Tag Archives: challenges

Happy New Year – 2012

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Happy New Year everyone! I know this message is coming a bit late considering the new year has been present for about 20 days now, but I’ve taken one of those long breaks from posting to accommodate for the holidays, family time, and life in general. I’ve even eased up on tweeting! This disconnect from the Net and social media is disconcerting at times, but sometimes necessary, especially when special attention needs to be paid to life outside the computer.

It’s a new year and new start though and I recently renewed my ownership of MiaHerrera.com (with hosting! Though I still need to code the site beyond the basic blog template), so I’m dedicated to another year or two of infrequent posting for anyone who is interested (a small number, in fact, that more often visits my site for my MonopolyCity and Felicia Day posts).

I entered this year without any intention of creating resolutions. I’ve made resolutions every other year, but I’d like to believe that change can happen at any time – not just on the first of January. As the year drew to a close, however, I discovered an unintentional list of resolutions that continually grew. By the time the clock struck midnight on January 1st, my list of resolutions included Continuing Education and French language courses, more time in church, more time on the treadmill, and more time by the stove learning how to cook.

As 2012 began, however, life brought along many surprise and blessings. I put a down payment on a house (move in date September 2012), ruling out further courses due to the need to save money at the moment, and my love of chocolate and proneness to accidents threw a few wrenches on my road of progress towards cooking, eating, and living healthily.

If this year has taught me anything so far, it’s that everything truly does happen for a reason. Like that cliché quote says, sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. I naturally love to plan and when plans wouldn’t work out, I’d feel lost as I scrambled to create another plan for the changed situation. This isn’t a bad thing but, these days, going with the flow has been really nice.

This year, I’ll adapt. I’ll purchase Rosetta Stone instead of attend Alliance Francaise or keep active but try not to beat myself up when I slip up. I’ve always striven to do absolutely everything before, that life sometimes became too hectic to do anything at all. I’ve decided to choose what’s important and focus on it accordingly.  By the second week of January I already knew I needed to parse my ambitious list of resolutions down to allow for real life. And even if cooking, schooling, and running fell through, I was left with these final resolutions:

 I want to Live Well (live life to the fullest), Live Right (be kind, thoughtful, and thankful), and Write. If all else fails, I want to do these three things and always keep life, love and passion in mind.

2012 will be a good year. Happy New Year everyone. I wish you all a happy and blessed one.

52 Book Challenge Follow Up

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Ever since posting about it on YorkScene, a few people have asked me how my 52 Book Challenge  has been going.

I have a confession to make: Even after two years of participating in the 52 Book Challenge and publicly proclaiming my continued dedication to it in 2011… This year, I have read a total of 0 books.

How is it possible that I haven’t finished reading a single book in the past 3 months?

I have nothing to defend myself with except to say that life kind of just happened this year. In addition to a full-time day job, I am also enrolled in a post-grad course working towards my CAPM, and am enrolled in the Humber School for Writer’s Correspondence Course in Creative Writing. The day job takes up a good chunk of my time (at least 8 hours, of course), and when I come home at night my choice is to either complete Project Management or Creative Writing homework. Often I choose to do Project Management work because I feel guilty not acing something that could so benefit my career. As for reading, it takes the back burner because I feel foolish putting something so “impractical” first.

Halfway through February, however, I noticed something odd. I was dissatisfied and grumpy all the time. I couldn’t figure out why, except that I hardly had time to meet my deadlines, spend with my family and friends and, most frustrating of all, to read. Yet again, passion fell prey to practicality.

The practical matters of life seemed to choke out all sense of creativity. By the end of the day, after pushing paper and numbers and numerous cups of coffee, the urge to write was gone. It’s hard to justify giving time to creativity and books when other “more important” things are at play.

I realized things had to change. Even if I had a higher pay cheque, or the entire alphabet in certifications after my name, I realized I wouldn’t be happy if I couldn’t confront the awful beast of writing, and I could never relax if I couldn’t ease my mind with books. As a result, I decided to make the effort to read more. And I’m almost close to the end of my first book of 2011 (Ilustrado by Miguel Syujco. It really is as masterful as everyone says it is!).

How have your reading challenges been going? And how do you make time in your life for the things you love? Does creativity or passion ever take the backseat to the everyday and, if so, how do you find a balance? Give me tips, please. I’m still trying to navigate the fine line between art and real life.

52 Books 2010

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Happy New Year everyone! To celebrate the passing of the year, let’s talk books and reading.

In 2009, I started keeping track of the books I read for the 52 Book challenge – a challenge that encouraged people to read a book a week.

