The Sunday Salon ~ October Wrap Up, NaNoWriMo and Mining ARCs

Since I didn’t get a chance to reflect on October, I thought I would start there before discussing my first full week of November.

October Wrap Up

October was an exciting month for me. Not only did I try some new things on my blog, I also celebrated my 37th birthday, my daugthers’ 6th (Emma) and 4th (Allison) birthday, and my 11th anniversary with Danny.  My parents and my Uncle Ryan came down for a visit, something that is always nice.  The most momentous thing for me, though, was standing up in front of nearly 250 people and speaking at a professional conference.  I left that stage feeling energized and alive.  I can’t really express how much of an adrenaline boost that gave me for more than a week.  It was a defining moment in my life.  You never know what you can do, do well, and enjoy unless you try.

October Spotlight

For the first time, I spent the entire month focusing on one book – The Witch’s Trinity by Erika Mailman.  I hope that everyone enjoyed it.  Erika wrote a wonderful guest post and graciously offered three giveaway copies of her novel.  I am looking forward to hearing back from our three winners: Dar, XXX and .  As an FYI, I still owe the transcript of the interview with Erika and hope to post that this week.

October Reading Recap

I also had a pretty decent reading month in October.  I read nine books and, as of last night, they are all reviewed.  I am not counting Bible Illuminated because I did not read the entire New Testament.

Here’s the list:

Non-Fiction:

Constitution Translated for Kids by Cathy Travis
Bible Illuminated: The Book (New Testament)
Just Say Nu by Micheal Wex

General Fiction

The Tenth Case by Joseph Teller
Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff
Janeology by Karen Harrington
Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris

Historical Fiction

The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
The Lost Diary of Don Juan by Don Carlton Abrams
Capote in Kansas by Kim Powers

Anti-Pick of the Month

I could not pick just one book as my favorite, so I’m going to do something a little different.  If you had all of the books I read and could only pick one not to read, I guess I would pick:

NaNoWriMo

I started the NaNoWriMo at the beginning of the month and over the first two days, I wrote almost 5,000 words.  Unfortunately, this is not something that I can continue.  Giving the responsibilities I have at home and my very real need to get out from underneath the pile of ARCs I’ve accumulated.  I’ve decided to focus on the prior commitments I made to authors and publishers.  That being said, I really enjoyed the writing I did accomplish and I know that this is something I can do when the time is right.

Although I’m no longer participating, that doesn’t mean that I can’t cheer the rest of the troops on.  If you’re like Bethany, Karen, Jena and are working hard to meet your 50,000 words this month, I am your biggest cheerleader.  If you need encouragement or anything, you know where to find me. Go Team NaNoWriMo!

Mining ARCs

So, after deciding to quit NaNoWriMo, I organized all of my ARCs and prioritized them based upon external deadlines like book tours and personal interest.  I’ve put myself on a book every three day schedule and, after this middle of this week, a Monday, Wednesday, Friday review schedule.  If I follow through on the schedule I’ve worked out, I will be free to begin picking books based upon my whims, not my obligations beginning the first of February.  I have just a little over two months to go until I reach the other side – with ample time built in for the holidays so I don’t get stressed out mid-stream.  To me, this will be a wonderful thing.  As much as I love the opportunity to read new books, the weight of that obligation is getting too heavy for me.  It’s making my reading and my blogging feel like a part-time job I can’t get rid of instead of the joy it has been for the most part.  I hope to be able to accept a book or two each month, but from here on out, I want to be in complete control of my reading.

I’ve got my eyes on the prize and believe me, once my last scheduled review is posted on January 30, 2009, there will be a huge celebration going on in The Literate Housewife’s household.

How was your week?