Sunday Salon: Baby, it's cold outside!
Happy first Sunday of 2014! I'm snuggled on the couch under a blanket, where I intend to spend most of the day. Here in Des Moines, we've already reached our high for the day (3°) and are quickly falling to tonight's low (-17°). Sadly, that does not factor in the wind chill. I really enjoy the cold weather, but when it gets near and below zero, I don't feel the need to go outside if I don't have to. Unfortunately, tomorrow looks even worse: our high won't even reach zero. Thankfully, this epic cold snap will be short-lived, and we'll be back to normal January temperatures (double digits!) this week.My reading year so far
2014 is off to a wonderful start (and yes, only having to work one day so far this year has certainly helped!) Yesterday morning I finished the first New Yorker of the year, as well as the first two books of the year (one I started in 2013.) I started a third last night and stayed up far too late reading, and then I woke up and finished it this morning. It's nice to be ahead of my reading pace so far, and I've really enjoyed all of my 2014 reads so far.
Catching my eyes online
I've also been catching up on feedly reading, and these stories caught my eye this week:
- In the fabulous A Year in Reading series at The Millions, Charles Blackstone makes an impassioned plea for Tampa, which was my favorite read of 2013.
- At GalleyCat, there was a story about British jounalist Ann Morgan, who completed her quest to read a book from every country. I love the idea of this challenge, and while I can't imagine fitting in all 196 countries in a single year, I'm contemplating different strategies to accomplish this goal. Morgan's blog helpfully includes a list of reccomendations by country if you want to try this challenge.
Tomorrow is the first day of J-term, where I will once again be teaching a three-credit course in three weeks. It's an intense fourteen days of class (we meet for four hours each weekday), but I'm looking forward to it. I know my reading will lag somewhat, particularly once the grading crunches begin, but last year's experience was my favorite teaching experience ever. I hope this year offers more of the same.
Coming up on the blog this week...a flurry of reviews of new releases!
- a review of The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (publishing 1/7/14)
- a review of The Execution by Dick Wolf (publishing 1/7/14)
- a review of Unremarried Widow by Artis Henderson (publishing 1/7/14)
- a review of The Bird Skinner by Alice Greenway (publishing 1/7/14)
- another TBD review
I'm off to pick out my next book from the very tempting virtual pile of 2014 releases. Now tell me: what are you reading today?
As an affiliate, I receive a small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you for helping to support my book habits that bring more content to this blog!
Hope you stay warm! The temperatures sound pretty scary! It's cold here in VA as well, but not as much as it was expected to be.
ReplyDeleteAths, I'm glad y'all are being spared a little! From inside, I hardly know it's colder, but tomorrow I will definitely bundle up for work!
DeleteIt's not cold here and I am dressed but I am still camped out on the couch and will probably be here all day. LOL. I just don't want to do a thing. Okay, maybe a load of laundry.
ReplyDeleteTi--you're right. It's not as if I usually aspire to more than reading on the couch most Sundays, so why credit the weather?
DeleteI was inspired by your "goals" post, and so have decided to set a reading goal for myself for the first time. I've never tracked my reading, so I'm starting with what I think is a reasonable number of 50 books this year. Just finished Sacré Bleu by Christopher Moore, so I'm off to a good start. Thanks for the idea and the recommendations!
ReplyDeleteFabulous news! My first reading goal (in 2009 I think?) was 50 books. It's so fun to track reading and spot trends--it has certainly made me read more! Good luck:-)
Delete