Is This Thing Still On?

Well, hey there. It's been about five years since I was around this little corner of the internet and to be honest I forgot it was here.

Where have I been? Working, mostly.  I've changed roles within my organization quite a few times over the past five years and it's taken up a lot of time and allowed me to travel to some really cool places.  My husband and I also bought our first home last summer, and are working on making this our long-term space. 

Now that COVID-19 has taken hold of the planet, and I'm safe at home most of the time, I've gotten back into reading way more than I have over the past few years.  And a few weeks ago, I stumbled back to this blog and re-read some of my old posts.  I don't recall there being so many, or reading so much, but I was surprised at the glimpses of my past life that I got to see and decided to pick it up again.  I'm excited about foraying into this new venture again.

I've started blogging again just in time, as the Reverse Readathon, hosted by Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon, starts this weekend! 

I also plan to do an overview of what I have read while quarantined this year, and how my reading habits for 2020 compare to the past few years. I've also acquired quite a few books over the past few months based on the recommendations of some great podcasts I've discovered this year and will be spotlighting those as well.

See you soon.

Friday Reads & Dog Days of Summer TBR

Today is my last day of work before heading into a three day weekend and it’s also the kickoff of the Dog Days of Summer Readathon hosted by Andi and Heather at Estella Society!  That means, the next three days are going to be a good time.

I have just a few chapters left of In the Woods by Tana French which I am loving in a way that I did not expect.  I was hoping for a good detective novel to bust me out of a mini reading slump.  Instead, I got a can’t-put-it-down, reading during my lunch break book with great characters, a thrilling murder mystery and fabulous writing.  It’s been a real struggle to prioritize my work/sleep needs with my desire to push through to the end in one sitting, so this is my #1 priority as soon as I get home from work tonight.

I also picked up the audio of Wildwood by Colin Meloy from Overdrive and started that for my commute (about 2 hours per day) which I expect to finish over the next week and a half or so.

A few other books I’ve been thinking about for this weekend are Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (first hold at the library, whoop!) and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.  With Slade House coming out next month, I need to pick up the pace on Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks as all three books take place in the same universe.

Happy Friday!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday!

There are only 2 Monday's left in August and I am so excited for Fall right around the corner. Not only are there a ton of new books coming out this year that I can't wait to get my hands on, the cooler weather is so much more conducive to laying around and reading.

This week, I'm focusing on a few things.

On my Kindle, I'm reading Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari.  I picked this up a few weeks ago when it was on the Kindle Daily Deal.  I love Aziz's stand up, so I'm excited to see how his humor comes across in print.

On audio, I will be listening to What I Know For Sure by Oprah Winfrey.  I prefer nonfiction audio during my commute and while doing housework.  Plus, this book is only about four hours long so I should be able to complete it while driving to work without a problem this week.

I also have The Chosen by Chaim Potok and Land of the Firebird: The Beauty of Old Russia by Susan Massie waiting for my at the library to pick up.  I'm sure I will start, but most likely not finish these books by the end of the week.

On the blog front, I would like to have at least one more post up by the weekend.  I'm not sure what that will be yet (maybe a monthly wrap up?) so let me know if you have any suggestions!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila @ Book Journey

Bout of Books 17 Wrap Up

Well hello there, stranger.  6 1/2 months, no post.  Whoops!

I have been reading in ebbs and flows over the past few months and I utilized this week's Bout of Books 17 readathon as a way to refocus on books and to finish my 2015 Goodreads Challenge.

This week, I started and finished The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons (810 pages!).  The first 200-300 pages of the book were really compelling.  So compelling, that even though I started reading my library's copy of the book I went out and bought not just one, but the entire trilogy so I could read straight through.  In hindsight, I'm not sure the $50 I spent on the trilogy was entirely worth it after finishing the first book.

Some parts of the book dragged on and on, beating their message or a monotonous theme over my head (the God is going to save the Soviet Union message was pretty heavy in the middle section of the book) and if the book were shorter, around 500-600 pages, I think I would have enjoyed the overall reading experience more.  Now, rather than moving on directly to the second books in the trilogy, Tatiana and Alexander, I'm going to move on to something else.

