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Reading Recaps

November Reading Wrap-Up

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So, like so many other people, I fell into the post-election reading slump this month and had a hard time getting into what I was reading. It’s not like I didn’t get any reading done, but I definitely didn’t read as much as I wanted to or was planning to. I fell into the trap of starting a ton of books, getting about a third of the way through, and then deciding I needed to start another book before finishing any. I had a really strong reading month in October, and sometimes I tend to follow really good reading months with sort of meh reading months, so that could have played a part as well. It doesn’t look like I’ll be hitting my secret, unstated goal to finish 100 books this year (I kept my actual Goodreads goal low at 50 books to keep the pressure off and leave room in case I wanted to tackle a bunch of really long books; since I haven’t yet hit 90 books and there’s only one month left, it doesn’t look like 100 books will be going down) but that’s okay.

I also participated in (and sort of failed at) the Tome Topple readathon this month. I was unable to finish a single tome (book over 500 pages) in November, although I did start two. I ALMOST finished Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, but I couldn’t quite get there, and I read about a third of The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.

So, here’s what I did read in November:

Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal, #1)Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear SugarSex ObjectLet's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed (4 stars) – this is a perfect example of a book I’d never have thought to pick up if I hadn’t heard a great review of it on BookTube. It’s a collection of advice columns written by Cheryl Strayed, who wrote Wild (which I haven’t read and now absolutely have to read) and at first glance that doesn’t sound at all like something I’d like. But it’s so much more than that. This book is more like short, intensely personal essays that just absolutely gut you when you read them. Strayed’s philosophy when writing as Sugar was that of “radical empathy,” and this book does nothing if not make you feel that, deeply.

Let’s Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (3.5 stars) – I’m so glad to have found Jenny Lawson; she’s really perfect to listen to on audiobook and I’ve highly enjoyed both of her memoirs so far. She’s funny, but her writing can also get extremely sad and touching at points. This one focuses more on her early life growing up in rural Texas, as well as her early married life with her husband Victor once they decide to move from the city back out into the country.

Sex Object: a Memoir by Jessica Valenti (3 stars) – I liked this book, but it doesn’t speak well that it’s been less than a month and I don’t remember a whole lot about it. I listened to the audio on a road trip and thought it was a good audio choice–it’s very short and definitely holds your attention–but it wasn’t mind-blowingly memorable.

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho (3 stars) – I was a little disappointed in this book. It was really awesome to have actual diversity in a fantasy story set in historical England, and for the most part I liked the three central characters (although Mak Genggang, a badass witch who pops up throughout the book, was clearly the best) but for me the plot in this book was really lacking. Certain reveals took way too long to happen and the book’s sort of frothy, old English style of writing was what carried me through reading it, rather than what was actually happening in the story.

Gutshot by Amelia GrayYou by Caroline Kepnes

Gutshot by Amelia Gray (4.25 stars) – Amelia Gray actually came to do a reading in my city this month, which pushed me to pick up her book of short stories that I’d been eyeing for awhile. Gutshot is microfiction, it’s weird, and it sticks with you. I loved it, and I’m so glad that I snagged a copy of her novel Threats while at the reading as well so that I can get another Amelia Gray fix soon.

You by Caroline Kepnes (1.5 stars) – I do not at all understand why this book is so popular. It’s not unique, it’s not interesting, and it’s completely predictable. I kept thinking that because it was so popular that it would have a more creative ending, but no. It doesn’t. I recommend skipping this one.

Reading Recaps

October Reading Wrap-Up

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October was an awesome reading month for me. The last few months haven’t been great (I didn’t read good books in August, and in September I read good books but very few of them), so I was really relieved to have a month of great books and lots of reading. I participated in the Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon, which was wonderful; read a total of 3 books with a significant focus on artificial intelligence, which was a total coincidence; and participated in a Halloween-themed reading challenge for which I read 4 books. I also read an absolutely enchanting 5-star book and discovered a few new authors that I’ll definitely be reading more from in the future.

Here are my stats:

Total books read: 13 (!)

#readmyowndamnbooks: 6

Audiobooks: 4

Book Riot Read Harder challenge tasks completed: 1

✓ 20. Read a book about religion (fiction or nonfiction)
The Daylight Gate by Jeanette WintersonThe Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson

And here’s what I read, ranked in order of awesomeness:

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)The VegetarianThe Beautiful BureaucratThe Daylight Gate

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (5 stars) – this is the perfect example of a book that lives up to all of its hype and yet still manages to surprise you. It’s a shockingly positive, daringly upbeat science fiction novel focused on character development and the interactions between seemingly disparate societies, and I LOVED IT. I want to pick up the sequel very soon.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang (4 stars) – I thought the writing was really beautiful, and this was dark and immersive. The multiple perspectives worked well for me, as each one takes you deeper into the story. I really liked it but didn’t love it.

The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips (4 stars) – this was a short, unsettling novel about a woman who takes a dull office job entering data into a database and finds her reality slowly start to unravel. The weirdness was great for October, and it’s one that I’d recommend.

The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson (4 stars) – this was a disturbing, starkly written historical fiction/fantasy about the famous witch trials that took place in Lancashire in the 1600s. It wasn’t a subject that I had prior knowledge of, but Winterson includes a brief historical note before and after the story that helps to orient people like me. The book’s main character is Alice Nutter, a beautiful, mysterious, independent bisexual woman living in an era completely pervaded by misogyny and religious persecution. As a witch hunt begins to take place in her present, we begin to learn about her fascinating backstory. It’s a really brilliant and impactful book, and I’d highly recommend it–but I’d add the caveat that there is a lot of sexual violence and torture throughout the book, so if that’s something you typically have a hard time with, steer clear.

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)Fun Home: A Family TragicomicForest of MemoryAlex + Ada, Vol. 1 by Jonathan Luna

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (4 stars) – I read this for Dewey’s after procrastinating it for awhile; it’s a book that’s just so popular all over Bookstagram and the blogs that I got tired of seeing its cover. Turns out that I was wrong and everybody else was right, because I thouroughly enjoyed it.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (4 stars) – this graphic memoir, which focuses on Bechdel’s relationship with her father and learning about her sexuality, was insightful, emotional, and I’d highly recommend it.

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal (3.75 stars) – this was a short novella set in the near future where everyone has a personal AI that sort of acts like a google inside their heads was a perfect pick for Dewey’s. The story starts when our main character, a dealer in antiques (which are basically modern-day objects, although some are older) is abducted by a man in the woods and finds herself without an AI and completely out of contact with the world. There is also something mysterious going on with deer. I don’t want to say more because it’s quite short, but you should pick it up.

Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike

Pretty Deadly, Vol 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios (2 stars) – Sorry, Pretty Deadly, but I am just not on board. For me, this graphic novel was too bloody and never took the time to establish any characterization. The mythology could have been interesting, but just wasn’t in the way the story was told. I won’t be picking up the next volume.

Bird Box by Josh MalermanFuriously Happy by Jenny LawsonIn a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth WareThe Geek Feminist Revolution

Audiobooks! I’m not going to lie, I crushed it with audiobooks this month. Four audiobooks is a lot for me, and the great thing was that I was really absorbed in most of these. I decided to rank these separately, for some reason.

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware (4 stars) – this was a really pleasant surprise for me. I don’t read a lot of mystery/thriller books, but Ware does a fantastic job with characterization and I was immediately drawn in to the atmosphere of this story. Essentially, an introverted author is invited to the bachelorette weekend of an old childhood friend she hasn’t spoken to in years, and things begin to get creepy from there. My favorite character was Nina, the bitingly sarcastic doctor friend of the book’s main character.

The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley (3.5 stars) – this book of essays was interesting and insightful, but the audiobook narrator was TERRIBLE. I would absolutely recommend the book itself, but I’d really advise people to steer clear of the audio version–the narrator sort of overly-pronounces words and seems like she’s trying to sound super proper, but she somehow still manages to mispronounce a lot of things. It’s very odd; I kept going because the essays were so interesting, but I persisted in spite of the audio narrator.

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson (3.25 stars) – at turns entertaining and insightful, and a really good listen on audio.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman (2.5 stars)  – I really liked the science fiction/horror concept of this book, which was why I didn’t give it a lower rating. The problem for me was characterization, and this is a big deal for me in books–if the characterization is flat, then it doesn’t really matter how many twists and turns there are in the plot, it just isn’t going to be a great book for me.

So that’s what I read in October! How did everyone else’s reading month go?

