Tag Archives: reading

Dewey’s Readathon Wrap-Up!

October 23, 2016 jaleenajo 2 Comments

That’s a wrap on Dewey’s! I had such a great time reading and engaging in bookish awesomeness yesterday. The readathon came at a really perfect time, and it was so relaxing to abandon adulting for the day and read as much as possible instead. I joined a bit late, which I was prepared for, and ended up reading until about 4 a.m., which I was not anticipating doing. I started off with a graphic novel to kick things off, then got completely immersed in a YA scifi thriller (Illuminae) for the majority of the first half of the readathon. I thought I might get burnt out on reading by the end of the ‘thon, so I took a break to work out, shower, and eat dinner (delicious takeout Thai curry), which actually helped me get a second wind. I then jumped into a longer graphic memoir for awhile and picked up another graphic novel after that. Around 2 a.m. I was considering going to bed, but pushed myself to read one more short book, which turned into doing a little audiobooking as well, which then turned into me picking up my current read, so I ended up finishing strong. Overall, I actually did way better than I thought I would–I don’t set a timer or anything, but I think this readathon was a personal best in terms of both how much time I spent reading and how much I actually read.

In other surprises, I won one of the hourly prizes! Thank you, Dewey’s! I have to say a huge thank-you to the organizers of this event and everyone who made this readathon so wonderful. The bookish community is really fantastic, and I love getting to see everyone’s updates and tips throughout the challenge. The community feel of this readathon is what makes it so great, and I can’t wait to participate again next April 🙂

Which hour was most daunting for you?

I wouldn’t say any of the hours were daunting, they were all pretty darn fun 🙂

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Yes! I think that Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff was a great readathon book because it was so fast-paced and told in an unconventional format. I’d also recommend Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg, Forest of Memory by May Robinette Kowal, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, Confessions by Kanae Minato, Binti by Nnedi Okorafor, and any of Ilona Andrews’s books.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?

No, I thought it was fantastic.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

Pretty much everything! I liked that Litsy was involved this time; it was fun to get updates on everyone’s reading on there

5. How many books did you read?

I read 5 books for a total of 1167 pages–3 graphic novels, 1 novella, and 1 YA novel. I also listened to about half an hour of my audiobook (The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley) and read about 16 pages of my current book, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

Alex + Ada, Volume 1 by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Pretty Deadly, Volume 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

Illuminae was definitely the highlight of the readathon for me; it was such an action-packed, fast-paced book which worked perfectly to keep me engaged during the readathon. It’s a science fiction novel about the aftermath of an attack on a small planet and how the survivors are attempting to escape and not succumb to about a million different threats and conspiracies on the way.

8. Which did you enjoy least?

Unfortunately, Pretty Deadly really did not work for me. I didn’t like the artwork, and I was not engaged in the story. There were some interesting aspects to it, but not enough to keep me going with this series.

9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I’ll definitely be participating next time! I love this readathon and highly recommend giving it a try to anyone who’s been hesitant.

How was everyone’s readathon??? Feel free to link me to your posts, I would love to hear how you all did!

readathon

Dewey’s Readathon Game Plan and TBR

October 21, 2016 jaleenajo 3 Comments

I love October. It’s full of spooky, Halloween-related things and delicious pumpkin everything. October also means it’s time for another Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon, which tend to be the most awesome bookish events of the year. One of my favorite parts about the readathon is actually the anticipation and planning that come before the event; I love creating a TBR pile to sustain me through extended periods of reading, and figuring out how to maximize my reading time when I know I’ll still have to do things like work and sleep.

For me, the Readathon starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning. Like last time, unfortunately, I have to work the morning of the Readathon; I’m planning to get as much work as I can done ahead of time so that I can leave work in the early afternoon, hopefully by 1 or 2. I’ve found that listening to my audiobook on the way to and from work helps get me into the Readathon mindset early, even if I can’t fully participate until later. I had to work the morning of the previous Readathon, too, and this really burnt me out (being on call for work all weekend didn’t help, either; once I started reading I kept getting interrupted). At least I’m not on call this time! And I’m planning on picking up Thai food from the delicious place near my office to bring home after work, as well, which is also a good motivator.

