This is another epic post … and the last one I have looking back at 2021. TL;DR It was probably my best year of reading ever and there isn’t much I’d like to change for 2022. I read 20 books … Continue reading Reading Better | December.
Buckle up – it’s another epic post! If you’re not into the numbers, you might want to scroll down a bit – I have a delightful backlist recommendation and some Thoughts on Reading Long Lists. I added 18 books to my Read shelf last month, bringing my YTD total to 192 (Goodreads link). Here are a few more stats from November’s book journal summary page: one-third (6/18) were audio and the other two-thirds, including my three very-favorites, were paper. nearly two-thirds (11/18) were borrowed, and seven were purchased (five “new”, and two “used”) – pretty consistent with previous months. five … Continue reading Reading Better | November.
In this week’s dive into Choosing Gratitude, I’m sharing about Fiction Matters, hands down my favorite bookish place on the internet. Sara started her Instagram account over six years ago and added a Patreon last August. The Patreon includes a monthly bookclub (with a “Bookclub Kit” from Sara that includes discussion questions, author interviews, and reviews, plus a discussion on Zoom – because there are members around the globe, she offers two meeting times each month and some folks attend both), a podcast from Sara about what she’s read/reading, a monthly Bibliobrunch where members share book recommendations with each other … Continue reading Fiction Matters.
I added 19 books to my Read shelf last month, bringing my YTD total to 174 (Goodreads link). Here are a few more stats from October’s book journal summary page: nearly one-third (6/19) were audio – I thought that words on a page were trending up after last months 75%, but October is right in line with August. nearly two-thirds (12/19) were borrowed, two I owned, and five were purchased (four “new”, and one “used”) … which was almost identical to last month! four were non-fiction … more similar to earlier months and I credit the NBA non-fiction short list … Continue reading Reading Better | October.
This marks the almost-end of the first month in a very long time that I didn’t make a list of things I wanted to accomplish. I did have weekly to-do lists to be sure the must-do’s got done, but that was about it. So I have things in Process now. A healthy stack of books (plus one on my Kindle – Goodreads link here)I never intended to finish Middlemarch this month (that won’t come til January), but I thought I might finish the other three. Of course the one on my Kindle (Peter Swanson’s Eight Perfect Murders) wasn’t even on … Continue reading In Process.
Hello friends and Happy Friday! I spent an hour on the porch this afternoon watching a replay of Modern Mrs Darcy’s Fall Book Preview and knitting. Shifty. of course. Thinking about … feeling stuck. and how holding things loosely also means letting things go. hoping I can get my head (and heart) around all that enough to write about next week for October’s OLW link-up. Grateful for … a fun knitting project. It’s been a long time since I’ve been monogamous to a project. That probably says as much about what I’m doing these days as it does the knitting. … Continue reading TGIF | Late October.
I added 18 books to my Read shelf last month, bringing my YTD total to 155 (Goodreads link). Here are a few more stats from September’s book journal summary page: over three-fourths (14/18) – were words on a page. nearly two-thirds (11/18) were borrowed, two I owned, and five were purchased (four “new”, and one “used”). only two were non-fiction … likely because I was reading from the Booker and NBA fiction lists. My Reading Intentions continued to be pretty balanced, except that Connection is still lagging. I can only hope that number picks up as more folks read – … Continue reading Reading Better | September.
Hello friends and happy Friday – oh boy, this week has made me extra happy that there are FIVE Fridays in October! and thanks to my daily photos I do have some idea what happened in this week that feels like a minute and a month (I’m sure you know what I mean 😉 ) I haven’t walked to the lake since Saturday. I’m wondering if these trees are now showing signs of fall … I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s walk to see. I had a good hair day on Monday 🙂 and a final try-on for Donner. It’s now … Continue reading Friday Already?
It’s been a while since I paused on a Friday afternoon to share a post through the TGIF lens … I’ve been thinking all day about the T-G-I-F and this afternoon it all came together. The title says “Mid-September”, but this is really “September 17”. Thinking about … stories. I keep seeing a theme in the books I’m reading this year about who tells the stories and the stories they (get to) choose to tell. memory. power. privilege. history. I’ve come to a whole new appreciation for memoir and unreliable narrators. My church has been hosting a seminar on “Story … Continue reading TGIF | Mid-September.
I added another 24 books to my Read shelf last month, bringing my YTD total to 137 (Goodreads link). My current book journal is going to be full before the end of September at this rate! Here are a few more stats from August’s book journal summary page: two-thirds – just like the last two months – (16/24) were words on a page (I’m pretty sure is the sole explanation for my slower knitting pace!) two-thirds (16/24) were borrowed, one I owned, and seven were purchased (three “new”, and four “used” or on sale). four were non-fiction, including two memoirs, … Continue reading Reading Better | August.
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