 

Reading Recaps

September Reading Wrap-Up

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So, September wasn’t my best reading month in terms of quantity; work stress definitely got in the way of how much reading I got done. On the positive side, I enjoyed all the books that I read this month, including an elusive 5-star read! I haven’t had one of those in awhile, and 5-star reads are really rare for me, so that definitely helped to turn things around. This month, I ended up reading 4 new-to-me books and finished a re-read of Ilona Andrews’s Magic Breaks, while also starting a re-read of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows in preparation for (hopefully) reading Crooked Kingdom in October. Here’s the breakdown:

Number of books read: 5

#readmyowndamnbooks: 4 🙂

Audiobooks: 2

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge tasks completed: 0

So here’s what I read in September, ranked from most to least awesome:

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin (5 stars) – it’s hard to review this without spoilers, but holy crap, guys. This trilogy is incredible. Book 2 of the Broken Earth trilogy is just as intense as The Fifth Season, and the stakes somehow keep getting higher while the story remains intensely personal. This is fantasy writing at its best, with incredibly complex worldbuilding and a focus on themes of survival and discrimination. Amazing. A definite five-star read.

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (4 stars) – although this was a solid 4-star read, I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed by it. Reading Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels has been an immersive experience and an intensely personal story of female friendship; I was expecting the final volume to blow me away. Instead, at times I had to make myself read it because the story just wasn’t grabbing me the way I wanted it to, and the ending, for me, was really lacking in resonance.

The Circle by Dave Eggers (3.5 stars) – This book is about a twentysomething who gets a job at the world’s biggest tech company, which is sort of a Google/Twitter/Facebook type hybrid with a sprawling campus, lots of ambitious young employees, and all sorts of crazy amenities including a built-in social life. As she gets more immersed in life at the company, which is called The Circle, all sorts of craziness starts to emerge from the company’s agenda. The first 2/3 of this book seemed like a solid 4-star read, and I was really enjoying the fast pace, near-future setting, and social commentary. Unfortunately, the last third felt too predictable and wasn’t as interesting.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll (3.25 stars) – My main issue with this book was its pacing. If you haven’t already heard (it’s super popular) it’s about a young woman with a seemingly perfect life–beautiful, great job at a fashion magazine, gorgeous fiance, nice NYC apartment–whose ambitions and life were shaped by trauma she faced in high school. The storyline bounces between present-day and her high school past throughout the book, but unfortunately this leaves long stretches of the book where nothing is really happening, and rather than building tension I found it frustrating. I also thought it was strange that the author seemed to want to work so hard to make the protagonist seem “unlikable;” personally, I didn’t find her unlikable at all, and I’m not sure why this was emphasized so much.

 

The Story of the Lost Child (The Neapolitan Novels, #4)Luckiest Girl AliveThe CircleThe Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

 

What did you guys read in September? Any standouts? Let me know in the comments!

Reading Recaps

August Reading Wrap-Up

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So August was…not great. I spent a lot of the month reading a book that I didn’t end up finishing (The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante) and although I did end up with a respectable-sized wrap-up stack, the majority of those were library books and I’d really wanted to #readmyowndamnbooks this month. Also, my August reads overall were a bit disappointing, although all in different ways. I haven’t had a really lackluster reading month in awhile, and I’d started out with such a great TBR that I wasn’t expecting it. Highlights of the month include Bout of Books, a really good audiobook, and the bad guy love interest from Everneath; low points included, oddly, Harry Potter and Pablo Neruda.

Here are my stats for August:

Number of books read: 7

#readmyowndamnbooks: 3 (eek, not so good)

Audiobooks: 1

Read Harder Challenge tasks completed: 2

✓ 13. Read a book set in the Middle East
The Underground Girls of Kabul In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg

✓ 23. Read a play
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. RowlingHarry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

Also, an update on the 20 books of summer challenge that I signed up for at the beginning of the summer: I ended up reading 29 (!) books this summer, exceeding my goal of 20! I wonder if I’ll be able to read 20 books this fall as well–it seems to be a good seasonal goal number for me.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two (Harry Potter, #8)Vicious (Vicious, #1)Everything Is TeethThe Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in AfghanistanEverneath (Everneath, #1)Everbound (Everneath, #2)Love Poems

So, here’s what I read in August, ranked (as usual) from most awesome to least:

The Underground Girls of Kabul by Jenny Nordberg (4 stars) – this was an extremely powerful nonfiction book about the lives of women in Afghanistan, focusing on the intriguing tradition of some young girls dressing as boys. It’s well-researched and detailed, and highlights the lives of several different women that the author interviewed.

Everything is Teeth by Evie Wyld (4 stars) – I thought this was fantastic, although maybe I’m biased because I’ve always been a shark person. This was the first graphic memoir I’ve read, and I thought that Wyld’s story and the illustrations really conveyed both her literal fascination with sharks and her metaphor of sharks as the constant dangers in life lurking beneath the surface.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab (3.5 stars) – I thought the characters were great, and V.E. Schwab does a wonderful job building tension throughout the book; it just wasn’t as original as I had expected. This book gets a ton of hype; for me, I didn’t fully get why.

