Progress in housing! After the fire I stayed in a hotel two months, then my van one month, and now I’m in a travel trailer! I have creature comforts! I have a kitchen! Etc. …and of course, there are books. Yes, even though most of my book collection was burned in the forest fire, I still have plenty to read. A person can only read one book at a time anyway. Why do we need thousands?
My January Word of the Month
Persevere
My January Haiku of the Month
In a warm trailer
rain pounding on the rooftop
there’s tea and a book.
Bible Verses of the Month
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” – 2 Peter 1:19-21
My January reading diary is at the bottom of this page, after the book list.
My Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/lindajm
☆ – I own the book and am ready to read.
★★ – I’m reading it.
✓ – I finished reading it. Yay!
⇗ – Still reading at the end of the month.
DNF – I did not like it or finish it.
∅ – Stalled – I started but didn’t finish.
↓ – I didn’t even start. Complete fail!
Books I want to read in January
✓ Juvenile Fiction: Charlotte’s Web, by EB White
I’m going to start the year with this precious much-loved children’s novel. It was a Newbery Honor Book in 1953, the year after I was born. I’ve read this book before, for a Children’s Literature class back in the 1970s. This time I’m reading it for the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #4: A book by an author who shares your Zodiac sign. My sign is Cancer and this author, EB White, was born July 11, 1899. The book was published when I was three months and two days old. A great contribution to world literature… but it was banned in Kansas in 2006 because some fanatic thought that talking animals were unnatural and blasphemous.
✓ Historical Fiction: Girl With a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier
I’ve attempted this novel before – at least, I intended to read it for a prior year, but didn’t get to it. This year I’m reading it for the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #6: A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title . . . the PEARL is the gem of the hour. I saw the movie around ten years ago but don’t remember much about it except that I liked it.
⇗ Magical Realism: One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Another book I intended to read for a prior year’s reading challenge, but as I recall, last year I lost this book in my van while I was traveling. Well, I’ve found it and know where it is and I hope to read it in January for the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #9: A book with a family tree. This book definitely is about a family. I hope I understand it better than I did last time I tried to read. Some people think this is one of the best books ever written. I would not say that, however, time will tell.
✓ Mystery Fiction: Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie
In my imagination I’ll read all the Hercule Poirot novels by Agatha Christie. Not likely, but tempting. This one I’m reading for the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #13: A locked-room mystery. Apparently people are trapped on a train and there’s no getting off, therefore this novel qualifies as a “locked room” mystery.
⇗ Christian: The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren
I love listening to Rick Warren’s Daily Hope in the morning. He’s a great teacher so I want to read his book. I’m fitting this into the 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge as prompt #18: A book about a subject you are passionate about. I’m passionate about being a Christian. This is a 40-day devotional so I won’t be finishing it in January, but this is when I’ll start.
My January 2021 Reading Diary
January 1 – This is my father’s birthday. He passed away in 2011 only 10 days before I was planning to see him at my brother’s wedding. He died after catching the flu. Now when people panic over Covid I like to tell them old people died of the flu every year before Covid came around, and nobody panicked and closed small businesses while keeping big box stores open. Anyway… PERSEVERE. That’s my word for the month. There’s no giving up and no going back. Life moves on and so must we… so long as we’re able… and when that’s over, where are we going? Think about that, if you must. Now I’m off to read a book. Today I’m starting 5 books! First, I’m starting to read the Bible again, starting with four chapters of the book of Genesis. Second: Pastor Rick’s book, The Purpose Driven Life. Third: Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, a 1952 Newbery Honor Book. Fourth: The Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. Fifth: The 8 Hour Diet by David Zinczinko, about intermittent dieting, ie: eating only 8 hours during the day and fasting the rest of the time… during most of which, you’re asleep anyway. Or is it eating 4 hours and fasting 8? I’m not sure yet! Too late for today though – I’ve been drinking coffee and ate a Clif Bar already.
January 2 – I had a nice day staying warm in the travel trailer while it has been raining outside. Today I read a few pages in The 8 Hour Diet… learning about mitochondria and free radicals. I also read a few chapters of Charlotte’s Web which is a delightful story. I’m so glad I’m getting back to it for a re-read after about 40 years. I also listened to more of the audiobook version of The Girl With a Pearl Earring. She’s very young and is working as a maid for a famous artist. This could get bad, but so far she’s only mixing and creating paints for him – behind his wife’s back. Today this video was published at YouTube.
