2016 Bookish Resolutions Sign Up Post

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Because Reading and trips down imagination road

My 2016 Bookish Resolutions Summary post

March wasn't what I wanted it to be in all aspects of goals.  Specifically, I keep telling myself to start my personal goals and work on my personal goals... but those personal goals can be a bit of a bitch.  I also lost my mp3 player a couple months ago and have since lost some motivation to go to the gym... yeah, I know it's a flimsy excuse, but my lazy ass will use anything to allow myself to just be lazy, I guess.

HOWEVER, I am looking to replace my mp3 player in the next couple days, which will give me no more excuses!  I hope.

Everything else was kind of okay and kind of meh.  Blogging was a little scattered because I started a new project self-entitled, "Let's Create More Work For Myself By Building a Brand New Book Blog!!"  I might be a little obsessed with organization right now.

Reading-wise, I got stuck on a slow-going book and have since been hemming and hawing about reading said slow-going book, or dumping it and moving on.  I hate dropping books, but this is just plain ridiculous.

Blogging Goals

 - 1 - Participate in at least 50% of the Top Ten Tuesday meme (@ The Broke and the Bookish) topics for 2016--that's 26 of the TTT topics.  

Running Total:  6 Top Ten Tuesday posts written

• January:  3 Top Ten Tuesday posts written

• February:  2 Top Ten Tuesday posts written
• March:  1 TTTs written

3/15/2016:  Ten Books On My Spring TBR

 - 2 - Continue to post Monthly Reading Wrap-ups... with a slightly less overwhelmingly bulky form.

• January Reading Wrap-Up -- posted
• February Reading Wrap-Up -- posted

 - 3 - Create and try to maintain a blogging schedule.

• January:  Lots of out-of-control, lots of colors.  See January update for more info.
• February:  No pictures this time.  Just know that things are continuing to get more chaotic. 
• March:  The fact that I'm still keeping up with this blogging schedule could mean one of two things:

-- I'm doing very well in my blogging goal endeavors    -OR-

-- I seem to enjoy chaotically and colorful controlling itineraries for my reading life a little too much.

 - Bonus Goal - Attempt participating in at least two other monthly/weekly bookish memes.   

• March My TBR List meme:  Voting // Winning Book

-- Review of The Carriage House by Carla Neggers

• Cover Crush on Thursdays:

3/3/2016:  Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie

3/10/2016:  SWAT by Paige Tyler -- focus on Wolf Trouble

3/17/2016:  The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters

3/24/2016:  Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Reading Goals

See Also: 2016 Bookish Resolutions shelf

 - 1 - Finish reading 10 completed series that I have already started reading.

I finished one series this month and worked on finishing another already completed series with The Wavering of Haruhi Suzumiya--four more books to go on this one.  Otherwise, I feel great having completed the Reboot duology since it's been such a long time since I'd read that first book.

Running Total:  3 completed series finished reading

• January:  1 series finished
• February:  1 series finished
• March: 1 series finished

Reboot by Amy Tintera -- Completed 3/9/2016

Already Read:  Reboot

#2:  Rebel -- 3/9/2016

 - 2 - Catch up with 5 ongoing series that I have already started reading.

It took me long enough, but it looks like I've finally caught up with one ongoing series I've been reading pre-2016.  I haven't seen any other Cindy Gerard books slated for publication this year, so I guess it'll be a waiting game for the time to come.  

The next series I'm looking to work on finishing up is going to either be KGI by Maya Banks (with two books left to finish reading), or maybe I'll try and catch up with one of the two ongoing Paige Tyler paranormal romantic suspense series, either X-Ops (with two more books to catch up with) or SWAT (also with two more books to catch up with).

Running Total:  1 ongoing series caught up with

• January:  0 series finished
• February:  0 series finished
• March: 1 series caught up

One-Eyed Jacks by Cindy Gerard -- Completed 3/25/2016

Already Read:  Killing Time, The Way Home, Running Blind

#4: Taking Fire -- 3/25/2016 -- Review to come

 - 3 - Read 5 completed series that are new to me.

There were no new series completed this month.  Bummer.

Running Total:  1 new to me completed series read

• January:  1 series finished
• February:  0 series read
• March: 0 series read

 - 4 - Participate in at least one Read-a-thon in 2016 (Bout of Books, Dewey's 24 Hour, any personal or community improv/unofficial read-a-thon, etc.)

