A month of productive reading, running, and writing

This feels like it will be a good year. At least it has started well. Fed up with the icy conditions, I have taken to using the indoor track at the Waterloo Recreation Complex. I managed to get out three times per week and achieved a total (time) for the month almost 50% higher than my previous personal best for January. It helped that I received an iPod Shuffle for Christmas, which relieves the tedium of endlessly running in circles (or rather ovals). I’ve also lost five pounds in the process. Once the paths clear sufficiently for safe running out of doors, in a couple of months, I should be ready for some significant numbers (for me).

I’m even happier with my reading. I mentioned earlier that I joined the 75 Books in 2012 challenge on LibraryThing. It’s not a race, just a self-imposed challenge. In order to make it more enjoyable, I decided that I would write short reviews of each book I read. That turns out to be much more fun than I had anticipated. Crafting what I hope are fair reviews of between 200 to 500 words brings its own challenges. I like to reflect some aspect of the text in my reviews. And I’ve been gratified to receive a few positive comments on them from others in the group. If you are interested in my reviews, an RSS feed of them is available.

These days I tend to have four books on the go in my reading pile at any one time, cycling through them. I keep two novels in the mix and usually two non-fiction books as well. Of the fourteen books I’ve devoured in January, a couple have stood out. Sputnik Sweetheart is the first work by Haruki Murakami that I have tried. I’m looking forward to more. Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín is remarkably deft and gentle writing. I could learn a thing or two from him.

Apart from writing brief reviews, I’m pleased to report that my writing group met again in January. It had been a few months since I had been at a meeting. The other members of the group always inspire me to work a bit harder at my writing. In the month ahead, I intend to turn my thoughts towards antagonists. Which, I suppose, is well in keeping with the theme of challenges met.

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