06 January 2014

Announcements, Blog Hops, and Challenges

I know, I know, it's the first Monday of the month and usually my muse takes over. But it feels like Jordan and I have kind of taken a break from each other since the 100th blog post. Hopefully this little vacation will be over soon so I can get back to work on the second draft. Neither of us was really feeling the post today, plus I have a few announcements to make, which isn't really his thing. At all. Maybe if he comes up with something good to say, I'll let him take over next week.

First off, today is the first day of the Bout of Books read-a-thon! Not making a lot of progress so far, but I do have the day off (unexpectedly), so there will be lots of reading later on. I don't really have any goals in mind, since I don't usually read at all, so my goal would be just to get any reading done.

I did something crazy over the weekend. I ordered a Kindle. Shocking. I know. I've always sworn I would never get an e-reader. I like holding an actual book in my hands. I have two major reasons for getting one, though. One being that I live in a studio apartment and barely have enough room for the books I already own. Two, I've been wanting for like, ever to start reading the books of my fellow bloggers. I think getting the electronic versions will be the easiest (and honestly, cheapest) way of doing so. They'll be easier to keep track of, I think. Hopefully I won't have a nervous breakdown trying to read books on a screen. I'll let you know how it goes.

As part of Bout of Books, I'm entering the Challenge & Giveaway over at Bookish Comforts. The challenge was to fill your cart at The Book Depository with books reaching a total under $100. It was tricky coming up with the right amount, but after a lot of browsing, I pulled it off. Click to see the larger image:
$99.15. Not bad, if I do say so myself. 


All right, one more announcement! This Wednesday is the posting day for The Insecure Writer's Support Group. And I'm co-hosting this month!! I'm really excited. If you haven't signed up already, you really should. It's a great support system of bloggers--you can vent your own insecurities, help others with theirs, and meet some great people. 

First Wed of Every Month

Ok, I'm done. I swear. Oh wait, not really. If you look on the right side of my blog, you'll see I changed my Goodreads widget to show my challenge for 2014: 100 books! I know, I'm crazy. It'll never happen. But as usual, I'm going to try. 

13 comments:

  1. You've reminded me that I've been wanting to read John Fowles' The Collector.
    Happy Bout of Books!

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    1. It's been on my wish list for years, not sure why I haven't bought it yet.

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  2. I'm surprised you didn't already have a Kindle. It's an essential tool for any voracious reader, and tends to create voracious readers out of ordinary people. Soon you will equate reading paper books with writing on a typewriter -- it's cool and feels authentic, but you'll never use it when you need to get real work done. What kind did you get?

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    1. Just the regular old Kindle. I was considering the Paperwhite but the regular was a lot cheaper. I'm hoping I'll get a lot more reading done once I get it.

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    2. You will. You know when you see a book you want and think, "I'll have to pick that up the next time I'm at the library"? Then you never do? Those days are gone. One-click purchasing will ruin (read: fix) your life.

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  3. Hey, when you've got an ereader, 100 books is easy. Seriously. Welcome to the digital age! ;)

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    1. It's about time, I suppose. I'm hoping to do a lot more reading because of it.

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  4. I love my kindle. I love having real books too, but I also love READING those books and the kindle just gives more options for reading. And as you mentioned, it saves space and money. Plus it makes it really easy to take your library when you travel. Then you never have to think, oh, if only I'd brought that book.

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  5. I have a Nook and while I love it and the convenience, it still can't quite beat a real book for me. Tho the cheaper book prices is definitely a plus! :)

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  6. I have a kindle for the in-expense of purchasing books. I agree with you, I prefer to hold a book in my hand. I love the smell and texture of the pages. A kindle is hard and not so comforting.

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  7. I converted to e-reading even though I love the feel of real books. The reasons were the same as yours. Shipping from the US makes buying physical books a pain in the butt.

    Thanks for cohosting IWSG this month. :-)

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