The year's almost over!

Still can't believe it. But 2010 is literally hours away! 2009 has been a year full of ups and downs (not just for me personally but on a larger scale globally) and I'm ready for a fresh start! And tenner books!!! (one track mind, folks...)  Usually on the last day of each year, I get excited for the special traditions my mother and I have. My favorite out of all of them is eating the twelve grapes at 12AM, making a wish on each one as you swallow. Sounds silly but it's something I always look forward to :) Another thing I always consider are the resolutions I make for the new year. And now that I have a blog, I've decided to make some resolutions for it as well!

So.... what am I thinking on improving for my site?

• First and foremost, my reviews. I'd like to be more eloquent in my writing and NOT just rewrite a synopsis for the book. I want to be able to express how much I loved, liked, or disliked whatever book I've read. (As for the poor unfortunate books I might dislike in the future, I'll do my best to write reviews devoid of any violent book bashing. I may be critical, but I won't strip the books (or the authors) of their dignity.) No matter how many times I write a review, I ALWAYS feel like I could improve on it. My crazy inner perfectionist says so. But then my inner slacker is like, "shush! I want to read!"
• Organization. By nature I'm a messy person but when it comes to work (because I consider my site as a work-albeit it has a lot of fun involved!) I like to have everything neat and ready. I remember when I started this site and since I was more of a newbie than I am now (I still consider myself new to the game), I would just throw whatever I could onto a post and hope that it would work. Not anymore! Now I plan on being more meticulous about the content I post.
• Posting. There are times when I post daily but then there are times my posts are erratic. My lack of punctuality has spilled onto my site, it seems. I will try not to be a sloppy blogger, LOL!
• Interviews. I managed to get away with not having any interviews this year but I plan on changing that ASAP! My fear was that I didn't want to repeat the same questions that authors always get (ex: "What inspires you?" Answer: "um, lots of things?") But after tweeting with some tenner authors, I've realized that some of those questions are necessary. The best interviews are the ones that get you interested in the book(s). Of course, getting you curious about the author is a bonus too! I just don't want to have boring interviews. I'd like them to be fun too. :)
• The spanish reviews I'm going to do my best and post as many as possible. But as I started translating my first review, I hit an obstacle that I didn't even think of. WHICH book reviews to translate. The first translated review I'm planning to post is a 2010 release... so I don't even know WHEN it'll reach other parts of the world. I'm gonna have to look up books to-be-released in spanish and try to work them in. So I have to do homework. *sighs* But that first review is still going up, so no worries.
• Just having fun with this! There are bloggers out there that think that just because they're becoming bloggers means they're entitled to getting ARCs. I have to say, where is this selfish mentality COMING from? There's so much more in book blogging than getting all the ARCs. Besides, there are books that are already out and JUST AS AWESOME. Maybe even (dare I say it?) BETTER. But that's just opinion.  Anyways, my point is that I'm doing this for fun and I don't expect to have ARCs rain down upon me. I'm perfectly happy with joining ARC tours and such. Like my mama says, no llueve pero gotea. (besides....if you want free books, you can always go to the library. :P)

Non-book/blog-related resolutions (sort of)

• Improving my health. I'm not planning on running the marathon anytime soon but for 2010 I'm going to try to be more active. I admit that I'm lazy, preferring to sit down and curl up with a good book than go jogging but.... all those hours I'm using to read and go online? I could be doing something else BESIDES that. So I'll try to.
• Writing Once upon a time there was a young high school girl who was obsessed with poetry, always scribbling in her journal and filling it with her silly thoughts and dreams. I used to be this girl. I used to be able to more or less spill poetry out onto the pages of my notebooks but then eventually I lost that. I used to beat myself up for it since I thought that meant I wasn't a REAL writer. But for 2010 I'm changing that mentality-writing isn't meant to be forced. It's something natural that flows, ebbs and then comes back again. No more internal thoughts of "you're not a writer!"
• Getting out there I'm used to being a loner, keeping my distance from most people. But I'm noticing that I surprise people whenever I joke around and such. I think people are put off my serious demeanor. So even though I'm not becoming a social butterfly anytime soon, for 2010 I will get out there more and get to know more people. Expand my social horizons, so to speak.

Okay, I think that's enough resolutions for this year! If you've actually gone and read every single word I've written....thanks!!! If you haven't, well, you should! ;P I'll end this post with a picture of the lovely Shakira whom I adore.

Yeah....I couldn't resist. ;)

Happy New Year's Everyone! <3