2016 What I'm Reading Wednesday #2

For my ROW80 Wednesday Check-ins, I will be posting my progress on my reading goals.  

Sorry for the late post.  Not much reading happened in the past week.  I am still reading Foreign Gods, Inc.  It just started getting interesting, at only 39% complete.

2016 Goal: 32 books
Books Read = 1/32
Books from TBR list: 0
Series completed: 0
2016 Pinterest Board

January
1.  Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

What are you reading this week?

Teaser Tuesday (Jan. 12)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here is my teaser:

"They go to the stranger in droves-- gorging on the very air he fouls with lies.  Our noses have been rubbed in feces, but what are we to do?  When a goat enters a homestead and urinates as well as defecates, why, it's already too late to shoo it off." 

-Foreign Gods, Inc. by Okey Ndibe (Kindle edition, no page number)

Stuck in my Head: David Bowie

I am late with this post this week because I was not feeling inspired.  The only song I have had stuck in my head recently is the one I listen to multiple times at work as I play it for each of my classes.  Then today, inspiration struck me in the worst possible way.

David Bowie died.

And I knew that I just had to share some of my favorite Bowie songs.  

Under Pressure Queen featuring David Bowie

Space Oddity

Let's Dance

David Bowie, you will be missed.  Thanks for all the amazing music.

What's your favorite David Bowie song?

ROW80 Check-in (Round 1, Week 1 2016)

Time for a ROW80 check-in.  I am trucking along, working hard on my goals for the year.  

Here's my progress so far:  I have read one book and started a second.  There were five days this week that I didn't write or edit any fiction.  I was feeling really down; I was not meeting my goal.... but when I thought about it, I had written something almost every day, just not fiction.  So  I have modified my writing goal to include blog posts and journaling, basically all the different types of writing that I do in my spare time.  With the modification, I have only missed two days of writing so far this month.  That's not bad....  I am tracking the days that I do not write in an effort to better understand my habits.  Maybe there is a pattern that I am not seeing.

My goals and progress:
1.  Read 32 books (2-3 per month): 1/32
2.  Read books I have pinned on Pinterest
3.  Complete some book series that I have started
4.  Write or edit every day(including blog posts, journaling, fiction, etc.)
No writing days: Friday(1/8), Saturday(1/9)
5.  Complete first draft of DOVH and Mordred
6.  Edit first draft of ZF
7.  Complete at least one writing challenge
8.  Continue with my blogging schedule:  1 week/52 weeks

2016 What I'm Reading Wednesday #1

For my ROW80 Wednesday Check-ins, I will be posting my progress on my reading goals.

I am currently reading Foreign Gods, Inc. by Okey Ndibe.  I have heard nothing about this book, just happened upon it in my public library's digital library.  The synopsis sounds interesting.  We shall see.

Started a new book today #amreading

A photo posted by Lisa (@lalocadesigns) on Jan 4, 2016 at 8:18pm PST

2016 Goal: 32 books
Books Read = 1/32
Books from TBR list: 0
Series completed: 0
2016 Pinterest Board

January
1.  Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

New Year's Goals 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Resolutions for 2016

A new year deserves some new goals, although I only have 8 reading and writing related goals.  These will also be my ROW80 goals.  So here we go....

Reading Goals

1.  Read 32 books (2-3 per month)
Last year my goal was 30 and I managed to read 35, so I am upping the goal a little this year.  32 books should be manageable.

2.  Read books I have pinned on Pinterest
I have a board on Pinterest chock-full of books I want to read, my TBR list if you will.  Last year I only read 3 books from that board.  Why am I collecting a list of books if I am not trying to read them?  It's just plain silly.  So this year, I will read some books that I have pinned and, of course, I will continue pinning books.

3.  Complete some book series that I have started
I would like to finish reading Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods and Witches of East End series, Michael Scott's Nicholas Flamel series, Deborah Harkness' Book of Life series.  I feel like there are more that I am forgetting right now.  I want to continue with Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas series, but I don't think I will finish this year.


Writing Goals

1.  Write or edit every day
I will not set a word count goal this year although I might keep track of my yearly word count, just for fun.  I think it will be easier to meet my goal if there is no word count/time goal attached.

2.  Complete first draft of DOVH and Mordred
Not much left to write in DOVH, a lot left in Mordred.  I want to keep plodding along and making progress.

3.  Edit first draft of ZF
I have never edited anything as big as ZF before, so this will involve reading and learning, both of which I love.  Win Win.

4.  Complete at least one writing challenge
I don't think I will attempt NaNo this year.  It never works out very well for me, by which I mean I usually write a few thousand words and then second guess where the plot is going and think a lot about writing the next part and then realize I am too far behind to ever catch up and then give up completely.  I would still like to try some kind of writing challenge, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.

5.  Continue with my blogging schedule
I have been following my schedule for a few weeks and want to continue with it.  It is working for me.  I will post Teaser or Top 10 Tuesday, What I am Reading Wednesday, a weekend Stuck in My Head post, and occasional book reviews.  I hope to also add some personal essays this year... maybe.

What are your reading and writing goals this year?

Stuck in My Head: 80's Memories

Last night my husband and I took a stroll down memory lane and listened to some songs we remembered from the 1980s.  Here is a sampling of what we listened to.....

Bananarama "Cruel Summer"

Nenah Cherry "Buffalo Stance"

Wee Papa Girl Rappers "Wee Rule"

What are some songs that remind you of your childhood?