Book Challenge for March

March - Beware the Ides of March. Read a mystery.


I made the February challenge by the skin of my teeth. (Finished my final nonfiction today, but finished the other nonfiction and special challenge only in the past few days!) I read "The Private Life of the Cat Who..." by Lilian Jackson Braun for the animal book. This month I discovered I don't so much like reading about animals. Hm... I started a couple of other books, but couldn't get through them, so this is what I ended up with. I remember liking "The Cat Who..." books mainly for the how she writes about cats, so this was a fun, if very short, book. Now I want another Siamese cat. :)

For my nonfiction books, I read two books by writers: "Knit Together: Discover God's Pattern for Your Life" by Debbie Macomber and "Page after Page: Discover the confidence & passion you need to start writing & keep writing" by Heather Sellers. I really enjoyed "Knit Together" and I found a lot of good information in "Page after Page."

Other than that, I didn't read a whole lot because I was so busy with solo and ensembles and work this month.

Any good books y'all read this month?

Another Mmmm...

This is wonderfully calming to me.

An Angel

Yesterday evening, we were having a John-Eliot-Gardiner-is-the-coolest-ever fest. We listened to our favorite version of Voi che sapete. Pamela Helen Stephen is the best Cherubino I've heard.



We stumbled upon the John Eliot Gardiner version of Handel's Messiah and we met, in someone else's words, this "angel of light in an otherwise dreary world." (They then asked, "WHY IS HE NOT THE MOST FAMOUS TENOR OF ALL TIME?!") I'm not positive I totally agree, but he does have quite the lovely voice. Hear Anthony Rolfe-Johnson for yourself.



I really liked this version of "And the Glory of the Lord." Reminded me of a stream running over rocks on its way down a mountain.

And continuing in the vein of J.E. Gardiner, here's some music I am very familiar with. I studied The Magic Flute in college a bit and fell in love. This is what we watched. (I couldn't pick just one song, so you get two. I was quite divided among about seven.) The first is Papageno singing about how he wants a wife. The second is Papageno and Tamina singing about love. One of my favorite pieces.





I realize I've put quite a bit up here and it might seem a bit overwhelming, but truly it's worth it to listen! Go ahead. Indulge yourself with great music, well-executed!

Nope. I lied. I have to put this one up, too. So amazing! (Check out what they say about liars.) :)

I can't stop laughing... No. Really.

Okay. I saw this this morning and laughed and laughed. Enjoy the hilarity. (Recognize him, Seth?) :)

A trumpet and a harmonica

Beezie sent me these two links. The first is a trumpet made from a piece of tubing. (A minute and a half. Very cool.) The second is a man playing a harmonica in Carnegie Hall. At first, I thought eh, so he's a great harmonica-ist. :) But the second half of the four minutes... Well, you'll just have to see for yourself.

Over my head

This sounds better accompanied by strings than by a piano, by the way.

Book Challenge for February

February – Groundhog’s Day happens in February. Read a book about an animal.


I enjoyed my reading for January. I read "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin and "Of Pigs, Pearls, and Prodigals" by John Bytheway for my nonfiction books. I read "Tuesdays with Morrie" for my book that I've been meaning to read for a while. And then various and sundry other books, none of which particularly stick out.

Heidi asked a few questions concerning the challenge.

Question - Can more than one book fill the goal for the month? Or can we only fill the goal with one book and all others count as 5 pointers?

And if we read more than 2 nonfiction in a month, do each of them count as 10 points, or are they also just 5?

Well, Heidi, I say we can read more than one book to fill the goal of the month, each worth ten points. And also, go ahead and count any nonfiction for 10 points. Why not? It's always fun to get more points. :)

Any other questions?

Happy reading!