A Month of Faves-- Reading Challenges and Goals/How I Read and Blogged

A Month of Faves is hosted by Girlxoxo, Traveling With T, and Estella's Revenge.

I have a hard time signing up for long-term reading challenges. I forget what I'm doing. I do better with small challenges during seasonal times of the year. I participated in all the Halloween reading challenges and aced those like a champ. I'm also apart of the Classics Club but I didn't not get my ten in this year. :(

I always have a goal to do what I can in Read Harder challenges by Book Riot but once again I just have a hard time sticking to a certain theme each month.

I read a book a day in September with Stacy from Stacy's Book Blog. That was fun and hard and really enjoyable. Most of the books I read were children's books and very short non-fiction. But I read a lot of things that had been on my list!

I always have a goal to read more diverse books and try new genres. 34/128 of my books read this year were by diverse authors. Not as good as I would have liked but 2019 is a new year to do better.

44/128 were male authors so the majority of my reading this last year was definitely female-centric.

21 books were young adult. 28 were children and juvenile fiction. 50 were non-fiction. 23 were memoirs/biographies. I read a lot of mini history bio collections and true crime books. I managed to get one philosophy book in too. Most of my non-fiction this year was memoir. I usually try for more history and science in my non-fiction. I guess I needed something a bit different this year. It seems like I needed to connect with human stories more than anything else. We shall see what 2019 brings!

18 Audiobooks.

25 books were either sci-fi or fantasy! I usually don't read that much in those genres. I also read a lot of horror and mystery/crime fiction. 19 horror and 13 crime/mystery.

I loved listening to Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone. It's a beautiful story made even more magical while listening to it!

My favorite audiobook memoir was Eddie Izzard's Believe Me. He has little live notes that he just shoots from the hip while he made it. It was so funny and entertaining.

I noticed, according to Goodreads, that I read a lot more books that I actually enjoyed. I'm not sure if that means I intentionally picked up books I knew I'd love or if I just happened to find ones I loved more than another year but whichever it was, it was definitely a great reading year for me! 24 books were 5 stars for me and 64 were 4 stars! That's some funtastic books!

I know I can't sign up for any blogging challenge and actually accomplish it. But I know I will keep my eye on The Read Harder challenge from Book Riot. And Girlxoxo has monthly blogging challenges that I may try to participate in as well. Michelle from True Book Addict always has seasonal reading challenges that are short enough to get me going. And I'm perpetually reading my Classics Club books. I also have a list of Amazon's 100 books to read in a lifetime. A list from Well-educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. And President Obama always releases his best reads throughout the year and I try to keep my eye on those for reading ideas.

I've blogged a lot more this year than I did last year and it's been great. To date I've written 117 blog posts this year! Whoa! My favorites are probably the self-reflective ones I've done in December. I've stretched a bit thinking about my year of reading and living and I've seen some patterns.

I've found new bloggers to follow and participated in blogging events and small reading challenges and it's been good for me. I'd like to keep it up and make it more regular. I need the practice I really do enjoy it. So many of my TBR lists comes from fellow book bloggers! Plus I get ideas on how to change things up and to look back at my reading year and see how far I've come and where to go next!

FrightFall and R.I.P. XIII Wrap-up

R.I.P. XIII went from Sept-Oct.

I read a total of 13 mystery/horror-type books during those two months.

September:

• The Cutting Season by Attica Locke--mystery
• The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas--mystery/thriller/ya
• Nighty-Nightmare by James Howe--mystery/juvenile fiction
• The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury--horror/juvenile fiction
• The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters--gothic mystery/historical fiction

October and FrightFall and R.I.P. XIII:

• The Changeling by Victor LaValle--horror/fairytale retelling
• Scream All Night by Derek Milman--horror/ya
• The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson--true crime/non-fiction
• Beanstalker and Other Hilarious Scary Tales by Kiersten White--scary short stories/fairy tale retellings.
• Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh--horror/mystery/juvenile fiction
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson--horror
• PenPal by Dathan Auerbach--horror
• The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero--horror

My favorites:

The Changeling was my favorite, probably will be one of the top ones for the year for me as well! The Little Stranger also blew me away. PenPal was the creepiest book I read during the season. The Haunting of Hill House was also a great listen.

I had a great time reading all the things horror! 

