I. Am. Exhausted.
In case you didn’t know, June was an incredibly busy month from being an international jet setter to participating in the marriage of two of my good friends, to one of the busiest times of the year at work, I have good reason to be.
First, I’ll start you off with a photo of Caroline and Nick’s first dance. It’s probably what they were most worried about, but it was excellent! We all had an amazing time and it’s hard to believe they’re FINALLY married. YAY! Here is a shot of the water as the sun went down. This was the view of all the guests during the ceremony:
Now on to the bookish. Don’t worry, I will talk about Spain, but you’re only going to get a VERY brief preview (AKA a lot of panoramas at the VERY end of this very long post).
Books and Bookish
Even though I was very busy, books were involved. You’re not going to get the full bookish breakdown as I plan to do an entire post on Bookish Madrid: Don Quixote, Biblioteca Nacional de España, the bookstores, Feria del Libro de Madrid (the only photo you get to the right), etc. There’s so much to talk about!
The overwhelming majority of the month was spent NOT reading Don Quixote (Part 1 & Part 2). I didn’t realize how much we were doing while traveling or how tired we would be every day! I read a bit here and there, but I’ve only really made progress since we got back a week ago, but then there was the wedding so yeah. I have big intentions and plan to have the first of three posts relating to it ready for next week!
Prior to that I did squeeze in three books, all of which were on my TBR shelf/list and one which was a Classics Club read.
- The Witch of Portobello – Paulo Coelho
- Eleven Minutes – Paulo Coelho
- The Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka
It’s the first one, however, that was “epic” for my blog. Paulo Coelho not only retweeted my review, but he shared it on Facebook. I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why my visitor count exploded (WordPress notified me) and when I did I was stunned:
I mean I’ve had authors share my responses before and even thank me, but this was HUGE. I’m talking I got more views over a two-day period than I usually get in a month. That one post has surpassed every other post to become the most viewed in less than a month. (The previous was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and it’s 1,000 behind and has been up since 2012.)
I was still reeling from the excitement of the first post when I noticed a spike again yesterday and Paulo Coelho had shared ANOTHER post, this time it was from last year’s response to Veronika Decides to Die. Needless to say I’ve just been grinning like crazy for over two weeks now.
Recent Acquisitions
I was somewhat responsible this month only buying two books not associated with my trip to Spain, but then in Spain I went a little crazy. I can read in Spanish so obviously I was like I WANT ALL THE BOOKS. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it later, but I was so overwhelmed I pretty much stuck with translations of books I loved, but I did grab an Isabel Allende novel to have one actually written in Spanish.
- El cuaderno de Maya – Isabel Allende (Maya’s Notebook)
- Orgullo y Prejuicio – Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)
- Dark Quartet – Lynne Reid Banks (not pictured – Kindle)
- Cumbres borrascosas – Emily Brontë (Wuthering Heights)
- This Book is Gay – James Dawson
- Harry Potter y la cámara secreta – J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter y el prisionero de Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
AND on top of that I picked up copies of Harry Potter in Turkish and Catalan that I’ll (probably) never be able to read, but I wanted to add to my “These are so cool, look at where I’ve been bookshelf”:
Oh and you know, in case you missed it, I released my one year anniversary of Come Read with Me podcast, Episode 6 where my friend Emily and I discussed I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I had to edit it on top of everything else going on this month, so yeah.
What’s Next?
A break. A nice long break from rushing around and trying to get so much done without having time to take a breath. This will hopefully include a few beach days and a lot of light reading. My biggest plan is to finish Don Quixote (Part 1 and Part 2) and then to really tackle more of my TBR pile before I move later this year.
And as promised here are panoramas from Spain! I’ve put them in order and will share more photos once I’ve gone through all of them and shared them with my family first.
How awesome that Coelho retweeted your reviews! That has to feel great. I hope you enjoyed Spain. I went to Barcelona for a ”girls’ weekend” with some friends a couple of years ago and fell in love with the city, its amazing architecture, and its laid-back vibe. Love, love, love Barcelona.
I know! Like I said, I’ve been grinning like a fool for two weeks. Barcelona was great, but I fell in love with Madrid. Maybe it’s because we saw it first, but I also liked it’s vibe (and seeming lack of international tourists).
It looks like you had a lot fun this month. I love your new books. And, congrats on the Paulo Coelho posts! Enjoy a little break!
It was so much fun and thanks!
How amazing Geoff, congratulations! The best I’ve had is an author’s wife tweet me to say he liked my review and I was excited enough about that! Well done.
Thanks! It’s weird, I’ve had a few authors earlier in their career respond or share, but this was a different level entirely.
Isn’t it great though that he still wants to interact with readers
I know! I told someone that I was so glad it was an author I respect and that I appreciate his works so much already.
Sounds like you’ve had great, if busy, month. Congratulations on Paulo Coelho sharing your post, and I look forward to seeing more photos from Spain 🙂
Thanks!
So no urge to learn Turkish to read your new book?
Not at all. I’ll stick with Spanish.
Not a fan of Coelho but it must be really, really awesome to get those responses!
Fair enough and it really was. For me, I like his simplicity when it comes to telling a story and the language he chooses, but again part of that is the translator.
I can’t make an assessment because I haven’t read him yet (that’s why I’m not a fan).
Wonderful photos – brought back many memories for me to see Barcelona and Sitges. Last time i was in Barcelona they were celebrating some day or other when the tradition is to buy a book for your girlfriend/boyfriend so The Ramblas was full of those book stalls like the ones in your photo. would be wonderful if that tradition became more global
YES! If I remember correctly it’s how they celebrate St. George’s (Jordi’s) day with roses and books! A couple of our guides told us about it and I was like PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Plus it wouldn’t interfere with our Valentine’s day, it’s 4/23!
I was struggling to recall the saints name, half thinking it was St George so thanks for confirming.
Loving the new books, especially Harry Potter! I have a couple other editions as well, but I’d love to own more. Also loving the Spain pictures, and that’s awesome about Coelho! And congratulations to your friends! 🙂
Thanks! I figured I would only get HP if I visited the country 🙂 And just wait I have over 1000 Spain pictures I’m going to link to eventually.
GOOD! I hope so. I’ll be doing the same with my Europe pictures. No regrets.
I know I’m super duper behind, but wow that’s awesome about Coelho! Also I love the Spain pictures–as I get caught up on reading your blog it looks like I’ll get to see more of them! 🙂 I’m going to Germany in September and I imagine I’ll also do a lot less reading than I think I will, but I doubt I’ll let that stop me from bringing books to read!
Thanks! Yup I posted links to all 1100 or so of them. Can’t wait to read about your Germany trip.