The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 4,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 7 years to get that many views.
Did you miss me?
I’m sorry that I completely disappeared during the month of September. I needed some time off of books and reading and book blogging. Also, I’m sorry for not telling you guys about this impromptu sabbatical of sorts. I still read a couple of books during that month and I will have those reviews up eventually. It just all became too much on top of work stress, real life, and my other interests mixed in together.
September, as you may know, is my birth month. I turned 24. Also, September proved to be very exciting for me and my other interest as of the moment, namely KPOP. Especially the Korean boy band BIGBANG. Sales for their North American tour opened – and sold out – on September 22 and from the moment they announced it, it was the source of irrational stress for me. LOL. Now that it’s over and done and it’s finally sunk in, I can attend again to my reading.
If you want to keep track of my life, please feel free to check out my personal blog at http://catey-cakes.blogspot.com.
Here is a list of books that I still need to review:
Thank you and happy October!
Hi everyone!
I am so very sorry for the severe lack of posts this month. August is on its last legs and would you believe is this my first post for August? Whoa. I admit the reason for this is partly because of laziness and somewhat a lack of drive to write up full reviews for every book I finish. Lately, I’ve been working my way through the A Song of Ice and Fire series. As you know, they are monsters, really long and thick volumes; by the end of each book, I feel exhausted. Usually, I would take breaks in between books to review them or reflect on them but I got so sucked into GRRM’s world that I start the next book as soon as I flip the last page of the previous one. I know there is no excuse for laziness but I think we all have lapses in interest, even though we are passionate about that one thing.
Also, other interests. I love books and reading to death but the world out there is big and there are so much to love. For the past month, I’ve been so into KPOP. Actually, I just experienced my first KPOP concert last night (2NE1, I will write up on that on my other blog very soon). I’ve been listening non-stop to the likes of Big Bang, 2NE1, and f(x). They’ve pretty much taken over my life. Hee!
But… I will try to post more starting next month. I’ve partied a portion of KPOP out of my system, finished another ASOIAF book with the next one waiting for me. I’m ready to get back in the game. I hope you’re still right here with me.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for sticking with me these past twelve months. I hope the books I am featuring here are interesting to you. I also hope that the reviews are entertaining and informative.
I wish I could do something special – a giveaway, a freebie, an author interview – but life is happening faster than I can read. I will try to do more in the coming weeks and months and I hope you come along with me.
Here’s to many more good readings to come!
Happy June! 
I hope May was good you all of you. It certainly was for me.
Did you know what June is Audiobook Month? I didn’t. Thank you, GoodReads, for informing me about this. I love audiobooks. I think it is a good option for getting your reading done when you cannot physically crack open a book. Some of us go to school and/or go to work and at the end of the day, we’re just too tired to do much else. I can certainly relate to that. Before getting a job, I had all day to read. But now, my reading time is reduced to hour-long train rides. No bueno.
But I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to plug on my earphones and zone out the rest of the office. Thank goodness for Spotify and Talking Classics for being readily available for free online. (Also, I have been enjoying the Twilight Zone Radio Dramas through Spotify.) I can always load up an audiobook on my iPod/iPad/nook if I can’t find it online. I found that whenever I listen to an audiobook at work, time seems to fly by faster.
Over the years, I have accumulated a fair share of audiobooks, both CD copies and mp3 files. Like a true collector, I have both Generation Kill and One Bullet Away on audio. OBA is narrated by its author, Nathaniel Fick, which makes it so much more awesome that the book already is. Patrick Lawlor reads GK and it is probably the most listening fun I’ve had. Other titles in my collection are Room by Emma Donoghue, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris, and The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner read by Tom Hiddleston.
There are so many places to get audiobooks. Bookstores have a special rack for them. I got my OBA CD set on eBay. And of course, the Internet. Ever since the popularity of iTunes and portable mp3 players, authors have released audio versions of their books alongside hard and digital copies. Some are read by the authors themselves, some read by actors, and there are also books read by a whole cast of characters. It is so interesting to hear how the words are acted out.
If you have not tried an audiobook, now is a good time to start. There are many places to get free audiobooks, especially for classics. I’ve already mentioned Talking Classics on Spotify. Here are some other sources:
So, have you heard any good books lately?
Can you believe it? We’re halfway through 2012! Who knew? 
A little update on my book-reading life: my theme right now is hype. First, I shotgunned The Hunger Games 2 and 3. Then the first two in the Fifty Shades trilogy. I still have to post my review of Fifty Shades Darker. I just came from the True Blood season 5 red carpet premiere and all I see is Alexander Skarsgard as Christian Grey. What can I say? Hype can be a powerful thing. Also, I’m thinking of starting a sort of a personal reading challenge slash series where I try to complete a book series. What do you think?
Guh, my last “look-back” post was back in February. Slacking! There are just two more after this so we’re still good. Good news is I’m commuting to and from work now so I have more time to read. And as you know, traveling on trains is my favorite reading situation. It’s choosing the next book that is getting more and more difficult.
