It's the New Year! It's a new decade! It's 2010!

Might as well have my first post of 2010 as a reminder to myself of my goals for this year.

To be honest, I'm very, very excited whenever there's a new year. There's 365 days of the unknown... new lessons, opportunities, and experiences! Woot Woot! A chance to grow!

Anyhow, my goals: 

1. Blog more. I'll be a better blogger this year compared to the past years I've had this blog up. I was a firm believer of notebooks before. I still am now, but I realized that my readers are very limited if I just keep them in a notebook. At least now I've got readers out there in the world who could share my views [I hope].

2. Read and review more. Oh yes. That was one of my goals for 2009. [which I didn't post online, see goal #1] I am starting 2010 with three books that I'm ready to review sometime in January. My initial goal for 2010 is to read 24 books. 2 per month. Kind of like 2009. Hopefully I could surpass that.

3. Travel more. See new places, experience different cultures. That would be one awesome thing to do. I already booked a ticket to Macau in July 2010. I wonder what other adventures await me this year?

4. Try to avail of my vices at a discount. Books, travel and shopping are my vices.

- Clothes/shoes --> only shop at the local Chinatown where there's lots of cheap clothes but are of good quality. For those high street brands, I would only get them on sale. Yes. No more paying full price.

- Books --> Sometimes the local bookstore has a table full of bargain books. Then there's the month-long sale where books could be availed of at a 20-80% off discount [usually around August-September]. I will hold off on buying books that are sold full price. If I really need to read something then there's the TBR or the handy dandy used bookstore. Or I could always swap books on BookMooch or Rosie, my new book buddy who also used to be my officemate!

- Travel --> I would avail of the crazy fares that the local budget airline is holding, and if there's no crazy fare sale anymore [ie P1.00 for a seat. That's cheap!], I would settle for a sale. Any sale, as long as I've got the funds and I'm free. "Have time and money, will book and travel. "

5. Spend more time with mummy and Goofybear the dog. I love those two. I'm planning on getting my mum to at least one new foreign country a year. In 2009, we went to Hong Kong. In 2010, hopefully somewhere else. She wants to go to Australia, but I don't think I've got the funds for that yet.

6. Save more. I need my nest egg to grow so I could have a happy retirement in 30+ years time. And well, those savings from goal #4 could come in handy for emergency or my travel vice!

7. Watch more theatre/musicals. They make me more cultured. :)

8. Watch more concerts. If they're free. =p

9. Go to more events. Book signings, parties, etc.

10. Make every moment count: read whilst stuck in traffic or in the bathroom, if its the evening, listen to an audiobook. Anything that would keep me preoccupied and just not bored. I will try to make every second count because I won't get that second back anymore.

And that's about my 2010 goals for now. Care to share yours?

Wow. What a year 2009 has been. There has been too much loss of talent, a lot of misery in this year, as compared to what my 2008 has been. But nevertheless, I don't want to dwell on the negative parts, I'll just go through to the positive ones on this wrap-up post.

TRAVEL:
The year 2009 was the year I loved to travel. My eyes were literally opened in 2008 and in 2009, I realized that there are much more opportunities out there. The world is literally HUGE and I want to discovery every nook and cranny of it whenever I can.

I travelled to:
- Hong Kong
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Davao City, Philippines.
- trekked up Mt Pinatubo, Philippines
- and as usual, went up to Tagaytay, Philippines twice this year as its only around 2 hours away from my place.

More about my 2010 plans in the first post of 2010.

2009 was also the year I discovered that time is SHORT. Your seconds could not be given back to you if you've spent it, so make every moment count. There's no time to lose!!


BOOKS/READING:
So, I went back to reading. I was a prodigal daughter and would only read 1-2 books between 2002-2008. I was that lazy, and giving myself a whole lot of crappy excuses on why I would not read.
But with my new prospect in life that it's short and even time spent on traffic should be utilized, I went back to reading. And I realized... I loved it! I love being transported back into a new world, where my imagination would be working on overtime, and... learning new words and places as well.

To date, my list of places to go to has broadened because of reading.... my TBR pile has been growing, and I've gotten in touch with lots of book bloggers out there. I've learned more about new authors, and not just the mainstream ones. I've learned how to voice out my thoughts in the world more effectively through this blog, and well, I think I'm making my mark as well. Bit by bit.

I've finished 24 books this year. That's an average of 2 per month. Not bad compared to my previous stat of 1-2 per year. I am working on my reading. I'm constantly finding more time to read, to peruse the bookstores, to put into context what I'm reading and put lessons learned in my brain, things that I could use as I go about living my life. It's fun. It's lovely. It's brilliant.

Books finished this year [partial list]:
http://rubylovesadventure.blogspot.com/2009/01/2009-book-quantity-challenge.html

I've also taken reading to a different level. And what do I mean a different level?

Well, I joined the Fully Booked Book Geek - Dan Brown edition. To which I placed second [it was a tie for second!] but I didn't get to win the bacon. I totally spazzed [sp?] out on the last two challenge questions even though I bloody knew them! Anyway, kudos to the winner but I got a free book for joining the challenge in return.

I've also joined Dewey's 24-hour Readathon. It was my first time to join such an event, and it was fun reading and interacting with fellow readathoners and bloggers! I didn't watch any telly shows for a full day and instead concentrated on books! How cool was that?

I joined a book club. It's called Flips Flipping Pages and I've joined in two sessions. Quite nice fun!

I went to an author signing. It's the first time I've ever met an author up-close and got my booked signed. It was such a high, sort of meeting a celebrity but a much more down-to-earth celebrity!