During the week I also listened to Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson on audiobook on a whim at work.  I had a lot of paperwork filing to do and I thought listening to this wouldn't be too difficult or distracting and it was relatively short so I could complete it in one day.  Unfortunately, the story was so simple and non-engaging that I found myself not paying attention.

Despite the fact that most of my reading has been lackluster this week I reached my Goodreads goal of reading 40 books in 2015! I increased my goal to 50 and I am confident I will reach that by December.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday!

This week I’m reading… nothing.  I haven’t picked up a book that has stuck in a few days.  I tried:

·         Burial Rites by Hannah Kent which I started a while ago,

·         Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (re-read),

·         Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (re-read),

·         The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, and

·         The Bread We Eat in Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente

I keep picking them up and putting them down, forgetting where I was or having my mind drift to a different story line.

I think this is a mini book hangover because I read A LOT last week.  I finished St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell which I LOVED, I re-read Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, which I also loved, and I read All Broke Down (Rusk University #2) by Cora Carmack. Overall a good week! I’m just looking for the right book to snap me out of it.

On the audio book front, I've been listening to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling as part of my goal to re-read the Harry Potter series this year.  Typically I prefer my audio books to be of the non-fiction flavor because I get lost in the plot lines of audio fiction, but since I know this story so well it’s been the perfect piece to listen to for a few minutes at a time.  I've really enjoyed listening to this before bed, because if I fall asleep I am not worried about losing my place or not knowing what is happening.

I’m not planning on picking anything else up this week, hopefully I will just “find” the right book, or take a break to catch up on my favorite reality TV shows.

Happy Reading J

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  You can visit her blog here.

January Wrap Up

So, January is over.  FINALLY.  I was sick for the entire month, first with a viral infection and then with an upper respiratory infection.  I am so happy to see the sickness & snow behind me for the month! Despite being ill (or maybe because of it?) I was able to read five books in January which puts me at 17% of my 2015 Goodreads goal.

I read...
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (mini review)
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina
Drown by Junot Diaz

I listened to...
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach (did not finish halfway through)


...for a total of 990 pages read and 11.25 hours listened!

I have plans to write a review for Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass but I am still rolling my thoughts around inside my brain, and I plan on doing a Junot Diaz overview once I finish his other two books.

I am still plowing through St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell, which I will definitely finish this week as I only have 50 pages left; and Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, which I have made no progress on in over a week.  These will be the first two books I finish in February.

Historically, February is my best reading month of the year.  I find it strange that I read the most in the shortest month, because I don't know where I get the time but I am looking forward to it.  In the spirit Valentine's Day, I love to read YA-Romance books (such as Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins) but I don't have any on my queue yet for the month.  Since I am revisting Harry Potter this year, I may make February my re-read month and go back to all of Stephanie Perkins' books.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday! Here in the Northeast, we are preparing to be snowed in.  I’m looking out the window right now to a steady current of light snow that has been falling and accumulating for several hours now.  Later today, we are expecting Nor’easter conditions that will dump about 8 inches of snow on Philadelphia, leaving me pretty immobilized in my apartment.

 

In terms of reading, last week was rough. Four of five days were late nights at work and I was getting sick, so I broke down after just three weeks on my no-buy for 2015 and picked up St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell and Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink even though I was in the midst of reading other things.  Karen Russell is on my list of authors to discover for 2015 and I have wanted to read Five Days at Memorial since I listened toLiterary Disco’s podcast on it last year so I didn't even feel guilty purchasing these books.

For the past two weeks or so, I've been slowly making progress on Burial Rites by Hannah Kent on my Kindle Paperwhite.  Right now I’m at 30% complete and I would really love to finish this one in January so I can start February with a clean slate. I also started St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves on Sunday afternoon in between my illness-induced naps which was perfect – each story I've read so far is about 20 pages long, which is just enough to catch my attention and keep me interested so I can finish a story and feel that sense of accomplishment without getting bogged down in a story line.  

    

I was listening to Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach on the Audible app for my commute to and from work but I had to move that to my abandoned pile at about halfway through due to some author choices that I didn't agree with. I updated my review on Goodreads to reflect my opinion on this book and you can read that here.

