Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy 2011!!! Eye candy blogfest and a NeToReMo update!!

Happiest New Year to EVERYONE!!!  So, it's 1-1-11 and here's what I'm hearing when I say that out loud, "Won, won, won, won."  You know what this means, of course, don't you?  GREAT things are gonna happen for us all this year!  They are, I tell you.  Just watch!!  :)

Ok - so now down to the bloggy stuff:

Vicki Rocho is hosting a New Year's Day Eye Candy blogfest today!!  Super easy - post a pic that makes you smile.  I, of course, immediately thought of cute boys when I read "eye candy", so here's mine:

Sammy's take on Holiday Fashion
He's SOOOO adorable!!!!  Totally eye-candy worthy ~ :)

So, anyone here for the blogfest - thanks much for stopping by and I hope my pic gives you a smile, too!

My next order of blogness today is my NeToReMo report.  I'm probably one of only two people (my little sis joined in, love her!) that participated in this.  Likely because I made it up... :)  But, if you're interested to see what the idea was, you can find the original post here.


Alas, I didn't get to every book on my list.  This is either due to my propensity toward procrastination.  Or I can blame it on the holidays.  Hmmmm...I'll get back to you on this.

Instead, I made it through 5 books.  And here's the scoop:

1. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern.  245 pages.  First line, "I so used to love the first day of school."  My (quick) thoughts - this was a fun, relatable, tale about the trials of finding true friendships in high school.  The point?  Nice people rock!  No matter who they are or where they rung in on the social ladder.

2. Going Bovine by Libba Bray.  480 pages.  First line, "The best day of my life happened when I was five and almost died at Disney World."  Thoughts - I kept thinking that this book is to readers today, what Pink Floyd's "The Wall" was to the druggies of the past.  :)  That's not a dig, I promise!  This book's a total trip!  But in a good way.  I've heard it called a new "cult classic" and I could totally agree with that.  To see what I mean, you must read.  (although, maybe not for readers who cringe at frequent use of the "f" word...)

3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  471 pages.  First line, "In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind."  Thoughts - Ah, Katsa.  Ah, Po.... this one I REALLY enjoyed!  Wouldn't it be awesome to be better than anyone else in the world at one thing in particular?  Well, only if it's useful, of course.  Being the world's best line dancer or tic-tac-toe player wouldn't quite do it for me.  And I'd hope that my two different colored eyes were nice colors...of course, knowing my luck - I'd get stuck with pea green, and pee yellow.  Nice...

4. Fire by Kristin Cashore.  461 pages.  First line, (from chapter 1, not the prologue)  "It did not surprise Fire that the man in the forest shot her."  Thoughts - the idea of a "human monster" can be seen in more ways than one, here.  And I got a little "don't judge a book by its cover" here.  A good read.

5. If I Stay by Gayle Forman.  208 pages.  First line, "Every one thinks it was because of the snow."  Thoughts?  More like moods.  This book evokes so many - the good, the bad, the inbetween.  It's a beautiful book about something simple - a choice.  And it holds things in its pages that I think almost anyone could relate to.

So there you have it - 1,865 pages in one month.  Not too shabby, really!  That's 60 pages a day.  I think 100 pages a day minimum sounds a little better and that's what I'll shoot for next December (feel free to join me).  Did it help?  Did I soak it all in?  Will it make my writing that much better?  Time will tell (and maybe a few beta readers).  I hope so.

Who's my winner for best first line?  I'm gonna have to give that one to Libba Bray and Going Bovine!!!  Woo Hoo Libba!!!  But, was that my favorite book?  Not necessarily.  For favorite read of these 5 - I'm going to have to go with Graceling.  What can I say, I'm a fantasy girl.  But - these were all good reads.

And have you seen this?  The 2011 Reading Challenge.

HAPPY WRITING/READING/LIVING IN 2011!!

16 comments:

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Love the dog!The little face says it all!
Have a fantastic New Year.

Vicki Rocho said...

Your dog is ADORABLE!!!! Thanks for joining us in the eye candy fun. I've loved looking at everyone's pictures

Julie Musil said...

I love your little doggie! So cute. And you're the first person I've heard say today's date as won, won, won, won. So clever!

Happy new year

Danette said...

A dog in little clothes! Gotta love it! Always brings a smile even if your not a dog person! Happy New Year!

Jemi Fraser said...

Now, that's a photo guaranteed to make me smile! :)

erica and christy said...

How very, very cute!!! And holy cow! I'm impressed! That's a lot of reading and I' LOVE that you have fave lines from each. Thanks so much for sharing. Happy, Happy New Year to YOU!!!! christy :0)

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss donea! love that doggy!
you did lots of reading. i did lots to mostly cause i won so much mg books at those cool blog contests. im wishing for you a really fun and happy new year.
...hugs from lenny

Ava Z. said...

That little doggy is adorable!

I've never heard of any of those books. I wish I were more of a reader. I know it can only serve to make me a better writer, so I may join you next December for this read-a-thon.

Michelle Gregory said...

wow. my dogs would never sit still for that, but then, they're hunting dogs. nice to find a fellow fantasy writer. i think we're a breed apart.

Luna said...

Sammy is so cute! I can never resist little dogs in sweaters.

Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Hi Donea. Happy New Year! Sammy is sooo cute!

vic caswell said...

heeheehee! i'll have to show my hubs this one, he LOVES daushounds (sp??) I LOVED GRACELING!!!! :) i'll have to peak at those other ones! netoremo sounds like an excellent idea!:)

Tracy said...

Happy New Year! Didn't know about the Eye Candy Blogfest, and I too was hoping for pictures of cute boys . . . but cute dogs in clothes works for me too!

I don't know if I'd be able to handle 100 pages a day. I can do it, but if I knew I *had* to, I might panic. lol

Golden Eagle said...

He's one adorable dog! :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

The bow completes the outfit. Sorry, still trying to get around to all of the blogfest participants.

Unknown said...

Bahahaha I love the picture!!! It has me grinning from ear to ear (of course, as it should)!!!