Goodness gracious! It’s Sunday already! I did not mean to take so many days off from blogging but it seemed there was just so much to do like eat and read and then eat and read some more and then move around a little. Then there is the, what I hope will be, awesome pair of vegan boots I bought online. I currently only own snowboots and I have been good and decided I deserved some boots of the non-snowy variety. I don’t consider myself a footwear fahsionista but sometimes a girl just needs new shoes.
We will also be having a houseguest for a few days later this week which also meant/ means giving the house an extra spit and polish as well as airing out and tidying up the guest bedroom which hasn’t been used by anyone in oh, about six years, and has become a convenient book pile overflow room and spiderweb museum. No one likes to visit us because they think it is too cold here in the winter and too humid here in the summer. Our guest is Bookman’s Auntie M. She will be arriving from her home in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday afternoon where the forecast is predicting a lovely 72F (22C) and sunny. What will she be arriving to? Partly sunny and 30F (-1C). That’s very fine weather this time of year and not really cold at all. Her main objective is Duluth but she is arriving a few days early so she can visit us. Duluth will be 5-8 degrees colder than Minneapolis. I hope Auntie M has a warm coat and mittens. If not, we’ll be taking her shopping.
I also spent some time doing blog admin kinds of things like renewing my domain name and updating my 2012 books read page. I think I scared Bookman a little when I suddenly yelled “holy crap!” upon seeing how many books I have read so far this year: 69 completed (the list says 70 but one was abandoned). During my little break I finished two more (The Hanmaid’s Tale and Phoenician Women), will finish another tonight (The Bacchae) and yet another in the next couple of days (Perla). I have never read so many books in one year. My record was in pre-blogging days and is something like 62. With an entire month yet to go and an end-of-year 12-day reading binge vacation to look forward to I can’t imagine what the final number might be. I have no idea how I have managed to read so much more than usual. Plays are short but I have also read plenty of long books too. It is a mystery I don’t want to solve and will consider a fluke lest I get my hopes up for next year only to return to my usual 52-56.
The week ahead will bring some reviews of those finished books, a couple quiet days while Auntie M is here, and, I hope, a thoughtful post on a question I have been mulling over for a couple of days after reading a London Review of Books review about a book that sounded really good but then suddenly didn’t because of something the reviewer said.
The Slaves of Golconda have their next list up for voting. Everyone is welcome to participate. Check out the list and if you would like to read along, cast your vote. The selected book will be up for discussion on January 30th.
Off I go to continue making the guest room cozy and relocate books and lingering spiders.
“spiderweb museum”–I LOVE IT! Our middle room is deserving of the phrase. It will eventually be an extention of the library but as of now it holds the home’s odds and ends with cobwebs galore. I hope Auntie M. has a good visit.
I’ll be looking forward to your review of The Handmaid’s Tale. My hubby read it in college and has been pushing me to read it for years.
I am envious of your 12-day binge reading vacation. That sounds lovely.
Congratulations on reading so many books this year – I guess that is where the reading a few books at a time method really scores! There should be a blog entitled “Spiderweb Reflections” about books discovered in unused rooms. I hope you enjoy your week and get some more good reading done.
Ian, thank you! Spiderweb Reflections sounds like a perfect title. As we’ve been tidying up the guest room we’ve been wondering if we shouldn’t add some bookshelves in there. I mean, who wouldn’t want to sleep in a book-lined room, right?
I suppose you WOULDN’T want to sleep in a book lined room, the insomniac’s paradise!
Ha! Ian, good point!
Vanessa, oh yes, when the corners got too crowded they started spreading out to other places. It’s like the spider part of the cave in Indiana Jones except without the spiders who used their spidey senses and moved on beforehand to more hospitable regions. There is lots of room for some shelves in the room and it would make a nice library extension. Why not turn our infrequently used rooms into library extensions? Handmaid’s Tale is good and kind of scary.
You’re on a roll! And there is still a whole month and then some to go–you are on your way to a record year for reading–always a nice thing. I managed to clean out an entire closet and sent more than 10 bags of old clothes to the Goodwill–so I did my bit on the cleaning front, too. Now I have more room for new clothes!
Have a good time with your aunt–maybe it will snow (it was snowing here earlier today), so she can see how the other half lives (people who live where it’s always warm seem to get such a kick out of snow–silly people!). Now I am curious about the book and the review…and am off to finally vote on the Slaves book (I was mostly offline over the weekend–it was a nice break but not I feel totally behind things.).
Danielle, I know, I have no idea what is different this year than in years past that I’ve managed to read so many more books. Good work on all the cleaning. Room for more clothes or more books?
I’ve lived in Minnesota since 1994 and I still get a kick out snow, at least until February, then I just want to be done with it and coat and hat and mittens and boots.
Yes, that’s an impressive list of books read … and the year hasn’t ended yet. Good that you can spend your weekend eat and sleep and move around… that’s life isn’t it. -1C is good temp. We’re -3C now, so it’s much better than a couple of weeks ago when we had close to -15C. Happy housekeeping and enjoy your guest!
Arti, I know! Now watch, I’ve jinxed myself and I will manage to only finish one more book this year
Brr, yes, -3 is much better than -15, though we will be there soon enough I’m sure. And thanks, I am sure it will be a nice visit!
And HC it’s Thursday now here and nearly the end of another week … and guess what, we are about to take out a box of books and of old VHSs to donate to a charity book fair. I feel good but so much stuff here including my mother-in-law’s books and she died over a year ago! I just need to start clearing out a bit …
Hope Auntie M’s visit went well and she enjoyed the guest room.
62+ books! That’ll be the say I reach that figure. Good for you. You weren’t studying this year … that may have helped!
whisperinggums, it feels good to clean up and clear out old and unwanted things doesn’t it? Afterwards I always wonder why I didn’t do it sooner. Auntie M brought Bookman’s mom with her and the visit has been extended to Sunday. Can you say surprise followed by mad scramble to rearrange schedules and plans? I will not be finishing any these next couple of days!
Oh … surprise visits are a challenge but usually fun. Hope you are having a good time.
definitely a challenge but it hasn’t been too bad.
That’s good … !
The great thing about having people to stay is that you end up with a tidy house. Much tidier than if you only have to give it a spit and polish for yourself (it’s amazing what I can overlook!). I’m catching up and know that you had not just auntie come and visit – which must have been a surprise! I hope you had enough beds. And I would come visit you if I could!
Litlove, isn’t that the truth? I don’t mind a few cobwebs in the corner or a layer of dust on a shelf I never look at. It was a nice visit but we are glad to be getting back to normal now and so are the cats. They were in hiding for most of the five days. I would be happy for you to visit. I wouldn’t have to take you to the mall, we could raid all the bookstores in the cities and have contented evenings of tea and book talk