Tag: reading

Blog, NaNoWriMo, Read-a-thon

July Read-a-Thon Update: Day 8

Wow—what a trip! I spent all day yesterday at the Make Progress National Summit (I’m planning write-ups about the panels I attended), and then visited the White House today for a group meeting with the associate director of public engagement. The meeting was about priority issues that millennials are interested in, and he kindly took questions from us all for an hour.

Now, I’m at the airport, waiting for my flight back home. I’m excited for all the plane reading I’ll get to do, and to be back home and get some writing done. I didn’t get much  reading or writing done while here, sad to say, but I had a great experience nonetheless.

Pages read so far:

  • 61 pages from Detection by Gaslight: 14 Victorian Detective Stories by Douglas Greene [Ed.]. Notes: no update.
  • 26 pages from On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz. Notes: no update.
  • 150 pages of A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Notes: now finished. Didn’t get it done by Sunday night, because I had school work to do and packing to finish and writing to get through. Still, it’s done now, and quite as good as I remember it being.
  • 141 pages of The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Notes: aaaannd finished. There’s definitely some racism indicative of the time, and I made awkward faces a couple times, but still a good read. And the end references the beginning in an amusing way.
  • 21 pages of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Notes: it’s interesting to observe what pieces of the original stories were preserved in the recent BBC adaptation, and what parts were cut for time and modernity’s sake. Also, obviously, to have an overarching villain, they’ve shuffled things around and expanded the role of Moriarty in the show. I rather prefer the books/stories in this respect, though I have always preferred faithfulness in adaptation to a large degree—which is why, I suppose, I’m not a screenwriter. (An exception can be made for re-imaginings, in my view, but not change for change’s sake alone, which is what I sometimes feel Like Moffat has done. But he’s show-runner, not I, so…)

Boarding begins soon, and then I’ll have a long stretch of sitting before me. Have a good day, all!

Running page count: 399

Blog, NaNoWriMo, Read-a-thon

July Read-a-Thon Update: Day 6

Y’all, I am in Washington DC. This is amazing!

I came last July, but didn’t have any time to myself for sight-seeing—the best I managed was a selfie in front of the White House at 8 in the morning. Today, I totally have the chance to sight-see, and I’m gonna do it.

That said, here’s my page count up to now:

  • 61 pages from Detection by Gaslight: 14 Victorian Detective Stories by Douglas Greene [Ed.]. Notes: no update.
  • 26 pages from On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz. Notes: no update.
  • 150 pages of A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Notes: now finished. Didn’t get it done by Sunday night, because I had schoolwork to do and packing to finish and writing to get through. Still, it’s done now, and quite as good as I remember it being.
  • 85 pages of The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Notes: more than halfway through this one. Anticipate it will be done by tonight. Cooling off in a Starbucks now, so I’ll probably read some before braving the humidity again.

I’m trying not to get heat-stroke or dehydrate here—it’s seriously bad compared to Portland. Also, DC is not the most pedestrian-friendly place I’ve ever been…

Still, I have been to the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, and I’m headed to the Library of Congress (because of course I am). Still have an essay to finish but I’ve got some time before I can even check in to my hotel, so I’m enjoying being in DC!

Running page count: 322

Blog, NaNoWriMo, Read-a-thon

July Read-a-Thon Update: Day 4

Doing a read-a-thon and NaNoWriMo session at the same time is a lot of time spent reading and writing!

Checked off my list: over 4,000 words towards my 40,000 word Camp NaNo goal—including 1,000 words of poetry, 1,000 words on a photo essay about my family’s military history for my creative non-fiction class, and work on my memoir—and about a quarter of the reading I need done by Tuesday.

I’ve been making an effort to stay at least one day ahead on my NaNo writing, but I want to get 2-3 days ahead before I leave for Washington DC on Monday night, since I won’t have guaranteed internet access again until Thursday evening, when I get back.