In my queue after these two books are finished is The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters which I have on hold through my library’s e-book system and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling.  Harry will be a re-read that I am really excited for; I am hoping to get through all seven books this year.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  You can visit her blog here.

The Little Stranger | Mini Review

I finished reading The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters a few days ago.  It is an incredibly hyped up book right now and I couldn't stop hearing about it on BookTube.  For everyone who hasn't heard of this book yet, you can check out the Goodreads page for a plot summary.  I am always afraid that I will reveal spoiler-y information in a plot summary I write myself.

Unfortunately I was disappointed in this book. I had many, many high hopes for it after reading and watching so many rave reviews.  The writing was phenomenal, and after the first 100 pages or so, I fell into the English countryside and was devouring the book in large chunks.  That is where my positive experience ends.  I was expecting a creepy book with a Gothic setting, plot twists and turns that would keep me awake at night and a thrilling conclusion.  Instead I received a plot that moved slowly, with characters that I didn't like and an unsatisfying ending. After thinking over this novel for a few days, I still cannot determine the motives of the doctor (whose name I even can’t remember) which I believe was a larger portion of the book than what has otherwise been suggested.  Overall I wouldn't recommend this book to others but I am going to keep reading other Sarah Waters books.

Reflections and Resolutions | 2014-2015

On the last day of 2014, I reflected (through statistics, mostly) on the reading I have accomplished this year.  Goodreads has a wonderful export function on their website that allows you to download all of your reading data into an Excel spreadsheet and analyze it to your heart’s content.  Of course, I did that! 

Here is the breakdown:

• In 2014, I finished 51 books and read a total of 15,049 pages.  This count does not include any book I am currently reading or any book I have started but put down throughout the year.  If that were included, my page count would be significantly increased.  I’m looking at you, Philip Pullman!
• Of the 51 books, 30 (59%) were written by female authors and 17 (33%) were written by male authors.  The remaining four books (8%) were written by multiple authors of differing genders.  45 books (88%) were written by white authors (this includes all nationalities, not just white people from the United States), 5 books (10%) were written by nonwhite authors and 1 (2%) book was written by multiple authors of differing races.
• There was an almost equal distribution throughout the four seasons of the year, with just a little lag in the last few months because of the holidays.  A majority of my reading has been focused in the 21st century (35 books) with quite a few new releases this year and 27 of the authors I read were  “first time” authors for me, meaning I had never read their work prior to this year.

Overall, my reading was much more diverse than I thought it was.  I am not saying it was ideal, and I am making some resolutions on improving my reading experience.  But I am proud of what I have accomplished this year.  Moving forward into 2015 – I have set a few goals, or reading resolutions for myself to direct my reading habits and experience. 

The Goodreads Challenge

I will participate in the Goodreads Challenge reading goal once again, but I am lowering my goal from 50 books to 30 books.  I am doing this for several reasons – most importantly, I know I can reach this goal and I will not feel pressure at the end of the year to squeeze in books I wouldn't normally want to read because I have an arbitrary goal to meet. I want to enhance the quality of my reading, which brings me to my next resolution.

Reading Diversely

I will have a separate post on the revelation I had on reading more diversity in 2015, but I want to state that I am fully on the bandwagon of increasing the diversity of books in stores, in publishing, and in the general public awareness.  I am first making the change within myself and my own habits so I can lead by example when I speak of this topic with others.

Inspired by Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge, and wanting to diminish the number of books I have piled up on my TBR shelf, I have created a list of 25 books (20 of which I already own) to read in the new year. The list is diverse in author race, nationality and gender, as well as in genre category.  The goal is to expand my reading with backlist titles while still making room to enjoy 2015 new releases.  Some of the authors on my list include Junot Diaz, Jhumpa Lahiri, Marilynne Robinson, Toni Morrison and Karen Russell. 

Utilizing the Library

A majority of the books on my 2015 Reading List are already on my shelf or waiting on my Kindle because I bought them with the best of intentions of reading them that week, or that month, but got distracted and moved on to something else.  I want to put more intention into my reading and the money I am spending on reading.  Therefore I have decided to utilize my library’s physical and E-book catalogue prior to purchasing books, and then only purchasing the titles if I feel the need to add them to my personal collection.  I just ordered the Kindle Paperwhite to make e-reading even more enticing and I’m stocking up on a few books today to ensure I have plenty of reading material on hand for the upcoming year. 

