I can’t believe it’s December. My birthday and my annual trek back to NC are in 12 days and it’s mind-boggling to think how fast the year has gone.
November felt especially short as I had a couple of days off and was out a couple of days at the beginning of this month, but on to the post!
Since the November update, I’ve joined another challenge, read two books (Friday Night Lights and I’ll Get There. It Better Be Worth The Trip.), and just last night finished Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I’m starting to re-read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for the Somerville Books into Movies book group.
Aside from reading, I’ve kept busy with work (it’s the year-end fundraising season) and holiday shopping. I thought I finished shopping last month, but wasn’t and only have one last item to buy.
This past weekend Tom and I had his nieces for the weekend and we had a lot of fun. I mentioned it in a previous post, so I won’t go into too much detail. Let’s just say my birthday celebrations have already started even though I’d prefer to disappear. The two additions to our weekend with Tom’s nieces were the Somerville Public Library to work on an extra credit project for the oldest, and seeing Arthur Christmas, which was adorable! And to cap off the weekend we had dinner at Border Cafe in Cambridge with their parents.
Last week I mentioned buying more books during Small Business Saturday. I ended up buying five books and a mighty wallet (which is awesome – the link is the one I purchased)! Of the books I purchased, Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje, and The Color Purple by Alice Walker, are all either on my reading list or for a challenge next year. also purchased The Darcys and the Bingleys by Marsha Altman, and am incredibly wary because of my prudish sensibilities and the subject matter. I will read it, but didn’t read the blurb on the back before purchasing it and am not too impressed with the premise. A week or so before that, I purchased Austenland by Shannon Hale in order to get free shipping for a Christmas present. Who wouldn’t rather buy a book for $2 than pay $5 for shipping?!?
What did you think of Little Women? The movie version with Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst, and Christian Bale is one of my favorite winter-time movies to watch – not because it’s particularly amazing, but it’s just so cozy and comforting.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. It turned a bit preachy at the end, but overall I really enjoyed it and am sad it took me this long to read it. I am planning on watching the movie version this weekend as I only vaguely remember watching it growing up and want to see how they did with the adaptation.