It’s been a long time since I’ve participated in this meme, but I’ve missed it, so it seemed like a good habit to renew in the New Year.

In conjunction with The New Year’s Resolution Reading Challenge and the 12 Days of Christmas, I’ve been posting book lists to support popular New Year’s resolutions. Here’s what I have so far:
Day 1: Be More Fit
Day 2: Be Happier
Day 3: Be a Better Cook
Day 4: Be Smarter about Money
Day 5: Be More Purposeful and Get Things Done
Day 6: Be More Creative
Day 7: Be a Better Reader
Day 8: Be a Better Writer
Day 9: Be a Better Gardener
Day 10: Be a Better Photographer
Day 11: Be More Visual

Today is Epiphany, so watch for the last in that series today. I’d love to hear your contributions to any or all of these lists.

Read

I’ve recently completed two novels and an anthology.

Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn provided a terrific look at Ancient Rome.

Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who hasn’t read the rest of the Psy-Changeling series. You have to have a lot of trust in an author to believe she’s going to turn a man who gives every indication of being a sociopath into a worthy hero for romance. But if you’re into the series, it’s definitely a worthy contribution to the world-building and the overall arc of the political story and it eventually works as a romance, too.

Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh. An anthology of shorter pieces set in the Psy-Changeling world. I’d read the first two before, but I didn’t mind because they were Christmas-themed. It was fun to re-read them during the holiday season. The last two were new to me. I especially enjoyed the one about Lara, the Snow Dancer healer, and her Psy mate, Walker.

Reading

My New Year energy has me reading 5 books at once right now! At least 2 too many, but I seem to be coping with it for the moment.

The Happiness Project is the Read Along book for The New Year’s Resolution Reading Challenge of 2014

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin is the Read Along book for The New Year’s Resolution Reading Challenge – but you’re welcome to join us even if you aren’t participating in the challenge. We’ll put up our first discussion posts on Wednesday – let me know if you’d like me to email you the questions in advance. The Happiness Project is a quick read and we’re taking the whole month, so there’s plenty of time to catch up.

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose is one of my books for The New Year’s Resolution Reading Challenge to support my resolution to Be a Better Reader. Among other attributes, this book is beautifully written.

Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities by Craig Steven Wilder is the January pick for our local Diversity Book Club. It’s fascinating, so far. I’m learning very early American history that I never got in school when we skip from Columbus to the Pilgrims to the Declaration of Independence, as if there were just a few years between those events instead of nearly three centuries.

Writing for Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias is helping me with my big New Year project of learning to write with the reader in mind instead of merely for my own amusement.

Dates from Hell is an anthology by various authors that I put on my phone. I got it for the first story by Kim Harrison, a prequel to The Hollows series. I also expect to like the Kelley Armstrong piece.

Will Read

I had to make a calendar to keep track of my reading this month! I probably won’t start anything new before next Monday because I’ll be aiming to make progress in the five books I already started.

What are you reading?

It’s Monday! What Are Your Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. Be sure to check out her post today to see her selections and the list of links to all the other participating bloggers.