-- GOAL COMPLETED -- 1/10/2016 -- 

Running Total = 2

• January:  Participated in Bout of Books Read-a-thon
• February:  There really weren't any read-a-thons I was interested in participating in.  Maybe next time.
• March:  Here we have a second read-a-thon that seemed interesting.  And I thought I wouldn't do another one for a while. Participated in 24 Hour Take Control TBR Pile

24 Hour Take Control TBR Pile Read-a-thon:  March 12, 2016

24 Hour Take Control TBR Pile Read-a-thon -- Participation Post

24 Take Control Read-a-thon -- Starter Post

24 Take Control Read-a-thon -- Wrap-up

 - 5 - Pick up at least 10 new to me authors (books not pre-listed for my 2016 Reading Assignment Challenge).

Running Total:  8 new-to-me authors read

• January:  3 new-to-me authors read
• February:  3 new-to-me authors read
• March:  2 new-to-me authors read

Author name // Book(s) Read

1.  Vicki Lewis Thompson // Heaven Scent -- 2/28/2016*

2.  E.K. Johnston // A Thousand Nights  -- 3/3/2016

*novella is part of the Behind the Red Doors anthology -- entire book finished 3/1/2016, even though this particular novella was read in February

 - 6 - Accomplish my 2016 Mount TBR Reading Challenge goals.  Tackle those books already on my shelves pre-2016!

Running Total:  15 Mt. TBR books read

• January:  6 books read
• February:  5 books read
• March:  4 books read

1.  Behind the Red Doors anthology -- 3/1/2016

2.  The Carriage House by Carla Neggers -- 3/19/2016

3.  The Wavering of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa -- 3/23/2016

4.  The Edge of Night by Jill Sorenson -- 3/29/2016

See also My 2016 Mount TBR Challenge summary post for complete listing.

Personal Goals

 - 1 - Clock at least 2 hours of cardio workout each month.

Running Total:  2.42 hours cardio

• January:  0 hours cardio clocked
• February:  2.42 hours cardio clocked
• March:  0 hours cardio

There was no cardio done.  But it's only March and I've got even bigger goals amidst these proclaimed goals.  We will continue to persevere!!

 - 2 - Attempt to work out at least twice a week.  Failing that, attempt to work out at least 8 times a month (which will be met if I can get my lazy ass to work out at least twice a week).

Running Total:  3.5 times worked out

• January:  0 times worked out
• February:  1 time worked out
• March:  2.5 times worked out

Okay, technically I didn't really go to the gym or anything.  But during my random and sparse mornings of stretching exercises, I have been throwing in some crunches of various forms, some other core exercises, maybe a minute or two of planks, and some squats.  So, spread out into different days, all added together, I guesstimated that I at least did enough little semi-workouts enough to add up to 2.5 times.

Sounds legit, right?

 - 3 - Learn 12 new recipes.  Actually make said recipes.  And take pictures.  For evidence. 

Apparently cooking is not my thing right now.

Yearly Total: 1 new recipe

• January:  1 new recipe learned // Tomato Basil Soup
• February: 0  new recipes
• March:  0 new recipes

 - Bonus Goal -  Be better at being sociable, in general.  

I'm going to die alone.  That is the conclusion I have come to.

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Previous Update Posts

2016 Bookish Resolutions -- January Progress Report

2016 Bookish Resolutions -- February Progress Report

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The Carriage House

by Carla Neggers

Book 1 of Carriage House

My TBR List -- March Winner!

See Other My TBR List Reviews @ Because Reading

From Wikipedia:

A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.

The blurb of this book had me thinking that it was about a haunted house.  After I started reading the book, I reread the blurb and realized that I might have been mistaken.  Aside from the "human skeleton in the dirt cellar," and the "rumors that the carriage house is haunted," there really was no other indication that The Carriage House  is a book about a haunted house.  Ah well.  Though I DID get curious about what a carriage house is because of the way it was being described as a farm and whatnot.  Thus, the Wiki definition above.

I admit, my research stopped there.  But I might look into it a bit more.  The idea of old, historic homes, whether for people or carriages, still intrigues me.

Moving right along...

The Carriage House  turned out to be an enjoyable, well-written, old-timey romance.  And it isn't too dated either, although there were a few quibbles I had here and there about the way people acted towards one another.  On the other hand, the romantic suspense part of the story was a little flimsy since there really wasn't much murder mystery to the murder crime.  From the beginning, you pretty much know who the human skeleton in the cellar belongs to, and the murderer is pretty obvious as well.

