Reading Moods

How much does your mood affect your reading?

I wonder about this a lot, because I go through stages. There's the times where I devour books and luuurve everything I read. Then there's the times where I read slower, where I'm just not that into reading, or into a particular book, and where I notice flaws and things tend to annoy me.

Am I just in a bad reading mood? Is this totally unfair to the books I read when in said mood? I could easily say yes. But at the same time, something usually pulls me out of that mood. Something, as in, a great book.

A really great book would pull me out of a reading funk. I really believe that. If the book is AWESOME, I'll WANT to read it and I'll be EXCITED about it and ta-da! No more bad reading mood. So I think there's something to be wondered about the books that don't get me all revved up, bad mood or not.

But mood definitely plays a part. If I was in one of those la-la-all-books-are-wonderful moods, I end up loving a book which maybe doesn't deserve quite so much praise. And while I'm in the reading dolldrums, good books get picked apart a little more thoroughly than normal.

So my mood affects my reading. What about you? Does mood affect your reading? Or is it only about good books vs. mediocre ones?

What's Up Wednesday: Mockingjay and Christmas

WHAT I'M READING
I read Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl- it's the last of the Beautiful Creatures novels, and again... argh, I just wasn't that into it. My reading mood is really wonky right now for some reason. It's almost unfair to any book I read. Right now I'm about halfway through Thorn Jack by Katherine Harbour. I'm enjoying the book, but I have a few pet peeves. Again- wonky reading mood.

WHAT I'M WRITING
I made a little progress on my WIP this past week. A little over 3k. I have a feeling it's going to be slow through the holidays. But anything is better than nothing, right? RIGHT? I also figured out my outline through the break into act 2, so there's that.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
It's hard to come up with something that works for me when it's been a fairly unproductive week therefore, nothing has been working. Ergh. But I'm gonna take inspiration from all of you who've been knocking your WIPs out of the park and hopefully get more done this week!

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
I saw Mockingjay Part 1 on the weekend! I really enjoyed it, more so than I did the book (SHOCKING). It was a little slow- not much action, but as usual Jennifer Lawrence totally nails it. She had me in silent tears a few times. I'm just disappointed that we have to wait a whole year for the last one.
Me and the kids put up our Christmas tree on Sunday. Fun, but crazy! And I've had a lot of church responsibilities this past month, so that's been keeping me busy.
What's up with you?

What's Up Wednesday: Headphoes and Hunger Games

WHAT I'M READING
I finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and it was as good as I thought it would be, although not as good as I wanted it to be. Maggie Stiefvater is an amazing writer, and I love her characters (and wish they were my friends), but I wanted to be blown away by the book and sadly, I wasn't. Honestly, I think it has to do with my reading mood more than anything.

WHAT I'M WRITING
I've hit just under 12k with my WIP and I'm happy about that. I just wrote the 'inciting incident' which was lots of fun although in my outline I originally had it as my break into Act 2 so I've got some more planning/figuring out to do.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Headphones. On Saturday, I really wasn't in the mood to write, but I had time so I forced myself. My computer is in our family room and my kids were in there as well as one of their cousins. They were playing and the TV was on and it was very loud. So I popped in some headphones, put on a playlist, and managed 1500k in one hour, even with the occasional kid-shaped distraction.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
Doctor Who withdrawals. Carne Asada fries. Carpet in the basement. Christmas decorations. Baking cookies. Querying. The Hunger Games. My oldest daughter just read the first book and I'm seeing Mockingjay on the weekend, so we rewatched the first movie.
Oh, and I've joined the YA-NA Sisterhood. I'm excited to join this great group of women and I'll be blogging over there occasionally. You can check us out here.

What's Up Wednesday: Failure

WHAT I'M READING
Last Wednesday I found Blue Lily, Lily Blue at Costco for less than twelve bucks!!! So of course I bought it and cancelled the book I had planned to read. Surprisingly, I'm barely halfway through right now. Reading fail.

WHAT I'M WRITING
I'm at a pathetic 5.5k right now. Writing fail. I just haven't had time, which makes me glad I decided not to do NaNo this year because I would have bombed. On the other hand, I wonder if I had committed to it, if I would have MADE the time to write. Who knows.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Right now? Nothing. I'm bombing, which I know is okay because I'll get back on track, but I can't help feeling a bit perturbed at myself. (I love that word, perturbed. It's so wonderfully awkward.)

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
I'm doing better at life than writing/reading. I took the kids to Big Hero 6 on the weekend and it was great! Super cute and the kids loved it. While I was doing that, the hubs and his brother tiled our basement bathroom. Our basement should be done soon and I'm sooo excited to have that space! I've also got more than half of my Christmas shopping done (woot!).

Yesterday of course was Remembrance Day and I made sure to take a few minutes to remember the sacrifices of our veterans and those who serve now. Lest we forget.

Here's to the Heroes

It's not until two minutes in that the song really gets started, but it's a good one. Gets me teary eyed every time.

What have you been up to?

What's Up Wednesday: Halloween and Fury

What I'm Reading
I just finished Timekeeper by Alexandra Monir. I read the first book, Timeless, a couple of years ago and I remember loving it. Timekeeper was... good. I love the premise. Both books remind me of my own time travel series I was working on awhile back. I also loved the New York setting in different times. The plot was solid. Buuut, it just didn't resonate. The dialogue was a little off to me, and I wonder if that was it, or if there was more that I just can't put my finger on. Who knows. (I also wonder if Timeless was the same but I just didn't notice it back then?) 

What I'm Writing
I started a new WIP, YAY! I'm not officially doing NaNo this year because my November is going to be a crazy month, but I'm aiming for 1000 words a day. I still haven't figured out the end for my outline, but I wanted to get writing and I'm hoping the end will come to me before I actually get to it.

What Works For Me
A goal. Sometimes it's a deadline, but usually it's a word count. Like I said, 1k a day with the hope that I finish by Christmas.

What Else Is New
Halloween! My kids dressed as Tris, a Stormtrooper, Elsa, and Anna. The kids got quite the loot. I also saw FURY on the weekend, the World War II movie starring Brad Pitt. It was extremely gory, there were lots of F-bombs, and I had trouble understanding one of the characters at times because he had such a thick accent, and there was one scene I thought was a little odd. However, it was interesting to watch a WWII movie focus solely on a tank crew and I thought Logan Lerman was fabulous. Also, I'm pretty sure I've never jumped as many times as I did during this movie. It was seriously heart-pounding.

What's up with you?