Back in January, I promised Daffy to do a Projects Meme within the next week. Well, I'm ready to do it now, and I think the first project should be
1) Quit procrastinating! (Maybe tomorrow...)
2) I was working on a novel back in the 1980s and even though I have thought out sections of it over the years, I put it aside and never got back to writing it. I would like to work on it, using a really wonderful book I got called First Draft in 30 Days. I think after reading it over that I kinda need to rework the whole thing. But I want to leave the setting in the 80s.
3) I really need to keep making exercise a priority, for health reasons. I have been riding my exercise bike for a half hour daily, and doing a Body Electric routine for 20 minutes daily. (Body Electric is weight lifting/strength/flexibility/balance, that kind of thing. It really tones me up when I stick with it, and even though it can be intense, it is doable. I see progress not only in doing it, but in the rest of my day, I am more flexible, have more energy and less aches and pains when I commit to it).
4) I want to spend some quality time tending to the yard and garden this year.
5) I want to spend less time on the computer, and more time reading books. I want to use the time I do spend on the computer more productively.
Okay, that's what I'm working on. I am supposed to tag 5 other people, and I know who I'd like to tag, but I don't want to put people on the spot when everyone already has so much going on. The last thing any woman needs is more guilt! Honestly, I wondered whether to even do this. I think women have a real problem with feeling like they never do enough. Even when we get a lot done, we only think of all the OTHER things we should have done. We say we want to spend more time reading, but then either it is on our "to do" list and we make a chore of it, or we spend an enjoyable afternoon reading and then feel guilty because we weren't doing something else. One thing my husband has worked hard to help me do is ENJOY LIFE and learn to enjoy the process, the satisfaction of feeling good about what I do accomplish, and the joys of leisure and beauty and conversation and relaxation. I, however, sometimes enjoy little challenges I set myself, or planning things I'd like doing, and that's all this is. So if you feel it would be something you'd enjoy, feel free to let us know what you'd like to accomplish in the coming year. We won't hold your feet to the fire.
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
A Charles Dickens Aficianado
My hubby and I just finished watching the entire BBC production of "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens. It was on 3 DVDs in roughly 15 episodes, and we enjoyed every bit. (We had it compliments of Netflix). I am a big Charles Dickens fan. I had seen "A Christmas Carol" in every form known to man, from Albert Finney to Donald Duck, but never read any Dickens, until 9th grade English, where we were compelled to read "Great Expectations" for class. I expected to hate it when I saw that the protagonist's name was Pip. I mean, really! But soon I was lost in the story, and when we had the daily quizzes about such trivia as the color of the vase on the mantel in Chapter One, I had trouble answering because I was pondering Pip's fortune and who supplied it, many, many chapters further on.
When I had finished that book I went on to read, on my own, "Oliver Twist" and "David Copperfield". I began "A Tale of Two Cities" but for some reason never read more than a chapter, and then I was on to another author for a while. But when our youngest son got old enough for Dickens, he was as taken with him as I had been at his age, and he begged and cajoled me to read "A Tale of Two Cities" all the way through. I did, and WOW, what a story! I proceeded to read "A Christmas Carol," "Bleak House," "Nicholas Nickleby" and "Our Mutual Friend," along with a slim volume Dickens had co-written with someone else, called "A House to Let", and I thoroughly enjoyed them all. I intend to continue reading more of his stories, but they are best savoured and not devoured, so I'm taking a breather. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying the theatre productions on DVD or PBS when the chance arises!
Some people seem a bit intimidated by Dickens because his books are usually long, peopled with multiple fully fleshed out characters and often of a somewhat sombre nature. But when he was originally published, it was in the newspapers in the form of serial stories, a segment at a time for weeks and weeks, and not meant to be read all at once! And although the subject matter can be grim at times, it is relieved by humor and a deliciously sly sarcastic wit that shows the best and the worst that humankind has to offer. These books are great character studies, as well as windows in to cultures at different times in England's history. They are very good reads, but also mini-educations! For instance, "Bleak House" exposes the justice system, "Oliver Twist" the charitable institutions, and "A Tale of Two Cities" gives an inside view of the French Revolution in chilling prose to rival any suspense story written today! Every time I go to the library I discover a "brand new" (to me!) treasure left behind by Mr. Charles Dickens and slowly I hope to sample them all. Any other Dickens fans?
When I had finished that book I went on to read, on my own, "Oliver Twist" and "David Copperfield". I began "A Tale of Two Cities" but for some reason never read more than a chapter, and then I was on to another author for a while. But when our youngest son got old enough for Dickens, he was as taken with him as I had been at his age, and he begged and cajoled me to read "A Tale of Two Cities" all the way through. I did, and WOW, what a story! I proceeded to read "A Christmas Carol," "Bleak House," "Nicholas Nickleby" and "Our Mutual Friend," along with a slim volume Dickens had co-written with someone else, called "A House to Let", and I thoroughly enjoyed them all. I intend to continue reading more of his stories, but they are best savoured and not devoured, so I'm taking a breather. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying the theatre productions on DVD or PBS when the chance arises!
Some people seem a bit intimidated by Dickens because his books are usually long, peopled with multiple fully fleshed out characters and often of a somewhat sombre nature. But when he was originally published, it was in the newspapers in the form of serial stories, a segment at a time for weeks and weeks, and not meant to be read all at once! And although the subject matter can be grim at times, it is relieved by humor and a deliciously sly sarcastic wit that shows the best and the worst that humankind has to offer. These books are great character studies, as well as windows in to cultures at different times in England's history. They are very good reads, but also mini-educations! For instance, "Bleak House" exposes the justice system, "Oliver Twist" the charitable institutions, and "A Tale of Two Cities" gives an inside view of the French Revolution in chilling prose to rival any suspense story written today! Every time I go to the library I discover a "brand new" (to me!) treasure left behind by Mr. Charles Dickens and slowly I hope to sample them all. Any other Dickens fans?
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