Scream All Night by Derek Milman

Publisher's Summary:

Dario Heyward knows one thing: He’s never going back to Moldavia Studios, the iconic castle that served as the set, studio, and home to the cast and crew of dozens of cult classic B-horror movies. It’s been three years since Dario’s even seen the place, after getting legally emancipated from his father, the infamous director of Moldavia’s creature features.

But then Dario’s brother invites him home to a mysterious ceremony involving his father and a tribute to his first film—The Curse of the Mummy’s Tongue. Dario swears his homecoming will be a one-time visit. A way for him to get closure on his past—and reunite with Hayley, his first love and costar of Zombie Children of the Harvest Sun, a production fraught with real-life tragedy—and say good-bye for good. But the unthinkable happens—Dario gets sucked back into the twisted world of Moldavia and the horrors, both real and imagined, he’s left there.

With only months to rescue the sinking studio and everyone who has built their lives there, Dario must confront the demons of his past—and the uncertainties of his future. But can he escape the place that’s haunted him his whole life?

My Thoughts:

I absolutely loved the setting. Eastern European old castle. Old studio horror films with old studio actors living in said castle. There are a lot of references to the classic horror Italian film directors and their movies. So great setting. There are some fun characters that seem unreal and are a hoot. Like Dario's brother who's supposed to be in his late 20s but seems like he's 15 or the father who decides to be buried alive for his funeral.

But the story was clunky and not edited well. The story felt more like an actual screenplay turned into a novel. It makes me wonder if Milman wrote the screenplay first and tried to get it sold but then went with a novelization. Scenes sped by like I was watching it on a movie which for a movie is great but not so much when you're reading a book.

Overall, I liked it but it wasn't as good as I was hoping.

*read for R.I.P. XIII and FrightFall challenges.

The Changeling by Victor LaValle

Publisher's Summary:

Apollo Kagwa has had strange dreams that have haunted him since childhood. An antiquarian book dealer with a business called Improbabilia, he is just beginning to settle into his new life as a committed and involved father, unlike his own father who abandoned him, when his wife Emma begins acting strange. Disconnected and uninterested in their new baby boy, Emma at first seems to be exhibiting all the signs of post-partum depression, but it quickly becomes clear that her troubles go far beyond that. Before Apollo can do anything to help, Emma commits a horrific act—beyond any parent’s comprehension—and vanishes, seemingly into thin air. 

Thus begins Apollo’s odyssey through a world he only thought he understood to find a wife and child who are nothing like he’d imagined. His quest begins when he meets a mysterious stranger who claims to have information about Emma’s whereabouts. Apollo then begins a journey that takes him to a forgotten island in the East River of New York City, a graveyard full of secrets, a forest in Queens where immigrant legends still live, and finally back to a place he thought he had lost forever. This dizzying tale is ultimately a story about family and the unfathomable secrets of the people we love.

Victor LaValle has written something special here. It's a book that haunts you well after you're done reading it. He manages to combine all the elements of a truly brilliant story all into one. It's a fairy-tale retelling; it's a horror novel; it has a moral; it deals with class and race; and post-partum depression and the ways in which the world sees women or doesn't; and all the ways we love and hurt those we love.

It is a wild ride from the moment we meet Apollo's parents to the very end. There are so many twists and turns throughout the book I could never guess what would happen at the end. What happened with Apollo's father? Does he have something to do with his son Brian? Is his wife crazy? Is his child truly dead? So many questions and Apollo takes us with him through it all.

The characters are well-rounded; the creepy villains all have motivation and humanity. Not everyone is all good or all bad. Sometimes we don't know who to root for! I had so many emotions while listening.

Here are some great quotes:

"A bad fairy tale has some simple goddamn moral. A good fairy tale tells the truth."

"'And they lived happily ever after...' 'Today, she said. And they lived happily today.' 'Is that enough he asked...' 'That's everything, my love.'"

"When you have to save the one you love, you will become someone else, something else. You will transform. The only real magic is the things we'll do for the ones we love."

I also enjoyed listening to the audio version. I was a little unsure in the beginning with the author reading his own book. That can go badly very quickly. But he grew on me and there were moments you could tell he was affected by his own writing. He added the right kind of gravitas needed for this book.

