D's 2013 Exordium

Happy 2013, guys! I hope your New Year's Eve was fabulous...because mine wasn't. I spent the entire day feeling poorly and, for the first time in several years, I didn't even come close to staying up until midnight. Even I had stayed up, I would have been alone. Boo.

Thankfully, I woke up this morning feeling much better! I checked my phone (and found a HNY message from S) as I normally do and looked to find Dictionary.com's Word of the Day:

exordium

 \ ig-ZAWR-dee-uhm \  noun; The beginning of anything.

Finding a touch of inspiration, I thought I'd make my 2013 exordium by posting a message here. There are 3 things I'd like to talk about.

First, don't get mad at me. Please, don't. But if you're waiting for my End-of-the-Year book wrap up, I hate to say that it won't come. You see, unlike S, I didn't do monthly book wrap-ups before we started Two Sisters Reading (which, remember, started in July), and I haven't exactly been keeping up with my reading every single month since then. Granted, my freshman English teacher did have us keep a log of what we read from January until May, but I have moved houses 3 times since I last needed that list and I could not possibly tell you where it is now. Most of my books come from the library, and they don't automatically keep a record of your checkouts. My best estimate is that I've read somewhere between 35 and 40 novels this year, but that's not guaranteed. But hey, if you're desperate to see a full-year book wrap-up, you can re-read S's here or on her other blog. 

Secondly, I will make it up to you by doing my December Book Wrap-Up right now:

 Books Read: 3 (I can feel your judgement, you know)

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
2. The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith (you can read our sister review here)
3. Life of Pi by Yann Martel, which was of course the best book this month

   Books Abandoned: 0!

   Books in Progress: 1

1. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Hmm, haven't done one of those in a while! Which leads me to the last thing I'd like to discuss: my book-related goals for 2013. I'm not much of one for New Year's Resolutions, because January 1st is just another day and your habits aren't erased at midnight and you can decide to make these changes any day of the year. However, I'd like to make a few book/TSR rules for myself that I think are reasonable but necessary in making both my reading habits and this blog the best I can. 

1. I will read at least 3 books per month, the only excuses being if one book is beyond 600 pages (e.g. Les Miserables) and if I am seriously ill for a week or more.
2. In addition to the 1 sister read per month, one or more of the others must be a classic. 
3. In addition to the monthly sister reviews, I will post one additional review and a book wrap-up (regardless of embarrassment, the main reason I didn't keep up with them this year) each month. 
4. Between the 12 sister reads and the classics list I made in my last post (plus 2 that I've added thanks to S), I've got a total of 33 books to read. My goal for the year, then, will be 45 books. This will encourage 4 books per month with some wiggle room for not-so-good months. Since I'll be doing a book wrap-up now, I'll be able to check my progress!

I suppose that's all! Once again, Happy 2013! 

Keep reading, observing, and loving,

~D