Sunday Salon - February 28th - February in Review

GIVEAWAY - TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO SIGN UP !

 

Can you believe February is over? 

It has been the craziest week weather-wise--snow and/or heavy rain for about (4) days straight. The trees sure looked pretty amazing, like a winter wonderland. Here is what my week in books looked like:

Books Completed This Week

• Ernest Hemingway: A Writer's Life; Reef - 4.5/5
• The Solitude of Prime Numbers; Giordano - 5/5
• The Wayward Bus; Steinbeck -4.5/5 (no review yet)

Tentative Wishful Reading Plans for This Week

• The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag; Bradley (finish this book)
• Jamaica Inn; DuMaurier (almost finished - so curious how this will end - great story)
• Winter Study; Nevada Barr (audio---finish) 
• The Girl Who Fell From the Sky; Durrow
• Letter To My Daughter; Bishop
• The Unnamed;  J.Ferris

 

We were doing the happy dance this week. We were nervous about having our accountant do our taxes, especially since 2009 was a bit complicated. We had to to pay state taxes in (2) states, plus it always seems that we owe the IRS (fed and state $$$). So imagine our intense joy when we heard the federal government owes US for a change!! GOTCHA Uncle Sam! Also, one state owes us $25.00, and well, we owe another state around $300 -- after we got the great news, we went out for a celebratory dinner.  The fact that we spent over $14,000 of our own money on health insurance premiums and prescriptions definitely helped us to get these refunds. I am extremely jealous of those of you who have employer paid insurance benefits--we hate writing those checks each month --its so expensive.

NYC plans canceled; It's snowing Again!

Depending on the weather today, we may be off to New York City (when you read this post). We plan to take the train, but since we have to drive to New Haven, CT for the train ( 65 miles away), if it's snowing, we will be staying home.  My husband is hoping to visit with his grandchildren a bit, have a nice late brunch in the city, possibly hit The Strand, and still be home to sleep.  I'm not overly optimistic that the weather will cooperate, as snow is in the forecast once again through Monday. 

Do you have any special plans for today?

 February Reading in Review

1. American Rust; Philipp Meyer - 4/5
2. Fancy Nancy: Heart to Heart; O'Connor and Glasser - 5/5
3. Wish Her Safe At Home; Stephen Benatar - 4/5
4. The Girl Next Door; Elizabeth Noble - 3.5/5
5. Making Toast; Roger Rosenblatt - 4.5/5
6. This is Where I Leave You; Jonathan Tropper - 4/5
7. Sacred Hearts; Sarah Dunant - 4/5
8. The Girl Who Chased the Moon S. Addison Allen - 4/5
9. Unfinished Desires; Gail Godwin - 4/5
10. Unfinished Business; James Van Praagh - 4/5
11. Ernest Hemingway: A Writer's Life; Catherine Reef - 4.5/5
12. The Solitude of Prime Numbers; Paulo Giordano - 5/5
13. The Wayward Bus; John Steinbeck - 4.5/5 (no review yet)

• February = (13 books) -(3) non fiction (1) audio) (9) fiction (8 review)
• YTD - (29 Books)
• Favorite Book of the Month: The Solitude of Prime Numbers

2010 Challenge Progress

1. 2010 100+ Reading Challenge - 29/100
2. 2010 Reading From My Shelves Project - 23/75
3. 2010 ARC Reading Challenge - 22/58
4. 2010 Pub Challenge - 10/10 - Completed
5. 2010 New Authors Challenge - 14/50
6. 2010 Support Your Local Library - 9/50
7. 2010 Audio Book Challenge - 3/20
8. 2010 Thriller/Suspense Challenge - 2/12
9. 2010 Chunkster Challenge - 1/6
10. 2010 Booker Challenge - 0/6
11. 2010 Books To Read Before I Die Challenge - 1/20
12. 2010 New York Challenge - 1/1 - Completed

 

YTD - (23 books purchased)  - (Total Cost - $70.22)

Link to 2010 Books Purchased

Have a great week everyone !