Run On Sentences - Introduction 1 - For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

Title: For Whom the Bell Tolls

Author: Ernest Hemingway

Year: 1940

Page count: 507 (about 37 pages a day)

My feelings before reading

I am excited to read this book. I have heard the name Hemingway many times, and I am sure many of the words I speak are influenced by his writing, but I am ashamed to say that I have never read a work by his name. The only thing I know about him is that he is a legendary American author who is known for writing very elegant prose. I received my copy of this book as a Christmas gift a few years ago, and it has been burning a hole on my bookshelf ever since.

About the Author

Hemingway lived an adventurous life. He was born in 1899, served in Italy with the Red Cross, saw the beaches of Normandy and the freeing of Paris as a journalist, won a Pulitzer in 1952, a Nobel Prize in 1954, and killed himself in 1961. He lived everywhere from Paris, Toronto, Utah, Wyoming, and Cuba. He wrote seven novels as well as many short stories. Hemingway also experienced a disturbing number of accidents and injuries, including but not limited to mortar fire in 1918, a brushfire, two plane crashes, at least two car crashes, and a severe head injury involving a skylight in a bathroom. He also experienced many health ailments towards the end of his life, many of which were brought upon by heavy drinking. His other novels include The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, The Old Man and the Sea, and To Have and Have Not.

Exercise Goals

I plan to run a mile every other day, as well as do situps, pushups, and planks to exhaustion after each run. I would try running every day, but I haven't exercised in quite a while, and I think this would cause burn out at the very least and most likely injury. Perhaps after a month or 2 of this regiment, I will be able to run daily. My first day will be today, the second of January. 

Run On Sentences - Introduction

For the year of 2020, I will be attempting a lazy person's 52 book challenge combined with an exercise goal. The book challenge will be to read 26 books a year (one every 2 weeks) and write 2 blog posts per book. The first post will be an introduction to the book and will include the following:

1. The date it was published, a page count for my version, and the title

2. The name and brief summary of the author, including their nationality, other major works, politics/beliefs, etc.

3. Any reasons why the book is important

4. My feelings going into the book

The second blog post will be a summary of the book (of course only as I interpreted it), as well as my feelings about the book afterwards.

The other part of this challenge will be the exercise. Alongside each blog post, I will also be keeping track of my exercise habits and goals. At the end of the introduction blog posts, I will set goals for the next 2 weeks. At the end of the summary blog posts, I will review how well I achieved those goals.

Without further ado, let the challenge begin! Unfortunately the year started in the middle of the week, so I will add the rest of this week onto the week of Monday the 7th, which will give me a little headstart. I haven't don't the arithmetic on what that will leave me at the end of the year, but I hope whatever remains of the last 2 weeks will be enough to squeeze in a 26th book.