December Wrap-Up/End of the Year Wrap-Up

December Wrap-Up

Books I Read

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

5/5


Recommended to lovers of sci-fi and those who are just beginning to explore the genre. It is guaranteed to keep you up at night. Fans of time travel and “Doctor Who” will especially enjoy it.


Starters by Lissa Price

2.5/5

This book was very "meh" to me. I was expecting to like it more, because the premise sounded a lot like The Host, but it wasn't that great. If you're looking for another dystopian or something to get you over a book hangover, this one's a decent choice.

Movies I Watched

"Charlie Brown Christmas"

3/5

Recommended to Peanuts lovers, a short movie, and a good Christmas special for the whole family.

"A Christmas Story"

4/5

Recommended to anyone looking for a good Christmas movie for the whole family, a movie that'll make you laugh, and a simple story.

"The Muppets Christmas Carol"

3.5/5

Recommended to people who like the Muppets, anyone looking for a good Christmas movie for the whole family, and a good adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

"The Theory of Everything" 

5/5

Recommended to anyone who likes Stephen Hawking, Indie films, beautiful cinematography similar to that of "Sherlock's," and fans of "The King's Speech" and "Saving Mr. Banks."

"The Happy Elf"

5/5

Recommended to anyone looking for a short, cute Christmas movie that'll make you laugh.

"You've Got Mail" (a re-watch)

5/5

Recommended to anyone with an Indie bookstore in their town, book lovers, simple stories, and great characters.

Quotes I Wrote

          I do what I do every day: I watch. I listen. I observe.

          I pass the time the way I do every day: I help when I can help. I accept when I can't. I do what I am told to do.

          Every day, all day, no questions asked.

          That's the way it is.

          That's the way it's always been.

          That's the way it always will be.

          That is what you do when you're me.

          That is what you do when you're dead.
--Ghost Story (a working title)

          Patricia, Hadley, Carl, Violet, Xavier, Tyler, Dana, Rex, Lucy, Zoe. Names upon names upon names. Souls, human souls, all for the Fates' taking. Their futures rest in our hands. The ones they will love, the ones they will marry, the ones that will cause them pain, it is all decided by the Fates. By us.

          We will guide them.

          And we will kill them.

--Ghost Story (a working title)

          "You're actually--a ghost?" Evan hasn't blinked once since we started talking.

          I nod.

          He continues to stare at me, eyebrows raised.

          "So--should I be burning your bones or something?"

          "You've been watching too much TV."

 --Ghost Story (a working title)

Obsessions I Acquired

Fan-fiction. I never realized how much fun writing it could be! :) It's a great warm up, and pretty easy to get into since all the characters have been created for you. I've been working on a SuperWhoLock short story, messing around with different pairings. So far the interactions between Sherlock and Dean have been the funniest, and Rose and Sam have good chemistry when working on a case.

Picture of the Month

Charlie is, hands down, one of the best characters in "Supernatural." She quirky, spunky, geeky, and a perfect fit in the Winchester family. I love every episode she's in. She should be a regular. :)

How was your December?

End of the Year Wrap-Up

It's time to say goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015! But before we do, I'd like to take a look at the past year.

Top 14 books

(In no particular order):

1. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
2. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
4. Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
5. Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
6. Scarlet and Cress by Marissa Meyer
7. The Program by Suzanne Young
8. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
9. Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
10. All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
11. Panic by Lauren Oliver
12. Basically all the Mortal Instruments books by Cassandra Clare
13. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
14. The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm

New blogging friends (limit to five)

I love meeting every single one of you, but I have to give myself a limit, otherwise this post would be really long. ;) These blogs are in no particular order.

1. Nicole from "A Soul Spun From Ink"

Nicole reached out to me via e-mail, and we really hit it off. We both love reading, writing, Pinterest, and "Supernatural." She posts regularly on her blog with tips on how to write, websites to use for inspiration, and snippets from her novel. She's also starting a regular short story contest, which I'm super excited about!

2. Skylar from "Life of a Random"



Skylar's blog is like a great big bubble of happiness. Her posts are always so much fun to read and often make me laugh. And Skylar's sending me book reviews, which I'm really happy about. :) If you're looking for someone to fangirl with, check out her blog.

3. Taylor Lynn from "Paper Daydreams"



(Not to be confused with "Paper Fury," as it often is.)

I met Taylor through blogging and Twitter a couple weeks ago, and I already know I'm going to love reading her blog. We share tons of similar reading interests, such as The Fault In Our Stars, Harry Potter, Rainbow Rowell books, Flora & Ulysses, We Were Liars, and lots of others. She's also a homeschooled writer, and I always love meeting others like me!

4. Shelumiel from "Whims and Ramblings"



It's kind of scary how similarly we read. If he likes a book, I like it, too, and vice versa. And neither of us like Catcher In the Rye. Shelumiel is also constantly sending me tweets with movies/books he thinks I'd like. He's usually right!

5. Abby from "The Ups and Downs of My Not-So-Average Life"

Abby and I met through the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program. I went to the forums and said I was looking for a co-author to write a book with, and she responded right away. We e-mailed back and forth for a while and are now in the middle of writing a book about a young girl with aspergers dealing with her schizophrenic mom's death. I'm having so much fun with it. I also love that Abby posts regularly about the offline world, too, something we don't always see a lot of.

New obsessions

"Doctor Who"
"Sherlock"
"Supernatural"
Pinterest (Such a great place for writing inspiration. I use it all the time now!)

