September's Book of the Month

 

Hello Everyone! I chose the picture posted above because it reminds me of reading to my daughter Mareena when she was little. Every afternoon until she was about eight or nine years old, we would take one of her books that she wanted to read or that she was reading and we would curl up together on my big bed. 

We would spend an hour or so reading a chapter of her book, and then take a nap together. Her absolutely favorite author at that time was an English author named Enid Blyton. Ahh, nice memories... 

My picks for 'Books of the Month' will be decidedly more adult these days, but they will be from almost any genre. September's Book of the Month is:

The Rector's Wife by Joanna Trollope

  Published as: The Rector's Wife in June 1991

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, PLC

Birth Name: Joanna Trollope

Born: 9 December 1943 in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England (The Cotwolds)

Canonical Name: Joanna Trollope
Pseudonyms: Caroline Harvey

The Rector's Wife by Joanna Trollope was the forty-sixth book that I read in 2016. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since June 21, 2012 and my reread of it took me a total of four days to read. This book is currently on several book swapping sites waiting to go to another good home.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I Can't Believe That I Have Only Managed to Read One Book This Month!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

Despite everything that has happened to me recently, I'm doing surprisingly well. My injuries from when I bashed my head on Thursday, September 15th are definitely still with me, but after thirteen days there has been a noticeable improvement. To be perfectly honest, I haven't been doing anything too strenuous beyond reading, sum-doku puzzles, and watching television.

My black eyes are finally turning yellow, which means that the bruises are in the final stage of healing. Thank goodness - because it certainly took them long enough! As regards my sum-doku puzzle quota, as of Wednesday, September 28th, I've done 29 puzzles in the book that I'm currently concentrating on. Having said that, I've only managed to finish reading one book for this entire month - The Rector's Wife by Joanna Trollope.

So, starting on Friday night, September 23rd, Mareena and I tuned in to watch the premiere episode of the new television series based on The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. We've seen the 1973 film starring Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair, of course - several times, actually - but then who hasn't seen the movie, it's that popular! The series is very different, and while there may be some things about the plot that are slightly confusing to watch, the first episode was surprisingly creepy - all in all, it was a really intriguing start! I just hope that the series stays that way.

As regards my own reading, I actually started A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton on Monday, September 19th. According to Goodreads, as of this morning - Wednesday, September 28th - I'm currently on page 103 of 400; or approximately 25 percent into the story. Since my own copy of A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton is actually 390 pages; reading 103 pages means that I have read approximately 26 percent of the story so far. Actually, I'm finding this book much slower to read than when I read it the first time.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

This Should be an Interesting Season For Television!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

Despite everything that has happened to me recently, I'm doing surprisingly well. My injuries from when I bashed my head on Thursday, September 15th are definitely still with me, but after ten days there has been a noticeable improvement. To be perfectly honest, I haven't been doing anything too strenuous beyond reading, sum-doku puzzles, and watching television.

I've finished approximately 16 sum-doku puzzles as of Friday, September 16th! I have also been watching some pretty good television shows and continuously reading books - on Monday afternoon, September 12th, I watched the premiere episode of this season of 'Dr. Phil'. It was the first of a three-part conversation with Burke Ramsey - Jonbenet Ramsey's older brother.

Then on Tuesday night, September 20th, Mareena and I watched the series premiere of 'Bull', which follows the career of a fictional jury consultant named Dr. Jason Bull. It's actually a television show loosely based on the previous career of Dr. Phil. Apparently, before he became a talk show host, he had a successful career as a jury consultant. I must say that I can really see some of the similarities!

As regards my own reading, I actually started A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton on Monday, September 19th. According to Goodreads, as of yesterday morning - Saturday, September 24th - I'm on page 85 of 400; or approximately 21 percent into the story. Since my own copy of A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton is actually 390 pages; reading 85 pages means that I have read approximately 22 percent of the story so far. Actually, thinking about how long it has been since I last read this book, I would say that it's been a little over a decade ago!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

They Always Say That Reading Can be Soothing For Whatever Ails You - or is That Music?

