Beastmomma

I am very slow with completing books as I adjusted to married life in the New England area. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

This morning,  I read a few more pages of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon.  In addition to being written from a unique perspective, the story has some interesting plot developments.  In the passage I read this morning, a mystery was solved.  A relationship between two characters was transformed.  As cliche as it sounds, I thought about how one act, moment or event can change your life forever.   I wonder what it would be like to change from loving my parents and trusting them completely to feeling very frightened of them and being unsure about everything they told me. 

On Wednesday, I attended my second meeting of a book club at our public library.  It was storming pretty badly and not many people came.  The folks who attended are what I would describe as the core group.  They all had lots to say and I had trouble interjecting myself into the conversation.  It is another lesson in how I need to speak up more, but I also enjoyed listening to them speak.  We read Bel Canto by Ann Patchett which was excellent.  I realize that now I have three reviews which need to be written, but I am struggling more and more to find the time to think about, create, and post my reviews. Hopefully, I will get to catch up on my reviews soon.

Next Saturday, I have to take an ethics exam in order to sit for the Massachusetts bar.  I am nervous because I am not very good at taking standardized tests and I failed the exam once already.  This time, I feel more focused because I have set aside time to study and a plan of action in which to finish.  The last time I took the test, I was trying to study while driving across country and then took the exam two days after we moved.  Even when I was studying, I did not feel particularly focused.  I am hoping that my familiarity with the exam combined with a use of flash cards or more practice questions will result in a passing score.

I am very slow with completing books as I adjusted to married life in the New England area. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

On Wednesday we got a new bed which does not sound like it has much to do with reading.  However, it is now much easier and more comfortable to read in bed.  I also wake up in a better mood since I am not having back pain.  Today,  I read a few more pages of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon.  The chapter I read today was about the main character, who is an autistic teenager deciding to be brave by talking with strangers.  Christopher, the narrator, has such a direct and honest voice.   I loved him even more because he is going to be brave by talking with strangers.   It got me thinking about what I could do to be brave. 

The biggest thing I am afraid of right now is preparing for an ethics exam which I have to pass in order to sit for the state bar.  In August, I studied and prepared for the ethics exam.  Everyone told me that it was easy, ,but I did not pass which was pretty devastating.  I have not been committed to studying again because I am worried that the effort will not pay off and I will be humiliated again.  I need to take my inspiration from Christopher and be brave to get the result that is important to me. 

You can read my previous post about this book, here.

I am very slow with completing books as I adjusted to married life in the New England area. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

Even though I did not do much blogging about books over the past week, I did have a few book-ish adventures.  On Wednesday evening, I attended a book club meeting at the local library where we discussed Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker.  You can read my review here.  I was a little bit nervous because I did not care for the book too much.  At the meeting I discovered that not only did others feel the same as I did, but they were quite fierce about their opinions. I have been in quite a few book clubs in my day, but I have never been to a meeting with people who were so intense about expressing their opinion of the book.  The members ranged in age from retirees to young professionals.  There was one man who I actually felt sorry for because he had to defend his preference for long hair.  It sounds totally random, but I kid you not. 

On Friday night, I attended the first meeting of a book club that I started.  In my head, I have named the club "Partners of Professors" because we are all connected to a professor at a local college.  Our first selection was Julie & Julia by Julie Powell which I actually finished about forty minutes before I had to leave.  I am telling you that to explain why I have not written a review of the book yet :) The host served a yummy dinner and wine.  We enjoyed the discussion and I liked getting to know the members better.  We talked about a lot of other things, in addition to the book.  I am excited to return to both of these meetings next month.

As for my reading today,  I read a few more pages of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon.  I started the book earlier this week and I am really drawn into the story. Getting the perspective of a fifteen-year-old autistic child who is working on solving a mystery is really engaging.  The main character is very observant and good at picking up random details.  When Partner and I were looking at bed's earlier today, I thought about what Christopher (the main character in the book) would look for in a bed and a headboard.  It was a fun exercise to take into account the opinion and potential reaction of a fictional character in my shopping adventure.  I think that thinking about Christopher helped me from purchasing a headboard prematurely.

I am very slow with completing books as I adjusted to married life in the New England area. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

I need some serious motivation to write up a review of Blindsight by Robin Cook, but I did not really enjoy the book very much.  I had a lukewarm reaction to it and I find myself having some writer's block.  As I mentioned in my post last week, I also had some issues with some offensive undertones in the book.  I want to expand on what I found offensive, but I feel like I need to have a lot more energy to write a critical review than one which is filled with gushing.  Does anyone else struggle with that?

As for today, I am going to continue to work my way through Julie & Julia by Julie Powell which is the selection for the book cub I am starting in town.  I started reading the book late, so I am worried that I may not finish in time for our meeting.  However, I am hoping that I can put in some long reading hours in between preparing for class, struggling through thank you notes, and continuing to unpack.  Given my pattern, I am pretty sure that reading the book will give me a good excuse to continue to ignore the last two items on the list.  So far, I find the book pretty engaging and easy to get through.  While I enjoy Julie's sassiness and drive to find her passion, there is something that is not jiving with me.  Maybe it is because I read a few of her blog entries and I also read interviews and reviews of both the movie and the book.  I feel like I know her voice and have a good idea of what to expect, so I am not very surprised.  As the book progresses, I am looking forward to witnessing more of her transformation and hopefully liking her more.

I am very slow with completing books as I adjusted to married life in the New England area. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

Partner was consumed with running some code to finish up a paper that he is presenting at a conference in a few weeks.  As a result, I had a few hours to devote to reading today.  I continued working my way through Blindsightby Robin Cook.  From the moment I started the book, I kept thinking that my mother would enjoy this book.  It is a murder mystery, similar in tone to Agatha Christie novels, but not as strong in my opinion.  The premise of the book is interesting; however, I am not getting as swept up in the plot as I would like.  Also some of the details Cook puts in are mildly racist which I find very irritating and distracting.  When I write my full review, I will go into more detail on that.  Nonetheless, I find the story interesting and I am curious to see what happens next.  Plus, it is fun to get to spend most of your day immersed in a book.

This week I finished reading Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker; I wrote up a review.  I am looking forward to attending the book club meeting to discuss the book in a few weeks.