Once I finally get home, I’m hoping to hit the Readathon hard. I’ve found that it helps me to start with shorter books so that I can feel like I’m accomplishing something; that way, if I get stalled on my reading later, I’ll still know that I’ve hit a few reading goals.

Goals!

-Read 3 books – pretty doable if I stick to shorter ones

-Read for 12 hours – this will mean I’m basically reading the entire day when I’m not at work, so I’m being a bit ambitious here

-Post updates on Instagram, Litsy, and here

My TBRs for readathons tend to look a lot different from my monthly TBRs. I find that short books, YA, fast-paced reads, and graphic novels tend to work the best for me in a readathon; I need books that can either hold my attention for an extended period of time or that allow me to jump back and forth pretty quickly. I tend to look for “easier” reads and not try to tackle anything too ambitious, as reading an extremely complicated book for a few hours can make me start to look for a reading break rather than feel inspired to keep going all night long (which I never do, by the way. I’m a terrible sleeper to begin with and I can’t afford to give up a whole night’s sleep). I also need a good, absorbing audiobook that I can listen to while driving and doing random things around the house so that I don’t lose out on reading time if I need to get other things done.

So! Here is my TBR for Dewey’s, ranked in order of most to least likely to actually read. To clarify, there is no way that I would actually be able to read all of these books, but I think that these are a good selection for me to choose from:

Forest of Memory

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal – this is a science fiction novella by the author of Shades of Milk and Honey, which was sort of a Jane Austen retelling with magic that I read a few years ago and liked but didn’t love. This shorter novel is about a woman who loses contact with her A.I. and is unable to connect with the outside world, something that is constant and ubiquitous in the future, and has to deal with some sort of scary situation in the woods. I don’t really want to read too much about the plot since it’s a short work and I don’t want to spoil it, but it sounds sort of Octobery and I’ve been in a science fiction mood lately, so this is currently #1 on my list.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel – this is a graphic memoir about a daughter finding out that her father was gay after his death. I previously read Evie Wyld’s Everything is Teeth, another graphic memoir, and really enjoyed the format; I think this will be a good graphic novel to go with for the readathon.

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – I was sort of waffling about whether to read this for a really long time, until I sort of did a 180 and decided I needed to own this book immediately. It’s science fiction YA about two teenagers who break up and then get caught up in this huge adventure/conspiracy where their planet is at stake; the reason I think it’ll work well for the readathon is that it’s not written in a straightforward book way but made up of transcipts, emails, interviews, etc. I heard that it’s fast-paced and an easy read, so I think this might be the perfect thing for me.

Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike

Alex + Ada, Vol. 1

Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios and Alex + Ada by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn – I don’t know much about either of these graphic novels but I’ve seen them both recommended around BookTube. I tend to only pick up graphic novels during Readathons, so it’s always sort of fun to jump into a new one to mix up my reading.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – this is my current read, and it’s fantastic. I don’t usually tend to go for what I’m currently reading during Dewey’s, but I like having it as an option.

The Geek Feminist Revolution

The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley – this is my audiobook pick, and while I’m really interested in the content, I’m not loving the audio narrator so far. If it keeps going the way it is I might have to do a last-minute switch!

Gutshot Gutshot Gutshot Gutshot

Gutshot by Amelia Gray – this is a dark, supposedly super disturbing short story collection; I’ll pick this up if I’m in the mood for something October-y.

Furthermore

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi – I started this middle-grade novel last month but wasn’t really getting into it; I think I need to give it another try because I’m a huge fan of Tahereh Mafi and the worldbuilding did seem very cool.

So that’s the plan for Saturday! Who else is participating? What are you planning on reading? Feel free to link me to your posts, I love to see what everyone else is doing for Dewey’s!

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesday!

October 12, 2016 jaleenajo 3 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Taking on a World of Words where you answer the 3 W’s: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

I recently finished two short, dark, and October-y books: The Vegetarian by Han Kang and The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson. Both were very good, and somewhat disturbing; they left me wanting to look for something a little happier to read next. I’m so glad to have finally read The Vegetarian after hearing all of the hype; I thought the writing was excellent and I loved how it was told in shifting perspectives.

