White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People To Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo 

Read by Amy Landon 

Published June 2018 by Beacon Press 

Source: audiobook checked out from my local library

Publisher’s Summary: In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively. 

My Thoughts: Through research, personal stories, and examples, Diangelo (a race scholar and diversity trainer) addresses how racism has been engrained in us since this country was formed.

“[Thomas] Jefferson suggested that there were natural differences between the races and asked scientists to find them.”

“American scientists began searching for the answer to the perceived inferiority of non-Anglo groups. Illustrating the power of our questions to shape the knowledge we validate, these scientists didn’t ask “Are blacks and others inferior?” They asked “Why are blacks and others inferior?””

“Exploitation came first and then the ideology of unequal races to justify this exploitation followed.”

Over the ensuing decades, the courts have continued to uphold the inferiority of nonwhites. And while many whites have suffered from the ill effects of classism, they have always known that it was “better to be white.” Every time we’ve celebrated a person of color “breaking the color barrier,” we neglect to say that it only happened because whites allowed it to finally happen, implying there was only just now a person of color capable of achieving that level of success. “Narratives of racial exceptionality obscure the reality of ongoing institutional white control while reinforcing the ideologies of individualism and meritocracy.” 

“White resistance to the term “white supremacy” prevents us from examining how these messages shape us. Explicit white supremacists understand this.” Diangelo explains how the alt-right and white nationalists have spent thirty years reworking their messages to make them more palatable, to blend in. They’ve adopted messages against affirmative action, immigration, and globalism as veiled attacks on persons of color and, in so doing, have convinced a significant portion of other whites that their messages are valid and reasonable without those people even realizing the inherent racism in the messages. Diangelo also contends that millennials are every bit as mired in racism as the generations ahead of them and that claims of color blindness harm our ability to accept our own racism. 

'“White fragility”: the reaction in which white people feel offended or attacked when the topic of racism arises.”*

You know I’ve been doing a lot of reading this year about racism and working to educate myself on what it means to be black in this country. A lot of that reading has been uncomfortable, in no small part because it didn’t just call out white people in general, but me in particular. Diangelo takes it to a whole new level for me. 

She calls white people out on the ways we deny racism and how we, so often, make ourselves the victim when confronted about racism. I’m sorry to say that I saw myself frequently in her examples. I have even, once, fallen into the “white women’s tears” scenario Diangelo talks about, whereby a white woman, feeling attacked about being called out, starts crying, drawing the attention away from the person who was legitimately injured. 

Diangelo says that “it is common to feel defensive if you believe that you are being told you are a bad person.” She points to what she calls the good/bad binary that has reinforced our resistance to admitting our racism. We’ve been raised to believe that only bad people are racists and, not considering ourselves bad people, cannot accept that we have done anything wrong. What, then, can those of us who would like to make changes in the way we think do? We can’t define racism as only “a conscious intolerance of black people.” Diangelo says that we must “identify our racist patterns” and make it more important to interrupt those patterns than managing how we think we look to others. She has raised my awareness and given me the tools to be a better ally and a better person. Now I need to work hard to make them a part of my life, every day. 

“The value of “White Fragility” lies,” says the reviewer from The New Yorker, “…in its call for humility and vigilance.” *Publisher’s Weekly

Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

Hood Feminism: Notes From The Women That A Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall 

Read by Mikki Kendall

Published February 2020 by Penguin Publishing Group 

Source: audiobook checked out from my local library 

Publisher’s Summary: Today's feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. That feminists refuse to prioritize these issues has only exacerbated the age-old problem of both internecine discord, and women who rebuff at carrying the title. Moreover, prominent white feminists broadly suffer from their own myopia with regard to how things like race, class, sexual orientation, and ability intersect with gender. How can we stand in solidarity as a movement, Kendall asks, when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? 

In her searing collection of essays, Mikki Kendall takes aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women. Drawing on her own experiences with hunger, violence, and hypersexualization, along with incisive commentary on politics, pop culture, the stigma of mental health, and more, Hood Feminismdelivers an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux. An unforgettable debut, Kendall has written a ferocious clarion call to all would-be feminists to live out the true mandate of the movement in thought and in deed. 

My Thoughts: Almost four years ago, I marched in the first Women’s March. Almost immediately, there was an outcry that the movement didn’t represent women of color. “What are they talking about,” I wondered. “Aren’t all of the things feminism has been fighting for thing all women want?” The answer, as it turns out, is yes…and no. Yes, all women should be fighting against sexual harassment and assault; but white women need to recognize that women of color suffer from this issue in far greater numbers. Sure, all women may want to see the glass ceiling broken; but white women need to acknowledge that they are in a far better position to benefit from that than women of color. And do you remember when being a feminist meant you didn’t shave your legs? It seems silly now (and, honestly, it was probably a silly gesture 40+ years ago), especially when you consider that women of color are far more concerned about basic survival than whether or not they can stop shaving their armpits. 

Some years ago, I decided to try to read more diversely. I picked up books by Asian authors, books set in Africa, books about minorities here. But it really wasn’t until this year that I’ve really started waking up to the fact that reading diversely sometimes means reading books that make me uncomfortable, that challenge what I have believed or wake me up to things that I had no idea were happening in this country. This is one of those books. I tend to get defensive when I start reading (I’m working on that), so it can take a bit before I stop defending and start listening. But it’s hard to argue with the idea that white women have been so myopic in their fight for equal rights that they’ve ignored the fact that millions of women don’t know how they are going to feed their families, receive subpar educations, don’t earn a living wage because of our minimum wage, live with violence daily, and watch their men being criminalized in disproportionate numbers. 

Kendall is, understandably, angry about what she feels like is a betrayal. And, let’s be honest, it’s not the first time that white women have left women of color behind to further themselves. White women wouldn’t have earned the right to vote when they did had it not been for the work of black women; but when push came to shove, white women saved themselves. Perhaps they promised to circle back and bring up their sisters; they never did. It’s easy to imagine that women of color feel like the same thing has happened to them again. Not only have white women not worked to pull up their sisters, a majority of middle-aged white women voted for a man who has done everything in his power to keep people of color down. 