*read for R.I.P. XIII and FrightFall

September wrap-up and Week in Review

Where did September go? Well, I made it through 30 books in September! There were only 2 days where I used the books I had finished that day as my count. And I read a couple of tiny children's books when I was down to the wire and really tired at the end of the day. But overall, I felt I gave it a good go to spice it up and read some different things like memoirs, self-help and some kids selections.

Here's how I read:

graphic novels and comics: 10

children/juvenile/young adult books: 19

non-fiction: 16

mystery/thriller/horror: 5

fantasy: 5

My favorites of the month:

1. The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

2. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

3. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder

4. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

5. All of the March books by John Robert Lewis

6. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

7. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

I think I could do it again next year as long as I kept the same idea and maybe even allow myself to finish 30 in September rather than one each day. Thanks to Stacy for starting the tradition and look forward to next year!

Another great week with Fall in the air! This last weekend DH's friend from Taiwan came in for some work training and stayed the weekend. So we took her out to a dueling piano bar called Keys on Main and the a beautiful Fall hike on Sunday morning!

Books Finished: See above! I did it! I done did my challenge like an adult.

Books I'm Currently Reading: The Devil in the White City: Magic, Murder, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson. This is my third time starting the book and I can safely say I will definitely finish it soon! Scream All Night by Derek Milman. And I just started The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero. It reminds me a bit of The House of Leaves book by David Mitchell.

Books Acquired: Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb, Easy Soups from Scratch with Quick Breads to Match by Ivy Manning, The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saez, Swing Time by Zadie Smith, and American Like Me by America Ferrera.

Listening to: The Changeling by Victor LaValle, the podcasts Spooked Season Two from Snap Judgement and Lore. I'm hoping to start NOS4A2 by Joe Hill this week too.

Watching: I watched Mandy, and am working on Maniac on Netflix and more horror movies to come this month!

Making: More crocheted f-bombs! I think I finally have a pattern that works well for me. I'm also working on some hats and a little crocheted Frankenstein's monster!

Looking Forward to: Finishing up the Halloween decor for the porch and the final touches on my costume. And we may hit Oktoberfest in our area on Sunday. One of the local breweries makes a pumpkin beer on nitro and it is fabulous. I've been wanting to get up there just for that!

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Publisher's Summary:

One postwar summer in his home of rural Warwickshire, Dr. Faraday, the son of a maid who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country physician, is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once impressive and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. Its owners—mother, son, and daughter—are struggling to keep pace with a changing society, as well as with conflicts of their own. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become intimately entwined with his. 

My thoughts:

I've been wanting to read a Sarah Waters book for a few years now. I watched Tipping the Velvet a few years ago and I absolutely adored it. So I jumped at the chance to read The Little Stranger when I saw it at my library's book sale and saw that it was a historical fiction haunted house story! I love haunted house stories. There's something especially horrifying about them. Is it that the home has usually been the domain of women and once those are haunted it's a metaphor for the haunting of women?

Waters delves into the historical aspect of post World War Britain and how the old gentry families were changed after the war. They had a hard time catching up with modernity.

Dr. Faraday visits Hundreds Hall on a house call for the Ayres' servant Betty. He hasn't been at the house since he came with his mother when he was a small boy and she was a servant at Hundreds Hall. He's been fascinated with it ever since. He soon becomes involved with all the Ayres, Roderick who was injured during the war, Caroline who is unmarried and becoming a bit of a spinster and Mrs. Ayres who is struggling to go on after the war and who is also continually grieving her lost daughter. Shortly after Dr. Faraday's first visit strange occurrences begin at Hundreds Hall. Is it the work of a ghost, Mrs. Ayres' dead daughter or something more malevolent?

It's a slow burn but all engaging. It's a great gothic story that tells more than just ghosts in a big house. As the family's fears are laid out to bear, we are left with an agonizing feeling of what the hell is going on? How reliable is our narrator? The whole story is dark and moody. Waters does a brilliant job letting the house take on a dark persona all its own.

I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and recommend it for anyone who loves a good historical gothic mystery.

*read for R.I.P XIII and FrightFall reading challenges.

Week-in-Review and 30-in-September Update

I'm really enjoying the book a day in September. I enjoy picking out my book for the day and setting out time to sit down and read. It's been a fun challenge! There were a couple of days that I had to stay up a bit too late to finish but overall I've been getting them done with time to spare for a few other books I'm reading as well.

I've been enjoying the cooler nights the last week or two. G and I have been taking some walks at night and talking. We've had some fun conversations.

