Archives for January 5, 2015

Belinda’s Book Nook: 2015 Reading Resolutions

  • Read a total of 34 books.Last year, I had a goal on Good Reads to read 24 books. Which I think is a lot for me. I read slow and I have a lot going on. So an average of 2 books a month seemed a good effort. Well I actually surpassed that goal and read 33 books.  What I don’t want to do is to make this fun time a chore so I am not going to go too crazy on the number because I feel the experience of a book should be cherished.  So I will raise the number by one for this year. If I meet it – Yeah! If I don’t – no worries. Just grateful to be able to read.
  • Read 12 non-fiction books. Looking at last year, I explored new genres and didn’t do as much historical fiction and non-fiction as I would have liked. So this year, I would like to challenge myself to read more non-fiction.
  • Complete four series: 

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa MeyerLoved the first three books. Waiting for Fairest to be released this month.

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons I own these books but never read them. Hoping to jump into them this year.

Firebird (Slain Series) by Susanna KearsleyI can’t say enough good things about Susanna Kearsley. Just love her books. Firebird is the second in the series. Not sure how many more but I’ll be there.

Century Trilogy by Ken Follett Talk about big book intimidation. This one is it. I have wanted to read this trilogy for some time now. I plan to read it on my Nook because I think I might experience carpal tunnel holding that big hunk of book.

  • Read at least 3 debut novels. I can’t say that I rush to get many books when they are first released. I mean let’s face it, new books are very expensive.  But I did do it once last year and really enjoyed it so I will carefully select 3 this year to read.
  • Write at least 6 discussion posts in 2015. Now that I have restructured my website to have a dedicated link to my Book Nook, I can really share more. So I am excited about the possibilities and hope you will join me on this adventure.
  • Leave 2 comments per week on other book blogger sites. Listen, I am notorious for book blog peeping. I love reading them. I enjoy hearing other people share their love of books online. But I rarely and I mean rarely post a comment.  That’s definitely going to change this year.
  • Read at least 3 spiritual books. I am, officially, a collector of spiritual books. I just want them. But now I’m going to read them. Not to say I haven’t read any but the number of unread is larger. So this year, I am going to get my read on and make it happen.
  • Read at least 3 books by African authors. Another thing I do is collect a lot of books by African Americans and African authors but haven’t read nearly as much as I have. Changing that this year!
  • Read at least 1 classic books. I could go on a tangent about what classifies a book as a classic but I wont (for now) and just say, I have a few and I’m going to read at least one.
  • Read a book that is set in a country from each of the 7 continents (Asia, North American, South America, Europe, Africa, Antartica, Australia). This will be fun. I am already a member of a group in Good Reads called Around the World in 80 Books and I plan on using their extensive list to help me locate books in regions I typically don’t have.

So that is list of reading resolutions for 2015. Do you have any?

Happy reading!

Belinda

Project Life 2015!!

HeidiSwapPPI am starting off the new year with my first Project Life Haul. Generally, I don’t buy much because I subscribe to Cocoa Daisy’s Project Life monthly kits. So between that and my other products, I’m good.

HS_StencilsBut I was strolling around Michael’s over the holidays and saw this really cute kit by Heidi Swapp. Wow, she really is making a come back. I love the sparkle and glitz in the products. I even bought a set of Page Protectors and look how cool it is. She has gold writing and designs that will overlay your photos when you insert them into the pockets.  So I thought these products would be a great way to start my 2015 Project Life. I like the mini stencils too.

miniPLcardkitNow, on the confession front, I have not completed my 2014 album. Hold on don’t judge. I have worked on PL for a few years and this is the farthest I have gotten.  I have to print up the last 4 months of 2014 and then I can complete it. So my catch up plan is that I will complete one week of 2014 in conjunction with one week of 2015 until I have completed 2014 and then will only have 2015 to work on. So I will keep you abreast of my progress. One thing, I am not going to do is beat myself up for what I haven’t completed and rather celebrate all that I have achieved.

I will be back with my cover for 2015 when my new album arrives.

Belinda

Happy New Year!!!

Hello Everyone!! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and vacation. I had a great time. I spent it with family and tried to cherish every minute. The boys loved spending more time with family and of course receiving some gifts.

So many plans are rushing through my head for this new year. I am currently working on some designs for new product lines for Belinda’s Crafts and will be sure to keep you posted when I release them.

I am also working on redesign concepts for this blog and some restructuring.

I already made one change, by adding a new link from the main page directly to Belinda’s Book Nook. Look up on the top navigation bar.  I did this because I noticed I really read a lot last year and want to share more of my book happenings with you all. However, for my book blog friends, it will be easier for them to navigate directly to my book blog with a direct link. It can also be accessed on the right sidebar in the categories box but I find some people aren’t aware and don’t use that navigation as much. So I will be restructuring to make this blog more simple to navigate.

I also will be flushing out a new posting schedule that will include a lot more content in the three main areas of this site:

  • Blog –  Where I will post general stuff and family happenings as well as my thoughts on things.
  • Project –  This will include much of the crafty happenings including but not limited to: Silhouette Sunday, Cardmaking, Creative Play, Copic Coloring, Hauls, Project Life, Product announcements
  • Book Nook – This is where I will have all things book related including but not limited to: Reviews, Hauls and other weekly features.

I hope you all are well and I look forward to another amazing year!

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

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