Corona.

There really are no words to describe how much I HATE to work on the computer. While I will gladly sit for hours and hours reading books, when it comes to reviewing them, posting them on Goodreads and YABC and wherever else... no fun. Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter... I would rather clean out the linen closet than spend time gazing at a screen with anything on it! (Except a book... I'm cool with my Nook.)

This is a problem. This defeats the whole point of Twitter, for example, which is to scroll through endless feed to see what other people are saying. I do really try to read book reviews on blogs, and I spend the most screen time looking for new releases... so I can read them. It's rather amazing that most blogs, even book review blogs, don't have all that many book reviews.

Things that will happen.

I will read 720 books. It was touch and go for a while this year-- my goal was 700 books, and I didn't think I would make it because I did not read as much this summer.

Recently, on someone's blog, a teacher-libarian said she would be reading for quality, not quantity. I thought about that a lot, and decided that quantity works for my purposes most of the time. I need to know a little about a lot of books so that I can recommend them to students. For the Cybils awards, of course, I have to look at quality, but I think I can zip through Empire State of Slime or Stick Dog Wants a Hot Dog and not pay too much attention to detail.




 
I will run 700 miles.  Since I'll be coaching Cross Country again in the fall, I feel I really should, not that I can ever keep up with 8th graders.

Have sort of stalled at 5 and1/2 miles right now, because the temperatures got down to zero (I don't go out when it's under 15) and the treadmill stopped working. Did break down and buy a new treadmill, since that's the only way I can get Picky Reader to run at all, but it won't be here for a while. Picky Reader is thrilled that the new treadmill doesn't make weird noises or skip when the speeds go over 6 miles an hour. I never had a problem with that...




 I will do some more writing. Got about seven chapters of my middle grade novel done this summer, and it amused me, but at some point writing made me cranky. I'm turning a small bedroom into an office for myself, which will be nice for blogging and keeping multiple books and papers arranged anyway, but maybe that will be a good thing. You will all be relieved to know that I don't intend to talk about the writing process-- I like to believe that books arrive fully formed like Athena popping out of the head of Zeus. I find reading about the process about as interesting as Pinterest.


And, since I am going into my third straight year of blogging at least one book every day, I will continue to blog, and will try to keep the blathering to a minimum. Happy New Year!