The Sunday Salon: Another Poor Reading Week...

Yet another week when my reading has slowed down considerably, I finally finished Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende and I read my first Graphic Novel and that was it! A very poor show. It managed to be a majorly busy week at school, I had to write a report for each child in my form group plus insert grades and feedback on every child I teach, thats a good 120 kids, all in the space of a week, plus teach the kids. I also was out 3 evenings in a row so I was rushing in and then out again.
I did however manage to complete this weeks Weekly Geeks in which we had to post pictures of our fav places to read etc, I took a slightly different slant on it too most people and posted pics of the different types of places I had visited in my reading that week, everything from the slums of Bombay, a Caribbean Island, California in the Gold rush and Georgia.

Well I'm off to try and catch up on some of that missed reading, I have an afternoon with a couple of Chapters of Gone With The Wind and I reckon I'll finish A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd which has been excellent so far

The Sunday Salon and I always meant to meme

It has been a bit of a different reading week for me this week. I finally discovered audiodownloads, and found lots of free downloads on lirivox.org and at itunes so I have started going to bed listening to a chapter as I'm drifting off to the land of nod. I have also discovered Neil Gaiman's Journal and spent the week reading his short stories, of which I did a mini review here. Which has then progressed to finding different shortstory sites.
So my reading challenges have been almost abandoned this week, and new discoveries have been made. I must however get back on track with my normal reading and challenges this week. I should complete Mister Pip today which will me I will have successfully completed the Orbis Terravm challenge, which is great as I managed to sign myself up to another challenge this week! The Graphic Novel challenge, this is a year long challenge but Dewey has opened it up to new participants saying that if the join now they will only need to read 3 graphic novels by December. As I've never read a grahic novel in my life I thought this was a good way to start and I brought my first one yesterday.
That was a bit of a ramble.....

I was thinking about my reading habits the other day, and geek that I am, I managed to create a little meme for myself, would be good to see others answers.
I always meant to...
The author I always meant to read is Angela Carter, I have her books, she has been on mount tbr since a uni lecturer and some students raved about her but I've just never got there.
The autor I always meant to read more of, well this list is huge but I'll just keep it to a few: Ian McEwan, Charles Dickens, A.S Byatt - other stuff always comes up instead.
The genre I always meant to try/read has to be cult classic, I always look at those lists and I haven't even scratched the surface.
The book on my tbr pile I always mean to read next is The Poisonwood Bible or Arthur and George.
The book I always meant to try again is Sophies World by Jostein Gaarder

Some responses to the meme:

Lizzy

Reading and Ruminations

Sunday Salon - a week in reading and plans for June

This week it was half term, a week reading out in the garden, lots of trips out etc was all planned. Unfortunatley British Weather decided to play it's ususal part and it rained nearly everyday, my friend who I was planning on going out with a lot got ill and the car last night decided to break down so not a great week.
The reading however did go well, I completed The Novella Challenge and I read some great books: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and The Orchard on Fire by Shena Mackay and two ok books: Sour Sweet by Timothy Mo and Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively. I also decided that I would try and rediscover poetry as I have abandoned it since I finished studying, I blogged my first Poem of the Week, which I'm hoping will keep me on track reading poems and maybe introduce new poems to people who come across my blog.

My June reading list (all going well):

The Sunday Salon: Giving Up and this weeks reading.

I was just wondering what peoples views are on giving up books you are not enjoying. I was speaking to a friend earlier this week and he claimed that he has never started a book then not finished it, even if he really dislikes it! Personally I give books 50 pages - if I'm not interested by then I'm not willing to waste anymore time on it. I have about 300 books on my tbr pile so I would rather go off and tackle one of those than struggle with a book that fails to hold my attention. This week I gave up on 'I am Charlotte Simmons', the book seemed well written but I just didn't care what happened to her and the pretentious students she seemed to be surrounded by, certainly not bothered enough to read another 600 pages. Giving it up meant I had plenty of time to read the fantastic Paulo Coehlo novel, The Alchemist.

This week is half term, so as a teacher I get a blissful week with plenty of time to read (hopefully if the weather picks back up, I'll be reading in the garden).

I'm planning on finishing A Walk in the Woods, Bryson and Daughters of Fortune, Allende. I then will be reading The Plague, Camus and Sour Sweet, Mo and potentially starting Gravity's Rainbow.

The Sunday Salon: Other things just get in the way...

I'm going through a particually bad reading spell at the moment not managing to read anywhere near as much as usual because my life keeps getting in the way! This week it was exam marking week, 200 10 page booklets -I'm nearly finished but it has eaten up so much of my free time. I planned on finishing 3 books this week and moveing onto a fourth. I managed to finish two: The Echo Maker and Persian Brides, and I have about 40 pages left of The Shadow in the North.

Next week doesn't look like I'm going to get much reading done either as I'm out 3 evenings in a row and I still have 50 creative writing exams to mark.... only a week left at school and its the holidays so I'll have to catch up then.

This week I'm attempting:
Charlotte Simmons -Woolfe
A Walk in the Woods - Bryson

Sunday Salon - my weeks reading

I've had such a poor week reading this week. I normally get through 2 or 3 books a week, this week I haven't even managed 1! I started The Echo Maker by Richard Powers 10 days ago?(!) and I still have another 100 pages to go. I think its been a mixture of the gorgeous weather Old Blighty is having at the mo and too much time spent on the net. Also I thought this book was going to be amazing and its kind of good but nothing to rave about. I'm going to try and finish it this evening and move on.

Next week I hope to read Persian Brides, The Shadow of the North by Phillip Pullman and get started on I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe. And also not sign up to any more challenges. Not sure how successful I'll be as I have 200 exam papers to mark!