Let's give this a try...End of the Year Survey

So, my friend Catherine fills out an end of the year survey (as one would be expected to) every year.  I'm a little more hit or miss when it comes to things like this.  But I thought I'd adapt her survey a little answer some of her original questions and make others a little more book oriented...




-- What new places did you visit in 2010?
Albuquerque?  Wild I know.


Traverse City, MI (sleeping out on the balcony overlooking the waterfront was one of my coolest nights of the year)
Here was the view:

Mackanac Island.  (I was a failure as a former-Michigander because I had never gone before)


Here are a few of pictures from that trip:

-- What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
A job offer?  A publishing deal?  Dare I hope for both?


-- What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting a literary agent after several years of submitting was a pretty dancing-for-joy type of experience.
Ooh, also, (can I do to?) for the first time ever I finished all of my classes at a school with a perfect 4.0.  


-- What was your biggest failure?
I had one of those quarters in the spring where I never seemed to manage to authentically connect with one of my classes (it was slightly tragic, especially since in the quarter before I had a group of students that has stood out as one the most communicative classes EVER).  
Also, I wish I had started working extensively on Dudley the Dissertation sooner.  I'd be less stressed now.



-- Did you suffer illness or injury?
None!  I haven't even had a cold in two years!  (Knock on wood!)  Sometimes it's good to be kinda-germaphobic.


-- What was the best thing you bought?
Books, of course.  And my embosser.  I love being able to put my name in my books (Don't read into that.).
Here are a few of my favorite books for younger readers of the year:

-- How many books did you read in 2010?
I don't know exactly.  It looks like I reviewed about 158ish for the blog this year.  And I read more than that, since I do read some books and decide not to blog about them (usually because I lack the time or because I don't have anything interesting to say about those particular books).



-- What song will always remind you of 2010?
Willow's Whip My Hair.  I used it in a project with my students this last quarter and it amused them greatly.  I'm going to need a new viral pop hit in about six weeks time so I can do the same next quarter.  Just so you know, internetz.


-- Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
Same-ish.  Perhaps a little happier, but I'm also more stressed about the future...so that brings down the higher level of happiness a little...maybe?

b) thinner or fatter?
Same-ish.

c) richer or poorer?
Shockingly enough, a little richer.  Working on saving and investing is kind of fun...in a no tangible rewards for the foreseeable future kind of way.


-- What do you wish you'd done more of?
Interacting with other humans, probably.


-- What do you wish you'd done less of?
Slacking and avoiding my dissertation for the first nine months of the year.


-- What was your favorite new book series?
I'm probably going to have to go with Matched.  I'm interested to see where it goes next.  The same with the Paranormalcy series.

-- What was the best book you read in 2010?
Honestly, I can't say that I can walk away with one book that rocked my socks off this year more than any other book.  There were a lot of great contenders, but nothing that I remember reading truly got under my skin in a way that'll keep me thinking about it for years and years.  Sad, I know.  
I know I have high standards, though.  But my socks have been rocked in previous years:

This series got me interested in reading when I was six.  I spent the next four or five years deciding if I would be a mouse, a hare or squirrel in the Redwall world.  (A mouse, of course!)

I read Matilda when I was in third grade, I think.  It was the first book that I remember staying up late to read and waking up to discover I had fallen asleep while trying to finish it.  I'm actually assigning it to my students next quarter.

These books are pretty much a highlight of my high school, college and grad school reading.

I found this book so fascinating!  And still, when it's freezing outside, I pretend that I'm walking through the Antarctic when I trudge home from school.

This book made me as excited to read as Harry Potter did.

This was my favorite book of 2009.  I loved the way that it addressed many issues, including gender, virginity, power, rape, etc.




-- How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Comfortable and kinda-presentable. But mostly comfortable.


-- Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:
Work on your dissertation a little everyday.  For reals.