Still Busy

With trying to keep my resolution to read more I have fallen behind on my other resolutions, such as blog more often. I can't believe it's been another month since my last post. I'm seriously slacking. Well the good news is I have read twenty books so far for the year 2011. I mentioned what I had read in my last post so just to give you an idea since the last post I have read:
Nora Roberts' Bride Quartet
Book 1 Vision in White
Book 2 Bed of Roses
Book 3 Savor the Moment
Book 4 Happy Ever After

I have actually never read a Nora Roberts book. I thought they were all about woman who have been divorced and have kids and so far from what I can relate to. However, this series was about a younger group of woman who of course all find their perfect somebody. They were fast, easy and fun reads. If you want a somewhat perdictable romance these are perfect for you.

I also read:

Water for Elephants
Which was slow moving at first and the writing was a bit choppy but once you get through the first hundred pages it starts picking up steam. It was more interesting than anything to see how the circus worked during that era. I also liked how it was a reflection of Jacob's memories, being able to read about him later in life gave greater insight to him as a whole. I owuld definitely recommend this book with a warning to just brave the first hundred pages because it will be well worth it. Very curious to see how the movie will interpret the book.

Toni Blake's Swept Away and Letter's to A Secret Lover.
Both were really good, but Letter's to A Secret Lover had me up to crazy hours reading.

I also read another book that hasn't been released yet and will talk about in the future, but for right now I'm just going to say Wow and Holy S*** it was so good. I've never read a book that had so many cliff hangers and WTF kind of moments. Just when you think you know what's going to happen next everything gets turned upside down.

As you can see I drifted away from YA for awhile. I like to mix it up and not to mention I'm a sucker for a good romance novel. However, I can never stay away from YA for too long so I am back and am currently reading Jennifer Echols Endless Summer.

I didn't make it through the first rounds of the Amazon Contest, but just as well. I guess thats what I get for throwing together a pitch in five minutes. Oh well. I'm looking at it as there are bigger and better things on the horizon. Not to mention that my first manuscript is still on submission. It's been about 2 months and 2 weeks, but who's counting anyway. I read a post recently that said you will get an agent and get published when you are ready. It made perfect sense to me. When I first started writing and when I finished my first manuscript I thought this is it. I actually finished a book and I'm ready. I wasn't. I finished another manuscript and thought the same thing. Yet again I wasn't. I know this because the more I write and the more I read the more I learn. You pick up on the smallest of details, but small details that are so important to the outcome of your manuscript. In the past two years I have learned so much. And while I'd love to say yes I am ready, I don't know if you truly are ever ready because the fact is you never stop learning. You live and learn and that's how life is and I think with pursuing a dream/career the sea of knowledge is endless. Even when you are at the peak of your career you are still learning. So for now I'm going to keep writing, keep reading and keep learning and hopefully keep blogging (more often at least).