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.
Congratulations! It's been fun, reading your comments and getting ideas about what to read. You might be an amateur reader, but you are perceptive and witty. I believe even scholars misremember quotes and thematic connections...xoxo
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