Perhaps the best way to make change is to be in positions of leadership where doing that is possible but Kendall wants us to remember that too many women continue to suffer while white women try to climb their way up to those positions. Almost four years ago, millions of women captured the world’s attention by rising up and demanding change. We weren’t waiting then for our chance to be on top (although we were angry that we had just lost that) and we need to stop waiting now.

The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and The Invention of Los Angeles by Gary Krist

The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and The Invention of Los Angeles by Gary Krist

Published May 2018 by Crown Publishing Group

Source: checked out from my local library

Publisher's Summary:
Little more than a century ago, the southern coast of California—bone-dry, harbor-less, isolated by deserts and mountain ranges—seemed destined to remain scrappy farmland. Then, as if overnight, one of the world’s iconic cities emerged. At the heart of Los Angeles’ meteoric rise were three flawed visionaries: William Mulholland, an immigrant ditch-digger turned self-taught engineer, designed the massive aqueduct that would make urban life here possible. D.W. Griffith, who transformed the motion picture from a vaudeville-house novelty into a cornerstone of American culture, gave L.A. its signature industry. And Aimee Semple McPherson, a charismatic evangelist who founded a religion, cemented the city’s identity as a center for spiritual exploration. 

All were masters of their craft, but also illusionists, of a kind. The images they conjured up—of a blossoming city in the desert, of a factory of celluloid dreamworks, of a community of seekers finding personal salvation under the California sun—were like mirages liable to evaporate on closer inspection. All three would pay a steep price to realize these dreams, in a crescendo of hubris, scandal, and catastrophic failure of design that threatened to topple each of their personal empires. Yet when the dust settled, the mirage that was LA remained.

My Thoughts:                                                                                                                                                  The more nonfiction I read, the more I find that I'm a gal of many interests I didn't even know I had. Thank heavens for people who can convince me to take a chance on a subject like the rise of Los Angeles, a place I've never even been. 

Krist's book focuses on how three people changed the course of history for Los Angeles. They are all three people I knew of but I had no real idea the impact they had on the growth of Los Angeles from a place that should have remained a remote town to the second-largest city in the U.S. Krist covers the period from 1900 - 1930 and moves the book between these three players. Each of their stories and each of their industries would make for great reading, especially in the hands for a storyteller as good as Krist. That they all came about as part of the growth of Los Angeles makes for a fascinating read. 

As Krist moved back and forth between the three industries - movies, water, and religion - I kept thinking that the one I was reading about was the most interesting. Which wasn't altogether surprising when I was reading about the movie industry; I knew a fair amount about it and have always found it interesting. And religion? It certainly can be interesting. But water and engineering? How in the world did Krist manage to make me interested in that? Well, there were intrigues, land battles, ruined friendships, and a major disaster, so there's that. But Krist also makes it about the players and the David and Goliath aspect of it all. 

Perhaps part of what made this book so compelling was that, while it was historical, it was also incredibly timely. The battle between urban and rural, the machinations of the media, the impact of technology, race, corruption, and the  influence of big money on politics, religion, and the movie industry are every bit as relevant today as they were in the 1920's. 

The Mirage Factory is clearly meticulously researched but it hardly even feels like nonfiction and it certainly doesn't feel like Krist is trying to force facts into the narrative, as so many writers do. Krist also wrote City of Scoundrels, a book I've had on my Nook for a long time; somewhere along the way someone had convinced me that a book about the rebirth of another city, Chicago, was worth reading. As much as I enjoyed this book, I'm really looking forward to finding time for that one soon. 

The Fire This Time edited by Jesmyn Ward

The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race edited by Jesmyn Ward
Read by Cherise Booth, Michael Early, Kevin R. Free, Korey Jackson, Susan Spain
Published August 2016 by Scribner
Source: audiobook checked out from my local library

Publisher’s Summary:
In light of recent tragedies and widespread protests across the nation, The Progressive magazine republished one of its most famous pieces: James Baldwin’s 1962 “Letter to My Nephew,” which was later published in his landmark book, The Fire Next Time. Addressing his fifteen-year-old namesake on the one hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Baldwin wrote: “You know and I know, that the country is celebrating one hundred years of freedom one hundred years too soon.”



Award-winning author Jesmyn Ward knows that Baldwin’s words ring as true as ever today. In response, she has gathered short essays, memoir, and a few essential poems to engage the question of race in the United States. And she has turned to some of her generation’s most original thinkers and writers to give voice to their concerns.



The Fire This Time is divided into three parts that shine a light on the darkest corners of our history, wrestle with our current predicament, and envision a better future. Of the eighteen pieces, ten were written specifically for this volume.



In the fifty-odd years since Baldwin’s essay was published, entire generations have dared everything and made significant progress. But the idea that we are living in the post-Civil Rights era, that we are a “post-racial” society is an inaccurate and harmful reflection of a truth the country must confront. Baldwin’s “fire next time” is now upon us, and it needs to be talked about.



Contributors include Carol Anderson, Jericho Brown, Garnette Cadogan, Edwidge Danticat, Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, Mitchell S. Jackson, Honoree Jeffers, Kima Jones, Kiese Laymon, Daniel Jose Older, Emily Raboteau, Claudia Rankine, Clint Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Wendy S. Walters, Isabel Wilkerson, and Kevin Young.

My Thoughts:
Jesmyn Ward kicks off this book with a startling recollection from a visit she and some high school classmates made to the office of Trent Lott, then one of her state’s senators, in Washington.

“Trent Lott took a whip as long as a car off his office table, where it lay coiled and shiny brown, and said to my one male schoolmate who grinned at Lott enthusiastically: Let’s show ‘em how us good old boys do it. And then he swung that whip through the air and cracked it above our heads, again and again. I remember the experience in my bones.” 

