Hey everyone! So my original plan was to write a post each weekend between my January TBR and my wrap-up. Obviously, that didn’t happen, though I did sit down to write each post, they never quite were finished. With school starting back up, I didn't realize how busy I would be. Even if I only post every other week, that’s still better than nothing, right?
During January, I only finished two books. The first was a
collection of short stories by Alice Munro called Too Much Happiness. I’m not really into short stories, but I’ve
been putting off finishing it since May. I’m glad I did, and I want to read
more by her, but it’ll have to wait until I feel like reading more short
stories. The other book I finished was Civil
War Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott. This was the first book we read
for my American literature class, and it was a good introductory text to
reading about the American Civil War, which we will be doing through the course
of the semester. I hope to have review of this up this month, so you’ll hear
more from me about this.
Right now, I’m still reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin. I did make progress in it this week,
but I’m not making any guarantees to finish it this month. In all honesty, I
probably won’t get to it until June with my graduation in May and my wedding in
June unless I feel like neglecting all of my work and finishing it. I also have
two books I’m hoping to finish either right as this month ends or the very
beginning of February. They are Who
Would Have Thought It? By Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton and Good-bye to All That by Robert Graves,
both of which are for my classes this semester. I’m planning on at least
reviewing Ruiz de Burton and possibly Graves. Both are pretty good.
As for nonbookish things I did in January, my fiancé and I
celebrated one year of being engaged. We were unfortunately both sick, so it
wasn't as much fun as it would've been if we were well. I also went back to
school for my last semester of undergraduate. As of right now, I am still
planning on going back for my master’s degree this fall, but I’m trying not to
rule out any possibilities. Also, we found a house we really like, which
hopefully he’ll get to move into in the upcoming month.
I really can’t believe it’s almost February; it feels like
January just started. Soon, it will be spring and I’ll be so close to being
done! I’m really excited, but I've got a lot to do before then and a lot to
read.
I’ll start by finishing the two books I’m currently reading now,
see above. Then, in my American lit class, we’re reading The American by Henry James and The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells. We’re getting
into realism in America this month. I haven’t read anything by either of these
authors, and I’m excited to start. As for my capstone course, we’re going to
read The Sun Also Rises by Ernest
Hemingway. I've read some of his stories before, and I’m not a huge fan.
However, I’m willing to give him a chance to wow me. Reflecting back, though I’m
not a huge fan of him, Hemingway’s an author I’m glad to have read so I can
give an informed opinion about him, even if I don’t like him. I’m interested to
see him in a different medium and see if I like him more as a novelist than
short story author. I know this book has something to do with World War One,
which makes it a little more appealing than his other books. The other book we’re
reading in the capstone is The Good War by
Studs Terkel. I know nothing about this book either, except I believe it is
about World War Two, based on my knowledge of the course. Also, we’re watching
Casablanca this month, which while it isn’t a book, I’m still excited to watch
it again.
Lastly, I really need to get through the three books I’m
reading for my honors project this month. Those are Testament of Youth, Not So Quiet, and One Woman’s Freedom. I’ve read the first two before, and I’m
looking forward to reading the last one. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get them
all read.
And I think that’s all I’m going to be able to handle
reading this month. What did you read this month? What are you reading next
month? Let me know in the comments.
