Friday, February 28, 2014

February 2014 Chapter

Welcome to the Read.Write.Repeat. monthly wrap-up.  Every month, I give a quick overview of what books I read, the progress made on the 100 Best Novels goal, a few book-related links, and general blog news.  


February News

I'll be honest. It's been a slow month for my bookshelf.

I blame the Olympics 100%. I'm a mega fan and my life for those two weeks mid-month pretty much revolved around the television. It's so abnormal for us to watch that much TV and I've never been so sick of commercials, but you just can't replace the emotions the Olympics bring.

However, I told Kevin at about day 10...."I miss books." I really did. I missed books like crazy. I was only reading a few pages a day before bed and that was not nearly enough to satiate my literary needs. Thanks to long, cold month of January and to the wonderful Jamie for providing enough content to make it through February posts.

As we move into spring, you can expect my reading pace to pick up again. Grad school is reaching full speed, but one of next courses had two books on my On Reserve list required as textbooks. What luck! I can't wait to share those with you.

If you missed Movie Mondays this month, it was all about the chick flicks. First off, I covered the old school chick flick, The Age of Innocence. Let's just say that Martin Scorsese has nothing on Edith Wharton. Then, I jumped to the modern chick flick and covered Austenland. I was completely charmed by Keri Russell and crew in this romantic comedy served with a dose of snark.


Books Read

  1. Under the Wide and Starry Sky - Nancy Horan - 2/15
  2. Clever Girl - Tessa Hadley - 2/23
  3. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce - 2/28
Pages Read: 1,097

Favorite Book Read: It's really hard to make this call. Honestly, while they books were good, I have a hard time pulling one out and calling it a "favorite." Still, if forced to choose (and I'm forcing myself), I select Nancy Horan's exploratory of Fanny & Robert Louis Stevenson's love story.

100 Best Novels Progress

  • 1 completed this month (A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man)
    I blame the Olympics for putting me off my typical schedule. 
  • 20% complete

Articles

I know that most people will never complete Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list. I'm hoping I can eventually, but I have a long way to go. In the mean time, here's a guide to pretending to understand the classics.

And if you need convincing that those classics are actually worthwhile, Buzzfeed has you covered.

Anyone looking for a challenge of their own may want to take on Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime. I'm happy to say I've read 33.5 (in the middle of one now) of them. Nearly all of that number have been since I started the blog. So, basically, this whole thing is working! How many have you read?

Book Nerd Problems - This is my life.

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So long, February! Take with you your cold temperatures and delightful distractions. Bring on March and a big pile of books! I'm ready for spring!

Did the Olympics slow down your reading pace?

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