Updates

November and December Recap 2018

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I’m not sure how, but somehow I actually got this scheduled to post New Year’s Day! Sure it’s a (late) recap of November and December 2018 and you’ll have to wait another week or so for my full 2018 look back, but I’m still impressed 😀

I wish I spent New Year’s Even in a hot tub, but alas I did not. I actually spent the first weekend in December in a hot tub, because I quit my job and we spent a long weekend in snow-covered New Hampshire. Have you ever seen a more relaxed faced? Mine hasn’t been that relaxed in a long time! Quitting was the right thing to do and later in December I received a new job offer which I am VERY excited about. But the leaving my job and gearing up for a new one were once again responsible for my slow reading and non responsiveness in November/December, but I’m slowly getting back into things.

Now on to why most of you actually follow this blog, the books!

Books and Bookish Things
Thanks to quitting my job and spending a long weekend in New Hampshire reading and sitting in the hot tub I was able to make a serious dent in my Goodreads goal. It’s 60 for the year, and I won’t make it, but really it’s always 52—one book a week averaged out.

I always love the end of the year when I’m running behind on my Goodreads goal though. Sure it stresses me out a little, but what it really means is I get to read some of the lighter fan-fare on my shelves including a lot of Jane Austen fan-fiction or young adult novels. I also get sucked into random things like this:

Books Read
Similar to October, I only read one book in November (Crazy Rich Asians), but I have been reading Adam Tooze’s Crashed for what seems like months. It’s a 700+ page look at the 2008 financial crises and the interconnection of so many political and economical things! I picked up the pace after I left my job on the 30th and got through quite a few more books, many of which won’t be posted until early January, but hey I read them 😀 [I didn’t realize it at the time, but it’s a huge benefit of number the books continuously and not each year. Talk about some well invested blog clean up time!]

  1. Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians #1) – Kevin Kwan
  2. Bad Idea – Damon Suede
  3. Geography Club (Russel Middlebrook #1) – Brent Hartinger
  4. Freak Show – James St. James
  5. The Jane Austen Book Club – Karen Joy Fowler
  6. Boy Meets Hamster – Birdie Milano
  7. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Fantastic Beasts #2) – J.K. Rowling
  8. The Eagle of the Ninth (The Roman Britain Trilogy #1) – Rosemary Sutcliff
  9. Abridged Classics – John Atkinson
  10. A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo – Jill Twiss and E.G. Keller
  11. Longbourn – Jo Baker

Culture and Crafting Corner
The other reason I didn’t get a lot of books read in November is that I spent so much time knitting Christmas presents! I don’t know why I decided to but I decided to make quite a few of them and they were more complicated than I thought!

From left to right: Blanket for Tim, scarf for my aunt, and a cowl that I made three of for three friends.

We also saw Potted Potter in Boston! It was a lot of fun. I didn’t tell Tim what it was and he was definitely surprised as the show started and then rapidly moved forward. As much as I enjoyed it, and the super cute Joseph Maudsley, I think I enjoyed Puffs just a bit more. I’d still recommend seeing this one if it comes to your town though! (I’d see it again.)

I’m looking forward to MLK weekend when we go to NYC to see Kinky Boots before it leaves broadway, Wicked since I’ve never seen it, and the Harry Potter History of Magic exhibition at the New York Historical Society.

What’s Next?
I’m really hoping to make a dent in my TBR list. I updated it and it’s back up to over 225 again and that’s just INSANE. That doesn’t include the 3-4 galleys/ARCs that I’m trailing from 2018 which is embarrassing. I’m going to wrap up Sutcliff’s The Roman Britain trilogy and probably squeeze in a few lighter reads as I adjust to my new job. Then hopefully, I can buckle down and get some of these books off my shelves! I’ll get to my reading resolutions in my 2018 recap.

How was your December and/or your holiday season?

15 thoughts on “November and December Recap 2018”

  1. I saw Wicked on tour this year, and even though it was just at my local theatre with a small stage, it was still amazing! I can’t imagine how much better it would be to see it at a fancy theatre. Also, those Christmas presents look fantastic – I can barely knit a very straightforward scarf, so I am impressed.

    1. Thanks, they were interesting and I’m still trucking along on two of them. I’m excited for Wicked. I joined a book group when I first moved to Boston and Gregory Maguire came to it (he lives in the area) and discussed one of his other works with us, and yet I still haven’t seen it and it comes through here pretty regularly.

  2. Geoff, I had a lovely Christmas thank you and I was quite impressed that I managed to read five books over the busy festive period. Happy New Year to you and good luck with your new job! 😀

    1. Thanks! And I’m always impressed with how much reading everyone is able to do on top of everything going on in their lives.

  3. My to-read list is about the same size. I’d like to pick up the speed on mine, but I’ve also kind of given up on it. If it fits cleanly on the shelf, it’s all good.

    Happy New Year! On to better things!

  4. Congrats on the job move! I got behind in pretty much everything in December so I am finally seeing this news on your various accounts. 🙂
    Love all your knitted gifts. Nice work!
    Happy New Year!

Leave a Reply to Geoff WCancel reply