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Currently | I Like Big Books

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Time // 1:50 p.m.

Place // At my desk in my chilly house.

Eating // I’m eating healthier than I have been. My sister and I joined Weight Watchers last week and so I’m in the midst of getting back some health habits I’ve let slide over the last couple of years.

Drinking // Mango Ceylon Black Tea, a recommendation from a friend. It’s delicious.

Reading // Since I last did a Currently post on October 7 (13 days ago?) I’ve finished two books: Anything That Moves by Dana Goodyear (out in November) and Drama High by Michael Sokolove. I liked Anything That Moves but I fell hard for Drama High, which I’ve seen pitched as Friday Night Lights meets Glee. But it’s really more complicated than that, and I hope I can find the words to write about it well.

After debating about which “big book” (literally) to read next, I settled on The Goldfinch by by Donna Tartt. I read about 200 pages yesterday and I’m really digging it. This week I’d also like to finish How to Write Short by Roy Peter Clark, which is an interesting book on craft sharp prose in small spaces.

Watching // In some of my copious free time (ha), I started watching Sleepy Hollow, which is a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. It’s sort of like if Buffy the Vampire Slayer met a police procedural, with a couple of main characters that I like a lot. I also finished Fringe yesterday and felt pretty satisfied with the conclusion even if the last season didn’t really do it for me. 

Listening // During a drive last weekend I started listening to Extra Lives by Tom Bissell, a sort of literary criticism of video games that I think is fascinating. I don’t play a lot of games, so I like getting what feels like an overview of where the genre is from a player who loves games but is also fully aware of their limitations.

My sister and I also went to see Wicked at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis last Sunday night, so I’ve been listening to the soundtrack a lot this week.

Blogging // I had big plans to get ahead with blogging this weekend, and then I came down with another horrendous cold. I spent most of the time I’d planned for blogging laying on my couch with Kleenex and hot tea zoning out to episodes of Fringe. I’m not happy about that.

Loving // That said, I’m so happy finally have a weekend at home! I’ve been traveling for the last four weekends, which I love but also find very exhausting. It was nice to have a couple of days to myself, at my house, to feel a little more grounded — even if those days weren’t as productive as I hoped they’d be.

I also splurged and bought myself an electric blanket, which is making my life so much better now that autumn/winter has arrived. I actually had to scrape off my windshield this week which was demoralizing.

Anticipating // It looks like I am going to have a very busy week at work, which I am not entirely excited about. But, Leslie (Regular Rumination) and I are plotting a fun blogging project for November that I’m excited to share more about soon.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Shannon @ River City Reading October 20, 2013, 3:18 pm

    I think you’re the first person I’ve seen comment on Drama High, which I’ve had my eye on (specifically because of the FNL/Glee comparison), so that endorsement has me really excited.

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:19 pm

      I haven’t seen any other reviews either, which is a shame! It’s a great book — review up tomorrow.

  • Diane@BibliophilebytheSea October 20, 2013, 3:45 pm

    Kim, The Goldfinch is excellent – finished last week but no review yet. Good luck with WW, I joined in Jan with my daughter and lost 28lbs, bit I slipped a bit and at about (-25) now. I’ll be happy if I can maintain that over the holidays and then get serious in Jan again. Have a good week.

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:21 pm

      I’m really enjoying The Goldfinch. It’s a huge book, but it doesn’t feel long while I’m reading in (in part because I have no idea where it is going). I think WW is going to be a good tool for me. I’ve counted calories before, but I appreciate that this is so much more flexible. It was, perhaps, foolish to start before the holidays, but we’ll be fine 🙂

  • Vasilly October 20, 2013, 4:58 pm

    I hope you get over your cold soon. I had similar plans for this weekend but it’s not turning out well. I’ve never read anything by Donna Tartt before so I’m pretty excited to read The Goldfinch but first I have two other chunksters to get into. Have a good week.

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:22 pm

      I’ve only read The Secret History, but I got a copy of her other book (the title is escaping me at the moment) at the clearance book sale. I feel like I’m reading them in the wrong order, but oh well. I’m enjoying what I’ve read so far.

  • bermudaonion (Kathy) October 20, 2013, 6:48 pm

    My sister loves big books – she says she gets more for her money when she buys one. I’ve pretty much given up getting ahead on the blog – every time I think I’ll have some free time to do it, something happens.

