Tag: Reading

Updates

April 2013 Recap

Geoff W

What a month. I can’t believe how fast the month has gone and things were definitely not boring here in Boston with the marathon bombings and ensuing chaos. I’m glad to see the month go, but not ready for May or the summer that follows shortly after.

April felt like a short month for reading, but I actually read an above average six books: one for book group, three challenge books (two pre-listed one additional) and two ‘trashy romance’ novels/galleys. (I don’t really think they’re trashy, well some are and some I read are, but I just love to call them that.)

Recent Acquisitions

Well I was doing really good about not buying books and then in the last week of the month all of a sudden I bought three books and downloaded two galleys (one of which I completed); story of my life right? I  bought one kindle book for $1 (it sounded too good not to buy) called No Strings by Nick Nolan which I’m excited about. In addition I bought two physical books, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, Peark and Sir Orfeo translated by J.R.R. Tolkien, above left, which I saw on someone else’s blog and I wanted a copy; and I purchased a copy of Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, above right, for my May Books into Movies book group.

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Meme, The Classics Club

The Classics Club – April 2013 Meme

Geoff W

For April the hosts of The Classics Club have asked “Who is hands-down the best literary hero, in your opinion? Likewise, who is the best heroine?” And although I have major issues with the separation of hero and heroine, there is no need to separate the two into gender based categories or if you’re going to separate them make a point and call it a ‘shero’, my answer is below.

I really wanted to write about Bone Cartwright from Bastard Out of Carolina, and I guess I could write about her, but I tend to restrict the monthly memes to this specific reading list. If not there’s no telling who I’d write about, so I’ll go for another character with a story similar to Bone’s. Although hero isn’t the first word to come to mind she is one. Wikipedia has a great line which sums up her existence:

In modern movies, the hero is often simply an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, who, despite the odds being stacked against him or her, typically prevails in the end.

I’m choosing to equate the word hero/heroine with the word survivor. From the moment of Celie’s introduction in Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Color Purple, as she is being viciously raped, the reader is aware her story and her life will be a struggle for survival and existence.

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Updates

March 2013 Recap

Geoff W

And just like that March is over. If possible it went by even faster than February. Part of this comes from how ridiculously busy I was this month, but I think part of it came from the fact that spring looks like it might’ve finally arrived in Boston (but I’m not holding my breath just yet.) From realizing that I’ve been at my job for almost 6 months, to starting CrossFit (I’ll write more about this later) and having a social life for the first time in ages, I’ve been crazy busy.

2013 03-25 Messy Desk at WorkOutside of reading and books, things have been great if hectic, I realized a couple of days ago that on April 15th I will have been at my job for six months and that’s just crazy! I’m still loving it and can’t wait to see what happens over the next six months. My desk is to the right, because no post is complete without pictures. It pretty much will look like that for the next two weeks (if not longer) because I’m right in the middle of a busy period as I’m running phone-a-thon, but I love it because I work with students and they’re hilarious. And things are only going to get busier as we have a lot of events between now and mid-June and my sister graduates from her MA program in May so that just adds to my business.

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2013 Challenges

Mount TBR: Climbing Pike’s Peak (Checkpoint 1)

Geoff W

2013 Mount TBR Reading ChallengeBev of My Reader’s Block has called for the first check-in for the 2013 Mount TBR (To Be Read) Reading Challenge and I’m quite pleased with my progress so far. For this challenge I have read 3 of 12 books which I committed to PLUS an additional FIVE books from my TBR shelf. To see my full list click here.

If I were actually climbing Pike’s Peak I would be 3,528.5ft (1075.5m) up the mountain in committed books, but with the extra five books I would be just under half way up the mountain (saying I read 8 of 17) which would be approximately 6,633.6ft (2,021.9m) up the mountain.

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Meme, The Classics Club

The Classics Club – March 2013 Meme

Geoff W

For March the hosts of The Classics Club have asked Do you love Jane Austen or want to “dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shinbone”? (Phrase borrowed from Mark Twain.)

  1. Why (for either answer)?
  2. Favorite and/or least favorite Austen novel?

I don’t think I need to explain my views on Jane Austen. If you’ve read my blog you know I’m in love with Jane Austen. I’m so much in love with her that I even love the horrible fan-fiction/spinoff stuff that’s out there! So that’s some real dedication. And if you really want to know how much I love Austen, go read my fan-boy I love you post which was supposed to be my response to my re-read of Pride and Prejudice.

If I had to say what my favorite novel is I would probably say Mansfield Park, because of Fanny Price, and my least favorite is probably Emma, mostly because of the movie adaptation, but I also think it drags along, but we’ll see if my feelings remain the same after a reread for The Classics Club.