But some of the parts of the book DID give me a creepy vibe: the victim was given enough significance in the book to give some significant emotions, and some of the other characters were just kind of scary.  And a bit insane maybe.  But mainly creepy.

Kudos on the attempt to derail the reader's suspicion by throwing another possible suspect out there.  But seeing as how Andrew Thorne is the main male character, and this is a typical category romance (a la Harlequin Romances, after all), it wasn't like we didn't already know for a fact whether he had anything to do with the murder.  Of course, it also helps take suspicion off of a lot of people when the murderer pretty much admits the crime, even if not vocally.


A Mix of Story Summary and More of My Thoughts:
So the basic gist of The Carriage House  is that Tess Haviland did some work for an eccentric rich guy named Ike Grantham.  Ike Grantham is the most charming snake charmer to ever charm his charming way into the land of charming.  But after all that charm is no longer in front of you, you realize how much you resent the guy for charming you into agreeing to do things you otherwise wouldn't have done.  And somehow, that causes problems.

And so somehow he had managed to convince Tess that she would be very happy to take the old Thorne carriage house in Beacon-by-the-Sea, some fancy area overlooking a nice beach and ocean view, I think, as payment for the work she had done for him--something to do with graphic design.  So instead of real money, she goes for it.  To her, getting the new property for the price of her expertise is a bargain because she'd always wanted a large, old home in the middle of nowhere by cliffs and beaches with rumors of hauntings by an ancient ghost.  It reminds her of her mother, she says... the area, not the actual house itself.  And everyone else around her pretty much tells her that she's been swindled and wonders what the heck she'd been thinking.

Now, my own personal thoughts were conflicting, to be honest.  The romantic in me would absolutely love to receive a nice, old-fashioned home with so much rich history, overlooking beautiful scenery.  For one, it would be a nice, historically rich place to bask in; and things like that appeal to pretty much anyone.

The practical, logical part of me, however, says that Tess should have had the darn house inspected first before going for it.  It's an old house, an old building, and it hadn't been inhabited in a long time.  Yes, it's probably beautiful.  Yes, it's probably got all sorts of stories to tell.  Yes, it would be kind of cool to tell people you live in an historic landmark that might possibly be haunted.  Like I said, it's a romantic notion and people are nothing if not impractical about romantic notions.  It's attractive.

But it's also an old rundown house without proper upkeep maintenance or modern plumbing, and probably doesn't even have electricity.  I don't know, I wasn't really paying too much attention and I don't think we went into too much detail about the shortcomings of this carriage house aside from some broken windows, creaky wood boards, useless locks and doors, and maybe some broken stairwells.  I mean, Tess had to sleep in a makeshift cot on the floor of the front room.

Color me shallow, but I needz my modern plumbing!


Anyway, back to the book...

So Tess decides to stay at the carriage house for a weekend in order to determine whether or not she’d like to keep the home or put it back on the market for sale.  After all, Ike very much turned over the entirety of ownership to her and she is very much legally the owner of this carriage house.  She can either have a nice, history-rich home to live in, or she can sell it and make a ton of money.  As it seems, everyone and their neighbors in this book seem to want to snatch the place right up if Tess were to sell it.

In staying the weekend at the carriage house, Tess inadvertently triggers a mountain of activity, especially after finding the human skeletal remains of a possible murder victim in her cellar… who then disappears after she keeps the incident a secret because she thinks she was hallucinating and isn’t sure of what she saw.  Now the local police and the media thinks she’s insane or trying to stir up trouble, and the real murderer thinks that Tess Haviland needs to be eliminated before she digs too much deeper.

Meanwhile, there’s a handsome next door neighbor with an adorable six year old princess to contend with.


Final Thoughts:
As I already stated, the murder mystery was pretty predictable from the start. Among all the discussion between characters about whom the skeletal remains belong to, if Tess even saw a human skeleton, or if the house is haunted at all, all fingers inadvertently point to all the answers quite obviously. It doesn’t take a start detective to know the entire story without reading the entire story. And so, in the end The Carriage House was more a romance than it was a murder mystery.

Although, I must say, that the atmosphere and the imagery of the book were quite excellently done. If any other books by Carla Neggers focuses more on the crime thriller parts and tweaks certain storytelling styles just right, I’m certain they’d be excellent murder mysteries to read.

I will definitely try to pick up another Carla Neggers book in the future.


