• Autumn Lee Hill (that's me)
• Blogging has been hard for me, especially lately, but I want to write all 30 days this year, as during BEDA the 2nd I only posted half the days.
• Communications is what I got my bachelor's degree in, specifically print journalism, which I loved getting but have never used.
• Desserts are out of my diet for all of 2011. Why? Because I am crazy. Three months down, nine to go.
• Editing is my favorite part about journalism, I have always preferred fixing other people's writing to doing my own.
• Freaking awesome (as described by my coworker Trevor, though he suggested a different 'F' word)
• Graduate school is what i am focusing on right now. I am only in my second semester, so two more years to go!
• Homework is very easily avoided while writing a blog instead, as this proves.
• Ingrid Michaelson is one of my favorite music artists, introduced to me by one of my best friends, SEJL, who is participating in BEDA for the first time this year! I have seen her live three times (Ingrid that is, I've seen SEJL live more than I can count).
• Jobs: I have two part-time jobs (sort of three) that keep me busy about 50 hours a week.
• Knowledgable (as described by my boss Jennifer, which is good to know. She said the only thing I didn't know was what Juneteenth was, but now I know that too.)
• Librarian will someday be my job title. That is what I am going to school for and where I have found a home.
• Musicals are my passion/obsession. I am a huge Broadway geek, going to shows every chance I get. I own just over 130 cast albums, which I happily share with friends.
• Nincompoop: the one word guaranteed to make me giggle each and every time I hear/say it.
• Omaha, Nebraska = home for the moment. But only until I finish school, then who knows!
• Procrastination = my specialty/curse. I am so deadline-oriented that I often can't accomplish anything without a deadline looming over me.
• Quirky (as described by my coworker Ashley, but I think it fits).
• Reading takes up a great deal of my spare time, and like many people my age and nearly all of my friends, about 75% of what I read is young adult literature.
• Soliciting words from other people was the only way I was going to get through 26 letters today; I am not sorry.
• Twitter handle: autumnLEEves. Somedays I tweet too much and others not at all, but it's my favorite way to keep track of my BEDA buddies.
• Unshelved = a great and funny library-centered comic that you should take a look at.
• Very very tired after working 11 hours today, which is why I am about to cheat on the next one.
• Wicked eXtraordinaire (as described by my sister Lindy) She is thinking of the musical, which I have seen four times in three cities in two countries.
• Years old: 26
• Zootool replaced Delicious as my online bookmarking tool recently. I am still adjusting, but so far I love it.

OK, that was actually fun and not as hard as I thought it would be -- until tomorrow universe.

Help! I am in a Reader's Advisory class right now, and I need recommendations. It's centered around books for adults. I am mostly useless in that department as I have transferred all almost my energy to young adult novels.

For this class I have to read a recent (last 5-10 years) book in a bunch of different genres. These are the ones I don't have covered yet:

• Fantasy
• Science Fiction
• Westerns
• Romance / Romantic Suspense
• Multicultural / International
• Horror
• Literary Fiction

PLEASE leave comments and give me your suggestions. I am badly in need of guidance.

Thanks!

P.S. Becky & Christina: Do you think The Lover's Dictionary would work as my romance choice?

I bet you thought I had forgotten about this. No worries though, I am just really late in putting it together.

As many of you know, I obsessively keep a log of every book I read. I don't know where I got the idea, but I started it halfway through 2004 and have never stopped. I love it. It helps me to keep track of what I read and gives me a good snapshot of my year in reading. Here are the posts recapping 2008 and 2009.

This past year I have extended this obsession to Goodreads, which is by far my favorite of all the book community sites I have tried. And yes, I have tried several sites. I'm a book nerd, deal with it. Anyway, it does sometimes complicate things because there are books I listed as read in 2010 on Goodreads that I didn't add to my reading log for whatever reason. I am going to try not to do that this year.

I read 66 books I hadn't read before (75 according to Goodreads, which includes rereads), adding up to 20,915 pages. 

Owned: 10 
From Library: 56 

Adult Fiction: 13 
Nonfiction: 6 
Young Adult Fiction: 41 
Juvenile Fiction: 6 

Books Reread: 4 

Began 2010 with: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl 
Ended 2010 with: Vixen by Jillian Larkin 

Shortest: 96 pages - Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka 
Longest: 563 pages - Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl 

Oldest: 1869 - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868 according to Goodreads) 
Newest: Dec. 2010 - Vixen by Jillian Larkin (I read 20 books published in 2010) 

Quickest to Read: 1 day - Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
          (I read 3 different books in 1 day, but this one had the most pages) 
Longest to Read: 21 days - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 

Favorite: The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins (I read all three in 2010) 
Least Favorite: Scatterheart by Lili Wilkinson
          (I ordered this from Australia because it wasn't released here and I was so excited
          about it, but the story was weird and not at all what I was expecting.)
Most Surprising: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
          (I don't like contemporary fiction as much, but this one blew me away, I loved it!)  
Most Disappointing: Matched by Allie Condie
          (This one had so much hype, I read it before it was published, and it was OK,
          but not the amazing novel I was hoping for.) 
Most Outside My Usual Choices: City of Thieves by David Benioff
          (I don't remember why I read this one, but it is adult fiction, about two guys
          searching around Russia for eggs during a war so they don't get killed. And I didn't
          love it, but I liked it.)

Favorite New Author: Megan McCafferty (Sloppy Firsts series, so great!)

I started 2011 by reading Patti LuPone's self-titled memoir. I've already read 9 books in 2011 so far though, again I am very late in posting this.