Everneath and Everbound by Brodi Ashton (2.5 stars each) – I read the first two books of this YA trilogy during Bout of Books; it’s about a girl who has just returned to the real world after living for 100 years in a sort of underworld where her emotions were used to feed an immortal (who happens to be a snarky and very attractive guitar player who used to be a Viking back in the day). She then is allowed to return to her former life for 6 months before being sucked back into the underworld and used as a living battery to feed the immortals there for eternity. It’s a very dark story; the main character’s mother was killed by a drunk driver, and when she returns from the underworld everyone she loves believes she was missing for 6 months and was a drug addict during that time. I liked the dark tone and the concept; I really, really did not like her other love interest (meathead high school quarterback) and didn’t end up wanting to read the last book in the series, although the first two were dramatic and fun.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne (2.5 stars) – this book has already been discussed so much; personally, I found it really disappointing. I’d love to see it as a play; I’m sure it’s better in that format. In general, though, it didn’t feel like a “real” continuation of the story to me.

Love Poems by Pablo Neruda (2 stars) – I actually feel very weird rating this so low; I know that Pablo Neruda is such a highly regarded poet, and there were a few lines in this short volume that I thought were strikingly beautiful. But the majority of it, for me, just did not feel like anything special. It could have been that my expectations were too high and I expected every poem to be brilliant, but I really didn’t end up enjoying this.

 

I hope everyone’s reading month for August went better than mine did!

Reading Recaps

July Reading Wrap-Up & Mini-Reviews

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So, July was an absolutely fabulous reading month for me; I think it was actually my best reading month of the year. The books, as a whole, that I read in July were really great; I had a lot of fun and got a ton of reading done during #24in48; and I did a pretty great job of reading my own damn books.

Number of books read: 14 (!!!!!)

Audiobooks: 4 (!!!!!)

#readmyowndamnbooks: 7 (!!!!!)

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge tasks completed: 4

✓ 2. Read a nonfiction book about science
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

✓ 16. Read the first book in a series by a person of color
Binti (Binti, #1) by Nnedi Okorafor Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

✓ 18. Read a book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie. Debate which is better.
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

✓ 21. Read a book about politics, in your country or another (fiction or nonfiction)
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (The Neapolitan Novels, #3) by Elena Ferrante Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante

 

So, here’s what I read this month, ranked (as usual) in order of awesomeness, with favorites first:

milk and honey by Rupi KaurThose Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena FerranteConfessions by Kanae MinatoMen We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (4.5 stars)  – This is my preferred style of poetry to read – short poems in free verse with huge emotional impact. The middle two sections of this book absolutely blew me away. I read each poem at least 2-3 times because it’s impossible not to savor her words. Will definitely be re-reading this.

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante (4 stars) – the third book of Ferrante’s four Neapolitan novels deals with adult Lila and Elena, delving into their careers and politics and still maintaining their complex friendship. This may have been my least favorite of the quartet so far, but it was still very good; Ferrante’s writing remains excellent and I only care more about these characters are the books continue, no matter what crazy choices they make.

Confessions by Kanae Minato (4 stars) – this was a psychological thriller where the twists just kept on coming. The premise is that of a middle-school teacher confronting her class about the death of her daughter and accusing two of them of her murder; it only gets more intense from there. I read most of this in this sort of deep trance and literally could not stop reading. Definitely recommend this for fans of well-written, intriguing dark books.

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward (4 stars) – it’s hard to talk about this book. It’s devastating and powerful, and it should absolutely be read by everyone. Jesmyn Ward is an incredible writer, and I admire her so much for being able to tell this story.

Binti by Nnedi OkoraforSaga, Volume 6 by Brian K. VaughanSecond Star by Alyssa B. SheinmelShrill by Lindy West

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (4 stars) – this is a science fiction novella about Binti, a brilliant girl living in an isolated community on Earth who is selected to attend the most prestigious school in the universe. Going to school involves breaking with her cultural traditions, but she is determined to remain herself and honor her heritage on her trip. On the way, she faces an unexpected enemy. I thought the worldbuilding was fantastic, especially considering how short this was, and I LOVED Binti as a protagonist. I found out that there will be at least one sequel to this novella, which I’m very excited for.

