I haven’t done The Sunday Salon in a long time, and I’ve found myself really missing it. I liked having a space and excuse to do just have a sort of personal musings and readings post, so I’m going to try and start up again.
Right now seems like a good time for a general reading and life update, if you’re interested in this dork’s life, with pictures!
The Move
Next weekend I’ll be picking up my stuff and moving one apartment building over into a two bedroom place that I’ll be sharing with one of my good friends, Amanda (a recent guest poster). We’re moving into a beautiful place with hardwood floors, tons of windows, a faux fireplace, and even some built-in bookshelves.
Needless to say, I’m psyched.
What’s not so awesome is having to pick up and move all my stuff! I packed my books earlier this week, and they took up 11 boxes. Here’s a picture, which doesn’t even include all of them:
I can’t decide if that looks like a lot or not very much. I’m sure it’ll be a lot as I’m carrying them up and down the stairs.
I’ve also become obsessed with decorating. I’m pretty excited about creating a personal reading space, complete with comfy armchair, table, lamp, and bookshelf – something like this (via Lovely Undergrad and Melancholyflower):
Work
I’ve been at my job for almost three months now, and so far it’s going well. I still come home every day with a brain tired from how many new things I learned that day, but there’s something comforting about that. I’ve gotten to write a few more long-form stories and opinion pieces, which is exciting. Here are some of my recent favorites:
Work has also inspired an upcoming Narrative Nonfiction 5 list which includes books on embracing and rejecting technology. It’s all written, so expect that post soon.
Hannah
Hannah, my beautiful kitten, and I just passed the six month anniversary of her adoption. She’s about twice as big as she was when I got her, but just as cute and well-behaved.
 |
 |
I feel bad she spends a lot of time at home alone while I’m at work, but I think things will perk up once Amanda is here and there is another human around to give her the constant attention she craves.
Reading
Here’s what you all probably care about – how’s my reading been?
So far this year I’ve finished 61 books. Last year, I only finished 71 total, so I’m well on my way to reading a lot more this year. I suspect a much less reading-intensive spring semester is partly responsible for the massive increase, as well as an obsessive summer reading routine.
The problem with reading more is that I have more books to review… and apparently less time to actually write reviews! Right now I’m 10 reviews behind, which is stressing me out a bit. Review-a-thon anyone?
So that is what’s going on with me. What’s going on with you?
Comments on this entry are closed.
Good luck with the move–I absolutely hate moving, and I nearly always try to do it in stages, moving a few boxes a day until everything is gone. It’s a process, not an event. :p
Jenny: I wish I had the stages option, but I have to be out of my apartment before my new lease starts. I’ve been doing my packing in stages though.
I am feeling your stress on having too many books to review! I have about 20. The reviews are drafted, even, I just don’t want to post them all in a day, you know? Gah.
Good luck with your move. I really miss Madison. I’m hoping Jason can find a job there or in Dodgeville or someplace nearby.
Amanda: Yeah, I know. I’ve just been having trouble finding the time to write and format them. I have notes for most of the books though, which will help when I get time to write them.
Aww! Looks like Hannah likes hanging out in pots just as much as my Emmy does.
Lenore: She does! She was in that pot all the time when I had it on the table. It was silly 🙂
Good luck with your move! I love the reading corner you showed and can’t wait to see what you come up with. Hannah is adorable.
Kathy: I can’t wait to set up a reading corner, I’ve been scoping chairs on Craigslist for weeks now 🙂
Congrats on the new apartment! I’m one of those people who loves moving because a new place offers such opportunity. Of course I hate painting which is a problem, but I do love decorating. And it will definitely feel like a ton of bricks, I mean books, once you start hauling the boxes. Hopefully you can find friendly neighbor to help. 🙂
Trisha: I am excited about the opportunity to decorate and set up a new place. It’s a beautiful apartment. I’m just stressed about the process of getting there.
Congratulations on the move – very exciting! And your kitty is so cute 🙂
Review-a-thon does sound like a good idea!
