Books

Empty Shelf Challenge: October

November 4, 2014 by Abbigail Kriebs 2 Comments

I’m really impressed that I have managed to keep track of everything I read this long in the year. I mean, 10 months? Impressive (at least it is to me – I’ve never done any year long challenge before, so I am feeling pretty accomplished at this point).

Here is what I read in October as I continue the #EmptyShelf challenge. It’s pretty basic: starting December 23rd, you empty one shelf of a bookcase in your house completely. Hence, “Empty Shelf.” Then, through the entire next year, you fill that shelf with the books that you read.

To read what I’ve read this year by month:

January // February // March // April // May // June // July // August // September

So… October. It was a blur. I had a work trip the first week of the month, and then my boss went on vacation the next week. I had two photo sessions this month, one that I took and one where photos were taken of me (I got some new head shots done), both of which I hope to share with you soon. We made it through launch week at The Collaboreat, along with our first two Twitter chats, and I started dreaming about new possibilities for the blog and the photo business and my life in general. Now that I’ve written all that out, I’m not so upset with myself for not reading more than I did. It’s all about perspective, huh?

47.) The Protector (The O’Malley Series #4) by Dee Henderson – I continued on with The O’Malley Series, one that I read as a teen. It’s Christian fiction, which is not something I usually read because of the bland characters, but the O’Malleys all have vibrant personalities and cool jobs. It’s fun to re-read these now, just some light fiction for days when my brain needs to rest.

48.) The Healer (The O’Malley Series #5) by Dee Henderson

49.) At Long Odds by Hannah Hooton – I read this on my iPad on a plane this month (the only time I usually read on my iPad). It was a free download and the book was good – entertaining and fun, but very predictable, as most romantic comedy novels are. Still worth a read if you like horse racing and a good plot.

50.) Chasing Charlie by C.M. Newman – Also read this on my iPad on a plane. This book had an engaging plot, but was SO long. So, so long. It needed some major condensing, but overall was one I wanted to keep reading. Fun fact: I had no idea this was Christian fiction until about a third of the way through the book, which I think was it’s crowning glory. The ending felt a bit stilted, a little anti-climatic compared to the rest of the novel.

51.) Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon – It’s probably not a secret anymore that I am a big Austin Kleon fan (he’ll probably be mentioned in a blog soon). You’ve probably seen me tweeting about him in recent weeks, and I finally made it to the top of the list to get “Steal Like an Artist” from the library. I loved it, as I predicted, so I will be purchasing this one as soon as I have book money to spend. I’ve got the follow up, “Show Your Work” sitting on my coffee table now for my next read.

So… what have you been reading as the leaves fall? Share your latest favorite in the comments!

Image courtesy of Mr. TinDC on Flickr Creative Commons.

Empty Shelf Challenge: September 2014

October 2, 2014 by Abbigail Kriebs 2 Comments

September was a busy month, despite the fact that I am supposed to be slowing down and savoring life. Well, I did some more savoring, but life hasn’t slowed down any. Makes me wonder how I was doing even more before…

Here is what I read in September as I continue the #EmptyShelf challenge. It’s pretty basic: starting December 23rd, you empty one shelf of a bookcase in your house completely. Hence, “Empty Shelf.” Then, through the entire next year, you fill that shelf with the books that you read.

We’ve finally unpacked all our boxes, but I have even less shelves than I used to. I still don’t have a dedicated shelf for the challenge, and at this point I am guessing that I won’t by the end of the year. It’s still been a neat way to keep track of what I read, so I am going to keep calling it the Empty Shelf Challenge.

Here is what I am tackling next.

To read what I’ve read this year by month:

January // February // March // April // May // June // July // August

Here’s September’s line up:

43.) One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com by Richard L. Brandt – While Brandt is obviously not a fan of Amazon, this book gave an a great overview of Bezos and the inception of the company. If you just want a general idea of how the company got its start and because a mega-corporation (all while never turning a profit), this is a good option.