I also recently finished an October-y audiobook, Bird Box by Josh Malerman. I wasn’t a huge fan of this book–the premise sounded interesting (people starting killing themselves mysteriously, and we discover it’s linked to something they see that their brains are unable to handle; the world descends into a post-apocalyptic scenario with people essentially trapped inside their houses and leaving only when blindfolded) but the writing wasn’t great, and the characters were very flat. It definitely scared me, though, which was what I wanted out of a horror audiobook.

What are you currently reading?

I recently started Helen Phillips’s The Beautiful Bureaucrat to continue the streak of weird, short books in October. This book focuses on a young woman who gets a desk job where all she does is input numbers attached to names into a database, having no idea what the purpose is. Supposedly things start to get super strange from there, although I haven’t gotten that far yet. I do really like the writing. I’m also almost done with my current audiobook, Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson, which I’m liking and finding very easy to listen to. It’s a memoir/collection of essays about her life and struggles with mental illness.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m not sure! I’m getting super excited for Dewey’s Readathon on Oct 22, and have already started to put together my TBR stack for that, which I’ll talk about in an upcoming post. For audio, I’m really hoping to start Kameron Hurley’s The Geek Feminist Revolution soon, but I’m waiting it to come in from the library. As far as physical books go, I’d like to read at least one more before Dewey’s starts, but I’m not sure what to go with.

What is everyone reading right now? Feel free to link me to your WWW Wednesday posts!

TBR

October TBR

October 3, 2016 jaleenajo Leave a comment

So, in October I’d like to get a lot of Halloween-themed reading done, in the spirit of the RIP reading challenge, but I might get derailed due to new releases. Don’t get me wrong–I think Leigh Bardugo’s Crooked Kingdom and Ilona Andrews’s Magic Binds might fit in fairly well with the challenge (I guess you could call them both dark fantasy? Although with Kate Daniels that might be stretching it a bit), but I feel like to fully appreciate the new release of next-in-series books in two of my favorite series, I need to go back and do some re-reading of previous installments, and that could slow me down in terms of devouring new content. In September, I feel like re-reading the majority of N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season really helped me appreciate The Obelisk Gate more; I feel like this is true for a lot of new releases, as it’s hard for me to pick up right where I left off when the previous book was released a full year ago. In particular, I really want to finish my re-read Six of Crows; I’ve actually been meaning to re-read it ever since I finished it last October because I was so in love with the characters and the heist plot, but then I sort of forgot about my re-reading game plan until literally the day of Crooked Kingdom‘s release. I also need to reread the most recent Kate Daniels book, Magic Shifts, to make sure that I’m all caught up before I dive into Magic Binds.

So, yes, that’s lots of re-reading to get done (especially since my progress on Six of Crows is super minimal so far, oops), and I think my re-reading will be battling with my new reads for most of the month. The other thing that could throw off my October TBR is the fact that Dewey’s Readathon comes back on October 22nd! I love participating in the 24-hour readathon and am planning on saving at least one of my new releases to enjoy on that day.

The Vegetarian Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) Magic Binds (Kate Daniels, #9) The Daylight Gate

Here’s what I’m planning on reading in October, ranked from most to least likely to read:

The Vegetarian by Han Kang – I’m currently reading and really enjoying this very dark short novel.

The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson – I fell in love with Winterson’s writing when I read The Passion earlier this year, and I’m very excited to check out this short historical fiction novel focused on witches.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo – I just need to finish my reread of Six of Crows!

Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews – ditto, except with Magic Shifts! The problem is that Magic Shifts was my least favorite book in the series, by far, so I’m not super psyched for the reread.

Deathless (Leningrad Diptych, #1) Let the Right One In Bird Box Forest of Memory

Bird Box by Josh Malerman – I’m currently listening to this on audiobook and doing so very slowly, in part because the book tends to freak me out if I listen to it while driving alone at night and in part because I’m not loving it. It definitely fits the October vibe, though.

Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal – I’m probably going to read this novella during Dewey’s.

