Shakespeare Month, 2 mini-reviews, and hey, it's been a while

So... blogging. It's not so much been happening lately. The sad thing is I can trace the demise of my blogging life to when I started working night shifts. The good news is that I am back on days soon, hopefully for a long while, and it is New Year's Day, harbinger of all the best intentions. I can't promise I'll be perfectly consistent, but I'm not throwing in the towel yet, even if my "currently reading" button hasn't changed in over a year. (I'm still reading tons, just not writing on it).

I'm not going to be terribly organized about this because to be honest, the most important thing to me is to just keep going when I can. So this post is going to be random and all over the place.

First off, The Classics Club is hosting Shakespeare in January, a celebration of the Bard and his works. I have the best of intentions of reading all of his works at some point in my life, so I am looking forward to jumping head-first into this. I'd like to read/listen to 3 Shakespeare plays. I have an audiobook version of Hamlet and would also like to read King Lear and Richard II. They will be hosting a different event every month and while I don't plan on participating in every event, many of them appeal to me so plan on seeing more of that.

Finally, I finished two books today so I'm going to review them. I can't always keep up with blogging about all the books I read -- I read too many and have so many other obligations that sometimes they fall by the wayside. However, I have been fortunate enough to receive many great books from publishers and NetGalley and I want to attempt to review as many as I can. So... on with that.

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

First of all, have you ever read the blog Hyperbole and a Half? I have been reading it for years and it is hilarious. She writes about her memories and simple every day emotions and events with a humor and bluntness that is refreshing and laugh-out-loud funny. I was very excited to see that Allie Brosh was writing a book from her blog; however, I was disappointed at how much of her content was simply repeated in the book. I was hoping to see more new stories. While there were some scattered throughout the book, they didn't quite live up to the original blog posts. Honestly, I'd recommend simply visiting her blog -- you could easily spend hours there (I have). However, if you want to get to the best-of posts quickly, the book is the way to go.

3 stars

Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #2)

I read Divergent about 18 months ago, and I liked it decently, although to me it didn't measure up to The Hunger Games, to which it is frequently compared. While I liked it, I wasn't overly excited to dive into the remaining books in the trilogy. However, with the final book finally out and the buzz surrounding the movie, I decided it was finally time to finish this series. I found Insurgent to be more compelling than Divergent. The characters and their choices are more complex than I sometimes see in YA and especially dystopian YA -- there are so many nuances to each decision. In that sense, Insurgent reminded me of Mockingjay. A war is being fought but there are more than just two sides, and each side has many flaws as well as merits. The adventure of the story kept me invested, and the many twists kept me reeling. While Insurgent is not a book that shattered my illusions or had a lasting impact on me, it was an entertaining read.

3 stars

Top Ten Tuesday: Things that Make Life as a Blogger/Reader Easier

1. Goodreads. I keep track of what I am reading and what I want to read (and the count is up to 1043 at this point, so that is essential). In the past I just made lists of what I wanted to read and lost them, and often wondered what I would read next. With Goodreads, that is never a problem.

2. Feedly. I was devastated when Google Reader bit the dust, but I think Feedly is even better. We'll ignore for now the fact that I have over 700 unread posts in my Feedly.

3. NetGalley. It is a dream come true to get books before their publication date. While it is always nice and flattering to be contacted by a publisher, NetGalley is especially convenient because I get to request what I want. It's always exciting to see an approval in my inbox. :)

4. Naptime. But seriously. When else would I read, or blog? (Although my baby is actually awake right now). 

5. Libraries. There are so many books that sometimes I get too excited and take out more than I can read at once.

6. Audiobooks. I'm about to start working and it is a forty minute drive. The only thing that is going to make it bearable is a good audiobook powering me through the LA traffic. 

7. Kindle Daily Deals. They aren't easy on my bank account because there are so many good deals every day. It is nice to have them on my Kindle, ready in a pinch.

8. Kindle. Also, I LOVE my Kindle. While I love books, for me the best part of reading is the story part, not the way it gets to me. And my Kindle makes getting a story into my brain as convenient as possible.

9. Blogs. Before I started blogging, I had a hard time deciding which books to read. Now, as mentioned above, there are over 1,000. At times I am overwhelmed and want to pare it down, and I probably will someday. However, it's nice to know that there are over 1000 books out there that I am interested in reading.