January 3 – Just found this at Goodreads: Linda’s Year in Books (2020). Not all the books I read during 2020 are listed there as I quit updating Goodreads after the fire in September. Well, I updated some, but a lot of what I read, I didn’t do a review for. Pathetic. I’m glad I got through those months… and managed to read some anyhow.
January 4 – Today I read Charlotte’s Web chapters 4 and 5. On page 16 the POV abruptly changed from Fern to Wilbur, who has been incarcerated in a manure pile in a neighbor’s barn. (Wilbur is a pig.) I miss Fern almost as much as Wilbur does. I also finished chapter 5 of The Girl With a Pearl Earring, read chapter 2 of The Purpose Driven Life (and listened to the sermon that goes along with it – found on purposedriven.com . . . and I’m about to read another short section in The 8 Hour Diet: “The 8 Hour Cellular Solution” on pages 4-7. Obviously I’m not rushing through this book. There’s no reason to.
January 5 – I just finished reading The Girl With a Pearl Earring. I’m giving it four stars on Goodreads. It was a nice story, but not outstanding. If I remember the plot ten years from now, that would surprise me. I love the painting and it was a nice story about who the girl could have been.
January 6 – Wretched day. It is hard to peacefully read fiction when a beautiful young woman just lost her life in the US Capitol building. What a terrible, wretched day.
January 18 – This month has not been conducive to reading. I’ve been focusing on the terrible political situation ever since I saw what happened on the 6th, and then the video of a retired general saying we are at war with China. Bad news… and I don’t understand why a country feels a need to be aggressive toward another. Wouldn’t it be easier to all live in peace? But no… so now, reading isn’t coming easy to me. I think it is unlikely that I’ll finish my reading goals this month. Sad.
January 26 – Love. It is a topic. Jesus loves me, and His love doesn’t change and doesn’t hurt. I’m reading the Agatha Christie book and looking longingly at Charlotte’s Web. I didn’t finish it because of my emotional turmoil over the election and the aftermath of it. My solution is to hide myself in the strong tower of Jesus Christ. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)
January 29 – Great fun… I finished reading Murder on the Orient Express yesterday and today have been reading Charlotte’s Web, expecting to finish it before the end of the month. There’s snow outside but I stayed inside all day. Yesterday I had to go get propane in a foot of snow… now I can cook again. Life’s good.
January 30 – I gave up on the book and got the audiobook to help me through this… I listened to the first chapter of One Hundred Years of Solitude last night. The first few chapters of this book are a reread for me… but when I tried to read it before, I lost the book while vandwelling. I found it again months later. I do have a paperback copy of this, but my reading is so slow these days I decided that in order to have half a chance of getting through the book quickly I’d better go audiobook on this. I have reservations about audiobooks because mainly, names are hard to keep track of, especially spellings of weird names, but since I have a paperback as well I can look them up there. I can even go for total immersion by reading along in the book while I listen to the audio. There are twenty chapters… so I think it shouldn’t take too long to get through this if I dedicate my time to it. I’m also still reading a paperback copy of Charlotte’s Web… only a few chapters a day. I’m a slow reader, but I do love to read.
January 31 – I finished Charlotte’s Web at zero-hour. There are two holdover books this month: One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Purpose Driven Life.
Ms. Linda Jo Martin, you are one brave and strong lady. I just came from your Fight website to find a whole new website. How do you do it? I commend you and in a way jealous of you, but more love towards you. If there is anything I could do, let me know. It would be an honor being taken under your wing.
Thanks for the visit… I appreciate your kind comment. I’m sure I’m not capable of taking anyone under my wing. I’m barely hanging on myself much of the time as the FightCPS website traumatizes me over and over as I read the comments. I think my heart is too sensitive for dealing with that kind of distress constantly… but it was something I felt had to be said. When I started, few were saying it. Now I think many more people have taken a stand, which I’m very grateful for.
Remember crying over Charlotte’s Web, but how loveable a pig and spider can be!! My oldest grandson read it too. wish he were closer so we could have shared thoughts about it!! Enjoy the new year of reading!!!
I started re-reading Charlotte’s Web today. What a sweet story. I haven’t read it in about 40 years. Why did I wait so long? I want to read it to my granddaughter.