My Reading Frenzy

What I've Read - What I am Reading - March 22, 2021

I read quite a few short books this week, but also finished one I have been reading for two weeks and another it took over a week to listen to. More and more I appreciate the intensity offered by middled grade books that cater to an audience that wants a good story in a small package. I think it may be more difficult to write children's books that cannot draw out descriptions and plot lines without losing their audience.

 

Read:

• A Court of Silver Flames (purchased hardback) by Sarah Maas - I finished this one at the end of the week. I am glad to have read it, but I probably don't need to read any more Maas books. I thought I wouldn't read anything else by here after opting not to read The Assassin's Blade or others in the Throne of Glass series, but I liked the A Court of Thorns and Roses series better and am happy to have seen what I think is the end of the story. As much as this installment was one of my favorites, I will not continue even if Maas does. 
• Sunny (elibrary book) by Jason Reynolds - This was definitely my favorite of the four novels, both because of the dairy format, but also because I could see myself in Sunny's introspective nature.
• Lu by Jason Reynolds - I really liked Lucas's story because his family dynamic was different from the others. 
• The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane (purchased) by Julia Nobel - boarding school in England, American girl sent by a too busy parent, missing other parent, secret society - Check, check, check. I enjoyed the heck out of this book.
• Yes, Chef (library eaudiobook) by Marcus Samuelsson - I don't know if it is a phase or a new life-long attraction, but I want to listen to chef memoir after chef memoir with no breaks. Though I am on a "not by choice" break because of what came in next from my library holds. But I'll be back to my food memoirs soon. I wasn't loving this one at first, but as Samuelsson progressed in his career I found the story more interesting. His early days in Ethiopia combined with being raised and first cooking with his Swedish grandmother set him up for a unique cooking profile. I'd like to eat at Red Rooster, his NYC restaurant.

 

Reading:

• The Secret of White Stone Gate (purchased) by Julia Nobel - I wanted to read this second installment right after finishing the first, so I purchased it to be ready. It has many of the positives of the first book, but has not drawn me in as much. I feel like the characters are going around again in the same mystery without making much progress toward a resolution, especially considering there will not be a third installment.

 

 

Listening:

• Truth & Beauty: A Friendship (eaudio library book) by Ann Patchett - I discovered this book while listening to Patchett's book of essays This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. This one is the story of Patchett's friendship with poet Lucy Grealy.

 

 

Up Next:

Some familiar titles here, with a new one at the top.

• You Should See Me in a Crown (elibrary book) by Leah Johnson - This one is open on my Kindle to start after I finish The Secret of White Stone Gate. It came in from my library holds a few days ago so I need to get reading before it is due back.
• The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden - I am eager to read this second installment.
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir - I read and loved Gideon the Ninth and feel ready for the 2nd book.
• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett - I am making my way through all of Patchett's backlist after being bowled over by The Dutch House. I had previously read Bel Canto at the recommendation of a number of readers, for some reason had not read anything else until recently.
• Four Hundred Souls (purchased hardback) edited by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blair - I think this collection of essays exploring 400 years of the history of African America will be a good companion to read alongside Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Dr. Kendi.

 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

 

**A note on the picture. I always use an image from the Prints and Photographs collections of the Library of Congress. I like these because they are interesting, and freely available because they are in the public domain. I mainly choose images of people reading. If you click the image in any of my posts you will be able to see the Library's bibliographic record which includes whatever they know about the image including its creator. There are also usually links to other similar items or to the collection the image is a part of.***

What I've Read - What I am Reading - November 24, 2020

I did some solid reading this week, but liked less of it than I usually do. 

 

 

Read:

I moved quickly through Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King (Library book) the 11^th book (published in 2018) in the Mary Russell series. Mary and Sherlock travel to Venice, Italy to find the missing aunt of a close friend. The story explores the treatment of the mentally ill as well as some women's rights issues. Delightfully, the American composer Cole Porter plays an important role too. While I appreciated the inclusion of music in the story, his appearance represents one of my least favorite elements of historical fiction. I know many writers of historical fiction strive to closely parallel actual events and lives, but they also make changes for dramatic effect or to fit into the plot. This is difficult for me because I want to know the non-modified story. This almost always leads me down a rabbit hole of research. Not necessarily a bad side effect.

 

• During the week I realized listening to the 17 hour and 49 minute The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson (audio elibrary book) at a leisurely pace was not going to work out well because it is a library book. I waited a few months for it to be available therefore a renewal was not going to happen. I stepped up the pace by going to the gym and listening while doing chores around the house. Thus, I finished this morning on the drive to the VA public library to return books and pick up a hold. As always, Larson's research is impeccable and satisfying. I am inspired to read more about Churchill.
• I also picked up volume 14 of Giant Days at the library last week. I was tempted to read it in the car in the parking lot so I could return it immediately, but I am in a constant rotation of picking up and returning books so there was no real reason to rush through it. In the end, I enjoyed it minimally. This is ostensibly the final volume since Esther and Daisy have graduated and moved onto jobs while Susan is finishing medical school. The action involves Esther's two evil co-workers who follow her to a reunion between the three former roommates. It was bland. I don't know if I will read more if the story moves on.

