2024 February Reading Challenge

[Greg]

Elizabeth wrote: "Clancy wrote: "Ok, I finished Pride and Prejudice in 2 days. I still love it. Now, I'm going to have binge watch all my movie versions of the same!"

What's your favorite movie/tv series version.

..."

If you're going to film the book, you should do it right. The miniseries is the only one that did it justice.

[Darin]

I think I have mentioned earlier somewhere that the Stephanie Plum series is comfort/cozy reading for me, so, I’m reading “Dirty Thirty” for this challenge. Hope to finish in a few days.

Thanks for sharing your spreadsheet, Deborah, and to Greg for bringing this up. Deborah, I recently read (browsed) the book “Star Wars Timelines,” and that made me want to rewatch the movies and catch up on the different streaming series. And then I started thinking about all of the books to read. I did a search for how to read the Star Wars books, and found the Youtini site. I love your tab of those titles and will borrow that.

I love spreadsheets (and am married to an accountant who also loves spreadsheets - she will frequently create spreadsheets to plan or explain things - love her for that!), but sometimes I find that I’m spending way more time planning or tracking reading, than actually reading/listening to books! But, I can’t help myself, I guess. Anyway, thanks for letting us utilize what you’ve built!

[Audrey]

Buying books, organizing books, planning to read, and actually reading are different hobbies.

[Darin]

Audrey, I think you’re right! I will explain this to my wife…I’m sure she will understand and agree that I need to be doing all of them!

[Deborah]

Darin, I am glad that you can use parts of my spreadsheets. Enjoy!

[Deborah]

I finished reading James Herriot's Treasury for Children: Warm and Joyful Tales by the Author of Every Living Thing last night.

[Debbie]

Audrey wrote: "Buying books, organizing books, planning to read, and actually reading are different hobbies."

I never thought of it this way, but you are right!

[Carolyn]

Audrey wrote: "Buying books, organizing books, planning to read, and actually reading are different hobbies."

So true!

[Audrey]

I read Kit McBride Gets a Wife. That was very cozy.

[Debbie]

Do we have a topic for March?

I just realized I forgot to note that I finished Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and today I finished People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman ( Review )
] so my full, unexpectedly long list of cozies read this month are:
Read and Buried by Eva Gates
To the Nines by Janet Evanovich
The Eyes and the Impossible: by Dave Eggers
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman

And only one is a children's book and chosen for reading because it is this year's Newbery Medal winner.

[Britt, Book Habitue]

Kit McBride was cute. I liked it a lot more than I expected.
I read that and read my comfort read Bellwether three times because it was that kind of a month lol.
(Middle school musical - managing my child's stress and helping backstage.)

[Elizabeth]

Only a couple of more days to tell me if you've finished the challenge to be entered into the Prize Drawing!

[Elizabeth]

Also March is up now!

[Audrey]

One of my kids did the junior high musical (Hunter JHS) when she was that age, and my son was in the orchestra for the high school musical in December (Hunter HS).

[Britt, Book Habitue]

Wait.
The one that made last week crazy was Hunter Jr and I ALSO had a kid in the pit for Little Mermaid at Hunter this year!

[alisonwonderland (Alison)]

I had surgery a few weeks ago and wanted some hygge picks for my recovery. I chose three different rom-coms: What You Wish For, The Cheat Sheet, and This Time It’s Real. These were the cozy, feel-good reads I needed.

[JoAnn]

I decided this past week to get more involved at my local library (and by that I mean "go to a library for the first time in 5 years"). Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across this reading challenge and discovered I was already reading one of the recommended books for this month! I'm about an hour away from finishing The Last Bookshop in London. I've read it before, but since having my baby a year ago haven't been able to get back into reading in general. I knew that the way this book highlights the solace that reading provides from all kinds of stresses, exhaustion, and hardship was exactly the message I needed to get back to it!

[Elizabeth]

alisonwonderland (Alison) wrote: "These were the cozy, feel-good reads I needed..." I'm so glad to hear that @alisonwonderland!

[Elizabeth]

JoAnn wrote: "I decided this past week to get more involved at my local library (and by that I mean "go to a library for the first time in 5 years")..."

Welcome back to the in person library experience! I'm glad reading The Last Bookshop in London has pulled you out of a reading slump.

[Audrey]

Britt, Book Habitue wrote: "Wait.
The one that made last week crazy was Hunter Jr and I ALSO had a kid in the pit for Little Mermaid at Hunter this year!"

My kid is Caelan; he played the flute for Little Mermaid. His good friend played one of the eels and had seriously injured his knee ice skating, so he was doped up on ibuprofen during the show.

I teach orchestra at Elk Run and Farnsworth elementary schools. I cannot get my own kids to practice.

[Britt, Book Habitue]

Mine is a percussionist. He was all over in Little Mermaid.
Did you have anyone in Mary Poppins or Once on this Island? My oldest was in both of those at Hunter Jr.

The music teacher at Hunter Jr has started an elementary school band since many of the elementary schools don't have anything since COVID. I don't manage practice either....four kids playing instruments and basically zero practicing happens.

[Audrey]

My daughter Sara (#3) was in the ensemble for both of those. She started college this year. My youngest, in 8th grade, took piano from Ms. Hancock last semester, which surprised me because he is autistic and was never interested in music before.

[Elizabeth]

It's the last day to tell me if you've finished the challenge. Make sure you get that info in to be entered into the prize drawing!

[Audrey]

Yeah, our music program shut down during Covid, so a lot of junior high kids didn't get a chance to start earlier.

[Darin]

I finished reading Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich.

[Elizabeth]

Mary is our prize drawing winner for February’s reading challenge for reading The Last Love Note by Emma Grey.

Congratulations!