Amy: Maybe once I’m settled and the internet is set up in my new apartment I’ll schedule a review-a-thon for people like me who are too lazy to write reviews when they finish a book 🙂
It was nice to learn a little bit more about you. I hope that your move goes smoothly and you get that lovely reading spot you hope for.
Good luck with the move!
Jackie: Thank you, I hope so too!
Wish you all the best with your move – its always exciting to move I think, although I haven’t moved for years myself.
Also great to hear about your job! And Hannah. And seeing the images. What a cute cate – and no matter if you feel you have few or many books, they’ll be heavy carrying up and down 😉
Louise: It’s true, the books are heavy no matter what. I have a few people coming to help, including my big strong little brother, so maybe he’ll carry the books 🙂
Hannah is beautiful–thanks for including photos of her!
Jeanne: Thank you! I think she’s lovely 🙂
Oh I don’t know how you can read and not review right away! If I wait more than 24 hours the thoughts and ideas for the review are gone and I would be a puddle on the floor. So, I read, review, then read. It’s like I have to get one book out of my head by reviewing it before I can start the next one.
Helen: I have notes for most of them, so those help when I go back to review the books. It would be nice to get in the habit of reviewing right away, but I haven’t managed that just yet 🙂
Kim, good luck with the move and new space. I love your cat pics –so cute.
diane: Thank you!
Awww I want more Hannah posts!! Plus, I like the reading nook you’re planning for your new place.
Monica: I’ll keep more Hannah posts in mind — I have enough pictures of her 🙂
Your new apartment sounds lovely! Moving is just about the only time I think to myself, I have too many books. But then once I get settled in and unpacked, it doesn’t feel like too many anymore 🙂
Belle: It’s not just the books; I’m starting to think I have too much of everything! I wish I had the personality to be a minimalist, but I haven’t managed that yet.
Hannah looks like my cat I used to have, Gypsy. I love the tuxedo look 🙂
My book numbers are higher this year too. I’ve already read 100 books and I only read 81 for the whole year last year. Yay for me.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, your pics, your goings-on…I need to start doing Sunday Salon again. Especially because I’m a “member” and I heard they aren’t accepting new participants. Shouldn’t take my status for granted. lol
Lynne: Wow, 100 books already? That’s awesome! Part of the reason I stopped doing Sunday Salon was that little discussion about what it was about — I wanted to make sure I was writing posts that fit (this one sort of doesn’t, I guess 🙂 ).
I’m impressed you’ve read so many books this year. People say I’m a big reader, but you’ve got me beat! I think it’s wonderful to have a stack of unwritten reviews in your pocket. It will give us something to look forward to.
Chandra: I do like knowing I have books to review, I’m just worn out thinking about the time it’ll take to write them 🙂
You’ve got me beat on how many books! darn… and HAPPY-MOVE-TO-NEW-Place! Hannah is adorable. I wish her much happiness with the move, too.
Just remember, “just one more box.” and before you know it, all the boxes will have been moved and the FUN of unpacking happens! I’m one of those people who likes to move which is good since I’ve had to do it a lot.
Care: Hopefully Hannah will manage the move ok. She’s pretty adaptable still. I think I’ll have a few moving helpers, so I hope it won’t take too long.
Finally people are talking about Fair Trade as applying to something other than food. Great article! Now if people would just stop talking about ebook readers as more environmentally conscious…..
Hannah is cute, if I wan’t allergic to her, I would want to pet her.
Gwen: I’m really interested in the fair trade discussion, especially when it comes to more optional consumer goods. Since food is such a necessity, sometimes I can see not being willing to pay more for it — if your food budget is small and you need so much food to live, sometimes you have to make sacrifices. But electronics are are really a luxury, so it seems like a better place to be making ethical choices.
Good luck with the move!
I did my first Sunday Salon in a long time about 2 weeks ago. Like you, I was glad to get back to it – it anchors my week!
Colleen: Exactly — it’s nice to have a personal space on the blog, just because I feel like lots of personal posts might stop being interesting. I like Sunday Salon as a way to muse about reading and what it’s like to be a reader, as well.