Autumn. I know, I know, technically it’s not autumn, but for me, this is the beginning of the autumn season. There is so much to look forward to over the next few months. Carl’s RIP event, of course, which I’m over-the-top excited about. (Obviously.) There’s the changing of the seasons, which will be far more dramatic here in Massachusetts than in Texas. There’s the boys going back to school this week after a long, long summer. And soon, the NaNoWriMo season will start. I’m looking forward to meeting and getting together with local writers, as well as to writing again. I haven’t written any fiction since June!

This time of year just makes me feel alive! I have so much energy, and so much I want to do. Hopefully that means I can be really productive in getting this blog fully up to date! I managed to get through the first quarter of 2009’s reviews this week. Both 2009 and 2010 were my giant reading years – 184 and 217 books respectively – so that’s a lot of reviews to transfer. It’s a little tedious, but at the same time, I’m enjoying it. Early 2009 is when I first discovered modern young adult fiction. When I was an adolescent, there wasn’t much in the way of good YA, and discovering the new stuff was quite a lot of fun. I read some good ones in there, including my first reads from Scott Westerfeld and Maureen Johnson and Deb Caletti, all of whom I love. It was a good time for books in general, with some fantastic adult fiction, classics, and nonfiction, too. Some of my favorites of the quarter include The Eyre Affair, Uglies, Ella Minnow Pea, Habibi, The Good Earth, and Harry, a History.

Next week, I hope to get another big portion of 2009 up to date, as well as begin my next writing project after the kids get back into school, and start up my exercise program again. I’m nothing if not ambitious, right? Ha!