Books Finished:

A book a day for my challenge and The Book on the Taboo of Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts. I read this one over the summer with my friend. We do a little philosophy club together and this was our pick for the last few months. There were some interesting ideas on how to see ourselves as totally apart of nature and not separate from it. There were some nuggets of great insight. But overall it was a bit wordy and out of touch with pragmatically how the world is and not how we want it to be.

Books I'm Currently Reading:

• The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas-- a great YA mystery.
• Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl--It's weird but good!
• The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters--it's been awhile since I've read a good historical fiction novel with some creepy elements. Probably the last one was The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

Books Acquired:

• Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching by Paula J. Giddings for my Kindle
• X-Files: Cold Cases by Audible
• Emma by Jane Austen from Audible
• Heresy by S.J. Parris for my Kindle

Listening to:

• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Spooked--a podcast put on by Snap Judgment

Watching:

I finally finished up The Alienist. I really enjoyed that show. Characters and world-building were fantastic. Caught up on Castle Rock! OMG only one episode left. The Sinner is getting good too. The WNBA finals are this week so I know I'll be watching those games. Making It finished up its season. What a fun show. I'm going to miss Amy and Nick and all the makers on the show.

Making:

I've been trying to cook more at home and last week I did really well. I made grilled salmon and fish tacos and one-pan chicken thighs with potatoes. Overall, it's been a good week. So yay me! This week will be leftover tacos, spaghetti and homemade meatballs! 

I also have plans to make chocolate chip pumpkin pancakes and start on my crocheting project for f-bombs!

image source

I don't know if it'll look exactly like this but I'm hoping something similar! I want to make a few of these for stocking stuffers and friend gifts--so my one friend who reads my blog may see this...surprise! But hopefully not...

Looking Forward to:

G has his school fundraiser carnival this Friday so he's very excited about that! I'm also looking forward to Fall. The Pumpkin Harvest beers from Blue Moon are out and I just love those so much. Pumpkin cookies and soon I'll be making chilis and soups and stews. We also just put up most of Halloween decorations cuz after Labor Day it's unofficially fall for me and that means Halloween.

30 Books in September Challenge:

Day 4: All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson. This was a very cute graphic novel story on the anxieties and fears of starting middle school. I had a hard time with the parenting in this one but I know that wasn't the point so I tried to overlook that. Overall it's a great read.

Day 5: The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang. I loved this young adult graphic novel. The prince secretly loves to dress in women's clothing and he hires a young seamstress to make his clothes for him and to keep his secret.

Day 6: The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz. Some good principles to live by but he lost me in his metaphors and anecdotes.

Day 7: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown. I had to read this way too fast so I'll be going back over all the things she wrote about. She's great.

Day 8: Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce. I've been wanting to read this one for along time. I'm so glad I finally picked it up for my challenge. Loved it!

Day 9: How to Fake a Moon Landing: Exposing the Myths of Science Denial by Daryl Cunningham. This was a non-fiction graphic novel. It's not bad. Wasn't my favorite but I liked the sentiment.

30 in September!

A challenge has been issued! My wonderful blogging friend Stacy over at Stacy's Books has challenged me to read 30 books in September, a book for each day. She did this last year and I had so much fun cheering her on that I told her I'd be up for it the next year. Well, the time has come. I will be sticking to very small books, like all of G's books I could gather up from his bookshelves...and graphic novels from the library! Never fear, I did throw in some short classics like Animal Farm and The Pearl. But for the most part I'm sticking to the small stuff and see how I do. If I manage all right I hope to up the ante next year!

I also am going out of town a couple of weekends in September so I will have to be extra vigilant!

 So without further adieu here is my list in picture form. I do have more than 30 pictured but I wanted to have options! I also may do a few on my Kindle...

Nala couldn't resist helping me out with my piles! And another kitty to round it all out!

I will try to do regular updates but I can't ever be sure. But wish me luck and Stacy too and whoever else is crazy enough to join us!

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XIII

It's that time of year again! R.I.P. XIII is just around the corner from Sept. 1- Oct. 31st hosted by Capricious over at the official Readers Imbibing Peril website.

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.

Suspense.

Thriller.

Dark Fantasy.

Gothic.

Horror.

Supernatural.

The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.

The goals are simple. 

