what I'm reading. [52 books update]

In previous posts I've mentioned that my goal for this year is to read 52 books.  Since it's just shy of the halfway point, and I'm actually sitting at a computer (rare - I hate sitting at a computer nowadays), I figured I'd go ahead and post the books I've read so far this year.  It's neat to see everything I've read - I like the idea of keeping a list.  It's also convenient that I keep the list on my phone in a Note, so when I'm out and about and recommending books to people, I just pull out my Books Read note and show them.

Below is the list.  Special notations about the books in parentheses (I wish I could give my thoughts on all the books, but there are too many & this post will be long enough as is... ask me about any of them if you want to know what I thought!).  If I super duper liked the book, I put it in bold.  I've also given a note on favorite fiction, nonfiction, YA, and travel writing.

2012 Books (so far)

• Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? And other concerns (Mindy Kaling. duh)
• Pawnee: the greatest town in America (we keep this, and America... in our bathroom - both fun to reread while you're doin your business ;)
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
• The Lost Continent: travels in small-town America (favorite Travel Writing book this year)
• Down and Out in Paris and London
• Delirium
• Matched
• Crossed (2nd book in Matched trilogy)
• The Fault in our Stars (favorite YA book I've read this year)
• Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe
• Variant
• Where She Went
• Graveminder
• A Brief History of Time
• The Name of the Star
• Ender's Game (didn't like this as much as everyone else)
• Pandemonium (2nd book in Delirium trilogy)
• 1Q84
• Earth (audiobook)
• Steve Jobs (audiobook)
• A Long Way Down
• Birthday Letters (a book of poetry)
• America the book
• Lyra's Oxford
• The Kind Diet
• Mother Tongue
• Book of Mormon (still reading this - it's interesting to say the least)
• Across the Universe
• The Happiness Project (favorite non-fiction I've read this year - great life advice!)
• Divergent (I don't know why this YA series is hyped up... my least favorite of the YA series I've read)
• The Night Circus (FAVORITE BOOK THIS YEAR. also, obviously, favorite fiction book this year. I was so sad when I ended this book, I wanted to keep reading)
• A Million Suns (2nd book in Across the Universe trilogy)
• Insurgent (2nd book in Divergent trilogy)
• The Paris Wife (this book made me kinda think all the Lost Generation are scummy people that shouldn't be romanticized... but whatever -- their literature is still pretty spectacular, you can't argue with that.)

I'm so sorry I don't have the authors names, I didn't record them after I finished reading them and don't want to go back and look them all up, even though I could probably guess the names of almost all of them.  But if you want to check them out, just google the titles... you know how the internet works, don't you readers?  ;)

These are all just books I've read for the FIRST time.  I made the goal of 52 books so I would expand and not just fall back on comfort books.  Although, I have reread a few comfort books this year... namely Space: a memoir (my most-read book of all time, it's like a security blanket to me) and a few Harry Potters.

Currently, I'm making my way through all the Game of Thrones books.  I was given the books a while ago by a family member and told I must read them and watch the series (I'm probably the last person on Earth to jump on this bandwagon, but I've had a huge stack of library books to get through and we don't have tv, so no HBO).  Martha (the woman that gave me her copies) left her hand-written notes tucked in the book, so it's helpful to have her thoughts on how to keep the characters straight -- especially for someone like me that hasn't seen the tv show.  I'm loving it so far. 

Well, that's that.  Can't wait to see what my list looks like at the end of the year... so far I'm on track for 52 as long as I don't slack off this summer. 

What are you reading?!

what I'm reading. {vol. 3}

Warning:  This post is super long.  But we write for ourselves on this blog to remember our lives... sooooo...

I'm way past due for a book update.  I've been reading a lot.  A lot a lot.  I don't know if I've said it on this blog or my tumblr (or both?), but a goal I set for myself for 2012 was to read 52 books this year.  So far I have read 20 books!  I'll be sharing the list of everything I've read at the 6 month mark and at the end of the year.