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

Despite everything that has happened to me recently, I'm doing surprisingly well. Since I finished the last jigsaw puzzle I was doing on Friday morning, September 16th, I have switched from jigsaw puzzles to sum-doku puzzles. The puzzle book that I started was completely new, one of the package of six that I had originally received on Friday afternoon, March 4th!

Although, having said that, there is one other sum-doku puzzle book that I have left half-finished. So far, from the absolutely fresh puzzle book that I started on Friday, September 16th, I've done approximately 11 puzzles in the book. Actually, since Monday, May 30th, I haven't completed another sum-doku puzzle book!

As regards my own reading, I actually started A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton on Monday, September 19th. According to Goodreads, as of the next morning - Tuesday, September 20th - I was on page 68 of 400; or approximately 17 percent into the story. Since my own copy of A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton is actually 390 pages; reading 68 pages means that I have read almost 18 percent of the story so far. This is actually a reread for me from almost a decade ago.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I Guess the Other Guy Won!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

So, Mareena and I went to the radio station on Sunday, September 18th to do the show. We had a guest in to chat about their upcoming event and since he is also a good friend of ours, naturally we were catching up with each other. Suddenly, he asked about what happened to me and I told him the story about my accident at the doctor's office. He joked that I might have to change my doctor since I looked like I had been in fight with him.

After the show, we came home and Mareena looked at my face. She said everything looked alright to her, except that I apparently had acquired two black eyes overnight. She said that she was sorry that she hadn't said anything to me, but that I didn't have any bruises on Thursday afternoon, September 15th when I got home from the doctor's appointment.

I originally had Mareena feel the knot on my head when I was telling her what happened to me, but apart from the swelling on the side of my head nothing else was actually apparent. Well, now something else is apparent: the swelling on the side of my head has gone down slightly, but the bruise seems to spread up into my hairline. It looks awful, but actually doesn't feel too sore. My two black eyes are beginning to make me look like a raccoon; either that or some sort of prize fighter!

To be perfectly honest, I think that my black eyes are maybe affecting my reading just the slightest bit. I can still read, however my eyesight makes the writing on the pages appear much lighter than usual. This seems like a temporary problem, but it certainly is annoying while it lasts.

So, on Friday, September 16th, I actually set aside the book that I was reading: The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio. After reading this book for about eight days, I haven't managed to get any further into the story than 20 pages. Since my copy of the book has 294 pages in it; reading 20 pages of the story means that I have read approximately 7 percent of the book. So, I just picked up A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton; which actually is another reread for me from about ten years ago.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I Thought That I Would be Safe in my Doctor's Office!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

Well, I suppose that if I were to be completely honest, I would have to say that I'm not feeling absolutely wonderful right now - but certainly much better than I was feeling yesterday. I went to my doctor's office for a checkup appointment on Thursday afternoon, September 15th. I was sitting right next to the check-in desk in the waiting room and my name was called. I leaned forward in order to get up from the chair, and the next thing I knew I had whacked my head against the desk.

While it was a serious enough whack for me to pause - and it did hurt a little bit at the time that it happened - I stood up and went into the exam room. The nurse took my blood pressure - which was higher than usual - so she questioned what was wrong with me. I mentioned that I had just bashed my head in the waiting room, so she immediately decided to check my head - which seemed to have developed a substantial lump by the time I had arrived in the exam room.

I finally got home from the doctor's appointment at about 4:00 PM, with a cold compress and strict instructions to keep an eye on my head injury. I was also told that I had to watch out for any possible bleeding on the brain - well, there's a cheery thought. Even Mareena had to wake me up every couple of hours all throughout the night to check on my condition. So all in all, it was quite a busy night!

Given that my head has begun to ache slightly - although, only if I touch the knot on my head too much - I have found that I can't really concentrate too much on anything all that complicated. As a result of circumstances, I just wanted to finish the jigsaw puzzle which I started on Monday afternoon, September 12th! So, it's only taken me a total of four days, but I finished the entire jigsaw puzzle today - Friday, September 16th!

As regards my reading, I've noticed that I haven't gotten all that far into The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio. Actually, by Sunday, September 11th, I had only read six more pages than when I started reading the book on Thursday night, September 8th! Since that means that I have only read a total of 20 pages into a book that according to Goodreads has 304 pages in it, I'm thinking of setting the book aside for a while.

