2011 and all its changes

So we've reached our awesome one-year anniversary on YAtopia. We haven't lost any members, blown anything up, or created a max exodus from the internet. Unfortunately, we also haven't taken over the world or cured the common cold...so I guess that about breaks us even.

All of us YAtopians had a busy, busy year. Between book deals, agents, new group blogs, etc, plus—getting to take all of you on our journeys with us. I read more books last year than I had in the five years put together before that. My total was 50, which is really small beans compared to what some people read (150?! Geeeeez). I'm keeping my goal the same for this year, because I came really close to not reaching it in 2011 and I don't want it to become something I stress about.

But, within those 50 books, I found and fell in love with some amazing stories, characters, and authors. Sean Olin, Isaac Marion, Hannah Moskowitz, Maggie Stiefvater... I will be a loyal fan of theirs and read anything they release, because they're amazing.

2011, I also made a big leap into contemporary fiction. I read some paranormal, not much dystopian, but a lot of contemporary—namely, thrillers and horror. Which is a pretty big change for me.

(At the end of 2011 and into 2012, I'm slowly, very slowly, starting to draw again. Which is both frustrating because I'm so out of practice, but happy because I've missed putting my characters down onto paper in the form of pictures.)

All in all, 2011 contained a lot of changes, new things, and surprising things for me. What new stuff did you encounter in 2011? New authors/series you fell in love with? A new type of book you tried and loved (or didn't love)? Even non-book related. Did you get into any new music, movies, hobbies?

Last but not least, I hope everyone is getting their submissions and pitches ready for the session with eight Entangled Publishing editors on January 25th. See this post for more details. The date is creeping up fast, so hurry!