Some favorites so far:  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (YA book using found photographs to tell a story, pretty neat!),  The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson (travel writing by one of my favorite authors going in search of the perfect small town), Delirium by Lauren Oliver (the 1st in a trilogy & the 2nd [I've read that one too] just came out... similar to the Matched trilogy but way better story, characters, flow, & writing), Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell (a great, unapologetic look at the life of poverty in these two big cities), A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (surprisingly easy science-y book about the universe & more. I was always intimidated by this book before, so glad I finally read it), and The Fault in our Stars by John Green (from the writer of Looking for Alaska [I liked this book better than LfA]... it's a tear-jerker - super quick easy read).

I also really wanted to do a reading post to share with you what I'm currently reading (have not finished & put on the list yet) and I wanted to talk about Bag Day.

Bag Day, oh Bag Day!  How John and I worship you so!!!!  Bag Day is the last day in the 3 day book sale our public library has twice a year.  Pretty much we've been looking forward to Bag Day since September of last year.  I wasn't able to attend last year's book sale but I reaped the benefits when John brought home some great books.  We've been getting SUPER pumped about the March sale since the beginning of the year.  We went on Thursday to check out the books and scope some things out.  We decided not to buy anything the first two days of the sale and wait for the last day.  I may have hidden a book in hopes that it would be there on bag day (spoiler alert: it was!!!!).  You see, the last day of the sale is Bag Day -- everyone gets a brown paper sack (ya know, think Trader Joe's bags) to fill up with stuff (there are records, CDs, VHS, & DVDs as well as books there).  Each paper sack costs $5.  Just FIVE DOLLARS.  The sale started at 9AM on Saturday but we went there around 8:30 to get in line - we were #5 in line!   We came armed with only one 5 dollar bill and a love of the written word.  We had great success!

our alarm on the phone.  sorry for the strong language,
but we were obviously super excited for this day to finally get here!

Fleas kitten looking in our bag!

Above are all the books we got into our bag.  We were excited to get a lot of biographies and non fiction in hardback.  Since we already have A LOT of books and a lot of editions of favorite books, we tried to focus on getting things we don't have.  Although it's tempting to buy a different edition of classics which they always have a lot of and it's fun to see the different covers.

We managed to fit in 23 books in our $5 bag.  After laying out all the books to see what we got (we didn't always see what the other was putting in the bag), we decided for fun to add up the prices on the books to see how much they were all worth.

The grand total ---

$446.75 worth of books!!!!

We went on with our day, eating brunch at our favorite restaurant (for free! we had a $20 gift card... Bag Day was a holy day of saving!) , then coming back home and reading with Gilmore Girls on in the background.  Then John had to go to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription.  Just as I texted him asking where he was because he took longer than usual, he came back into the house with ANOTHER bag.  The sneaky fella had gone back to the book sale to fill up another surprise bag for me (& for him) with whatever he found that was still there - including some things we left out the first go around because we couldn't fit it in our bag.  He managed to score 33 more books!!!!

the treasures from the 2nd bag!!!

So we had 56 books total from two bags.  We spent $10 total on books but once we added up the prices for the second batch we realized our grand total of worth was ---
 

$893.39 worth of books for $10!!!
Can you even believe it?!!!

Oh man, did we have an awesome Bag Day this spring!  Can't wait for the next one this fall.  Oh, and one more thing, this didn't fit into the bag but John got it for me on his surprise trip, so he spent an additional $2.50 for it --

10 records of classic Broadway songs.  I love theatre so was SO excited when he brought me this. 
I'm actually listening to it right now while I write this post -- it's amazing!  So many good songs!