Page count so far:

  • 61 pages from Detection by Gaslight: 14 Victorian Detective Stories by Douglas Greene [Ed.]. Notes: no update.
  • 26 pages from On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz. Notes: This one is fascinating. Horowitz is both informative and informal in tone, dropping in tidbits of the wealth of information her companions shared on their walks, and inspiring me to be more mindful of the world around me. I highly recommend this book! I think I may finish it on the plane to DC!
  • 26 pages of A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Notes: The first of the Sherlock Holmes reading! I’m very excited, and remembering how very much I love these stories. I want to finish this one today (I’m ambitious that way) and move on to the next reading for tomorrow.

Coming up: the rest of A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, and four stories from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Hopefully, I’ll also get to 22,837 words on my manuscript, which will mean it won’t matter if I don’t write in DC.

Running page count: 113

Blog, Read-a-thon

July Read-a-Thon Update: Day 2

This time, you get even day posts!

Page count so far:

  • 61 pages from Detection by Gaslight: 14 Victorian Detective Stories by Douglas Greene [Ed.]. Selections were: Catherine Pirkis, “The Ghost of Fountain Lane”; Baroness Orczy, “The York Mystery”; L.T. Meade & Robert Eustace, “Mr. Bovey’s Unexpected Will”; E. and H. Heron, “The Story of Baelbrow”. Notes: Some of these pieces were so good! I do adore Baroness Orzcy, though I’ve only read her Scarlet Pimpernel stuff; this was quite different, but still good. The Heron selection, however, was absolute drivel.

I’ve got a couple errands, and some writing to get done, but I’ll be reading some 25 more pages from On Looking [Horowitz], and then starting in on the pile of Holmes books and stories I’ve got coming up!

Running page count: 61

Blog, Read-a-thon

July Read-a-Thon Is About to Start!

Check that turn-around time! The July Trees-of-Reverie Read-a-thon starts tomorrow, and I’m excited.

I’m in the thick of classes now, so this time I’m gonna track my school reading. Y’all will get a look at what I’ve been assigned for my courses, and hopefully you’ll get to discover a book that interests you.

Books read so far for class: selections from Requiem for a Paper Bag by Davy Rothbart [Ed.], selections from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, An Extraordinary Theory of Objects by Stephanie LaCava, and selections from On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz.

Books I’m on track to read within the time-frame of the read-a-thon: more selections from On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel, selections from Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson, selections from Detection by Gaslight: 14 Victorian Detective Stories by Douglas Greene [Ed.], selections from A Study in Scarlet & The Sign of the Four, selections from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes & The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

That’s a lot of reading, but I have 3 weeks to get it done! You can follow along here on my blog, where I’ll be posting a running page count every other day, on Facebook for quotes and tidbits, on Twitter for late-night ponderings (and updates on Camp NaNoWriMo progress), on Instagram for (what else?) action shots, and on Tumblr for fun questionnaires and community activities.

Let’s get this party started!

Blog, Read-a-thon

June Read-a-thon Update: End!

And now it’s over. But there’s another beginning on July 10th and running to August 1st; I might do that one as well, because this has been loads of fun!

Final page counts for the event (at 12.00a, July 1st):

  • 40 pages of Partial List of People to Bleach by Gary Lutz. Notes: no update.
  • 90 pages of Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke [trans. M.D. Herter Norton]. Notes: finished.
  • 108 pages of The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur. Notes: finished.
  • 173 pages of Faces at the Bottom of the Well by Derrick Bell. Notes: finished.
  • 8 pages of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Notes: no update.
  • 9 pages of Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Notes: no update.
  • 66 pages of Requiem for a Paper Bag by Davy Rothbart [Ed.]. Notes: some of the stories are mildly entertaining, but overall, I don’t think this book was worth much more than the penny (plus shipping) I paid for it.
  • 43 pages of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe. Notes: no update.
  • 19 pages of The Memoirs of Vidocq, Principal Agent of the French Police Until 1827 by Eugène François Vidocq [Trans. by H. T. Riley]. Notes: no update.
  • 61 pages of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. Notes: bit amazed I’ve never read this before, honestly. It’s loads of fun, and I can’t wait to finish it (which task shall be complete, hopefully, by class-time on Thursday).