1. Have fun reading.

2. Share that fun with others.

As we do each and every year, there are multiple levels of participation (Perils) that allow you to be a part of R.I.P. XII without adding the burden of another commitment to your already busy lives. There is even a one book only option for those who feel that this sort of reading is not their cup of tea (or who have many other commitments) but want to participate all the same.

Multiple perils await you. You can participate in just one, or participate in them all.

Peril the First:

Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (our very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Shirley Jackson or Tananarive Due…or anyone in between.

Peril the Second:

Read two books of any length that you believe fit within the challenge categories.

Peril the Third:

We all want you to participate. This Peril involves reading one book that fits within the R.I.P. definition.

Peril of the Short Story:

We are fans of short stories and our desire for them is perhaps no greater than in autumn. We see Jackson in our future for sure! You can read short stories any time during the challenge. We sometimes like to read short stories over the weekend and post about them around that time. Feel free to do this however you want, but if you review short stories on your site, please link to those reviews on our RIPXII Book Review pages.

Peril on the Screen:

This is for those of us who like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large. It might be a television show, like Dark Shadows, or your favorite film. If you are so inclined, please post links to any R.I.P.-related viewing you do on our book review pages as well.

Peril of the Review:

Submit a short review of any book you read and you may see it here on the blog! Again, you may participate in one or all of the various Perils. Our one demand: enjoy yourself!

The R.I.P. XII Challenge does not require you to read from a pre-selected list of books, but like many of you we love to get ideas from what others are thinking of reading. If you want to include a pool of potential reads when you sign up, either in the comments or on your own sign up post on your blog (not required for participation), please do!

This challenge is always a joy because of one thing: you! You sharing your passion for books, reading, films, television, etc. helps bring us together and ensures that we all have a great time. Thank each and every one of you who choose to participate on any level. We are honored that you would choose to do so.

I know I'll be reading lots of things in September and I'll throw some good scares in all month in October. Horror movies will be back in queue for those two months! Can't wait! I'll probably throw some titles up that I'd love to get to as September approaches. Join in if you dare!!!

Week-in-Review August 20, 2018

Where did the summer go? I mean there is still 5 weeks left til the official start of autumn but once the kiddos hit school, it all changes. Summer isn't quite the same with school back in session. G was really nervous about starting but we went to his back to school night and he had a blast. He loved seeing his new classroom and meeting his teacher and seeing all his buddies from last year. He was excited all weekend long to be heading back to school.

It's bittersweet. G is getting older so we can hang out and do a lot more stuff together. This was the first summer he actually enjoyed our hikes together. We did our last one together Monday and it was challenging and very hot but he stuck with it and told me it was one of his favorite hikes. So yeah it's a bittersweet time. I wish we had a few more weeks to just hang out and be together. It's enjoying these tiny moments together and keeping them with me.

Zoo day for DH's work family summer party!

Our last hike together before school started

Last big water park shin dig!

What!? G in 4th!!!

First book to read for Bout of Books!

Finished:

I'm Fine and Other Lies by Whitney Cummings (listened to audiobook)

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

Watched:

Finished up Killing Eve. Whoa! That was a good show. Weird and awkward and funny along with some action. Caught up on The Sinner season 2, Castle Rock, and Sharp Objects.

Netflix just released To All the Boys I've Loved Before and I watched that with DH. Super cute. I loved it! I want to read the trilogy now. It was a little cheesy but overall a well-done production. I hope it goes viral and gets watched a lot. I'd love to see the next two in the series also made into movies.

I Kill Giants was also a very poignant coming-of-age movie. Though, A Monster Calls was done a lot better it was still a great movie to see and that little actress is gonna go places.

And if you want creepy and disturbing I watched The Gift with Jason Bateman and Joel Edgerton.

Listening to:

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. So good. Over half way through.

Making:

I've been grilling brats and chicken all week. I've been trying to get full use out of our grill this summer.

Looking forward to:

Heading out of town with a friend. We're doing a little expat reunion for all of us who were in Japan together a few years ago. It's been three years since I've seen one of them. It should be a great weekend.

Challenges:

I'm participating in Bout of Books this week.

September I'll be joining Stacy from Stacy's Books to read one book every day in September. I'm choosing a lot of kids book and graphic novels. But it'll be fun to try and focus and get as many in as I can.

Yay to Fall! I can now officially look forward to it!