 

Reading:

• Last week I mentioned starting Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (elibrary book) While I was drawn in by what I read, I have not read any more of it this week. 
• Playing for the Ashes the 6^th installment in the Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George (elibrary book) came through from the library of few weeks ago, but I held off because I just finished the 5^th in the series. But again, haunted by the pressures of finishing to return the book on time, I jumped in. I don't regret it so far.  
• I also began the recently published volume 5 of Monstress (independent bookstore purchase) the comic book by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda. Reading comics via trade paperbacks is better for me than reading individual books as they come out each month, but also has the drawback of a significant wait between volumes. I am not sure how much longer this series will continue, but I will need to reread it all at once someday. 

 

Listening:

• During the drive home from the library this morning, I began listening to A Promised Land by President Barack Obama (purchased from Audible). I am only about 40 minutes into it so far, during which he is reviewing early life. He said in the introduction that he felt he needed to set the context for his Presidency. I don't have to worry about rushing through this one since I pre-ordered it in anticipation of its November 17^th release. 

 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

 

**A note on the picture. I always use an image from the Prints and Photographs collections of the Library of Congress. I like these because they are interesting, and freely available because they are in the public domain. I mainly choose images of people reading. If you click the image in any of my posts you will be able to see the Library's bibliographic record which includes whatever they know about the image including its creator. There are also usually links to other similar items or to the collection the image is a part of.***

What I've Read - What I am Reading - November 16, 2020

This was a light reading week. I traveled to visit M. in rural MA for a few days. We generally isolated ourselves because while there are small towns in the Berkshires, the weather was dreary and rainy and it was nice to stay warm with wine and take-out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read:

Over the course of the week I finished both the books I had been reading in the last update.

• The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix - As I anticipated, this book should be the beginning of a series, but no announcement to that effect has yet been made. The title is a misnomer because there are both left-handed and right-handed booksellers in London, as well as other magical entities. In a phrase the whole book was "right up my alley." I went ahead and put two of his other stand alone books on hold: Angel Mage and Newt's Emerald.
  • The good news: Nix has an extensive backlist of books to keep me busy until the second (Who do I talk to to make sure this happens?) in the Booksellers series comes out. 
  • The bad news: This means I am adding another author whose works I want to read in their entirety to my TBR list, which knowing how I can put pressure on myself to read, means some stress. 
• Don't You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane - This means I have read all of McFarlane's available work, including a short story, After Hello, which I also read this week. 

Reading:

• On my Kindle, I started Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (elibrary book -  I am only on page 6, but the world building has begun with a police officer gathering eye-witness information from a ghost about a recent murder. I'll keep reading for sure. Some of the atmosphere and jaunty tone remind me of the Jackaby series by William Ritter. 
• Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King (Library book) - This is the 11^th book (published in 2018) in the Mary Russell series. When I wrote my post about mystery series I have loved, I realized I hadn't read one of these in a while. This is the first of only two I have not read. Since these are both mysteries and historical fiction, I look forward to the jump back in time, and that the mystery is not always a murder. The current story takes place in the early and mid 1920s. While Mary and husband and sleuthing partner Sherlock Holmes have not yet left England, the blurb and helpful map tell me at least some of the story will take place in Venice, Italy. 

 

Listening:

Since The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson (audio elibrary book) is 17 hours and 49 minutes long, I anticipate a few more weeks of updates before I finish. BUT, I did pre-order A Promised Land by President Barack Obama, which will be released tomorrow. I will be torn even though the logical thing to do is finish the Larson first because it is a library book for which I waited quite long time and I will own the Obama book through Audible. 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

**A note on the picture. I always use an image from the Prints and Photographs collections of the Library of Congress. I like these because they are interesting, and freely available because they are in the public domain. I mainly choose images of people reading. If you click the image in any of my posts you will be able to see the Library's bibliographic record which includes whatever they know about the image including its creator. There are also usually links to other similar items or to the collection the image is a part of.***

Raina Telgemeier - Sisters

This past Saturday the Library of Congress held its annual National Book Festival. Because of some difficulties in negotiations with the National Park Service, the festival was moved from the National Mall to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. I heard mixed reviews throughout the day but more positive about the move than negative. Because of the indoor venue, the festival's hours were expanded to 10pm, but all events were condensed into one day.

One of the evening events was a graphic novels super session. As I had been at the festival since 8:30am and it was my birthday, I only stayed to hear one author. And I am glad I did.

Raina Telgemeier is the author of Smile, Drama, and most recently Sisters. She spoke generally about her books and her start as the illustrator of the Babysister's Club graphic novels. She also brought a few kids up to help her read a chapter from Sisters. This was a really sweet portion of the presentation, as was the question and answer session during which mostly children asked a wide variety of questions about her ideas and topics and even her teeth, a story she tells in Smile.

