A quick update

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Hello, I'm alive, I'm reading...in fact I now have such a large pile of books to tell you about that I had better start planning some mini-reviews.  I've been doing a lot of yard work, buying books at work, and having a cold instead of blogging.  We are supposed to have a massive storm coming in tonight! 

I'm not terribly ready for Christmas yet, and haven't sewn a stitch (I'm starting to ponder giving people promises instead of actual items), but I did buy a lot of great books for various nieces and such.  I should be doing chocolates too, but I decided to pull back a little on that this year; I'm only doing a couple of things instead of over a dozen.  It's been quite fortuitous, since damp and warm weather, and then getting sick have prevented me from doing much.

Booky news: it's Willa Cather week!  I'm reading O Pioneers! and My Antonia.  I love Cather's people, and how her best characters embody this sort of ideal.

Karen at Books and Chocolate has announced her second year of hosting the Back to the Classics Challenge.  It's looking great and I will be signing up for sure.

Besides Willa Cather, I'm reading a book of Russian history that I'm determined to finish before the end of the year, Tristram Shandy (likewise, but I'm bogged down 100 pages from the end--ran out of energy for the moment), and Gandhi's autobiography.

Comments

  1. Ruth @ with freedom and booksDecember 11, 2014 at 10:06 AM

    I heard about that storm in the Bay area. Sounds massive - they closed schools ahead of time! We're getting a touch of it. When they say a storm is expected in Cali, we hardly see it b/c we are surrounded by mountains. We need rain badly. : (

    Anyway, I was thinking about Cather's human stories last night while reading My Antonia. They are superb, and I just love them. She has a special gift for bringing people to life. So if you love human stories, she is a wonderful author to read.

    But another thing I am apprehensive about is how she throws in a tragedy toward the end, though I suppose that is part of human stories, too. It all can't be rosy.

    Hope you are managing your cold.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JeanDecember 11, 2014 at 8:58 PM

    Hey thanks! I am all better now.

    You are more than welcome to some of this storm. Our house is doing just fine, but there are some very exciting things happening round about. They didn't close school here, but made it optional for one elem. that has a lot of kids who live in the country (who are now stuck at home due to flooding!), and a junior high got canceled at the last minute when the power lines went down. My homeschooled kids had to do a full day. :)

    You are so right about Cather!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ruth @ with freedom and booksDecember 12, 2014 at 7:21 AM

    Ha! That's true. Our homeschooled kids don't get snow days.

    And I was wrong about the storm. It's been raining in the desert since last night, which I am really grateful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JeanDecember 12, 2014 at 4:15 PM

    Hooray!

    ReplyDelete

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