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August 2013 Recap

What a busy month! It’s amazing how even though I didn’t work a full week at work the entire month, it feels like I’ve done nothing but work! I guess that’s part of gearing up for the students to return. I did get the amazing postcard, below left, from my friend Courtney who clearly knows me better than she should!

However, reading was seriously delayed this month as I spent TWO WEEKS trekking through Les Misérables and then as soon as I finished I immediately jumped into Austen in August! And the most memorable aspect again was re-discovering the HORRIBLE typo (above right) that occurs in the last 10 pages of my edition of Pride and Prejudice. I mean of ALL the words to get wrong in THAT book, that is not the one you want to misspell. In addition to the original I read three Austen fan-fiction novels (The Missing Manuscript of Jane AustenThe Darcys and the BingleysThe Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen) and a Brontë fan-fiction novel, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë. And surprisingly three of these books were library books! 

Recent Acquisitions

This month I only purchased two books! I got a copy of Alan Hollinghurst’s The Stranger’s Child which I’ve tried to read once before but it wasn’t the right time and I purchased a digital copy of Ben Fountain’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk after seeing a few interesting reviews. In addition, my friend Alie, who strangely supports my Austen obsession, sent me the above right, Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart and I can’t wait to read it and probably the other book Pattillo wrote, Jane Austen Ruined My Life.

In addition I pulled a few books from the library and still have three galleys I need to catch up on. Hopefully I can get through those next month as I’m hopefully going to squeeze in two Atwood novels before seeing her read from her newest novel in late September!

Challenge Progress
This was a strategic month for challenges. Although I only read one official book, it (thankfully) counted for all three challenges AND The Classics Club. Les Misérables nearly defeated me, but I persisted and finished the novel. I’m glad I read it, but if for any reason I ever decide a re-read is necessary I will stick to an abridged version. In addition to this I read a bonus Mount TBR book, The Darcys and the Bingleys. What this means overall is that I only have three books remaining for my 2013 Challenges: No NameWar and Peace, and Wuthering Heights.

  • Mount TBR Reading Challenge
    • Monthly Progress: 1 book + 1 not listed
    • Overall Progress – 10/12 (83%) + 13 not listed
  • Back to the Classics Challenge
    • Monthly Progress: 1 book
    • Overall Progress – 9/11 (82%)
  • Tea and Books Reading Challenge
    • Monthly Progress: 1 book
    • Overall Progress – 3/4 (75%) + 2 not listed (Les Misérables is so long it counts for two books!)
  • The Classics Club
    • Monthly Progress: 1 book
    • Overall Progress – 27/100 (27%)

What’s Next?
I’m going to keep it light this next month and if I approach any challenge book it will probably be a re-read of Wuthering Heights. I have a copy of Maggie Shipstead’s Seating Arrangements I heard about on a podcast and am going to read that next. And if time allows I’m going to try to squeeze in Atwood’s Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood as she will be reading from the final installment of the trilogy, MaddAddam, when I hear her speak late next month.

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