Though I’ve always read regularly, it was fun to track my progress. Within my first year of participating, I learned a lot more about why reading was important to me. Furthermore, taking note of books and pages provided me with an added sense of accomplishment akin to those kindergarten days when teachers would add a sticker to your reading worm with each book read. As a result, I took up the challenge again in 2010. Below is a recap of my progress.

# Title Author Pages
1 Fired Up Jayne Ann Krentz 368
2 How We Die: Reflections of Life’s Final Chapter Sherwin B. Nuland 304
3 Elizabeth Costello J.M. Coetzee 224
4 The Fire-Dwellers Margaret Laurence 320
5 The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated Timothy Ferriss 416
6 The Line Olga Grushin 336
7 The Stone Angel Margaret Laurence 316
8 The Surrendered Chang-Rae Lee 480
9 Even the Dogs Jon McGregor 208
10 A Thread of Sky: A Novel Deanna Fei 368
11 The Breakwater House Pascal Quiviger 208
12 Big Swim Cary Fagan 128
13 Home is Beyond the Mountains Celia Barker Lottridge 192
14 The Fate of the Artist Eddie Campbell 96
15 Blankets Craig Thompson 592
16 What Becomes Al Kennedy 232
17 February Lisa Moore 320
18 Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness Byran Lee O’Malley 192
19 Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together Bryan Lee O’Malley 216
20 BodyWorld Dash Shaw 384
21 Skim Mariko Tamaki 144
22 AEIOU or An Easy Intimacy Jeffrey Brown 224
23 Three Shadows Cyril Pedrosa 272
24 The Household Guide to Dying Debra Adelaide 352
25 The Adventures of Daniel Boom aka Loud Boy #4 Grow Up David Steinberg 96
26 The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin 320
27 Good Night, Commander Ahmad Akbarpour 24
28 Young Samurai: Way of the Dragon Chris Bradford 448
29 The Wide-Awake Princess ED Baker 272
30 What Momma Left Me Renee Watson 240
31 No Language is Neutral Dionne Brand 56
32 Alex Rider: Skeleton Key Graphic Novel Anthony Horowitz 176
33 The Retreat David Bergen 328
34 Beanworld Book 1: Wahoolazuma Larry Marder 272
35 The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future Dav Pilkey 176
36 Exit Lines Joan Barfoot 336
37 A Place Within: Rediscovering India M.G. Vassanji 464
38 Children of the Day Sandra Birdsell 416
39 The Uninvited Tim Wynne-Jones 368
40 Beatrice and Virgil Yann Martel 224
41 Ghostopolis Doug Tennapel 272
42 Amulet Book 1: The Stonekeeper Kazu Kibuishi 192
43 Amulet Book 2: The Stonekeeper’s Curse Kazu Kibuishi 224
44 Amulet Book 3: The Cloud Searchers Kazu Kibuishi 208
45 The Lizard Cage Karen Connelly 448
46 Batman: Year 100 Paul Pope 232
47 What They Wanted Donna Morrissey 352
48 Superman: Red Son Mark Millar 160
49 The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1 Robert Kirkman 1,088
50 Angelspeake: How to Talk With Your Angels Barbara Mark, Trudy Griswold 128
51 No Way Back Rick Mofina 480
52 Reading Like a Writer Francine Prose 320
53 Jpod Douglas Coupland 528
54 Gladiator Boy 1: A Hero’s Quest David Grimstone 112
55 Fear the Worst Linwood Barclay 544
56 Ender’s Shadow Orson Scott Card 384
16,780

Hardest Book to Read: The Household Guide to Dying. No offence to the author, but this was the slowest, most uninteresting book I’ve read all year. Trying to finish this book was painful and slow.

Most read author of 2010: Kazu Kibuishi. Thanks to Scholastic, I received the first three books in the Amulet series. I really enjoyed all three, and wrote a review of Amulet Book 1 for C&G Monthly this year.

Most fun book: Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card. I’m definitely not much of a sci-fi fan, but Ender’s Shadow had me hooked. I’m now in the process of reading the rest of the Ender series, and my first book of 2011 was Ender’s Game!

Most beautiful book: Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa, which I also reviewed for C&G Monthly.

Perception-altering reads: Reading like a Writer by Francine Prose. I read this book while I was in the midst of a writer’s block dry spell. Francine Prose was the kick in the butt that I needed, infusing me with renewed excitement to write and read.

Most Informational: How We Die by Sherwin B Nuland. I don’t generally enjoy non-fiction, but Nuland’s book was factual while being beautifully written and philosophical enough to keep my attention.