Running page count: 617

Blog, Read-a-thon

June Read-a-thon Update: Day 15

Almost done! I’ll do a last post tomorrow to report on final numbers. Meanwhile…

Page count to this point:

  • 40 pages of Partial List of People to Bleach by Gary Lutz. Notes: still going on this one. The stories after the first 2-3 are much easier to connect to. Also, I seem to like it better now that it’s pretentious fiction, and not pretentious non-fiction.
  • 90 pages of Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke [trans. M.D. Herter Norton]. Notes: finished.
  • 108 pages of The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur. Notes: finished.
  • 173 pages of Faces at the Bottom of the Well by Derrick Bell. Notes: finished.
  • 8 pages of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Notes: no update.
  • 9 pages of Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Notes: no update.
  • 44 pages of Requiem for a Paper Bag by Davy Rothbart [Ed.]. Notes: no update.
  • 43 pages of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe. Notes: may finish this after classes end.
  • 19 pages of The Memoirs of Vidocq, Principal Agent of the French Police Until 1827 by Eugène François Vidocq [Trans. by H. T. Riley]. Notes: I’ll probably finish this after classes end. It was kind of entertaining.
  • 41 pages of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. Notes: bit amazed I’ve never read this before, honestly. It’s loads of fun, and I can’t wait to finish it (which task shall be complete, hopefully, by class-time on Thursday).

Running page count: 575

Blog, Read-a-thon

June Read-a-thon Update: Day 13

Classes are great so far, but there’s so much reading associated with them! I’m gonna start including that here.

What I’ve read:

  • 24 pages of Partial List of People to Bleach by Gary Lutz. Notes: I thought this was creative non-fiction, but it’s actually fiction. And the pieces after the first two don’t feel as pretentious to me, so I’ve been back to reading this one again. There have been a few chunks of what I think is excellent writing, or what my poetry teacher called “moments of pleasure”, and I’ve been quoting them on my tumblr, as well as on Twitter (length permitting, of course).
  • 90 pages of Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke [trans. M.D. Herter Norton]. Notes: finished.
  • 108 pages of The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur. Notes: finished.
  • 173 pages of Faces at the Bottom of the Well by Derrick Bell. Notes: finished.
  • 8 pages of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Notes: no update.
  • 9 pages of Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Notes: I have actually been reading this one for about 8 years. I’ll periodically pick it up, read a few chapters, and then put it back down for months. It’s definitely the book that’s been on my currently reading list the longest. While some of the language is lovely, the plot drags, and there are whole chapters that are asides: 3 pages on whale skeletons, followed by 4 on whale fossils, 13 pages about “cetology” (the study of whales and dolphins), 9 pages examining various cultures use of white to show sanctity, 10 pages—comprising 3 consecutive chapters—comparing the head shapes and sizes of two kinds of whales, and so on. It’s a bit tough to get through, honestly.
  • 44 pages of Requiem for a Paper Bag by Davy Rothbart [Ed.]. Notes: I had the same problem with this as with Lutz’s book—the first couple of pieces seemed too pretentious for me, and a whole bunch of GoodReads readers and the reviewers from my local public library all agree. This one gets a shockingly low overall rating from tons of folks. This one actually is creative non-fiction: a collection of short pieces, it includes writing by “celebrities and civilians” telling the story of various found objects, brought together by the editor of Found Magazine. It’s been pretty hit or miss so far, but I have to read it for school, so I am.
  • 43 pages of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe. Notes: this one is also for school, but I enjoyed it considerably more.
  • 19 pages of The Memoirs of Vidocq, Principal Agent of the French Police Until 1827 by Eugène François Vidocq [Trans. by H. T. Riley]. Notes: also for school. It seems rather more fanciful than an account of actual events, but is very entertaining, if meandering and long-winded.

