Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It gives us bloggers the opportunity to share our news, on and off our blogs! We can post about our most recent blog posts, books acquired, and anything else we'd like to share with our fellow book bloggers. Although this is a weekly meme, bloggers can participate on a monthly basis, if they so desire. For the hop rules, click HERE. To link up to this week's post, please click on Sunday Post, 1/8/17.
HAPPY (BELATED) NEW YEAR!! I'm very excited to be participating in this meme for the first time! I will probably be doing so on a monthly basis, or perhaps on a biweekly basis. I'll play it by ear.
Let me introduce myself: my name is Maria Behar, and I live in Miami, Florida, where Santa visits on a surfboard, lol. I have two book blogs -- A Night's Dream of Books, which is mostly dedicated to YA fiction, although I also review adult books on it, and MindSpirit Book Journeys, which is dedicated to classics, literary fiction, and nonfiction. I'm so happy to meet you all!!
New Year's Celebration!!
Last week, my husband and I returned from a trip to Key West! We left on Thursday, 12/29, and got back on Wednesday, 1/3. It was SO much fun!! First we visited the Hemingway House Museum, which was so fascinating.... We joined a tour, and got to know more about the life of this great American writer. Then I visited the Gift Shop (of course!), and bought two of his books -- A Farewell to Arms, and Collected Poems, plus a museum guidebook. Here are some pics!
I also bought three books about Key West, at the Key West Art and Historical Society! Here are pics of the books I bought.
Hubby and I ate at several excellent restaurants, our favorite being "Fogarty's", on Duval Street, which serves AWESOME burgers! That was where we also celebrated New Year's Eve. We also visited "Señor Frogs", where they were playing great music! We didn't dance, though; instead, we just listened and sipped our drinks.
I took so many pictures! I couldn't possibly share them all here, but I will post a few. Key West has such nice artistic vibes to it, and the sunsets are spectacular! Also, the houses in the older parts of the city are just so picturesque! I'm already missing it....
New Year (Bookish) Resolutions
1. Stop buying printed books for at least SIX months. This is really important! I'm running out of room on my shelves. E-books are not my preferred reading format, but I do read them from time to time. I guess I'll have to read more of them now..... Not only do they save space, but they're frequently cheaper than printed books. (Not always, though.)
2. Read the books I already own! Some of them have been sitting on my shelves for YEARS. As for e-books, I have more than 100 of them on my Android phone's Kindle app, and most of them are unread, too.
3. Strike a balance between my two blogs. MindSpirit Book Journeys needs more of my attention.
4. Strike a balance between blogging and reading. Sometimes my blogging does get in the way of my reading, and I am a slow reader, so that makes it worse.
5. Cut down on blog tour posts. They can not only be stressful, but they usually don't get many comments.
6. Publish more blog updates on Twitter and Facebook. I often get behind on this task.
Favorite December Read
This was such a DELIGHTFUL read! The female protagonist is a gutsy person who is determined to put the past behind her and start a new life. I really admire her determination! The guy she falls for is so sweet and, needless to say, sexy! Also, there's a heroic dog included. This was the PERFECT Christmas-themed romance!
Last Week of December On A Night's Dream of Books
Last Week of December On MindSpirit Book Journeys
First Week of January on A Night's Dream of Books
Shelf Candy Saturday No. 194: EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING Beautiful Cover Giveaway!!
Upcoming Reviews on A Night's Dream of Books
First Planned Read of 2017 on A Night's Dream of Books
Other memes I'm joining in 2017
I'm going to be joining this meme, which is hosted by the blog Mom with a Reading Problem. Originally, it was posted weekly. It will now be posted on the first Monday of every month, which suits me just fine! Look for my post on the first Monday in February!
Hey glad you joined the Sunday Post! Welcome! I just saw your comment and was going to bebop over and saw you in the linky! Love the pics of Key West- I've been to Florida a fair amount of times but never to the Keys. Love the cat pic w/ the pool!
ReplyDeleteNew Years in the Keys sounds fabulous!
Good luck with your goals! I hear you on blogging vs reading- sometimes I'm too busy blogging to read, is that backwards? lol
Hi, Greg!
DeleteThank you so much!! I've been thinking of doing this for some time now.... I figured that our Key West trip was the PERFECT occasion for creating a "Sunday Post" post!
You've never been to the Keys? Oh, you HAVE to visit, the next time you're in Florida! ESPECIALLY Key West! I have been there in the past, but this time, we stayed longer -- a total of 5 nights and 5 days!! I took SO many photos!! You have no idea.
The cat at the pool -- that was at the Hemingway House Museum. This pool is behind the house. The museum is famous for its six-toed cats, which roam all over the place. Not all of them have the six toes, actually, but all of them do have the gene for it.
Oh, you should have seen key West on New Year's Eve!! It was FABULOUS!!!! I was SO sad when we finally had to leave....
Blogging vs. reading has been a problem for me now for quite some time.... I hate to think I'll fall behind in my blogging, but then, how can I possibly review books on my blog, if I don't read them? Lol.
Thanks for commenting back!!! Much appreciated!! :) :) :)
Wow! Glad you had a great New Years! The Key West looks fantastic! I would love to go there someday!
ReplyDeleteHere’s my Sunday Post!
Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog and join in this week’s Book Photo Sundays!
Hi, Ronyell!
DeleteYes, we had a GREAT time down in Key West! You have to visit someday! I'm sure you'd love it!
Thanks for the nice comment!! Happy New Year!! :)
Your trip to the keys looks amazing! Welcome to the Sunday Post.
ReplyDeleteMegan @ reading away the days
Hi, Megan!
DeleteOh, it was truly a wonderful experience!