Most played songs


All of the music from "Doctor Who," "Sherlock," "Parenthood," and "Gilmore Girls"

"Carry On My Wayward Son" -- Kansas (Although it's hard to listen to it without bursting into tears--curse you, "Supernatural!")
"Stay or Leave" -- Dave Matthews
"Sing," "Photograph," "Tenerife Sea," and "Thinking Out Loud" -- Ed Sheeran
All of the music from "The Fault In Our Stars"
"Somewhere Only We Know" -- Keane
"Beneath Your Beautiful" -- Labrinth feat. Emeli Sandé
"Buzzcut Season," "Team," "Glory and Gore," and "Yellow Flicker Beat" -- Lorde
"When We Were Young" -- Lucy Schwartz
"The Hanging Tree" -- Jennifer Lawrence
"Dollhouse" -- Melanie Martinez
"Starlight" -- Muse
"Counting Stars," "What You Wanted," "Au Revoir," and "Burning Bridges" -- OneRepublic
"Coming Home" -- Skylar Grey
All of the music from "Divergent"
All of the songs from "1989" -- Taylor Swift


Strangest Google search used to find my blog

"i'd rather be at hogwarts" *high fives whoever made that search*

Five most popular blog posts

1. "Local Authors Night at Aaron's Books"
2. "Top Ten Books I Read In 2014"
3. "The Heroine Tag"
4. "Ten Bookish Goals For 2015"
5. "November Wrap-Up"

Three big things that happened in 2014

I was one of the authors at Aaron's Books Local Authors Signing.
I got my first job, a Food & Beverage position at the Renaissance Faire.
Our family moved to a new house.

Image from this year

My three major obsessions from this past year. I really want this to be an actual show. Although I'm pretty sure the internet would explode if that were to happen. Tumblr would, at the very least.

I know I already used this for November's wrap-up post, but I still love it. *feels*

Favorite quote from a book


But for now, as we wait for the engines to kick in, all of that is far away. For a moment the image before us is frozen: our world, our lives, reduced to a handful of broken stars half lost in uncharted space. Then it's gone, the view swallowed by the hyperspace winds streaming past, blue-green auroras wiping the afterimages away.
Until all that's left is us.
--These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

"Do You believe in love at first sight?"
"I don't know," he said. "Do you believe in love before that?"
--Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."
--The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

"Nothing would be easier without you, because you are everything, all of it--sprinkles, quarks, giant
donuts, eggs sunny-side up--you are the ever-expanding universe to me."
--Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

"Don't we all live in our heads? Where else could we possibly exist? Our brains are the universe."
--Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo


"I promise, I will not let you die without being kissed."
--Cress by Marissa Meyer

"Captain," she murmured. "I think I’m in love with you."
An eyebrow shot up. She counted six beats of his heart before, suddenly, he laughed.
"Don’t tell me it took you two whole days to realize that. I must be losing my touch."
--Cress by Marissa Meyer




Mirren. She is sugar she is curiosity and rain.
Johnny. He is bounce. He is effort and snark.
Gat. He is contemplation and enthusiasm. He is ambition and strong coffee.
Welcome home, they are saying. Welcome home.
--We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

For a moment, the two of us were alone on the planet, with all the vastness of the sky and the future and the past spreading out around us.
--We Were Liars by E. Lockhart


"We're lucky some people are so full of goodness."
--Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea


 "Well, that was easy," I whisper.
"No, that was very dangerous and daring, and it was only through my extreme charm that we pulled it off."
Even at this moment, he can make me smile. "My mistake."
 --All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill


"There are risks," James concedes, "but progress is always dangerous, isn't it? Most of the time, walls don't get dismantled brick by brick. Someone has to crash through them."
--All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

"We shouldn’t," protested Isabelle. "The Clave has a plan."
"The Clave has the collective intelligence of a pineapple," said Jace.
Alec blinked up at them. “Jace is right.”
Isabelle turned on her brother. "What do you know? You weren’t even paying attention."
"I was," Alec said, injured. "I said Jace was right."
"Yeah, but there’s like a 90% chance of me being right most of the time, so that’s not proof you were listening," said Jace. "That’s just a good guess."
--City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

"No killing," Jordan said. "We’re trying to make you feel peaceful, so you don’t go up in flames. Blood, killing, war, those are all non-peaceful things. Isn’t there anything else you like? Rainforests? Chirping birds?"
"Weapons," said Jace. "I like weapons."
"I’m starting to think we have a problematic issue of personal philosophy here."
--City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

"I do have a point to all this," she continues. "There are like twenty people in that waiting room right now. Some of them are related to you. Some of them are not. But we're all your family."
She stops now. Leans over me so that the wisps of her hair tickle my face. She kisses me on the forehead. "You still have a family," she whispers.
--If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Favorite quote

So true.

This year in one word

Eventful.

Goals for 2015



Writing:

1. Get an agent.
2. Finish editing Beneath the Moon and Stars.
3. Finish writing Cosmo and August Knight and the Sword of Gold.
4. Send Flightless Birds to my CPs/Beta readers.
5. Try screenwriting.

Reading:


Read my post HERE.


General:

1. Exercise more. Now that I'm not doing Tae Kwon Do anymore, I want to make more of an effort to stay active. It's easy to get sucked into a day of sitting at my computer or with a book. ;)

2. Eat less sugar and meat, eat more fish.

3. Procrastinate even less. (I think I'm getting a lot better with this one, though.)

4. Read the news. This is something I've been sort of doing off and on the past year, but I want to be more regular with it in 2015.

Goals for 2014 that I've accomplished

I finished writing Flightless Birds.
I am a lot better about not procrastinating.
I don't use a ton of emoticons. Only when necessary. ;)

Goals for 2014 that I didn't accomplish

Because it's good to recognize your failures, too.

I didn't get an agent, though I queried lots and received many rejections.
I didn't finish edits on The Sorceress.
I didn't finish writing Cosmo, but I did work on it.

Bye, 2014! Now for the next adventure.

What are your goals for 2015? Anything big happen in 2014? Leave a comment! :D