Sunday, September 1, 2013

Closing the lid of August

From last autumn.
It's AUTUMN! I am beyond pleased, because as for many, autumn is my absolute favourite season. Summer is actually my least favourite season, so I am double pleased that it is over.
 
How did it go on reading front? I was mega relaxed in my reading, even though I had (and still have for one more day) three weeks off from work. I used to think of myself as a fairly fast reader, but I'm thinking I might have to adjust that mindset - it took me 8 days to get through A Prayer for Owen Meany, and it's not like it's a bad book or anything! Maybe I'm just a slower kind of reader, afterall.
 
Let's get down to numbers. The books I read in August:
 
* J. Fforde "Lost In a Good Book"
* J. Austen "Mansfield Park" - Classics Club; Austen in August

* A. Bahdaj "Matk naeratuse eest" ("Podróz za jeden uśmiech")
* J. Rannap "Agu Sihvka annab aru"
* E. Raud "Roostevaba mõõk"
* J. Irving "A Prayer for Owen Meany"
 
399+439+214+106+159+637= 1943
 
Page count ain't actually too shabby, I used to be around 2000 pages a month in the beginning of the year, so I think I'm getting the mojo back.
 
The three books in funny languages (Polish, Estonian, Estonian) are children's books (actually I think they are more like middle grade) and I brought them to Finland from my childhood home. They have been ridiculously comforting comfort reads this month. I'll do mini reviews on the books I've read in summer (except for Mansfield Park) next week.
 
From last autumn.
So we had Austen in August event, which was successful for me since I only set one goal (read Mansfield Park) and I managed to meet it.
 
September and October will be ridiculously exciting because of RIP VIII reading event. I already started The Night Circus, mostly because I finished A Prayer for Owen Meany on 30th and I knew I wasn't going to finish another book in 1.5 days, so I figured I'll just start with the RIP stack. And, I did have a lot of reservations about this book, but has it managed to grab my attention! I bought it back in January and am glad I finally got the proper push to read it. So far, RIP has started very successfully for me. Next up, I think, will be at least a few Sherlock Holmes stories, and then I'll probably move on to Henry James.

 

 

10 comments:

  1. Those photos are gorgeous! I love Autumn, but enjoy Spring just that little bit more. I've never read The Night Circle, so it'll be good to know what you think of it :)

    Also, I applaud you on that word count! For some reason I'm reading really slowly at the moment, particularly compared to the start of the year, but I think it's starting to pick up again. Sometimes you just need a break, perhaps!

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    1. Thank you! Autumn and spring are both strong contenders for "The Best Season" indeed :)

      I think sometimes reading slower is connected to the general mental state of person, for example if it's hard to concentrate (=my perpetual problem), it is logical that you read slower than otherwise. But I don't really mind and I prefer slower (and thorougher) reading style over fast anyway.

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  2. You had a great month! I, unfortunately, still haven't managed to finish Mansfield Park. I will finish it, but probably not in the near term :-( It just hasn't captured my attention like Austen's other novels did. Oh well.

    By the way, I'm very eager for the arrival of fall. I'm not a fan of hot weather so the summer is not my favourite season either.

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    1. Truth be told, I think a lot of motivation to finish Mansfield Park came from the fact that it was part of an event read. Reading events can be quite motivating; otherwise I am often prone to just set books aside.

      Fall is great! I'm so glad hot weathers are in the past (hopefully) for this year.

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  3. I don't like summer either, although I like winter more than autumn, I love the cold weather.
    How quickly you have gotten into The Night Circus has pushed me to put it near the top of my RIP stack. I'm going to start with Warm Bodies I think, and save the James for nearer Halloween.

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    1. I think your winters may be more softer, here in Finland it gets really cold (like -30 C cold) and winters are really long, so thus I am not that excited. Last year the winter lasted for what felt like six months, so that is a bit too much for my taste...

      I hope you enjoy Warm Bodies, have heard so many good things about it and even though I am not at all intrigued by zombie theme, maybe some day!

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  4. The fact that is it now Autumn is so so so exciting! Ignoring the fact that London is having another little heat wave (mumble grumble), I cannot wait for the chill to start.

    Looking at that word count, I think you've had a brilliant month! Enjoy RIP (bit spooky for me :) ) and I hope September is another good month.

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    1. It's actually pretty warm around here too... for autumn, so it's a bit annoying. I want to wear my trench, damnit! :)

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  5. Pretty pretty pictures :)

    I'm kind of looking forward to autumn too - It bums me out because it means winter is around the corner, but I am looking forward to boots, sweaters, and pumpkin-flavored everything.

    I'm going to do it! I'm going to sign up for RIP. And The Night Circus will probably be in my pile as well, since I just got it from the library recently. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it!

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    1. Winter is not as nice thought as autumn, but it'll be a while still. I have those funny moments in summer when I really miss Christmas so I guess it means I don't mind winter much. Pumpkin-flavoured, mmmmm!

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