Top 10 Reads of 2013

So I know I’ve been absent from posting on my blog. I admit it and I accept the punishment of barely any traffic. I’m on the cusp of finishing up my FIRST DRAFT of my FIRST full length novel EVER. So yeah, I’ve been busy doing other things. You know, the things I TALK about doing on my blog posts.

Anyway, I promise January will be more active. If you missed it, I will be reading the Harry Potter series for the FIRST TIME starting in January. I’ll be posting my thoughts and reactions to one book in the series per month, so if you haven’t read them either or are up for a re-read, join me! I also will be posting about my final drafting and querying journey here and at YAStands for my bi-weekly post there, so if you are in the same boat or interested in seeing how I take this rough first draft to the finish line and (maybe, hopefully, possibly??) snag an agent, then stay tuned for those!

To get back into my blog skills, I wanted to cover my top reads of 2013. This doesn’t mean the books were all published in 2013, only that I read them during this time.  Also, they are in no particular order. Without further ado, here we go! Continue reading

Audio Book vs. Head Voice

kindle-fire-hd-89I have never been one to borrow or buy audio books and listen to them; I have always preferred just reading the book myself. However, I just got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and now this audio book thing has become a very possible alternative. With the technology right there in my grasp, the idea of me just sitting there and listening to a story started to intrigue me enough until I finally found some classics that I could download for free along with the audio versions. I also found out that I could borrow books from my library in this same fashion.

Unfortunately though, I felt like I was missing a lot out of the whole “reading” process by just listening to the story. Here were some problems I had with “digesting” a book audio-style: Continue reading