Oops...

So, this was supposed to be a review of a book that I read before I started blogging again, but as I was sitting down to put it together, I realized that I needed to refresh my memory on it a bit. Therefore, I'm holding off on the review for a day or so, but it *will* be posted soon.

To make it up to you, here's an adorable kitten. :D

-Gabe

In Which I'm Actually Ahead of the Game

I spent all day reading yesterday so I didn't get a chance to really put a post together for today. I am, however, a book ahead!

I read Foop! and They Eat Puppies, Don't They? and am now reading The Imperfectionists, which I wasn't even planning on getting to this week. I still have an e-book to read so I'm not quite done with the books I listed on Monday, but I'm getting there. This may actually be a productive week. :)

-Gabe

So...

There's no post today or tomorrow (other than this post telling you there's no post today or tomorrow) because I've had an insanely busy week and I have to work twelve hours today and thirteen tomorrow. We will return to regularly scheduled content on Monday.

-Gabe

Obligatory Morning Post

I really didn't have anything planned to post today so I'm just putting up some filler. Here are some things that are going on in my life currently.

*I finished A Prayer for Owen Meany yesterday so that review will be up tomorrow.
*I'm currently reading Something New and will be starting Star Diaries today so that I have both an e-book and a print book going at the same time.
*My sister is getting married on Halloween and I was dragged into being a bridesmaid so I only have a few weeks left to find a dress. And it has to be purple. *shudder*
*I know it's only October, but I'm already waiting for spring to start again. It's frakking cold in Rochester. Brrrrrr.
*My job at the bookstore is going great. It's nice to finally have extra money lying around. And I haven't bought a single book yet (despite all of the great sale prices). I think I deserve a medal.
*Last week was my six month anniversary. :)

I promise there will be really content tomorrow morning.

-Gabe

Gah!

Bloggiesta is not going to happen, sadly. I'm having the busiest weekend of my life and it's not even over yet. I'm getting towards the end of my current read and have decided to eschew my "On Deck" books for another week so that I can do some Banned Book Weeks reading. I've already picked out the books (I'm trying for three) and will be revealing them either later today or tomorrow morning.

-Gabe

I'm Alive, I Swear!

Okay, so things have gotten sort of hectic lately, but I'm still reading, I just haven't been blogging. I'm hoping things will die down by next week and by that time I'll have several more books read that I can review.

I finished Everything Is Illuminated and then started Love Always, but I just wasn't feeling it. I might go back to it, but I read Fight Club instead and then moved on to a reread of The Princess Bride. I decided that I was going to try to knock out a bunch of books for the Books to Movies Challenge all in one go.

I'll be back soon, I promise. :)

-Gabe

In Which I Preview What's Coming in 2012

In a month and a half it'll be 2012, which can only mean one thing: another year for me to completely fail at completing the 7 bajillion reading challenges I've signed up for. It also, of course, means another year of books and blogging. As we get closer and closer to the new year, I keep telling myself that I'm not going to reveal what I have planned for this blog in 2012...but I have nothing else to blog about today so what the heck, right? 

Books, Books, and More Books

This year my goal was to read 100 books between March (when I started blogging) and December 31st. While that's not going to happen, that's no reason for me not to dream big for next year. My goal for 2012 is 120 books, which averages out to 10 books per month. 

Because There Are Never Enough Challenges In Life

In addition to challenging myself to read 120 books, I have a few personal challenges that I'd like to do next year. I'll be continuing to work on my 1 Million Pages challenge, but I'm also challenging myself to read more non-fiction (I know it seems like I read a lot of that already, but I really would like to read even more), as well as more books written in the 1960s and 1970s. I have a huge obsession with books from those two decades, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Breakfast of Champions, and would love to get through a huge stack of them in the coming year.

Now, for the rest of you, I have a challenge in the works that everyone can get in on. I'm tweaking the details at the moment, but here's the basic gist: 

This challenge will require participants to pick one country they've never visited and read books throughout the year that have to do with that country. They can be any type of book--travel, history, novel, culture, play, etc.--and can be from any time period in that country's history. I'll be posting the actual challenge details next month once they've been finalized, but for now I leave you all to start considering which country you'd like to spend the year exploring. 

Everyone Loves a Read-Along

Frank Herbert's Dune is one of my favorite novels of all time. Yet, even though I own the entire (original) series, I've only ever read the first book. Next year I'll be reading one book from the series every month in January, March, May, July, September, and November and I'm inviting everyone to join in. Maybe you've always been curious about the series, maybe you've seen one of the movies based on the first book and thought "The novel has got to be better than this crap," or maybe you've got a sci-fi challenge going on and you need books to add to your reading list. Whatever your reasoning, the Dune read-along is for you.

"But, Gabe," I hear you saying, "what about the other six months?" Have no fear, dear reader, I have a plan. 

For the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December, I'm doing a read-along of a different color. I'm (tentatively) calling it "Gabe's Big Ol' Book Club" and it's exactly what it sounds like. Each month I'll be picking a massive book (you know, the really intimidating ones that we keep saying we'll read and never do) for participants to read and discuss. I've already got the books picked out but there would be no fun if it weren't a surprise.

Look for more details on both of these read-alongs in December. 

Busy Work

To make sure that I've always got something to blog about even when I'm behind on reading, I've got a few things that I'm planning to do on a regular basis next year. Assuming that Grimm and/or Once Upon a Time stay on the air, I'll be reviewing those shows on a weekly basis (my reviews of last week's episodes are coming, I promise). I'm also going to make up for my dismal participation in the Books to Movies Challenge by reviewing as many of the films as I can that have been made from books that I read in 2012. 

Other than that, it'll be pretty much the same as it has been. I'm thinking of doing a redesign of my blog but I haven't made a final decision on that. 

I have a few more reviews to do for books that I read months ago and I'm going to finish my current read (which I've been stuck on for a week for various and sundry reasons) so that I can move on to other books. I probably won't meet all of my goals this year but, hey, there's always next year, right?

-Gabe

In Which I Am a Very Happy Boy

This was supposed to be a review of Field Notes from a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert, but I didn't have time to write it on Thursday (which is when I'm currently typing this) and I'm supposed to go on a date on Friday, so I didn't really want to write it then. So, instead, I'm just going to brag about the fact that I'm finally going out for the first time in about three years and tell you that hopefully that review will be up on Sunday.

Oh, and wish me luck retroactively that Friday night goes well. It took me long enough to get up the nerve to even ask so I think I deserve a little luck.

-Gabe

In Which I Am Being Lazy

There's no review scheduled today because I took yesterday off. In the next few days I'll be reviewing the latest Deanna Raybourn novel, Albert Brooks' 2030, and the chilling House of Leaves, along with a few non-fiction books. I'm currently in the process of tweaking my reading list for the rest of the year (I'm woefully behind on my challenges) and I'm also busy planning for next year. As I hinted on Twitter, I have some exciting things coming in 2012, including a fun, personalized challenge for all of you to join in on and a series read-along. I'll be announcing everything in December, but I figured I'd leave you guys guessing for the next two months by dropping in a teaser here. :)

-Gabe

Obligatory Daily Post

Hey everyone,

There's no review today, as I've been writing reviews all week and my brain needs a break. I'm also behind on reading, so I wanted to focus on that on Friday and Saturday. Look for more reviews the rest of this month.

-Gabe