I don't know that I will have as much time to read this year now that I am back in school, but there are so many books I am excited about. Happy reading!

If you don't know what challenge I am talking about, read this.

I survived the first month with no permanent damage. Other than the cheesecake incident I mentioned in my original challenge post, I have lived a dessert-free existence. Only 11 more months to go!

As I mentioned when I have done these challenges before, once I make the decision to say no, it comes quite easily for the most part. There were no difficult moments where I almost gave in.

I have been eating a lot more dry cereal though. I am a bored eater all the way, so instead of popping chocolate in my mouth to keep it busy, I have been munching on Crispix! It's been my favorite non-sugar cereal since I was a kid. It's awesome with or without milk.

I do think the next couple of months will be the most difficult part of the year for me. Easter is right around the corner, and the stores are already selling Cadbury cream eggs and other delicious things. Easter is when all my favorite seasonal chocolate comes out, and has always been a very big impulse-control issue for me. This year I intend to survive Easter with nary a chocolate egg entering my system!

Everyone remembers READ posters right? Famous people pictured with books related to their fields or the books turned into the movies they acted in. I always thought they were so much fun. This is the one I really want to buy right now.

Recently at work they had every staff member in our building pick their favorite book for their very own READ poster. It was a big project, because our building is a joint-use facility shared by an elementary school, public library branch and parks and recreation center. But we finished and they are all up in the commons. Yay!

It was a huge internal struggle for me to narrow it down to just one book. I finally picked the book I did because it isn't as well known as say The Hunger Games, plus it has a great cover and I loved reading it. The book is Fire by Kristin Cashore.

So here is my finished READ poster:

So back in May, I set a couple of deadlines here.

One of them is still on schedule, but the other deadline has passed and the goal remains unfulfilled. I've been living with my parents since I moved back to Omaha over a year and a half ago. It was supposed to be temporary, but I haven't really been able to afford to move out. The goal I set for myself was to be out of my parents' house and in my own place by the end of the summer.

At this point though I am still living with my parents. Let me tell you why. This summer there were two things in my life that I was unhappy about. One was living with my parents again, and the other was working at Chili's (and really just waiting tables in general). I felt really trapped because I needed that second job if I wanted to move out.

So I reached a point where I had to step back and decide what was bothering me most. And guess what won?! Chili's did. I decided I was just too tired and burned out waiting tables to do it anymore. I had gotten to a place where I truly hated my job, and I could not have cared less about the people I was serving (Though I was still mostly nice, I promise). It was bad. I finally gave Chili's my two weeks' notice back in July.

It was a hard decision to make, but I am so glad I did it. I miss the people I worked with there, and I still get together with my favorite Chili-heads now and then for food and margaritas, but I don't miss anything about the job. Well, maybe always having cash on hand, but that's it. I am so much happier now. I do still feel frustrated living at home, especially at my age, but I get along with my parents and it does save me money.

I am looking for a second job, but I admit I am being somewhat lazy about it. I can't remember the last time I only had one job; it's nice. Plus I did just start grad school this month. But that is why I didn't meet my deadline. I decided leaving my job was a bigger priority. But believe me, moving out is still important to me. I am ready to feel like a grown up again.

I've probably never blogged about it, but I love quotes. I am not always as diligent about capturing them as I could be, but I still love them. Who doesn't love to laugh at the silly things people say or take inspiration from the ones who get it right?

Recently, through my BEDA buddy Nicola, I found a great new site: quotabl.es.com.

From what I understand it's a big, search-able database of quotes. You can create an account and keep a list of the quotes you love, and add ones you see that are missing. I joined it today and started adding some of my favorites. I'm finding it quite addicting. This is the first quote I added:

"What if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today!" - Bill Murray in Groundhog Day (See it on Quotabl.es here.)

And here are a few of my other favorite quotes. Some of them are from Quotabl.es and some are from my own collection.

"You won't feel normal until you find a group of people who you can be abnormal around and be happy about it." - Not That Kind of Girl, a blogger I follow

"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony." - Monty Python and the Holy Grail (on Quotabl.es)

"Outside of a dog, a book is your best friend, and inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx (on Quotabl.es)

"It is better to be alone, she figures, than to be with someone who can't see who you are. It is better to lead than to follow. It is better to speak up than stay silent. It is better to open doors than to shut them on people. She will not be simple and sweet. She will not be what people tell her to be." - E. Lockhart, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

"Fairy tales are more than true. Not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be defeated." - G.K. Chesterton (on Quotabl.es)

So definitely check this site out; it's fun.

And here are all my BEDA buddies blogging about their favorite quotes: Nicola, Uncultured Critic, Christina, Becky.

What are some of your favorite quotes?

Well we did it everyone. July is officially over, which means sweets are back in. Woot!

Christina celebrated at midnight with a delicious-sounding dessert I have never heard of. She describes it here. She did great this month; I know of several instances where she resisted some very strong temptations. I am very proud of her and glad she joined me. I am sure she will talk about her experience on her blog soon.

I know Chelsea did great too. Other than her birthday (and no one expected her to withhold then), she stayed firm all month. Here is her statement:

The month of July, no desserts – I must say it was a bit difficult in the beginning, but as all things, once you start to get the hang of it, you start to do a bit better – I’m actually thinking I’m going to try to continue this into August, I don’t want to go crazy now that July is over, so I’m going to slowly bring myself back to desserts.

Congratulations ladies! You can happily return to the land of chocolate and candy. Thank you so much for doing this with me.

As for me, I did great (If I do say so myself). However, am not letting dessert back in the door just yet. I will tell you why on my next post, I promise. Welcome to August.