Saga, Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples (4 stars) – the latest volume in this science fiction/fantasy mash-up graphic novel series about an unconventional family defying the odds to try and stay together was really good; there’s only been one volume of Saga that I really didn’t like. This was not it. It was sweet and exciting and exactly what I was looking for. Can’t wait for Volume 7.

Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel (3.5 stars) – this was Peter Pan, if the characters in Peter Pan were surfers living in Southern California. Essentially, straight-A student Wendy Darling is searching for her brothers who went missing and during her search meets and falls for both Pete and Jas (Captain Hook, although with a very odd name choice and two hands. This really bothered me. Why couldn’t he have a hook??). I’ve mentioned before that YA is really hit or miss for me, but this totally worked. It’s full of romance and drama and I enjoyed the entire thing.

Shrill by Lindy West (3.5 stars) – this memoir was somehow both very funny and very important and relevant. I wasn’t familiar with Lindy West prior to picking up this audiobook; I’d definitely recommend it now that I have.

The Quick by Lauren OwenThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca SklootGods Behaving Badly by Marie PhillipsBitch Planet, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick

The Quick by Lauren Owen (3 stars) – I wanted to like this book more than I did. Vampires in a historical setting? A sister going to rescue her brother? Sounded great. The Quick is essentially about James, a young writer who moves to London and gets pulled into mysterious circumstances that he wasn’t aware of or looking for; it’s also about his older sister, Charlotte, who travels to London to look for James after she hasn’t heard from him in awhile. It’s hard to say much more than that without spoiling things. There were some things I really liked: I liked both romance storylines in the book (the romance is very light, though, it’s definitely not a romance-oriented book). I also liked Charlotte’s devotion to her brother, and I thought the writing itself was good overall. There were a lot of issues, for me, with the storytelling, though–the first 200 or so pages are from James’s perspective, except for the first chapter, which is in Charlotte’s, and after that it switches around sort of randomly between five or six character perspectives. A lot of this felt really unnecessary to me; we didn’t need a lot of the extra information and perspectives, and it threw the pacing off quite a bit as well. Overall, I liked this, but definitely didn’t love it. I wouldn’t highly recommend it; if you really enjoy historical fiction and vampires, though, you may like it also.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (3 stars) – Henrietta Lacks’ story is an important one, and I was so intrigued and shocked by the journey of her cells. I thought all of the scientific information was really interesting; where the book didn’t work for me was how much the author inserted herself into the story.

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips (3 stars) – this was a funny, quick read satirizing Greek mythology by bringing all of the Olympians to modern-day England and seeing how two ordinary people fare when brought into the mix. It’s not at all deep or emotional, but if you’re a Greek mythology fan, it’s definitely enjoyable.

Bitch Planet by (3 stars) – I loved the feminist concept and creepy worldbuilding in this graphic novel, but for me there wasn’t enough characterization and it really took away from the story.

Six Months, Three Days by Charlie Jane AndersThe Jane Austen Book Club

Six Months, Three Days by Charlie Jane Anders (2.5 stars) – this is technically classified as a “novelette,” although it seemed like a short story to me. I enjoyed Anders’ novel All the Birds in the Sky and had her shorter work on my TBR for awhile; it ended up unfortunately being a disappointment. I feel like the characterization was really lacking, and although the concept was sort of interesting, it was a letdown overall.

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler (2 stars) – I LOVED Karen Joy Fowler’s We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, which was this really unique and emotionally gutting novel that was one of my favorite books of 2015. Unfortunately, that book and this one had absolutely nothing in common. I went in expecting a cute story of friendship and romance; The Jane Austen Book Club ended up being about 80% backstory with almost no plot taking place in the present. It was really frustrating to listen to because nothing ever happened; even the discussion of Jane Austen seemed really lacking to me.

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So, what did you guys read in July? Let me know!

 

Reading Recaps

Reading Updates: Halfway Through 2016!

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Since we’re halfway through 2016 (what??? how???), I wanted to look back over my reading and see how I’m doing so far this year. Overall, it’s been a really great year for reading–I’ve had 6 five-star reads so far this year, and due to my extreme pickiness, I’m really happy about this. Last year, I only had 4 for the entire year. I feel like overall this year I’ve done a better job picking out books, and I hope that I can continue the good-books streak for the second half of 2016.

So here are my stats so far for 2016:

Number of books read: 45

#readmyowndamnbooks: 19

Read Harder Challenge tasks completed: 14 (out of 24)

 

How am I doing on my goals for 2016? Well…let’s see.

Read more classics. I am doing very poorly on this goal; unless  you stretch the definition of “classic,” I really haven’t read a single one. Wide Sargasso Sea, a feminist reinterpretation of Jane Eyre written in the 1960’s, probably comes the closest.