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2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Reading Assignment Challenge
• Bookish Resolutions Challenge -- My TBR List -- March Winner!
• Mount TBR Challenge

The Wavering of Haruhi Suzumiya

by Nagaru Tanigawa

Book 6 of Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series

Wow.

I didn't realize it took me a little over a month to finish this short book. I guess I just wasn't really getting into it... or I just found other books more enticing. The Wavering of Haruhi Suzumiya is a short story collection of random moments in the lives of our S.O.S. Brigade, and admittedly, it wasn't the best collection ever. In fact, I think I had set it aside for so long because the first three short stories were kind of boring. There were still little elements of anticipatory suspense for some of the mysteries in two of the five stories, but it DID take a little time before I got into the story far enough to become interested.

The last story in this collection, The Melancholy of Mikuru Asahina was only interesting after the big climax... but then it went flat again because of the nature of Asahina's character role--that everything in her life is "classified" and she can't talk about it. In essence, because she can't talk about the things going on as a time traveler, we, as the readers, cannot know why she had to be at that particular place at that particular time--we only know it was important. And that's all.

The fourth story, Where Did the Cat Go? was actually the most interesting short story in the collection, if a little juvenile and predictable. Though I guess the whole point was that the "murder mystery" set-up at Snowy Mountain Lodge was supposed to be predictable. I just hadn't pegged it to be kind of tacky as well.

The third story, Love at First Sight was just straight out strange and I didn't know what to make of it.

The first two stories were simply not memorable enough for me to draw any opinions, really. Hopefully the next book in the series will be more exciting... ?


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2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Bookish Resolutions Challenge
• Mount TBR Challenge

Personal side note:  I've been pretty absent here at Booklikes for a while, I know.  I haven't exactly finished any books to review and I don't have any other posts to publish and mainly I've just been browsing and 'liking' everyone else's stuff.  I'm also working on some other project, so I've felt busy even though I also feel like I haven't really gotten anything done.

Fortunately, this post was pre-planned weeks ago, so that I at least have something to post this week.  Following, I'm hoping I have time to finish writing my review for my TBR List book and have it ready to post on Saturday.

Anyway, now onto my Cover Crush for this week.

 Because no matter the book's summary blurb, author, or marketing, there's no doubt that many of us are drawn in by a pretty cover.  And the great ones are hard not to notice.  I'm admittedly not immune to wonderfully crafted book covers and have fallen prey to them time and time again.

Cover Crush is a feature originally thought up by Erin at Flashlight Commentary.  Every Thursday, she publishes a post featuring a book jacket/book cover that she really likes with a short commentary about it.  I discovered this weekly feature via It's a Mad Mad World here at Booklikes and decided to join in the fun!

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I am absolutely in love with this cover!  In fact, this was one of the first ones I thought of when I was thinking about choosing covers to feature for Cover Crush. 

The colors are muted, yet at the same time, sharp in some areas that really draw attention to our main girl's dress and the motion of her dance.  Then there's the moon in the background, the cloudy surroundings and some of the intricate design and details on the bodice, her hair, the large hoop earring...

Gah!  This cover is just gorgeous!  I can't stop trying to look for more detail.  The book itself isn't so bad either.  I remember glancing at the cover a few times when Liyana is described dancing, whether just to pass the time or during her god summoning.

I DO wish we could see the rest of her outfit though.

A beautiful cover for an equally beautifully written book.

 Because no matter the book's summary blurb, author, or marketing, there's no doubt that many of us are drawn in by a pretty cover.  And the great ones are hard not to notice.  I'm admittedly not immune to wonderfully crafted book covers and have fallen prey to them time and time again.

Cover Crush is a feature originally thought up by Erin at Flashlight Commentary.  Every Thursday, she publishes a post featuring a book jacket/book cover that she really likes with a short commentary about it.  I discovered this weekly feature via It's a Mad Mad World here at Booklikes and decided to join in the fun!

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I swear I'm not really trying to do all this 2016 releases promotion thing, but these covers DO keep jumping out at me.  The Steep & Thorny Way came out last week, and while I haven't been able to get my hands on it yet, I'm hoping to sometime soon.

In terms of the cover, I don't know, I just kind of like the way the typeface is set up to look kind of thorny and like tree bark... at least it looks like tree bark to me.  And the melting, blurred, swirly imagery in the background behind the girl is kind of neat too.

All together, there's just some kind of historical haunting kind of feel to it.  And I'm usually not one to read historical, but this cover was interesting enough that I paid attention.