So for this bunch of books… out of all of these, I only bought two. All the others, I got for free. Some, I even got paid to read and review. I mean, I’m still going to say it like it is whether you pay me or not. It’s all fun and exciting for me regardless.
37. Effie at the Wedding by Tracy Marchini *
Self-published work – whether they be a full novel or a short story – is often hit or miss. This one is a hit. It’s a cute read and I could definitely see Effie in a series of short stories about going through her life.
38. Dirty Little Secrets: Breaking the Silence on Teenage Girls and Promiscuity by Kerry Cohen *
I was so disappointed with this book. I loved Cohen’s first book, Loose Girl. But this one I found so preachy and I was having none of it.
39. Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan *
I loved this. LOVED THIS. I am not the biggest fan of young adult literature and The Hunger Games but man, please tell me the 2nd book is as good (or better) than this one.
It’s not the best parody/comedy type book but it was entertaining.
41. Blaze of Glory by m. garzon *
Having the opportunity to speak with an author about her book is always a wonderful thing. Miss Garzon has been kind enough to exchange some e-mails with me. I genuinely liked her book very much. It’s one of those silent, under the radar books that a lot more people should read.
42. The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate *
For the life of me, I can’t remember much about this book. But I remember it being a fast read and quite emotional.
I wasn’t supposed to stray over to the book aisle at Big Lots but I saw a familiar name: Thomas E. Ricks. I have another one of his books, Making the Corps. I like reading anything military-related, plus he’s the sort of mentor of one of my favorite people in the world, Nathaniel Fick. I just had to get it.
I’ve been meaning to get a copy of The Good Earth and Miracle at St. Anna. So there you go. As for The Secret Supper, well… I’m fascinated by The Da Vinci Code and the likes so I’ll try this out.
By the way, all these books are $0.50 each.
90% of these books I got for free. The remaining 10% I got for cheap.
Stores like Goodwill, Salvation Army, Big Lots, and other thrift stores are sort of becoming my main bookstores. I mean, how can you beat one-dollar paperbacks and two-dollar hardcovers? I recently got a Tom Ricks non-fiction hardcover for fifty cents at Big Lots. And it’s in perfect condition! Who am I to say no?
What is your best book deal? (Books that you got for free don’t count haha. You should have spent at least a penny.)
People usually go to thrift stores for clothes, accessories, and even furniture. I go for the books.
I managed to cross out two titles from my Wish List. Also, there was a movie tie-in cover for The Nanny Diaries but I decided to get the hardcover because I have The Nanny Returns in hardcover. Now, if “Harvard Hottie” aka Chris Evans were on that cover…
Also, I’ve been meaning to read Tales of the City since watching the musical in San Francisco.
I have been making good progress with my 2012 Reading Challenge. I finished three easy books over the last week. Coincidentally, two of them have movie versions… that I have yet to watch. Even the book that I am currently reading has a movie version. Is this a theme forming? I could.
Anyway, thank you for the great feedback to Part 1 of this “look back” to 2011. Also, huge thanks to author Max Allan Collins for taking the time to comment and posting a link to that entry on his blog. It means so much to me and it makes all this worth it.
What you will see on this next batch of books are titles that I have reviewed on this blog. It was around this time that I started this little baby. So I probably won’t say all that much about them. So without further ado, here’s part two.
19. The Art of Saying Goodbye by Ellyn Bache *
This was one of the first books that I won off of GoodReads First Reads. I remember it came in the mail wrapped in a cute ribbon. This book was sad but very inspiring. It’s sort of “looking at the brighter things in life” kind of thing when faced with a terminal illness.
20. Daphne and the Silver Ash by Joss Llewelyn *
This was my first author-sponsored review. Meaning, the author contacted me personally and gifted me a copy of his book for review considerations. It is such a gratifying feeling to hear kind words from an author. It is nice to know your work is appreciated.
21. Dominance by Will Lavender *
How much did I love this book? A LOT. The last two-three pages were so worth it. Even my mother loved it. (Yes, we recommend books to each other.) This is the first ever book that I won off First Reads. My ARC of this book is so well-loved. I think it’s with my brother now, in the Philippines. I can’t wait for him to read it!
22. The Orchard by Jeffrey Stepakoff *
I’m not very big into romantic stories. But I liked this one. I thought it was sweet and very feel-good. Like the other books so far, I also won this from First Reads.
23. Love a la Carte by Jeffrey Stepakoff *
I got it for free on the B&N site. A companion piece to The Orchard. I think it was promoted as an introduction/teaser to the novel but I think you’d have to have read that in order to fully understand this.
24. Nowhere to Go by Iain Rowan *
The first of many short story collections that I read last year. And I must say, I enjoyed them a lot. This one in particular was pretty creative. I liked the variety and it was so interesting how it all tied up together.
