Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Promises for 2025 (Quarterly Review)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.    

Welcome to July! Today is a Top Ten Tuesday Freebie/Throwback, so I decided to review the bookish promises I made in January. 

Top Ten Bookish Promises for 2025

Complete my Goodreads challenge

I am behind on this goal. I adjusted the number of books because I feel like the second half of 2025 is going to be busier than the first. I have some reviews to post, but even with those, I will be behind eight books. We will see how the year goes.

Read 15 books from my TBR Pile.

I've read seven books from my TBR pile this year, so I am on track to complete this one if I don't take on too many virtual book tour requests. 

Read 4 leadership books.

I haven't indulged in any of these this year, instead focusing more on personal development.

Read 2 personal or professional development books.

I finished one personal development book, which I haven't talked about yet. 

Read a book in a genre I don't usually read.

I completed this early on when I read the dark psychological fantasy thriller, Ghosting Academy.

Complete Amelia's Mission.

Haven't touched this at all this year. Not looking good for the second half of the year. 

Complete Sheltered Hearts.

Haven't touched this one either. Work, wedding, and editing have kept me busy. Partially disappointed that I never heard back from that literary agent, which didn't encourage me to continue either. I will reach out sometime in July, and then move on if nothing concrete happens. Still, I need to move forward with this and plot the next book. 

Invest in a new author website.

I was thrilled to finally update my author website this year. I love the new look.

Plot the last book in the series.

I haven't done much with this, but I already know who it will be about. I need to finalize Sheltered Hearts first. 

Complete NaNoWriMo.

Since NaNoWriMo has been dissolved, this item is no longer relevant. It doesn't mean I couldn't spend a month writing a book, but I certainly wouldn't do it in November. 

How are your bookish goals/promises coming along? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Promises of 2024 Update

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.    

Happy Tuesday! Can't recall the last time I participated in this weekly meme, but it is one of my favorites. This week's topic is supposed to be "Posts I’ve Written That Give You the Best Glimpse of Me." Instead, I've opted to update readers on how the bookish promises I made in January are coming along. 

Top Ten Bookish Promises for 2024 - Update

Complete my Goodreads Challenge.

This is the one and only challenge I tackle each year. I started off strong, but now I am 7 books behind. Luckily, I have a few reviews to write. 

Read 15 books from my TBR Pile.

I've read eight books  from my TBR Pile, so I'm feeling good about this goal. I also started another one last week. 

Read 8 leadership books from my TBR Pile.

So far, I've read eight nonfiction books that are either personal growth, business or leadership. Only two are directed toward leadership. 

Read one book in a genre I don't usually read. 

This is an annual promise, because I like to expand my horizons beyond beloved genres you'll find here. I have not tackled this yet.

Weed out my Goodreads and Kindle freebie "Want to Read" lists.

Though low priority, I do this in small bits as I have time. 

Finish editing my NaNoWriMo project.

Done and submitted to a publisher. This publisher wanted a synopsis, so I ended up polishing the manuscript numerous times, writing a query letter, then taking the synopsis I wrote before the book was started and tweaking it to get it ready to send over. 

Plan out the next steps in my writing career.

I've made progress on this one. I've updated my website bio, welcome message, and changed some pages around. I need to figure out how to remove the background image. Despite customizing it and clicking on remove background image, that primary background remains. I will need to do some more tweaking. 

This is in anticipation of my small town Christmas romance being picked up by a publisher. Even if that doesn't happen, I want to change the website so that it reflects what I want to write... or think I want to write. 

Re-organize my works in progress.

Not a project I've dabbled in yet, but it's in the back of my mind.

Submit one short story.

The online magazine I had published a story in back in 2022 has since closed. So, I haven't yet figured out if I want to keep this promise or not. I still have four months to make it happen. 

Participate in NaNoWriMo.

I am already brainstorming ideas to participate in NaNoWriMo in November.

How are your goals coming along? What is the progress you are most proud of? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Promises for 2024

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.    

