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.
November News
It's the most wonderful time of the year! I love the holiday season, even when it means lots of travel. Kevin and I just returned from a week-long trip to the Midwest, our only one planned for this year's holidays. It involved 24+ hours in the car and many nights away from our own bed; to say we are happy to be home would be an understatement. Still, it was great to spend time with family, particularly an impromptu breakfast with my aging grandparents.
In terms of reading and writing related goals, November turned out to be a bit of a flop. All the travel (that Florida trip was amazing) seriously derailed my reading, blogging, and NaNoWriMo efforts. I had such lofty goals for myself. I did complete over 27,000 words for NaNoWriMo, a number with which I'm not really very satisfied. Still, I've been intentional to remind myself that it's 27,000 more words than I have written in a long, long time, so that's a success in and of itself. All the writing in the first half of the month kept me away from reading a blogging, a side effect I had foolishly discounted and very much disdained. I missed writing for the blog and I missed reading! I know my posts were infrequent in November and I think we can all collectively blame my NaNoWriMo efforts for that. I promise a return to normalcy in December. This fall has been so abnormal when it comes to my blogging schedule and I am really ready to get back on track.
In terms of reading and writing related goals, November turned out to be a bit of a flop. All the travel (that Florida trip was amazing) seriously derailed my reading, blogging, and NaNoWriMo efforts. I had such lofty goals for myself. I did complete over 27,000 words for NaNoWriMo, a number with which I'm not really very satisfied. Still, I've been intentional to remind myself that it's 27,000 more words than I have written in a long, long time, so that's a success in and of itself. All the writing in the first half of the month kept me away from reading a blogging, a side effect I had foolishly discounted and very much disdained. I missed writing for the blog and I missed reading! I know my posts were infrequent in November and I think we can all collectively blame my NaNoWriMo efforts for that. I promise a return to normalcy in December. This fall has been so abnormal when it comes to my blogging schedule and I am really ready to get back on track.
Books Reviewed
- After Alice - Gregory Maguire
- Mendocino Fire - Elizabeth Tallent
- Food Whore - Jessica Tom
- The Indifferent Stars Above - Daniel James Brown
- All the Stars in the Heavens - Adriana Trigiani
- Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys
- Hard Choices - Hillary Rodham Clinton
Books Read
- Food Whore - Jessica Tom
- Hard Choices - Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
- The Magicians - Lev Grossman
- Russka - Edward Rutherfurd
- The Dead Lands - Benjamin Percy
Pages Read: 3,114
Favorite Book Read: Call me a total nerd, but I really enjoyed Hillary Rodham Clinton's latest memoir, Hard Choices.
100 Best Novels Progress
- None. Ugh. I really need to prioritize this next year...
- 44% complete
2015 TBR Pile Challenge Progress
I have two left to finish: The Grapes of Wrath and Jesus Feminist. I am partway through each, although Steinbeck has been a yearlong struggle. I'm headed to the library to pick up the audiobook version the classic novel as a last ditch effort. I'm determined to conquer this challenge. Sadly, Roof Beam Reader is not hosting it next year, but I'm looking into some other reading challenges in which to participate.
Articles
10 Books for Adults That Are Just as Magical as the Harry Potter Series. I love this list for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is it was written by Amy over at Read A Latte. I was lucky enough to be her TBTB Secret Santa recipient last year.
A meal inspired by 12 literary heroines
25 Books Every Pop Culture Nerd Needs to Read
Books to read during the Christmas season!
If YA Book Titles Were Honest
This TEDtalk was really inspiring to me. I think I'd like to try this challenge at some point.
17 YA Novels That Are Morally Complicated
The New York Times released its list of 100 Notable Books of 2015
Here are the 9 Books President Obama Bought on Small Business Saturday. Someone's getting an awful lot of Cynthia Voigt for Christmas. Speaking of the President, here he is talking about how novels have been important in his life.
A meal inspired by 12 literary heroines
25 Books Every Pop Culture Nerd Needs to Read
Books to read during the Christmas season!
If YA Book Titles Were Honest
This TEDtalk was really inspiring to me. I think I'd like to try this challenge at some point.
17 YA Novels That Are Morally Complicated
The New York Times released its list of 100 Notable Books of 2015
Here are the 9 Books President Obama Bought on Small Business Saturday. Someone's getting an awful lot of Cynthia Voigt for Christmas. Speaking of the President, here he is talking about how novels have been important in his life.
~ ~ ~
I love the holiday season and am particularly excited to not be traveling in December this year, opening up much more time for me to sit fireside and read. After being so distracted by NaNoWriMo, I'm feeling a fresh excitement for reading and tackling my TBR list. I tend to get this way as we approach the end of the year and the start of the new one.
As we head into this final month of 2015, you can expect the typical end-of-the-year posts from me, as well as normal book reviews. I'm also spending some time dreaming up ideas and goals for the 2016 year. If there's anything you'd specifically like to see here (or something you'd like to see more or less of), let me know!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
As we head into this final month of 2015, you can expect the typical end-of-the-year posts from me, as well as normal book reviews. I'm also spending some time dreaming up ideas and goals for the 2016 year. If there's anything you'd specifically like to see here (or something you'd like to see more or less of), let me know!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
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