January, IKEA, and Reading Goals

Can we all just agree that January lasted an entire year?

Because it lasted an entire year.

Seriously, that was the longest month ever. And, thank goodness, a fairly productive one for me, considering I set my expectations way too high and had to rein it in a bit in the last week. Mostly to preserve my sanity.

Still, the things got done. So everyone is happy.

Right?

Good.

This weekend my mother is in Virginia, visiting some of my older siblings, and in her absence, the house has exploded, four kids got lost, and someone baked a cat into a pie.

I’m kidding. We’re all fine.

In fact, we’re so fine that we managed to take an entire Saturday and go visit IKEA. Yes, it took almost the whole Saturday. Mostly because IKEA is in Denver, and Denver is a good hour and a half drive from where we live. And because, once you’ve finished walking through IKEA with six kids in tow, you’re ready to call it a day and sleep for the rest of time.

I love IKEA. It’s the best.

Seriously, though. Is there anything more fun than walking through IKEA, planning out all the awesome furniture you would buy if your house wasn’t already overstuffed with other furniture? I like to plan out my eventual writing retreat. Bookshelves, a particular desk that I absolutely adore and will buy one day, a good lamp (because everyone needs one), curtains, plants. I could spend all day planning what I want, then all the money I will make this year buying it up.

I don’t go to IKEA often. It’s probably a good thing.

As hectic as January ended up being, I somehow managed to sneak in a bit of time to read between events, job interviews, and sleepover weekends. Just now, I am blazing my way through Paradise Lost, by John Milton. Thus far, it is fascinating, and I’m eager to really get into the heart of it. The prose is a little hard to understand at first, but, as with Homer’s Illiad, I’ve found that if I give it a few pages, I’m able to get into the rhythm of the story. Once that happens, the language flows, and I can appreciate the beauty of it as well as follow the story.

I haven’t set many reading goals this year. As always, my goal is simply to read what I love, put aside what I don’t, keep track of the titles, and read more than I did last year.

Thus far, I have been able to meet that last goal. Last year, I read almost 20 more books than I did in 2017. Eventually, though, I think I’m going to peak. Hopefully not soon, but it will probably happen.

I’ll let you know what happens—and if anything explodes.

What are you reading this month? Any special goals for February, reading or otherwise? Tell me about them in the comments!