Read more books by authors I know I love. I’m doing well on this goal so far, having read books by already-favorites Kazuo Ishiguro, Neil Gaiman, Octavia Butler, and Seanan McGuire.

Read more long books. I’m doing OK on this one; I think the longest books I’ve read so far have been The Wise Man’s Fear and A Court of Mist and Fury. I’d really like to get in a few more doorstoppers before the end of the year, though.

Make a dent in my physical TBR shelf. I’ve read a lot of books from my TBR shelf so far, but I’ve also bought a lot of new books, so…

Read at least 50 books. I am crushing this goal–it’s only halfway through the year and I’ve almost hit 50.

Read more books I think I will love, compared to books I will just like. This goal basically meant that I didn’t want to read as many filler-type books that I sometimes pick up because they’re readily available at the library, or cheap, or to get out of a reading slump. I haven’t read any 1- or 2-star books yet this year (!) so I’d consider this a win. I also have 6 5-star books already, which is high for me as I’m super picky about rating books with 5 stars.

Participate in at least one Dewey’s Readathon. I participated in the Readathon in March, although because of work, my participation wasn’t as intense as I’d have liked it to be. But I’m definitely going to participate again in October. Also, the #24in48 readathon is at the end of July, so I’m excited for that.

 

Goals for the second half of 2016:

–Actually read at least one classic, for reals this time.
Examples: Brideshead Revisited, Persuasion, North and South

–Read some books by authors I’m embarrassed I haven’t read  yet. Examples: Zadie Smith, Catherynne M. Valente, literally any classic Russian author, Nnedi Okorafor

–Finish Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge.
10 tasks left!

And…I also wanted to look back at my top ten books for the first half of 2016! I wonder how many of these will end up on my top ten list for the whole year? I guess it depends on how my reading goes during the second half 🙂 The first six of these were 5-star reads (or almost, and rounded up to 5 stars) and the other five were excellent 4-star reads.

The PassionBad FeministWide Sargasso SeaMr. SplitfootMy Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)Every Heart a DoorwayThe End of Mr. YThe Rook (The Checquy Files, #1)The Story of a New Name (The Neapolitan Novels #2)The Girl Wakes: Stories

The Passion by Jeanette Winterson

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

The Girl Wakes by Carmen Lau

Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley

The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante

 

How is everyone’s reading going so far this year?

Reading Recaps

June Reading Wrap-Up

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In June, I finished two books that I’ve been halfway finished with for at least six months (The Cuckoo’s Calling) and in the other case several years (Unaccustomed Earth); I started a great new series (The Raven Cycle); and I had yet another 5-star read (The Girl Wakes). It’s only halfway through 2016, and I’ve already beaten the number of 5-star reads I had during all of last year 🙂 Here are my totals:

# of books read: 8

#readmyowndamn books: 4

20 Books of Summer total: 8/20

Audiobooks: 2

So here’s what I read this month, ranked (as usual) in order of awesomeness:

The Girl Wakes: StoriesUnaccustomed EarthA Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2)The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)Citizen: An American LyricThe Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1)The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1; Rincewind #1)

The Girl Wakes by Carmen Lau (5 stars): This incredible book of short stories is made up of dark feminist fairytale retellings. If that appeals to you, READ THIS BOOK. The premise alone made me know I would love this book, but it turned out to be even better than I expected. Longer review to come (I’m going to try actually posting some book review posts!) but to summarize, these short stories gave me goosebumps and were absolutely what I wanted to read.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (4.25 stars): I’m really loving short story collections lately. The characters and stories in this book feel so fully real, and Jhumpa Lahiri is an incredible writer. My favorite of the collection was “Only Goodness,” about the relationship between a brother and sister and the brother’s struggle with alcoholism; the last story in the book, however, the third in a series of connected stories, hit me hard.

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A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (4.25 stars): Indulgent romantic fantasy that I will most likely reread several times.

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The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (4 stars): the second book in the Raven Cycle was great, especially since it focused on my favorite character, Ronan. I love that the plot just keeps getting weirder, but the lovable characters are what really keeps me interested.

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The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (4 stars): If you haven’t checked out this YA series yet, I would encourage you to do so. I went into it knowing nothing about the plot, and I think that was a good way to go.

Citizen by Claudia Rankine (3 stars): I found some of the passages in this book of prose poems to be incredibly powerful, others less so. Overall I wish I’d read it in physical form rather than listening to it as an audiobook, although I had thought it was a good idea at the time. Too much rewinding and re-listening may have spoiled the effect for me, and I think I’d have rated it higher if I’d physically read it. No more poetry audiobooks for me.