Here we are at Tuesday again. Hope you're having a great week so far. This week it is time to talk about bookish goals/intentions/objectives, or as I call them, promises. I switched to the word "promises" in 2022 because that word motivates me more than the others. Sometimes, I have to trick my brain. Here are my...

Top Ten Bookish Promises for 2024 

Complete my Goodreads Challenge.

This is the one and only challenge I complete each year. I am off to a good start, with four books read, and only one of them is a picture book. I'm shooting for 75 books this year, which is five more than I read in 2023. The goal will increase if I hit it before December 31.

Read 15 books from my TBR Pile.

That is five more than I read from my TBR Pile in 2023. Two of the four books I've already read are from my TBR Pile, so I'm feeling good about this goal. I know I'll want to read through the remaining books in the Love Comes Softly series this year. 

Read 8 leadership books from my TBR Pile.

Though I read 10 leadership books in 2024, I can't say nonfiction has commanded most of my attention the last few years. Currently, I have 12 non-fiction titles on Audible; most of them personal growth books. Last week, I downloaded John Maxwell's Good Leaders Ask Great Questions and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: 25th Anniversary. 

Read one book in a genre I don't usually read. 

This is an annual promise, because I like to expand my horizons beyond beloved genres you'll find here. Usually that means something in the fantasy or science fiction realm. We will see what 2024 brings.

Weed out my Goodreads and Kindle freebie "Want to Read" lists.

I started this in December. Though this is a low priority, a more manageable list of each would make my reading life easier. 

Finish editing my NaNoWriMo project.

I am on the third round of edits since completing this project in November. After this, I will give it a final readthrough to pick up punctuation errors. Then I will be ready to draft a query letter.

Plan out the next steps in my writing career.

This is a tough one. I'm conflicted about the direction I wish to go. I've had success as a children's author. Not sell a 100,000 books success, but I'm happy with what I've accomplished. However, writing Home for the Heart in November made me so happy. Is it time for me to consider a new path? Should I switch to writing for adults? Would contemporary romance be a genre that will continue to thrill me for years to come? Never mind the rebranding and substantial marketing effort this would involve.

Re-organize my works in progress.

If I re-organize my WIPs, this could help me decide if I change directions with my writing. My notebooks are filled with dozens of neat ideas for children's books. Would reconsidering them spark more inspiration?

Submit one short story.

This is a carryover from 2023. I had one short story published in 2022. Getting paid for your work is motivating. I will revisit that online magazine first. If I don't feel I have anything to offer them, I will browse through my Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market book.

Participate in NaNoWriMo.

Now that I have a good process, if I come up with a solid idea, I will tackle NaNoWriMo again. It wasn't as intimidating as I remembered it to be. 

That's it for my list. What are you hoping to accomplish in 2024? Do we share any of the same goals?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Promises for 2023 - Updated

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.    

Welcome to the first Tuesday of October! Haven't had the bandwidth to participate in a Top Ten Tuesday since July. This week's topic is Reading Goals I Still Want to Accomplish Before the End of the Year. Since I usually check in once a quarter with my goals--at least in my head, if not online--I figured I would bring up the list I started with and see how that is going. 

Top Ten Bookish Promises for 2023 - UPDATED 

One First Chapter Review a week 

JUNE UPDATE: I knew it would be hard, but it became impossible when work increased. I guess I would rather be in the top five of my company than keep this promise. 😊 I have posted six this year (though I had to unpublish one because the book contract was canceled), so that’s one a month. Not too bad. 

OCT UPDATE: I haven't posted any First Chapter Reviews since my last update, though I do have a couple coming up. Real estate has taken up a lot of my time this year, and money-making comes first.

Read 10 books from my TBR Pile. 

JUNE UPDATE: I am so bad about not indulging in VBT books. Three of the books I’ve read this year were from my TBR Pile. 

OCT UPDATE: I have read 15 books from TBR pile this year. Full disclosure is that some of these were additions to my TBR pile in 2023, but they weren't ones I had to review. 

Read 5 leadership books this year. 

