2026 Monthly Goal Results - January
By Ali Canary
@AliCanary (4797)
August 3, 2026 1:03am CST
Hey all, in the last post, I mentioned that this year, I set monthly goals of finishing two books and an art project each month. Since the year is already halfway through, I will publish a bunch of these fairly rapidly while I'm working on the rest of them.
In January, the two books that I read were David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and Out on the Cutting Edge by Lawrence Block.
I posted a picture before of my art project, but here is another view of it - a garland of hearts, collaged with various pictures of my mom as a child. This one shows the printed paper I used on the backs of the hearts.
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3 responses
@teamfreak16 (45169)
• Denver, Colorado
3 Aug
I read some Dickens as a kid, but I don't remember reading David Copperfield.
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@AliCanary (4797)
•
3 Aug
According to the author's foreword, it's his favorite book. I have, uh, Great Expectations for the next one I read...
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@teamfreak16 (45169)
• Denver, Colorado
3 Aug
@AliCanary - I read that one. I really liked it. We did it as a class play. I got to play Pip. 
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@AliCanary (4797)
•
4 Aug
@teamfreak16 I haven't read it yet, but Pip is the main character, isn't he?
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I mean, I’d read it if someone paid me…
Your art project is just so amazing. I absolutely love how you put it together.@AliCanary (4797)
•
4 Aug
@AmbiePam I know, right? That kind of productivity makes ME feel inferior. I need to put the phone down, lol
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@AliCanary (4797)
•
3 Aug
I read Demon Copperhead, too! What an amazing pairing. I should have finished the Dickens first, but it's twice as long. I finished Copperhead in December, so it wasn't part of the 2026 goals. You are right, though...it's a LOT of work. I never read any Dickens in all of my life, and I sought to fix that last year - I read A Tale of Two Cities. It was good, but OOF. If you are going to pick one to start with, Copperfield is easier. What I don't get is how that man could write 1100-page novels AND serialized stories for magazines on a regular basis. Whew!
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