If I were cleverer, and more hard working, I would do something super connecting my blog title with The Great Gatsby, which would connect with the last blog post (which had a reference to a great Chris Bohjalian novel that used Gatsby as its central theme), which would somehow knit together neatly with the T.S, Eliot poem referred to at the get-go. Alas, my blog title refers to the wrong T.S. Eliot poem to make any of that actually work.
Which is about as me as you can get. I love to read, and I read a lot. But I am apt to get the reference a little bit wrong, mis-remember the quote just slightly, miss the thematic connection, etc. I'm an amateur reader, not a scholar.
As if you needed further proof: the 40th book I read in this just-over-one-year exercise was the latest in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Given that I've read about sixteen of the total (thus far) nineteen in the series, I am not in a position to throw stones. They're not great books. They used to be hugely entertaining. Now, it's more a matter of habit that I read them at all. This one was thoroughly adequate.
Having this blog has been interesting. It has made me realize that I value taking the time (though I don't do so frequently) to stop and reflect on what I'm doing. It's made me realize that I like having people weigh in on what I say; that the conversation is nearly as interesting to me as the reflection. I've learned that I am not good at, nor am I fond of, writing summaries. Part of why I started my other dream blog is that I think it would be interesting to try to get better at writing descriptions, particularly things that are incredibly vivid and hard to describe. I might try to keep at that one.
But I think this one is done! What a fun little journey this has been! Thank you, if you've been reading! Having a goal always motivates me, even if I don't actually achieve the goal. Striving, I find, I get somewhere other than I would have gotten, even if I don't get to where I thought I might go.
Thank you, and good night.