Shew --- this post couldn't get any longer... oh wait!  It can.  Real quick like, I'm going to share the 4 books I'm CURRENTLY READING.  I mean, that's what this post was intended to be about from the start.  Whoops.  Okay, here are my 4 current reads:

1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson -- I'm actually listening to this.  Do you think audiobooks count as "reading."  John and I have discussed this and have concluded that it depends on how you listen.  You have to listen actively, which I am with this one.  It's good so far.  What a wonderful man Steve Jobs was.  Who knows what we'll miss out on now that he has gone to the Big Apple Store in the Sky.  
2. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby -- I was actually halfway through this book when Bag Day happened.  I borrowed this book from the library (where almost all of the books I read come from) but slid my own copy of this book into our bag so now I have my own copy.  The story is told from 4 different perspectives and I love how it's not just a character change each section, but the whole writing style is changed to fit the character.  
3. Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes -- this is a book of poetry by Sylvia Plath's husband, if you aren't familiar with him.  I'm enjoying this Bag Day find very much so far.  I just wish I was more familiar with the timeline of events in Ted & Sylvia's life so I knew what some of the references were.
4. The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson -- Bill Bryson has quickly become one of my favorite authors.  I "read" (actively listened to the audiobook) At Home: A Short History of Private Life last year and loved it.  Was gifted two of his travel writing books for Christmas and loved them.  So when I saw this gem the first day of the book sale, I slipped it in a box that wasn't as prominent as the one it was in originally, hoping it would still be there on Bag Day and THANK THE LAWD, it was.  I am super excited for this non-fiction work because it is about one of my favorite subjects -- the history of the English language.  Bryson is so smart and witty -- he's a joy to read. 

Wow.  This post is probably the longest one I've ever written - at least since my teen livejournal days.  Ha!

are you reading anything interesting?!  I'd love to hear!

what I'm reading. {vol. 2}

I figured I'd do another book post.  Unfortunately I haven't been keeping track of EVERYTHING I've read, but I can do a book post of things read within the last month since my accident.  One thing I was crazy looking forward to before the dreaded egg poaching incident, was our library's annual booksale.  My absolute favorite thing about our town is the library -- it's lovely, and if we move away from here I guarantee it's what I'll miss the most.  We go to the library at least once a week.   Fortunately I had just visited the library the day before I became bedridden so I had two books with me.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to the booksale, but John went in my stead and got tons of books, some classics, some favorites of ours that we didn't have our own copy of, random neat old editions of things, coffee table books, and just plain random novels.  He did amazing!  We ended up getting 40 books for $15!  Guesstimated total worth of the books, adding up the prices on the jackets or guessing where there was none, was near $800.  AMAZING.

Okay, okay... here are some of those books that I've read in the past few weeks.

• ... okay, so I reread a lot of things and skimmed through stuff by Philip Pullman His Dark Materials (John had never read the books so we sped through those together ... he loved them!) and The Sally Lockhart Series.
  
• My Lobotomy: a memoir by Howard Dully.  Howard had an ice-pick lobotomy when he was 12.  His memoir is an incredible read.  It's strange and fascinating learning about the lobotomy craze that swept the US once upon a time.  Definitely would recommend this one if you like non-fiction.
• When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman.  I loved this book.  Couldn't put it down at all!  This book is about Elly and her brother and spans about 30 or so years.  Wonderful cast of characters and incredible relationships.  Recommend!
• The Adults by Alison Espach.  This novel was pretty good, but I could take it or leave it.  It explores Emily's coming of age in an affluent community and her expanding familial relationships.   Maybe I didn't like it so much because I couldn't really relate to Emily and what she was going through.  
• Bossypants by Tina Fey.  Chances are you've already read this or you know someone that's read it, loved it, and told you to READ IT RIGHT NOW, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200.  Basically, you should listen to your friend if you haven't already read it.  I won't get into it much because you know the deal.  It's one of the most recommended books of the year and very well should be.  Every girl can relate to Tina Fey.  (And it'd still be an interesting read for men, too!)  She's amazing and wonderful and speaks the truth with a witty tongue.  Read it.  The only reason it took me this long to read it is because my library JUST got it in. 
• A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka.  John picked this book up at the sale due to the cover -- and I'll admit, it's a great cover in a wonderful graphic design-y way.  It took me a little longer to trek through this book but it was definitely an interesting read.  It's about two adult sisters and their elderly Ukrainian father (he is writing a book about tractors).  The father is getting a green card marriage to a much younger, scheming, overly make-up-ed Ukrainian woman with a young son.  This was just a book I read when I needed a distraction or was waiting in the car for John (it's hard for me to get around but I like to get out of the house, so I ride along in the car a lot. ha!).  Probably wouldn't recommend this, but if it's around and there's nothing better -- read it.
• Hook Man Speaks by Matt Clark.  Unfortunately this is Matt Clark's only novel, but oh my, it is a page turner.  It's especially great for this Halloween time of year.  This book follows a man named Leonard who is largely known in the urban legend world of the US as the Hook Man who stalks cars in various Lover's Lane spots around the country.  Leonard is being interviewed throughout this novel by a professor of folklore trying to piece together the legends of Hook Man and various others together to get the truth and see how the story exaggerated & spread.  It's pretty awesome.  Also - a super quick read!  Definite recommend.

