Reading goals for 2019

Every year, I try to have some kind of reading goal or theme to complement the books I'd normally choose to read. In 2017 and 2018, it was to make an appreciable dent in the TBR books I already own, and I've been able to do that, completing 65 such books in the last two years.

This year, I'm planning to have two reading goals:

1. Re-reading my favorites: I rarely re-read a book, no matter how much I love it, because there are so many new books to read. However, this year, I'm going to do just that. I want to re-read at least six books (one every two months) that I've rated 5 stars. I don't know what those books will be yet, but it should be fun regardless of which ones I pick. Note: For purposes of my year-end reading statistics, I won't include the ratings for these books because I've already rated them.
2. Authors A to Z: Back in 2013, I started an A to Z reading challenge where I would read one book by an author whose last name started with each letter of the alphabet. Back then, it took me 26 months to go through all 26 letters. This year, my goal is to finish that challenge within one year.

At the end of the year, I'll report how I did with both reading goals. What reading goals did you make for yourself this year?

Favorite reads of 2018

Happy New Year! As we ring in the new year, let's take a look back at the top ten books I read last year.

1. Obsidio - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Wow, what an awesome conclusion to an awesome trilogy! All three books in the Illuminae Files series ended up as my #1 favorite read in the year I read them. A great plot, great characters, engaging writing, and an unusual format make this an ideal combination for me. If you haven't read the Illuminae Files yet, go do it now!

2. Muse of Nightmares - Laini Taylor

I can't think of an author who writes as beautifully as Laini Taylor, and Muse of Nightmares was Ms. Taylor at her best. She wields words as masterfully as Michelangelo wielded a paint brush. What also left me awestruck about this book was the way all of the pieces fit together in the end. Laini Taylor is a genius for coming up with the backstories and story line. If not for the fact that I'm such a sucker for books with unusual formats, this could have been my favorite read of the year.

3. Warcross - Marie Lu
Marie Lu is one of my favorite YA authors. First, there was the Legend series. Then The Young Elites. She's done it again with Warcross, a near-future YA book centered on the titular video game. The story is engaging, the action is fast paced, and the writing is as good as with any of her other books. The only drawback was the ending and how much was left open, which was obviously a way to entice readers to read the second book in the series.

4. My Plain Jane - Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
My Lady Jane was one of my top 10 reads for 2016, and the second book by the "Lady Janies" was as good if not better. This re-imagining of Jane Eyre was full of funny and entertaining moments. Whether you're a fan of Jane Eyre or not (and I've never read Jane Eyre - gasp!), you'll enjoy this book.

5. Artemis - Andy Weir
This second novel by Andy Weir isn't as heavy on the science as The Martian was, and it was more fun to read. The best part of the book was the protagonist's irreverent tone (the story is told in first person), although sometimes that irritated me a little too. However, the fast-paced plot more than made up for it. I finished the book in two days, which is fast for me. This was a great, entertaining read.

6. The Diabolic - S.J. Kincaid
This book had all the elements of a great YA sci-fi story that I look for. The plot was interesting and kept me flipping through the pages, losing track of time as I read large chunks in a single sitting. The protagonists were easy to sympathize with, even if I wasn't sure if I should because it was hard to tell with certainty who was good and who wasn't. The world was also nicely laid out, and I thought the author did a nice job of describing how the government worked without resorting to info-dumping. The novel does get violent at times, so those with weak stomachs should be warned. However, for most YA readers, I highly recommend The Diabolic.

7. The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
I read the first book of the Kingkiller Chronicles, The Name of the Wind, in 2016. It's taken me this long to read book two, The Wise Man's Fear, not just because I'm notoriously bad at finishing a series in a timely manner, but also because I don't know when the third book will be released, and I didn't want there to be too big a gap between reading the books. Now that I've finally read The Wise Man's Fear, I can say that I like it even more than The Name of the Wind! If you enjoyed Kvothe's adventures in The Name of the Wind, there are more and perhaps even better adventures here!

8. No Middle Name - Lee Child
No Middle Name is a collection of Jack Reacher stories. The Jack Reacher books have become one of my favorites, and I've read more than half of the books in the series. However, only one other has made my yearly top 10 list until now. What makes No Middle Name better than the typical Jack Reacher book? Easy. There are a dozen stories. In this case, "more is better" definitely applies.

9. The Empress - S.J. Kincaid
The sequel to The Diabolic had a lot of the same elements as the first book that led me to enjoy it. The main reason I ranked it lower is that I wasn't as fond of the ending. However, I'm intrigued to read the third (and last?) book in the series to find out how the plot will unfold, given the direction the author decided to take in The Empress.

10. Only Human - Sylvain Neuvel
The final book in the Themis Files trilogy wasn't quite as good as its predecessors were (i.e., not enough battling giant robots) but it was a satisfying conclusion nonetheless. I recommend the series, even to readers who aren't enthralled by giant robots.

What I read in 2018

 Image courtesy of Goodreads

As we approach the end of another year, it's time to review the books I read in 2017. This year, I read 85 books, one more than the 84 books I read last year.