Given Ward’s age, this must have been in the mid-1990’s. It is shocking to think that Lott found that behavior perfectly acceptable. James Baldwin wrote in The Fire Next Time that love would allow us to “end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country…” Sadly, more than 20 years after Wards encounter with Lott and almost 60 years since Baldwin’s book was published, Lott’s actions seem to speak to the way some white Americans still think about black people. Consider that this book was published four years ago, just as our first black president was finishing out his second term and just before we elected a president who has courted the kind of people who think like Trent Lott. Four years after it was published, this book feels even more timely.

Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah perhaps says it best, “If I knew anything about being black in America, it was that nothing was guaranteed.” Again and again, the names Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Abner Louima, and those killed at Charleston’s Emanuel Church are invoked as a reminder of this. But Ward also wants to remind us, “We are writing an epic, wherein black lives carry worth.” How sad that we need to be reminded.

The authors of these pieces want us to understand both points. Claudia Rankine writes about being the mother of black sons; Garnette Cadogan writes about how different walking as a black man was when he moved from Jamaica to New Orleans, where he suddenly was perceived by some as being a danger; Mitchell S. Jackson reflects on the father figures in his life, good and bad; Ghansah writes about being the first person of color working for an employer; and Edwidge Danticat writes about needing to have two conversations with her daughters to explain “why we’re here” and “why it’s not always a promised land for people who look like us.

The reading for this book is excellent; but, in listening to it, I did this book a disservice. If you were, say, sitting on your patio listening to a book while relaxing, sure, it would be great. But if you are listening to this book while you are doing other things (which I was), it will not have the impact it almost certainly would have had if you had picked it up and read it in print. I wish I had done that. I’ve had to go back and re-listen to a number of passages before I could write this review and it has made all the difference. This book deserved my full attention.

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
Read by Carrie Fisher
Published September 2009 by Simon and Schuster
Source: audiobook checked out from my local library

Publisher’s Summary:
Intimate, hilarious, and sobering, Wishful Drinking is Fisher, looking at her life as she best remembers it (what do you expect after electroshock therapy?). It’s an incredible tale: the child of Hollywood royalty—Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher—homewrecked by Elizabeth Taylor, marrying (then divorcing, then dating) Paul Simon, having her likeness merchandized on everything from Princess Leia shampoo to PEZ dispensers, learning the father of her daughter forgot to tell her he was gay, and ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed. 

This is Carrie Fisher at her best—revealing her worst. She tells her true and outrageous story of her bizarre reality with her inimitable wit, unabashed self-deprecation, and buoyant, infectious humor.

My Thoughts:
The other day I finished the book I had been listening to and started the next one that I had on loan from the library only to discover that I just could not listen to it. Not that day, not in that frame of mind. I needed something light. I often call the books I read between heavier books “sorbet” books. But what I had in mind this time was something more like chicken broth for the brain – I needed to feel better. I wasn’t sure what that would be – a mystery, something funny, perhaps, gasp!, a romance? I started browsing what was available right now that wasn’t too long. I looked at a lot of options; but I knew this was the one as soon as I found it.

Wishful Drinking is based on Fisher’s show of the same name and I can’t tell you how much I wish, after hearing this, that I had been able to see her perform the show. We already know a lot of what Fisher has to say (who her parents are, how they were broken up, who she married, that she was an addict, etc.). But Fisher tells her life story in the way of any great storyteller: filling in, embellishing, and making even the saddest things funny. No one, with the possible exception of her ex-husband, Paul Simon, is safe from her wit. She says that her mother was horrified when she found out that Fisher had begun cooking for her daughter, insisting that she would send her cook over to take care of the cooking. She mocks her parents’ multiple marriages, George Lucas’ directing, and the famous friends she partied with.

As funny as she is, Fisher is also brutally honest about her addictions and her battle with mental illness. Pretty heavy topics but, again, Fisher finds away to make them funny. She says that it was hard for doctors to diagnose her bipolar disorder because the effects of her drug and alcohol abuse so closely mirrored the symptoms of that disorder. In the end, to battle her depression, Fisher needed electroconvulsive therapy and I’ll be damned if she didn’t find a way to make even that hilarious.

Now I’m sure that this book is funny in print. But if you haven’t read it yet, I cannot recommend highly enough that you listen to it instead of reading it in print. Fisher’s comic timing is impeccable and that last few minutes of the book simply wouldn’t be the same without her reading them. This was just the book I needed!

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Published March 2020 by Random House Publishing Group

Source: checked out from my local library

Publisher's Summary:

This is how you find yourself. 

There is a voice of longing inside each woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good partners, daughters, mothers, employees, and friends. We hope all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. We look at our lives and wonder: Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? We quickly silence that question, telling ourselves to be grateful, hiding our discontent—even from ourselves. 

For many years, Glennon Doyle denied her own discontent. Then, while speaking at a conference, she looked at a woman across the room and fell instantly in love. Three words flooded her mind: There She Is. At first, Glennon assumed these words came to her from on high. But she soon realized they had come to her from within. This was her own voice—the one she had buried beneath decades of numbing addictions, cultural conditioning, and institutional allegiances. This was the voice of the girl she had been before the world told her who to be. Glennon decided to quit abandoning herself and to instead abandon the world’s expectations of her. She quit being good so she could be free. She quit pleasing and started living. 

Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both an intimate memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. It is the story of navigating divorce, forming a new blended family, and discovering that the brokenness or wholeness of a family depends not on its structure but on each member’s ability to bring her full self to the table. And it is the story of how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honor our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts so that we become women who can finally look at ourselves and say: There She Is. 

Untamed shows us how to be brave. As Glennon insists: The braver we are, the luckier we get.

My Thoughts:

I don't really know why I requested this book from my library, which should tell you that I had no idea what it was about when I requested it. Fiction? Nonfiction? Short stories? Literally, no idea. Imagine my surprise, as someone who reads very little in the way of what might be called "self-help" books to find that this, then, is what I was reading. 