• and I've currently got a few other books I've started, including Hey, Joe by Ben Neihart.  Can't really get into it even though the reviews on the cover make me think I should LOVE it.  But oh well... it's okay so far I suppose - it follows a 16 year old boy in 1990s New Orleans.  We'll see.

HAPPY READING!

what I'm reading. {vol. 1}

I read a lot.  Always have and, hopefully, always will.  It's no surprise that I have a degree in English.  But here's a bad habit I developed during undergrad & grad school -- I am a perpetual rereader.  During school, especially as English degrees go, you don't have much time to read for pleasure.  It's absolutely horrible.  You have to read all these books for school so the ones you want to read get left by the wayside.   Reading before bed has always been something of a routine for me.  Having my brain stuffed with crazy, heavy novels and other literature forced on me by my professors, I just wanted to chill out and read something I knew at night.  So I started getting in the habit of "comfort books" and just rereading all my favorite books I'd already read.  This habit isn't so terrible until you take away the school aspect and then miraculously you have time to read for pleasure again -- but now you've associated pleasure reading with comfort reading and you get stuck in ruts.  Woe is me.  The upside, I do have spurts of reading new books, albeit not as often as I'd like.  I'm trying to train myself again to read more new-to-me books than comfort books.  This summer has proved fruitful for me on this front. 

Here's what I've read so far this summer:

• Little Bee by Chris Cleave.  Also known as The Other Hand if you're reading it in the UK.  Two women from two very different worlds and how their lives entwine.
• "The men came and they... that's how all of our stories started."
  
• I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley.  A lovely collection of essays.
• "If you have to ask someone to change, to tell you they love you, to bring wine to dinner, to call you when they land, you can't afford to be with them."
• Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell.  Travel writing, a pilgrimage to different presidential assassination sites. 
• "The people who visit the [Lincoln] memorial always look like an advertisement for democracy, so bizarrely, suspiciously diverse that one time I actually saw a man in a cowboy hat standing there reading the Gettysburg Address next to a Hasidic Jew. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had linked arms with a woman in a burka and a Masai warrior, to belt out ‘It’s a Small World After All,’ flanked by a chorus line of nuns and field-tripping, rainbow-skinned schoolchildren." 
•  Brush Up Your Mythology by Michael Macrone. Author of several "Brush Up" books.  A good primer or overview for Greek/Roman mythology.
• "I first read of the Golden Fleece in a comic book starring Walt Disney's inimitable skinflint, Scrooge McDuck." ...  [tale of Jason & the Argonauts] ... "What happened to the Golden Fleece, though, is a mystery; perhaps Scrooge McDuck knows the answer."
• Looking for Alaska by John Green.  A YA novel.
• "So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane."
• The Books of Lost Things by John Connolly.  A story about growing up set in a fantasy world of classic fairy tales with a twist. 
• "Once upon a time – for that is how all stories should begin – there was a boy who lost his mother."  
• Trick of the Eye by Jane Stanton Hitchcock. A trompe l'oeil artist is commissioned to work for a very wealthy woman with many secrets.
• "My object is to arrest and amuse my viewers by leading them away from reality and making them look twice, if only for an instant, at the beauty of illusion." 

And now I'm about halfway through East of Eden by John Steinbeck.  I'm actually quite surprised how quickly I got into this book.  So far it is definitely my favorite Steinbeck.  Hopefully I'll finish it this weekend and then onto others!