"Reading and Writing" item number eleven is to complete my housefic50 table.
"Reading and Writing" item number twelve is to complete my 50scenes table.
"Reading and Writing" item number thirteen is to complete my 2x5obsessions table.
Today I decided to withdraw from being active in online fandoms, which means dropping these claims.
Showing posts with label reading and writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading and writing. Show all posts
09 April 2010
28 March 2010
Get a Kindle
"Reading and Writing" item number four is to get a Kindle.
The only thing I asked for for my 26th birthday was a Kindle. I even chipped in all the Christmas money I still had and helped pay for it. There's so much great content in the public domain that I could read for years and never actually buy a Kindle book, but that would be no fun. My first Kindle purchase was Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
The only thing I asked for for my 26th birthday was a Kindle. I even chipped in all the Christmas money I still had and helped pay for it. There's so much great content in the public domain that I could read for years and never actually buy a Kindle book, but that would be no fun. My first Kindle purchase was Coraline by Neil Gaiman.
01 December 2008
Participate in NaNoWriMo every November; finish at least once.
"Reading and Writing" item number six is to participate in NaNoWriMo every year and to finish at least once.
The first part of this one is a fail. I didn't do NaNo this year. However, there are still two more Novembers before my 1001 days are up, so the second part can still be completed! If I do, and the goal isn't a complete fail, I'll still donate $2.50 to my charity (which I still haven't picked) because of the first part.
The first part of this one is a fail. I didn't do NaNo this year. However, there are still two more Novembers before my 1001 days are up, so the second part can still be completed! If I do, and the goal isn't a complete fail, I'll still donate $2.50 to my charity (which I still haven't picked) because of the first part.
06 November 2008
Start a paper journal and update it weekly
"Reading and Writing" item number seven is to start a paper journal and update it weekly.
My first entry was on March 08, 2008. I kept it up for thirty-one weeks before I hit a serious funk and went several weeks without writing anything. I'm still going to keep writing when I feel like it but I'm not going to force entries and they're not going to count for this project anymore.
My first entry was on March 08, 2008. I kept it up for thirty-one weeks before I hit a serious funk and went several weeks without writing anything. I'm still going to keep writing when I feel like it but I'm not going to force entries and they're not going to count for this project anymore.
09 October 2008
Read twenty "classics" before 26th birthday
"Reading and Writing" item number two is to read fifteen classics before I turn 25. I failed to do that, so "Reading and Writing" item number fourteen is to read twenty classics before I turn 26.
01.) Dracula by Bram Stoker - Finished on 09 October 2008. Took a little time to get into it because I've been reading so much stuff that's very simply written lately. I just had to get past the first two chapters in one sitting, though, and then I was used to Stoker's writing and I loved the rest of it. Except when Lucy kept hanging on and I just wanted the story to move forward. That was a little annoying.
02.) The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper - Finished on 19 November 2008. When a book is 375 pages long, it's not a good sign when I'm not into it until past the halfway point. I liked it as a whole but the beginning dragged sooooooo much that I wouldn't recommend it to people unless I'm more familiar with their reading likes and dislikes.
03.) The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - Finished on 01 December 2008. Why had I never read this? It's so short and it's a story that I've loved since I was very little. I mean ... I'm all about two-in-one creatures. Complete sucker for 'duality of man' stories, and this is probably the most famous one. Anyway, I'd never actually sat down and read it, but I'm glad I did. I LOVED it.
04.) The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - Finished on 02 December 2008. I started reading Just So Stories when I was much younger and I never finished it. Reading The Jungle Book reminded me of why that is. Not a Kipling fan here.
05.) Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - Finished on 13 December 2008. The beginning was boring. Then it got a little better. Then it became almost unbearable. Then it was okay for a while. But by the end I hated every character and was severely disappointed that more of them didn't die because they all should have.
06.) Brewster's Millions by George Barr McCutcheon - Finished on 12 March 2009. I really enjoyed this book. I "read" it in audio form, through LibriVox. It was a great way to relax at the end of the day before bed. Very funny, good characters, and even the love story aspect of it was tolerable. I'm glad I picked this one.
07.) The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells - Finished on 03 April 2009. I've known the basics of this story for as long as I can remember and I've always completely adored the concept. I'm not sure why I'd never read it before. Probably because I've seen a couple of movie versions and they're just so disappointing.
08.) Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome - Finished on 24 April 2009. I "read" this one in audio form. The reader was Hugh Laurie, who is a fantastic audio book performer. I'm pretty sure I would have really enjoyed this story even if I'd been reading it myself, though, despite the fact that it's really not the sort of thing I would normally pick out on my own based on the description. I mean, it was originally meant to be a serious travel guide, and then it turned into a comedy novel, neither of which is a genre I'm very enthusiastic about. Three Men in a Boat is really excellent, though.
09.) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - Finished on ?? May 2009.
10.) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen - Finished on ?? May 2009.
11.) Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman - Finished on ?? June 2009.
12.) The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - Finished on 13 July 2009.
13.) The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Finished on 15 July 2009.
14.) The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells - Finished on 18 July 2009.
15.) The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan - Finished on 08 November 2009.
16.) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Finished on 12 November 2009. I've known this story for ages and I've also known how much I love Oscar Wilde's writing. Why has it taken me so long to get my hands on a copy of this book and actually read it? It's now firmly on my list of favorite novels of all time.
17.) A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Finished on 13 November 2009. Very simply put: While she is not one of my ZOMG ALL-TIME FAVORITES, I really enjoy Frances Hodgson Burnett's work (though none will beat The Secret Garden for me).
18.) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - Finished on 13 February 2010. What a truly horrendous book. Ugh.
19.) Utopia by Thomas More - Finished on 14 February 2010. You know what? This so-called Utopia didn't actually sound all that great to me.