I'll be honest; it took me a little while to get into this one, even though Doyle certainly has a interesting story and, for the most part, I enjoyed her writing style. Oh heck, let's just get the stuff I didn't like out of the way while we're here. The first thing is that I couldn't quite tell if this was a series of articles or writings that happened organically or if Doyle sat down to write the book straight through, which wouldn't be a big deal except that there were what I would call, for lack of a better phrase, a continuity problem. In one chapter, Doyle would continually refer to her wife and in the next chapter she would call her by name; there was very little point in saying "my wife" so often after that (unless she still just loves to hear that, which she might). That's a little thing, just a niggling annoyance. But what I liked less (and it's a problem I often have with this kind of book), was the "I've got it all figured out and my way is right" impression I often got from Doyle. The thing is, there's plenty here to suggest that she spent a lot of years getting to this point and made a lot of mistakes along the way. Maybe what I want is something along the lines of "I screwed up a lot but here's an example of a time I feel like I got it right and maybe it would work for you, too." 

All that said, I liked this book overall. I liked it a lot. 

Having an addict in the family has made me appreciative of what it takes for a person to overcome their addictions. I guarantee that Doyle doesn't get us the full story of how she recovered. It's certainly possible to wake up one day and decide you're going to get clean but it doesn't keep happening without struggle and we don't see that. But that's not what the book is about so it's ok and I can understand how that may have influenced the way she lived after that. 

As a person who knew early on that I wanted to be a mother, I often find it annoying when people make it seem that being devoted to your children is also killing your true self. On the other hand, when I was a stay-at-home mom, it didn't take me long to realize that I needed more and I had to find a way to make that work. Doyle makes it clear that deciding that she needed to live for herself as much as she lived for her children didn't mean she loved her children less or mothered them less. 

Doyle writes a lot about feelings and how we need to allow ourselves to feel all of our feelings and to listen to what they are telling us; "...being fully human is not about feeling happy it's about feeling everything." 

"Feeling all your feelings is hard, but that's what they're for. Feelings are for feeling. All of them. Even the hard ones. The secret is that you're doing it right, and that doing it right hurts sometimes." 

In other words, it's ok to be sad. Or angry. But also, spend some time with those feelings and find out why you are sad or angry. It's an opportunity to learn something about yourself and a chance to do things differently to try to avoid being sad or angry for that same reason again and again. 

"Consumer culture promises us that we can buy our way out of pain - that the reason we're sad and angry is not that being human hurts; it's because we don't have those countertops, her thighs, these jeans. It's a clever way to run an economy, but it is no way to run a life. Consuming keeps us distracted, busy, and numb. Numbness keeps us from becoming."

I highlighted a lot of passages about bravery, raising girls and boys and how we are programmed from an early age, revolution, mental illness, and helping people. But where Doyle really grabbed me and convinced me that she was someone that I will keep following, was when she wrote about racism and religion. You know by what I've been reading (and especially if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram), that I've been working hard to educate myself about racism and to change my ingrained thinking. Again and again, I've seen black people tell white people to ask their white friends that know more than they do how they can help. Doyle feels like that person, the one you can turn to who will help you understand and do better. 

I've been struggling with religion for years and about a year ago, I had all but given up on it entirely. But my daughter, who has learned through her recovery to believe in a Higher Spirit which is not necessarily God, has always kept me thinking about that idea. But I wasn't sure how that worked for me. Doyle, who does believe in God, gave up on organized religion a while ago but writes extensively about her faith. "In fact, my favorite idea of faith is  a belief in the unseen order of things." Doyle's ideas about faith spoke to me. Before I return this book to the library, I'll be reading those passage again and will be taking notes that I can refer back to when I need it. 

So while I may have had some problems with this book, there was so much that felt like Doyle knew exactly what I needed to hear. She's not a writer, or a person, for everyone. But Doyle is ok with that. She's worked hard to get to that point in her life. 

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

Read by Bill Bryson

Published October 2011 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Source: audiobook checked out from my local library

Publisher's Summary:

In these pages, the beloved Bill Bryson gives us a fascinating history of the modern home, taking us on a room-by-room tour through his own house and using each room to explore the vast history of the domestic artifacts we take for granted. As he takes us through the history of our modern comforts, Bryson demonstrates that whatever happens in the world eventually ends up in our home, in the paint, the pipes, the pillows, and every item of furniture. Bryson has one of the liveliest, most inquisitive minds on the planet, and his sheer prose fluency makes At Home one of the most entertaining books ever written about private life.

My Thoughts:

Publisher's Weekly calls Bill Bryson's exploration of the history of our homes and lives "free-ranging" and I think that is the perfect description. He opens the book writing about the building of the Crystal Palace, home to the 1851 Great Exhibition in England which takes us off into the history of glass making and construction. 

By coincidence, little more than 100 miles away, in the same year a rectory was being built which Bryson would one day be living in and which he would use as a map for this book. In discussing his home, Bryson writes about the history of how homes as we know them developed. We learn about the rectors who occupied homes like the one he lives in, and what they did, which very rarely involved tending to a flock. Once inside we learn about rats and all manner of creepy creatures, the history of the use of and search for spices, furniture through the years, disease and death, childbirth and the raising of children, the industrial revolution and child labor, the way certain words (such as toilet) have changed through the years, and the history of the telephone. 

The book is chock full of information which I found, for the most part, very interesting and wished that I had bought the book so I could refer back to it in the future. But...I often forgot what room we'd started in since Bryson so often went off in a direction that had little to do with the room. Because Bryson's home tended to have rats in the study, that's what Bryson talked about in that chapter but he included nothing about why a room called a "study" ever came into being (although, to be fair, he did touch on, when talking about the change from living in one great hall to having many rooms in a home, that often rooms began being used for a purpose just because there were so many rooms). In some ways, it felt like Bryson had found a lot of interesting information about a lot of things that he wanted to find a way to weave into one book. Bryson certainly does know a lot about the subjects that he's included and stuffed the book full of interesting tidbits; for example, Queen Elizabeth I used to take the silverware home when she visited people's homes. 

