New Year, Fresh Start

Reading is a very personal thing on many levels. But it is also something that can be easy to share and discuss. Life often contributes to changes in our reading styles and patterns. Life has definitely been driving my reading life and especially my posting life. I am taking control of these areas again and moving forward.

So here we are at the beginning of another year. I hope to revive my blog and revive my life. It has been a tough few years. It was going well here at the book nook and then a close friend died suddenly. It threw me into a tailspin. We moved a few months later and then a year almost to the day we moved again. I went back to teaching last year and well my life is consumed when I teach. This year has brought changes to that. I am not teaching but reentering the business world. This means I can spend time on personal reading and writing. Also, we are entering the third year of Savannah life. It is good to be a little more settled. I have missed that feeling.

This past fall we lost Mom. I am still working on that. The holidays were good but a little sad. I think that is to be expected. As another year begins, I do not really do New Year Resolutions, I do believe that we can try New Year goals. I am going to try to be more focused and committed to my reading and my life. I continued to read through all of the above events but my reading changed several times. I did a lot less of the Arc's and more of escape reading.

This year I am part of a Classic Reading Challenge 2014 group on facebook. This is exciting for me as I love the classics and like to share this. I am finally settling in with War and Peace by Tolstoy. I am about 400 pages into the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo but put it down for the holiday season. Revenge just doesn't work with Christmas. I am reading both of those in physical book format. I am reading Dr. Zhivago in ebook format. That is the beginning of my classic work. I am thinking I will finish Volume II (Book II) of Don Quixote this spring as well. Thinking of reading another Dickens this year and of course we will have to go with Faulkner this summer. This all may change as I continue to develop my classic reading plan.

I have the new Stephanie Plum book, Takedown Twenty. I am excited about reading that but am waiting for my sister to be ready so we can read it together and discuss. Anna got me started on this series. I love it. Fun, light hearted, and set in the area where I used to work. Speaking of series, I think I want to read the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett. If you have read these please let me know what you think. I am also reading Agatha Christie in order of publication. I started this last year. My Grandma Durkee introduced me to Agatha as a young girl. I have been a fan ever since. I love mysteries. If you have some series you love or are interested in exploring let me know and we will jump in.

I am looking at some new material as we move forward. I will pick up some Arc's again and will keep you informed. I am looking to find some new text this year. So let us begin.....

As you can see this blog is evolving a little. I hope you stick around for a while and forgive my meandering past. Love to you all. I wish you happy reading.