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (3 stars): I started listening to this audiobook in December and stopped about 2/3 of the way through because nothing was really happening. It took me until this month to get the desire to pick it back up so that I could finally find out who the murderer was. I feel like my expectations were too high because J.K. Rowling wrote this, and while it was a decent detective novel, I’m not interested enough to continue the series. Honestly, I wouldn’t really recommend it. Read something else instead.

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett (2.5 stars): this one was a disappointment for me. I’ve read two other Discworld books (Mort and Small Gods) that I enjoyed, but this one unfortunately got really…boring. It started out well, with humor and an interesting setup, but then went rapidly downhill. I know that this is the first book in the series and isn’t widely considered one of the best, but I was still disappointed–particularly with the book’s treatment of female characters. I understand that Pratchett was satirizing a lot of aspects of fantasy literature, but it’s still really unnecessary, and in my opinion a turnoff to a lot of female readers, to have literally every female character be naked in this book.

 

Overall, it was a great reading month! I’m already looking forward to my reading in July (my birthday month!) and I’m hoping to find some more great reads.

 

What did you all read in June? Let me know!

Reading Recaps

May Reading Wrap-Up!

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Total books finished: 7

#readmyowndamnbooks/#SmashYourStack:  4 (!)

Audiobooks: 2 (!)

Library books: 1

Read Harder Challenge tasks completed: 1

✓ 6. Read a biography (not memoir or autobiography)
Notorious RBG The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon

Severity of Ferrante Fever: high

So, I had decided to participate in the #SmashYourStack challenge for May and challenge myself to take down books from my physical TBR. I actually did OK on this challenge–I read hardly any of the books I thought I would, but I did manage to read 4 books that I actually own. (Although I totally cheated by buying the first 2 Ferrante books and then counting them for the challenge.) Overall, the quality of the books I read this month was fantastic–I added 2 books to my ongoing list of my top ten reads of 2016 (of course, it’s all subject to change, since 2016 isn’t even halfway done yet).

I also listened to 2 (and a half, since I started Citizen: An American Lyric this month too) audiobooks this month, which is crazy for me. Bout of Books gave me a lot of audiobook motivation, and I feel like I’ve really found my audiobook niche with nonfiction.

The Story of a New Name (The Neapolitan Novels #2)My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)Death My Own WayMr. SplitfootRoses and RotNot That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned"Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

So here’s what I read in May, ranked in order of awesomeness:

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My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (5 stars) – If you haven’t read this series yet, prepare to become obsessed. It opens with a mystery and the two main characters in their sixties, then flashes back to their fascinating and violent childhood in a poor neighborhood of Naples. The relationship between the two main characters is constantly fraught with emotion in different ways, and the world of 1950s Italy is alien and immersive. I highly, highly recommend this for anyone in a reading slump or looking for a new series to become addicted to–I honestly think anyone would enjoy these books, even if, like me, you typically steer clear of realistic fiction in favor of science fiction/fantasy.

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Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt (4.5 stars) – this quickly became one of my favorite reads of 2016 so far. I loved the dual narrative structure and the consistent weirdness of this book. Highly recommended for anyone interested in weird fiction.

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The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante (4.25 stars) – Although I liked My Brilliant Friend more, this was still incredibly well done–especially the whirlwind last 200 pages and the OH SHOOT ending. The middle had a long plot section that I wasn’t a fan of, but once it transitioned out of that, it went back to amazingness. It’s the perfect springboard into the third book, which I started this morning.

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Death My Own Way by Michael Graziano (4 stars) – I picked this book up at the Buffalo Small Press book fair as part of my effort to read more books from independent publishers, and found that it was a perfect entrancing book to read in one sitting. It’s a philosophical take on life, death, and art set in a single night in Central Park. Recommended for anyone looking for a short, thought-provoking read.

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Roses and Rot by Kat Howard (3.5 stars) – This book was released last month and got a great review from Neil Gaiman, which is how I heard about it. It came in as a library hold and I only had a week to read it; I was nervous about finishing in time so I ended up reading it in 2 days! That kind of binge reading has been rare for me lately due to work, but it was a great feeling to just dive into a book and barely come up for air. This is a dark fairytale/fantasy about two sisters, a writer and a dancer, at an artist’s retreat after escaping an abusive mother; it’s about the love between siblings and the devotion to art.
I loved the setting, the concept, and overall liked the plot and characters, but I found the writing style to be way too simplistic for my taste. I needed a lot more detail and description, and although the characters were interesting, they could have been much more fully drawn. I also found the love interest very boring.
If you enjoy dark fairytale themes, then you’ll probably enjoy this; for me, it was good, but just not amazing.