JUNE UPDATE: I changed my focus early in the year to focus simply on professional development. This year I have read eight books that fall into that category, plus another book on positive thinking. That’s a win! 

OCT UPDATE: Have logged 10 titles so far, so that's a win!

Read one book in a genre I don't usually read. 

JUNE UPDATE: I’ve definitely read more books in the professional development category than I have in years. I will also be reading a children’s fantasy book soon. 

OCT UPDATE: I read a Christian suspense novel--which I loved--and a graphic novel--also loved--this year. Neither is my go-to genre. Though I love Christian fiction and suspense novels, the blended genre is not one I read often. Have to admit that graphic novels weren't my thing when they first came out, but I'm enjoying them more as time goes on. 

Post more regularly at my children's book blog. 

JUNE UPDATE: I am adding more children’s books to my reading schedule. Not sure if when December 31 rolls around I will have posted more at this blog or not. 

OCT UPDATE: TC&TBC is definitely getting more love this year. It was intended to be more of a children's authors blog for me, but I mostly share other authors' books and where I am blogging. I still post author news there occasionally, which backs up my website. 

Reconsider the book lists (including freebies) I subscribe to and delete at least one. 

JUNE UPDATE: I didn’t delete any, but I don’t check the emails regularly anymore. I could go weeks without adding any new books to  my TBR Pile. 

OCT UPDATE: I rarely check Kindle freebie lists these days. My list shows only four this year.

Take a writing MasterClass.

JUNE UPDATE: I haven’t started any of these but in addition to Nick Gaiman’s class on the art of storytelling, I’ve added Judy Blume Teaches Writing and Shonda Rhimes Teaches Writing for Television to my library. 

OCT UPDATE: Started Shonda Rhimes' class but not the others. I need to look at these again, since my subscription expires at the end of the year. Right now, I am focusing on material regarding the genre I want to tackle for NaNoWriMo. 

Re-organize my works in progress.

JUNE UPDATE: I am thinking about what I should do. I’m supposed to have a book coming out this year, so I will need to market that. I’ve got one completed book being reviewed by an illustrator, which might need some revisions. I’m still plugging away at my middle grade novel when I have time. Other than that, I really haven’t considered this task. 

OCT UPDATE: I've looked through them. Does that count? Total fail on this one. 

Increase the number of paid editing jobs.

JUNE UPDATE: This year has been a good one so far, but my regular work schedule may impede further progress. 

OCT UPDATE: Definitely surpassed what I thought this year would look like on editing jobs. Not likely I will tackle any more than I have in process right now. 

Submit one or two short stories.

JUNE UPDATE: There is one I am focusing on, just not sure if it will fit.

OCT UPDATE: So much for June's focus. Summer was so busy in my real estate world. Things are starting to slow down a bit, but I have big real estate goals in 2024, so need to spend some of the last quarter of 2023 putting the right things in place. 

That's my list. How are your 2023 goals/promises going? What is one thing you want to accomplish before the end of the year? 

Looking Ahead

 

I am a planner. Spontaneous actions make me uncomfortable. Odd since I am a total panster when I write. As I am contemplating 2021 and what my personal, professional (real estate), and writing goals might look like, I am working on a plan for success. 

Items like: buy another bookshelf to help with my overflow of books that I want to keep, a new desk for the office, one-day planner sheets for my to-do list based off my goals, switching to an online calendar, and a plan to consolidate blogs are all on my list to review before the end of the year. 

What does your 2021 success plan look like? Will you create a vision board? Do you journal or use daily planners?

2018 Reading Challenges - Epic Fail

Graphic from ebaum's world

Sometimes you meet your goals. This year, I:

• Participated in and won STORYSTORM
• Increased my sales volume in real estate and listed more homes than previous years
• Cleaned out my house
• Sent out Christmas cards for the first time in four years

Sometimes you only make progress on your goals. This year, I:

• Didn't send Clever Tom (my next picture book) out to agents, but I performed agent research and participated in #PBPITCH on Twitter a few times. 
• Didn't finish Amelia's Mission (my middle grade historical), but I wrote several chapters and attended almost all our writer's group meetings to get feedback.
• Didn't blog as much as intended, but have managed to keep five blogs going, resurrected another blog, and now contribute to two more blogs instead of only Christian Children's Authors. 