Let the Right One In by John Adjvide Lindqvist – I bought this book when I was in New Orleans for a conference last October, and have been planning it for an October read for basically a year. I do love vampires, so I’m hoping this one works for me.

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente – I’m so intrigued by this book and by Valente as an author, but I’m skeptical about my ability to finish all these books in one month. We’ll see!

Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal, #1) In a Dark, Dark Wood

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware – I’m on the wait list for this audiobook, and if I ever finish Bird Box, this will be my next audio pick for October.

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho – this book is on my must-read in 2016 list, but I’m thinking it probably won’t happen in October unless I finish a bunch of Halloweenish reads early on. Most likely, though, it’s going to end up on my November TBR as well.

What are you all planning to read this month? Anyone planning on reading some seasonal Halloween-ish books? Let me know in the comments!

Reading Recaps

September Reading Wrap-Up

October 2, 2016 jaleenajo 2 Comments

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 Alive The Circle The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

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

book haul

September Book Haul, Part 2

September 30, 2016 jaleenajo 2 Comments

Yes, lots of book buying went down in September. And I don’t regret it for a second, because these books all look awesome. I’m looking forward to a super bookish fall and winter curled up with a hot drink and a good book.

So here’s the second half of my book haul:

The Vegetarian by Han Kang – I had no idea this book was so short (less than 200 pages!) and I have a feeling I’m really going to like it. It’s supposedly dark, surreal, and told from multiple perspectives–all things I enjoy in a book.

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi – I mean, I’m not NOT going to buy a new Tahereh Mafi book. That’s just how it is. Although I do hope she returns to YA soon, and the brief hint that she posted on Twitter about her newest project sounds AMAZING.

Gutshot by Amelia Gray – this is a dark short story collection that I know very little about; I think the stories have a lot of grotesque/horror elements, and I’ve heard it’s a bit disturbing. It’s a very short collection, and I’m wondering if I might be in the right mood for it in October.

A Guide to Being Born by Ramona Ausubel – another short story collection with an awesome cover. I read some extremely positive reviews about this themed collection, which is, according to Goodreads, “organized around the stages of life—love, conception, gestation, birth—and the transformations that happen as people experience deeply altering life events, falling in love, becoming parents, looking toward the end of life.”

The Last Illusion by Porochista Khakpour – I remembered reading about this book on The Millions’ anticipated books list one year, but I haven’t seen it much on any blogs or on Bookstagram. It’s about an albino Iranian boy who is kept in a cage by his mother for most of his childhood and communicates like a bird. He’s later released and brought to New York City but has difficulty adapting to living as a human; it’s supposed to be good but very, very sad.

What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi – I’ve previously read Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi, and I thought that her writing style was really incredible. I’ve only heard good things about her short story collection, which focuses on the concept of keys. Plus, I just love short stories.

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell – I think I’m going to really, really enjoy this one, especially since I love reading really long books in the winter. I thought that Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas was intricate and well-thought-out, and that his writing strength was really proven by inhabiting so many very disparate characters in different places and times. I believe that this one has a similar style, but I’ve been trying not to read too much about the plot, since I feel like this kind of book is best if you know very little going in.

The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips – this author is getting comparisons to Haruki Murakami and Margaret Atwood (!) for this short novel about a woman inputting numbers into a database at her job for an unknown purpose; apparently it gets much weirder from there.

Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews – this is the penultimate book in the Kate Daniels series, which is by far the best UF series I have encountered and has some of the most lovable and memorable characters from any series I’ve ever read. And I’ll freak out if anything bad happens to them in this book. I’m telling you right now, if anyone dies I’m just going to pretend it didn’t happen. Honestly, I’m sort of nervous to read this one–it might be all buildup to the final showdown that I think we all know is coming in the final volume. Or it could be great! In either case, it’s going to seem make the wait for book 10 seem unbearable.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo – AHHHH FINALLY. I don’t even want to read this because it’s only a duology and after I finish, this series will be over.

And apparently I forgot The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin in my last book haul! My review for that book will be up in my September reading wrap-up post (hopefully tomorrow).