Not that Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham (3 stars) – I liked this audiobook a lot more than I expected to, although I found the quality to be very inconsistent. I like Lena Dunham’s delivery, and found her very easy to listen to.

Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik (3 stars) – I loved hearing more about the amazing RBG, but didn’t love the structure and writing style of this audiobook. The narrator was also not awesome.

 

What did everybody read in May???

Book Challenges, bout of books, readathon, reading challenges, Reading Recaps

Bout of Books Day 7 Updates and Wrap-Up

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Bout of Books is over! But apparently the next one is August 22nd to the 28th, which seems very soon, so I’m OK with it. My Bout of Books didn’t go exactly as predicted, but I had a really good time and read some awesome books.

 

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The weirdest thing for me about the reading challenge was how much audiobook time I got in. I’ve posted before about how I really struggle with paying attention to audiobooks, but I think I’ve finally found my niche–nonfiction. For whatever reason, it’s much easier for me to pay attention to nonfiction than it is to follow a storyline of a novel. I finished 2 audiobooks this week and started a third, which is crazy for me, as I usually get through one a month at most. I also was really surprised that I only read a little bit of A Court of Mist and Fury; I had really expected to either binge-read it prior to the start of Bout of Books or have it consume my readathon.

First, here are my Day 7 updates:

Books finished: Not That Kind of Girl, My Brilliant Friend

Books started: Citizen: An American Lyric, The Story of a New Name

Pages read: 107 pages of My Brilliant Friend, 18 pages of The Story of a New Name

Audiobook time: 1 hour of Not That Kind of Girl, 43 minutes of Citizen

Not bad for the last day!

 

And here are my overall Bout of Books stats:

Books completed: 4

  • Death My Own Way by Michael S. A. Graziano – 4 stars
  • Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Kznizhnik – 3 stars
  • Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham – 3 stars
  • My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante – 5 stars

Death My Own Way

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned"

My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels, #1)

Books read, but not finished: 3

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)

Citizen: An American Lyric

The Story of a New Name (The Neapolitan Novels #2)

Favorite book I read: My Brilliant Friend, which became my 4th 5-star read this year. Seriously, I know I keep talking about it, but you all really need to read it. Then we can talk about it. Especially the ending because OH MY GOD.

Total pages read: 471 pages

Total audiobook time: 9 hours and 38 minutes (if my math is right?)

 

I probably could have read more, but work has been super crazy and I’m very happy with the amount and quality of reading that I got done. The most exciting thing for me is that I’ve been reading books that I’m really loving instead of wasting my time on books that are only OK. I can’t wait for the next Bout of Books, but I also can’t wait to get back into all of the fantastic books I’m reading right now, which is a very good feeling 🙂

 

How did everyone’s Bout of Books go??

Book Challenges, bout of books, Currently Reading, readathon, reading challenges, Reading Recaps

Bout of Books Day 3 Updates & Mini-Challenge

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I had a really wonderful Day 3 of Bout of Books – Wednesday is my day off from work, so I was able to wake up semi-late and read in bed for awhile. After working out and getting some things done around my apartment, I walked down to the river near where I live and read My Brilliant Friend while enjoying the sunshine. I can’t believe it was 75 degrees out today! Then I did even more reading this evening. I have to say that I am LOVING My Brilliant Friend. I really wish I hadn’t resisted reading it for so long; I was clearly being silly about not reading it and should have looked into it sooner. But at least I’m reading it now and discovering its insanely well-crafted storytelling (and I caved and bought book 2 in the quartet, The Story of a New Name, so that I can jump in once I’ve finished book 1). I am also very gradually savoring A Court of Mist and Fury; I don’t want to finish it too fast and have it be over with, as it’s a perfect guilty pleasure read.

 

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Day 3 Updates:

Books finished: 0

Books started: 0

Pages read:

  • 101 pages of My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
  • 56 pages of A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Audiobook time: 45 minutes of Notorious RBG

Mini-Challenge: 5 Favorites. I chose to display my five favorite science fiction books (and now I feel like I should be doing more of this! Stay tuned for my top 5 fantasy books, etc).

 

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I hope everyone is having an awesome Bout of Books! For more info, you can check out the site here: http://boutofbooks.blogspot.com/