The Winner's Certificate

I completed my Nanowrimo novel this year on November 20th, but didn't sign in to validate it until today. So, I just downloaded my nifty little certificate which proves that I completed the goal. My boys always scoff at this motivation. The certificate is an honor I'll gladly accept. The Nano people informed me that out of more than 300,000 people who signed up for Nanowrimo this year, only 41,940 people were winners, and I'm one of them!

Normally, they offer a winner's badge by now, but I couldn't find one, so here's what my certificate looks like:

In the meantime, my silence hasn't been due to editing or revising (I usually let the novel sit for at least a few weeks to provide some space), but rather because I have been abandoning books left and right lately.  It is really quite remarkable. I've read about 50 to 100 pages in and then, just decided I didn't feel like reading it right now after all. Sob.

Here's a list of the ones I can remember setting aside:

Regine's Book: A Teen Girl's Last Words by Regine Stokke (this book is about a girl who faces, and eventually succumbs to, leukemia) - just too darn sad. Couldn't keep reading, although the photography in the book was stunning and the story probably worthwhile, if you can get beyond the sadness factor.

Masterminds and Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World by Rosalind Wiseman - while this would be a great book for a mother with boys to read, I just couldn't get into it this time (perhaps because I'm not having any great difficulties with my boys which require seeking assistance). Maybe I'll pick it up again some day.

Runaway Emotions: Why You Feel the Way You Do and What God Wants You to Do About It by Jeff Shreve - again, just didn't feel like this book at this time (ironic, no?).

The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes - this book received stellar reviews, so I might pick it up again, but I hadn't gotten very far in before the hold list recalled the book and I couldn't renew it (sob).

At the moment, I am about 35 pages into two books, which again haven't totally hooked me yet:

It Happened at the Fair by Deeann Gist and After the Rain by Karen White.