New Resolutions for a New Year...

Well, Happy New Year everyone. We made it to 2018. I’m back to blogging and have already had to DNF two books from two different genres. **Cries** That's not the way I wanted to start the year, but it is what it is, and I'm hoping from here on out that my next reads will be better. But, I digress. The actual point of this post is to talk about my resolutions for the New Year. I evaluated what I wanted to do differently from the past two years and have come up with a short list of reasonable goals for myself. So, without further ado, here are my resolutions for 2018...

• Finish a sketch book...

This is more of a personal goal than a blogging one, but I thought I might as well include it on this list because I may or may not share a few pages from my sketchbook...eventually. I don't usually manage to finish a sketchbook and the majority my old ones are are filled with doodles, old art, random notes to myself, and a lot of blank or missing pages. I don't care how long it takes me to finish my current sketchbook—it's larger and has more pages than my old one—so long as I make real progress on it.

• Finish more series...

This seems like a simple goal to accomplish. But let me tell you, I have a little problem with completing series. I’m not being dramatic. I’m being honest. I start them. I like the first two, three, sometimes even six books in the series. And yet, I don’t finish them. What got me thinking about this were the three books I got for Christmas: the last two books of the Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie, and Cold Steel by Kate Elliott. The good thing about this goal is that I’m on the right track thanks to my binge-reading of the rest of the Imperial Radch trilogy, and my local library has a couple of the books I'm looking for.

• Actually read some poetry...

I don't read enough poetry. Plain and simple. I looked at the books I read last year and realized that I got through 2017 without reading a single book of poetry. Luckily, my local library has a pretty good selection of poetry, and I've already put several on hold including Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur and The Princess Saves Herself In This One by Amanda Lovelace.

• And last, but certainly not least: allow more flexibility with the blog...

I can't say that my method of blogging will remain the same by the time 2018 is over, despite the fact that I want to keep the number of posts at least at three per week. But I also need to remember to take some of the pressure off  myself when I don’t particularly feel like blogging as much, and post when I feel like it. I'm also going to remove the rating system from the blog. I want to see how it'll work without the birdcages. We'll see. Design wise, I have already started on an idea for a new header for the blog. I don't know when it'll be done or if I'll change the design at all, but you never know...

So, that’s it. Those are my blogging resolutions. What are your plans for the year? 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! It’s officially 2018. We will be back to blogging soon. Until then, Happy New Year! We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe day.

—Our Thoughts Precisely Team

Thoughts on 2017...

Usually, I have a little more to say for this post, but I feel like I would be repeating a lot of the same things I said at the end of 2016. Instead, I decided to focus on one topic, and it’s a lesson I learned this year.

At the end of last year, I stated that I was happy with the overall look of the blog and comfortable with my posting schedule. However, as 2017 wore on comfortable became a synonym for static. Static ultimately translated into lack of motivation to continue blogging and reading. I was limiting myself based off of the original idea my co-blogger, Andrea, and I had when we first started the blog back in 2013. I had to stop and think about why that was. It’s been four—almost five years since we—Andrea and I—started blogging here. Adri has joined us. My reading taste has changed and so have the subjects I want to talk about. But, the blog hadn’t changed along with those things, and that’s where the trouble ultimately came from.

Fear of change is real. I’m not trying to be dramatic. It’s there, and I acknowledge the fact that I sometimes find myself stuck in that mindset. However, I also didn’t want to abandon the blog because I’ve spent a lot of time on it. And that’s ultimately what encouraged me to keep going.

The changes seem so simple now that I’m looking back at them a couple of months later. I could have done them a lot sooner. What I’m trying to say is this: don’t abandon something you’ve worked on, change it into something that better suites your vision, current hobby, reading preference—anything. Because if something isn’t making you happy, maybe stop long enough to evaluate why that is. Make the changes you think you need.

I learned that lesson in 2017.

Best of 2017: Books

Continuing with the “best of 2017” theme, Adri and I are back and ready to list our picks for the best books we read in 2017. 

