It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Mar. 31)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun weekly meme that is hosted by Shelia at Book Journey, in which we share what we've read and reviewed and what we plan on reading in the coming week.


Books finished this week:
• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
• 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

Books reviewed this week:
None, but I do have 3 reviews written in a notebook that will hopefully be posted sometime this week.

Books I hope to finish this week:
• HHhH by Laurent Binet
• Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
• Shopping, Seduction & Mr. Selfridge by Lindy Woodhead

Books I hope to work on this week:
• The Rosie Project

• The Woman in White

• The Count of Monte Cristo

• War & Peace

• Flight Behavior

• The Mysteries of the Udolpho 

• The Whole Golden World

and maybe something else, depending on what I have to return and want to read.

 

#bloggiesta Spring 2014 Finish Line

Here was the list that I wanted to work on:
• write 3 reviews and post to blog
• finish linking up reviews by year
• post reviews of books to Goodreads (basically copy and paste reviews of books from blog)
• update "Currently Reading" on sidebar of blog
• update blogger photo
• drop off unwanted books at cafes that have a book exchange
• participate in at least one Bloggiesta chat

 And I am happy to say that I did get quite a bit on the list completed.  There were some things that while completed didn't get onto the blog, for example I got a few reviews written longhand in a notebook that will likely make its way to my blog in the coming days.  I did post reviews to Goodreads, but only got up to the end of 2012, with reviews from 2013 and 2014 still needing to be put up on Goodreads and I probably will update my Goodreads reviews as I post them here.  I might decide to actually write my reviews longhand (you know with a pen and on a piece of paper) before I post them up, so that my reviews read better than they have up until know.  I didn't participate in a Bloggiesta chat due to the fact that I forgot about them on Thursday and Friday and was still asleep on Saturday and had a family obligation on Sunday, not that it didn't feel like an obligation (actually had a really good time), but I did chat on Saturday in the afternoon and evening, when there was a little bit of a chat going on.

Things I did complete was that I finished linking up reviews by year and found out that some reviews hadn't been linked up period.  So that was a success.  I also updated my "Currently Reading" links and I will hopefully keep that up as I complete books, etc.  I also updated my blogger photo; now you can see what I actually look like, if you are viewing this on my blog and I did drop off a bunch of books that I didn't really need any more at a cafe in town that has a book exchange for those that wish to do so and I hope that somebody can discover something to read and let me know in the process (I signed up at BookCrossing and those books are now in the "wild"; just wish they had an app...).  The only reason I didn't send more books into the "wild" is because on Friday I came down with a cold and didn't have the energy to go through my books, even though there is a small stack sitting on my coffee table waiting to be sent into the "wild".

I am looking forward to the bloggiesta in the fall and until then, happy blogging!

#bloggiesta Spring 2014 Update No. 2

After doing quite a bit for Bloggiesta yesterday, today I didn't really do anything.  I was a tad run-down due to staying up late and having a fire alarm ring at 4 am (about 2 hours I crawled to bed).  I hopefully will get some more things done on my blog tomorrow (Saturday).

#bloggiesta Spring 2014 Update No. 1

What a day.  Despite the stuff that I had to do today, I did manage to get a bit done off my Bloggiesta list. 

Here is what I got done:
• updated my Book Reviews by Year (and also by Title, as I found out that I had missed a few reviews under that title as well)
• updated my blogger photo
• dropped off a few books at a local cafe and have a few more to drop off tomorrow at another location
• got all of the reviews up to the end of 2011 cross-posted to Goodreads (just copied and pasted) and am hoping to get up to the end of 2012 cross-posted to Goodreads tomorrow

What I want to do tomorrow:
• drop off another bunch of books at another cafe in town
• cross post reviews of books read in 2012 onto Goodreads
• update "Currently Reading" on the sidebar

Update: Spring Reading Thing and Spring Into a Good Book

For the past week, I have been busily reading and have gotten two books off my list, The Interestings and 12 Years a Slave.  I have also been reading a number of books off my list and I think that the reading will slow down once I get back to work on Monday and once I get started working on cleaning out my bedroom area, which is starting tomorrow morning.  I'll still get some reading in each day, but I think that there will be days in which I don't.   I will hopefully provide some links to reviews when I post another update in about a week's time.  Happy reading.

Waiting on Wednesday: Mrs. Hemingway

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My first selection is:

Mrs. Hemingway: a novel 

Author: Naomi Wood
Expected publication: May 27, 2014 (although its already been published in the UK)

From Amazon.com

The Paris Wife was only the beginning of the story . . .

Paula McLain’s New York Times-bestselling novel piqued readers’ interest about Ernest Hemingway’s romantic life. But Hadley was only one of four women married, in turn, to the legendary writer. Just as T.C. Boyle’s bestseller The Women completed the picture begun by Nancy Horan’s Loving Frank, Naomi Wood’s Mrs. Hemingway tells the story of how it was to love, and be loved by, the most famous and dashing writer of his generation. Hadley, Pauline, Martha and Mary: each Mrs. Hemingway thought their love would last forever; each one was wrong.

Told in four parts and based on real love letters and telegrams, Mrs. Hemingway reveals the explosive love triangles that wrecked each of Hemingway's marriages. Spanning 1920s bohemian Paris through 1960s Cold War America, populated with members of the fabled "Lost Generation," Mrs. Heminway is a riveting tale of passion, love, and heartbreak.



I heard about this book through an episode of You Wrote The Book and was really intrigued with the premise of the book, especially since I had read The Paris Wife last summer.

What are you waiting on?

What's On Your Nightstand? (Mar. 25)

It's been awhile since I did this, but I have read and reviewed a number of books since that last post.

Here are the books that I have read and reviewed since my last post:
• Longbourn by Jo Baker
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Good Earth, The by Pearl S. Buck
• Call me Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber
• Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey by Emma Rowley
• I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
• Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey by Fiona, Countess of Carnarvon
• Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
• Dogs of Christmas, The by W. Bruce Cameron
• Winter of Red Snow, The by Kristina Gregory
• Christmas Carol, A by Charles Dickens
• Starry Night by Debbie Macomber
• Villette by Charlotte Brontë
• Christmas Bliss by Mary Kay Andrews
• Great Game, A by Stephen J. Harper
• How to be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman
• Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
• Luminaries, The by Eleanor Catton
• Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 
 (these are book reviews since November 2013)

Here are the books that I am working on this coming month:
• 12 Years a Slave
• The Interestings
• HHhh
• Princess Elizabeth's Spy
• The Mysteries of the Udolpho
• The Whole Golden World
• War & Peace
• The Woman in White
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Flight Behavior
• Moon over Manifest

Hope to see you in about a month's time :) 

First Chapter - First Paragaph(s) - Tuesday Intros; Teaser Tuesdays

Here is my choice for this week:

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

Originally published April, 2013

On a warm night in early July of that long-evaporated year, the Interestings gathered for the very first time.  They were only fifteen, sixteen, and they began to call themselves the name with tentative irony.  Julie Jacobson, an outsider and possibly even a freak had been invited in for obscure reasons, and now she sat in a corner on the unswept floor and attempted to position herself so she would appear unobtrusive yet not pathetic, which was a difficult balance.

What do you think?  Would you continue?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Mar. 17)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun weekly meme that is hosted by Shelia at Book Journey, in which we share what we've read and reviewed and what we plan on reading in the coming week. 

 

Books finished this week:

Nothing

 

Books reviewed this week:

• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (review)

 

Books I hope to finish this week:

• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

• 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

 

Books I am hoping to work on this week:

• HHhH

• The Mysteries of the Udolpho

• The Ocean at the End of the Lane

• Moon over Manifest

• The Whole Golden World

• The Count of Monte Cristo

• War & Peace 

Sunday Salon - Right Now (3/23/2014)

Time: 1:41 pm Pacific
Place: Not my usual spot
Listening to: the latest podcast of Hear...Read This
Eating: Just finished having some lunch, so I am a tad full.
Watching: Kentucky vs. Wichita St. (March Madness)
Reading: Well after this is posted I am planning on going through a pile of books (there are about 6 of them)
Making: Nothing at the moment
Planning: What book to start reading after I posted this (although I do know what I do want to read after I post this)
Feeling: Like I just want to sit and watch and read and listen for the rest of the afternoon.
Loving: That I still have another week of Spring Break
Wanting: To get the single "Skyfall" and the album "21" by Adele
Thinking: Nothing really at the moment.
Looking forward to: Spring Bloggiesta

Reviews:
1) Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (review)

Bloggiesta Spring 2014 To-do-list

There are several things that I do need to do on this blog and so this has come around at a time that I really need it.

Here is my to-do-list:
• write 3 reviews and post to blog
• finish linking up reviews by year
• post reviews of books to Goodreads (basically copy and paste reviews of books from blog)
• update "Currently Reading" on sidebar of blog
• update blogger photo
• drop off unwanted books at cafes that have a book exchange
• participate in at least one Bloggiesta chat

Booking Through Thursday - Re-Reading Changes

Haven't done one of these in quite sometime, so here I go.

This week, Booking Through Thursday asks:

I’ve asked before if you re-read your books (feel free to recap), but right now I want to know if that habit has changed? Did you, for example, reread more as a child and your access to new books was limited by how often you could convince your mother to take you to the library? Has the economy affected your access so that you’re forced to reread more often now? Have you grown to look at old books as old friends so that you’re happy to spend time with them rather than rushing the next new thing?

Actually I don't re-read a lot of books and only re-read if there is a need to re-read a book (for example a book picked as bookclub read).   I think I did re-read more as a child, as I had a few favourites that I would turn to when I didn't have much to read on hand.  Since I have access to two really good library systems, I don't feel the need to re-read something.

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Title: Northanger Abbey
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 254
Published: 2003 (first published 1817)
Challenges: Back to the Classics
Genre: Classics, Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: During an eventful season at Bath, young, naive Catherine Morland experiences fashionable society for the first time. SHe is delighted with her new acquaintances: flirtatious Isabella, who introduces Catherine to the joys of Gothic romances, and sophisticated Henry and Eleanor Tilney, who invite her to their father's house, Northanger Abbey. There, influenced by novels of horror and intrigue, Catherine comes to imagine terrible crimes committed by General Tilney, risking the loss of Henry's affection, and has to learn the difference between fiction and reality, false friends and true. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I first read this book back in November when doing the Unputdownables readalong for this book.  And like I said my previous review of this book, this book needed a second reading to understand it better (I read it the first time for the sake of saying said I had read the book) and also to appreciate it more.  And as I was reading it this last time, I did enjoy the book more than I did the first time I had read it.  What also made the difference is that I wasn't really juggling too many books at the time and that by reading basically this book, I was able to focus on the book and really appreciate what this book for what it is.

While it isn't Austen's best work, I can definitely see elements of her other books in this book  The book showed elements of themes that Austen tends to focus with more depth than she did here.  She also showed her appreciation of literature and also how somebody can get so obsessed with a book that you think that you are living it.

Bottom line: While it wasn't my favourite Austen (S&S and P&P are my favourites), I would have to say that its not at the bottom of my list.  It maybe a book that I read at some point in my life.  I probably wouldn't recommend the book to somebody who is starting with Austen and would probably suggest it was left until you have read the other books by her and that it one would read it twice before giving it a true opinion of the book.  Recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2014: 3646

Spring Reading Thing and Spring into a Good Book Reading Challenge Sign Up

Hosted by Musings of a Book Addict

 Hosted by Book Dragon's Lair

Here are the books I am planning to read until June 20:

1)  The Remains of the Day

2)  The Interestings

3)  The Mysteries of the Udolpho

4)  The Woman in White

5)  War & Peace

6)  The Whole Golden World

7)  HHhH

8)  The Count of Monte Cristo

9)   Divergent

10)  Flight Behavior

11)  Moon over Manifest

12)  12 Years a Slave

13)  The Ocean at the End of the Ocean

14)   Princess Elizabeth's Spy

15)   Outlander

I'll try to provide updates on Wednesday as to my progress.

Top Ten Books on my Spring TBR list

I haven't done a top ten in about a year, but since I have seen a lot these pop up in my email box yesterday, I thought I might do one again.  Here are the top ten on my Spring TBR list:

1) 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

2) The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (book club read)

3) The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

4) HHhH by Laurent Binet

5) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

6) The Whole Golden World by Kristen Riggle

7) The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Steadman (almost finished this one)

8)  Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingslover

9) Moon over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool

10) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Mar. 17)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun weekly meme that is hosted by Shelia at Book Journey, in which we share what we've read and reviewed and what we plan on reading in the coming week.

Books finished this week:

• Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson

• The Reason that I Jump by Naoki Higahida; translated by KA Yoshida & David Mitchell

Books reviewed this week:

None; somehow I felt that it wasn't important and I was also a bit busy; hope to have reviews up sometime this week.