Bryson does a marvelous job reading his book but I must say I was surprised to find that he was born in the U.S. and lives here now, given that he speaks with a British accent. 

Death of a Witch by M. C. Beaton

Death of a Witch: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery #24 by M. C. Beaton
Published February 2009 by Grand Central Publishing
Source: checked out from my local library

Publisher’s Summary:
Returning from a vacation, Constable Hamish Macbeth senses a dark cloud of evil hanging over his Scottish village of Lochdubh. Newcomer Catriona Beldame has cast a bewitching spell over the town, causing the local men to visit her cottage at all hours of the night and infuriating the women. Hamish suspects that she is a great danger to the town. Before he can prove that Catriona is truly wicked, she is brutally murdered-and Hamish becomes the prime suspect in the case. The constable will call upon the assistance of a pretty female forensic expert as he attempts to clear his name . . . and perhaps even find some romance. But when more violence breaks out, loyal Hamish must use all his detective skills to restore peace to his beloved village.

My Thoughts:
I have long loved Hamish Macbeth. He’s tall, clearly handsome, and smart. He’s also something of a rogue – he’s got a trail of women who can’t get over him and vice versa – and he is forever finding himself in some kind of romantic tangle. He’s also forever finding dead bodies around the sleepy little village of Lochdubh. Honestly, I can’t help but think that I would be hightailing it out of that town if I lived there and that many people were dying. But Hamish wouldn’t be Hamish if he ever took the promotion his superiors are constantly trying to give him and Lochdubh would’t be Lochdubh if the villagers acted any differently.

Still, I may be growing tired of them. Certainly after reading quite a few of the Hamish Macbeth series, each of which is meant to stand alone, I'm growing tired of being reminded about how each character fits into Hamish's life. And, to be honest, I'm growing a bit tired of Beaton's tendency to repetitiveness within a book. I didn't love this one as much as I have the other Hamish Macbeth books I've read. Although, maybe it has to do with the fact that this is the first book in the series that I've read in print, rather than listening to them with a lovely Scottish accent.

Am I finished with Macbeth? Of course not. Because I love that Macbeth's a rebel; I adore the villagers' attitude; and, for the most part, I enjoy the crime storylines. Beaton mixes in a fair bit of humor; and there's none of the gore or extreme tension that tend to turn me away from other murder mystery books. Maybe next time I'll just go back to the audiobook...a Scottish accent will make any book better, right?

I chose this book to read for the R.I.P. Challenge.

Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P.) Thirteen

It’s that time of year again, the time when everyone gets all excited about reading scary books and watching scary movies and getting to do it as part of a huge group celebrating Readers Imbibing Peril. Also known as that time of year when Lisa thinks she will participate and immediately remembers that she doesn’t watch scary movies and even has a hard time with scary books. I’m a wimp; I’ll admit it.

Still I want to be part of the fun and this year I’ve actually got a number of books ready to go (although when I’ll start them I have no idea and R.I.P.’s already been going on since September 1). This year I’m going to really push to read three books, maybe even four, time permitting. I’ll be shooting for Peril the Second but hope to reach Peril the First for the first time ever. On my list:

Diane Setterfeld’s Bellman and Black

Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived In The Castle

Wilkie Collins’ The Woman In White

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (this will be my final read if there is time)

As for Peril the Screen, I’m in for that one as well; I just need to decide what movie to watch. I mean, technically Beetlejuice qualifies. Even better, Coco, which I haven’t seen yet. Or maybe I’ll go really old school and watch The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Or I could watch one of the genuinely scary movies I have managed to watch (even if it was through my fingers!) again, maybe Fallen or The Others.

What about you, are you joining the fun this year? If so, what’s on your list?

The Classics Club - Classics Challenge

Five plus years ago, I jumped into The Classics Club Classics Challenge. The idea was to make a list of 50 classics to read in the next five years. I love the classics and had well more than 50 in my house that I could choose from and wanted to find time to read. Easy peasy, right? Not so much. I even gave myself a couple of extra months at one point. I didn't even reach 30 books. I finally gave up, because reading is supposed to be fun, even when we are challenging ourselves to read better.

But...

JoAnn, of Lakeside Musing, recently completed her challenge (she is a great reader of classics!) then she announced that she is restarting the challenge for another five years. Wait - what? You can do the challenge a second time? Well, then. I do hate to have been a failure at anything. And I do still have all of those classic books around the house. That being said, here is my new list of classic books* to read in the next five years:

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Moll Flanders by Daniel DeFoe
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Far From The Maddening Crowd by Thomas Hardy
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
My Man Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
My Antonia by Willa Cather
The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins
The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
The Children by Edith Wharton
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Candide by Voltaire
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
Miss Bishop by Bess Streeter Aldrich
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens


Classics I'd Like To Do As A Readalong:
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Middlemarch by George Eliot
East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Modern Classics:
Crossing To Safety by Wallace Stegner
The Mystery of Hunting's End by Mignon Eberhart
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
The Remains of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Decline And Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier
The Sound And The Fury by William Faulkner
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie
Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Huston
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Stoner by John Williams
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Trial by Franz Kafka
Native Son by Richard Wright
All The Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren
We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson


Children's Classics:
Where The Redfern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawls
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevens

Short Stories and Plays:
Rocking Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence
The Fall of The House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
A Midsummer's Night Dream by William Shakespeare
Our Town by Thornton Wilder

*I realize that this list is, even after extensive research, largely made up of American and European literature. My goal is to continue to look for books from other cultures to add to the list. While this is my list as of today, I reserve the right to add and delete things as the mood strikes. Because, just as I may or may not be in the mood to read any particular book on a given day, the list reflects my mood as of today and books I left off today may be added on another day.

