The End of My April Monthly Challenge -- How Did I Do?

Well here it is -- the end of April and the finale of Mandy's Monthly Challenge for April -- "Let's Get Literal" - my second month's attempt at adding more meaning to my life with regular goals for every 30-31 days.  (I realize that I have one day left but I'm attending a family picnic event tomorrow that will tie up a portion of my day.)  April included reading four novels in one month, taking my daughter to the library every week, reading twelve children's books a day and learning new words to try out in a sentence. 

I haven't read this many books in one month since..... well, I can't even remember how long ago, if ever! You can look at back at my reviews of each of the four books I read (links posted below):

--"The Old Man and The Sea"
--"Love in the Time of Colic: A New Parents Guide To Getting It On Again" (a book mishap for "Love in the Time of Cholera")
--"To Kill A Mockingbird"
--"The Poisonwood Bible"

Here are some of the fabulous new words I learned this month, words that relate to my literacy challenge. I studied these terms thanks to my word-a-day e-mails from dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster's: 

• After reading the works of great writers Harper Lee and Barbara Kingsolver, I have learned skills to make my own writing more pellucid.  
• Because the weather was rainy and clement most of the weekend, I finished off the last book of the literacy challenge.
• Nathan Price, the Reverend father in "The Poisonwood Bible" was a soi-disant expert on the bible and the teachings of Jesus.
• Throughout "The Old Man and The Sea," Santiago would talk aloud to himself, critcize his doubts and sough when he thought he might lose the fish.
• Jem was prepared to protect his sister Scout by perforce when Mr. Ewell was determined to harm the children at the end of the book in "To Kill A Mockingbird."
• The Belgians and the American government wanted to quash the Congolese people in "The Poisonwood Bible."
• Mobutu was a quisling to his own nation in the story "The Poisonwood Bible."
• Mrs. Dubose and Aunt Alexandra were always displeased with what they called Scout's frowsy appearance in "To Kill A Mockingbird."
• The characters in "The Poisonwood Bible" did not have a hale well-being.  All of them suffered in some physical aspect.
• The book "Love in the Time of Cholic: The New Parents Guide To Getting It On Again," was an omnium-gatherum of quotes and personal stories of couples who experienced problems reconnecting after having a child. 
• Pilot Axel Ebenroot in "The Poisonwood Bible" was definitely a wastrel.  He deserved the spits that the Congolese gave him. 
• Reverend Price liked to interlard every conversation with a line from the scriptures in "The Poisonwood Bible."

Those are just a few sample sentences.  I don't want to write out all 60 words I learned throughout the past four weeks.  But you get the point.  I encourage you to expand your vocabulary by signing up for the daily, free word emails. 

So, how did I do overall for the challenge? Well, I give myself an A- rating. I started off slow (not reading much in the beginning days) but I finished strong (several days ahead of my deadline). The minus is also for skimming one of the four novels. As I stated in my earlier review, I could NOT get into the "Love in the Time of Cholic/Getting it On After Kids" book.  Sometimes you just have to trust your instincts and put the book away if you're pulling your hair out and wasting time in order to get through it.  Besides the reading, Viv and I did make weekly trips to the library. Although we didn't read exactly twelve books each day, we definitely met our quota within a week. Overall, I stuck with the tasks and challenged my mind in new ways.

The best thing is that I rediscovered how much I enjoy reading.  As a writer, it's important that I continue to read and learn from published authors.  I have a reenergized focus now after completing these fantastic works.  I'm excited to move forward and incorporate these writers' same skills and tactics.

I'm also pleasantly surprised that in the course of the April challenge of literacy, I discovered what I want my challenge for May to be.  It came to me after reading two of the books.  I had been brainstorming all month long on what to do next, drawing a huge blank....  The challenge to come up with a new challenge each month is a daunting task in itself!!!  I have a few ideas for later months this year but I was unsure about May, until a few days ago.  Thanks to writers like Harper Lee and Barbara Kingsolver, I know what I should do next.  Thanks ladies!  :)

So that's it for April.  I have two monthly challenges under my belt.... with quite a lot more to go in 2010.  (If you missed my fitness challenge in March, you can read about how I completed a 5k race and lost weight here).  My hope is that I will continue to do some form of each challenge as the months go on. In other words, I'll continue my fitness and reading aspirations in May, June, July and beyond.  I'll just take it at a slower pace while I stay centered on my main task for the month. 


Thanks for weighing in your thoughts throughout my literacy month.  Your comments made the challenge more fun and it seemed more possible with you cheering me on!  I sure appreciate it.  My next post will reveal my challenge for May. I'm almost done with formulating the specific plan in my head to make it happen.  Let's see where I go and what I do next....