I’m starting a new format for my monthly review post, as I gear up for a new year here at Entering the Enchanted Castle. I hope you’ll let me know how you like it!
Literature
This was a month for reading and reading favorite authors with multiple names or initials, it seems. Plus one last stellar (and also multi-named) addition for 2020 to my Reading All Around the World project. Three books read in December made it onto my Gems of 2020 list, so it must have been a good month.
Literary posts
- Between Egypt and Babylon – thoughts on nearing the end of the Bible
- Christmas – a verse in translation
Books read
- Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton – Reread
- The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery – Reread
- P. G. Wodehouse in His Own Words by Barry Day
- Jill the Reckless by P.G. Wodehouse
- The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Pan Que Mai – Reading All Around the World
- Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse
- Act One by Moss Hart – Reread, Review to come
- Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery
Language
I started working with a tutor on italki to try to boost my German, and I completed level 5 of the Pimsleur audio course in German. In French I’ve been enjoying La Femme au Carnet Rouge with my online book club organized by Emma of Words and Peace. And I’ve been working with an English student on reading The Outsiders, an old favorite of mine.
I wrote the post Can you teach yourself a language? to explore some of the successful and not so successful independent study methods I’ve found.
Life
I finished a sweater I’ve been working on for my son for many months. Thankfully it still fits him! And as a gift for my husband I went through all the photos that have been languishing on my computer for a decade or more, and made a photo book of our sixteen years together. I really enjoyed looking at all the pictures and making the selection for the book; it called up many wonderful memories and great gratitude for all that these years have brought.
During the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany, I’ve started to make it a practice to go through the past year, one month per night, and review what happened as outer events, my feelings and my thoughts in my journals, what my questions and goals have been, and where I’d like to go next.
This started as a way to try to deal with crisis and overwhelming change, but now I find it a helpful way to try to stay on top of things before they become too much. Again I am filled with gratitude and wonder for all that life brings, both challenging and joyful experiences. It’s all to be treasured, if we can learn from it.
What has this month brought to you, inwardly and outwardly? Is there anything you do to try to start the new year off right?
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
This snowy picture is so beautiful and peaceful 🙂 Congratulations on your reading, your knitting – and wow, those cookies ! I love languages, I’m French, write a decent Engish (you should hear my accent, awful, I sound different in my head !), would love to learn more sign language, Breton (a celtic language), japanese (with the kanjis and all that), italian (why not), and feel it will take me more than a lifetime to achieve that, lol ! I’m trying to work different ways to feel better, live better, learn better. I’ll share all that on my blog, hopefully ! Happy new year and have a great week 🙂
I aspire to try learning a language with a non-Latin script but I’m sure I would not get very far. Sign language too — wonderful you are working on that! I welcome any and all insights on how to live and learn better. Looking forward to what you share on your blog.
Our benighted country lurches from kneejerk reaction to kneejerk reaction over Covid and all the ramifications, so it’s hard to plan any new beginnings. I think it’ll be more of the same—books and blogging for the time being, but also retrieving piano technique held in abeyance for nine long months and which I feel rather distraught at.
No, it’s hard to make any kind of larger plans, but at least I can still plan what books to read. (Although I had not realized Brexit would mean no more Book Depository delivery – ?!?) I hope if you keep at the piano you will find you recover your skills and that can be a consolation too.
Lory, December sounds like a quiet but lovely month for you, with some great books read and some really thoughtful, homemade gifts. Similar to you I keep a prayer journal, where I like to reflect and remembers the ups and downs of the year, and I can go back and see what has been answered or changed too. December was a great month for reading and TV, but otherwise it has been a very tiring and illness filled month. I am looking forward to a happier, healthier and easier 2021 please! 🙂
I’m sorry you’ve not been well Jessica. Hoping you find health and happiness on the upswing.
Thank you so much, Lory ❤
Congrats on finishing the sweater! I have only been able to figure out how to crochet scarves, so I’m super jealous of anyone who can do more. 🙂
I’m trying to be more organized this year. I bought a new planner, and am working on actually following through on my daily plans.
Knitting is therapy for me! Crochet, on the other hand, I have never gotten the hang of. To each her own handicraft …
Hoping you find your organization plans go splendidly in the new year.
I really need to reread The Outsiders one of these days. I haven’t read it in so many years! Love the sweater, by the way—glad it fits!!
Not all books I loved as a teenager hold up today, but that one does!
What a beautiful sweater, great job! Happy New Year!
Thanks Freda, Happy New Year to you!
The sweater is so beautiful! And it looks so cozy. I am so impressed by your language abilities. I have started learning Japanese–starting with hiragana–again, because since lockdown, my Japanese friends who could help me are of course, also not able to see me at exercise class.
Someday you’ll be able to get together with your Japanese friends again! At least I have people to talk with in German.
I have heard great things about The Blue Castle.
Oh, it’s a lovely book! I could read it over and over.