The last 5 books I've read

Things have been a little crazy lately, and although I pretty much think daily "I should really update my blog!," I just haven't gotten a chance. I've been doing a lot of events lately, which have been so much fun, and I've been working on proposals for a new series. (Also so much fun!) Instead of an update post on what I've been doing, though, let's do an update post on what I've been reading! Here's the last 5 books I've read:

There was a lot of buzz about this book, and it's from my publisher, so I figured I had to pick it up. (Plus, I'm rather in love with the snow on this cover and the windows in the background.) It had a fairy tale quality to it (and not just because it was a fairy tale retelling) that I quite enjoyed.

I have a friend that has been begging me to pick up this book for FOREVER, so I finally did. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it.

I am in the Lucky 13s with Ryan, and was thrilled to read her book. It had a fabulous setting (London, and you really felt like you were there), and a fascinating secondary character (the king), and a main character who was his guardian fae. Great read!

I feel like a heel for not having been able to read this book before now, and not just because I've heard it's fantastic, or that Chad lives in the same state as me, or that we have been on this publishing journey at the same general times, but also because Chad is a genuinely good guy. This book was every bit as good and exciting and amazing as every has been saying it is, and I'm glad I read it.

This is another of my Lucky 13s pals. Mindy is a comedian at her day (or, I guess, night) job, and it shows in every bit of her writing. There were so many laugh out loud moments! It had some great lessons for teenage girls, too, without feeling at all like it was being preachy.

What books have you read recently?

Books I read in 2013, and what I learned

I have a confession. I'm not the world's fastest reader. I'm not one of those people who can read a book a night. (Dangit!) In fact, it usually takes me a couple of weeks. This year, though, I decided that I was going to make reading more of a priority.

This year, I read 55 books. Or, on average, one every 6 1/2 days.

But not only did I read more this year, but I read differently. I decided that I wanted to read as many books as possible that were written by my fellow Lucky 13 authors. (We've all debuted in kidlit during 2013--- there's 101 of us! Click here to see all of our books.) Many of them I received as ARCs (advance reader copies), because we have a system where we sign up for the books we want to read, then when one comes to us, we read fast, then mail it to the next person on the list.

Remember how I said I'm not a fast reader? It definitely factored in to my reading choices in years past. Because I knew I wouldn't get through tons, I only read books that came highly recommended by people I trusted, along with the occasional book that I knew that appealed to me so strongly that I knew all on my own that they were going to be right up my alley.

But this year is different. I decided to read every book I could that was written by a Lucky 13, regardless of genre. Regardless of whether or not it's something I would normally pick up. Here's what I learned:

• I like a lot of genres a lot more than I thought I would.
• There are things to learn from every. single. book you read that will apply to the genre you are writing, even if it's nothing like the genre you're writing.
• Not only will reading outside of your favorite genres still benefit your writing, but it will benefit it in ways that reading in your favorite genres cannot.
• Getting to know someone as a person, and then getting to know them through their writing, will always fascinate me.

And here they are. All the books I read this year. (And for the first year EVER, all of the books I have read are kidlit.)

Middle Grade

Young Adult (Fellow Luckies from the Lucky 13s)

Young Adult (Fellow Leaguers from the League of Extraordinary Writers)

Young Adult (Others I've loved through blogging)

Do you keep track of the number of books you read each year? Do you ever branch out of your favorite genres? Did we read any of the same books?