So, according to Goodreads - as of Sunday, September 11th - I've read 20 pages into The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio. As the book has approximately 304 pages in it, reading 20 pages into the story means that I have read about 6 percent of it. Since my own copy of this book actually has 294 pages, reading 20 pages into it means that I have read approximately 7 percent of the story.

The synopsis is definitely interesting, and having watched the movie with Mareena back in June of 2014 - I'm really looking forward to reading this book. However, I may have to set aside the book for a while, or at least until my head gets better. I might have to see if I can read another book!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I Seem to be Doing an Amazing Number of Jigsaw Puzzles - Although, Not Much Else!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

So, to be perfectly honest, I've been sort of keeping a relatively low profile these days. It isn't so much that I haven't been doing anything, it's just that I haven't been spending too much time online, lately. For the past few days, I just haven't been doing anything all that noteworthy, I suppose.

Actually, since Saturday afternoon, September 3rd, I've started doing jigsaw puzzles - and as of Tuesday, September 13th - I have finished a total of three jigsaw puzzles. I finished the 1,000-piece puzzle of the sailboat in the harbor on Sunday night, September 11th. Then, I started another jigsaw puzzle that I had previously done several years ago - a 1,000-piece puzzle of an old-fashioned town square. Since I started doing it on Monday afternoon, September 12th, I don't expect I'll finish the puzzle for a few more days!

As regards my reading, I just started reading a book that I received through the mail on Tuesday afternoon, September 6th! I started reading The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio on Thursday night, September 8th! According to Goodreads, as of Saturday afternoon, September 10th - I'm on page 14 of 304; or approximately 4 percent into the story. Since my copy of The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio actually has 294 pages to it, reading 14 pages of the book means that I have read approximately 5 percent of the story.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Well, my Schedule is Full - of Books and Puzzles!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

I am happy to say that everything is going well - at least so far! I'm in the peak of health and have been reading quite a bit as well as doing the occasional jigsaw puzzle and crossword puzzle from the newspaper. After finishing the 500-piece cat puzzle on Saturday night, September 3rd, I found a jigsaw puzzle that I actually hadn't even opened! I think the puzzle was from either this past Christmas or from a belated birthday approximately a year ago.

Actually, on Mareena's birthday our friend Lisa also gave me a jigsaw puzzle along with giving Mareena her own gift. It was really very nice of her to do that, but I don't know if that was the jigsaw puzzle that I chose to do next. Anyway, the jigsaw puzzle was of a farming scene - a huge red barn with plenty of cattle in the pasture. It's actually only had 300 pieces in it, so it didn't seem too difficult for me to finish.

It wasn't all that difficult, although the large expanse of blue sky was what proved to be the trickiest part of the puzzle to do. I believe that I started the puzzle on Sunday night, September 4th and finished the puzzle the next day on Monday afternoon, September 5th! Then, I started doing my next jigsaw puzzle of a sailboat pulling into the harbor on Monday evening, September 5th! The puzzle is 1,000 pieces but I can't really tell how much of it I have done as of this morning - Saturday, September 10th - I'm probably about three quarters of the way through, I think.

As regards my reading, I just started reading a book that I received through the mail on Tuesday afternoon, September 6th! I started reading The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio on Thursday night, September 8th! To be perfectly honest, even though the book looks like it's going to be very good, I haven't really gotten into the flow of the story yet.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Joanna Trollope - The Rector's Wife

Reread. The Rector's Wife by Joanna Trollope (1991)
Length: 285 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Originally Read: 26 June 2012
Reread Finished: 8 September 2016
Where did it come from? Originally from a Bookmooch, then from my "keeper" shelf.

So, after looking through some books that I had stored in my bedroom closet - Devil's Eye: A Novel by Al Ruksenas and Somebody Else's Daughter by Elizabeth Brundage; I had originally planned to read one of my birthday books, The Businessman: A Tale of Terror by Thomas M. Disch. I had started reading this book on September 1st! While this particular book certainly has an intriguing synopsis, I was having a little bit of trouble getting into the story, so decided to put it aside for the moment.

