Rabbit Hole #10: Read Harder Challenge 2015 Update--March

Continuing through the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2015...

I just realized I have only nine more categories to complete! And it's only March!! What is really enlightening about this challenge is to realize I do read rather widely, and topics that I thought would be a challenge (audiobooks, for example) are much easier than I had anticipated. 

Here's my list so far:  

(The first book in each category that I've read is in blue; the second in each is in red. I'm finding that it's pretty easy to have multiple books in most of the categories. And of course, some of my books would obviously fit in more than one category, but I'm only listing them once.)

A book written by someone when they were under 25:

A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65:

A collection of short stories:

A book published by an indie press: The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (Open Roads Media Sci-Fi and Fantasy)

A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQ: We the Animals by Justin Torres

A book by someone of a different gender than you: Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy by Paul Thomas Murphy

A book that takes place in Asia: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

A book by an author from Africa:

A book by or about someone from an indigenous culture: The Bone People by Keri Hulme

A microhistory: Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: Tourism, Race and Historical Memory by Lynnell L. Thomas

A YA novel: Paper Towns by John Green

A sci-fi novel: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

A romance novel:

A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer from last decade:

A book that is a retelling of a classic story: Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi (retelling of Snow White); The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (The Jungle Book)

An audiobook: Voices and Poetry of Ireland (a collection)

A collection of poetry: Once by Alice Walker

A book that someone else recommended to you: Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber

A book originally published in another language:

A graphic novel, memoir or collection of comics: Captain Marvel, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick; Sandman, Vol. 1 by Neil Gaiman

A guilty pleasure:

A book published before 1850:

A book published this year: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Jan. 2015 release date)

A self-improvement book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Rabbit Hole #9: See Now Then by Jamaica Kincaid

I just finished reading Jamaica Kincaid's novella, See Now Then. Although it's only 182 pages, this book is grand in its scope.

The story is centered around Mrs. Sweet, an immigrant from the Caribbean. Her life is told through multiple perspectives--through her own thoughts, and those of Mr. Sweet and their two children, Heracles and Persephone. Throughout the story we learn of a woman's desire to be true to herself--a self that's been lost over the years as she struggled to adapt to a new country and new roles.

Kincaid's work reminds me of Virginia Woolf's later works, especially in her use of stream-of-consciousness, so if you like a linear narrative, this is not the book for you. Because it's told through memories, the Now and the Then of the title, Kincaid's characters weave their stories into one another, often overlapping narratives, sometimes repeating events, and jumping time periods. This book requires concentration, but as the strands of the family begin to fray, the tragedy of Mrs. Sweet's life comes through. Her children both love and despise her, her husband hates her with a passion, and her only sources of refuge, her tiny writing room off the kitchen and her garden, are targets for ridicule for the family. She has found her "room of one's own," but it causes as much pain as it brings relief.

As I said, this can be a challenging read, but Kincaid's character development and use of mythology make it worth the journey.

"Ch-ch-changes..."

March has been a crazy one so far. Not counting the weather that can't seem to make up its mind (it's 87 as I write this; tomorrow's high is 55), there are big changes to our life here in Nebraska.

As a lot of you already know: We're moving. To New Orleans.

Sorry, had to be done. (At least I spared you the audio!)

This has been a dream of ours for several years now, and things have finally fallen into place. Now, it's house-hunting, packing, finishing out the school year, figuring out how to transport four furbabies. . . the list goes on and on. All by the end of May. Hopefully.

 (You never realize how many books you own until you start packing. . . sigh.)

But for all the difficulties change brings, it's exciting. I am looking forward to living some place that is completely different than Nebraska, having new experiences, and cultivating a new life (going to Saints games in the Superdome!! Don't worry, Husker fans--I won't defect to the SEC!).

Ask my mom: I've had wanderlust since high school. It's time for me to take this plunge.

I hear too many people saying to me, "Oh, I wish I could do that" or  "When I'm retired. . .". The fact is that you never know what the next day is going to bring. Yes, this move is scary (I still don't have a job). Yes, we're moving halfway across the country. However, if you wait to live out your dreams, you may never have the opportunity.

"What if you hate it?" is a question people have been asking, and it's a valid one. We've been going to New Orleans for twenty years on vacation--what if living there isn't what we hoped?

We move on to another adventure.

Rabbit Hole #8: Read Harder Challenge 2015 Update--February

I'm really enjoying my journey through the 2015 Read Harder challenge by Book Riot.  As I look at my TBR pile and my to-buy lists, I think I may actually go through some of these categories more than once this year--which is exciting! 

Here's my list so far:  (ones finished in blue)

A book written by someone when they were under 25:

A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65:

A collection of short stories:

A book published by an indie press:

A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQ:

A book by someone of a different gender than you: Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy by Paul Thomas Murphy

A book that takes place in Asia: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

A book by an author from Africa:

A book by or about someone from an indigenous culture: The Bone People by Keri Hulme

A microhistory: Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: Tourism, Race and Historical Memory by Lynnell L. Thomas

A YA novel: Paper Towns by John Green

A sci-fi novel: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

A romance novel:

A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer from last decade:

A book that is a retelling of a classic story: Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi (retelling of Snow White)

An audiobook:

A collection of poetry: Once by Alice Walker

A book that someone else recommended to you: Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber

A book originally published in another language:

A graphic novel, memoir or collection of comics: Captain Marvel, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick

A guilty pleasure:

A book published before 1850:

A book published this year:

A self-improvement book: