Hello, it’s me

I couldn’t resist! All the hello jokes floating around, well, they have got to me. Brilliant, brilliant song though.

It’s 2016 now. Another year has gone by. Blah blah blah.

I have been trying to evaluate 2015 but I can’t seem to decide what I feel about that particular year. Terrible things did happen but so did good things. Such is life, I suppose.

So, finally, I’ve decided to concentrate on the present and not obsess over the past (all the best for that, Mia. All the fucking best). Which brings us to 2016.

2016. New year. New books. New movies. New things. Resolutions.

Sometimes I don’t get the concept of resolutions. Nor do I get my inclination to resolve at the start of every year. I think, it’s basically an excuse for self-improvement.

Yes, resolutions are almost never completed. But maybe one year, far into the future, I’ll make a resolution and go through with it till the very end.

(Hope it is the recurrent one about losing weight)

In 2016, I resolve to-
1) BLOG MORE. BLOG REGULARLY. BLOG BASICALLY. JUST BLOG AND NOT ABANDON DIARY OF AN INTROVERTED SCHMUCK.

It’s all in caps lock so that it hits me hard whenever I end up rereading the posts. Which I do quite often. Narcissism rules.

2) Work on a book.
Now my aim is not to get published. While that would be an additional benefit, I want to just immerse myself in something I’m passionate about. Obsess about something productive. And if I get the satisfaction of having written about 50k words by the end of it, why the hell not?

3) Join the gym.
I want to not be the fat girl anymore. I have accepted myself but I want to be able to wear whatever hell I want to without feeling shy or conscious.

4) Work my way through the IMDb top 250 list.
So far, I’ve seen 30 movies. Hope to see at least a 100 more by 2017.

5) Make a decent lasagna and eat it.
I have lied, comrades. For it is not that I suck at cooking. How can you suck at something you’ve never even tried? So I’m going to go big or go home.

Lasagna, it is.

6) Get inked. No matter what my mum says, tattoos are artsy and beautiful. And I  want loads of them. I have my first two designs ready, too. Now I’m just trying to convince the ‘rents.

7) Read War and Peace. When I bought the book a few months ago, a friend laughed at me and said that it is a book most people never actually read. Well, I’m going to.

I also have collab plans with my mate Dee from The Vocal Wallflower. I hope that works out.

Bienvenue 2016. Don’t be a bitch to the human race.

Also, I’m alive. Just in case, you were wondering.

The Book Blogging Challenge Thingie

Happy New Year!

And what good is a new year without challenges and resolutions?

A few days ago I was chatting with my friend Sam who blogs at A Blast of Random ( ravenclawsam.wordpress.com ). I have known her forever- forever translates into 4.5 years. She’s seen me through my awkward school years. And I have seen her through her notsoawkward school years. She is one those immensely likable people.

Sam’s the one who got me into the Young Adult genre, way back then when I had braces and a low self-esteem. It’s because of her that I read the Shopaholic series, a bit of Dan Brown and some Cecelia Ahern. Par consequence I started reading Percy Jackson, The Hunger Games and so on.

So basically, Sam has been greatly influential in shaping my book taste.

Last year, I read too much. It was all about the quantity. Now, I’m not saying that I didn’t read anything decent. Because I did. I read many splendid books. But I had to accelerate my reading speed. I couldn’t enjoy the books I read as much as I could have, had I cherished every word.

Another effect of my 2014 Goodreads goal of reading 200 books was that I hardly read any classic-y or intellectual books last year.

I didn’t even finish A Song of Ice and Fire series inspite of owning the books. Books made of paper with the addictive paper smell and Jon Snow. And I didn’t read them.

In 2015, I have decided that I will try as far as possible not read just for finishing some goal. I will read for the reason I actually used to read.

The joy of reading.

So while telling Sam all of this, both of us were struck with an idea. (We’re kind of psychic that way)

What if we made up reading lists for each other in 2015?

One book per month and the certainty that the book would be one we would love ‘coz our tastes in books are pretty similar. And what’s the point of doing something if we don’t blog about it? (Procrastinating, of course. Oh well…)

So lo behold!

The Book Blogging Challenge Thingie

*Cue drumroll*

This is how it goes-

Eins- Only the book chosen for the month from the list can be read.

Zwei- The Book for the Month should be announced on the first of the month and it should be the first book read that month.

Drei- A post about the book should be put up on the last day of the month. It can be a review or a random rambling.

That’s about it.

So Sam’s book for the month of January is Ice by Sarah Beth Durst.

I selected this book because it’s a fairy tale but the protagonist is not a damsel in distress. That always works for me. Also, I believe it to be loosely based on the myth of Psyche and Cupid. Cassie’s love interest is quite unusual too.

Have you read the book? Drop in a comment down below!

You can check out her post about the Book Blogging Challenge Thingie here http://ravenclawsam.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/what-does-the-new-year-hold/

What does 2015 hold for you?