December Wrap-Up: New year's resolutions

This month's wrap-up comes a little differently that the usual ones, wrapping up yearly challenges and introducing changes in next year's program:

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Upcoming Changes/New Year's Blog Resolutions:

• This will be the last monthly wrap-up. I'm not taking any reading challenges for 2012, so it'd just be a post of nothing but links you can find in my archive anyway. The actual Book Of The Month giveaway post will be where I'll announce last month's winner.
• To stop buying into hype for books I know I won't like. I feel like most of my reviews are negative these days, and though I don't feel guilty for them, I'd like to have to write them less for the popular books that literally every Top 10 Of 2011 post I've read mention. 
• My most important resolution: if I'm not interested in blogging, I won't force myself to blog. Right now reviewing is more of a pain than a pleasure, and you can tell that in the quality of my posting.

Challenges:

2011 Debut Author Challenge: completed
I ended up reading a total of 41 2011 debuts!

100+ Challenge: completed.
I ended up reading and reviewing 182 novels overall.

Aussie YA Reading Challenge: completed.
I ended up reading 32 Aussie YA novels this year!


Features:

     - Where the rating went, on the discontinuation of rating books reviewed
     - Faves of TwentyEleven, Day One: The Books
                                                Day Two: The Characters
                                                Day Three: The Scenes
                                                Day Four: The Random

Reviews:

This month I've reviewed the following books:

    - Brother/Sister by Sean Olin
    - In The Arms of Stone Angels by Jordan Dane
    - The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
    - Break by Hannah Moskowitz
    - Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
    - The Sharp Time by Mary O'Connell
    - Sirensong by Jenna Black
    - Touch Of Power by Maria V. Snyder
    - Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
    - Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler

You can find a list of all the books (alphabetized) that I've ever reviewed on this blog here.

Book Of The Month:

A feature inspired by Audrey at holes In My brain, at the end of each month I'll pick the favorite book I read, and feature it as my Book Of The (next) Month.

January's Book Of The Month is The Sharp Time by Mary O'Connell. My review can be found here.

Stay tuned for a The Sharp Time giveaway tomorrow! (Tomorrow conveniently happens to be one minute away here!) The winner of last month's giveaway of The Night Circus was Lorraine.

So that was December in review. How was your month?

Aussie YA Reading Challenge

 

I'm kind of behind on signing up for this one, but I only just saw it and couldn't not join in. I don't read nearly enough books by Australian authors, though I really should. I get excited just seeing Australia mentioned in a book, let alone having a story set here.

So, the Aussie YA Reading Challenge is hosted by Nic at Irresistible Reads (whose blog I love) with help from Nomes at Inkcrush (whose blog I also happen to love).

The objective is, for Australian participants, to read 12 books by Australian authors in 2011. For international participants, the goal is only 6. The original challenge post with more info can be found here.

The books I'll read for the challenge are (with links to their reviews as they go up):

- On The Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
- Finnkin Of The Rock by Melina Marchetta
- Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James
- Mercy by Rebecca Lim
- Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
- Chasing Charlie Duskin by Cath Crowley
- Feeling Sorry For Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty
- Girl Saves Boy by Steph Bowe
- Shift by Em Bailey
- Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams
- Magic Or Madness by Justine Larbalestier
- How To Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier
- Little Sister by Aimee Said
- Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood
- Winter's Shadow by M. J. Hearle
- This Is Shyness by Leanne Hall
- Only Ever Always by Penni Russon
- Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart
- Angel Creek by Sally Rippin
- All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield
- A Pocketful Of Eyes by Lili Wilkinson
- Black Painted Fingernails by Steven Herrick
- Fury by Shirley Marr
- The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner
- Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
- The Bridge by Jane Higgins
- In Ecstasy by Kate McCaffrey
- Raw Blue by Kristy Eager
- Pink by Lili Wilkinson
- Burn Bright by Marianne De Pierres
- Angel Arias by Marianne De Pierres
- Good Oil by Laura Buzo

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This challenge is now over, and I beat both the challenge goal of 12 and my personal goal of 30 with a total of 32 Aussie YAs read and reviewed this year!