Can you believe it’s July already? I’m trying not to think about it. June was relaxing, but July is going to fly by. I’ll be out of town a total of 15 days in July, and as soon as I get home I’m working every day at my summer-y job until I go back to work on Aug. 6. So, although the vacations will be fun, my days of laying on the couch, blogging, reading, and watching TV are basically over.
July brings the half-way mark of 2012. How are you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions? (I don’t even want to talk about mine!) But, I did think I’d give you a quick update on my progress with the Mixing It Up Challenge.
You might remember that I vowed to read 13 of the 16 genres listed. So far, I’ve read nine, so I’m doing pretty well. For these nine categories, I’ve chosen books/authors I haven’t read before, with the exception of the Crime category, for which I counted the second Girl novel.
There are seven open genres left, and I haven’t necessarily decided which I’ll still read. Most likely, I’ll read The Great Gatsby for the Classics genre, since that was on my summer TBR list. I’d like to read a horror novel, but I’m not sure what to choose–I started In Cold Blood, but didn’t get more than halfway through. I suppose I could take a shot at some poetry. I have a hard time reading poetry on my own and allowing it to be meaningful. Then there’s the travel genre. That sounds appealing, but I have literally no idea what to choose. What constitutes a travel book? Are we talking about the story of someone else’s journey, or like, a travel guide?
If anyone has any suggestions for these last few categories, I’d gladly consider them.
Completed Reads
CLASSICS
BIOGRAPHY
Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
COOKERY, FOOD AND WINE
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell
HISTORY
Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip by Matthew Algeo
MODERN FICTION
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
GRAPHIC NOVELS AND MANGA
CRIME AND MYSTERY
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
HORROR
ROMANCE
The Villa by Nora Roberts
SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
TRAVEL
POETRY AND DRAMA
JOURNALISM AND HUMOR
Drop Dead Healthy by A. J. Jacobs
SCIENCE AND NATURAL HISTORY
CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PHILOSOPHY
I would highly recommend Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything” for the Science and Natural History genre. This is a great read!
Cool, Dad, thanks! Do you have a copy?