Then there are goals you simply don't even come close to. My 2018 reading challenges fit in that epic fail category. Since I knew time would be limited, and my responsibilities for my in-laws have increased, I promised myself to aim low. Well, the three challenges I signed up for never saw the light of day. 

I didn't even crack open one of the 12 books on my 2018 TBR Pile Challenge list. New books will always catch my eye, and virtual book tours are still of interest, so I have to realize that my TBR Pile will remain a mountain until I become independently wealthy and can stop working, or until I find the willpower to stop signing up for new virtual book tours. Neither seems likely.

On a good note, I read 43 books this year, which is 12 more than last year. I am going to set myself a reading goal of 50 books again this year and see how it goes. I'm also planning to join the 2019 Reading Challenge at Linz The Bookworm. It seems more manageable than what I have tried in the past. 

How did your reading challenges go? Have you decided what challenges you'll participate in for 2019? What will your first book be for 2019? 

Musing Monday - January 22

Musing Monday is hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker.  It is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK'S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you prefer true Biographies or fiction that tells the life of someone?

How is it Monday again? I must really be getting old if time passes this quickly.

Not a ton happened last week other than the mundane stuff of life. The kids ended up with three days off because we had two and then a snow day. That's not conducive to my getting work done, but it's fun to have them here.

Right now I am reading a couple of books:

More info on Goodreads

I'm working on my goal to read at least one writing craft or writing business book a quarter.This one is due back to the library soon, but I'll be done with it this week. I'm enjoying the writing exercises. More information on it can be found on Goodreads. 

What a fabulous question Ambrosia has posed this week. I love historical fiction and I love biographies. They both serve their purpose. Often times I am inspired by historical fiction to research the real lives of historical figures; usually that happens with movies more than books because movies can only scratch the surface of fascinating people. I do feel, however, if you are going to call something a biography, what it contains must be factual and able to be proven through research. Biographies can be engaging and true with the right author. If a story is based on true events, like the Little House books and television shows or Melanie Benjamin's novels, then I don't have the expectation that everything happened the way it is portrayed. It's up to the writer to make that clear up front so that credibility doesn't suffer. 

That's it from me for now. Hope you have a great week.

2018 Reading Challenges - Focusing on My TBR Pile

Happy new year! This is the year the TBR Pile gets whittled down. I simply can't stand the abundance of unread books filling my office. Even if it's just a dozen books, that will be twelve books off my list. Here are the reading challenges I am participating in to help me accomplish that goal:

Sponsored by My Reader's Block

Sponsored by The Misadventures of Super Librarian

Sponsored by Roof Beam Reader

Here is my book list:

1. For Keeps by Aaron Paul Lazar
2. Mayan Intrigue by Linda Weaver Clarke
3. Montezuma Intrigue by Linda Weaver Clarke
4. The Bitch in the House by Cathi Hanauer
5. Double Forte by Aaron Paul Lazar
6. An Amish Christmas Quilt by Charlotte Hubbard et al.
7. Strong Darkness by Jon Land
8. Strong Light of Day by Jon Land
9. Strong Cold Dead by Jon Land
10. Sarah’s Orphans by Vannetta Chapman
11. Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliette Grey
12. Played by the Book by Lucy Arlington

Click on the links below the photos to find sign up pages and details. Good luck to all those bloggers and non-bloggers tackling reading challenges in 2018.

The Book Connection Year in Review

We are about an hour away from 2017. Have you already considered your new year's resolutions? I only have one this year and it is based upon on what I missed in 2016: time to enjoy what I love most.

I was just browsing through The Book Connection's archives for this year and discovered I read 23 (not 21 as I said earlier this week) books. Seven of them were picture books that didn't appear here. Here's a look at what was reviewed:

The problem is, I used to read over 100 books a year. Now, I don't expect that will be the case in 2017 because I'm working outside of the house now and I wasn't before; but just like I took last year's resolution to lose weight, eat better and exercise more seriously, I am embracing this resolution 100%.

I vow to make more time for:

• Family
• Reading
• Writing
• Cooking
• Gardening

These are the things I enjoy the most. Those are the people I want to dedicate more time to. As such, I am working on my 2017 calendar and seeing how I can arrange things to dedicate at least one day off to family each week and cook real food at least three days each week. I also want to plant a garden in the spring, something I didn't get to this year. Even if I only write a chapter once a month, that will be more than I did in 2016. As far as reading goes, I would like to double the number of books I read in 2016. 

If you have any tips to share I would love to hear them. 

Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Resolutions I Have For 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Welcome to our first Top Ten Tuesday post of the year. I love participating in this one because it talks about resolutions, which fits in well with all the goal setting everyone does around the first of the year. 

I thought it would be fun to review last year's Top Ten Resolutions before moving into this year's.

1. Catch up on my TBR Pile. Ha, ha, ha. Didn't happen.
2. Catch up on writing reviews. Have reviewed all the books I've read. 
3. Re-organize my books. Didn't happen, but I did purge some throughout 2015.
4. Reconsider my blogging duties. Done. I got rid of one blog and reduce my blogging duties on two others. 
5. Finish my middle grade novel. Only 14 chapters in, but this is on my writing goals list for completion this year.
6. Get in shape. Never even came close to happening, though I did exercise occasionally. 
7. Clean out the basement. Don't make me laugh. There is more crap in there than ever. 
8. Seriously look at self-publishing. Read a couple of books, but tabled this until I have something to self-publish that isn't a picture book requiring illustrations. 
9. Re-organize my closet. Did some, but really needs to be totally emptied and tidied up.
10. Stage my house. Nope, and probably won't happen this year either.

Top Ten Resolutions We Have For 2016

(can be bookish, personal resolutions, "I resolve to finally read these 10 books, series I resolve to finish in 2015, etc.)

1. Catch up on my TBR Pile. I need to do this. I can't stand being overdue on reviews. I won't get to all my books, but by the end of the year I want all the books on my floor that I have promised to review to be gone. 
2. Finish my middle grade novel. It's either this year or never. I've set my goals and have a plan on how to achieve them. By May 31, 2016 is slated to be done, but I will give myself some leeway if the real estate is profitable this year (and no reason to think it won't be).
3. Get in Shape. Already on it. Today I started the New Year's Resolution Solution. I ate more fruits and vegetables than I have in years. This was also the first day I went without a can of soda. Oh, and I exercised too. My plan is to lose 10 pounds by the end of June.
4. Daily Bible reading. Even if I only get in one verse, I'll be happy. I need to spend more time in the Word. 
5. Dedicate more time to family. My in-laws are in their 80s and my kids are 28, 14, and 12. If I don't remember how quickly Johnny Boy went from baby to man, I can see it in how tall and mature the girls are getting. Need to time block the calendar with family time.
6. Be a more dedicated spouse. Dad has his hopes and dreams, just like I do. I can't say I've always done everything I can to help him out. Marriage should be 50/50, so I need to bring it to the table. I'm sure this will require prayer to get me moving.
7. Read more business and writing craft books. I buy them, but I don't always read them. I want to commit to reading one a quarter.
8. Double my real estate business. I closed out 2015 by helping 14 people find new homes and 5 renters locate new rentals. I would like to be close to 30 home sales by the end of the year and still keep some rentals in the mix.
9. Do one thing just for me this year. In 2014 I took a trip across the country to meet my friends in Wisconsin and embark upon a tour of most of the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites. For the record, I've never done anything like that before. I've never even been away from my girls for more than an overnight. I don't need anything this grand for 2016, but I want to do something special just for me--maybe a writing retreat. 
10.  Let go of some volunteer duties. I simply do too much, and both my family and I suffer for it. It's time to reassess my life and let someone else take charge of things I don't have time for.  

