Greetings from the Geriatric Ward! I arrived in eastern Arkansas Sunday afternoon and I am really looking forward to a slightly different pace for a few weeks.
This past week was busy in an unusual way. As you will recall, I was in Austin for the Memorial Day weekend to play for the Texas UIL Solo and Ensemble state contest. I returned to Plainview on Tuesday to begin packing up my apartment for summer. Somehow, I got the schedule wrong in my mind for the week. So Wednesday turned into a flurry of activity as I ran errands, cleaned, packed, and prepared to leave for Stillwater, Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Music Teachers’ Conference on Thursday. The conference was great and ran through Saturday afternoon. Rather than begin the drive home, I stayed the night in Oklahoma City and drove home on Sunday.
All of that to say that I was able to do some significant listening in my car, but not as much physical reading as I would have liked. I didn’t meet my finish goals for the week, but I’m very close to another finish. Let’s just take a look at where things stand at the moment.
What I Finished This Week
Beach Read by Emily Henry. This audiobook got me through many miles of driving this week. The story centers around two authors who hated each other in graduate school. When they find themselves living next door to each other, the old rivalry is reignited. In the heat of battle, the two issue a challenge to each other — she must write a story that doesn’t resolve everything in the end with a neat “happily ever after” tied up in a bow; he must write a romance with a happy ending. Henry’s writing is entertaining and filled with heart. Beach Read is about writer’s block, family difficulties, and the challenges of falling in love. 4 stars.
What I’m Currently Reading
The Modern Guide to Time Mastery by Morgan Ellis Stone (p. 133 of 148). I’m so close to another finish, but I couldn’t quite get there this week. I just have the final chapter and the epilogue to read, so it will definitely get done this week. Just another reminder that non-fiction is not my typical jam.
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon (p. 241 of 947). I’ve read another 100 pages this week. The slow pace is only because of the little amount of time I have been able to devote to the novel. Truthfully, most of the week’s progress has happened in the Geriatric Ward. I’m not worried about getting this done quickly now that I am in a position where I can regularly read. Not sure that I’ll get finished this week, but I anticipate sizable progress ahead.
Emma by Jane Austen (p. 116 of 335). My plan to make this the focus piece of the week fell by the wayside when I realized that I didn’t have as many days in Plainview as I thought. I plan to slowly work my way through the remaining 220 pages this week to get a finish. (Somehow, I remember this very point in the story being the challenge for me when was first assigned the novel in my undergraduate studies. Just have to push through!)
May in Review
May was not a good month in my reading life. I’m still ahead of schedule in my reading goal, but I have to have good months in June and July to get back on track with my reading. Here’s the shameful numbers to report for the month.
- Books read in May: 3 books (down 2 books from April)
- 1 physical
- 1 ebook
- 1 audio
- 3 fiction
- Pages read in May: 1,249 pages (down 87 pages from April)
- Highest rated book: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (4 stars)
- Lowest rated book: Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill (1 star)
Plans for June
May clearly did not go as I had hoped, so I still have some loose ends to tie up there. I need to finish both Dragonfly in Amber and Emma. I was also scheduled to read The Summer We Started Over and Lady Chatterly’s Lover last month. For June, these are the new additions that I have slated to read:
- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
- Moby Dick
- The Quiet Librarian
- Eruption
Thankfully, most of June’s novels are shorter than those I encountered in May. I hate to think about it, but it may be the month that I begin to reassess my plans for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge and pivot in order to reach my goal.
Reading for Me 
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