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XII

It's that time of year again - you know, the time of year when I think I'm going to read a lot of books that qualify for the Readers Imbibing Peril "challenge," and even watch some movies and read some short stories, but then I'm lucky if I finish one book. Yep, that time. Because, apparently, it's fall. Not sure how I feel about that but maybe joining in some of the fun bookish activities to be had this time of year will help me get in the spirit of things.

As it happens, I have a couple of books downloaded from Netgalley that are publishing in October and will be perfect for R.I.P.:

The Witches' Tree by M. C. Beaton is one of her Agatha Raisin series, cozy mysteries with a sassy heroine. Mary Jane's Ghost by Ted Gregory is the story of an unsolved 1948 murder and the two men who, more than 50 years later, became obsessed with solving the case. Finishing both of these books would mean that I've completed Peril the Second.

I had so much fun watching old episodes of Dark Shadows on YouTube last year (or two years ago?), that I may try to do some more of those to complete Peril of the Screen as well.

Are you participating in R.I.P.? Are you one of the people with a giant stack of books to read? I'm always fascinated by what others choose to read for this.

2017 Challenges

Remember when I used to sign up for 10-13 challenges at the beginning of every year? Yeah, that's not happening any more. I'm listening to my daddy, who long ago reminded me that reading is something I love and he didn't want to see it become a chore I no longer loved.

A couple of the challenges I've enjoyed the past couple of years don't appear to be running this year. I'm okay with the Women challenge; I don't really seem to need that push to read books by women. But I am disappointed not to be able to find a one year nonfiction reading challenge for 2017. I suppose I could run one but this is going to be a busy year for me and I don't have time to add anything more to my responsibilities. I'll set up my own individual challenge, simply as a reminder that I own a lot of great nonfiction books I'm wanting to get read.

I've added a couple of new-to-me challenges, both for fun and to push myself to read the books that need to be read. I looked at a couple of others but, even though I know that point is to challenge yourself, I don't want to add to much challenge to my life.

2017 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
For this challenge, each month is assigned a motif or theme. Your challenge is to read one book per month that fits in with the assigned motifs…
 JANUARY – Diversify Your Reading Kick the reading year off right and shake things up. Read a book with a character (or written by an author) of a race, religion, or sexual orientation other than your own.
FEBRUARY – Undercover Thriller Read a book involving spies, detectives, private investigators, or a character in disguise.
MARCH – Time Traveler Read a book set in a different dimension, a book in which time travel is involved or a dystopian or science fiction book where reality looks very different than what we’re used to.
APRIL – Award Winners Read a book that has won a literary award or a book written by an author who has been recognized in the bookish community.
MAY – Book to Movie or Audio Read a book that has a movie based off of it. For an extra challenge, see the movie or listen to the audio book as well.
JUNE – Destination Unknown Read a book in which the character(s) take a trip, travel somewhere, go on a quest, or find themselves on a journey toward something.
JULY – Believe the Unbelievable This month it’s all about fantasy. Epic fantasy, urban fantasy, fairytales, magic, etc.
 AUGUST – Seasons, Elements, and Weather Read a book in which the season, the elements, or the weather plays a role in the story.
SEPTEMBER – Creepy, Chilling, & Frightful Cozy mystery ghost stories, paranormal hauntings, murder mysteries, weird and scary creatures- it’s up to you!
OCTOBER– Games, Challenges, & Contests Read a book that involves a game of some sort. Video games, war games, psychological mess-with-your-mind games, characters who participate in a contest, or a story in which the character takes on a challenge.
NOVEMBER – Last Chance Read a book you’ve been meaning to get to all year but haven’t yet or read the last book in a series you started.
DECEMBER – Picking Favorites Read a book by one of your favorite authors or read a book that Girlxoxo has recommended this year.

#ReadMyOwnDamnBooks

It's time again for #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks, a TBR reading effort. Why not a challenge? Because how many challenges bog us down? Not this one!

You make the rules Be as hardcore (or not) as you want We're a community to support you, not chastize you Define your own damn goals or don't. Vow not to buy books, or whatever. This event is really that loosey goosey. You know your stacks and your challenge agility better than we do.

There will be a link-up here so you can share your progress posted on the final day of every month!

Foodies Read 2017
There is no link up yet for this challenge. My goal with this one is to read my cookbooks this year. Pointless to have them if you forget what's in them, right?

Netgalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge

Challenge Guidelines
The challenge will run from Jan 1, 2017 – Dec 31, 2017. Anyone is welcome to join. You do not need to be a blogger, just post your reviews and come back every month to link them up. Any genre, release date, request date, length, etc. counts so long as it came from Edelweiss or Netgalley. At the beginning of each month there will be a roundup post for you to add your reviews. If you forget to link up one month it’s not a problem just add your reviews next month. If you would like to move up or down levels that is completely fine and at your discretion. If you have any questions tweet me @BookishThings or e-mail katrina@bookisthingsandmore.com! Hashtag: #NGEW2017 Levels Bronze – 10 Books Silver – 25 Books Gold – 50 Books Platinum – 75 Books Diamond – 100 Books

Classics Club Spin

The Classics Club Spin is something members have been using as an incentive for a long time to get to through the 50 classic books they put on their lists. I haven't participated before, partly because it didn't always work for me timing wise and partly because I didn't want the spin to land on a book I wasn't ready to read. Well, time is ticking on my five year mark and I've only read 25 classics so far. Clearly time to get that kick in the butt.

Here are the rules for this spin:

Go to your blog.
Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club List.
Try to challenge yourself: list five you are dreading/hesitant to read, five you can’t WAIT to read, five you are neutral about, and five free choice (favorite author, rereads, ancients — whatever you choose.)
Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog by next Monday.
Monday morning, we’ll announce a number from 1-20. Go to the list of twenty books you posted, and select the book that corresponds to the number we announce.
The challenge is to read that book by December 1, even if it’s an icky one you dread reading! (No fair not listing any scary ones!)

