IT’S SEPTEMBER! Do you know what is special about September? (No, no, it’s not that children go back to school and give us some time to ourselves, although that is equally marvelous.) MY BIRTHDAY is the most special thing about September! In fact, my birthday is so special, that people all over the country are celebrating, everyone is talking about the big holiday weekend, and most of them actually get my birthday off from work on Monday! Isn’t that great? People are partying, our friendly neighborhood police officers are out in full-force, and all because MY BIRTHDAY is on Monday! Do people do this every year for my birthday? I never knew!
And because my birthday has caused this BIG HOLIDAY WEEKEND, I got my first gift in the mail today. WOO! My parents are the best. Want to know why? Because I’m going to be 36 years old, and they are still helping me buy TOYS. How many 36-year-olds can say their parents still help them buy toys? (If there are lots of you who can say this, then you have the most awesome parents, too!) Look what I got:
My parents are a hoot.
I have been given the gift of signal! *does the Verizon gift card dougie* See, my current smartphone is over two years old, and it’s starting to show its age, so I have decided to buy the new iPhone when it comes out at the end of September. When my mom asked what I’d like for my birthday, instead of giving her my usual, “Oh, you’re so good at giving gifts. If you get me something, make it a surprise,” I told her, “I want the new iPhone. It will be expensive. A gift card from Verizon to help me pay for it would be great.” Now, I won’t tell you how much this little gift card is for, but let’s just say that I really wasn’t expecting what I received. AT ALL. My parents really are phenomenal people in many ways. Thank you, oh wonderful parents of mine! YOU ROCK.
Are you sick of hearing about the big birthday holiday weekend yet? Okay, okay…on to the books…
Here’s a look at the reading I accomplished in August:
Number of books finished: 14
YTD: 94
- Melmoth the Wanderer, Charles Robert Maturin
- Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury
- At Swim, Two Boys, Jamie O’Neill
- The Good Muslim, Tahmima Anam
- The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien
- Dancing Girls, Margaret Atwood
- A Golden Age, Tahmima Anam
- And When She Was Good, Laura Lippman
- Out of True, Amy Durant
- Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
- Sharp: A Memoir, David Fitzpatrick
- How To Be a Woman, Caitlin Moran
- Breed, Chase Novak
- The Cider House Rules, John Irving
Number of books in progress: 5
- The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Before the Rain: A Memoir of Love & Revolution, Luisita López Torregrosa
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz
- Ulysses, James Joyce
- Ulysses Annotated, Don Gifford
Number of pages read: 5,040
YTD: 33,136
Books reviewed:
- Dare Me, Megan Abbott
- A Golden Age, Tahmima Anam
- The Good Muslim, Tahmima Anam
- The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (wrap-up of readalong / watchalong)
- And When She Was Good, Laura Lippman
I will forever be behind on reviews, unless I take a week off from reading. So I will forever be behind on reviews.
**I’m using the Daytum website to keep track of my reading stats this year, so you can follow my progress at any time by visiting my Daytum profile.
Reading Challenges progress:
- Back to the Classics Challenge: 2/9 (YTD: 7/9)
- Mount TBR Reading Challenge: 2/40 (YTD: 14/40)
- Chunkster Reading Challenge: 3/14 (YTD: 16/14) DONE! (Technically, I am finished with this challenge aside from writing some reviews. I still have more chunksters to read this year, though.)
- End of the World Reading Challenge: 4,389 (YTD: 26,241)
- The Classics Club: 12/100 (Total)
- A Non-Fiction Adventure: 10/130 (Total)
**You can follow my progress and learn more about each challenge under the Challenges tab in my menu bar.
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Ashley (my 11-year-old daughter) is participating in two of the challenges with me: the Back to the Classics Challenge and the Mount TBR Challenge. She doesn’t have a place to review the books she’s read, so she’s just doing the reading and keeping track of her progress in a notebook.
Here’s a look at what Ashley accomplished in August:
Number of books read: 10
YTD: 74
- The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams
- Heartbeat, Sharon Creech
- Replay, Sharon Creech
- The 7th Garfield Treasury, Jim Davis
- The 8th Garfield Treasury, Jim Davis
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred D. Taylor
- The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling
- Willow, Wayland Drew
- Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
- The “What’s Happening To My Body?” Book For Girls, Lynda Madaras
Number of pages read: 2,124
YTD: 20,950
Reading Challenges progress:
- Back to the Classics Challenge: 4/9 (YTD: 8/9)
- Mount TBR Reading Challenge: 1/50 (YTD: 17/50)
September 1, 2012 at 4:18 pm
HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!