CONCERTS:
2009 was also the year where I learned that some of the best things in life are free. I got to go to different events and concerts for free. But then, I wouldn't normally just ask for free stuff. They just fall whenever they are and I wouldn't bother anyone to get free stuff. They're a perk, not a necessity. I'm happy that my friends think of me whenever they get extra concert tickets... and I'm lucky enough that I have friends that are willing to share with me their experiences as we watch these bands/artists.

Concerts I've been to:
- Fall Out Boy [Feb 2009]
- Secondhand Serenade [March 2009]
- Red Jumpsuit Apparatus [March 2009]
- The Saturdays [August 2009]
- Akon [forgot when]
- Raygun [November 2009]
- Katy Perry [November 2009]
- Lenka [December 2009]

TELLY/MOVIES:
I've watched a whole lot more telly shows and movies this year. I watched the following:
- True Blood Season 2
- The Tudors Season 3 [ULTIMATE FAVE -- this explained my love for historical fiction]
- Secret Diary of a Call Girl [LOVED this as well... bought the books too]
- Merlin [LOOOOOVE this too]
- Gossip Girl Season 2
- Bones Season 1-4
- Criminal Minds season 3-4
- The Vampire Diaries
- The Beautiful Life [or two episodes of it]
- Lipstick Jungle

Is it just me or do the British telly shows do so much better on my taste rather than the American ones?

I loved Hugh Dancy as well in Confessions of a Shopaholic. I will always be a fan. And watched a whole load of movies as well, that I would not enumerate in this post.

Overall, 2009 was good, but not great. I am hoping 2010 will be better so watch out for my opening post/the goal list on January 1st.

Have a nice New Year's ahead! Here's to all of us looking forward to a bigger, better year/decade!

It's nearly the New Year and since I'm spending much more time online and blogging, I might as well post on a goal or where my blog would be headed for this 2010.

Currently, I blog mostly about books, theatre, travel and concerts. It will still remain the same for 2010, although more focus will be given on books: it's the cheapest and most accessible form of entertainment for me!

There will still be the weekly memes: I will be participating on In My Mailbox posts as well as Waiting On Wednesday/On My Wishlist as well.

Reviews will be posted whenever I've finished a new book. I cannot entirely say what specific day I'll post a book review but it will happen. With my current schedule, I normally finish an average of two to four books per month, much faster than my early 2009 figures.



Books reviewed would be composed of:
80% old releases;
20% new releases [books released within 2008-2010]

The reason why there are more old releases being reviewed is because those are the normal type of books I normally get. Most of my books are acquired through bookmooch, book swaps or the used bookstore. I know that if I don't buy a book new, the publisher and the author would not get royalties from the book but I can't always buy a new book now, considering I now have other obligations where most of the paycheck goes to.


However, there are certain times in a year when the local bookstore here hosts a 20% off sale and when that time comes, I shall go around buying new books that are on my wishlist!
That's where the 20% new releases come from.

I also set-up my own Amazon A-store so if a particular book suits your fancy then feel free to buy from my Amazon store :) 

I hope most of you understand where I'm coming from. Here's hoping for a more fruitful 2010 to everyone! :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren
It features bought, borrowed, or received books as well as other cool stuff from the mail. Isn't it fun?

In this week, I didn't get any books! But I did get the following:

A journal from my Secret Santa at the office. I asked for a gift certificate but got an expensive journal instead. Thank you :)

I also got a goodie bag full of Johnsons Baby Lotion samples! Wheeee!! They smell soo good!

So, what did you get in your mailbox this week? Hopefully I get a few books here and there before the New Year -- the post office has been closed for the past few days!
 :) Till next week!

In the first installment of Ann Brashares novel of the Travelling Pants, four girls: Tibby, Lena, Bridget and Carmen, find a pair of pants that miraculously fit all of them. They believe that this magical pair of pants is enough to bring their friendship together even though they spend their first summer apart, and the pants were capable of bringing good luck and new experiences to these four friends.

This young adult book has got me interested in it when I first saw the movie. It was a story of growing up, and realizing that everything is changing around you and you just have to cope up with it. The story is told in a third person point of view and alternates between what's heppening to the four characters as they deal with problems and their new experiences. There's also quotations that separate a new chapter from each other, quite a good presentation to ensure that the readers would find something inspirational as well.

The book is a quick read, and as I have the mass market paperback version, the font size is quite big, with some large spacings between the sentences as well. I love Brashares poignant writing and the various real-life scenarios that each character has to go to. It makes the characters more real and can definitely influence younger adults as they read the book into making the right choices, stepping up to challenges, and being more mature.

Although there were obviously parts that got me bored and irritated [if you guys intend to read the book, you be the judge], and there are also some parts where it was obviously dragging a bit and you find yourself saying "Ugh. When will this annoying bit end?" This book is surely something you'll want to read over the summer or recommend teens as they go through real life.

I recommend this for:
Young adults or even adults who are facing tough times in their life [read Tibby's point of view with Bailey]
Someone who just wants a quick read
Someone who wants to read something about friendship.

Rating: 3.5/5

Copy: Mass Market Paperback.
Source: Bought from a used bookstore.

Hiya guys! Just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I will be on vacation until the 29th but there would still be posts up in my blog as I'm trying to type up some reviews and scheduling them at the moment!

Have fun! :)

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City, which will be posted every Wednesday. It allows us to share the books we haven't bought yet but are waiting to be bought and devoured.

I would normally post one book per week as there are loads and loads and loads of books in cyberspace and if I list more than one, I might get a headache!


This week, on my wishlist is Fallen by Lauren Kate. I saw this book at the local bookstore this week and I sooo want it! But again, it's in hardcover so it's quite a bit expensive as well!

Doesn't the cover look preettyy?? It's one of those books that are very highly buzzed about in the blogosphere this 2009 and I'm sure it will take off in 2010 as well. Aren't fallen angels all the buzz now?