Events

Perhaps the most exciting portion of 2015 – all of the good book events on the horizon! So far I only know of and am definitely attending BookCon this year in May for a full weekend instead of just one day. I have also located a great independent bookstore near me – the Doylestown Bookshop – that hosts author events on a relatively regular basis that I would like to attend this year. 

Stacks & Shelves

Blogging has been sporadic and mood fueled for me in the past year.  I either feel pressure to update with relentless and usually meaningless (to me) content like book hauls or tags because I want to maintain traffic to the site with regular updates. But posting that content felt empty because I was only doing it to say something, instead of having something to say, if that makes sense.  This year I am not going to guarantee a certain number of posts by week or month.  Instead I am going to focus on meaningful posts, like book reviews or discussions or other events and news happening in the literary world.

So there you have it – my introspection on the past year and my goals for 2015.  I hope everyone has a wonderful new year. I look forward to hearing from you in the comments!

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer | Review

Source: Goole Books

I picked up Belzhar after hearing about it on Book Riot’s Youtube channel and a million other places on the internet book world -  I couldn’t get away from it as an anticipated new release for the fall.  I promptly put it on my library request list and forgot about it.  I already own two other books by Wolitzer, The Wife and The Position, that I haven't read yet.  But with endless recommendations for her writing style and story crafting, and the kick in the pants YA has on my reading habits, I jumped in headfirst and finished Belzhar within 72 hours of picking it up. 

Belzhar is about Jam, a 15 year old girl who is sent to The Wooden Barn boarding school for “highly intelligent and emotionally fragile” teenagers after the trauma of losing her British exchange student boyfriend, Reeve.  At the Wooden Barn, Jam is placed in the Special Topics in English class with four other students hand picked (for mysterious reasons) by Mrs. Quennell.  Mrs. Q helps these five teens heal over the course of one semester by teaching The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and requiring students to journal about themselves.  What happens when the students journal allow them to become a close knit group of friends (almost like a secret society) and overcome the hardships that brought them to The Wooden Barn.

I liked this book for several reasons.  Personally, my entire undergraduate degree was focused on the psychology of school-aged students so this hit home to me on an academic level.  I think mental health is a very important topic that should be taught to young adults in schools, at home, in the media, etc., but doesn’t receive much attention.  Meg Wolitzer creates characters with backgrounds that are relatable enough for people who have not experienced trauma to remain sympathetic and empathetic to the experiences the characters have had.  She brings attention to their mental health issues (depression, binge eating, withdrawal) and emotions (fear, anger, resentment, remorse) without making the issue or emotion the sole defining trait of the character. 

Secondly, the emphasis that Wolitzer put on introspection and journaling was constructive and realistic and generally awesome even though not every character had a happy ending.  At the end of the 260ish page book, despite making growth in their personal journeys to overcome their experiences, every character was not fully healed.  But they were able to function better in their daily lives and form relationships with new people because of their journals.  I think this is a great message for the teens that are going to read this book.

The main drawback I felt while reading this book was the lack of depth with the characters.  Even though every character had a reason to be at the The Wooden Barn, none were explained or explored in a below the surface context.  As a young adult reader, that much depth might not be necessary to pull you into the book, but I think that would have added a lot more for adult readers.  There was also a lot of telling instead of experiencing about the healing each character experienced, specifically at the conclusion of the novel when the characters wrote in their journals for the last time.

Overall I enjoyed Belzhar book for the value it will provide to young adult readers and the contribution to mental health literature but I wouldn't recommend this to everyone.  I think young adults, teachers, and parents would get the most out of this book.  It brings emotional growth and development of adolescents into the forefront of your mind and makes you think about the validity of emotional experiences adolescents have instead of writing them off as hormonal or growing pains.

RIP IX Readalong

Fall is HERE!  Technically we have another few weeks or so until "it's official" but Labor Day is over, I've had my final beach trip of the year and pumpkin spice is everywhere. I started decorating for fall on Sept 1 and I can't wait for October 1 to set up for Halloween.  My birthday is also in October and that is a great reason to buy new books.

