by Shannon Fox
As always, TTT is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic: top ten goals for 2014. I chose to do a combo of bookish and non-bookish goals.
1. Read forty books (My goal for 2013 was fifty and I fell short of that)
2. Get published in a top literary magazine
3. Win a writing contest
4. Learn to swim properly (this has been a goal for awhile and I just finally need to do this)
5. Take a vacation (!)
6. Finish editing my book and start trying to find an agent
7. Finish the first draft of my next book
8. Run another 10K
9. Find a few more easy, go-to recipes I can make for work night dinners
10. Find one new (or new-to-me) author that I love
Shannon Fox - Author 
Don’t know if it falls into your area of interest . . . Jim Butcher Dresden Files (I think he’s up to 15 books so far, and I’m rereading them in preparation for his next book in May – up to #12 in a shade under two months).
Also, John Scalzi’s Old Man War (and sequels).
Good luck with your other goals.
Ooh I’ll have to check those out, thanks! I’ve heard of the Dresden files, but never read any in the series.
Dresden’s a good read . . . the first book is probably the weakest (probably because it’s establishing the character), but buy does he hit his stride in subsequent books . . . many a nights I plan on reading 15-20 minutes before going to bed, and end up reading an hour and a half.
He also has a fantasy series I will be starting . . . although I can’t imagine it topping the Dresden files.
Old Man War is a throwback to Heinlein-like science fiction, and much different than the Dresden files.
Both writers have a style I appreciate; good dialogue, fast pace, and easy reading. Of course, they also have good characters and well-developed plots.
The only complaint I have with both is that it’s very discouraging for a new writer to read these . . . and realize just how far one is in one’s craft from these works.
That is a good point. But I think we often run that risk when we pick up just about any book.
Minus some notable exceptions.