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:23 pm

      That’s a fun way to look at big books. I seem to get bogged down in all of the other books I could finish in that time, but volume of books certainly is not the only or best measure.

  • Megan October 20, 2013, 7:56 pm

    Agh, quit showing those scary pictures of frosty windshields. I’m dreading the first day with the windshield scraping. That crap messes up pretty much my whole life for several months until I fit it into my schedule, at which point, it gets warm. =P

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:23 pm

      I was so cranky when I came outside and saw the frost! Too soon!

  • Athira October 20, 2013, 8:54 pm

    Looking forward to hearing about your blogging project. Hope your cold goes away soon – it tends to come at the nastiest of times.

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:24 pm

      I had a cold right at the beginning of the summer. It’s ridiculous!

  • Kelly from Readlately.com October 20, 2013, 9:04 pm

    The Goldfinch is my next read too! So we’ll literally be reading it together. I’m thinking of splitting my review of it into a couple of posts since it’s so long. Want to coordinate a read-along or something?

    Let us know how The Luminaries is when you get to it. I know it won the Man Booker Prize but quite a few bloggers haven’t been able to finish -so I’m wondering if it’s worth it.

    Congrats on re-joining weight watchers! My husband lost weight on it and did my father and brother. It’s effective but easy to slip if you stop counting points.

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:25 pm

      I hope you like The Goldfinch! I’m just reading it sort of casually, but I’d love to do some emailing back and forth or coordinated reviews when you get finished. I have no idea what I’ll write about it, since I’ve backed off on reviewing fiction so much. I just want to read it for fun 🙂

  • Charlie October 21, 2013, 9:29 am

    Hope you feel better soon! Best of luck with weight watchers. Glad to hear you were able to read even if the rest of your plans have had to change.

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:26 pm

      It was nice to spend a few hours on Saturday buried in a book. I haven’t been able to do that in a long while.

  • Stacy October 21, 2013, 9:38 am

    I really like the concept and format of your “Currently” posts. Might want to adapt/steal this for my own blog….

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:26 pm

      Borrow away! I switch up the words dependin on how I’m feeling, but in general it’s a fun, low brain-energy way to start out my Sunday blogging time 🙂

  • Nikki Steele October 21, 2013, 4:25 pm

    Ack The Goldfinch! I can’t wait to read it and am re-reading The Secret History now to get a whole Donna Tartt October in 😀 Can’t wait to see your review for it.

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:26 pm

      Oooo, that’s a lot of Donna Tartt in a month! I love it.

  • Laurie C October 21, 2013, 8:24 pm

    I got sick and missed two solid days of the three-day Columbus Day weekend this month, which I had been really looking forward to because I was going to catch up on reviews, too, haha! Good luck on the diet. I got serious last month (gave up my candy and snack habits) and have been losing weight. It’s a good feeling! I’m about 200 pages in to The Goldfinch, too!

    • Kim October 21, 2013, 8:28 pm

      Being sick on weekends/holidays sucks! It seems even worse than being sick at other times. I haven’t quite given up sweets, but definitely been cutting back to fit into WW guidelines. I don’t miss it as much as I thought that I would, but I’m sure that will change. Enjoy The Goldfinch!

  • Jenny @ Reading the End October 21, 2013, 8:42 pm

    So can I recommend for future Sleepy Hollow viewings (my roommate and I have been enjoying it too), watching it with a buddy and making it a drinking game? We like to watch it with a glass of wine and we take a sip whenever he calls her “Lieutenant” and pronounces it Britishly, and whenever he is befuddled by modern technology, and some other rules I cannot currently recall. It is great. And we never tire of him being befuddled by modern technology.

    • Kim October 22, 2013, 7:55 pm

      That sounds like fun! His befuddlement with modern things is one of my favorite parts (the thing about the tax on donuts? priceless!) You should e-mail me the full rules so I can play along 🙂

  • Jeanne October 22, 2013, 6:45 am

    I’ve been feeling a bit bogged down with the second season of Fringe; don’t know if I’m going to make it to the end unless there are a lot of sick days this winter.

    • Kim October 22, 2013, 7:56 pm

      I can’t remember what I thought of the second season… a little slower than the first, but still good? I was a major Peter/Olivia shipper, so I think those things probably got me through.

  • Jennifer October 23, 2013, 9:30 am

    My electric blanket might be the best thing I’ve ever purchased 😀 For reals!

    I’m excited to hear about this new project you have coming up, hooray!

    Stay warm Kim!