Before we get to the list, I have a couple of technical things to mention. To keep this organized, I’ve broken the post down into two sections: Fiction and nonfiction. Also, these are just the books we read this year and are a combination of 2017 releases and backlist titles. Because Adri is joining me, I'm not setting a limit on the amount of books we can pick for our respective lists. And, these aren't all the books we read and loved. This is only a very small percentage of them...

Fiction…

Adri's picks...

• Raven (TPB) By Marv Wolf man, Alison Borges, and Diogenes Neves
• Mirror's Edge: Exordium (TPB) by Christofer Emgard and Mattias Haggstrom
• The Gauntlet by  Karuna Riazi
• The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis

Comments: Okay, this is a sad, sad list. After I wrote it, I ran to Breana and demanded to know what fiction I read (jokingly of course)! Well this is it... sadly. I actually wanted to read more comics this year, but I'll do that next year.

Breana’s picks…

• The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
• The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
• The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco 
• The Windfall by Diksha Basu
• Starflight by Melissa Landers
• City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett
• A Crown of Wishes by Rochani Chokshi
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova
• Rivals in the City by Y.S. Lee

Comments: Overall, I had a relatively good reading year. Most of the fiction I read ended up being highly enjoyable reads with unique settings, stories, and characters. There were very few exceptions to that, mainly because I was pickier this year and only read books I thought I would enjoy.

Nonfiction

Breana’s Picks…

• Gone by Min Kym
• Colored Pencil Portrait Painting by Alyona Nickelsen
• Undeniable by Douglas Axe
• The Cosmic Web by J. Richard Gott
• Wondrous Beauty by Carol Berkin
• Don't Live for Your Obituary by John Scalzi
• Discover Magazine

Comments: I didn’t end up reading as much nonfiction as I originally thought I would. Part of the problem was finding ones I was actually interested in. That being said, the books I did read were surprising in all the best ways possible.

Adri's Picks...

• Leading Lady by Stephen Galloway
• Color Index by Jim Krause
• Rarely Seen by Susan Tylet Hitchcock with a foward by Stephan Alvarez
• Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design By Deborah Nadoolman Landis with a foward by Anjelica Huston
• The art of Fashion Draping Second Edition by Connecticut Amaden-Crawford
• The Fabulous Fibonacci Numbers by Alfred S. Posamentier and Ingmar Lehmann
• Manga Art by Mark Crilley

Comments: In contrast to Breana, I read so much nonfiction, this list only scratches what I read. This year, I mainly stuck to fashion, designer's biography, art, and other biographies. I beleive I'll continue to read books like these into 2018, because I have a long list (that I manage to lose) of books I want to read from the library.

 What are some of the best books you read this year?

Best of 2017: Music

I typically associate December with Christmas-y stuff, but it’s also that time of year where I get to talk about some of the best books I’ve read. The only difference is that this year I’ve decided to dedicate an entire post to the music I've been listening to in 2017. This list includes albums that came out in previous years as well as 2017 releases. Adri is also joining me today with her own additions to the list....

Breana's picks...

• Lady Wood by Tove Lo
• Blue Lips (Lady Wood Phase ll) by Tove Lo 
• Hopeless Fountain Kingdom by Halsey
• The Dreaming Room by Laura Mvula
• The Altar by Banks
• Sweet Sexy Savage by Kehlani
• The Fate of the Furious The Album by Various Artists
• Another Eternity by Purity Ring
• For All We Know by Nao

Comments: In 2017, Music Monday encouraged me to keep up with new music by my favorite artists while also seeking out bands/singers/etc who were entirely new to me...

Adri's picks...

• The Chief by Jidenna
• Art Angels by Grimes
• Dark Matter by Les Friction
• Warmer in the Winter by Lindsey Sterling
• Gemini by Macklemore
• Awake Alert Alive Almost by Spiritual Machines
• Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! and The Fall of A Rebel Angel by Enigma
• Carcal by Disclosure
• Break From This World by Globus

Comments: Although I havn't got the chance to buy every album on this list, starting with Awake Alive Almost, I feel like I've listened to more new music this year than the last. I can only hope that next year will bring more.

So, what music have you been listening to in 2017?