Running page count: 518

Blog, Read-a-thon

June Read-a-thon Update: Day 11

First day of class was lovely, and then this morning I had to do more class shuffling, and now I’m registered for a different class, but it means I get to read Sherlock Holmes for school credit.

I’m living the dream, y’all.

Still coming up: a dinner party tonight, classes tomorrow. Friday, I’m workshopping some of my writing to prepare several submissions to journals and online magazines. This weekend I’m pulling those submissions together and querying an agent for one of my novels. And doing classwork.

Feeling better about how much reading I’m doing, and I have a lot to get through for school, so that’ll up my counts, too.

My reading progress up to this point:

  • 4 pages of Partial List of People to Bleach by Gary Lutz. Notes: no update.
  • 90 pages of Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke [trans. M.D. Herter Norton]. Notes: finished.
  • 108 pages of The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur. Notes: finished this one up. Overall, I am glad to have read these poems, but most of them were a bit juvenile for my taste—and this is obviously attributable to the fact that they were written by a 19 year old Tupac. There were some great protest poems, and some great tribute pieces, and a whole bunch of love poems. 8/10
  • 173 pages of Faces at the Bottom of the Well by Derrick Bell. Notes: and finished! Woof! This is a heck of a read, and I loved every minute. I had so many ideas sparked by this reading, and I can’t wait to work on them. 10/10, will read again
  • 8 pages of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Notes: no update.

Running page count: 383

Blog, Read-a-thon

June Read-a-thon Update: Day 9

Classes start today, and I’m excited, but also a bit frazzled. I’ve been having trouble getting all of the books for my non-fiction class, and several of them are still in the mail. I hope they come in soon…

Yesterday was the Capitol trip for the New Leadership Oregon 2014 class, and I was invited along, as an alumna. We spent the morning touring the building with Former Governor Barbara Roberts, had lunch with Secretary of State Kate Brown, and the current NLO participants roleplayed testimony in front of legislative committees. When we got back to Portland, there was a mixer and recognition of board members, alums, and the current class. I cried, and it was so inspiring to see people supporting each other there. So much love.

Still coming up: a dinner party tomorrow night. Friday, I’m workshopping some of my writing to prepare several submissions to journals and online magazines.

I think I expected to have more free time that has been the reality. I’m trying not to get down on myself for not reading more, even though I’ve read every day, and made good headway in a couple of books I’ve been meaning to read. I feel a bit discouraged, but I’m hoping I can push through it for the remaining 6-7 days.

My reading progress up to this point:

  • 4 pages of Partial List of People to Bleach by Gary Lutz. Notes: no update.
  • 90 pages of Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke [trans. M.D. Herter Norton]. Notes: finished.
  • 70 pages of The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur. Notes: read more poems from this one. There’s some very teenage love poems in here, but there’s also an amazing section that features several poems for racial justice activists like Nelson Mandela and Huey P. Newton.
  • 129 pages of Faces at the Bottom of the Well by Derrick Bell. Notes: I have less than half the book left, and I’m still being inspired to do 3 new projects for every chapter I finish!
  • 8 pages of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Notes: I figured I’d pick a lighter read to let myself digest some of the heavier stuff, and still get pages done. This one I got 114 pages into a re-read of, and then set it down—probably in favour of school books I had to get through. (So much reading last term…) Anyhow, I should finish it, because I do love it.

Running page count: 301

Blog, Read-a-thon

June Read-a-thon Update: Day 7

I had a long day yesterday, and could barely find a moment. It was my last day in the Oregon Student Association, and he had a transition meeting, and then an alumni event in the evening—lovely to see some folks I haven’t got to see in a while, but definitely time-consuming.

Still coming up: a full day of meeting and events in Salem and Portland on Monday, classes starting on Tuesday, a dinner party on Wednesday, and coffee with my mom on Thursday.