I had just finished reading While I Was Gone by Sue Miller for the third time from August 28th, to August 31st, 2016 and was trying to decide what to read next. Actually, I wasn't planning on choosing a book that would become another reread for me, but then I caught sight of The Rector's Wife by Joanna Trollope. Since I hadn't read this book for quite some time, I decided to start my second reading of it.

I had originally received this book from Mareena as one of her 'just because' gifts for me in June of 2012. Actually, The Rector's Wife by Joanna Trollope arrived in the afternoon mail on June 21st, 2012 - although, I started reading the book for the first time two days later, and spent the next three days reading it in June of 2012 - from June 23rd, to June 26th, 2012! Then, I decided to read this book again four years later.

So, my reread of this book took place approximately four years later - over four days in September of 2016 - from September 4th, to September 8th, 2016. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed rereading this book, although there were some parts of the story that I couldn't for the life of me remember reading the first time through. I have since posted this book on all the book swapping websites that Mareena and I belong to - someone else will enjoy it as much as I did, I'm sure!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I'm Not Having Another Reading Slump, It's Just That I Seem to be Choosing Books That I Happen to Have Read Before!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

So, I'm very happy to say that as of Tuesday afternoon, August 30th, my stomach issues have almost gone away. Despite a short reoccurrence on Saturday afternoon, September 3rd, I'm still feeling so much better than I was. I'm actually so relieved!

The jigsaw puzzle that I chose to do on Wednesday afternoon, August 31st, was a 500-piece puzzle that features four rather large cats happily playing on top of a desk in someone's office or study. It actually didn't really take me all that long to do the jigsaw puzzle - I finished it on Saturday night, September 3rd!

So, I don't know what is going on with me these days, but I can't seem to settle down and choose something else to read. I just finished reading While I Was Gone by Sue Miller on Wednesday, August 31st. After spending a few days trying to figure out what to read next, I finally chose The Rector's Wife by Joanna Trollope.

I read this book for the first time over three days in June of 2012 - from June 23, to June 26, 2012. I started reading the book again on September 4th! It looks like it's going to be a relatively quick read for me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I'm Feeling so Much Better Now!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

So, I'm very happy to say that as of Tuesday afternoon, August 30th, my stomach issues have completely gone away. I'm feeling much, much better than I was. To celebrate my return to good health, I started doing another jigsaw puzzle on Wednesday afternoon, August 31st! I suppose that I have some rather strange ways of celebrating certain milestones - LOL!!!

The jigsaw puzzle that I chose to do was a 500-piece puzzle that features four rather large cats happily playing on top of a desk in someone's office or study. It is such a cute picture, and I'm definitely enjoying doing this puzzle. Although, I really don't know how long it should take me to finish it!

So, I don't know what is going on with me these days, but I can't seem to settle down and choose something else to read. I just finished reading While I Was Gone by Sue Miller on Wednesday, August 31st. However, I'm finding so many great books stashed away in closets and on my various bookshelves that I can't make a choice between which ones I want to read next. So far, I have narrowed the choice down to between a total of four books!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up For August at Moonshine and Rosefire

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Rosefire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog. I originally posted my reviews over at my daughter's blog, Emeraldfire's Bookmark but am now in the process of transferring them all over to my own blog. My daughter makes blogging look like so much fun that I thought that I would try it out for myself! :)

Anyway, I started out August with 1,065 books lying around the house and ended the month with 1,060 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from Paperback Swap.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile

Rereads
- Silver Wedding by Maeve Binchy
- While I Was Gone by Sue Miller

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Snow in April by Rosamunde Pilcher
- When You Believe by Deborah Bedford
- Becoming Jane Eyre: A Novel by Sheila Kohler

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- The Businessman: A Tale of Terror by Thomas M. Disch
- A Dog's Purpose: A Novel For Humans by W. Bruce Cameron

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Seawitch by Alistair MacLean
- Snow in April by Rosamunde Pilcher
- Donovan's Brain by Curt Siodmak
- Timepiece by Richard Paul Evans
- The Entity by Frank De Felitta
- When You Believe by Deborah Bedford 

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 5
Pages Read: 1,482
Grade Range: A+! to A!

So, there you go! The reading month that was August. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight