2010 in Review: Books, Writing, and Goals for 2011

One of the things I set forth to do in this blog was account for my reading and writing. So before I go onto my goals for next year, let's take a look at how I did.

Reading:
I was telling a friend that this year was one of my slowest years in reading. For those of you counting at home (see posts tagged reading), I read 80 books in 2010. The two of which is going to be present in this entry. About 5-7 of these books were re-reads. In an effort to interject more commentary into the blog, let's get some lists.

Top 5 Authors from 2010:
Jim Butcher - I finally got around to reading the Dresden files this year. I can see what all the fuss is about. The first two books were slow going for me, but once the meta plot became more prevalent, I started to enjoy it much more.
Lili St. Crow - Her strange angels books sucked me in quickly. I still want to read some of her others, but her worldbuilding was fascinating, and the plot solid.
Rachel Vincent - The two books I read by her are quick contendors for the best books I've read this year. While I didn't enjoy her Shifter series as much, there's no short of awesome in these two.
Kelley Armstrong - One of my favorite authors ever, she's one of the reasons I started writing.
Brandon Sanderson - This is the first time I've picked up any of his books, but between them and the awesome podcast, he's earned my respect.

Top 5 Adult Books from 2010:
Proven Guilty - Of all the Dresden books, this still holds the place as my favorite.
Way of Kings - The crazy gravity magic and shardblades made this book a win on it's own.
Angelic - I love Eve, and can't wait to see more of her.
Hard Magic - Probably one of the best books from an author I hadn't heard about before this year.
The Devil Inside - Amazing concept, and a new take on Possession I hadn't ever expected to see.

Top 5 YA Books from 2010:
My Soul to Take - See blurb on Rachel Vincent
Strange Angels - See blurb on Lili St. Crow
Terrier - Tamora Pierce is another huge inspiration for me, and this book is no exception.
Lightning Thief - The Percy Jackson books were a new read for me. The first one was great, and I enjoyed the movie as well. The later books in the series didn't quite hold up to the first though.
The Reckoning - See blurb on Kelley Armstrong

5 Runner Ups: Books / authors that bear mentioning, even if they didn't make the lists
Sarra Cannon - I know it seems a bit plug-y to talk about someone in my crit group, but her books are a contender for hte best YA books I read this year. And I read a lot of them.
Magicians, by Lev Grossman - The only reason the book didn't make the list was some of the drug themes turned me off. It's still a solid book, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.
Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Claire - While not the best plot I've read this year, the worldbuilding in this book deserves some recognition.
Demons Lexicon, by Sarah Rees Brennan - Other than the ending, this book would have made the list as well.
Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians - While not a world-shattering book by itself, the commentary and devices used to play with the fourth wall are rather amusing.


And now, for the two missing book reviews:
Legacies
A new series by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edgehill. Mercedes Lackey is one of the most prolific authors I've ever read. Some of that is due to the fact that she's a frequent collaborator. However, I've never read a book of hers that I didn't enjoy, and that didn't make me think. This book is a UF setting in a school, which has become increasingly popular. Her treatment of Magic here really caught me, as it's very similar to what I hoped to do with my own novel. It's an elemental system, but rather than controlling elements, characters get 1-3 powers which are thematically related to the element. Pathfinding is an Earth talent, whereas invisibility is I think an Air talent. Combat Magic falls under fire. There exists elemental controllers too, so it's a pretty rich background within which to work.

Cast in Shadow
Somehow I missed this book in my blog posts. This is the first book in the Chronicles of Elantra, not to be confused (as I often did) with Elantris. The MC is a girl whos' been brought in off the streets to become one of the elite guards, called the Hawks. The departure from standard fantasy races is pretty intriguing, as she has winged Avians, and cold but mysterious Barrani. Sure, they sound like elves, but they didn't look like them. The plot involves a good mystery, which still raises all kinds of interesting questions. I should pick up the next book at some point.

Writing
I didn't write as much as I wanted to this year, but all in all it was a good year for writing. I finished a novel, and won NaNoWriMo for the first time. I also learned more about myself as a plotter, and spent a lot of time investigating the craft of writing. I learned a lot. The book I did finish, Ariadne's Labyrinth, is quite possibly the best thing I've written to date. It's not perfect, especially in the final third, but it has promise. I also joined up with a Critique group this year, and will be submitting my work in a week to be reviewed by the other members. I'm a little nervous, but it should be good for me.

Looking Forward: 2011
So what about my goals for next year? Let's start with the writing goals, since they're more numerous.
I intended to write a lot in 2010. It didn't happen. I wanted to rewrite basically everything I've written to date. Now I see that it was a bit too steep to require. So I'm going to narrow it down a bit.

• I want to revisit my trilogy. For the purposes of Goals, I want to rewrite Book 1 by the end of the year. Depending on how the other goals are doing, I may seek to rewrite Book 2 as well.
• NaNoWriMo: I won this year, and I proved to myself I can do it. Whether I'll continue to aim to do so is a different matter. It all depends on what sort of plot I come up with.
• Animation: I'm hoping to work on a short animated film. I don't think I'll complete it in 2011, because of the ambitiousness of my other goals, but I want to get the script written, and one of the other pieces: Voice Acting, Character Modeling, or Music.

Reading

And this is the most ambitious goal of all. As I said, i read 80 books this year. I was not trying to push myself, and this is probably even one of the slower years. I didn't finish a book at all in the month of November for instance. I feel like I could read 100 books in the year if I set my  mind to it. But this is supposed to be about pushing myself, and pushing boundaries. And as such, I'm going to attempt to read 150 books in 2011. It's going to be a long ride. I have to average 3 books a week, which while doable, is one of the most ambitious goals I've ever set for myself. All of this, of course, depends on the length and density of the books. 150 YA books is a much different prospect than 150 Epic Fantasies. Of course, I have a mix on my todo list. About 25-30 of the books will probably be Audio books as well, which have a different time requirement. All in all, it should be an interesting Journey.