Part of celebrating Fall means the RIP IX readalong! I participated in RIP XIII hosted by Carl @ Stainless Steel Droppings and the Estella Society's Readalong of The Historian last year and had a blast.  This year, the readalong runs from September 1 - October 1, two great months of spooky, scary, nightmare inspiring books!

This year I am participating in Peril the First (four books) and Peril of the Group Read by reading The Haunting of Hill House along with the Estella Society.

Here is what I have lined up to read:

• Locke and Key, volumes 1 and 2 (finished yesterday)
• The Sandman: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson 
• The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero

These are all library books so I will have to add even more to my TBR once September is over.  Stay tuned for reviews!

Landline Review

Landline by Rainbow Rowell was published a few weeks ago and was automatically added to my TBR; I requested it from my library so far in advance I was the second person to be added to the wait list.  I like to call Rainbow Rowell's books my "one hit wonders" because I always finish them in one sitting, so I added this book to my Bout of Books 11.0 TBR and successfully finished it in one sitting at three o'clock in the morning.  Now I can check off the box on my Bookish Bucket List of reading an author's entire published work.  Rainbow Rowell's writing and storytelling capabilities are like sinking into a bubble bath: comfortable.  I knew I was going to enjoy this book even before I knew what it was about.

Landline tells the story of Georgie McCool and the events that unfold when she stays in California one week over Christmas to pursue her lifelong dream of pitching her own sitcom to network executives instead of travelling to Nebraska with her family .  When we meet Georgie, she has devoted her entire existence to being a sitcom writer and mother which resulted in a strained marriage to Neal, her stay at home husband.  During the week that she is separated from her family. Georgie tries to call Neal from the old landline phone in her childhood bedroom and ends up talking to the Neal from 1998, before they were engaged.  Georgie uses these phone calls to repair her relationship with her husband to find out what went wrong in their marriage.

I enjoyed this book and I am glad I read it but I feel like it came up short (I felt the same way about Rowell's other adult contemporary Attachments.  She doesn't seem to have this problem with her YA books). I do not want to delve into spoilers, but throughout the novel, it seemed like Georgie was being forced to choose her marriage or her career, with a greater emphasis on the importance to her marriage.  I am not saying that her marriage is not important- as a married lady myself, I agree that Georgie needed to refocus on her marriage to repair the years of damage that we witness in this novel.  However, I think Georgie should have been able to fix her marriage and still have her career but the novel ended before that could happen.

Did you read Landline and feel the same way? Let me know in the comments!

Bout of Books 11.0 Wrap Up

Hello Bout of Book-ers! It has been an interesting week.  I started the Bout of Books 11.0 readathon with a bang, reading three books in three days. Unfortunately my reading pace slowed down significantly after Tuesday.

So, how did I do?

If you count the books I read last weekend, I finished five books - super close to my goal! Even though I didn't finish a sixth book I am really happy with my progress.

I finished...

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (review here)
• Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (review here)
• Landline by Rainbow Rowell (review coming soon!)
• Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
• The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (review coming soon!)

... for a total of 1,682 pages! I posted updated Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday here.  Five books on week was a lot, especially when looking at my slower reading habits over the past week.  I'm really happy with the readathon and I am now 1 book ahead of schedule on my reading challenge.

I read about 20% into Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead before putting that down due to lack of interest and picked up This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper (prepping for the moving that comes out in September) and The Magician King by Lev Grossman.  Bout of Books was a success!

I also achieved my other goal of interacting with the #boutofbooks hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, and checking out new blogs on the daily progress link up. I also participated in my first ever Twitter chat (Tweetdeck was really helpful for the chat, I tried to follow along on my regular Twitter layout and got lost).

Bout of Book 11.0 was a lot of fun, and with fall right around the corner I am excited for the cooler weather and the awesome bookish things it brings, like Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon (October 18th!) and the RIP Readalong.

Anna and the French Kiss Series Review

Prior to reading the trilogy of Stephanie Perkins' three books Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After I was an anti-romance YA reader.  I preferred dystopian, fantasy, or horror books - as far from romance as you could get until the buzz surrounding Anna and the French Kiss was unavoidable.