Yeah, I'm not going to try to challenge myself because, frankly, at this point just getting one of these baby's knocked off seems to be a challenge. As an exception to that statement, however, I am going to lump all of my short story choices and all of my plays as one choice for each category since they are all so short.

1. Hamlet, A Doll's House, The Importance of Being Ernest
2. Rocking Horse Winner, The House of Usher, The Jumping Frog of Calavaras County
3. This Side of Paradise
4. The Railway Children
5. Frenchman's Creek
6. Candide
7. Treasure Island
8. Oliver Twist
9. Cranford
10. Moll Flanders
11. Frankenstein
12. Brideshead Revisited
13. Lady Chatterley's Lover
14. The Metamorphosis
15. My Antonia
16. Where The Redfern Grows
17. Sense and Sensibility
18. Miss Bishop
19. Daisy Miller
20. The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling

You may notice that I haven't included any of the chunksters I have on my list. I want to make sure I leave myself some time for R.I.P. and Fall Feasting reading and I'm planning on reading Little Dorrit (finally!) in December.

I'm ready for that spin on Monday!

2016 Big Book Summer Challenge

Remember in July when I jumped in late to this challenge, certain that this would be the year I would conquer Charles Dicken's Little Dorrit?

Yeah, that didn't happen. I think I read about 15 pages when I remembered all of the books that I'd committed to or had coming up on Netgalley.

I did, however manage to succeed at this challenge, listening to one book over 400 pages and reading another before Labor Day: And The Mountains Echoed on audio and A Gentleman In Moscow in print. I feel a little bit like I cheated, though, because I didn't even know how many pages either of these had when I started them. But we all know how mixed my success with challenges is, so I'm blaming victory!

2016 Big Book Summer Challenge

It's that time again, time for Sue's (of Book by Book) Big Book Summer Challenge. I'm late to the party (what a surprise, right?); the challenge started Memorial Day. But it runs through Labor Day so there's still time to knock out a chunkster. I'm looking to finally read Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit, which has been on my bookshelf ever since I saw the Masterpiece Theater adaptation. It weighs in at over 800 pages so that will likely be the only big book I get through all summer with this late start.

It's not too late for you to join, too. Here are the "rules:"

• Anything over 400 pages qualifies as a big book. The challenge will run from Memorial Day weekend (starting May 27 this year) through Labor Day weekend (Labor Day is September 5 this year). Choose one or two or however many big books you want as your goal. Wait, did you get that? You only need to read 1 book with over 400 pages this summer to participate! (though you are welcome to read more, if you want).

• Choose from what's on your shelves already or a big book you've been meaning to read for ages or anything that catches your eye in the library - whatever peaks your interest!

• Sign up on the links list below. [see Sue's page]

• Write a post to kick things off - you can list the exact big books you plan to read or just publish your intent to participate, but be sure to include the Big Book Summer Challenge pic above, with a link back to this blog.

• Write a post to wrap up at the end, listing the big books you read during the summer.

• You can write progress posts if you want to and/or reviews of the big books you've read...but you don't have to! There is a separate links list below for big book review posts.

Are you looking to knock of any big books this summer?

Once Upon A Time X

Thanks to Wendy from Musings of A Bookish Kitty, who brought it to my attention that the Once Upon A Time challenge started this week. Hosted by Carl, of Stainless Steel Droppings, is hosting the challenge for the tenth year and there are a lot of ways you can join in by reading, watching, or even gaming about fairy tales, folktales, myths, and fantasy.

There are several levels of participation:

The Journey which only requires that you read one related book between now and June 21st which is when the challenge ends

Quest the First asks that you read five related books in the next three months.

Quest the Second requires that you read one book from each of the four genres.

Quest the Third involves you doing one of the above plus a June read of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream or a viewing of one of the movie adaptations.

Short Story Quest is just what the name suggests and only requires that you read one or more short stories that will fit the genres.

Quest On Screen involves viewing any movie(s) that fit within the genres because, as Carl says, great stories aren't just told on the page.

Quest The Game is also just what the name suggests. I'm not a gamer so I'm clueless as to what kinds of games might fit into these categories with the exception that I know there are a lot of fantasy games. Apparently, there are also a lot of table top games you might try your hand at.

Sound like fun? No? Well, head on over to Carl's post and let him explain it. He does a much better job of it! Trust me, it's fun!

As for me, here's my plan:

The Journey - I'll read Marissa Meyer's Cinder which I downloaded to my Nook something like two years ago.

Quest the Third - I may try to read A Midsummer Night's Dream as well but I'll definitely plan on watching at least one movie adaptation. I'd like to find the 1968 version with Diana Rigg, Helen Mirren, Ian Richardson and Ian Holm...or the 1999 version starring Kevin Kline, Rupert Everett, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, and Christian Bale...and definitely Woody Allen's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy. 

Short Story Quest - you know I've got all of these fairy tale books that have kind of gotten ignored of late, including a lovely new edition I got for Christmas from Mini-me and Miss S.

My spring is pretty busy already so I'll probably only have time for a few short stories through May but come June, I'll be all over it! Won't you join us?!

Not So Much Challenges As Reminders

New year - new attitude. These things I'm signing up for may be called "challenges" but this year I'm thinking of them more as reminders rather than challenges.

It's not that I "have" to read more nonfiction, or classics, or books written by authors of color or set in other countries. But I want to and it's just so darn easy to grab the nearest novel written by a white person set in the United States. I like to think that I'm a smart person and I think my reading should, to some extent, help make me smarter. Also, I'm missing out on some great books if I'm not looking to broaden my horizons. So, for 2016 I'll be utilizing the following "reminders" to help steer me to read the things I want to read.