Bout of Books 23

I've heard a lot about Bout of Books over the years in the book blogosphere and I'm finally taking the plunge and signing up! Yay! This is my first time and know it won't be my last.

For those unfamiliar with Bout of Books:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01 am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. --From the Bout of Books team

I'm going to pick up some quick and easy reads. I bought a few mysteries and romances and think these will do the trick this week along with reading through my regular fare. Good luck to all!

High Summer Readathon 2018

Seasons Reading

Michelle over at Seasons of Reading is hosting another readathon for July, all month long! Just grab a book or two or more and get going on that ever-piling-up TBR stack. She's also hosting a Christmas in July for the last four days of the month. Christmas can never come too early...!

I always have quite a stack to choose from but here are my official goals for July:

1. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

I've heard all the good things about this series and now that the movie is coming out in August, I figure I will get it read before I see the movie!

2. The Overstory by Richard Powers

It's a big book but I'm hoping if I plan accordingly I can make it through in July. I've been attracted to books about nature this spring and summer and this one looks right up my alley.

3. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

I just picked this one up on audiobook so I'm hoping to finish this the first week of July.

I'll do really well to get through these but here are some back ups if I have time or find a way to fit them in in between my other books:

4. The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks by Terry Tempest Williams

5. Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

6. Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar

7. Hardscrabble by Sandra Dallas

8. Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

*all images were taken from Amazon.com.

Sci-fi Readathon Wrap-up Post

I managed to finish off two books this read-a-thon. I usually do better but some things came up and my time got away from me.

Finished:

1. The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

2. White Trash Zombie: Apocalypse by Diana Rowland

Still reading and hope to finish this week:

1. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Correy

2. The Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler

I'm going to get some reviews up for those first two and get them linked up soon. A big shout out to Michelle for hosting! It forces me to read books I usually don't make the time for!

Sci-Fi Summer Readathon Signup

I'm joining Michele over at Seasons Reading for a little sci-fi/fantasy summer reading kickoff!

So grab some sci-fi reading material and join along!

I have a few that I'd like to read but it's only two weeks so I won't have much time but....

1. The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. This is the first book in the Earthseed series. I think she had more in mind but she passed away sadly before she wrote more. Her series has also inspired an actual religious movement called Earthseed. I've heard it's just that good. So here we go!

2. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I read this one in high school and loved it. With the new movie out on HBO, I've been meaning to read this one. This would be a great time for a re-read.

3. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. Amazon just had a deal with the first two books on Kindle so I thought I'd take a chance!

This list will keep me busy! Plus Octavia Butler has another book in the series and the rest of her sci-fi books to keep me busy for a very long time!

The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs

Goodreads Summary:

Nina Riggs was just thirty-seven years old when initially diagnosed with breast cancer—one small spot. Within a year, the mother of two sons, ages seven and nine, and married sixteen years to her best friend, received the devastating news that her cancer was terminal. 

How does one live each day, “unattached to outcome”? How does one approach the moments, big and small, with both love and honesty?

Exploring motherhood, marriage, friendship, and memory, even as she wrestles with the legacy of her great-great-great grandfather, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nina Riggs’s breathtaking memoir continues the urgent conversation that Paul Kalanithi began in his gorgeous When Breath Becomes Air. She asks, what makes a meaningful life when one has limited time?

"There are so many things that are worse than death: old grudges, a lack of self-awareness, severe constipation, no sense of humor, the grimace on your husband's face as he empties your surgical drain into the measuring cup."

I enjoyed Riggs' musings on life through her love of the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne. She quotes heavily from his life and essays. And since she was a descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson, she quotes a lot from him too having studying him early on.

The way she tackled life and love and death is inspiring. I can only hope to face death and live life in such a way.

"It's about honoring the unknowing and the awkwardness and the mystery of dying. he said. It's unsettling-- and that's okay."

This is the last paragraph in her book. To me it was profound. You can tell she was ready. It was alarming and tragic and poignant to read.

"Already, the boys are off to the wilds again-- whooping and surviving. It will be getting dark soon--the sky has started with that eerie postapocalyptic light of a warm evening in winter-- but I am not ready to call them back in. There is nothing in this whole world that could make me call them back in."

*Part of my 2018 Nonfiction Reading Challenge.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Goodreads Summary:

In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

In a humorous and breakout book by Williams-Garcia, the Penderwicks meet the Black Panthers.

