So far this year, I’ve read The Tempest (Shakespeare Can Be Fun series) and I Shall Wear Midnight (Terry Pratchett, Discworld series). The Tempest is really so much richer in the original version so I’ll be reading that, too, but we wanted the kid-friendly book for the little readers in our midst. Then they can really get into the movie, which we’ll be buying since it never played locally (sob).

Also on my reading list:

• Dragon Bones (Hurog Series #1), Patricia Briggs
• Dragon Blood (Hurog Series #2), Patricia Briggs
• The Iron Duke, Meljean Brook
• Home for the Holidays, Rebecca Kelly
• Complete Book of Greek Cooking, St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church
• Garden Spells, Sarah Allen
• Frostfire, Lynn Viehl
• Spook Country, William Gibson
• Forgotten Skills of Cooking, Darina Allen

The Hurog books because I hadn’t gotten around to them yet, and it’s A. Patricia Briggs and B. dragons, what more do you need? Home for the Holidays because I need to get over my anti-inspirational fiction snit and also I expect it to be a very good story. The Iron Duke because steampunk is fun, Garden Spells because I’ve never read anything by her before and it caught my attention in the bargain books section, Spook Country because Gibson is always interesting. Frostfire because it is more Viehl and I think I’ve mentioned my Viehl-hoarding on the blog before.

For the nonfiction, I picked up The Complete Book of Greek Cooking because I love Greek food, there are no nearby Greek restaurants (unless we go to Seattle), and because it was one of two titles highly recommended for Greek cooking. I want to be more adventurous in the kitchen this year, and this book is a good start. Forgotten Skills, I’d read a review of and it sounded right up my alley for practical culinary techniques and also I’m interested in the history of food and time-honored ways of preparing it. When I got a book gift-card for Christmas, it was all the nudge I needed to go buy myself this hefty volume.

To kick off my year in writing, I’m doing a short project that is sort of a test-run for me to see if I enjoy writing the hot stuff enough after a break from it to come back to the Shadow Guardians. If not, I will have to retire that series because the whole basis is extremely erotic and trying to rework it as other has failed. Red Queen I’ve made peace with as a hot urban fantasy romance and I know I’m comfortable with that level. So, my test project will really help me determine the year’s work flow and future projects.

How are you starting your year of reading and/or writing?