What books did you all pick up in September? Which of these should I pick up first? Let me know!

book haul

September Book Haul, Part 1

September 26, 2016 jaleenajo 3 Comments

So, I had a rough month at work with lots of stress (fun times!) which, for me, translates into lots of book buying. Consequently, I am getting super excited about my fall and winter reading as my TBR shelf continues to shape up.

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber – this is a literary scifi book (my favorite kind!) about a man who travels to a distance planet to act as a missionary, and is separated by galaxies from his wife, who is encountering all sorts of issues on Earth. I’ve seen some very positive and very negative reviews of this one; it wasn’t previously very high on my TBR list, but I saw it was on sale at Barnes & Noble and had to scoop it up. I know a lot of people also really loved Faber’s previous book The Crimson Petal and the White, but the synopsis of that one doesn’t grab me at all.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – I FINALLY got this book from Book Depository after ordering it over a month ago. It’s about a space voyage and focuses on a small crew and their interactions; it seems like it’s universally loved and I’m very excited for it. My favorite kind of science fiction is character-driven and/or focused on the sociology of alien peoples, so this should be right up my alley.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – I actually checked this out of the library twice to re-read it before ACOMAF came out, which was how I knew I should probably just go ahead and buy it. I’m not a fan of Feyre’s relationship with Tamlin, but I do enjoy aspects of this story and it’s one I’d definitely revisit in the future. I’d also like to own this entire series once the other books are released, so there’s that.

The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld – another book I’ve already read, this was a 5-star book for me a few years back. The writing is beautiful but discusses such horrific things; it’s a short book but done so, so well. The Enchanted focuses on death row inmates and an investigator working to gather information for the inmates’ defense; it’s brutal and real, but told in this sort of strange, detached way with fairy tale elements introduced throughout the book. If you haven’t read it already I highly recommend it.

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi – this is the last book in one of my absolute favorite YA series, and I’ve been wanting physical copies of these books for awhile. Now all I’m missing is the second book, Unravel Me; I’m just waiting for it to pop up on Book Outlet.

Speak by Louisa Hall – this was a total impulse purchase on Book Outlet, and it sounds fantastic. Seriously, here’s the synopsis from Goodreads: “A thoughtful, poignant novel that explores the creation of Artificial Intelligence — illuminating the very human need for communication, connection, and understanding. In a narrative that spans geography and time, from the Atlantic Ocean in the seventeenth century, to a correctional institute in Texas in the near future, and told from the perspectives of five very different characters, Speak considers what it means to be human, and what it means to be less than fully alive.” This one is moving to the top of my TBR list.

The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan – this is about a girl struggling with schizophrenia and attempting to determine what is real in her world as she starts to encounter elements of fantasy. This was nominated for a ton of awards in 2012 and won both the Bram Stoker Award and the James Tiptree Jr. Award.

Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen – reading Second Star by Alyssa Sheinmel last month (a YA retelling of Peter Pan set in Southern California) put me in the mood for more Peter Pan retellings. I prefer retellings where Peter is cast as the villain, as I’ve never liked him; he has always seemed very creepy to me. This is an adult version of the tale that focuses on Captain Hook as the protagonist, and how an adult woman appearing in Neverland throws a wrench into the story.

I also hit up a really great library book sale earlier this month and picked up 11 (!) books (at $1 each, this was definitely a steal). This particular book sale seemed to have a lot of classics/modern classics and not a ton of contemporary fiction that I was interested in. I seem to be having this problem lately where I really just have not been reading classics at all, despite continuously setting goals to do so; I read a ton of classics in my late teens but have tended to read more contemporary works in recent years. The problem is that I buy a ton of classics and they are sort of sitting on my shelf judging me. The reason I keep buying them is that I know I’ll get to them at some point in my life; I may drift in and out of classic-type moods through the years. Who knows!

Anyways, the book I’m most interested in from this haul is Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler, which is written in an experimental format that seems to divide readers between love and hate. I also am interested to see if Susanna Clarke’s short story collection The Ladies of Grace Adieu is as wonderful as I found Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

There’ll be one more book haul post this month, as I am suffering from a severe BookOutlet addiction. Has anyone read any of these? Which should I pick up sooner rather than later?

