Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Wrap-up for March

March was a month of firsts for me. It was the first month I could participate in Monday Mailings (that was fun!!); it was the first month that I received a book from an author to read and review (and not just one author but two --- that was fun!!); it was the first month that I read more than a book a week from my personal "want to read" list; AND I completed my first reading challenge ever! Additionally, March also afforded me the opportunity to play around with HTML code to try to improve my blog site - and while that was most definitely a first and I felt a certain sense of pride and satisfaction when I was done, I must confess that I would not label that activity as "fun"

The books read this month (with links to my reviews) include:
Of all the books listed, I would say that I enjoyed The Help the most (such a great storyline and beautiful character development); I found the Yellow-Lighted Bookshop to be the most inspiring (I like to dream of owning a bookstore someday - although I know realistically the chances are slim); and I found We Need to Talk about Kevin to be the most disturbing/thought-provoking. I am somewhat fascinated by this topic, however and have read two other books that deal with it as well: The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb and Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I truly enjoyed the latter book, and if you are a fan of Jodi, then you absolutely must head over to Maw Books - Natasha is giving away 7 autographed Jodi Picoult books!!! But you better hurry - the contest ends Friday, April 10.

The challenge I completed was Just For the Love of it Reading Challenge 2009 - and I must confess I had a lot of fun working on this one (and I am very glad it was my first challenge). Most of the books listed above counted for this challenge (thank you, Sheri). As posted yesterday, this euphoric feeling of success has now gone to my head and for some reason I felt inspired to sign up for a new challenge - the Cozy Mystery Challenge (I'm not sure why -- I still have several challenges in which I am not making much progress). I have just started reading mysteries as my "default" genre when I want to read but not sure what I want to read. While I know I enjoy the police procedural category of mysteries, I think the cozies will fit in well with this time of the year: I will have lots of work to do prior to the end of the school year --- and than an intense 6 weeks studying in Asheville. I am thinking that my brain will not be able to absorb much more material in my "free" time than what a cozy will offer.

All in all I must say that the book blog community has definitely helped me increase my productivity as a reader during the first quarter of 2009. While I have added a new distraction to my life (reading book blogs - which is fairly "all encompassing") I know I have read far more than I would have otherwise. This community has also inspired me to write my own book reviews - something I have never pursued in the past - but now wonder why it took me so long. I regret not having accurate reading records prior to 2009, but I will rejoice in the fact that I am learning great systems for the future --- and reading will always be a part of my future.

14 comments:

  1. Your great posts and reviews inspire us too!

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  2. Great wrap-up. I didn't realize you hadn't been blogging in forever! We seem to have started about the same time. And congrats on completing a challenge! That is great. I'm plodding along -- this whole thing is new to me but kind of fun.

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  3. Great wrap up for the month.And I love your new look for the blog. I got a new one too this month must have been a good month for bookie blog makeovers!

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  4. Terrific wrap-up post and I love your blog's look. Isn't it great how we all push each other to read more?

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  5. Have I mentioned before that I love your blog colors?

    Good wrap up - I'm planning to read The Help later this month.

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  6. Great wrap-up. You got lots of good reading in for March. Hope April is just as good.

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  7. Molly, I really love The Help, and want to read School of Essential Ingredients too.

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  8. Hey, nice job on your recap, too!

    By the way, I'm actually still using blogger even though I have my own domain. I figured out how to add the HTML code to the header, kind of like you did. But then I made buttons I saved in Photobucket and linked them to various posts, all in one HTML gadget, one after the other.

    Phew! Sorry, I know that's kind of a lot to process. But I just wanted you to know that while Blogger makes things difficult, it's not impossible to do some useful things. :-)

    But yes, I spent WAY too much time on it ;-)

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  9. i've read a few of the books you finished up this month...that's quite a list you've got! i have no idea how people manage to work and read so much--someone let me in on the secret!!!

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  10. Read the new book, The Ignorance Of Shakespeare, Eloquent Books, New York, for a fresh look at the man.

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  11. What a great month for you! Congrats on finishing the challenge.

    --Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

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  12. Congrats on a month of firsts! You are doing great!

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  13. You've had a great month, Molly! I'm very impressed with all your blog improvements.

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  14. book blogging has also increased my reading productivity! Glad you had such a great month!

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