I picked up Anna  in February 2013 because it was a kindle daily deal, and it was Valentine's Day,  and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish the book.  The next day at work, I was bleary eyed and tired but it was well worth it for the witty, funny, and gushy romance I have read the night before.  I repeated the same experience for Lola and the Boy Next Door and Isla and the Happily Ever After, both times pre-ordering the books on my kindle so I could read them as soon as possible.  Now that all three books in the series have been released, and I read them individually, I want to marathon them back to back to experience Anna, Lola and Isla fall in love all over again.

 

I have linked each book's Goodread pages above so you can read more plot summary of the individual books. If you are in the mood for light, funny, sometimes heart wrenching but ultimately satisfying books, I highly recommend all three of Stephanie's novels, even if you are a non-romance reader like I was.  These books capture something genuine about first time love and heartbreak that make stand out amongst their peers and are definitely worth a read.

The Night Circus Review

Just short of a year ago, I posted this review of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern confessing my inability to finish the audiobook and not for lack of trying.  I loved the atmosphere that narrator Jim Dale brought to the already rick text of the book but I couldn't follow the plot of the book because it crosses decades and continents from one page to the next.  I didn't forget about it, though, and I picked up the paperback a couple of months ago at Books a Million to try again.

The Night Circus weaves a tale of competition, love, and a young man's true calling throughout it's 500 pages.  It is fantastical, yet grounded in reality, as you watch the creation of a larger than life circus become a magical exposition center for Celia and Marco to compete against one another in an unexplained, vague contest that they were bound to at six years old  At the same time, you experience the circus through Bailey's eyes as an adolescent and how he and the circus change over time.

Photo Credit to Greeneiris at Fan Pop

This is a phenomenal book.  Erin Morgenstern takes the time to craft a story that appeals to all five senses - I have been thinking about the caramel popcorn descriptions in this book since last year. The Night Circus primarily takes place in Victorian England, a time period just far enough in the past to be unfamiliar.  There is enough magic, romance, and suspense to push the plot forward while relishing in each vignette written about the characters.  If you are thinking about picking this book up, do it! I highly recommend it and I can't wait for Morgenstern's next release.

Most Anticipated Books - Fall 2014

There is nothing I like more than a nice long list of things that I intend to read. In fact, a majority of this blog consists of lists of books or bookish things that I am going to get to eventually.  Most of the time when I look at my TBR shelves, I do not feel overwhelmed that I will not be able to read all of the books in my lifetime. I feel comforted that I have this book for this particular mood, or I’m saving that re-read for a rainy day.  I like to add to this list on a daily basis based on blog, twitter, and radio recommendations, but the largest chunk of my seasonal TBR comes from the quarterly list of most anticipated books from Publisher’s Weekly and the biannual list of books from The Millions.  

Fall is my most favorite time of the year because of the colors, foods, weather, scents and decorations associated with it. It also happens to be my birthday season, which is a great time to add to my stacks.  The challenge is actually acquiring and reading these books once I’ve put them on this list! Here is what I’m looking forward to most this fall.

The Bone Clocks – David Mitchell (Sept. 2)

This book comes again as a recommendation from Jenn at Jenn’s Bookshelves and was one of the most anticipated ARCs at BEA this year – I have never heard of David Mitchell before, but Jenn doesn't mess around when recommending books so I added this to my list as soon as she reviewed it.

The Paying Guests – Sarah Waters (Sept. 16)

I only own one book by Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger, and I read about 100 pages of this book before I got distracted by something else.  I have heard nothing but good things about Waters’ books from Mercedes at Mercy’s Bookish Musings and Andi at Estella’s Revenge so this author is on my auto-buy list even though I haven’t fully read any of her work.  Mercedes and Andi have never steered me in the wrong direction before so I am certain I will enjoy The Paying Guests.

Gangersterland – Tod Goldberg (Sept. 9)

I first found out about Gangsterland from Tod Goldberg on the Literary Disco podcast that he hosts with Rider Strong and Julia Pistell (this podcast is amazing, if you haven’t listened to it before!).  Most of my nonfiction recommendations come from Tod’s Bookshelf Revisits on the podcast so I am excited that I get to read his new release this fall.  I haven’t read many crime books so this will be a first on many fronts.

