2013 Reading & Writing Resolutions

I'm usually someone that refuses to make resolutions every year simply because I don't want to be disappointed because I didn't accomplish what I wanted. After thinking it through, I realized that this time was going to be different. So without further ado, I present to you my 2013 reading + writing resolutions.

• Read 50+ books throughout the year. This means that I will have to read approximately one book a week. I'm very excited for this because I feel like I could've read a lot more in 2012 but I didn't out of pure laziness. If I see that I'm close to my goal long before the year is over, I will bump it up to 75. I want this to be a challenge, which means it's not going to be easy. 
• Read more classics. I got the chance to read classics that I actually enjoyed this 2012 and I would like to continue doing that on 2013. Reading YA books is easy for me, but classics are a bit more tough but much more rewarding. 
• Review every single book I read. I truly enjoy reviewing books and I want to be as active as possible on this blog. Sometimes I bottle up a lot of my feelings and opinions about a certain book simply because no one else around me has read it. I can finally express myself on this blog. 
• Write on my journal at least three times a week. Someone close to me gave me a journal for Christmas and included a letter with the gift. He encouraged me to write about my life because it's the greatest trip one can take. I want to try to write on it every day, but I know I need to start out slow and stick to three days a week as a minimum. 
• Work on improving my writing. I know that I can be better with a lot of practice and I think that writing on my journal will help. I need to practice, practice, practice and read some articles that I've collected throughout the year about writing. 
• Participate on NaNoWriMo. I've been interested on participating on NaNoWriMo for the past two years and I finally decided that I would do it in 2013. I really want to win, I don't care how many sleepless nights and cups of coffee it takes. 
• Start working on my first novel and a few short stories. When I'm writing stories, I have the bad habit of just writing and writing without revising afterwards or drafting before I start working on it and I want to start writing more serious stuff. I want to sit down and write down my ideas and start working off of that instead of starting to write right away. 

And that's it! I have a few other personal resolutions, but I wanted to leave those for the first entry on my journal. I hope everyone who reads this has an amazing 2013. 

Until next time,

Ana Lucía. 

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Title: Pride and Prejudice.  

Author: Jane Austen. 

Synopsis: Spirited Elizabeth Bennet is one of a family of five daughters, and with no male heir, the Bennet estate must someday pass to their priggish cousin William Collins. Therefore, the girls must marry well—and thus is launched the story of Elizabeth and the arrogant bachelor Mr. Darcy, in a novel renowned as the epitome of romance and wit. Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen’s masterwork, an entertaining portrait of matrimonial rites and rivalries, timeless in its hilarity and its honesty.

Review: In need of reading some classics after limiting myself to YA books only, I decided to pick up Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one of the most famous books of all time and the one that made me fall in love with the wonderful Jane Austen and her writing. I was a bit worried that I might not like the book at first, but after reading and completely delving into the story I enjoyed it a whole lot. It took me a while to get into the book simply because I needed to adjust my brain to more complex language. I must say that I loved the Bennet family from the start and it reminded me of my mother's family because I can safely say that Mrs. Bennet is my grandmother. I really like it when I can connect with the main character and I really did connect with Elizabeth. In fact, I could even relate to her in some aspects. I found myself wishing for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth to finally get together from the minute the reader is introduced to him, because I saw him as a misunderstood character from the start. I knew deep down he wasn't as bad as everyone thought he was. What I liked most about the book is that it is timeless. If it wasn't, it wouldn't be as popular as it is today, right? I would recommend this book to anyone, even if they aren't into classics. I'm pretty sure they will regret ever thinking that after reading this. 

Rating: ★★★★★

Until next time,
Ana Lucía.