I can’t believe it’s already week 5 of 2023. It felt like January went by both quite fast and quite slow at the same time.

Update on 110 Reading Challenge

I am partaking in a reading challenge that my local library is doing. So far I have read 67 hours. Which means I read 12 hours this week. Continuing the streak, this is better than last week! :) I did admittedly read a lot over the weekend (and have plans to keep reading, still) but I managed to read more every day.

As for the actual challenge, I would need to read about 2 hours every day to meet the 110 goal… Not sure if it is doable but I have a lot of reading I want to get through so it might work out in the end.

Books I Read

• The Crucible by Arthur Miller: As a non-American, I feel like this was extremely interesting to read. It really hits home how foundational Puritanical culture was for America. It is very interesting how this was based on actual trials. Really one that I need a few days to process.

Books I’m Currently Reading

There are some books from last week that I’m still reading and some that I have picked up.

• Norton Anthology of American Literature (Shorter Version) 6th. Edition by Nina Baym: We’re (still) slowly making our way through this book. Last week we read Cotton Mather and Mary Rowlandson. This week the task was to read Sarah Kemble Knight and Jonathan Edwards. I found Edwards’s to be rather repetitive but I enjoyed the Wharton-esque nature of Knight’s excerpts.
• Healing Rites by Mattea: This is officially a DNF. Oops.
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (again): Just finished chapter four and five this morning. I did not feel as emotional the first time I read this book but chapter four this time around, got me. Le Guin takes an interesting take, including the abolishing of family and how it could affect children. It’s interesting how Shevek’s role models in the book are both women: Mitis and Gavarab. Maybe he is trying to fill the hole that his mother left him? Curious… Le Guin is masterful.
• The Pen is the Wing of a Bird by Afghan Women: I only have read three or four short stories in this collection so far. It is incredibly profound and mundane at the same time. I will need to keep reading!