Tag: Jane Austen

Updates

June Recap 2014

Geoff W

I can’t believe we’ve already been in 2014 for six months and June is gone. It was another busy month. I crossed four things off my 30 x 30 list: spend a week in NYC with Tara, visit the de Cordova sculpture Park and Museum, spend a day at the beach and take a day hike. There was a fifth I really wanted to do, but I just couldn’t quite get to it, oh well I’m mostly on track, but will need to pick up the pace if I want to finish everything by December 21st!

Books and Bookish
2014 06-03 Quarterly Book RiotIt was a VERY bookish month. I got my very first Book Riot Quarterly (right). I was impressed with what all I got, but was a bit overwhelmed with the books. I’m not so sure the four books was necessary, but I loved the smaller book related gifts like the literary playing cards (below) and the library card pencil pouch! Mostly I was peeved that one of the books we received was the start of a series. I’m all for series, but don’t send one book in a series regardless of if the author provides it, it smacks of “buy the rest of my books,” and just irks me. If it ends up being a great book I’ll gladly eat my words. Regardless, as everyone else has previously noted I got much more than what I paid for in the box.

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Updates

April 2014 Recap

Geoff W

2014 04-03 Visit to the BooksmithI couldn’t start two monthly recaps in a row with book typos (don’t worry there is one), but I do apologize in advance, this is another long post!

so instead I thought I would start with one of my #100happydays photos. I took this photo on day three when I went down to sell some of my read books during lunch. Shockingly I only came away with two books (one a present) and ordered a third! Again, you’ll hear more about those later.

Let’s see, what else has happened this month? I had an AWESOME nerdy weekend a few weekends ago and loved every minute of it, even though it was exhausting. I started dating again. I ran a 5k and crossed running a sub-36:00 5k off my 30 x 30 list. As I mentioned last month, I launched a new blog (launch post) with my best friend from growing up called Now Entering Adulthood (actual link) about our last few months of our twenties and the first few of our thirties. Oh AND I created a Tumblr [Deleted January 2025] to compile my writings on both blogs and my Instagram pictures together! And well generally I had a great month!

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2014 Challenges, Books

Book 255: The French Lieutenant’s Woman – John Fowles

Geoff W

So I finally got around to reading The French Lieutenant’s Woman. I won this book as part of Robert’s blogoversary give away almost two years ago back in August of 2012. And all I have to say is shame on me for waiting this long to read it. Not only am I ashamed because it was such a wonderful book, but I am ashamed because it inspired one of my favorite posts of 101 Books of all time: 101 Books Guide to Carrying an Embarrassing Book in Public.

I’d love to say that Fowles’ mentioning of Jane Austen didn’t sway me, but of course it did a little, but overall that was minuscule compared to the mastery Fowles showed in this novel and he mentioned Austen and her works MULTIPLE times! But it wasn’t this that made the book so great, it was the omniscient unidentified narrator and the breaking of the fourth wall (I guess it’s called that in reading as well).

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Updates

January 2014 Recap

Geoff W

In case you missed it, I got back on track with Workout Wednesday AND Culture Corner this month and I cannot wait to talk about next month’s Culture Corner or even March’s (since I already know what’s coming)! If you follow me on Instagram you’ll get hints ahead of time because I Instagram most of the pictures for the square quality 🙂 Now on to recapping January!

As I’m writing this I’ve realized that without challenges to recap these posts are going to be much less structured and more random, but that could be a good thing. So to start with some NON book fun:

2014 01-27 Crafternoon = Starting a New Scarf!The last weekend of the month, my friend Caroline, her fiance, Nick, and I had a crafternoon while we watched the film adaptation of Amistad for our book group. (Caroline and I crocheted while Nick hilariously made a hemp anklet/bracelet.)

Now don’t get your expectations up too much, I haven’t crocheted anything since I finished my big scarf back in November or the scarf I made for my friend Peter, and I’m just doing the same stitch again, but I’m excited. This scarf will be Carolina blue and white and will have long vertical stripes rather than short horizontal stripes. Don’t worry there will be an after picture and maybe after this scarf I will get more adventurous, but no promises 🙂

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2014 Challenges, Books

Book 252: The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice (Woods Hole Quartet #1) – Abigail Reynolds

Geoff W

I love it when a book doesn’t try to be something that it’s not and this is a perfect example of that. Although, this was a retelling of Pride and Prejudice there was no struggle to make sure that everything fit within the story 100%. Abigail Reynolds did a great job filling in what she wanted and didn’t worry too much about matching up every character or sticking to the full story. And then after I finished I found out that this was the first book in a series and I was of course even MORE excited!

I enjoyed this book from the very first page! It didn’t hurt that the book was set in Massachusetts, Cape Cod to be specific, and mentions Boston on a couple of occasions. The book opens with Cassie and her friend Erin working in their lab at the world-famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and then follows Cassie’s romantic adventures and mishaps over the ensuing summer and following two years. There are of course two love interests Caulder Westing (Darcy) and Rob (I guess this could be Wickham, but I’m not so sure she included a Wickham).

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