2016 Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by The Introverted Reader: I'll be shooting to reach the Seeker level which is 11-15 nonfiction books during 2016; my goal is to average one nonfiction book a month, at least. Because I will be reading some Doris Kearns Goodwin in 2016. And The Emperor Of All Maladies. And...oh, I have so many great nonfiction books already on my bookshelves that I can't wait to read!

Diversity On The Shelf 2016 hosted by Akilah at The Englishist: Because this is, again, just a reminder, I'm signing up at the lowest level, First Shelf, which only requires that I read 1-6 books written by and/or about persons of color. Let's face it, things have gotten a little ugly in the U.S. of late when it comes to race relations. I'd like to do my part to try to understand all sides, not just my own.

Women Challenge #4 hosted by Peek-a-booK!: Let's face it, I may not really need this reminder. I've signed up the past two years at the highest level, Wonder Woman, which requires that you read 20+ books in the year written by women. I've blown that out in about half the year both years. But, as there continues to be a running battle in the book world about the difference between the way male and female authors are treated, I don't want to become complacent.

I gave some serious thought to the Journal in January challenge hosted by She is too fond of books but decided I didn't want to add anything more to my daily schedule right now as I'm working to make some other changes in the way I spend my time. Now, if she decides to challenge me later this year to get back to my journaling, I may just take her up on it!

Once Upon A Time VI

Ever since I began blogging, I've been intrigued by the RIP Challenge, hosted by Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings, in the fall. I have no idea how I've missed that Carl also has been hosting a spring challenge called Once Upon A Time. This is a challenge custom made for me - there are four genres of books that are included in the challenge: fairy tale, folklore, fantasy and mythology. Given the number of books I've committed to for review in the coming months, I'm hesitant to jump into this challenge. But since I can also make it work with other challenges I'm participating in, I'm going to push myself a bit a join at the Quest the Second level which means that I'll be reading one book from each category between now and June 19th.

 

There is also a Short Story Quest and Quest on Screen and I'm planning to participate in both of those as well.

As you know, I'll have no trouble picking out books for the fairy tale and mythology genres and I think I've already chosen my folklore book but I need your help with the fantasy book. What would you suggest?

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Originally published in 1926
Source: my husband's college copy

The Sun Also Rises is the story of Jake Barnes, Lady Brett Ashley, Robert Cohn and an assortment of other expatriates as they travel from their wild lives in Paris to the bullfights of Pamploma, Spain in the 1920's. Although the story is primarily about the interaction of these people, it is also an homage to Hemingway's passions.

The overview on the Barnes & Nobel calls The Sun Also Rises poignant, a word that I initially took issue with in reference to this book. My idea of the definition of "poignant" tended to be "profoundly moving, touching." I know this book is considered a masterpiece - any source you look at will tell you as much. But I definitely did not find it profoundly moving nor touching. Poignant, however, can also be defined as "neat, skillful and to the point," "piercing, incisive," and "keenly distressing to the mind." By any of those definitions, The Sun Also Rises is indeed poignant.

"Neat, skillful and to the point"
Hemingway may be the ultimate in "to the point" authors. When writing dialogue, he has almost entirely done away with the "he said, she cried, John extolled" pieces. The reader must pay attention in order to know who is saying what.

Whereas writers up to the time of the Lost Generation tended to be overly descriptive, Hemingway is very careful about when he uses description. I haven't much of a clue what any of the characters in this book look like, unless other characters have pointed out something about their features. Hemingway clearly preferred to let the reader form an image of his characters based almost entirely on their actions. He seemed to be of a different mind frame when it came to his passions - the streets of Paris, the countryside of Spain, fishing and bullfighting are all vividly portrayed (although certainly not in any way that might be considered flowery). 

"Piercing, incisive"
While Hemingway may leave the reader to wonder about his characters appearance, he leaves the reader in no doubt whatsoever about their motivations, their biases, not their feelings, not even at his own expense.

"You're an expatriate. You've lost touch with the soil. You get precious. Fake European standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You become obsessed by sex. You spend all your time talking, not working. You are an expatriate, see? You hang around cafes."

"Keenly distressing to the mind"

I'm not sure if when Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises the things that I found to be keenly distressing to the mind were then felt to be keenly distressing to the mind. Black people are repeatedly referred to by the N word, gay men are referred to as "faggots" and there is no end to belittling Robert Cohn because of his begin Jewish. Was this par for the course at the time the book was written? Does this merely reflect Hemingway's feelings? Or did Hemingway include these things just be provocative? None of this even touches on the passages about the running of the bulls and the bullfighting scenes.

It's been thirty years since I read anything by Hemingway. The Old Man and The Sea really should not be taught to high school students - they don't have the life experience to understand it and it may just scare them off of Hemingway forever! Did I enjoy this one any more? Well, yes and no. Honestly, I found it to be dry and, frankly, boring at times. But there is so much to think about in the book. It made for a excellent book club choice because of the story and the way it changed the way authors write. As much as I love Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and the like, thank you, thank you to Ernest Hemingway and the authors of his generation for teaching writers that sometimes less really is more.

Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge And I May Just Have Signed Up For Another Challenge - Oops!

Why yes, yes I did completely fail at this challenge last year - my own challenge. So why am I posting about it? Because many of those who have participated in the past encouraged me to give it another try. So here we go again. I've made some changes (and by changes, I mean I've made it easier!) which I hope will make it more fun (fewer books needed to succeed, more movie adaptations can be substituted).

If you're not completely inundated with challenges already, we'd love to have you join us! To sign up, just leave a comment here.

This evening I made the terrible mistake of clicking on a post from Michelle of The True Book Addict where she highlighted all of the challenges she's participating in this year. Well of course I found another one I had to do - one that's right up my alley. It's Bex's (of An Armchair By The Sea) The Telling Tales Reading Challenge. And just why couldn't I pass it up? Because it's all about reading/watching fairytales, folktales and myths! Perfect, no?! Just remind me not to click on any more posts in Google Reader that have anything to do with challenges you've signed up for, please.