Pushing Forward Back October/November 2019

Pushing Forward Back, The Sunday Salon, What I'm Listening To, What I'm Reading, What I'm watching, What We're Watching

October was mostly a medical month for me: a colonoscopy (my first, yay) on Oct. 14, followed by a blood test on my prostate on Oct. 15, and then on Oct. 22 an arthroscopic surgery on my left knee for a small tear of the meniscus. The short of it is this: one polyp removed, all good on the blood test, and a small mass of torn meniscus removed and cartilage smoothed during the surgery.

But the month also included two book blogging events in which I was able to participate partially as the result of recuperating since my surgery: Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon last Saturday, Oct. 26, and Nonfiction November, which started this past Monday, Oct. 28. Before the readathon, I read two books:

  • Less by Andrew Sean Greer, which I started earlier in September.
  • The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland, which I picked up while “shelf-reading” at the library.
  • A Story To Tell by my sister Lisa Howeler 
  • The Best American Poetry 2014 by series editor David Lehman and guest editor Terrance Hayes

I started the month out with a couple of ideas for the readathon, then I changed my mind later to start with a clean slate and ended up with a different list of possibilities. When I finally did the readathon last Saturday, I finished two books:

  • The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway 
  • The Score by Richard Stark 

I also started a third that I just finished last night: Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story of Hemingway’s Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises by Lesley M.M. Blume. While overall I enjoyed this one, my favorite for the month probably was the book it was about: The Sun Also Rises. I had forgotten how much I like Hemingway’s sparse prose.

As for Nonfiction November, on Monday, I looked back at my year in nonfiction and picked my favorite nonfiction book of the year. Then over the next four weeks, I’ll be posting on prompts from the event. To see more about the event, see this post from one of the hosts, Julie, from the blog Julz Reads.

Also watched

  • Mindhunter, Season 2, on Netflix
  • Schitt’s Creek, Season 5, on Netflix
  • Letterkenny, Season 7, on Hulu
  • Narcos Mexico, Season 1, on Netflix

& listened to

  • All Mirrors by Angel Olsen,
  • Ode To Joy by Wilco
  • Crush by Floating Points

But my favorite new show, to me, has to be hands down: The Brokenwood Mysteries, of which I watched Series 1 earlier this month and reviewed briefly here. I am looking forward to watching more in November via Hoopla.

November starts with more recuperation, at least for this weekend, before I head back to work at the library on Monday. Also on Monday, I continue with Nonfiction November, which I will be doing throughout the month. The middle to end of the month promises days off for Thanksgiving and possibly for our anniversary the week before (I put in for a couple days before I left, but I won’t know if I got them until I return on Monday). If she still is doing it this year, I also hope to be participating in Thankfully Reading Weekend with Jenn of Jenn’s Bookshelves over Thanksgiving.

Among possibilities of what I might read this coming month are the following:

  • A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
  • For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
  • The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
  • Heaven, My Home (A Highway 59 Mystery Book 2) by Attica Locke
  • Orphan X (Orphan X, #1) by Gregg Hurwitz
  • Ruth Galloway Series: The First Three Novels by Elly Griffiths
  • The Lord God Made Them All (All Creatures Great and Small Book 4) by James Herriot
  • The Cuckoo’s Calling (Cormoran Strike Book 1) by Robert Galbraith
  • A Morbid Taste for Bones (The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Book 1) by Ellis Peters.

To watch

  • The Irishman on Netflix
  • Brittany Runs A Marathon on Amazon Prime
  • Good Omens, Season 1, on Amazon Prime

& To listen to

  • MAGDALENE by FKA twigs, due out on Nov. 8
  • Miss_Anthrop0cene by Grimes, hopefully out in November

How was your month of October? Read any good books, seen any good movies and/or TV shows, listened to any good music? What was the highlight of your month? What are you most looking forward to in November? Share in the comments.

Published by Bryan G. Robinson

Blogger formerly known as Unfinished Person. Still an unfinished person...

Published

16 thoughts on “Pushing Forward Back October/November 2019”

  1. You did pretty well during the read-a-thon. Two books is greats. I love all the Hemingway on your list.
    How are you feeling?

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    1. Sorry for the delayed response…work. Today was my second day back, and I’m a little sore but, as I keep telling people and it’s (somewhat) true, it’s sore around the incision points. Only two on each side of my left knee. However, I do feel pain, in my muscles too, from not using them. I think more exercise will help.

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      1. Inflammation hurts too. Until all the swelling goes down you will be a little sore. Your recovery period really flew by!

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  2. With all of the medical stuff, you still managed to have a good reading/blogging October! I only finished 3 books, but we had a lot of real estate stuff going on. November should be better. We’re celebrating our anniversary this month, too – 34 years on the 30th!

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    1. It was because of “all the medical stuff” that I managed to have a good reading/blogging October and start to November. 🙂 I’m already doing Nonfiction November, as a result, and have most of the posts planned (at least in my head).

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  6. It sounds like you really enjoyed your Hemingway read during the readathon. It’s always a happy feeling with me when I feel like I am on a roll with my reading.

    I need to see if there will be a Thankfully Reading Weekend. It’s a wonderful time to read, I think.

    Good luck with your return to work. I remember going back after I dislocated a thumb for our school book fair! Oh my! You think they might have found me an extra person or two to help out, but, no, I guess they thought Mrs. Nance can do it all, even with a dislocated thumb. I hope they are kinder at your library.

    Have a great week!

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  7. I have an odd relationship with Hemingway. I loved The Old Man and the Sea, then really enjoyed For Whom the Bell Tolls, but after that, I just didn’t like the others that I read. If I remember correctly, I seem to enjoy the ones he wrote in later years rather than his earlier works. I always feel like his prose is a bubble that if you can get inside, it’s enjoyable, and if you can’t, you’re stuck looking in and saying WTF?? Heh.

    I’m excited about your potential reading list. Not only are those two awesome Hemingway books on it, but you have the Cormoran Strike novel AND the Elly Griffiths mysteries?? Those are all just so great! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

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