Currently Reading, WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesday: The Obelisk Gate is amazing so far

September 14, 2016 jaleenajo 2 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book feature hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

Since last week, I managed to finish 3 of the 6 books I was in the middle of (yay!), started another book to bring the currently reading total back up to 4 (oops), and am getting way too excited to start Halloween-ish reading in October.

What did you recently finish reading?

After what feels like forever, I finally finished Elena Ferrante’s quartet of Neapolitan novels! I meant to finish the entire series this summer but fell just short of my goal. Overall, I really loved this series–Ferrante’s descriptions are so evocative and the story completely sucks you in. However, the first book (My Brilliant Friend) remains my favorite, and after the entire long journey with Lena and Lila, the ending of The Story of the Lost Child felt anticlimactic.

I also finished 2 audiobooks, both of which I also own physical copies of. Does anyone else do this–listen to the audiobook when you own the actual book as well? I usually start listening to the audio thinking I’ll end up switching back and forth between audio and text, but I never end up doing that and listen to the entire thing on audio. It’s becoming a weird habit. Anyways, I found both Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and The Circle by Dave Eggers to be really easy to listen to, breaking my streak of nonfiction-only audiobooks. Between the two, I preferred the near-future The Circle–the audiobook narrator was amazing (Dion Graham, whose work I want to look out for in the future). The author, Dave Eggers, is coming to speak in my city next year, and I’d like to pick up at least one other of his books before that. Probably A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which has been on my TBR for eternity.

What are you currently reading?

Over the weekend, I started Tahereh Mafi’s Furthermore, which is a middle-grade fantasy. I read the first fifty pages or so then decided to pause; I love Tahereh Mafi’s writing, and I think the worldbuilding is really creative and interesting, but I can’t help wishing that it was YA! (And that Warner was in it. If you’ve read the Shatter Me series, tell me you don’t agree.) I’ll definitely finish it, but I don’t think I’m in the right mood at the moment.

Right now all I can think about is N.K. Jemisin’s The Obelisk Gate. I technically started this book last weekend, but only got to the second chapter before I realized I desperately needed to re-read parts of The Fifth Season to refresh my memory on what was going down in the world of the Stillness. I sort of skimmed back over the majority of the first book and then restarted The Obelisk Gate, which is GREAT. The worldbuilding in these books is so intricate and layered; every chapter we learn more and more about living in a world predicated on preparing for and surviving every type of cataclysmic event. Things keep getting more and more complex, which I love, and reading this book makes me genuinely wonder why more books can’t be as good as this one. I feel like I might be hit by a serious book hangover when I finish.

What are you planning to read next?

I’m not sure exactly what’s up next for me, since I’m trying to be more chill about my TBR and go with my mood, but Han Kang’s The Vegetarian is definitely coming up soon. I need to finish a few more currently reading titles, and then it’s dark fantasy/horror all the way for Halloween-type reading this October.

What is everyone reading right now? Feel free to link me to your WWW Wednesday post!

All photos are mine. All images are linked to the book’s Goodreads page.

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesday & September TBR

September 7, 2016 jaleenajo 6 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book feature hosted by Taking on a World of Words

What did you recently finish reading?

It’s been awhile since I’ve finished a book. My reading in August was pretty mediocre, unfortunately, but I’m really hoping that will change this month.

What are you currently reading?

The answer is everything, basically. See picture below.

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante – I feel like I’ve been reading this book for years, but it’s only been 2 months or so. Since this is the last book of Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, I expected to be blown away and for this to be a solid 5-star read; the fact that it hasn’t seemed that way is what’s causing me to read so slowly and start other books in the meantime.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll – I’ve been listening to this audiobook for awhile and liking it, but this weekend I went on a road trip for a friend’s bachelorette weekend and listened to this on the way down. Without giving away any spoilers, I reached a point in the book where this big twist comes out and I got completely hooked on the story; I’m still reeling whenever I think of certain scenes. The only problem was that I got to my destination about 3/4 done with the book, and my library checkout expired before my return trip home! I was super disappointed because all of the copies were checked out and I had to put another hold on it.