Here’s my reading tally for the event so far:

  • 4 pages of Partial List of People to Bleach by Gary Lutz. Notes: no update.
  • 90 pages of Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke [trans. M.D. Herter Norton]. Notes: finished.
  • 8 pages of The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur. Notes: no update.
  • 102 pages of Faces at the Bottom of the Well by Derrick Bell. Notes: still loving this one! It’s a fresh way of looking at theory and racial justice in the US, and it’s inspiring so many future projects.

Didn’t finish Faces, but that’s alright. I feel a little sad at how little time to read I’m actually finding, but it’s good reading.

Running page count: 204

Blog, Read-a-thon

June Read-a-thon Update: Day 5

There’s been a lot of unexpected work the last couple of days, and I have even more to do, but I’m getting the reading in every spare moment I can. I’ve always been a commute reader—I have an hour long commute to campus, which is lots of time—and it looks like I’ll be doing some of that the next few days. I have a board meeting tomorrow (yes, on a Saturday), and then a lunch meeting Monday in Salem, and then classes start on Tuesday, so I’ll be travelling around a bit the next few days.

Here’s my reading tally for the event so far:

  • 4 pages of Partial List of People to Bleach by Gary Lutz. Notes: this one’s in time-out. I can’t quite bring myself to finish it…
  • 90 pages of Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke [trans. M.D. Herter Norton]. Notes: all finished! The rest of the letters had some great language, though the translation still bothers me. The second half of the book was a sort of run-down of Rilke’s life before the letters, and where he was and what projects he was working on when each letter was written, and that was in much more plain language, and far more interesting to me. I hate writing prescriptivism, and Rilke does plenty of that. 6/10, might read a different translation
  • 8 pages of The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur. Notes: this one got laid down. I can’t read books of poetry all in one go. I have to read a few, set the book down, digest what I’ve read, and come back later.
  • 56 pages of Faces at the Bottom of the Well by Derrick Bell. Notes: loving this one! I’ve been meaning to read this since a friend recommended it to me a year and a half ago, and I’m so glad I’m finally doing it. While the subject matter is a bit heavy, it’s accessible, and it makes you think. I’ve also been inspired to write a short story, and an essay response—later, after the read-a-thon, when I’ll have more time.

Not too shabby—I tripled my word count in two days! I’m hoping to finish off Faces today, and that’ll boost me quite a bit if I can manage it. If not, I’ll polish it off tomorrow, and pick another book to start in on.

Running page count: 158

Blog, Read-a-thon

June Read-a-thon Update: Day 3

As I mentioned on Monday, I’m doing the Treesofreverie June Read-a-thon, and one thing has become clear: I don’t have as much free time as I thought I did!

Between editing stories and essays for others, doing my own writing, cooking, cleaning, problem-solving household issues, and every other unforeseen instance, I’ve had barely a moment to read. Here’s a run-down of what I’ve managed:

  • 4 pages of Partial List of People to Bleach by Gary Lutz. Notes: I’m remembering why I put this one down, for sure. The reading is really dense with metaphor, but mostly my problem is that it just seems really pretentious to me. Totally inaccessible. This one may move into my “Abandoned” folder on GoodReads—we’ll see.
  • 42 pages of Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke [trans. M.D. Herter Norton]. Notes: I’m also remembering why I put this one down, and it’s totally the translator’s fault. This edition is from 1934, and the language is different from today’s, to say the least. Again, this one feels really pretentious to me. I’m gonna tough it out—I only have 48 pages to go, and I think I can make it happen today.
  • 8 pages of The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur. Notes: I got interrupted by a phone call. I want to finish this one today, too.

Wow, okay; that looks way better when I write it all up! 54 pages in two days isn’t the best I’ve ever done, but considering all my other commitments, I’ve done worse. Hopefully, by Day 5 I’ll have knocked two or three books off the list.