My thoughts:

Delphine and her two sisters, Vonetta and Fern, head to Oakland, California to spend the summer with their mother, who left them right after Fern was born.

I enjoyed Delphine's view. She's the oldest and remembers her mother the most. Their mother is not very nice and acts like she doesn't want them there. She sends them off to the Black Panther center every morning for breakfast and summer camps. They meet some new friends. And they begin to see the community and haven the Black Panthers have provided for people who need it. Soon Delphine and her sisters are making signs and handing out flyers for a peaceful protest.

Delphine learns more about her mother and why she left and the true name of her little sister Fern. She learns that everyone has layers and nobody is what he/she seems at first glance.

It's a wonderful and nuanced story. It's a great one for kids and adults alike.

*part of the Monthly Motif Challenge--Diversify your reading in January hosted by GirlXOXO.

2018 Monthly Motif Challenge by GirlXoXo

I wanted to sign up for this one to help me expand and diversify my reading this year. This one is hosted by the ladies at Girlxoxo.
*All my picks are subject to change any given day, week, or month!

The monthly challenges are:

JANUARY – Diversify Your Reading

Kick the reading year off right and shake things up. Read a book with a character (or written by an author) of a race, religion, or sexual orientation other than your own.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. I picked up her Earthseed series from Amazon a few months ago.

FEBRUARY – One Word 
Read a book with a one word title.


Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala

MARCH – Travel the World
Read a book set in a different country than your own, written by an author from another country than your own, or a book in which the characters travel.

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. I've heard amazing things about this one and want to read an Irish tale for March.

APRIL – Read Locally
Read a book set in your country, state, town, village (or has a main character from your home town, country, etc)

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams. I'm from Utah and this one has been on my shelf for awhile plus it will go along with Earth Day in April.

MAY- Book to Screen
Read a book that’s been made into a movie or a TV show.

Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile. I've heard both the TV show and the book are must-watch/reads.

JUNE- Crack the Case
Mysteries, True Crime, Who Dunnit’s.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Madness, and Magic at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson, or Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker, or In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, or Beyond the Body Farm by Dr. Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson. Whichever feeds my fancy.

JULY – Vacation Reads
Read a book you think is a perfect vacation read and tell us why.

I may try for some children's fiction. I've been wanting to read my way through the Newberry Award winners and finalists. Vacation reads should be easier reads but not necessarily just brain candy and thus a perfect fit for some juvenile fiction.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.

AUGUST- Award Winners 

Read a book that has won a literary award or a book written by an author who has been recognized in the bookish community.

There are so many...Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier Clay by Michael Chabon....

SEPTEMBER- Don’t Turn Out The Light
Cozy mystery ghost stories, paranormal creeptastic, horror novels.

The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff, NOS4A2 by Joe Hill, The Exorcist by William Peter Beatty, Ghost Story by Peter Straub.

OCTOBER- New or Old
Choose a new release from 2018 or a book known as a classic.

Possibly something from Virginia Woolf or Kate Chopin or anything new that catches my eye!

NOVEMBER- Family
Books where family dynamics play a big role in the story

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

DECEMBER- Wrapping It Up
Winter or holiday themed books or books with snow, ice, etc in the title or books set in winter OR read a book with a theme from any of the months in this challenge (could be a theme you didn’t do, or one you want to do again).

Anything I don't get to this month I'll probably add to next year. Love the holiday-themed books!

It'll be fun to choose what to read each month and see where my reading takes me in 2018!

Tis the Season for Reading Challenge Signups! 2018 Nonfiction Reading

I go back and forth on reading challenges. I usually like to randomly choose which book I'll end up reading at any given time and so reading challenges haven't worked for me in the past. But I'd like to spice things up this year and reconnect with other readers via the great interwebs. So I'm planning on adding a few to my list this next year. My first official challenge is being hosted by Doing Dewey. She will have mini challenges and giveaways as well as hosting 4 group nonfiction read-alongs.

I usually read a lot of nonfiction throughout the year. But this year I'd like to finish off a few I've started in the past and also diversify my reading.

I'd like to read at least two nonfiction books a month and make sure that they aren't both memoirs--biography fine, but not more that one memoir a month (well, as long as I get another nonfiction in besides a memoir then another memoir would be fine!). Except for September. I'm planning on reading a book a day or close to it with another friend so I'll be reading a lot of memoirs that month!