The Sunday Salon - February Wrapped Up

Sunday Salutations! It's turning into actual Spring here in Portland - trees are blooming pink and white already, daffodils and crocuses and all manner of spring flowers are popping up everywhere. There have been some rainy days too - good for curling up with a good book.

February is almost over! Hard to believe another month has gone by already. I read five books this month, bringing my YTD total to 13 (unless I finish my current book by tonight). With my fantastic spreadsheet (thank you, Laura!), I can tell you I read 1,863 pages in February (plus 100 give or take in my current book), and 4,480 YTD. Here's what I read this month:

• The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett - review
  
• Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips - review
  
• Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym - review
  
• Possession by A.S. Byatt - review
  
• The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris - review

It was a mixed bag this month, a couple of fantastic books, one disappointing and one real clunker (The Girl with No Shadow). The latter two brought my average rating down a bit, to 3.92 (out of 5).

I'm making good progress on most of my challenges:

• 1010 Challenge (5 books in 10 categories for 2010): 9/50
• What's in a Name: 4/6
• Complete Booker: 2/6
• Orange Prize Project: 3/12

Currently reading: my first nonfiction book of the year is The Ghost Map, about a cholera epidemic in London in the mid-19th century and how a couple of people were able to identify how the disease was transmitted. The discovery revolutionized public health. It was chosen by our county library as this year's Everybody Reads book, and since I'm fascinated by medical history, I thought I'd read along with the county! It's also a reminder that, if I ever have the opportunity to time travel, I won't pick Victorian London as a destination! It sounds ghastly.


Coming up: I'll be picking up Georgette Heyer's Friday's Child soon to read in time for the Classics Circuit, which comes to this blog on March 19th. More about that in another Sunday or two.

I hope your week is wonderful and you're reading great books!
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