Goals 2021 -- November Recap

I did better with friends this month than I did with family.  I'll spare the details, but just say that I met my monthly goal for friends.  What's funny about the goal this month is that I didn't really behave much differently than I otherwise should -- and probably would if I were less absorbed in my own day-to-day obligations.  Having this goal made me think about each friend a little bit more, and do a little follow-up that otherwise I might not have done.

As for family, that was less of a success.  I did get one phone call from a family member I don't talk to that often, so I made sure to take it and make time to talk.  That was lovely and unexpected.  And of course there was Thanksgiving; it was spent with my dad, sisters, and the associated folks, and was a grand old time.

What I'm Reading Now -- The Song of Achilles

The Song of Achilles has been on my radar for a while.  I was still a bookstore employee when it was originally released, and I heard lots of good stuff about it.  It seems up my alley -- I like the old myths and I like retellings.  (Grendel is one of my faves in this vein.)

So, in addition to reading this long overdue novel, I also get to tick yet another book off my 2021 Reading Challenge.

What I Read -- Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair

I have never read Pablo Neruda before.  Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair did not start out well for me.  I did not like any, until I got to XVIII ("Here I Love You / Aqui Te Amo") and XX ("Tonight I Can Write / Puedo Escribir").  Those two were acceptable.  Other than that, I found them mostly to be too obscure and weird -- which is exactly the reason I don't like most poetry.  (Sweeping statement? Yes.  But often true.)

What this did get me, though, was a very quick check mark on my 2021 Reading Challenge.  This was by far the shortest of all the selections for the year, and it was nice to make such quick work of one of them!

Sherlock Holmed: Selected Stories -- Take 2

I don't know why I put off reading this book for so many years.  It turns out, it's a rollicking good time!

Arthur Conan Doyle's stories are fast-paced and easy to read.  Dr. Watson, our narrator, does sometimes go overboard in his adulation of the private detective, but such passages are usually short-lived.  Aside from those sections, I had a darn good time with this one.

I like short stories as a concept.  I like that I can dip in and out and generally don't have to commit too seriously.  Short stories are less intimidating to get started on.  Even though any book can be stopped at any time, I hesitate to begin a hefty novel if I don't have a big block of time to commit to it.  And this is not to indicate that I don't ever stop mid-short-story.  I do.  This whole thing logically makes no sense; I get that.  But nevertheless, that is the case in my brain.  It's easier to start a short story.

And so I did.  And then I kept reading.  Despite my delay in writing this post, I got through them pretty quickly, at least for me.  I was never much of a mystery reader when I was growing up.  I don't know why this is, but I was not.  Then I read Lush Life, by Richard Price.  This was not the world's best mystery by any stretch of the imagination, but it did open up my eyes to the fact that a mystery read could be quick and fun.  Such is the case with Sherlock.

And, as the end of the year closes in, I am able to tick one more book off my 2021 Reading Challenge!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

 

Goals 2021 -- November Edition

What is a good goal for November?  I still have some holdovers from October, but those are boring.  So here's the plan: contact at least three friends I don't see or talk to as often as I should.  The contact must per personal, even if it's not in person.  Phone calls, letters/cards, visits, and the like are acceptable.  Text messages other electronic-only contact is not.  And, while I'm at it, I'll throw a few family members in there as well.