20.) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Finished on 19 February 2010. Up until this point, I was only familiar with an abridged audio version of Great Expectations, read by Hugh Laurie. I'd listened to that dozens of times, though, so as I was reading this I heard his voice in my head, even for the parts that were omitted from the audio version. I'm glad I read the whole thing instead of sticking to the short one. It's so much deeper and richer this way. I love it.
01.) Dracula by Bram Stoker - Finished on 09 October 2008. Took a little time to get into it because I've been reading so much stuff that's very simply written lately. I just had to get past the first two chapters in one sitting, though, and then I was used to Stoker's writing and I loved the rest of it. Except when Lucy kept hanging on and I just wanted the story to move forward. That was a little annoying.
02.) The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper - Finished on 19 November 2008. When a book is 375 pages long, it's not a good sign when I'm not into it until past the halfway point. I liked it as a whole but the beginning dragged sooooooo much that I wouldn't recommend it to people unless I'm more familiar with their reading likes and dislikes.
03.) The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - Finished on 01 December 2008. Why had I never read this? It's so short and it's a story that I've loved since I was very little. I mean ... I'm all about two-in-one creatures. Complete sucker for 'duality of man' stories, and this is probably the most famous one. Anyway, I'd never actually sat down and read it, but I'm glad I did. I LOVED it.
04.) The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - Finished on 02 December 2008. I started reading Just So Stories when I was much younger and I never finished it. Reading The Jungle Book reminded me of why that is. Not a Kipling fan here.
05.) Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - Finished on 13 December 2008. The beginning was boring. Then it got a little better. Then it became almost unbearable. Then it was okay for a while. But by the end I hated every character and was severely disappointed that more of them didn't die because they all should have.
06.) Brewster's Millions by George Barr McCutcheon - Finished on 12 March 2009. I really enjoyed this book. I "read" it in audio form, through LibriVox. It was a great way to relax at the end of the day before bed. Very funny, good characters, and even the love story aspect of it was tolerable. I'm glad I picked this one.
07.) The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells - Finished on 03 April 2009. I've known the basics of this story for as long as I can remember and I've always completely adored the concept. I'm not sure why I'd never read it before. Probably because I've seen a couple of movie versions and they're just so disappointing.
08.) Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome - Finished on 24 April 2009. I "read" this one in audio form. The reader was Hugh Laurie, who is a fantastic audio book performer. I'm pretty sure I would have really enjoyed this story even if I'd been reading it myself, though, despite the fact that it's really not the sort of thing I would normally pick out on my own based on the description. I mean, it was originally meant to be a serious travel guide, and then it turned into a comedy novel, neither of which is a genre I'm very enthusiastic about. Three Men in a Boat is really excellent, though.
09.) Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - Finished on ?? May 2009.
10.) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen - Finished on ?? May 2009.
11.) Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman - Finished on ?? June 2009.
12.) The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - Finished on 13 July 2009.
13.) The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Finished on 15 July 2009.
14.) The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells - Finished on 18 July 2009.
15.) The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan - Finished on 08 November 2009.
16.) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Finished on 12 November 2009. I've known this story for ages and I've also known how much I love Oscar Wilde's writing. Why has it taken me so long to get my hands on a copy of this book and actually read it? It's now firmly on my list of favorite novels of all time.
17.) A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Finished on 13 November 2009. Very simply put: While she is not one of my ZOMG ALL-TIME FAVORITES, I really enjoy Frances Hodgson Burnett's work (though none will beat The Secret Garden for me).
18.) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - Finished on 13 February 2010. What a truly horrendous book. Ugh.
19.) Utopia by Thomas More - Finished on 14 February 2010. You know what? This so-called Utopia didn't actually sound all that great to me.
20.) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Finished on 19 February 2010. Up until this point, I was only familiar with an abridged audio version of Great Expectations, read by Hugh Laurie. I'd listened to that dozens of times, though, so as I was reading this I heard his voice in my head, even for the parts that were omitted from the audio version. I'm glad I read the whole thing instead of sticking to the short one. It's so much deeper and richer this way. I love it.
05 September 2008
Continue reading at least 50 books per year
"Reading and Writing" item number one is to continue reading at least fifty books per year.
2008 - I finished my 50th book on August 26th. Now the goal switches a little and I'm going to see if I can get to 25,000 pages in the last four months of the year.
2009 - I finished my 50th book on July 28th. Like last year, now I'm going to focus on trying to get to 25,000 pages. I didn't manage last year, but I only have about 10,000 pages to go this time. I think maybe I can do it!
2008 - I finished my 50th book on August 26th. Now the goal switches a little and I'm going to see if I can get to 25,000 pages in the last four months of the year.
2009 - I finished my 50th book on July 28th. Like last year, now I'm going to focus on trying to get to 25,000 pages. I didn't manage last year, but I only have about 10,000 pages to go this time. I think maybe I can do it!
Go six months without buying any new books
"Reading and Writing" item number nine is to go six months without buying any new books.
I DID IT. 05 March-05 September without purchasing a single book. I WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN. EVER. It was absolute hell, going so long without getting any new books. But I'm glad I did it. I set this goal because my reading list was enormous and growing. I kept acquiring books faster than I could read them. I figured if I went six months without getting anything new, I'd be able to shrink the reading list. It definitely helped a little. But getting new books makes me happy. I'm seriously never going that long without a new book again.
I DID IT. 05 March-05 September without purchasing a single book. I WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN. EVER. It was absolute hell, going so long without getting any new books. But I'm glad I did it. I set this goal because my reading list was enormous and growing. I kept acquiring books faster than I could read them. I figured if I went six months without getting anything new, I'd be able to shrink the reading list. It definitely helped a little. But getting new books makes me happy. I'm seriously never going that long without a new book again.
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