Literature
I dedicated this month to Reading the Theatre, and though at first I thought I might read two or three books, it was so much fun I found it hard to stop. Of course, any time of year is great to read theatre-themed books, but an occasional binge seems to increase the fun for me. I’ve linked a few posts by other blogging friends below; please let me know if I missed yours.
I also like to watch something along with my reading if possible, this time a recording of the 1984 production of Sunday in the Park with George, to go with James Lapine’s wonderful account of the birth of that production.
Being sick (see below) and having two weeks off from work assisted me to get through many more books than usual. It was the perfect time to immerse myself in vicarious drama on stage.
Click the links to learn more about any of these titles:
- 700 Sundays by Billy Crystal
- When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord
- Something Wonderful by Todd Purdum
- Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh
- Moominsummer Madness by Tove Jansson
- The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson
- Putting It Together by James Lapine
- Journey to the River Sea by Iva Ibbotson – Reread
- Putting the Rabbit in the Hat by Brian Cox
- Under Lock and Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandan
Reading the Theatre elsewhere:
- At Calmgrove, Hag-Seed and Journey to the River Sea (which inspired my own reread!)
- At She Reads Novels, Theatre of Marvels
- At Staircase Wit, Take a Bow
Other books I fit in this month:
- Death of a Ghost by Margery Allingham
- C.S. Lewis by Alister McGrath
- Jack by George Sayer
- Educated by Tara Westover
- The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis – Reread for Narniathon
- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath – Reread
- Emily Fox-Seton by Frances Hodgson Burnett – Reread
- The Good Gut by Justin Sonnenberg
- First Steps in Christian Religious Renewal by Rudolf Steiner
Language
I started teaching a new English class for a handful of absolute beginners this month. It’s a new and interesting challenge for me to figure out how to communicate when their English is so limited. So far, I’ve mostly worked with intermediate and advanced students.
I’m taking a break from solo teaching on italki for now. I taught over 125 lessons, learned a ton, and met many wonderful people, but now I’d like to focus on my in-person students for a while. And use up my italki credits for language lessons of my own, when I feel ready to focus on that again.
Life
Spring came early this year, and then we had an interlude of more snow, but that’s gone now and it’s daffodil season. They grow wild in the meadows here and it’s a lovely, heart-lifting sight at the end of winter.
We went through a bout of COVID in our household after going relatively unscathed through the first two years of the pandemic. I recovered quickly and can’t detect any lasting ill effects, so I was fortunate. I’m continuing to try to work on my health, and shared some of the first steps from my functional medicine journey. I hope that there will be more good news to report in the future, but if not, it’s all part of the learning process.
This month I wrote about “Connecting and communicating” as my One Word theme. I also posted a poem, Talitha Koum, in honor of Easter Sunday.
I’ve been going through a bout of intense writing about past experiences, a spiritual memoir of sorts. This is not for publication but just for myself (I felt given permission to do this by Elizabeth Andrew’s book Writing the Sacred Journey which I can recommend highly). It’s been a good but very intense process and I feel a need to step back from blogging for a while. I am going to take a blog break for a few weeks, at least till it’s time to share for Narniathon and One Word again.
So it will be quiet here for a while, but I’ll see you again soon! How was your April?
Linked at The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, the Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, and the Monthly Wrap-up Round-up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Gee whiz, this was quite THE reading month. Not only with the amount, but the variety. I hope you continue to heal and rest and so glad your Covid experience was quick.
Yes it was quite incredible. Things have slowed down a good deal in May.
Lots of interesting reading in there! Have a relaxing and restorative blog break.
Thanks! Yes it was very interesting indeed. Hope you have a good month too.
We also went all that time and then BAM, get COVID. Glad you are better now! Happy May!
Wow, hope you are better too. Stay well!
Good luck on teaching English. You have a good reading month with some interesting books. Hope May is good as well.
My monthly wrap-up: https://tellmeayarnblg.wordpress.com/2022/05/01/april-2022-monthly-wrap-up/
Nicole from Feed your Fiction Addition has banned me from the link up because she think I bad month her in everyone of my blog posts. Anyone that can see on my blog that is not true.
Thanks for stopping by Marianna.
I’ve completely missed seeing anything about Reading the Theatre. It sounds like a wonderful way to spend a month.
I’m sorry to hear you and your household had Covid. Good to know that you got through it fairly quickly and that you are not experiencing any long term results.
Writing the Sacred Journey sounds like an inspiring book. I am interested in hearing more about your writing when you feel like talking more about it. Enjoy your (hopefully short) break.
Thanks Deb! I do recommend WTSJ and I’m sure I’ll say something about my writing process, it’s been quite interesting. Hope you are having a good month too.
What a fun theme!
I’m glad to hear you have recovered from CoVid
Wishing you a great reading week
Thanks Shelleyrae – I’m glad too. But as long as one is not too sick to read, having to stay home has its compensations.
Wow, you did get a lot of reading done! I spent the same month reading children’s series mysteries, ha. I hope your blogging break is refreshing, and just in case we don’t cross paths in the next couple of weeks, I’m going on a trip to Germany in June and will wave in the direction of Schweiz from Hohenschwangau, which is as close as I’ll get. 🙂
Hey, have a great time in Germany! I still have not been there, but hopefully some day.
On your recommendation, Lory, I read Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. Whew! Really impressive!
Yes! Jackson is brilliant.
Ugh, sorry to hear that COVID got you! But glad to hear that the effects don’t seem to be lingering. And hey, it looks like you got a LOT of awesome reading done (how did you like Educated??), so silver linings and all of that! ❤️
Very true about the silver lining, I had a great reading month. I was blown away by Educated. I bought a copy so my son could read it too and now I have to get my husband to read it!
You’ve had a lot going on in April! I’m sorry you all got covid. We’ve still escaped it somehow but I know it could always be right around the corner.
Hope you all can stay healthy!
I think themed reading is really fun. I always have great plans but do not always have time to carry them out. I would like to reread Angela Thirkell in order or read all of Diana Wynne Jones (I think I own every book by both authors) but I would also like to read all the books on the floor so I can tidy up my house! I am taking the month of June away from work to finish my master’s degree and going to London so I assume I will have less time to read next month. I know I will be blogging because I got a small scholarship to blog about our experiences, which will be fun.
A “reading books on the floor” theme could be one a lot of us would relate to … 😉 I’ll look forward to reading about your adventures in London!
Wow you certainly read a lot in one month! The themed reading idea is an interesting one – I’ve seen another blogger do this and have been tempted.
I find it to be a fun way to focus my reading for a while. Sometimes I go with prompts of others, but when nobody is doing what I’m interesting in, I invent my own!