Notable reading: A Thread of Sky by Deanna Fei. I’ve already written two glowing reviews of Fei’s novel, one in the Side Street Review and another on this blog. Check it out!

I’m a tad disappointed that I couldn’t read more books than I read last year, but at least I didn’t read less. Like I realized last year, reading isn’t about the quantity of books that you read anyways, but the quality.

For a more in-depth recap of my year of reading, somewhat similar to my 2009 recap on MiaHerrera.com, check out my blog posts on YorkScene.com and NerdGirlPinups.com.

2011 marks another new year of reading. So far I’ve only read one book – Ender’s Game. I’m pretty hooked on the Ender series. It’s not a bad way to start off another 52 book year! Care to join me for 2011?

52 Books 2009

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Somewhere out there on the World Wide Web a challenge was created: read 52 books in 52 weeks. I decided 2009 would be the year I tracked my reading in weeks and pages. Below is a list of the books I read. Although I don’t have a review for each, I do have a few words to share on my year of reading.

# Title Author Pages
1 The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman Laurence Sterne 720
2 Watchmen Alan Moore 416
3 Epileptic David B 368
4 The Monk Matthew Lewis 496
5 Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West Cormac McCarthy 352
6 What We Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Politics Noam Chomsky 240
7 The Expedition of Humphry Clinker Tobias Smollett 375
8 Kindred Octavia Butler 287
9 The Crying of Lot 49 Thomas Pynchon 192
10 Fun Home: A Family Tagicomic Alison Bechdel 232
11 The Fate of the Artist Eddie Campbell 96
12 Black Hole Charles Burns 368
13 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Junot Diaz 352
14 Aporias Jacques Derrida 87
15 A Grief Observed C.S. Lewis 60
16 Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth Chris Ware 380
17 Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, the Watsons and Sandition Jane Austen 432
18 Time: A Traveler’s Guide Clifford A. Pickover 304
19 The End of Faith Sam Harris 256
20 Tess of the d’Urbervilles Thomas Hardy 336
21 Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte 256
22 The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne 180
23 Girlosophy: The Breakup Survival Kit Anthea Paul 224
24 A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway 485
25 Great Expectations Charles Dickens 514
26 Scott Pilgrim Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life Bryan Lee O’Malley 168
27 Get Known Before the Book Deal Christina Katz 272
28 Scott Pilgrim Volume 2: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World Bryan Lee O’Malley 200
29 Scott Pilgrim Volume 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness Bryan Lee O’Malley 192
30 Scott Pilgrim Volume 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together Bryan Lee O’Malley 216
31 Penguin Great Loves Cures For Love Stendhal 128
32 The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists Andrew McAleer 240
33 Valmiki’s Daughter Shani Mootoo 398
34 Dear Diary Lesley Arfin 231
35 Lives of Girls and Women Alice Munro 256
36 The Time Traveler’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger 536
37 The History of Forgetting Lawrence Raab 112
38 Mediascapes: New Patterns in Canadian Communication Paul attallah; Leslie Shade 406
39 Bodily Harm Margaret Atwood 304
40 Wilderness Tips Margaret Atwood 242
41 Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality Donald Miller 256
42 Lucid Dreaming and the Art of Dreaming Creatively Pamela Ball 390
43 Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit Mercedes Lackey 400
44 The Dilbert Principle: A Cubicle’s-Eye View of Bosses, Meetings, Management Fads & Other Workplace Afflictions Scott Adams 336
45 The Five People You Meet in Heaven Mitch Albom 198
46 Oryx and Crake: A Novel Margaret Atwood 464
47 Mansfield Park Jane Austen 512
48 Persuasion Jane Austen 224
49 Hobby Games: The 100 Best James Lowder 400
50 The Spirit Sets Us Free: Catechist’s Guide Linda L. Gaupin 64
51 The Spirit Sets Us Free: Confirmation Preparation for Youth Linda Gaupin et al 96
52 The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church   200
53 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 272
54 Manuscript: 1st Draft Friend 180
55 Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen 384
56 A Novel in a Year Louise Doughty 320
      16,605

While typing out the above list, I began recalling specific moments throughout the year. I remember reading C.S. Lewis after a friend passed away. I remember working as an extra on the Scott Pilgrim set and, shortly after, purchasing the series to read during my month-long traveling journey. I remember reading the 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists while waiting for my plane back to Toronto with Shani Mootoo after my first ever writer’s retreat, and then reading Shani’s book shortly after coming home. I remember reading Bodily Harm on the way to my cousin’s wedding in New Jersey, and Oryx and Crake during my first week of full-time work with Ganz. And so on and so forth.