10. Book Clubs. It's nice to have internet friends to discuss books with, but there is nothing like having someone on your couch with a cup of tea, having a heart to heart about a great book. I love it. 

{Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish}

Weak-Sauce Bloggiesta

Many bloggers are participating in Bloggiesta this weekend, an opportunity to clean up the old blog and do those annoying maintenance things that nobody wants to make time for.

I never officially participate in this because I have way too much homework to focus on tasks outside of school and keeping my house livable and this point. However, I have been wanting to post a question for a while, and I thought Bloggiesta would be an appropriate time for that.

Basically, is there any thing you, as a reader, would like to see change about The Story Girl?

I won't guarantee that I'll follow all advice. In the end, The Story Girl is my project and outlet, and I think I would continue it if I had zero followers (because hey, I did for quite a while). However, I know there is room for improvement and I'm kind of at a loss for what to do -- not because I think my blog is perfect, but because I am too lazy to find out the flaws.

So please feel free to tell me things you would like to see on The Story Girl in the comments! I appreciate your feedback!

The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards

Title: The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing

Authors: Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards

Genre: Nonfiction

Publisher: Twilight Times Books, 2008

Source: Personal copy

This little title popped out at me after seeing it on several people's blogs. I thought to myself, I am new to this book blogging business. I am sure I could use a few tips for improving my review writing. When I saw it was about $4 for my Kindle, I couldn't pass it up. Over the past several weeks I have read little sections of it at a time, trying to implement improvements in my review writing. (Did it work? I'm not sure. I think I write much better reviews when I am not focusing so hard on writing a great review. If I focus on the writing itself rather than fitting the label of great, things flow much more easily).

I've decided for this post I won't "review" this book per se - it is far too intimidating to review a book on book reviews! Instead, I would like to evaluate its usefulness for me as a book blogger.

Calvani and Edward's book seems to be mainly targeted toward those who are writing reviews in the attempt to get published. While there are comments and a few sections directed specifically at bloggers, for the most part our particular group is not the main focus. The book gave some templates for writing a well planned review - a hook at the beginning, summary, quotes perhaps if you want an in-depth review, reasons certain aspects of the book were enjoyable (or not). There were many facts describing the types of reviews certain publications might be looking for, whether they want analysis or brevity, pre-publication or post-publication, etc. While this information was useful, I do think there is a higher degree of freedom in the blogging world. In my case at least, I am not necessarily seeking to be famous. The idea of writing book reviews for the sake of writing a review and being published never occurred to me before I started blogging (although I am going to try and submit some reviews to a publication this year, which I am sure will require a slightly different approach to writing than this blog). I started blogging because I wanted to talk about books. I wanted to share my thoughts and personal experiences with books, as well as evaluating what I did and did not like about them. The personal introspections I sometimes bring to my posts would obviously not be appropriate in a publication like The New York Times. For that reason, my blog is subtitled "Reviews and Reflections," not just "Reviews."

So in that way, the book was not hugely useful to me. I am essentially writing my reviews for my own personal enjoyment (while hoping it provides a little to my readers as well). However, the book did bring a few different aspects of review-writing in general to my attention that enhanced the learning experience. I think one of the most important lessons shared is to remember the author. Sometimes a snarky review seems called for, and I know I have given in to the urge more than once. However, I understand the trauma of having a story into which you poured your blood, sweat and tears rejected. I don't think that reviewers need to spoon feed faint praise for books they didn't enjoy. However, I do think there is a difference in being harsh and vindictive rather than honestly and fairly discussing aspects of the work that were subpar. The book also reiterates multiple times the various marks of the amateur. While I actually am an amateur, I still like to think that I can run a dignified and respectable blog. I appreciated the little hints of what to do in order to avoid appearing like an amateur, although there were a few I disagreed with, mainly because I think as bloggers we have a little more freedom to express ourselves (while still maintaining fairness to the author and the book).

Overall this was an interesting read with some good insights into book reviewing. I learned some useful tips that I have implemented into my own writing. However, like any book trying to teach a skill, it proclaims that its way is the best way, and I thought several of the recommendations were not necessarily the best way to write a review or applicable to bloggers. With that said, these are published authors, and I am a lowly little blogger scribbling out her thoughts on the couch in her pajamas (although published authors also spend time in their pajamas, I hear). I found some suggestions to be helpful, but this hasn't become my book review bible.