March 31, 2010

A Month in Summary - February '10

Wow. Even if you disregard the audio book and the one novel I gave up on, I had a very good month. For me. Six books is a lot these days. Of course, one was a young adult novel (fairly quick to read) and the other was one I'd been reading over many, many months. But still... :)

The Help by Kathryn Stocket (audio) (5/5)

The Delights of Reading: Quotes, Notes & Anecdotes by Otto L. Bettmann (3/5)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (2/5)

Impatient with Desire by Gabrielle Burton (4/5)

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon (DNF)

Love Begins in Winter: Five Stories by Simon Van Booy (3.5/5)

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman (2.5/5)

Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish (2/5)

Click on the titles to read my reviews.

Favorite of the month: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Books Read 7
DNF 1
Male Authors 3
Female Authors 4
New-To-Me Authors 6
Epistolary 1
Audio 1
Fiction 5
Nonfiction 2
Historical Fiction 3
Coming-of-Age 1
Classic 0
Poetry 0
Teen 1
Children's 0
Sci-Fi 0
Fantasy 0
Horror 0
Graphic Novel 0
Romance 0
Humor 0
Travel 0
Memoir 1
Biography 0
Short Stories 1
Essays 0
Culinary 0
Mystery/Thriller 0
Religious Fiction 0
Re-read 1
Mine 5
Borrowed 2
ARC 1

Note: Only books completed are counted in the above totals with, of course, the exception of the DNF category.

4 comments:

  1. Great month!! I hope March turns out just as good!!!

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  2. Ditto what Staci said. Do you keep a written record of your reads? It always surprises me to see your DNFs listed, I guess because if I don't finish a book, I don't bother writing anything about it at all. I just set it aside and eventually I try again or find it a new home.

    About the comment on loose dogs. a few posts ago -- I've probably told you there are no leash laws, here. Maybe 1 in 100 people walks a dog on a leash and keeps it fenced (invariably, they're from outside the state and will eventually move on). I've never been able to ride a bike in Vicksburg. The park is the only place you can ride safely and the hills are just too steep there. I love biking, so I've been kind of mourning my inability to hop on a bike for pleasure for 24 years.

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  3. Staci - I should have March's post up this weekend. That is, if I get two reviews written!

    Thanks for being such a good blogmate and stopping by with your comments. Much appreciated!

    Nancy - Yeah, I have a little spiral bound notebook where I jot down book info prior to writing my reviews. I think I'm on #12 for these reading journals! I started noting my DNFs when I realized I had spent more than just a few minutes reading the beginning pages. If I invest a day or so in a book, I want a record of it somewhere! ;)

    I'm sorry you have such a problem with dogs running loose in your community. I would be scared to walk, run or ride my bike anywhere near a dog that isn't confined to a yard or on a leash. My brother was bit by dog when he was a little kid and I think that scared the crap out of me. I trust my Annie-Dog, but I'm always a little nervous around other dogs until I know them. Kind of hard to get to know a dog that's barking and chasing you down the street! :)

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  4. Oh, neat. I've thought about keeping a journal but never have gotten around to it. Your DNF philosophy makes sense to me.

    I've had several bad dog experiences and the lack of leash laws is (are?) the main reason I dislike living in the Deep South (and, yeah, I'm afraid to walk or ride a bike in my own neighborhood). Well, that and the pollen. In our neighborhood, people who walk carry sticks. I won't do that because if I have to carry a stick, it means there's reason to fear and that takes away the joy of going out for a walk. The military park is national property -- that's why I've always walked or run there. Leashes are required. Bike-wise, I'm just stuck because the park is too hilly.

    We actually had a local child (a 2-year-old) "mauled" by a dog, this week, and the article said, "the cause of the attack was unknown". I thought that was so stupid. Dogs are predators. They sometimes mistake small children for prey -- it's no different than going after a squirrel. And, this follows on the heels of a UPS driver being threatened and allegedly hitting a dog in self-defense. The owner had the UPS driver arrested and threatened to sue -- and his dogs were trained attack dogs, for the protection of his property. There ought to be a law against having dogs trained to attack and then letting them run loose, you know? Wild.

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