And just like that 11/12 of 2015 is gone. I am not ready for 2016 to be here and I am most definitely not ready for the holidays.
That being said I have almost completely finished shopping for presents, aka I’m broke again, but I’ll give you a guess of what at least four people on my list are getting this year 😉 I got my flights and rental car for my NC return the month before last, so now it’s just the dreaded waiting period before I actually head down for the festivities. I keep hoping things will get a little less busy, but I think I just have to adapt and move forward with all of my schemes and dreams or give them up which isn’t an option.
November was a packed month because of work being incredibly busy and the start of the holiday season. Starting the second weekend in November I didn’t/don’t have a free weekend until the middle of January. Sometimes being an adult is rough, but it does mean I get to see a lot of my favorite people over a six-week span so that is definitely exciting.
Books and Bookish Things
By far the coolest “bookish” thing I did in November was attend the 39th Annual International Antiquarian Boston Book Fair. I saw books that were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars! It was insane how cool everything was. I went to a great panel about starting your own collection which featured the owner of Brattle Book Shop, here in Boston, and one of the co-owners/operators of B&B Rare Books in NYC!
I even asked about my “collection” of paperback Wuthering Heights and they gave some great advice on either going the completionist route, aka getting every copy of the book from everywhere, or just seriously focusing in on what I was interested in. Speaking of, I did order an amazing copy from New Zealand to add to my collection:
It’s sooooooo pretty.
As for reading, I’m surprised at how many I read and actually posted this month considering I took an unplanned two week reading and blogging hiatus. The MAJOR highlight of the month is that FOUR of these books, plus what I’m reading are from my TBR shelf, so take that 2015!
- Tropic of Cancer – Henry Miller
- The Oxford Murders – Guillermo Martínez
- The Beans of Egypt, Maine – Carolyn Chute
- Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes – Julia Moulin
- People of the Book – Geraldine Brooks
I also did the “most popular words” used on Facebook meme, but I decided not to share it because I just didn’t want to, but I did save it for you lot because it’s really is FaceBOOK for me:
Recent Acquisitions
I’m still doing relatively okay on my try not to buy everything you see kick. I received two galleys to read in the next few weeks (starred below) and I’m really excited about both of them. I also picked up Markinson’s book which I have more of on my list already that I need to catch up on!
- What Millennials Want From Work – Jennifer J Deal and Alec Levenson*
- The Miracle Girl – T.B. Markinson
- Prejudice & Pride – Lynn Messina*
Hopefully, I can keep the number of books coming in smaller than the number I’m reading for a bit longer. It’s already nice to see space slowly clearing up on my bigger TBR bookshelf!
Culture Coroner
Because I wasn’t busy enough being understaffed at work with a big event, I of course had to do all sorts of additional things on the weekends.
It’s incredibly blurry, but the photo to the right is from when we went on a double date to see Paula Poundstone at The Wilbur. Regardless of the controversy surrounding her, I thought she was hilarious and thoroughly enjoyed the show. There were a few times where I thought I was either going to cry or hyperventilate because I couldn’t catch my breath. I love her on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and I will definitely consider going to see her again next time she’s in Boston.
I already talked about the International Boston Antiquarian Book Fair above, but the weekend after that (aka the weekend before Thanksgiving) we did our annual friendsgiving which at some point was dubbed “Geoffsgiving” and it was as usual a lot of fun. We started the day off with mimosas and ended the day basically rolling ourselves to bed. The photo doesn’t show everyone, but we had 16 people there this year spread over three tables. It was the first year in a new location and I thought it went well. I spent that Friday relaxing and making handmade bread rolls and bread after my big work event on Wednesday. See I’m nuts remember?
I’m looking forward to the week I have off AND I’m at home in late December, but until then I just have to keep busy. I’m half-way through The Dante Club which has finally ensnared my imagination, it was a bit rough at first. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving (if you’re in the US) and or are planning some great times in the near future for all of the holidays fast approaching!
Can you believe 2016 is 31 days away?! I can’t. What are you looking forward to in December?
Book Fair sounds great! And I love going to shows at the Wilbur. One of my favorite venues in Boston!
Also I think I have the Dante Club but never read it, or tried to and couldn’t get into it. I think I bought it years ago at a used book store. Interested to hear your thoughts and maybe it’ll help me decide whether I should read it or not
I picked it up too at one of the used bookstores. It sounded great but it was definitely slow to start. I feel like if I knew more about his work I would appreciate it more.
It was great! I can’t wait for next year’s.
So have you decided which route are you going to take regarding Wuthering Heights? It’s one of my favorite classics. I long to reread it. Perhaps I’ll get the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.
I haven’t really decided as I still don’t consider myself a collector. More than likely it’ll be the later where I keep focusing on early American paperback editions.
I can’t believe 2015 is almost over either – I seem to have blinked and missed it!
I know! I just got a 2016 calendar from my alumni association and was like whoa wait a second…
I still haven’t bought my diary for next year, as buying it almost seems to be admitting its nearly here lol.
That book fair sounds awesome. I’m scared to start collecting anything book related, although I have thought about it, because I know it will lead me down a road to ruin.
That’s always been my biggest fear and why I’ve stayed away from anything other than very specific.