Recap-ing my January Reads

Morgenstern, Erin. 2011. 

How is it February already?! I feel like I blinked and January is done. This year is going to go by fast - I can feel it!

I wanted to recap my January reads briefly! This past month I read 3 books:

• Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes
• Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• Sheltering Rain by Jojo Moyes

Lately - it has been my mission to read everything that Jojo Moyes has written. I'll be honest though, I absolutely LOVE Me Before You, and I've only found that has come even remotely close to it - and that is The Last Letter from Your Lover (more on this in the future!). 

I was not disappointed with these books. The top one for January is definitely Night Circus. Morgenstern has a great writing style and I like the flipping between perspectives. Although, I will admit being confused at points because it wasn't always super clear that the viewpoints had changed. But regardless, I was a great read!!

In second place, we have Silver Bay (fitting right - silver for Silver Bay). Sometimes I can guess where certain books are going, especially after reading a handful of Moyes novels. This was not one of those! I had thoughts on it, but I was a off at certain points. This one was definitely a great read!

And in third place, Sheltering Rain. I felt that this one was a little on the slower side. There were times that it was difficult for me to want to motivate myself to read and finish this. It did pick up a little here and there - but it was definitely not my favorite Moyes novel. 

Did you read anything interesting and fun in January? Let a girl know!! 

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2017 is here; What are your Goals?

2016 has ended; 2017 is now upon us.  The beginning of the year is all about resolutions and goals. I've been thinking about my resolution and goals for the year (personally and professionally), and I wanted to share those with you today in the hopes that you reach your goals and make 2017 the best year ever.

Before revealing my 2017 goals, I want to stress the importance of creating SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based). These will allow for you to accomplish your goals better than "getting healthy" or "read more". Project Smart goes through SMART goal setting.

Goals to complete by 12/31/2017

• Read 50 books
• Post on this blog once a week
• Complete a course on Microsoft Excel (my weakest of the Microsoft applications)
• Apply to graduate school by March (specific schools are identified/targeted)
• Journal at least twice a week
• Go to church at least twice a month
• Go to the gym at least twice a week
• Travel to one new city/state

What are your goals for 2017? I'd love to hear them!! Keep yourself accountable and may 2017 be the best year yet!!

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"The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" - A Little Bit Paranormal

Sometimes when I go to Books a Million or Barnes and Noble I impulse buy books. For any book obsessed human being, this really shouldn't come as a surprise. There was a sale going on with these books (that I bought legitimately months ago) for a buy two get the third free. How could I pass this up? Plus the summary for The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin was intriguing.

Hodkin, Michelle. 2011.

You wake up with no memory of the last few days. Your friends were killed in an accident that you miraculously survived. Your family has to move to another state to escape the fallout. You meet a mysterious boy who seems to know more about your past than you do. You start seeing things that can't possibly be there. You are afraid you are losing your mind. Can you keep it together? Mara Dyer is about to find out.

I devoured this book! There are so many cliff hangers in it, and I felt like I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. As you can imagine, when you wake up with no memory over a traumatic accident, typically your brain is shielding you from the trauma. Over time, you start to remember what happened. Based on that fact, Mara starts to remember more and more of what happened to her and her friends that tragic night. But basically everyone in her life thinks that she is suffering from PTSD and is seeing things that aren't really there. And there are times when she thinks that she's seeing things that aren't there too. As the story goes on, you really start to feel for and empathize with Mara because there are times when it seems like no one is on her side despite what you as the reader no about Mara and the storyline.

Let's talk characters for a minute - because there are so many great ones! You have the obvious one: Mara - she's a good one, but not my favorite. I love Noah Shaw (aka the love interest). And Daniel (the older brother) and Joseph (the younger brother). Jamie (Mara's friend from school - he's hilarious). Hodkin really created a great cast of characters and I really enjoyed their interactions with each other and with Mara.

As soon as I finished this book, I luckily had the second book in the trilogy sitting around (The Evolution of Mara Dyer) that I could jump right into. Which is what happens when a book ends on a cliff hanger and you need to know what happens next.

Have you read this book? I'd love to know your thoughts!

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