After this challenge, I had a stronger understanding that it never really was about the numbers of books you read, but about what those books meant to you after you read them. It’s easy to forget a book (I can’t, for the life of me, remember what happened in Tess of the d’Urbervilles), but when you keep track of the books you’ve read, you more easily remember, not just the titles and stories consumed within the span of a year, but those stories within the context of your life.

The 52 book challenge transcribed, in excel format, the importance of reading in my life and the adventures reading offers. Just for fun, I included some tidbits about 2009’s reading below:

Hardest book: Tristram Shandy, for its sheer size and the knowledge/backstory required to understand it OR Pamela Ball’s Lucid Dreaming, because it was just so boring.
Most read author of 2009: Jane Austen. The older I get, the more tragic her stories seem to become.
<strongMost fun book: The Scott Pilgrim series offers a fun, light, and exciting read, especially if you live in the GTA! Check out my review for it here.
Perception-altering reads: Anything by Derrida. He’s difficult to understand at first, but wickedly fun once you start.
Notable reading: Blue Like Jazz was the first “religious” book I read in 2009. It offered a contemporary approach to Christianity and religious passion that I thought would appeal to me. Instead, I was seriously disappointed by its lack of substance (for lack of a better word). It pushed me to find the real meat of my faith, and led me to read various versions of the Catechism, which was highly rewarding and which I recommend to anyone interested in Catholicism.

Now, onto 52 more books in 2010. I’m looking forward to it and invite you to join me, too!

Mia Herrera: Board Game Collector

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My blog undeniably began as a writing blog. At the time of its inception writing was my sole focus and therefore naturally became my blog’s sole focus. As previously mentioned, however, after my break up with writing I had to look for other, less scornful past times to occupy me in my off hours. That’s when I picked up games.

When I started working at Ganz I in no way labeled myself as a gamer. Yes, I enjoyed the occasional button-crushing Soul Caliber or Street Fighter match with a friend or relative, played Fable 1 from beginning to end, couldn’t stomach the disaster that was Fable 2, and enjoyed all the Sims products with God-like creationist glee, but these instances marked the extent of my gaming experience: Reasonable, but not boast-worthy. It was at Ganz, however, that I began hearing about this or that board or card game – and no, I’m not talking about Monopoly or Uno, but about foreign, yet unheard of (to me at least) concoctions. I was politely interested, but I was an impatient person who enjoyed the instant gratification and speedy conclusions of 3 min YouTube videos and momentary riddles. Games as prolonged as Scrabble or Monopoly, each lasting painstaking hours at a time, hardly attracted me.

It just so happened, however, that within one week my brother picked up Settlers of Catan and my co-worker brought Gloom to work. To those who have played either game, they will know these two games are completely different. They aren’t even presented in the same form (one is a card game; the other is a board game). That week, however, and with both games, I experienced an interesting sensation not unlike the warm excitement I get with new books. Here were novel items. Here were items worthy of collection.

My first bout with Gloom was quick and dirty. My co-worker busted out his pack in the lunchroom and we finished a mini-game within the half hour. Catan was a more prolonged affair, attended by the ceremony of clearing our dining room table for play space and fishing out snacks from the kitchen cabinet. Both experiences were radically different, but from that week on I was captivated by the thought of “game time” – an elusive, not-often-experienced period in which electronic entertainment became secondary to the human interaction occurring over mere cardboard, wood or paper. How romantic! I’d thought nights like that had become extinct in the 20th century!

I purchased Gloom the next week and soon after borrowed Hobby Games: The 100 Best from a co-worker. My intention is to nab all 100 listed books, and the 100 after that listed in the book’s sequel (in the meantime nabbing both books to add to my still-growing book collection). I’ve started at A with Acquire and intend to go all the way to Z. What can I say? I’ve fallen in love – hard – and want a room full of games to mirror my much adored room full of books.

While my book reviews are reserved for Live in Limbo, my game reviews are much less formal concoctions that will be posted as they come here on MiaHerrera.com. I know that skews the focus of my site a bit, but I suppose my blog grows as I grow. It’s kind of neat to know there’s this little space on the web that is filled with everything I find interesting!

(And don’t worry, folks. If you’re still coming here for writing matters, feel free to screen game reviews by clicking the Writing tab on the left. Game reviews will (naturally) be stored under Games and won’t appear under that category!)

NaNoWriMo 2009

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November 1st marked the return of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) – an event that challenges participants to write a 50K novelette in one month! Will you be joining the fun?

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