The answer I found most interesting was about how she picks which stories from her own life to tell. For both Smile and Sisters she chose just one small part of her greater experiences. The difficulties she had with her teeth spanned about 4 years of her life, but she was really focused in the book about her orthodontic adventures. In Drama, the time span was through one musical production during her middle school years. She spoke about wanting to capture the experiences of the behind the scenes kids. (I can tell you from experience that as an adult director, having reliable, creative, and wonderful kids painting the sets and moving them during the production has a tremendous, positive impact on the entire production.)

Sisters, is specifically about a road trip Raina took with her mom, sister, and brother the summer she was 14. More generally it is about Raina's relationship with her sister, told through flashbacks. It is really a well-done story, bringing in Raina's feelings about her now-teenage cousins and younger brother as well.

I highly recommend all three of Telgemeier's books for middle school in particular, but they are not too young for freshmen and sophomores perhaps, and would probably work well in 5th grade too.

Non-Fiction Gets Better and Better

I think the quality of non-fiction is getting better and better.  Or maybe, just maybe I am doing a better job of choosing non-fiction I will find engaging.  I have had two great non-fiction reads recently and have three more lined up I am excited to read.

1. Coming Clean by Kimberly Rae Miller  In this one Miller describes what a childhood living with hoarders is like.  She spared us most of the truly disturbing images, but there is no doubt her home was dirty and unsanitary and totally unfit for a child.  The more poignant and striking part of her story takes place after she has left, but must return regularly to help her parents move out of home after home.  These are homes filled with the detritus of her father's collecting and her mother's shopping.  Over and over again they leave most of their belongings behind and start again in a fresh, clean place only to be buried in stuff again within months.  Miller struggles with the long lasting mental anguish her childhood has caused along with the stress of having to see people she loves constantly beaten by their illness.  It was a fascinating story, and though I might have wanted more of the icky stuff, I am glad she did not write her story that way.

 

2.  On the Outside Looking Indian by Rupinder Gill  I am quite sure there are people on the Metro who saw me reading this book and believe I am a crazy person.  I just could not stop myself from laughing and most of the time I did not try.  I picked this book up originally because I had a few Indian friends growing up and thought an inside look would be educational.  In some ways it was.  My friends were always a bit more forthcoming about why they could not attend a party or other social occasion.  Gill and her sisters usually make up stories about family events rather than revealing the strictness of their parents.  The premise of the book is that Gill has a list of missed childhood experiences she intends to have in her 30th year.  She will learn to swim, take lessons of some sort, get a dog, learn to drive, and yes, the most magical of all childhood experiences, go to Disney World.  Not all of her plans work out, but reading about her attempts and the way she assesses her childhood years later is hilarious and touching.

 

Next non-fiction reads:

Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall, the same author who wrote The Peabody Sisters, which I loved. 

Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data by Charles Wheelan  I am always suspicious of statistics because I know the raw numbers can be interpreted in many ways, so I am hoping this will clear up some of my concerns. 

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.  I read about Huguette Clark in the newspaper just after she died in 2011, I just read another article about her and her bequest to the Corcoran Gallery of Art which I visited recently.  This lady is fascinating.  

What I Have Waiting

Soooo many of the blogs I read have some sort of a "What is coming" or "Books out soon" or "On our Radar" type of post either weekly or more randomly.  I am just a lowly, independent blogger with no connection to any sort of booksellers or publishers.  This would make it difficult for me to do any sort of post about what is coming up aside from books you can find out about from the same places I do....booksellers ads, other more "in the loop" bloggers, and e-mails I get because I am a librarian who supposedly has loads of money to spend on books for middle-schoolers (Has no one heard about the dire straits schools are in these days?). 

Bottom line...I am just going to bring to your attention a few books I have waiting on my shelves, some are new, some are old, some are really old, whatever the case they are books I own and intend to read...someday, maybe when I am rich and can quit working, or if there is another hurricane and I am stuck in the house for 18 hours.  I have no plans for a regular posting about this, but I could, that's how many books I own that I have not read.

1.  Wonder Struck by Brian Selznick  This was just released yesterday, and I loved The Invention of Hugo Cabret and was looking forward to this one, so I bought it, I am hoping to read it this weekend.  Maybe after I finish the three books I am currently read, maybe not.

2.  American Rose by Karen Abbott This is a biography of Gypsy Rose Lee.  I directed a high school production of Gypsy quite a few years ago and always thought it would be nice to read more about her, most especially because I want the real story, not the musicalized story.  I really enjoy biographies, but I do find it difficult to stay interested unless the subject is fascinating and the writing is stellar.  We will see how this one goes, someday.

3.  Seven Sorcerers by Carol King All I can say about this one is, I like fantasy, I liked the cover (Yes, I judged a book by its cover) so I picked it up.  I still think it looks like it will be good, but I almost always choose sleep over reading in the wee hours on school nights, which severely cuts in to my reading time. 

Three titles seems like enough for today.  Check back, maybe I will read these soon now that I have reminded myself why they are here, and I will have posted a witty and insightful review.