Sister Golden Hair – Darcey Steinke (Oct. 14)

I have never heard of Steinke before reading this description of Sister Golden Hair on The Millions:

In Steinke’s new novel, a coming-of-age story set in early-70′s Virginia, twelve-year-old Jesse’s family is on the brink of collapse: her father has recently been defrocked, and her mother is coming undone.

Early 70s? Family conflict? I’m sold. This novel reminds me a lot of The Virgin Suicides which is one of my favorite books of all time. I can’t wait to read it.

Yes, Please – Amy Poehler (Oct. 28)

I absolutely love Amy Poehler’s comedy and acting so this was added to my pre-order must buy list for the fall as soon as I heard about it.  I also saw Amy Poehler and Martin Short speak at BookCon in May and that solidified this purchase for me.

Twilight of the Eastern Gods – Ismail Kadare (Nov. 4)

This was completely random – I have never heard of this book or the author, but this novel is sent in 1950s Moscow and I have been interested in Russian based literature with Socialist criticism since I read Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente.  I don’t know a lot about Russia’s historical or political past so anything set in 20th century Russia has a magical aura that really appeals to me.

Revival - Stephen King (Nov. 11)

I couldn't believe that King was publishing another book this year after the release of Mr. Mercedes just a few weeks ago - and I believe he published 3 books in 2013? Stephen King has been one of my favorite authors and a guaranteed auto-buy even though I have no idea what this book is about.

So that is my lengthy list of books that I am highly anticipating for this upcoming fall.  Judging by last year's list I will only get to about 1/3 of these books when they are released but hey, a girl can dream, right? 

Bout of Books 11.0 Goals & Reading Updates

Earlier this week I posted my Bout of Books 11.0 TBR and officially announced my entry into the readathon.  In this post I am going to outline my reading goals for the week and post daily updates on my progress.

Due to some life and work changes that happened last fall, my reading pace has significantly decreases compared to 2012 and 2013.  I set my Goodreads Challenge to just 50 books this year, in hopes that I would be able to read about 1 book per week.  Right now I am 2 books behind (I finished Isla and the Happily Ever After the day it was released - gotta love preordering on a Kindle!) and I hope to get ahead during this readathon.

Bout of Books 11.0 Goals

1. Read every day! I will be on vacation for the duration of this readathon so it shouldn't be a difficult goal to achieve but I want to bump reading up on my priorities list. 
2. Read 6 books to gain headway on my annual Goodreads Challenge
3. Cheer on other readers via their blogs, twitter and instagram! Connecting with other readers is the best part of any readathon so I am going to spend time each day checking in with other people that have signed up on the Bout of Books posts and following along with the #boutofbooks hashtag on instagram and twitter.

If you are participating in Bout of Books, leave your information in the comments section so I can follow your progress! If you want to follow along with me, you can find me at keepingheather on twitter and instagram. If you haven't signed up for Bout of Books yet, head on over to their blog! You have until Tuesday, 8/19 to enter.  Happy reading!

Bout of Books Daily Updates

Monday 8/18

• Currently Reading: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
• Books Finished: Landline by Rainbow Rowell and Locke and Key Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
• Number of Pages Read: 476
• Time Spent Reading: 5 hours and 15 minutes 

Tuesday 8/19

• Currently Reading: The Magician King by Lev Grossman
• Books Finished: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
• Number of Pages: Read: 250
• Time Spent Reading: 3 hours and 5 minutes

Wednesday 8/20

• Currently Reading: The Magician King by Lev Grossman (currently at 8%)
• Books Finished: 0
• Number of Pages Read: 0
• Time Spent Reading: 0

Oops! Looks like I was enjoying vacation too much and didn't read today..

Bout of Book 11.0 Sign Up

It's here! Bout of Books 11.0 kicks off in just under 4 days and I am back again this year with a huge stack of books I want to tackle.  This year, I will be on vacation with no plans for the first time that I've participated in a readathon and I'm really excited to get started. Here is an older post from Bout of Books 8.0, the last time I participated in this readathon!

