So I guess we're in December now. Let me just take a breather here whilst I recover from the speed with which we seem to have moved from January to this point...phew. I know it is such a cliche to say time moves fast, but it really feels so true. I think it gets worse as I get older too, though I'm sure that's just my imagination (anyone care to back me up?!).
I actually feel pretty thrilled to be in December. I've got a lot of exciting things happening and a lot of less exciting but no less important things. Plus I'm really looking forward to it getting really cold now (hint hint) as I'm very much fed up of being a sweaty mess after my walk to the tube. Thought I'd just share that image with you guys - enjoy.
Anyway. Life is moving apace, things are picking up and I'm finally reading at my usual rate again. After a shaky start to November and a worryingly high number of DNF's, Patrick Ness swung in and saved the day with the heartbreaking The Ask and the Answer. Then followed the equally heartbreaking, but also truly inspiring, The Yellow World by Albert Espinosa. After that I travelled back to the First World War and spent some time with E.M. Delafield's The War Workers. And for my current read I've gone for the dystopian Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (one word review: wow).
December always seems to me to be a month for treats. Obviously there is the food, the copious amounts of wine, the gifts and the time spent with family and friends. But I really see this month as a time to read luxuriously. To savour that one book I've been meaning to get to all year; to revisit old favourites and well-worn classics; to delve into the back catalogue of my favourite authors; to just read things that will make me happy.
At the moment I'm jonesing for some Wilkie time so I suspect the Oxford collection of three of his novellas that is winking at me from my shelf will be moving to my bedside very soon. Then I think I'll move onto some non-fiction, though I have such a lot to choose from it could be tricky knowing which way to go. I usually save something extra special for the Christmas week so I'll get back to you on that.
For now I'm going to get back to Station Eleven and try not to chew my nails entirely down to the quick with all the tension.
What will you be reading in December? Do you like to read luxuriously?
I love the idea of savoring December. It's hard to do in the midst of all of the craziness and planning but it's so important.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you loved The Ask and the Answer. That whole trilogy just wowed me.
I have Station Eleven and I'm so excited to start reading, I've heard so many incredible things! xx
ReplyDeleteIt definitely gets worse as you get older. Years used to feel like lifetimes, now they feel like... maybe six months at best?
ReplyDeleteI went for a walk to the library and the local shop yesterday, trusting that the cold air would be lovely and refreshing, but still arrived home in a sweaty mess. I usually walk a different way and had VASTLY underestimated my capacity to walk up a long steep hill with heavy library books and still arrive with my dignity intact. Oh well...
I've just been sent Station Eleven as a readathon prize, and I've heard nothing but good things, so that's definitely one that's going straight to the top of my winter TBR when it arrives. I might do a Harry Potter (at least semi-) rereading marathon at some point too, especially if it snows and we can't go anywhere for a few days! Happy reading, whatever you choose - have a lovely December sweetness. :)
Damn - now I *really* want to read Station Eleven. I mean, I already wanted to read it an awful lot but now I'm basically desperate to read it.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, I've actually just this morning made the decision to move on from The Pickwick Papers and start something new. Reading Pickwick has basically made me not want to read at all, which is a frankly ridiculous state of affairs. I want to read something that I can really get into and that I can spend happy cold evenings under a blanket completely absorbed in. I do not want to read something about random men wandering around the countryside and encountering stupid people with dull stories. I'm also thinking of getting to The Woman in White in the new year because I have a PEL edition and I am starting to feel ridiculous about the fact that I've not read it yet after how amazing The Moonstone was.
Oh, and you're totally right - I remember when you were a child and waiting an hour for something exciting was forever and now whole days fly by and now it's December and I DON'T KNOW HOW!
Station Eleven freaked me out a bit when I first started reading it. Probably because I'm from the Toronto area and it felt a little too close to home. But it's easily one of the best books I've read this year. Also, I love the idea of a traveling Shakespeare troupe at the end of the world.
ReplyDeleteI think it freaked me out the whole way through! But yes, I think it is one of the best books I've read too and I also love the idea of a travelling troupe. It's good to know that at least Shakespeare will continue surviving :)
ReplyDeleteI really think you should read it. In fact, I highly recommend you pick it up right this minute and start. I promise you, you will not regret it.
ReplyDeleteYES WILKIE! You must! Particularly as you have a PEL edition and they're so perfect for longer novels because of their super soft pages. I don't want it to seem like I keep telling you to read things, but y'know I kinda am.
I felt the same way when I tried A Tale of Two Cities last year. I think perhaps with Dickens it's a case of 'you win some, you lose some', and it's best to pick yourself up and move on.
That's exactly how it is - mind boggling!
You must! I think I'll be talking about it for weeks :)
ReplyDeleteIt's very stressful - I hate feeling like time is just moving on without me. I remember days like Christmas eve feeling like entire weeks. Nowadays you wake up and then it's back to bed again. Crazy.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I struggle to go anywhere and maintain my dignity these days. Oh, life.
You will love it! I seriously cannot stop thinking about it, even though dystopians usually give me the creeps. It's always a good time for a Harry Potter marathon :D
You too, my dear!
It really is incredible, I hope you love it :) x
ReplyDeleteI think you've got to find a bit of calm in there somewhere, and I can't think of anything more calming than reading.
ReplyDeleteI'm dying to get to the final part now!