August Recap 2015

I’m not sure about the rest of the world, but fall is definitely starting to arrive in New England. I’ve already seen Pumpkin Spice Lattes on people’s social media and Tim just bought Pumpkin Spice Coffeemate. It is a little weird though, last week was beautiful and temperate and then this week we’re back into the 90s (mid 30C’s) and it’s hella humid.

In case I wasn’t stressed enough with everything else I moved over the past few weeks. If you follow me on other social media this isn’t a surprise. I didn’t move far, less than eight miles driving, but I’d been living in the same place for FIVE YEARS. I was amazed at how much I managed to accumulate.

On the blog I was able to start a new self-reflection/professional development section to help quantify what I get out of blogging, aside from great friends and relaxation. So be sure to check out the Intro and Part 1. Part 2 is this coming Saturday (09/05).

Books and Bookish Things
As I said above, I moved. That means I have a new local library! I’d already been to check it out, but I desperately need to get over there to renew my expired card. We have two systems up here. It’s a quarter of a mile further than my old one was, but I have the option of walking along the beach to get to this one! Swanky right?

I created a new Nonfiction page on the blog, just to keep track of the nonfiction that I read in a more organized way. I’m going to be reading a lot more professional development type books in the coming months and it’ll be great to have a quick resource for those.

At the last-minute I was able to get out Episode 7 of Come Read With Me: The Adventures of Captain Underpants (episode link) which I recorded last month and that was AFTER a weekend away which I’ll talk about in Culture Corner, below!

I finally framed my Jane Austen print, Alie got me for my birthday/Christmas last year, above left. I will probably get a matte custom cut because I think a dark one (like the blue one) would look really good! And I started a new journal, above right. I knew it would be sometime in August, but my old one was dilapidated. The bungee cord was barely staying on. So far I’ve stuck with green ink while writing and it looks great!

Now for what I read, I read 10 books again this month! I won’t finish posting books from August until the second week in September! I think the highlights of the month were the Marvel Illustrated Pride & Prejudice, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and Ishmael (which posts on Friday). I did squeeze in a Classic’s Club book and a couple of nonfiction pieces!

• What Color is Your Parachute? 2016 – Richard Bolles
• Pride & Prejudice (Marvel Illustrated) – Nancy Butler & Hugo Petrus (Illustrator)
• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – Susanna Clarke
• Managing Up (The 20-Minute Manager Series) – Harvard Business Review
• Symposium – Plato
• Ishmael – Daniel Quinn
• Not Gay – Jane Ward
• The Wretched of Muirwood (Legends of Muirwood #1) – Jeff Wheeler
• The Blight of Muirwood (Legends of Muirwood #2) – Jeff Wheeler
• The Scourge of Muirwood (Legends of Muirwood #3) – Jeff Wheeler

Recent Acquisitions
I was VERY proud of myself this month. After donating/selling 50+ books I only brought in six. Now this might sound strange, but I’ve already read one, one I will read shortly and three will stay on my forever shelf 😀 I did get two review copies, but both I think will help me professionally. And this was huge y’all, I don’t think you understand! I went to TWO used bookstores in the Berkshires, The Bookloft and Yellow House Books (their links), and didn’t buy ANYTHING! I did find a cool biography of Emily Brontë, but I didn’t want to pay $25 for it.

• What Color is Your Parachute? 2016 – Richard Bolles
• Emma (Marvel Illustrated) – Nancy Butler & Janet Lee (Illustrator)
• Northanger Abbey (Marvel Illustrated) – Nancy Butler & Janet Lee (Illustrator)
• Sense & Sensibility (Marvel Illustrated) – Nancy Butler & Sonny Liew (Illustrator)
• Doing Good Better – William MacAskill
• Arena Mode (Arena Mode Saga #1) – Blake Northcott

You only get one guess for which will be forever books and which are professional development 😉

Culture Corner
That’s right, I’m bringing it back! I don’t have the time/energy to be able to do full Culture Corner posts, so I wanted to add the section in here with photos at the very least! I’ll write a description on the photos, so enjoy! In addition to all the photos, we did a cooking class at a local Sur la Table which was so much fun.

Went to Throwing Shade Live in Cambridge.

We went to Tanglewood for the first time and already have plans to return to Western MA this year and Tanglewood next season.

We saw Idina Menzel at Tanglewood. It was amazing and I’m glad we did it, the venue was excellent!

We also took a relaxing beach day at Natasket Beach in Hull, MA. This was when we got there.

This was when we left, about three hours later.

What’s Next?
As I mentioned above I’m going to read quite a few “professional development” books over the next few weeks. The good part is that many are interesting to not just my profession, a few deal with philanthropy as a whole, volunteering and how to engage donors and volunteers. And then there are the “bogged down” ones, like those dealing with managing up or how to ask for a major donation or write an appeal.

I’ll try to mix in some fun reads, because I WILL need them to clear my head. Plus I really should start making a dent on my TBR pile, which I did last month, too bad most were digital. And if all else fails you can count on a Jane Austen book with our Jane Austen Book Club doing Sense and Sensibility this month.

Are you ready for fall? I can’t wait to wear sweaters and see the leaves change. (AKA curl up with a book and drink hot cider.)