Are you new to Bout of Books? Here's the official blurb:
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I pledged to read 50 books this year on my Goodreads Challenge and I have completed 28/50.  This means I need to read 4.4 books a month (including August) to hit my goal.  I picked 11 books from my TBR to pull from this week and my goal is to read 6 of these books.  I've broken them down into categories:

Nonfiction

• Devil in the White City by Erik Larsson
• I Can Barely Take Care of Myself by Jen Kirkman

 Graphic Novels

• Locke and Key Volume 1 by Joe Hill
• The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (this is four graphic novel volumes)

 E-Books

• Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead (currently reading)
• Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (released on 8/14!)
• The Magician King by Lev Grossman (and if I like it, and I feel inclined, I will also purchase the third book in this trilogy that was just released a few weeks ago and read that too.  It's called The Magician Land).
• Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice

 Physical Books

• Landline by Rainbow Rowell
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (currently reading)
• Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

I believe that Isla and Landline will be one hit wonders, meaning I will read them in one sitting.  I am hoping to make a significant impact in either The Night Circus or Seating Arrangements prior to leaving for vacation on Tuesday, and then finishing off with 2 additional books while I am at the beach.  If my mention of The Night Circus sounds like a broken record, you may be recalling the last time I tried to listen to the audiobook and failed in September 2013.  I am really enjoying reading the physical copy this time around, though!

So, are you participating in Bout of Books 11.0? Leave a comment! I would love to read your TBR & Goal lists.

The Hangman's Daughter | Review

The Hangman's Daughter was published in 2008 and is the first in a quartet written by Oliver Potzch.  This book chronicles a witch hunt that takes placed in Germany during the 1660s after a boy mysteriously dies at the town's dock.   This sets off a series of children's deaths that are complicated by local economic and political conflicts, as well as the ethical and moral implications of a witch hunt.  The local hangman, his daughter, and the town physician set out to unravel the mystery of the deaths to ensure the right culprit is punished.

Source Image: Goodreads

I purchased this book on my Kindle on accident - it was on the Daily Deal and I thought I was purchasing The Madman's Daughter, a YA spin-off from The Island of Doctor Moreau.  Surprisingly,despite what I thought I was originally reading the plot of The Hangman's Daughter was really intriguing.  I enjoyed getting the local politics and folklore of Schongau and unravelling the mystery of the murders.  The plot frequently changed perspectives- first a third person perspective of the town, and then a first person perspective from the mysterious murder.

The first 80% of the book was great, the plot was fast paced and it was detailed enough to understand the conflicting relationships between all of the townspeople for really fleshed out characters and culture.  However, once the mystery started unravelling the book fell flat for me and I wasn't interested in finding out who the murdered was.  To be quite honest, this might not be the book's fault- I have the same problem with other mystery and horror novels that I read, where the build up is more exciting than the resolution.  Some of the mystery may have been lost in the translation as well (originally written in German).

 Overall, the end I ended up only giving the book 2/5 stars on Goodreads but despite that low rating I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a well developed, character driven plot. I do not plan on reading the other three books in The Hangman's Daughter quartet.

Waiting on Wednesday | Library Edition

Hi friends.  Today for Waiting on Wednesday I am going to discuss a crazy habit I have- requesting interlibrary loans on books in my county.  It's like an addiction, I just browse through my TBR and put in requests for all of the books I want to read to be delivered to my nearest library for pickup.  In this post I'm going to focus on the physical books I've requested because the available e-books from my library is a whole different monster.  I have five pending requests (!!!) at my library and I just recieved an email today letting me know these two books are available for pick up.  I will have them by the weekend!

Hosted at Breaking the Spine

The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith - I recently saw a review of this on a blog last week (if it was your blog, please let me know! I can't remember who it was and I want to link you!).  This book is a collection of ghost stories and Vietnamese folk tales that sound interesting because I've never read anything about Vietnamese culture and it will count as one of my five committed books for Once Upon a Time.

The Most of Nora Ephron - I love the movie You've Got Mail, which is the first introduction to Nora Ephron that I had at 10 years old.  Unfortunately,  Nora passed away last year and I have never read any of her books so I am starting with this compilation before moving onto more of her movies and story collections.


Do you use your local library's request and borrow system? What do you have on hold?  Let me know in the comments!  I am always looking for additions to my TBR.