Thanks for the comment and the welcome! Happy New Year!! :)
Oh your trip looked beautiful!! Enjoy your reads! One of my resolutions has always been to read the books I already have. I collect books and then never get around to reading them. Its awful! Hopefully this year I can start to make a dent in my TBR!
ReplyDeleteHi, Samantha!
DeleteYes, Key West is beautiful indeed! We loved every minute!!
I've already started on one of these books -- "Postcards From Paradise". I'm not all that thrilled with it, though... :(
As for buying books and then not reading them, I think that's a problem most of us bookworms have, lol. This year, I'm going to really work on reading the books I already own!
Thanks for the nice comment!! Happy New Year!! :)
So happy to have you linking up! I love Key West and actually have family who live there. The Hemingway House Museum is wonderful, and every time I go I discover something new. Enjoy your books, Morgan's is on my list!
ReplyDeleteHi, Kimba!
DeleteThank you so much!! I've been thinking of doing so for the longest time, and finally jumped in! Lol.
How nice that you have family in Key West! That way, you can visit anytime!
I've been to the Hemingway House before, too, but I felt as if I were seeing it for the very first time! And oh, all those six-toed cats! SO cute!!
I've already started on one of the books I bought -- "Postcards From Paradise". It's only okay, though.
I'm glad you have "Miracle On 5th Avenue" on your list!! I totally enjoyed reading it!! I own another of her books -- "Sleigh Bells In The Snow", which I will be reading when the holiday season rolls around again.
Thanks for the lovely comment!! Happy New Year!! <3 :)
This is a neat idea for a weekly Meme.
ReplyDeleteIt looks and sounds like you had a great trip. I love literary destinations and The Hemingway House s a great place to visit.
It seems that these days a lot of people are making resolutions aimed at buying less books. Personally, my resolution is simply to read more.
Hi, Brian!
DeleteYes, it is! I had been thinking of joining in for the longest time, and finally did.
We had an AWESOME trip! Key West is just BEAUTIFUL. Things are laid back there, and the artistic vibes are GREAT! Unfortunately, things are very expensive there, so it's a place to visit, not to live in, unless you happen to be wealthy, or don't mind working as a waiter, bartender, or in some aspect of the tourist industry. Since we're in Miami, it doesn't take us all that long to get down there, which means we can at least make day trips!
I'm seeing that too, on many blogs. I guess it's a common problem we bookworms have, lol. We tend to buy and buy books, and then they sit on our shelves (or Kindles), unread. Mostly I want to get to the ones on my shelves! And of course I need to read more, too!
Thanks for the great comment!! Hope you're having a WONDERFUL Sunday!! :) :) :)
Hi there and welcome. I'm actually from Australia so Santa probably wears shorts and a singlet when he drops in here as it's summer!
ReplyDeleteKey West looks gorgeous and I love the pictures. It sounds lovely.
And I love your bookish resolutions. I've not made any formally but can relate to a few there!
Deb
Hi, Deb!
DeleteThank you for the welcome! And you're from Australia? How nice!! I would LOVE to go visit! I didn't realize that you guys have different weather there during the Christmas season. I've always associated Christmas with snow, lol.
Key West is indeed gorgeous, and I'm missing it so much.... I'm glad you love the pictures! I took LOTS, believe me! I think I'll be sharing more of them in future "Sunday Post" posts.
I'm also happy you love my bookish resolutions. And I think that many other bookworms can relate to them, as well.
Thanks so much for visiting and leaving such a lovely comment!! Happy New Year!! <3 :)
Looks like you had a wonderful holiday and the pictures are great. Good luck on your goals. I go through periods where I but a lot of physical books, and then where I buy a lot of ebooks. Ebooks are more practical as it takes a lot of room to house physical books. It helps that I just bought a new Kindle after having my old one for over 6-7 years so I'm enjoying using it again!
ReplyDeleteHi, Barb!
DeleteYes, I sure did!! Glad you like the pictures! I have a LOT more, and I think I'll be sharing them in my next "Sunday Post".
It makes me sad to buy ebooks....although I do have 100+ on my phone. However, I am definitely running out of shelf space. I might spring for a Kindle, too, since I've noticed that reading on my phone -- especially at night -- bothers my eyes.
What I really need to do, before anything else, is to read the physical books already sitting on my shelves! There are SO many I haven't read! So I really need to get to them!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment!! Happy New Year, if I haven't said so before!! <3 : )
I haven't been in Key West in years but it's always been one of my favorite cities. I love Hemingway's house and am glad you had such a good visit! Love your bookish resolutions. I'm trying to get mine all straightened out and I noticed we both have finding the balance in common. It's so hard! There are so many great books but so much blogging stuff that needs to be done. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteHi, Katherine!
DeleteOh, I LOVE Key West!! I wish I could live there, but, as you know, the cost of living there is expensive, and the jobs are mostly in the tourist industry. :(
Glad you love my bookish resolutions! Interestingly, I had never posted any type of resolutions, whether bookish or not, on this blog (or on my other one, either). I just decided it was time to do so, as I do need to keep some goals in mind.
The balance between reading and blogging is definitely a tricky one! I really need to work on it!
Hope you have a great week, too! Thanks for dropping by and leaving such a great comment!! Happy (Belated) New Year!! <3 :)
I would love to visit Key West! It sounds like so much fun. Lovely pictures, Maria. :)
ReplyDeleteNew Bloglovin follower
WOW looks like you had an AMAZING time! LOVE the photos, and burgers are awesome, I love eating them too!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an amazing experience, glad you had the chance to go to Key West! Have a lovely week ahead :) <3
Amy @ A Magical World Of Words