Good luck with your goals for 2016. Feel free to share some of them in the comments. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Goals/Resolutions For 2015 -- bookish, blogging or otherwise!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Goals/Resolutions For 2015 -- bookish, blogging or otherwise!

1. Catch up on my TBR Pile. This truly is a hopeless cause, but I must add it. With 334 books on my 2015 TBR list (those are only the ones on a spreadsheet, not all the books in my office I want to read) and 475 free books on my devices, catching up is far, far away. I simply want to make 2015 the year I read every book I agreed to review for someone. And for gosh sakes, if you hear me taking on a new book to review, give me a virtual slap.

2. Catch up on writing reviews. Thankfully I am almost done with this one. I wrote a few reviews this week at my kid's book blog and one here. I have at least one more to go. 

3. Re-organize my books. This is a low priority item, but something I want to do. I'm sure I have some books I can donate, but who knows what the heck is in my office right now. I can barely find the floor.

4. Reconsider my blogging duties. This I must do out of necessity. Now that I am working outside the house (if you're looking to buy or sell a home in MA, call me) I simply can't run so many blogs. I think I will only dump one and just post things of interest to its Facebook page, but I'm not sure yet. All I know is that things are changing. You'll notice that the Upcoming Events page is back in my navigation bar, so I think this blog will stay rather active. 

5. Finish my middle grade novel. Amelia's Mission seems to have dragged on forever. I'm hoping to use some recovery time from surgery this coming February to polish it off. 

6. Get in shape. This will have to wait until after my recovery, but it is coming. I have new cookbooks too, so the family better watch out. 

7. Clean out the basement. This is the lowest priority item on the list. Our plan is to finish off the basement at some point, but I honestly have no idea where all that stuff we have there now will go. We certainly don't have enough attic space to store it. 

8. Seriously look at self-publishing. I want to do it. I know I will. I just need to learn more about it.

9. Re-organize my closet. Another low priority item, but one I hope to tackle. Now that I am buying more business clothes, I need the room.

10. Stage my house. This is last, but definitely not least. We've been here 15 years now...and it looks it. I'm learning more about staging as I work in real estate. I also know two professionals stagers. Before the holidays next year, I want this place looking beautiful. 

Hope you'll share some of your 2015 goals with us. 

Total Books Read Across All Genres and 2014 Blog Goals

So, what did my reading year look like? You already know my favorites, which I talked about here. This year, I read 115 books across all genres (including children's and young adult). That's only 16 fewer than last year, so considering how busy I was, that's not bad.

So, what does 2014 look like? As I already mentioned, I won't be participating in as many virtual book tours this year. Honestly, I don't feel that's a bad thing--for me or my readers. I hope you feel that way too. I have a couple final VBT reviews scheduled for January and one for February. While I might take on new books, my focus must be on all those books in my mammoth TBR pile. Right now, my spreadsheet reflects 288 books--and that doesn't even count all the Kindle freebies I've downloaded over the past year. Luckily, only a dozen of those paperbacks and 50 digital books are ones I agreed to review for authors/publicists.

In addition to catching up and giving myself some breathing room, I plan to continue with Top Ten Tuesday created by The Broke and The Bookish when I can. I also hope to participate in Musing Mondays and W...W...W...Wednesdays, which were created by MizB at Should Be Reading.

One final project is dedicating a tiny bit more time to my other blogs that have branched off of this one:

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection : http://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/

A Little Bit of Spice: http://spicyromanceconnection.blogspot.com/

Cheryl's Christian Book Connection: http://cherylschristianbookconnection.blogspot.com/

Books Can Be Deadly: http://bookscanbedeadly.blogspot.com/

I'm in the process of populating Books Can Be Deadly with some of the older posts from here. Then I will be featuring crime fiction, mysteries, thrillers, suspense novels, and true crime books at that blog.

Thanks for your loyal support through the years. It is greatly appreciated.

Happy New Year!