Tag Archives: Reading

Daily Diversion #367: Scone and Tea

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The last few days have been pretty stressful, so on Saturday I popped in to the fabulous bakery that’s just around the corner from my day job. I saved this scrumptious scone for this morning’s breakfast. Between it, a cup of my fave tea, and a good book…I’m feeling a tad better. 

Orange-Cranberry Scone from Laughlin's

Orange-Cranberry Scone from Laughlin’s

What Are You Reading in January?

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What is on your book list, as the new year begins? Are you binge-reading your way into 2017, or taking a break from a well-read 2016? I’m off to a slow start, mostly because I am writing a novella of my own. Here’s where I’m at so far…

Since 1st January, I’ve finished:

  • Beautiful Boredom: Idleness and Feminine Self-Realization in the Victorian Novel by Lee Anna Maynard
  • Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway’s Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises by Lesley M. M. Blume
Hemingway and Friends

Hemingway and Friends

Ernest Hemingway, with Harold Loeb, Lady Duff Twysden, Hadley Richardson (Hemingway), Donald Ogden Stewart, and Pat Guthrie

I’m currently reading:

  • Trotsky: Downfall of a Revolutionary by Bertrand M. Patenaude
  • The Electrifying Fall of Rainbow City: Spectacle and Assassination at the 1901 World’s Fair by Margaret Creighton

To be read by 31 January:

  • Across an Untried Sea: Discovering Lives Hidden in the Shadow of Convention and Time by Julia Markus

Which book on your list do you most look forward to reading, and why?

Please share with me in the comments!

[Alternative Muses] Coming and Going: Simone de Beauvoir/Katherine Mansfield

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Simone de Beauvoir was born on 9 January 1908:

Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir

“Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it; it’s only good for wallowing in.”-Katherine Mansfield (died on 9 January 1923)

Heigh-Ho, January! Sane (and Fun) Writing Goals for the New Year

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This is one of the first pieces that I wrote for ASPL, five years ago.

maedez's avatarA Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea.

Typebars in a 1920s typewriter

January, although frigid and dreary, has a few compensatory gifts up its wintry sleeve that no other month can offer: a chance to rewind the clock to start, a vague idea that anything is possible, and a sense of euphoria that can only be found when the year is in its first blush. Although these feelings naturally fade as the temperature rises, you should be able to use this energy all year-long. The goals I have in mind aren’t tauntingly out of reach, nor must they be broken down into a dozen discouraging steps; they could just as easily be called Life Skills for Writers.

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I Read a Lot of Books in 2016, But Still Didn’t Reach My Goal…

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I read 82 books in 2016, but fell 28 short of my (rather ambitious) goal of 110. My year was way too busy to read as much as I would have liked. I finished the majority of the books during the first half of the year, as life obligations slowed my pace after summer. On the bright side, 2017 will get off to a good start reading-wise, as I am close to finishing half a dozen books.

Here’s a list of every book that I finished in 2016, with some very loose ratings.

KEY:

*=Read as research for my novella

**=This designation means that I liked the book in spite of myself, but as such find it too hard to assign a fair grade

1=You are my enemy

2=We’ll stay acquaintances, thanks

3=I like you, but I don’t like you like you

4=You are my friend, but not my best friend

5=You are my love match, but don’t expect fidelity Continue reading →