Read Harder readcap (like recap, but dumber!)

I did it, I finished Powers and Thrones! Did NOT think I would, but I made it happen. Another year of reading harder, in the books. The books I chose for this year's challenge are all spread out through posts, so if anyone wants the full list all in one place, here you go:

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1. Read a biography of an author you admire: The Making of Jane Austen by Devoney Looser

2. Read a book set in a bookstore: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

3. Read any book from the Women's Prize shortlist/longlist/winner list: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

4. Read a book in any genre by a POC that's about joy and not trauma: Black Boy Joy by Kwame Mbalia

5. Read an anthology featuring diverse voices: Every Body Shines by Cassandra Newbould

6. Read a nonfiction YA comic: The Courage of Elfina by Andre Jacob

7. Read a romance where at least one of the protagonists is over 40: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

8. Read a classic written by a POC: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

9. Read the book that's been on your TBR the longest: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

10. Read a political thriller by a marginalized author: While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

11. Read a book with an asexual and/or aromantic main character: Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

12. Read an entire poetry collection: The World Isn't the Size of Our Neighborhood Anymore by Austin Davis

13. Read an adventure story by a BIPOC author: Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney

14. Read a book whose movie or TV adaptation you've seen (but haven't read the book): I Love You Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle

15. Read a new-to-you literary magazine: Passages North

16. Read a book recommended by a friend with different reading tastes: Your Money or Your Life by Joseph R. Dominguez and Vicki Robin

17. Read a memoir written by someone who is trans or nonbinary: Becoming Eve by Abby Stein

18. Read a "Best [blank] Writing of the Year" book for a topic and year of your choice: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

19. Read a horror novel by a BIPOC author: The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

20. Read an award-winning book from the year you were born: Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman

21. Read a queer retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, folklore, or myth: Darling by K. Ancrum

22. Read a history about a period you know little about: Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages by Dan Jones

23. Read a book by a disabled author: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

24. Pick a challenge from any of the previous year's challenges to repeat (I picked listening to a poetry audiobook): The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman

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 And now, it is time to get started on choosing books for 2023! First two challenges, here we go!

1. Read a novel about a trans character written by a trans author: In my quest to read my way through a bunch of middle grade and then add them to my school library, I have chosen Both Can Be True by Jules Machias. Looking forward to it! (I also put Fight + Flight by them on my list and am VERY excited. EDS! Anxiety disorders! That's my kind of book.)

2. Read one of your favorite author's favorite books: Time to stalk some of my favorite authors on Twitter, I guess? (Consider them stalked) Look...a whole heap of authors that I like collaborated on this, and I'm going to assume that they all love each other's work in it, so...I'm going to read Whiteout by Angie Thomas, Dhonielle Clayton, Ashley Woodfolk, Nic Stone, Nicola Yoon, and Tiffany D. Jackson. 

Let's do this!

Reading Harder - Just over a week left

It's been a minute since my last update, so here we are again! I finished Maus, something everyone should read. Very emotional, very powerful. My hold for While Justice Sleeps came in again, and I did successfully finish reading it, although I came very close to having to put it on hold again. It was an okay read, but for a political thriller, it was not very compelling...solid premise, strong characters, but kind of dry. The reader didn't know the finer points of what was going on, but you know the entire time who the bad guy is and what they're planning, so it fell a little flat for me, reading about the main character trying to unravel what's going on and not having anything to guess at myself.

Anyway, that's two down, two to go for the year. I've been working my way through Powers and Thrones (the physical copy, because seriously, this book is huge) and am about halfway done. It's interesting, but also so much information, so I can only read so much of it at a time before I have to take a break so my brain can recover. I just finished reading about the Crusades, and honestly, fuck the Crusades.

My last hold of the year, The Taking of Jake Livingston, came in a couple days ago, and I'm roughly halfway through that too. A bit of a trip, one of those books that you read and are like "okay, wait, what is real and what is not? Is any of this actually happening?" Not so terrifying that I can't handle it, though, so that's something! I'll probably finish this in the next day or so, and then I guess we'll see if I make it through Powers and Thrones by the end of the year! Can I do it? I have my doubts.

Either way, I'll share an update in 2023, and I'll be putting together my list for next year, so I'll have that too. Some of the prompts seem interesting, although there are others (i.e. Read a book you DNFed) that I am...less thrilled about. I don't DNF lightly, so I may double up on another challenge and skip that one. As for the others...we'll see what I come up with!

A day late but a review over - Attack of the Black Rectangles and Skin of the Sea

It's NaNoWriMo, so all my writing brain cells are going to partner writing a sweet novel. I've got thoughts on two books to share, though, so I figured why not make this a twofer review and keep them both short and sweet? Here goes!

Attack of the Black Rectangles by A.S. King: I wish the people around me when I was growing up were as well-adjusted as the people Mac has in his corner. He's a lucky dude, and he and his friends are very courageous. I took a bunch of pictures of bits from this book that I really liked, but a couple favorites:

"I should have been born at a time when adults didn't pretend something is okay when it's not. I don't know if that time ever existed. Maybe I needed to be born in the future."

 

"Don't cry." I say.

She turns to me. "Crying is a natural reaction to disappointment. Would you tell me not to sneeze?" 

Just...excellent. I also really appreciated that King explicitly called out the misguided focuses of people banning or censoring books and that they're upset about the wrong things. GO A.S. KING.

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen: I cannot say enough good things about this book. First of all, the cover is a work of art. Second, mermaids?! Bowen beautifully wove tales of African deities through this story, and the imagery, the world  building, the descriptions of every place they visited and interaction that took place were just...gorgeous. Everything about this book is a masterpiece. It's a heavy read, so be prepared to feel a lot of things and to get uncomfortable. To be pulled into the story and feel everything Simi and Kola are feeling. I have the second book waiting for me on my bookshelf, and I can't wait to get into it.

Read Harder update

 Let's see, let's see...over the past month, I have finished The Kiss Quotient, shared my thoughts about that book, and finished Darling. I didn't write a review of that one because I sped through it so quickly and my brain was kind of like...holy shit, what did I just read?! After I finished it. It was a darker book than I typically go for, but I liked the way they handled it...dark without being horrifying or morbid just for shock value. It was very good, and an interesting spin on Peter Pan. One out of two, not bad?

I've also started reading Maus, although I'm only like a third or so of the way through. I'm taking this one slower, but it's a very good read. As noted in my previous post, I'm started Powers and Thrones too, but my ebook loan expired, so I'm waiting to get it back. I might need to get a physical copy, it's hard for me to do that much reading on a Kindle. In fact...yes. I just paused this recap to put a hold on it at the library. Some books you just need to read in their physical form, and this is one of them.

Over the next month, I'll keep working my way through the above two books, and if I finish I'll be continuing on to The Taking of Jake Livingston (prompt #19, Read a horror novel by a BIPOC author), and we will see how that goes, since as previously noted horror isn't really my thing. 😬 If, at long last, my hold for While Justice Sleeps comes in, I'll be finishing that (FINALLY) too!

I've got to say, I'm impressed with how well I'm doing with these challenges after getting back on track earlier in the year! Knocking them out of the park!

What am I even reading right now?

I can't keep track, somebody help me.

Okay, fine, I know what I'm reading, but also every book I lay eyes on right now sounds so good. So then I'm like "hey, why not start reading another one? It's probably fine!" So then I end up reading a thousand books at the same time and finishing none of them. We've all been there, right? I did a pretty good job finishing several books during Fall Break, at least, that's something. And the day before I went back to work I realized I had checked out Attack of the Black Rectangles by A.S. King from work and forgotten about it, so I read that in one sitting (so good!).

My top books right now and take on them so far:

1. The Night & Its Moon by Piper CJ - I had a pretty good read on what to expect from this before I started it, and reality is coming pretty close to expectation. I find the writing a little overly wordy and flowery, but I'm still enjoying the story, although I wish it were faster paced.

2. Maus by Art Spiegelman - I mean...what do you even say about this book? Everyone should read it. 

3. Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages - This is a fucking TOME, but it's very informative and an interesting read!

Add to my already impossible to finish TBR list! What are you reading right now?

The Kiss Quotient - Helen Hoang

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆

Character Development: ☆☆

Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he's making her feel. Their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic..."

 

I picked this book because, aside from the outdated reference to Asperger's, the plot sounded intriguing. From the description, I expected it to be sweet, maybe a little nerdy, and something of a slow burn romance-wise. Imagine my surprise when I turn on the audiobook for the first time on my drive to work and within the first two chapters Michael is gripping his cock and masturbating to just shy of completion in preparation for his first "date" with Stella.

I mean...I know it's a romance but it read more contemporary fiction and less bodice-ripper to me, so it took me a lot by surprise being auditorily accosted by cocks at like 6:30 in the morning pulling into an effing ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Slow burn this was decidedly not. Also, I take issue with "before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he's making her feel..." in the description because "before long" is basically immediately. And that brings me to my biggest issue with this book: Every bit of the plot felt manufactured.

I mean, we start off with Stella eating with her parents, hearing about the pressure from her mom to have grandkids (even though Stella has never actually dated anyone) and witnessing firsthand Stella's discomfort with being touched. Alright, I'm following. If you don't like being touched in general, you're probably not going to be super comfortable with doing the sex, particularly if you've never been in a relationship.

Then we're treated to a description of the last time she'd had sex (which I believe was her third time ever), and we learn that her only sexual encounters thus far have been obligatory sex with random blind dates who have essentially sexually assaulted her after it was clear that she was not enthusiastically consenting to anything they were engaging in. Ummmmmmm. That's certainly...something.😐

Enter Michael, the cock gripper himself. They meet up for the first time, and while there is a little tension and anxiety on Stella's part, she almost immediately is going weak-kneed and horny for him. Which is hard for me to wrap my brain around, both taking into account her aversion to touch in general and keeping in mind that literally her only other experience with intimacy has been so decidedly negative. I mean, at the risk of getting into TMI, I have been sexually assaulted before, and while everyone reacts differently, I just do not buy being instantaneously comfortable with someone just because they take things a tiny bit slow. Nope. No way.

Immediately comfortable Stella is, though, and after a tiny bit of turbulence, the book basically becomes nonstop filthy sex. Not only that, but Michael and Stella have pretty much fallen in love at their first meeting, and they're essentially dating, but of course they're not actually dating because [insert trivial manufactured reason Stella thinks Michael doesn't actually like her] and [insert trivial manufactured reason Michael thinks Stella doesn't actually like him]. It didn't even feel like there was plot conflict for like 80% of the book because it was just Stella and Michael boning down in between forced introspection about how much they liked being together and how sad they were that it could never possibly work out for real because mumble mumble mumble...

Things do finally come to a head, probably 85% of the way into the book, in an incredibly convincing and not at all contrived way (insert sarcmarkⓒ here). The not-couple breaks up, sending both of them into a vicious downward spiral in which Michael contemplates fucking someone else, since Stella totally is (?), while Stella decides she needs to quit her job (?) to become a doctor instead. Fortunately, while all these dark thoughts are going down, Stella goes out to dinner with a trashbag of a coworker, Michael runs into them, and after totally necessary shenanigans, the couple is happily reunited. Not only that, but Michael informs her the moment they get back together that he will be proposing to her in three months, so she has time to mentally prepare. I'm sorry...what?! How incredibly Mormon of you, Michael.

Anyway, congratulations to the happy couple, but even more congratulations to me for not having to listen to this book anymore. Did I hate it? No. Did I want to finish it? Also no. Did it make me like it approximately 78% less than I would have otherwise that Michael on multiple occasions dictated to Stella that her vagina MUST be referred to as a pussy and that he basically ordered her to wear her hair down and wear sundresses at one point? Absolutely. Did I also not love that in one chapter there were approximately infinity references to Stella's "sex," which is possibly my least favorite euphemism for a person's bits? I truly did not. Am I just asking rambling questions now because there were so many little gripes I had with this book? You nailed it.

Read this book or don't, I don't care. If you do, I recommend avoiding reading in public, since so much of it is extra spicy, but you do you.

Almost October? Close enough.

I finished reading my last challenge book for September tonight, so I figured why not do my monthly update now? This was most certainly not motivated by the fact that I had no review ready and it was either this or skip posting this week. Nope, that wasn't it. Just really eager for this update.

I won't mince words...September was not a good month for challenge books. I Love You, Beth Cooper? Did not age well. I knew going into it that I probably wouldn't love it...but Jesus H. Christ. I should have looked harder for another book that fit the bill because yeesh. It wasn't great.

In a pretty entertaining twist, Joel never reads my blog, but he decided to read the last challenge update post. It's like he has a sixth sense for when I'm casting aspersions upon his reading preferences. Sorcery! Anyway, he read it and was like "I recommended that? Can I change my recommendation?" I would like to say he changed it to something better, but...he changed it to Your Money or Your Life which...look. I get it, I guess? But it's really hard for me to take a book seriously when it talks about breaking down your hourly wage and uses $10 an hour as the example, but then turns around and shares anecdotes about people who own multiple houses and shit like that. Don't pretend this advice will work for anyone and act like low income people can bootstrap themselves into financial independence when all your advice is clearly only intended for people with a lot of disposable income.

Anyway, as I predicted, Becoming Eve was the palate cleanser I needed. Abby's story is so compelling, heartbreaking but also inspiring, that I couldn't put it down. Coming from a high demand religion (read: cult) myself, I was grinding my teeth reading about all the ways she was forced to suppress herself by her family's religious practices, and I'm so glad that she was able to finally find a way to be herself. Abby is incredible.

Now, let's talk October. I should have thought ahead and put holds on books, because...everything is on hold? What the hell? I've got holds in now, and a couple books should be available soon, so these are the challenges I'm going with this month:

#21: Read a queer retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, folklore, or myth 

For this I'm going with Darling by K. Ancrum. I love Peter Pan and have read all kinds of fractured fairytale versions, retellings, etc, so I'm interested to get into this spin on it!

#23: Read a book by a disabled author

I had a couple options I was still trying to decide between, but I've settled on The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. Basically, a woman obsessed with math comes up with algorithms for everything and decides to apply her love of logic to dating. What starts out as a very straightforward plan, of course, does not go as expected. We'll see what happens!

Bonus! For #20: Read an award-winning book from the year you were born, I chose Maus: A Survivor's Tale, and after looking into getting it from the library I decided to buy it. I should get it soon, so I'm going to try to read it in October also. 

Twelfth - Janet Key

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆

Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆

Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Twelve-year-old Maren is sure theater camp isn't for her. Theater camp is for loud, confident, artsy people: people like her older sister, Hadley--the last person Maren wants to think about--and her cinema-obsessed, nonbinary bunkmate, Theo. But when a prank goes wrong, Maren gets drawn into the hunt for a diamond ring that, legend has it, is linked to the camp's namesake, Charlotte "Charlie" Goodman, a promising director in Blacklist Era Hollywood. When Maren connects the clues to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, she and her new friends are off searching through lighting booths, orchestra pits and costume storages, discovering the trail and dodging camp counselors. But they're not the only ones searching for the ring, and with the growing threat of camp closing forever, they're almost out of time."

I feel like in an alternate universe a less introverted Dewey is hardcore into theater, so this mystery centered around theater and moviemaking immediately snagged my attention. Add to that that the play involved in the story is Twelfth Night...arguably the best Shakespeare play? (Ok, fine, that's debatable, but it's one I like a lot.) Winner. And it didn't hurt that the cover art was pretty delightful. 

It was hard not to be all in on this one from the jump, and once I started reading, the characters sealed the deal. I felt Maren's frustration with her family situation on a soul-deep level, and even most of the side characters were so well-rounded and unique that I felt like I knew each of them. The little details included to make each person three dimensional and memorable were perfection. I mean, the coffee shop proprietor is literally in ONE scene, and for the rest of the book I was crossing my fingers she would show up again. That's some impressive writing. 

When it came to the plot, I have to be honest, I don't think I would have been able to unravel this mystery. But it was a delight to follow along as Maren and her friends pulled each thread, and the way the flashbacks to the past were woven into the main story, pulling back the curtain bit by bit for the reader and making you want to keep reading...chef's kiss. The suspense and tiny revelations just when you needed one made it really hard to put the book down! I thought this was really well written, engaging, and a delight from start to finish.

I Love You, Beth Cooper - Larry Doyle

No.

Just no.

September Challenge Update

Welp, I've had bronchitis for the last two weeks, but I'm finally on the mend, and here I am with another challenge update. Are you ready?

I finished all the books I said I was going to work on for August! Woohoooooooo! The Courage of Elfina was very good. An emotional read, very quick, and the illustrations are beautiful. Let's Talk About Love I even managed to write a review for, so check that out! And Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry was pretty great. The character development was on point, and I really loved getting into their world and getting to know each of them. All in all, my August picks were a win. 

Want some sad news, though? My hold for While Justice Sleeps came in early, and my sick-haze brain was like ok, yeah, check it out! And then promptly forgot that the hold had come in, so I DIDN'T READ IT! And then my hold expired, so I had to put it on hold again...and now the wait is twelve weeks. *sobs* It came in early last time, though, so I'm sure it will again. I'll finish reading it eventually. Anyway, on to September's challenges!

14. Read a book whose movie or TV adaptation you've seen, but you haven't read the book 

I chose I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle for this. This pick took a little digging, since I really enjoy torturing myself and reading the source material after I watch something that has been made into visual media, but I finally found something that satisfied the prompt (mostly because I didn't realize the movie was based on a book). Bonus, I guess, I watched the movie so long ago that I barely remember it, so I won't be able to compare it to the book and be disappointed in the adaptation!

16. Read a book recommended by a friend with different reading tastes

Sooo. The thing about this is that I keep a very small friend circle, and most of us have similar taste in books. Which meant I had to ask for a recommendation from my husband, who doesn't have reading "tastes" so much as every once in a while he'll read a non-fiction book written by some hopefully well-intentioned straight cisgender white guy about how to improve your life or how the guy became a success or one life-changing thing to get you to the top of your game. It's fine if you're into that sort of thing, but it's pretty much the opposite of what I gravitate toward...which I guess is the point of this whole challenge, but also kind of...not? At any rate, I've made my bed, so for this challenge I will be reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I've been mentally preparing for months, so we'll see how this goes.

17. Read a memoir written by someone who is trans or nonbinary

Excellent palate cleanser coming after the above two challenges. For this prompt, I'll be reading Becoming Eve by Abby Stein. I look forward to getting into this one!

Let's Talk About Love - Claire Kann

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆

Character Development: ☆☆☆☆

Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting--working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she's asexual). Alice is done with dating--no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.

But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!)

When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood."

 Let's talk about love, baby, let's talk about Alice and Takumi...

Seriously, though, let's talk about Let's Talk About Love. I've come across very little ace representation in books, so I was excited to come across this. It had been on my TBR for a while, so how fortuitous that one of the Read Harder challenges this year was to read a book with ace rep! Just the nudge I needed to finally, finally make the time to read this. 

Right off the bat, I was impressed with the character development. I mean, Margot is in like...one chapter? And the level of trash person achieved in that short a time...wow. Incredible that someone featured so briefly could inspire such instant and thorough dislike. I want to TP her car. The more heavily featured characters were also very realistic - like to the point that sometimes I found them incredibly annoying, and then I would realize oh! This is just like real people, they don't always do everything right and you can get irritated with them! (I mean...seriously, please just communicate...but kudos to Claire Kann for the realism.)

Moving right along, the plot. The book was much more character driven than plot driven, so there wasn't heaps of action, but things moved along at a good pace and progressed nicely. My two gripes were 1. the fatphobia (let's be clear, Takumi has an eating disorder, and nothing about that is "health conscious") and 2. the fact that Takumi as a BRAND NEW library assistant was running storytimes for the library. I don't know what that library's deal was, but it was unrealistic at best. Outside of mistaking thinness for "health" and taking some creative license with library stuff, though, pretty solid story. It's hard to really get into specifics without giving spoilers, but the self-exploration was solid, and I liked that multiple characters experienced growth and not just the main character.

Anyhoo, I'm very full and also sleepy, and I want to make sure this is ready to go, so abrupt wrap-up: Solid story. I would maybe recommend the physical book over the audiobook, but either option would provide entertainment.

August Reading Challenge Update

I am thrilled to report that I am working on this BEFORE the day I intend to post it, because I planned ahead. Am I turning things around? Getting organized at last?

...probably not. School started this week, and I have more classes than last year with less help, so I'm sure next week it will be 6pm, I'll be mid-DnD session, and I'll realize I never wrote anything and have to scramble after our adventure wraps up. But hey, maybe not. Maybe I AM getting organized at last.

Anyway, Read Harder update! I did not finish While Justice Sleeps last month, although not because I wasn't reading it or didn't like it. This delay is due to circumstances beyond my control, those circumstances being that the library app I checked it out from doesn't cooperate with my Kindle. Trying to read ebooks on my phone is kind of a pain in the ass, so I gave it my best shot but ultimately decided that the better option was to put a hold on it using Overdrive so I could read more comfortably. The wait list is about ten weeks, so look forward to a review around Halloween.

Since While Justice Sleeps wasn't panning out, I moved on to challenge #7, read a book where at least one protagonist is over 40, and listened to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which I've already posted a review for! I would brag about being on top of stuff, but while writing this I realized I never did a challenge update for June, so not only am I a month behind on my challenge reading, but double checking my list after I noticed that, one of the books I picked for May just completely fell of my radar and I never actually read it. WHOOPS! This really bodes well for my whole "turning things around" thing.

Anyhoozle. I don't even know what's happening anymore, but I've read 12 of the 24 books on my list, and to get back on track I'm going to try to read three challenge books in August and three in September. So, without further ado, my picks for August:

Challenge #6: Read a nonfiction YA comic

The book I chose in May returns! This time, for real, I will be reading The Courage of Elfina. Seriously. I mean it. My copy of the book is already on the way. Or...will be...like...tomorrow.

Challenge #11: Read a book with an asexual/aromantic main character

I KNOW I can commit to reading this one because I've already started it! For this challenge, I'm reading Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann. It's fantastic so far, and I look forward to sharing an update when I'm done.

Challenge #13: Read an adventure story by a BIPOC author

For this challenge, I'll be reading Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney. Sadly, my library doesn't own a digital copy of this, but I put in a request for them to get the audiobook, and in the meantime I've got a hold on the physical book. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆

Character Development: ☆☆☆

Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐☆

From the cover:

"Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the '80s, and of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways."

I went back and forth and back and forth about my ratings for this book for so long, and I'm still not entirely sure how I should rate it, so I'm just going to stick with what I've got and dive in to the why, starting, of course, with the initial draw. I debated whether I should include this or not, since I went into this not having really read a synopsis or anything, so from an "oh, I'm dying to get into this story" perspective there wasn't any draw because I didn't know anything about it. But I put it on my Read Harder list and I thought the cover was striking, so it was something that I did want to read on some level, so ultimately it stayed. What's strange to me, now that I have read the synopsis, is that I honestly don't know if knowing what the book was about would have made me want to read it more or less. Is that weird? Anyway, whatever, I gave it an average rating. I don't know.

On to character development, another toughie because here's the thing. Evelyn Hugo? I was dying to know more. The way that she was written to be so complicated and in some ways so dark but also still someone I felt like I just had to root for was masterful. I also loved Harry, who seemed like a complete fucking sweetheart, through and through. There were even some minor characters, like Frankie, who I found very intriguing and wanted more of. The downfall? Every time the story shifted back to Monique, I found myself disappointed because the present-day storyline was so one-dimensional next to Evelyn's. I guess it's hard to stack up against a decades-long tale of Hollywood stardom, intrigue, scheming, love found and lost, etc, but...why tell the story this way, then? 

The transitions back to the present were an anchor dragging the rest of the story down, particularly because neither Monique nor her storyline were really developed. Even her divorce, which is painted in the synopsis as a Big Deal, was very meh. The character development in the flashbacks? Five stars. Present day? Two stars. It kind of reminds me of when competitors on cooking shows decide to prepare two dishes when they're only asked for one and the judges are like "hrmmm ok, but just know this means we'll be forced to judge you on the worse of the two dishes..." No disrespect to Monique, I wanted her to get more development and have a better story, but her parts of the story were the worse of the two dishes.

And finally, plot and writing style. Heavy sigh. This could have been five stars, y'all. It should have been. Bisexual representation, biracial representation, the inclusion of an abortion that is pretty much a non plot point, it's literally like one line...there were so many things included in this book that I loved. And the main character being a woman who, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through her whole life, knew what she wanted from her life and did what it took to get it, regardless of how anyone else reacted or what people thought of her? Hello, I'm in love. Unfortunately, there was one huge thing I hated about this book, and that was the fatphobia. I mean, this was in my early notes, and it did not improve from there:

It was just...SO excessive. Monique is getting divorced, but at least her face is thinner, thank god! This group of men is so unattractive, very rotund. Ugh, I hate my mom's nickname for me, it's a reference to how I was SOOOO FAT as a child. Like. We get it, Taylor Jenkins Reid, you hate fat people. Please find more creative ways to describe people in your writing, because if the only way you can think of to paint a character as unattractive is by deciding they're fat, you lack imagination and also are just generally being shitty. It was grating enough that if the rest of the story hadn't pulled me in so thoroughly I would have DNF'ed in the first few chapters, which is incredibly disappointing from an otherwise pretty socially aware and engaging book. 

Anyway, should you read this book? I don't know. If someone asked me for recommendations and this fit the bill, I'm not sure if I would put it on my list or not...but I do know that if I did it would have an asterisk. So do with that what you will.

Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

David, a young American in 1950s Paris, is waiting for his fiancée to return from vacation in Spain. But when he meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, the two men are drawn into an intense affair. After three months David's fiancée returns and, denying his true nature, he rejects Giovanni for a 'safe' future as a married man. His decision eventually brings tragedy.

Filled with passion, regret and longing, this story of a fated love triangle has become a landmark of gay writing. James Baldwin caused outrage as a black author writing about white homosexuals, yet for him the issues of race, sexuality and personal freedom were eternally intertwined.

Housekeeping note before we begin: I decided to only do an overall rating for this book, since my ratings breakdown didn't really seem to fit. Maybe because it's a classic and not a contemporary...I don't know. Whatever the case, here we are. Just the one rating.

This book is fuckin SAD, y'all. (I mean...duh. But I still had to say it.) David is a gay man who has grown up hating himself and everyone like him. There are also interactions with others, not clear if they are drag queens, trans women, or identify in some other way, but they are gender nonconforming, and his reaction to them is pretty fuckin gross. Baldwin's writing of David captures the internalized loathing that queer people were and often still are raised with, the consequent prejudice they project onto other queer people as a result...it's heartbreaking. 

The story switches back and forth between the present and memories from the past, and both present David and flashback David are filled with the same discomfort and self-loathing, which makes it all the worse...that nothing changes for him. He's chasing something, although he doesn't seem all that sure what it is, and he'll never be able to find it because he's so filled with that hatred that he can't see anything beyond it. See what I mean? SAD!

Now, full disclosure, I haven't quite finished the book yet, so I'll have to post an update if something suddenly shifts and David has some kind of metamorphosis or finds self-acceptance. I couldn't stop thinking about it, though, so I wanted to post while I had all this filling up my mind.

July Reading Challenge Update

Why are so many of the books on my Read Harder list on wait lists at the library right now? Is everyone reading the same Read Harder books that I am? People! Stop copying my list, or I'll never finish!

Ok, fine, people probably aren't copying my list, I clearly just have excellent taste in books, so all my picks are heckin popular. 😉

Thankfully, one of the apps my library uses is newish to the system so not as many people use it, which means I've only got like a two week wait for one book, AND I was able to borrow two of my challenge picks. Woo!

Pick one is for challenge #8: Read a classic written by a POC. I chose Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin because HOW HAVE I NEVER READ JAMES BALDWIN?! (Racism, that's how. I mean, I read Heart of Darkness three times in various AP and college classes, but not a single professor put Baldwin on their reading list? Come on.) I am very excited to get into this.

Pick two is for challenge #10: Read a political thriller by a marginalized author. I'm going with While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams. Life is basically a political thriller right now, so this might end up feeling a little bit like realistic fiction. 🤣😭Seriously, though, I'm looking forward to reading it. And who knows, maybe I'll even write actual reviews for these two! If not, there will at least be a brief reaction to them in a "what I'm reading now" post, I'm sure.

What I'm Reading: Summer Break Edition

It's summer break, and that means so much time for reading!

Haha just kidding, I've been doing pretty much the same amount of reading as I was doing before. Too many things competing for my attention! BUT...definitely not because I was in the middle of a D&D session and realized I never prepped the blog post I had planned to post yesterday, and then I was scrambling a little, since I had a D&D session to run today and needed to pack for a trip...I can still give a little update re: what I am reading/what I finished reading since my last what I'm reading post. Woo! First up, finished reading:

1. The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna - SO GOOD, such suspense! AHHHHH! 

2. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness - Meh. I am not convinced a woman wrote this trilogy, this is a pen name. There are so many weird things, like a reference when the pregnant main character is boning down with her husband and she thinks about how with him inside her it's the physically closest she, husband, and baby will ever be. Like. What. Anyway, I'm taking a little breather before I start the final book in the trilogy. I want to finish it, but also yeesh.

Next up, still reading:

1. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk 

Working my way slowly through this one. I'm about a third of the way through thus far, and it's interesting but at the same time I feel like there are probably better books on trauma out there.

2. A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year compiled by Jane McMorland Hunter

There were two poems within days of each other named The Kingfisher which...interesting choice, I guess. Probably could have separated them a little more so it wasn't so obvious.

3. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Two-thirds of the way through now, and I feel like it's really hitting its stride...which, look back at what I had to say a month ago. This book could be shorter, y'all. That said, it is hitting me in some major feels right now. I've cried like the last three or four times I've read it. Oof.

4. Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Still buddy reading, still loving it, still want to punch anyone who fucks with Ty straight in the baby maker.

And finally...new reads!

1. Black Boy Joy, edited by Kwame Mbalia

This has been on my list to read basically since I first heard it was going to be published, and it's one of the books on my list for the Read Harder challenge this year. I finally got it from the library, and I looooooove iiiiiiiiiiiiiit! It's an anthology of short stories, and there's a blend of genres. It's such a delight, reading a realistic fiction and then a little sci-fi and then something else...there was one story that was literally just about getting your outfit ready for the first day of school, and I was SO into it. I just...I love it. As the title suggests, such a joy.

2. The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

Book two in the Deathless series, baby, here we are! I'm so tense reading this. SO TENSE. I'm trying to take it slow because it's our book club read this month, and I always feel like it's such a drag when I finish our book early in the month and then am not chiming in much because I start to forget specifics. That said...I just packed it to take on the plane tomorrow to go visit my husband's dad, so we'll see what happens. I need to know what happens.

3. Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Alright, I've read this before, and I adore it, but I'm recording it for my sister to listen to, so I'm reading it again, and ooooooh, I'm spotting some things I didn't notice before! I've had the second book in this series waiting to read for a long time, so I'm excited to finish this one (it'll take a while, reading it out loud, but whatevs) and then get to the second one...the final book in the trilogy comes out in January, so I just need to finish the first two by then. Five months?! Tall order. 🤣

4. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

I've never read Ursula Le Guin, and this came in one of my subscription boxes, so I was like alright, let's give this a shot! I don't know what to say about it. Like I feel like sometimes I'm like mmmmmmk let's get to the point...but then also I'm into it at the same time? It's different from my typical fantasy reads, but I want to know what happens next, so I guess let's call that a win?

The Marvellers - Dhonielle Clayton

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆

Character Development: ☆☆☆☆

Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts, like brewing Indian spice elixirs and bartering with pesky Irish pixies.

Despite her excitement, Ella discovers that being the first isn't easy - some Marvellers mistrust her magic, which they deem "bad" and "unnatural." But eventually, she finds friends in the elixirs teacher, Masterji Thakur, and fellow misfits Brigit, a girl who hates magic, and Jason, a boy with a fondness for magical creatures.

When a dangerous criminal known as the Ace of Anarchy escapes prison, supposedly with a Conjuror's aid, tensions grow in the Marvellian world and Ella becomes the target of suspicion. Worse, Masterji Thakur mysteriously disappears while away on a research trip. With the help of her friends and her own growing powers, Ella must find a way to clear her family's name and track down her mentor before it's too late."

What's this? A REVIEW?! That's right...it's summer break, and I'm going to do my best to get on a blogging schedule and maybe even keep it going when school starts back up. We'll see how that goes. But let's get started by diving right in to the initial draw of this book. First of all, it's Dhonielle Clayton. I mean. Come on.  I would read a draft of her grocery list. Also, a new take on magic schools that incorporates like...actual history and real-life events? Yes, thank you, I will devour this. And finally I'm sorry, that cover? Is truly a work of art.

Soooo yeah, safe to say I was eager to get my hot little hands on this, and I was over the moon when it was the book in one of my monthly subscription boxes. Such a delightful surprise. 

Now, I'm going to include a disclaimer before we get into why I only gave four stars for character development, and that is that this is a roughly 400 page book, and it has a lot of characters. Like...A LOT, a lot. Trying to build out an entire world, introduce a ton of characters, and develop a compelling plot in a relatively short fantasy book...not every character is going to be fully fleshed out. It's just the way it goes sometimes. 

I think there was a valiant effort to introduce all the relevant students, every teacher and headmaster, and give them all a reasonable amount of time on the page, but some of the tertiary characters fell a bit flat for me as a result of splitting attention that much. For the most part, that's fine, but without spoiling anything, there was a Big Reveal at one point late in the story that, with a lack of developed...relationship, I guess?...to these more background characters, it didn't pack quite the punch that it should have. Which was a shame, because it was otherwise a very powerful moment. Also, frankly, I'm just a greedy bitch and wanted more Masterji Thakur and Professor Kwame Mbalia. I mean, you name a character after KWAME FREAKING MBALIA and then you only give me a couple little tastes? I would read a whole book just about his character. I want to take his class. I need more!

All that said, the main characters were top damn notch, and I loved them all. Ella is so nerdy and earnest and wonderful, not to mention the kindest soul. Brigit is so loveably grumpy and angry (and she KNITS HELLO YES), and Jason might go on the list of my top characters ever created, he and his wiggly dreads wiggled their way right into my heart. And Ella's whole family gave me heart eyes. I don't eat meat, but I wanted to be at their family dinners over the holidays. Just...wonderful, all around.

And finally! Overall plot and writing style. I was a fan. I liked the way the book was structured, with a chapter followed by letters back and forth, a glimpse into something else that was happening, or some other little moment...it was a great way to further different parts of the story but still fold it all in together. And I feel like there were breadcrumbs dropped at juuuuust the right times...every time I thought to myself, "ok, this seems like a good chapter to stop reading after," I would get to a little vignette that made it impossible to close the book. There were even a couple times where I went "WHAT?!" out loud. Yessssss, the suspense! Even now, it's killing me. I need the next book.

Anyhoo, buy this book. Read this book. Share this book. Sleep with this book under your pillow, if that's comfortable for you. Write fanfiction about it. It's wonderful, is what I'm getting at. In case you couldn't tell how I felt about it.

In which everything sucks and I try to make a list of book recommendations

I mean. Everything sucks.

Well...Lyra doesn't suck.

But my husband tested positive for COVID, which meant I missed the last week of summer school and we had to cancel some stuff we'd really been looking forward to, and then yesterday the moment we all knew was coming came and Roe v Wade was overturned. So it has been just the chillest of weeks.

I've done what I'm can while sitting here waiting to see if I also have COVID, but I'm still feeling pretty powerless. I recently saw Dirty Dancing for the first time (yeah yeah, I know...I was raised mormon, I wasn't allowed to watch a lot of stuff), and while I've been sitting around thinking about how different making the choice to stay in your house and be isolated is from doing it because you have to, I've also been reflecting on how surprised I was at the depiction of abortion in that movie and how it was just like....it was the best decision for her, so she made it, and the commentary around it was about how terrible it was that she couldn't get good, safe care and not what a horrible, scarring choice it was. I was trying to think about what other examples of abortions in media and books I had encountered and how many of them presented it like that, as opposed to this earth-shattering, psyche-destroying choice. Grey's Anatomy? I can't think of any others.

So anyway, I'm doing what I do best and putting together a list of books that include abortion that I'd like to read. It isn't going to make things better for the people who have been dealing with white supremacist powers policing their bodies and harming them for generations, it isn't going to un-overturn Roe v Wade...but books are windows and books are mirrors, and I have to believe at least some anti-abortion people might have had their minds opened a little more if the mere mention of abortion wasn't so stigmatized and it was talked about more frankly in the media and literature that we consume. So it's what I'm doing right now.

Aftercare Instructions by Bonnie Pipkin - This book follows a seventeen-year-old whose boyfriend bails from the waiting room while she's getting an abortion. It seems like the story deals more with how Genesis recovers from the realization that her boyfriend wasn't who she thought he was and how she navigates some other challenges life had thrown at her, with the decision to get an abortion being the thing that kickstarts the story after she and the boyfriend mutually decide it's the right decision for them. I'm very on board with abortion being part of the story but not THE drama being navigated.

Baby & Solo by Lisabeth Posthuma - Abortion isn't even mentioned in this book set in the 90s, but I know from reviews that it features. Honestly, I kind of like that it isn't a main plot point but is still included, it shows that abortion is...a thing that happens. It doesn't have to be a Main Story plot point!

Crazy Horse's Girlfriend by Erika T. Wurth - The story of a sixteen-year-old in a small town who is surrounded by poverty, unemployment, and drug abuse and dreams of a way out. She thinks she has found it when a new guy comes to town, but he may not be the light at the end of the tunnel that she thinks he is.

Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert - The story of a teenager nearing high school graduation and navigating other life difficulties when she learns that, on top of everything else, she is pregnant. This had mixed reviews, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero - A coming of age story about many things, one of which is Gabi's journey to accept herself and her sexuality after growing up in a shame-filled environment. This one has actually been on my list to read for a long time, so I need to get on it.

Girls Like Us by Randi Pink - Set before Roe v Wade passed, this book follows four teenagers who find themselves pregnant and aren't sure what to do. The reviews I read were mixed, but I thought the time period it was set in was important.

I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin - Gotta admit I'm on the fence with this one...it follows Nick, who has just learned that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant, and what happens with both of them as they navigate the situation. I can't decide if I like that the story is told from the guy's perspective or not, but I ultimately included it on the list because from the reviews it sounds like he's very supportive of what she wants to do, which is a great example of how anyone involved in an unwanted pregnancy should be.

Like Sisters on the Homefront by Rita Williams-Garcia - Gayle, fourteen-years-old, is sent by her mother to stay with family after she gets pregnant. This book was published in 1998, but recent reviews have talked about how relevant it still is, so I am eager to read it.

Me, Him, Them, and It by Caela Carter - Sixteen-year-old Evelyn has started acting out after her parents start having trouble in their marriage, and it ultimately results in her getting pregnant. The guy involved bails, and now she has to lean on the family she had begun to distance herself from while she decides what to do.

 Bonus: Jane Against the World by Karen Blumenthal - A non-fiction book about the history of Roe v Wade and the fight for reproductive rights.

What I'm Reading

It's very hot outside, and I've been doing a lot of physical labor before and after summer school, so in lieu of a book review, please accept this list of books I am currently reading and how I'm presently feeling about each one. I am including a bonus "I just finished this!" with my impressions...not a review, just impressions. There's totally a difference. Anyhoo, let's do this thing.

1. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

I've started choosing a non-fiction book, typically something associated with mindfulness, mental or physical health, etc. and reading a little bit of it at the start of my yoga practice. This is what I'm currently working my way through, and it's a bit heavy, but I am very interested in trauma and the impact it has on us, so it's fascinating reading about basically the evolution of our understanding of the effects of trauma.

2. A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year compiled by Jane McMorland Hunter

I've posted about this before. As the title says, it's a poem for each day of the year, and they're pretty delightful for the most part. I wish there were more female poets included, but also most of them are hella old poems, so I guess the pool to draw from was limited. I don't know why the decision was made to only use old poetry, though. There's so much poetry out there.

3. The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

Book club book! (For May, shhhhh. I'm reading it slowly because our other consistent book club participant is still waiting for their copy). It's so good! I love it, all of it, every bit of it. I want to finish it so I know what's going to happen (and end up on a cliffhanger, because it's not a standalone novel), but I also want to read it forever.

4. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Look, this is billed as a YA, and it's technically about 17-year-old kids, but let's be real, it was written for adults who love coming-of-age stories. I mean, for shit's sake, it's more than 500 pages long. That's a fairly hefty book, particularly for realistic fiction. It's also very stream-of-consciousness, and I'm just having a very hard time envisioning tons of teenagers having the patience to sit down and read 528 pages of that. Don't get me wrong, I'm a little over a third of the way through and enjoying it, but I wish as a "YA" book it was not so blatantly written NOT for an actual young adult audience.

5. Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

I'm buddy reading this with my sister, and we're working our way through it very slowly. We've been reading it for approximately...eight months? A long time. I fucking love this series though. Protect Ty at all costs.

6. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Look, I'll be honest...this is the second book in a trilogy, and I'm kind of slogging through the series. I don't dislike it, but I don't think I like it, either. I want to finish it, but I've also been reading it since March and if I go for a long stretch without reading any of it I don't miss it, so.......it might take me a while. There are some strong "Adult Twilight" vibes for me? Eh. It's an ok night time read for when I don't want to stay up late engrossed in a story.

BONUS: The Backstagers: Volume 1 by James Tynion IV

This is the first in a graphic novel series, and it was on my list to consider purchasing for my school but was rated as 12+, so I figured I would check it out to see what the vibe was and if it was ok for my 6th graders or if it read a little older. Did I read the description before I checked it out? Not closely (in my defense, I was going through a list of like...hundreds of books to consider adding to the library), and it was not what I expected, but I LOVED IT. Now I'm regretting not putting the other books on hold so I would have more to read right away. The illustrations are fantastic (shout out to Rian Sygh and Walter Baiamonte), the story is the perfect balance of humor, heart, and intrigue, and ahhhhh, I can't wait until my hold for the next one comes in.

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor - Shaenon K Garrity

Initial draw: ✰✰✰✰✰
Character development: ✰✰✰✰✰
Plot/Writing style: ✰✰✰✰✰
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the Cover:

"One dark and stormy night, Haley sees a stranger drowning in the river. Since her greatest passion is Gothic romance novels, she knows her moment has come. But when Haley leaps into the water to rescue the stranger, she awakens in Willowweep. It certainly looks like the setting of one of her favorite books: A stately manor. A sinister housekeeper. Three brooding brothers. There's even a ghost.

Except Willowweep is not what it seems. Its romantic exterior hides the workings of a pocket universe--the only protection our world has against a great force of penultimate evil, and its defenses are crumbling. Could cruel fate make Haley the heroine that Willowweep needs?"

 

Life hack for getting myself to read books when I'm in a rut - apparently if I need to check if a book recommended for ages 12+ would be okay to include in my school library, I'll read it right away! Strange twist, given that the school year just ended, so any books I look into buying a. I can't actually order for another couple months, and b. no student will be able to read them until school starts in August. But whatevs! If it works it works. It also helps that my students love graphic novels. Fast reads, baby! And this one is a delight, let me tell you.

Our adventure begins with Haley begging her teacher to reconsider her grade...apparently she's obsessed with Gothic romance novels (and who could blame her?!), and her teacher wants her to branch out. Teacher, I FEEL YOU. One of my most avid readers at school will only read a very specific type of book, and we got to a point where I didn't have any other books like that, and I was like look...I can't magically make more books appear...maybe try something new if you don't want to reread stuff? Sigh. But I digress.

On her way home from school after her teacher refuses to change her grade, Haley sees someone drowning and leaps into the river to save them (after propping her umbrella over the stack of library books she was carrying to protect them from the rain, which I found incredibly heartwarming). Heroic! Somehow, though, this act of heroism lands her at Willowweep Manor, an estate straight out of Wuthering Heights. What is this place? How did she get here? And who is that strange, hella suspicious monk? There's only one way to find out...check out The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor! (For the curious, this is officially on my list of books to add to my library. I think my students will enjoy it.)

Oh me, oh May

Thrilled to report that not only did I finish and enjoy The Making of Jane Austen, I also survived until the end of the school year! I am still working (don't believe anyone who talks shit about how teachers shouldn't complain about pay because they get summers off...it's a fuckin lie), but I'm still hoping I'll have more energy and get more reading done, since I won't be actively TEACHING as much. Teaching = So Much Peopling = Exhausting. I can only extrovert for so long, and then I spend the rest of my day recuperating, too tired to do anything else. 

So anyway...Black Boy Joy, I'm gonna read you! I'm also going to read Every Body Shines for Read Harder challenge #5, read an anthology featuring diverse voices, and The Courage of Elfina for Read Harder challenge #6, read a non-fiction YA comic. I'm also ALSO going to be reading (well...presently reading) the graphic novel The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor, because it's recommended for ages 12+ but I had some students ask about getting it for our library, so I want to see if it would be age appropes for our older grades. So far? 👍👍

Finally, I'd really like to get back to more regular posting here, so I'm contemplating the best way to do that without completely exhausting myself. Trying to sit down and blog on Friday nights has proved tricky since my battery is very drained by the end of the week and since I frequently have DnD on Friday nights, but if I can get my ass in gear and write ahead of time, I could continue with First Page Friday posts. That's probably the best solution, working ahead. We'll see, I suppose. Only time will tell.

Did you know April means it's not March anymore?

Because intellectually, I knew it was April, but emotionally, I definitely thought we were still in the same month. Nope. April is different from March. It's a NEW month. Which means I am still behind.

I am unhappy to report that Jane Austen at Home is DRY, y'all. Like...toast with no butter dry. Cheerios with no milk. I was trying to slog through it, but I made it like five chapters in, and then I was like WAIT A MINUTE. I know someone who is a Jane Austen scholar! Devoney Looser, friends and foes. Or as I knew her when we briefly played roller derby together, Stone Cold Jane Austen. And she wrote a biography about Jane Austen! And why did I not remember this earlier? So I just ordered her book, The Making of Jane Austen, and I can't wait to start reading it. 

Know what else I can't wait to start reading? Let's see...

💭💭💭

Challenge 3: Read any book from the Woman's Prize shortlist/longlist/winner list!

I'll be reading An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. It has been described as both emotional and sad, which, if you asked my husband about it, is my bread and butter. So I'm sure I'll love it.

Also!

💭💭💭

Challenge 4: Read a book in any genre by a POC that's about joy and not trauma. My pick for this one is Black Boy Joy, an anthology of seventeen short stories edited by Kwame Mbalia. I've wanted to read this for a while, and I just got a copy for my school library, so I am SO excited to check it out!

Shhhh, pretend it's still February

Ok, I'm several days late, but I did it. I finished my February challenges. THREE of them, no less!

First up, I listened to The Hill We Climb several times, and it remains amazing. Listen to it. Over and over. It's glorious. Do I feel like this one was a little bit of a cheat, since it's like five minutes long? I mean...a little, but I didn't know that when I chose it? And it's still incredible, so. Whatever.

I also FINALLY finished The House of Earth and Blood (stayed up way too late last night to do it, but it's spring break so fuck it!), and y'all, shit got tense. TENSE. Do I feel like the first half-ish of the book could have been shorter? Yeah, probably. At least a bit. But the world building is pretty great, the characters were solid, and WHEW the last like quarter of the book had me on the edge of my...mattress, I guess, since I read it in bed. Pillow? Anyway, I probably should not have chosen this as a book that I read right before bed, because I had some wild nightmares, but I have very few regrets. I will be drinking lots of coffee today, though.

Finally, I landed on a third challenge, and that was reading a new literary magazine. Passages North, hellooooooooo! The linked short story was written by the brother of my tattoo artist, which is how I learned about it, and it was quite a ride.

⭐⭐⭐

So, now that we're already almost a week into March, which challenges shall I focus on for the rest of the month? I'm going to be honest, I'm a little bit starting to feel like if I don't go in order I'll end up sticking myself with the longer/harder books at the end of the year. 😬 Should I switch to going in order? Maybe? I don't know. I'm going to for March, at least. Challenges 1 and 2!

Challenge 1: Read a biography of an author you admire: I'll be reading Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley, because Jane Austen rules. Austen forever! I just put a hold on it at my library, so I should have it in my hot little hands early next week.

Challenge 2: Read a book set in a bookstore: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley is my pick for this one, it sounds full of heartache and longing and romance, which is pretty up my alley. I've got a hold on the audiobook through my digital library, which has an estimated two week wait, so...looking forward to listening to it on my commute when I'm back at work!

This post was not sponsored by my local public library, but consider this a PSA in case you need it: visit your local public library! Libraries are awesome!

Bye January, not sure I'll miss you

Oh my god, January felt like it would never end. I know there are only two days left, but I still kind of feel like February will never come. I guess on the plus side, plenty of time for reading? No, wait, that's a lie, it felt like forever because there was so much going on, which meant NOT PLENTY OF TIME FOR READING. Of course, though, I picked a super long book for challenge #18, so I am not done with that one yet. (Surprised? I didn't think so.)

I DID, however, finish The Red Pyramid, and thus challenge #9, AND I read the shortest book of poetry I've ever seen, which checks off challenge #12, reading a poetry collection. I probably could have written that in a different way so it didn't seem like I purposely chose the shortest book of poetry I've ever seen, but it's already written, I can't go back. 

For the record, that is not at all what I did. We did a virtual program with a local author at my former job before I left, and his latest book was added to the library's collection, so I put a hold on it and THEN discovered that it was the shortest book of poetry I'd ever seen. Worked out well for me, though, since I was behind on finishing two challenges for January and my hold came in just in time to read it before the month ended. Also worked out well for me because it was a good book! 

Anyhoo, February is up! I guess I'll keep chipping away at House of Earth and Blood as one of my challenges...should I choose three challenges just in case, though? Might be a good idea.

Due to kismet in library holds, my second challenge will be #24: Pick a challenge from any of the previous years' challenges to repeat. I chose Read an Audiobook of Poetry from 2020's challenges and am VERY excited to listen to The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman. 💜

I'm torn on what to do for a third challenge, so I guess I'll see how I feel if it's taking a long time to get through my lingering January challenge. In the meantime, what challenge would you pick for #24?

New Year, Same Me

Well, well, well, what have we here...time, while a construct, continues to march on, and we are now in 2022. Given the rousing successes that my 2021 reading challenges ended up being (and by "rousing successes" I mean I barely finished both, but I fuckin did it, didn't I?!), I decided to carry that momentum into what will hopefully be a better year than the last couple. Even if it isn't, I guess at least I'll come out of it having read some good books.

Anyhoo...reading challenges. I'm making the switch from Goodreads to StoryGraph (bold, I know), and instead of choosing a reading goal for the whole year like I have the past few years, I'm going to do the StoryGraph monthly challenges. January's challenge: Read at least one page a day. Already read a chapter this morning, so I'm crushing it so far!

I'll also be doing Book Riot's Read Harder challenge again, and this time instead of choosing a couple books at a time, I spent my new year's eve the way all cool kids spend it...choosing books for each challenge. I'll still be aiming to complete two challenges each month, but I'm going to jump around this year instead of going in order. Ready for January's challenges?

#9: Read the book that's been on your TBR the longest: 

CALLED OUT. For this challenge, I will be reading The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, which has been on my to be read list since July 31st, 2015. Which isn't entirely fair because this is the first book in a series, which means I'll actually be reading the SERIES that has been on my TBR the longest, which is exactly why it was still on my TBR...but here we go. It's on now, Book Riot.

#18: Read a "Best _____ Writing of the year" book for a topic and year of your choice:

Look...I should be more plugged in with book awards, but I'm not. Pretty much the only time I pay attention to awards is when I'm teaching them to students or when I see an award announcement on Twitter and am like "yay, good job!" Could I have googled around and found a cool best whatever list? Totally. Did I? No. I picked one of the reader's choice awards from the Goodreads 2020 awards...coincidentally, one that I got last year for my birthday and still haven't read! What book is this, you ask? House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas.

Which books would you choose for each of these challenges?