44.) The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brené Brown – So, so good. After reading Daring Greatly last month, this was a good follow up, discussing different ways we can focus on letting go of perfectionism and really living life as we are meant to life it. I like here writing style better in Daring Greatly, so start with that one.

45.) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows – This is one of my favorites. I was feeling out of sorts on a Sunday, so I sat down with this and read it cover-to-cover, staying up well past my bedtime to do so. Worth it.

46.) The Truth Seeker (The O’Malley Series #3) by Dee Henderson – The O’Malley Series is one that I read as a teen. It’s Christian fiction, which is not something I usually read because of the bland characters, but the O’Malleys all have vibrant personalities and cool jobs. It’s fun to re-read these now, just some light fiction for days when my brain needs to rest.

So … what did you read this month?

My Writing Process: A Blog Hop

September 30, 2014 by Abbigail Kriebs Leave a Comment

I’ve been running behind this year.

I’ve tried to give myself some grace as I’ve moved and chaperoned and changed jobs. But, when you are a Type-A, it’s hard to let yourself off the hook.

So I’m trying not to beat myself up that Valerie Biel nominated me for a blog hop post back in May to talk about my writing process… and that I still haven’t written it. Oops.

I’ve been holding her email invite in my inbox these many months, knowing that I would get to it eventually. Well, eventually is now. Without further ado, here is how I go about writing things. All the things.

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I have no actual process.

That’s probably not what anybody wanted to hear. It’s not really what I wanted to type. I wanted to say that I get up early every morning and sit on my front porch, sipping a cup of coffee and taking a moment to enjoy the sunrise before I set to typing, never failing to write 1,000 words before I head to work at 7 AM.

That is not the case.

Right now, writing for me has been a haphazard endeavor. It’s something I squeeze in between work hours, freelance projects, and the need for sleep and nourishment.

As you can tell, I’m making tons of progress on that novel (Actual 2014 word count: maybe 14).

But, this year I have been blogging, albeit somewhat infrequently. I’m getting better. That’s progress right? that still counts as writing, right?

Right?!?

When I do write, it’s mostly because I have all of a sudden stumbled upon some half-formed idea while walking from my car to my desk, and so I hurry into work and open Evernote and jot the scrambled thoughts as quickly as I can into a note in my “Writing” folder. I’ve got dozens of little snippets of novels, poems, short stories, and anything else you can think of – just not a completed novel.

This frenzied write-when-inspired tactic is also probably why I have most of the climatic “moments” of my novel written and am now trying to fill in the details to get people from point A to point B in a semi-realistic fashion (Hint: air travel is a blessing).

So, I’m never out of ideas, just the time or motivation to execute on them.

As far as blogs go, I approach them a few different ways. Often, the blog is just about what is going on in life. I write to help me work through what is going on around me, to process life as it happens. Right now, I’m exploring “rest” a lot on the blog, as I reevaluate what is working and what isn’t in my day-to-day routine. Very often I am inspired by other bloggers – a line I read on their site will get the wheels churning and a few weeks later I have my own opinion on something. Other times, its a photo that I take that spurs a blog story – like the weekend we spent in northern Wisconsin recently.

I then usually write the words first, indicating where I will insert what images. Then I watermark photos I’ve taken or create a graphic in Canva for the post and put it altogether. I schedule social media posts about the blog, and call it done! I try to blog on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but it doesn’t always happen.

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So that is my writing “process” – a term I use here very loosely.

Thanks, Valerie, for prompting me to write this blog, even it the prompting came many months ago. You should all go check out Valerie’s latest novel: Circle of Nine: Beltany. I just ordered my copy and can’t wait to dive in! I met Valerie at the UW Writer’s Conference this spring when she was settling into another round of edits for the manuscript. I’m so happy that she has been able to focus more than I this summer and get this book launched. It’s got be a great feeling, and one that I am looking forward to experiencing myself, many months down the road.

Thanks for the inspiration, Valerie!

If you are a writer, what does your process look like?