Weekly Wrap-up for December 5, 2010: 2011 Read-a-longs and Holidays.

Hey all-

I hope you had a wonderful reading week. Mine was only so-so as I spent a great deal of free time this week getting posts written and edited for the coming weeks (with a back log of 20+ books, you can imagine how many that is!). Sometimes I am surprised by how much time it takes to get a post to sound just right. It irritates my husband sometimes, to listen to me repeat a sentence out loud until I get it to sound the way I want it to, but I told him that I have to listen to his video games. We just call it even. :)

I managed to finish The Metamorphosis by Kafka, along with some of the supplemental reading material that came in the edition (the story is only 50 pages or so). It is such a...weird little story and I am still having a hard time getting my head around it.

I am also still in the middle of Barchester Towers and making steady progress. I like Trollope and this is my first book by him....but the second in a series. I'm kind of kicking myself for not picking up on that earlier when I was making my list, but I am catching on and doing fine. He writes in such a way that you feeling like you are just strolling along in the story and nodding. I love it. :) Besides, his last name is so much fun to say: Trollope. Moving on...

I've also been eying a few other things on my shelf. I have an urge to read Emma, so that may be up next, as well as Kerouac's On the Road. We'll see though. My moods come and go. :)

I did make another trip to the library for a couple more audiobooks (I listened to most of The Metamorphosis on CD and finished it in the book) as mine were due. I picked up Rebecca in hopes we are reading it for January's read-a-long, as well as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and A Farewell to Arms. Since we still have some unpacking and organizing to do, I figured they might keep me company.

I do want to direct you to my post about read-a-longs for 2011. I love hosting them, so I hope you'll join in on the fun this coming year. I have a ton of things planned and some prizes in mind, so really think about participating. And everyone needs a classic fix you know? Also, there are polls on the right hand side of my main page for the first three months of the year. You have until next Sunday to vote, so make sure you do!

My other big project this week has been coming up with smaller lists to base my reading off of in 2011. I am sure some of you can relate, but I find it easier to read based on theme. Sometimes I get into these moods and all I want to read is a certain thing. By organizing the titles left on my list, I hope this will make that more of a possibility next year, as opposed to me just grabbing things willy-nilly off my shelf. There will be a post on that, of course, when I finish.

This coming week I am planning on getting through the Trollope as well as 1 or 2 other things. You're going to see a lot of posts from my November reading, so enjoy the little forays into childhood with me. :)


Anyway, how are your preparations for the holidays going? Matt put up our tree this past week and decorated it, so our apartment looks nice and homey. We also conquered the living spaces in everything but our second bedroom, so it definitely feels like a home now. Downsizing didn't seem like it was going to be this hard. But really, we just have too much junk.

We have about half of our shopping done, but at least we know what we're getting everyone. I love the holidays, so I can't wait for all the excitement and good food.

I've also been glancing through some of the lessons and such for January. It is starting to get MUCH closer and I am excited to be back in a classroom. I am sure that it means a reduction in reading time, but I am glad that I'll be able to dive into teaching again. :)

I suppose that wraps it up for this week. Make sure you vote for the read-a-longs on the main page of this blog so the book you want to read wins!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!