Tag: books

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Bout of Books: Reading rhythm achieved

Bout of Books wrapped up yesterday. Here's my final tally of books read and reading goals (to find my reading rhythm and get lost in a book) achieved.

Bout of Books wrapped up yesterday. Here's my final tally of books read and reading goals (to find my reading rhythm and get lost in a book) achieved. I never know how to start these things. Do I just jump in? Do I give you a little background? Am I over-complicating things? (I do have a tendency to do that sometimes).

Well anyway. The Bout of Books readathon wrapped up yesterday. So how did I do?

Bout of Books

My goal was to get back into a reading rhythm. Meaning: I wanted to be able to get lost in a book without having half or one-quarter or two-thirds of my brain thinking about other things. Meaning: I didn’t keep track of how many pages or hours I read, just the books I read. Here’s the final list with a little asterisk next to books that fulfill #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks. Continue reading “Bout of Books: Reading rhythm achieved”

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Bout of Books: Book in a Song Challenge & Update

For today's Bout of Books Challenge, a song I associate with a book and my reading update.

Today’s Bout of Books Challenge is hosted by Janey Canuck. As you may have divined from the title of this post, the challenge is to write about a song you connect with a book.

That’s an easy one for me. One of my favorite books inspired one of my favorite songs: Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita inspired The Rolling Stones’ Sympathy with the Devil. Interestingly, I loved them both separately before discovering that they’re connected. Though if you think about the subject matter, it makes perfect sense. 

And now for my Bout of Books update:

I’m not a fast reader. So I didn’t set a goal of finishing 57 books or whatever. Even five would be a stretch for me in a single week, barring my being trapped alone on a deserted island with nothing to do but read every moment of daylight. (Not that I would object to that.) My goal was more modest: to get back into a reading rhythm. Continue reading “Bout of Books: Book in a Song Challenge & Update”

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Wednesday reading roundup: August 24

This Wednesday's reading roundup includes Re Jane, The Girl Under the Olive Tree, and Harry Mount's Odyssey.

This Wednesday's reading roundup includes Re Jane, The Girl Under the Olive Tree, and Harry Mount's Odyssey.Last week, my schedule finally overcame me, and I missed my weekly Wednesday reading roundup. And I do mean I missed it!

This week, I am back in form. And, as ever, I’m thankful to Taking on a World of Words for the weekly inspiration of WWW Wednesday and to Coffee and Cats for introducing me to it.

What are you currently reading?

I’m still working on The Odyssey by Homer. My book club book pushed it to the back burner this week. Now it’s back at the top of my list … assuming another book doesn’t grab my attention. That is always a possibility (gulp).

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished The Girl Under the Olive Tree by Leah Fleming. This book had been languishing in my Nook library for who-knows-how-long. It’s nice to tick another title off my terrifyingly long #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks list.

As I mentioned previously, this novel appealed to me for its depictions of life in WWII occupied Greece. It has a frame narrative: In 2001, octogenarian Penny prepares to travel from her home in England to Crete to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Crete. The trip inspires her to reflect on her time there working for the Greek resistance. With that, we travel back to Athens in the pre-war years. Continue reading “Wednesday reading roundup: August 24”

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Wednesday reading roundup: August 10

After last month’s #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks fail, I wanted to do better in August. So far, I've met my goal to read 50 percent my own books. Now to keep it up!

After last month’s #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks fail, I wanted to do better in August. So far, I've met my goal to read 50 percent my own books. Now to keep it up!After last month’s #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks fail, I wanted to do better in August. So far, I’ve read two books, one my own and one borrowed. This means I’m meeting the goal I set for myself: to read 50 percent my own books through the end of the year. Hopefully, I can keep that up!

As always, many thanks to Taking on a World of Words for the weekly inspiration of WWW Wednesday and to Coffee and Cats for introducing me to it.

What are you currently reading?

At the moment, I’m most actively reading The Girl Under the Olive Tree by Leah Fleming. Continue reading “Wednesday reading roundup: August 10”

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For National Book Lovers Day, 5 Reasons to Read

For National Book Lovers Day, 5 benefits of reading

For National Book Lovers Day, 5 benefits of readingThe bookish interwebs are buzzing today with fun and funny tributes to National Book Lovers Day, celebrated on Aug. 9 each year.

For some of us (like me!), every day is book lovers day. But I feel the spirit of setting aside one day a year to acknowledge and celebrate what you treasure. I mean, if grilled cheese sandwiches and yo-yos get a day, then books deserve one too, am I right?

To honor the occasion, I offer five great reasons to cultivate a love of books and invite you to share yours in the comments! Continue reading “For National Book Lovers Day, 5 Reasons to Read”

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Wednesday reading roundup: August 3

This week's reading roundup finds me with with three books in my currently reading pile and a very, super, long list of books to read next.My sincere thanks, as ever, to Taking on a World of Words for the weekly inspiration of WWW Wednesday and to Coffee and Cats for introducing me to it. They have been so successful at inspiring me to read that I’m sticking with it despite just having written a monthly recap!

What are your currently reading?

I have three books going at the moment though haven’t managed to get very far in any of them.

In paperback, I’m reading Chinue Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, which I picked up at a library book sale last month. It’s set in a fiction Igbo village called Umuofia and centers around Okonkwo. Hardworking and stern, he’s driven by a desire to achieve in ways his father never did – achieving titles, material success, and the respect of his peers. I’m only about a third of the way through but feel a deep sadness permeating this story. Perhaps this is because I sense an irreconcilability between the emotions characters feel and the emotions that are “acceptable.”

I’m also still working on Harry Mount’s Odyssey: Ancient Greece in the Footsteps of Odysseus, which I’m determined to finish this week. Continue reading “Wednesday reading roundup: August 3”

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The unabridged list of books I read in July

July was a slow but satisfying month of reading for me. The highlight for me: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

My July reading highlight was finally reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and seeing how Rowling continued her story into the next generation.It felt like a slow month of reading for me. For good reason: It was. With six books read, July was my slowest month of reading this year. And it’s even slower than it looks since I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in one day, that day being July 31.

On the upside, my low reading tally is the result of spending loads of my free time with friends and family. And you definitely will not hear me complain about that! Continue reading “The unabridged list of books I read in July”

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I thought I was book quitter until I checked the stats

I thought this was going to be a piece in which I gleefully recount my exploits as a book quitter. Except I haven’t actually quit on many books this year.

I thought this was going to be a piece in which I gleefully recount my exploits as a book quitter. Except I haven’t actually quit on many books this year.I thought this was going to be a piece in which I gleefully recount my exploits as a book quitter. I say “gleefully” because I heartily advocate reading the books we want to read.

Outside the context of school or work requirements, reading isn’t a responsibility to anyone but oneself. So no one is obligated to finish a book or provide an explanation for why they didn’t. By all means, feel badly if you quit on hope and humanity. Feel badly for being hateful or impatient or selfish (to the extent that feeling badly inspires you to do better). But feeling badly about not finishing a book (or about what you read)? No. Full stop.

So there I was, all fired up, marching up and down my imaginary battlefield, brandishing my imaginary spear and, for whatever reason, imagining myself clothed in chain mail and a metal helmet. And then … a funny thing happened: I looked over my reading data and realized, Oh. I haven’t actually quit on many books this year. How inconvenient it is when empirical evidence contradicts what we want to believe. Ahem.

I stand by my message. It’s just that my lack of quitting has come as a surprise. At times this year, it has felt as if I was abandoning books with, well, abandon. Continue reading “I thought I was book quitter until I checked the stats”