The Circle by Dave Eggers – faced with the prospect of a 5-hour drive back home after my weekend away and no audiobook, I sort of randomly decided to give The Circle a try. I wanted something really absorbing and I definitely got that, and then some. I really, really like this book; it’s sort of very near-future scifi, focusing on a twentysomething who starts work at the world’s most famous tech company and gets sucked into company life, which seems like it aims to absorb you fully through social media. A big part of why I like this book so much is due to the narrator, Dion Graham, who is absolutely fantastic. He has a great voice and does a wonderful job with each new character, and his enthusiasm keeps you listening. He’s the first audiobook narrator that I looked up thinking that I’d listen to other books just because of his narration; I found out that he also narrates (among others) A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (one of Dave Eggers’s other books) as well as Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed (and he’s won several awards for his narration).

Nobody is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey – I haven’t picked this book up in awhile, but I think it’s really well-written and I just need to jump back on board. It’s about a woman who runs away from her life in the U.S. and hitchhikes across New Zealand, all in sort of this dreamlike haze of narration.

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link – I’ve read a few of the short stories in this collection, and I may end up putting the rest on pause until October–not because it’s not great, but because Kelly Link’s mix of fantasy/scifi/horror would work well for that month. I do like to do some Halloween-themed reading in October, and my plate for September is pretty darn full right now.

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin – I couldn’t resist the temptation to start this book even though I have so many others going! I’ve been waiting for this book for a year now, and after reading the first few chapters I realized that I really need to go back and re-read some of The Fifth Season (the first book in this series) so that I’m not forgetting any of the events that the characters are referring to. It’s been a full year since I’ve read it, so some refreshing is definitely necessary.

What are you planning to read next?

As I mentioned before, my main goal in September is to finish the plethora of books I’m currently reading. Once that happens (or once I finish a few of them, at least) I’m planning on starting Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi. I love Tahereh Mafi; her Shatter Me series got me through the intense stress of studying for/taking/recovering from my grad school exams, and I’m really interested in this book despite the fact that it’s middle grade, which I never read.

What are you guys reading right now? Feel free to link me to your WWW Wednesday!

Book Challenges, reading challenges

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XI Sign-Up and TBR

September 7, 2016 jaleenajo 2 Comments

RIP XI

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XI takes place from September 1st, 2016 through October 31st, 2016. It’s a low-key reading challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings focused on completing different tasks (called “perils”) all focused on reading within the following genres:

Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Gothic
Horror
Dark Fantasy

For more info, check out the link above!

In general, I always like to do some Halloween-themed reading during the fall, which to me usually means horror or dark SFF (last October I read Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, and The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire), so this challenge feels perfect for me. I also have a bunch of books on my TBR that seem like they would fit really well into these categories. I’m planning on participating in two of the perils, but I hope to read even more books in these genres if possible–it’s just more fun to read this type of book in the fall 🙂 This will be my first time participating in the challenge.

ripnineperilfirst

For this peril, you need to read four books from any of the six suggested categories (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Gothic, Horror, or Dark Fantasy). There are so many awesome-sounding books on my TBR that would work for this peril; the only problem will be picking which ones! Some of these are on my physical TBR shelf and some I might try to get from my library, depending on how things go. I’m probably most excited about finally reading The Vegetarian by Han Kang, which I’ve heard so much talk about, and Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente, an author I’ve yet to try but think I’ll love.

The Daylight Gate The Vegetarian In a Dark, Dark Wood Let the Right One In Bird Box Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) Out White is for Witching Miserere: An Autumn Tale Cold Hillside Deathless (Leningrad Diptych, #1) Dreams of Shreds and Tatters

ripnineperilshort

For this peril, all you need to do is read a short story that fits one of the above categories. I love short stories, so this peril is perfect for me; Kelly Link’s blend of horror and fantasy in particular fits in really nicely, and I also have Margaret Atwood’s short story collection on my TBR. I also think that Alyssa Wong’s Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers sounds really intriguing after hearing about it on Bina’s blog post about horror and women of color. Sharlene at Real Life Reading also posted a lot of great diverse suggestions for the RIP challenge.

Pretty Monsters: Stories Stone Mattress: Nine Wicked Tales Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers

Who else is participating in this challenge? Let me know and feel free to link me to your post!

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