The average rating for the books I read was 4.07 (out of 5) stars per book, broken down as follows:

• 5 stars - 29 books
• 4 stars - 33 books 
• 3 stars - 23 books 

The 4.07 stars average was a slight increase from the 4.05 stars per book in 2017. It's also the highest average for a year since I started recording my ratings.

This year, I also continued my efforts to read through the books I already own from my TBR list. I managed to read more than my goal of two TBR books per month, finishing 32 in all.

The ratings for these books were as follows:

• 5 stars - 9 books 
• 4 stars - 14 books 
• 3 stars - 9 books 

The average rating for my TBR books was 4.00, lower than the ratings for the other books I read this year. I attribute it (and the reason for a higher average rating in general across all books) to the fact that many of the books I read this year were sequels to books I read and enjoyed in previous years. Since I already had a predisposed bias toward the author or the series that the books belonged to, it was natural that they were rated highly.

Next up, I’ll post my top ten favorite books of 2018. Stay tuned!

2018 holiday sale

It's hard to believe that Christmas is almost here! What better way to celebrate than with a book sale? Between now and the New Year, most of my e-books will be on sale for 99 cents or FREE on Amazon! Get these titles before prices go back up!

99 CENTS:

Beneath the Earth		All That Remains of Me		Beyond New Eden		Gifted

Transmissions		In the Hands of Children		Keep Your Enemies Close		George and the Galactic Games

A House in the Woods		Protect		Search		Rescue

FREE:

Drive		Through a Tangled Wood		Celestial		Spectral Tales

Happy holidays, and happy reading!

NaNoWriMo 2018 recap

For the fifth year in a row, I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and for the second year in a row, I wrote fewer than 50K words in November. In fact, I wrote fewer words than last year's 30K. This year was particularly disappointing because I thought that 20K words was a realistic target, but I didn't even reach that goal. :-(

As you may be able to tell from the chart above, most of my progress came on the weekends. My word count barely budged during the work week. I attribute it to a particularly hectic month at my day job. On top of that, Thanksgiving weekend, usually the time I catch up if I'm falling behind in NaNoWriMo, was also busier than I thought it would be. It all added up to a woeful output of 18,907 words.

Excuses aside, I'm not completely dissatisfied with what I accomplished this month. Adding 18K+ words to my manuscript in 30 days is nothing to sneeze at, and it was more than what I wrote from June to October. My WIP is also now about three quarters complete by my estimation, giving me hope that I'll finish the first draft early next year. Overall, although I didn't make as much progress during NaNoWriMo as I'd liked, it still gave me a much needed boost. For that reason alone, NaNoWriMo was worth doing again this year, even if it meant I didn't receive the shining badge for reaching 50K (or 25K) words.

Preparing for NaNoWriMo 2018

It's almost November, which means NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is just around the corner. I've participated in NaNoWriMo the past four years, reaching the 50,000 word count goal my first three years before falling short last year.

This year, I plan to participate again but with a twist. Whereas I had always started working on a new novel for NaNoWriMo, I'm in the midst of a novel now and want to use the event to finish the first draft if I can. It's the thriller that I eluded to back in June, but between June and October, I only wrote 15,000 words. My hope is that NaNoWriMo will be what I need to kick myself in gear.

Last year, I fretted about not being able to write 50,000 words in November, but I'm not worried anymore this year. My day job has gotten even busier this year, and there's less likelihood of my winning NaNoWriMo next month, but last year taught me that I don't need to hit 50,000 words. Just participating is good enough. There's something about NaNoWriMo that gives my writing productivity a boost, and that's what I need right now.

Is anyone else participating in NaNoWriMo this year?

I'm an anti-rainmaker

This post has nothing to do with books or writing, but I thought it'd be interesting to share some random news about me. I think I have a superpower: I can make it not rain wherever I am. I'm an anti-rainmaker.

Let me explain. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we've received little rain for the past ten years, leading to drought conditions. All this time, I thought it was because of global warming or other weather patterns. Then, I had to take a business trip to Houston last week. It had been raining every day in Houston the week before my trip (I know because I was watching the weather in order to prepare), and the meteorologists predicted rain every day I was to be in Houston. I was worried about how the rain would affect my plans.

On the day I arrived in Houston, I was surprised and relieved to find that it wasn't raining. My flight was largely uneventful due to the nice weather. However, the forecast that night was for rain all day long the next day. I woke up to a sunny morning, and it didn't rain at all. The forecast that day called for rain the following day. Again, there was no rain. This pattern of rain in the forecast followed by no actual rain continued for all four days I was in the city. On the day that I left, as my plane was leaving the terminal, it finally rained.

There are probably other explanations for what I experienced, but I like to think that the change in weather from forecasted rain to sunny skies was because of some formerly unknown superpower of mine. It would also explain the lack of rain here in California.

If this is true, then I could use my superpower for lots of good deeds. Planning an outdoor wedding or social event that you don't want to have ruined by rain? Call me. Worried about making that driving trip on slippery, wet roads? The anti-rainmaker can help with that.

Let me know how my anti-rainmaking powers can help you.