Welcome to the Read.Write.Repeat. monthly wrap-up. Every month, I give a quick overview of what books I read, the progress made on the 100 Best Novels goal, a few book-related links, and general blog news.
September flew by, as it so often does. I finally have found my groove for the semester and things are going pretty smoothly. Teaching five days a week really exhausts me and Kevin has been traveling a lot for work, so I'm still very worn down, but things are slowly moving in a more balanced direction. As it often feels with fall semester, I'm just trying to make it to Fall Break at this point. We're going to D.C. and Baltimore for the weekend for our anniversary and I could not be more excited. We both need the break and the time to relax and travel together.
For the moment, though, things just keep plugging along. I did so much reading this month. Kevin's frequent travels have a few upsides, one of which is the amount of time it gives me to be productive. I've blazed through grading and lesson planning and TV binging and lots of books. I mean, I'd rather have him home than do any of those things, but it helps to stay busy while he's gone.
This month did have one particularly notable accomplishment: I surpassed my 2015 reading count this month. Considering that I was planning to cut back and slow down this year, this is definitely not what I expected to be saying in September. I've been reading such a broad range of things this year and that's been really great. I think when I finish the Modern Library challenge, I want to do some sort of diversity challenge for myself - reading authors from different backgrounds from me, in genres that are outside my norm, about things I don't usually gravitate toward, etc.
One last book related thing before I jump to the stats for the month. I went to a book club for the first time last week. While it doesn't always come across this way, I am very introverted, so doing this was a big step out of my comfort zone. It's a group in Greensboro that I discovered shortly after we first moved here two years ago. Y'all....it took me two years to work up the nerve to go. But, Kevin was out of town and they were discussing Station Eleven, which you know I love, so I bit the bullet and went. I am so glad I did. It was fun and it was great to sit and talk with people about literature who love it as much as I do. I don't often get to do that offline. They are reading A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson next month and it's been on my TBR for ages, so I think I'm going to go again. I was really proud of myself for stepping outside of my comfort zone and happy that it had such a rewarding payoff.
September News
This month did have one particularly notable accomplishment: I surpassed my 2015 reading count this month. Considering that I was planning to cut back and slow down this year, this is definitely not what I expected to be saying in September. I've been reading such a broad range of things this year and that's been really great. I think when I finish the Modern Library challenge, I want to do some sort of diversity challenge for myself - reading authors from different backgrounds from me, in genres that are outside my norm, about things I don't usually gravitate toward, etc.
One last book related thing before I jump to the stats for the month. I went to a book club for the first time last week. While it doesn't always come across this way, I am very introverted, so doing this was a big step out of my comfort zone. It's a group in Greensboro that I discovered shortly after we first moved here two years ago. Y'all....it took me two years to work up the nerve to go. But, Kevin was out of town and they were discussing Station Eleven, which you know I love, so I bit the bullet and went. I am so glad I did. It was fun and it was great to sit and talk with people about literature who love it as much as I do. I don't often get to do that offline. They are reading A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson next month and it's been on my TBR for ages, so I think I'm going to go again. I was really proud of myself for stepping outside of my comfort zone and happy that it had such a rewarding payoff.
Books Reviewed
- The Golden Bowl - Henry James
- Sam's Letters to Jennifer - James Patterson
- The Tiger Queens - Stephanie Thornton
- Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly
- Death Comes for the Archbishop - Willa Cather
- 1984 - George Orwell
- Fates and Furies - Lauren Groff
- The Irresistible Revolution - Shane Claiborne
- The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo
- Hamilton - Lin-Manuel Miranda & Jeremy McCarter
- Under the Volcano - Malcolm Lowry
- Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham
Books Read
- Big Girls Don't Cry - Rebecca Traister
- Rice Noodle Fish - Matt Goulding
- Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly
- Snobs - Julian Fellowes
- The Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles
- The Light Between Oceans - M. L. Stedman
- The Book of Unknown Americans - Cristina Henriquez
- All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
- The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
- Emily of New Moon - L. M. Montgomery
- Love Does - Bob Goff
- Ironweed - William Kennedy
- The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith
Pages Read: 4,729
Favorite Book Read: I found The Book of Unknown Americans to be so powerful, in addition to the wonderful writing. Everyone engaged in the immigration debate in our country should have to read this. Review coming October 17.
2016 Monthly Goals
- 3 100 Best Novels
The Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
Ironweed - William Kennedy
74% complete with total challenge - 1 Faith-Centered or Philosophical Book
Love Does - Bob Goff - 1 Nonfiction
Big Girls Don't Cry - Rebecca Traister
Rice Noodle Fish - Matt Goulding
Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly - 1 from On Reserve
Snobs - Julian Fellowes
The Light Between Oceans - M. L. Stedman
The Book of Unknown Americans - Cristina Henriquez
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Emily of New Moon - L. M. Montgomery
Elsewhere Online...
Once again, I've been too busy this month to do much surfing of the web...
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One thing I'm hoping to do in this next month is read a scary book for Halloween. I very rarely do themed reads, but a few years back I read Night Film in October. It scared the pants off of me and I loved getting into the spirit of the season, too. I read plenty of thrillers, but they are rarely truly scary. Any recommendations?
Penpal by Dathan Auerbach. So outrageously good, I'll send you my compy if you can't find one, it's sort of indie!
ReplyDeleteLooks like my library doesn't have it :( Is yours a kindle copy? I don't want to make you ship one cross country!
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