I’m so excited you’re getting a new phone!
That’s a lot of reading you’ve done this year! I need to log off and get back to my books to make sure you NEVER CATCH ME!
What did Ashley think of Anne? I’m planning on re-reading them all next year (along with the Emily books because Amy and Mandy have NEVER READ THEM and I must set a good example, yo).
Also, it’ll be the day after your birthday, but you can consider the return of Trashy Tuesday to be my gift to you. <3
September 1, 2012 at 4:25 pm
THANK YOU! Trashy Tuesday! YAAAAAAY! That’s the best birthday present ever.
I will never, ever catch you. Sigh. I would have to read 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No sleep, no making food, no bathing…I think I’d rather have you beat me. Hahahaha!
Ashley loves Anne. That was actually a re-read for her. This time, she read along AS she listened to the audiobook. I don’t think she’s read the rest of the series, or the Emily books, so I need to get those for her.
September 1, 2012 at 4:34 pm
Yay! I’m happy people are excited about it. It’s already scheduled (I know, what?) with illustrations and everything!
Yes, see if you can find Emily of New Moon for her (that’s the first of the trilogy). I liked Emily more than Anne, even if they’re rather similar.
I hope you have a fantastic birthday! With a nice nap and a cool/non-humid day.
September 1, 2012 at 4:59 pm
Thank you, SJ. <3
September 1, 2012 at 5:24 pm
A birthday weekend?!?! So fun! And yes, I love toys, too, so a gift card for a new toy sounds awesome. Hope this weekend is as great as it started out for you.
September 1, 2012 at 6:11 pm
Thank you, Jenn! Even though I’ve already had 35 of them, I still try to be excited for my birthday–it’s the one day of the year that’s just mine.
September 1, 2012 at 5:33 pm
Happy birthday, Heather!! Also, yay, Anne of Green Gables!!
September 1, 2012 at 6:12 pm
Thanks, Jillian! I thought of you when I saw her re-reading it.
September 1, 2012 at 10:40 pm
1) Happy Birthday! I hope it’s wonderful!
2) Your parents are the coolest!
3) Enjoy your new iPhone! I recently got my first iPhone/smartphone and absolutely love it.
4) Hope you have an awesome September!
September 1, 2012 at 10:46 pm
Thank you!
September 2, 2012 at 11:55 am
Happy birthday! Of course, you’re awesome enough to have the whole country celebrating it tomorrow!
Your parents are great. I want my mom to give me an iPhone. What do you think of Oscar Wao so far? It’s one of my favorites. What did Ashley think of the Sharon Creech books? HarperCollins is having a huge sale on Creech’s books right now, 10 of her books are $1.99. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend.
September 2, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Aw, thanks, Vasilly!
I am really enjoying Oscar Wao. It’s fantastic so far.
Thank you for the heads up in the Sharon Creech book sale! Ashley really likes her books, so we’ll be getting on the computer later to check it out. You’re wonderful!
September 3, 2012 at 10:04 am
Happy Birthday! I saw At Swim, Two Boys on your list and had a little panic that I missed your review, but thankfully you list them. I can’t wait to read your review! And good luck with your phone when you get it!!!!
September 3, 2012 at 10:36 am
Thank you, Geoff!
My review of At Swim, Two Boys should be up soon.
September 4, 2012 at 11:38 am
I am late, Heather and so a belated happy birthday. I do hope you had a wonderful super time. Incidentally, my mother’s brithday was also yesterday. She is 76 years old. We only had a quiet dinner at home, no fuss (she lives with me). I’ve noticed that Ashley is doing fine with her reading. I hope September will be a great month for you.
September 4, 2012 at 11:48 am
Thank you, Celestine! Happy Birthday to your mother, as well! I had a quiet day at home, too, which was very nice.
September 6, 2012 at 10:43 am
Happy Birthday! Unfortunately, we don’t celebrate your birthday here in Denmark … Would have loved a holiday right about now