Author: Geoff W

Reading my way through life.
Meme, The Classics Club

The Classics Club – April 2014 Meme

Geoff W

Classics ClubThis month’s question from The Classics Club is super specific, but after almost two years I guess they would have to be start getting specific.

Contemplate your favorite classic to date. When was the book written? Why would you say it has been preserved by the ages? Do you think it will still be respected/treasured 100 years from now?

My immediate thought was any of Jane Austen’s novels and those will definitely be around for many years to come. Her wit and way with words is excellently placed when she was living but her stories and characters have a timelessness about them. So I went to my next thought, the works of Anne Brontë: Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

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ARC, Books

Book 271: Too Busy For Love – Tasmin Baker

Geoff W

I always wonder whether to count novellas as full books when I’m tallying for the year, but why shouldn’t I? I won’t lie and say I requested a copy of this book from the publisher because of the blurb, I’ll be completely honest and say it was the cover. I received a copy of this from the publisher and received no compensation for my honest opinion.

So clearly this is a case where the marketing worked and will probably get the book a lot more readers than the story itself. I mean just take a moment to appreciate it. Now, I don’t want to completely mislead you, the novella wasn’t horrible, it just could’ve been so much better. I think the biggest problem I had with the novel was that I couldn’t tell where the story was set and the language was off. There seemed to be a strange mixture of American, British and Australian English and this really kept me out of the story.

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Personal Project, Willpower

The Willpower Instinct Project – Week 6

Geoff W

McGonigal, Kelly - The Willpower InstinctAfter last week, I definitely noticed progress on the ridiculous snacking and overeating. That doesn’t mean I was 100% done with it, had a eww what is wrong with me moment on Thursday when I was eating subconsciously and caught myself. Any sort of progress these days is great!

This week McGonigal asked us to really look at how guilt, promise of relief and external circumstances affect our willpower, more specifically: relief when stressed, what terrifies us (news stories for example), how do we respond to setbacks and how we use our feel-good feelings.

In the past my stress release came from reading and eating junk food. I’ve, thankfully, cut back on the junk food and reading remains a stress release, but as I’ve mentioned on my new blog, meditation has really helped a lot with de-stressing and mental clarity recently. I don’t generally get stressed from external factors like the news or media, but I do often get stressed out think about my future and I have spent a lot of time over the past few months trying to stay in the moment and not fret so much about the future.

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Books

Book 270: Who Murdered Chaucer? – Jones, Yeager, Dolan, Fletcher & Dor

Geoff W

I know I say this often, but what a fascinating read, but what’s most exciting is that this is a work of nonfiction. I don’t generally read a lot of nonfiction, but after reading about this on a site ages ago (at least a year ago) and having just finished A Burnable Book, I knew this was a great time to read it. Needless to say I absolutely plan on finding a full biography of Chaucer.

Who Murdered Chaucer? focuses on the last 20(ish) years of Chaucer’s life, but more so on the political climate, which is vital to interpreting Chaucer’s writings and why so few survived, I found. And come on, the man lived 150 years before and is considered the father of English poetry, why does Shakespeare get all the credit? I mean sure Shakespeare wrote A LOT, but just this next paragraph should make you want to learn more about Geoffrey Chaucer.

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Workout Wednesday

Workout Wednesday – April 2014

Geoff W

2014 04-08 Fool's Dual T-Shirt and BibSo remember in May and June of last year when I started Workout Wednesday’s? Remember my passionate statements, in both posts, “I hate running”? Don’t believe me, go to the homepage and search “I hate running,” keep the quotation marks because it’s in there exactly and both of those posts will come up. What’s funny is this entire post is pretty much just about running!

While I wouldn’t put it at the top of my favorite things list, I’ve definitely gotten to the point where I find enjoyment in it. I really must, in April I even read a book about running (What I Talk About When I Talk About Running) and I somehow convinced myself to put both a 10k and a half-marathon on my 30 before 30 list. I’m also overly excited about being able to run outside again and take long walks where Caroline and I plan out our lives now the days are longer and the weather much more cooperative, so clearly there’s been some change of heart…

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