Books I hope to finish this week:
• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

• 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
• HHhH by Laurent Binet
• The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle

Books I am hoping to work on this week:

• The Woman in White

• The Count of Monte Cristo

• War & Peace

• Flight Behavior

• The Mysteries of the Udolpho

Sunday Salon - Right now (3/16/14)

Time: 3:57 pm
Place: In the living room
Listening to: The New York Times Book Review: The Empire of Necessity (Jan. 9, 2014)
Eating: Nothing at present; still full from my lunch that I had about an hour ago.
Watching: Vancouver Canucks vs. Florida Panthers game that was on while I was gone this afternoon.
Reading: I am planning on doing my devotions for today (yeah, I'm a bad Christian by not doing my devotions in the morning) and on reading The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer and HHhH by Laurent Binet.
Making: Nothing
Planning: What shows to watch after I watch the hockey game; probably shows from Tuesday evening.
Feeling: Full. Ate some brunch a couple hours before I had lunch (had a quiche; I was at a baby shower this afternoon).
Loving: That I don't have to worry about the state of the bookshelves for the next couple of weeks.
Wanting: Not to feel this full (I feel uncomfortable if I feel this full at times).
Thinking: What I need to do tomorrow.
Looking forward to: Seeing the Veronica Mars movie tomorrow evening.

Books reviewed:
None

Books reviewed and finished:
None

Books finished but not reviewed:
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
• Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson
• The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida

Books I hope to finish this week:
• The Interestings
• 12 Years a Slave
• HHhH
• The Whole Golden World

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Mar. 10)

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun weekly meme that is hosted by Shelia at Book Journey, in which we share what we've read and reviewed and what we plan on reading in the coming week.

 Books finished this week:
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

Books reviewed this week:
• Relish by Lucy Knisley (review)

Books I am planning on finishing this week:
• Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson
• The Reason that I Jump by Naoki Higahida; translated by KA Yoshida & David Mitchell

Books I am planning on working on this week:
• the first epoch of The Woman in White
• Flight Behavior
• The Whole Golden World
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• War & Peace

Sunday Salon - A busy week of reading

I had a very good week of finishing and reviewing books, mostly finishing books.

For whatever reason, I was able to just sit down and finish books, but I suppose library books coming due and having to finish up a book for my book club meeting for Saturday helped things along.  It just felt good that I was able to complete a few books that needed to be completed.  But looking at the list of books I had hoped to at least read this week, it wasn't that great, but I am not getting going to get too hung up on that and I will move forward.

Due to a some late nights the last few days, I am still feeling a tad groggy and have finally started the process of "catching up" on my sleep and feel a little better rested and will probably impact how much I read in the next few days.

Books reviewed:
• The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (review)

Books finished and reviewed:
• Relish by Lucy Knisley (review)

Books finished, but not reviewed:
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

Books I hope to finish this week:
• The Reason I Jump
• Somewhere in France

Hope you have a good rest of the day and I will talk next week, hopefully.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen - Lucy Knisley

Title:  Relish: My Life in the Kitchen
Author:  Lucy Knisley
Pages:  192
Published:  2013
Challenges:  Foodies Read, Nonfiction, I Love Libraries, Eclectic Reader
Genre:  Graphic, Memoir, Nonfiction
Edition:  Paperback
Source:  Library

Description:  A vibrant, food-themed memoir from beloved indie cartoonist Lucy Knisley.

Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her obsession honestly. In her forthright, thoughtful, and funny memoir, Lucy traces key episodes in her life thus far, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is bookended with an illustrated recipe—many of them treasured family dishes, and a few of them Lucy's original inventions.  (via Goodreads)

Thoughts:  I can't recall how I had first heard about the book, but however I was able to hear about the book, I am glad I was able to find out about it.  It was a nice break from the heavier reading that I had been taking over the past month or so and really liked the illustrations that graced the book and particularly liked the recipes that ended each chapter.  

I had several favourite sections in the book.  My first favourite was the chapter on Junk food and how she craved it while on a trip with her dad.  I also enjoyed the sections on Mexico and Japan and her adventures there.  I also liked the one on when she and friend had some amazing croissants and how she tried to replicate them after coming back from that particular trip.

Bottom line: Overall, it was an enjoyable read and would consider purchasing a copy or at least request the book again and write/photocopy the recipes that I would be interested in making at some point.  The illustrations were really well done and the story really engaged me as a reader and really liked the small glimpse that I was able to get into Lucy's life and her love of food.  I look forward to whatever Ms. Knisley has in store next.  Recommended.

Rating: 4.25/5

Pages for 2014: 3392

First Chapter - First Paragaph(s) - Tuesday Intros; Teaser Tuesdays

                                

Here is my choice for this week:

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

Originally published 2009

It was just the two of us, my mother and me, after my father left.  He said I should count the new baby he had with his new wife, Marjorie, as part of my family too, plus Richard, Marjorie's son, who was six months younger than me though he was good at all the sports I messed up in.  But our family was my mother, Adele, and me, period.  I would have counted the hamster, Joe, before including that baby, Chloe.

What did you think?  Do you think you would keep reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (Mar. 3)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun weekly meme that is hosted by Shelia at Book Journey, in which we share what we've read and reviewed and what we plan on reading in the coming week.

Books finished this week:
None

Books reviewed this week:
• The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (review)

Books I am planning on finishing this week:
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Relish by Lucy Knisley

Books I am planning on reading this week:
• Somewhere in France
• the first epoch of The Woman in White
• Flight Behavior
• Labor Day
• The Whole Golden World
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• War & Peace

The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton

Title: The Luminaries
Author: Eleanor Catton
Pages: 834
Published: 2013
Challenges: Chunkster, Historical Fiction
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Personal

Description: It is 1866, and young Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On the stormy night of his arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men who have met in secret to discuss a series of unexplained events: A wealthy man has vanished, a prostitute has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely ornate as the night sky. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I had a bit of difficulty getting into this book, but I ended up actually enjoying the book.  I think if there had been a little bit more editing to the book (the first section should have been cut maybe by about 100 pages), I think that I may have enjoyed the book a little bit more than I did.  Overall, it is a pretty good read and once I was able to get more into the book, I was able to enjoy a little more than I had.  It is one of those books that the payoff comes later on in the book, as you are given so much information in the first section that I felt that there was too much to digest.

Bottom line: Overall, the book is pretty good and definitely does deserve its nominations, but having not read the other nominations for the Booker Prize, I can't say if it deserved to win the prize, nor can I say if it deserve to win the Governor General's award for literary award for Fiction (she holds a Canadian passport and therefore is eligible for Canadian literary prizes, even though she hasn't lived in Canada for over 20 years; personally it should be awarded to those only that make their primary residence in Canada, but I digress), as I haven't read those books either.   To put it concisely, I didn't exactly love it, but I didn't exactly dislike it either.  I haven't read other Booker winners, but I am hoping that Wolf Hall is a bit better.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Pages for 2014: 3200

Sunday Salon - February in Review and March Plans

For a month that seemed to be short, there seemed to be a lot packed into it.  I am sure that the Olympics taking place during a good portion of the month helped that along (I am still recovering from all that TV viewing, as I had two nights in which I was in bed by around 11 pm and was drifting off to sleep by around 9:30/10 pm; I am usually in bed at around midnight...)

But in addition to immense TV viewing, I also got a lot of reading completed and got two big books off my TBR list.  I also started a few more books than finished, but those are still be worked on and I hope to have them completed this month.

I got about 2200 pages read during the month, which is one of the most read months that I have had in quite sometime.  I am hoping that March comes somewhat close to what I did last month, but March tends to sometimes be a bit of month in which I tend to get into a more normal reading pattern, but I am hoping that this doesn't happen this time around.

Books finished and reviewed:
• A Great Game by Stephen J. Harper (review)
• How to be a  Good Wife by Emma Chapman (review)
• Winter's Tale by Mark Halpern (review)

Book finished, but not yet reviewed:
• The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (even though I had my misgivings about this book at the start, I did manage to get into the book and enjoyed it, to a degree)

Books I hope to complete in March:
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Relish by Lucy Knisley
• Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson
• HHhH by Laurent Binet
• Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
• Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Hope you have a relaxing day and month.

Take Control of Your TBR March 2014 Challenge! #TakeControlTBR

I am starting to feel like I am drowning at the moment due to my TBR pile at the moment and this challenge has come along at the right moment. I hope that it can give me a bit of focus to get my TBR pile down.

Here are my plans for the month:
• Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingslover
• HHhH by Laurence Binet
• Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
• Possession by A.S. Byatt
• Relish by Lucy Knisley 
• The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle
• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

I will try to update on Fridays as to what my progress has been.

It's a fortunate thing that I have a two week break at the end of the month, so I am hoping to get lots of reading completed done when those two weeks come around. It also helps that the Ides of March read-a-thon is taking place from March 13 (midnight your time zone) to midnight on March 17, which will help me to kick off my spring break.