The Count Has Been Conquered!

Yup, that's right! I have finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas already! Two nights ago, to be exact. WELL before my end-of-February deadline! I found that it was a lot easier to get through than I remember it being the first time I read it. This may be because I had already read it, or it could have been the translation that I was reading.

 Either way, I zipped right through it, which was surprising to me because I had two little boys running around all day too. I suppose it helps that I don't really watch television anymore, and when the boys are in bed by 7-8 o'clock, that leaves me with plenty of time for reading!

I plan to do another post or two about this book, but I wanted to share this accomplishment first! Now I'm off to go request another Dumas novel from my local library. I'm thinking The Three Musketeers?

A Peek Inside My Bookshelf

I was inspired by this really great idea over at Red House Books. Emily is asking her readers to send in photos of their bookshelves to be featured on her blog. (Update: My bookshelf has been featured!) I'm going to participate in this, but also wanted to share my bookshelf with my readers.

I have one tiny bookshelf in my house, which for someone who enjoys reading as much as I do, doesn't really seem like a lot. This bookshelf has some history behind it. It belonged to my grandmother, or at least to someone in the household, and dates from the early 20th century. It's been painted pink. It's been painted black. It is now a shabby chic (read: chipped, peeling and grubby looking) shade of white:

 Its home at my grandmother's house was in a little bedroom in the attic. As far as I can remember, it held some old trophies and memorabilia that belonged to my uncle. When my grandmother moved in with us at my mom's house, it found a new home in her bedroom. When she passed away, it was claimed by me, and has

Mission Accomplished!

My goal for January is already completed. A few days ago I finished Agatha Christie's autobiography, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Source

I have always been hesitant to read any biographies or autobiographies, and if I have read any, it was only because I had to for a class. (I honestly cannot remember if I have or not). I was worried about reading Agatha Christie's too, just because I was afraid that it would be a dry, monotonous, boring read. But then I realized, Hey. This is an autobiography, written by Christie herself, so if I enjoy her writing style in her novels and memoir, then I should have no problem with the story of her life. I was proved correct.

Reading Resolutions?

Wow. First of all, I can't believe that I haven't posted since November. I didn't realize that it had been that long.

Secondly, Happy New Year, everyone.... all 5 7* of you. :-) I'm hoping to make changes this year and am resolving to post more.

That's it.

That's my resolution. For this aspect of my life anyway. I have a million others in relation to myself, my family, and home life. But that's for a different blog.

Anyway. I'm going to try to set monthly goals for myself and for this blog. My goal for this month is to finish Agatha Christie's autobiography. I have already finished her novels and short stories (if you're wondering when this happened, it happened in November, which is probably why I didn't blog at all; too busy reading! I was going to write about it, and in fact started the post, but then something happened to distract me and I gave it up. Story of my life. But here it is in all of it's wonderous glory):


"I have officially finished ALL of Agatha Christie's novels and short stories!"

Yup. That's as far as I got. I am a woman of many words. 

I also finished reading her memoir Come, Tell Me How You Live in which she describes her adventures in the Middle East with her archaeologist husband, second husband, that is. In short, is was an enjoyable, and often humorous read, and I recommend it. (A post was started about this one too, but obviously never finished. Here is how it started):