Rabbit Hole #17: Read Harder Challenge 2015 Update--July

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

Here's my list so far:  
(This month's reads are in blue.)

1. A book written by someone when they were under 25: 

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
Lucrezia Borgia by Sarah Bradford

3. A collection of short stories:

4. A book published by an indie press: 

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (Open Roads Media Sci-Fi and Fantasy)
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine (Grey Wolf Press)

5. A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQ: 

We Are the Animals by Justin Torres
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

6. 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 
Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older

7. A book that takes place in Asia: 

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

8. A book by an author from Africa:

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Zarah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor

9. A book by or about someone from an indigenous culture: 

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

10. A microhistory: 

Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: 

Tourism, Race and Historical Memory by Lynnell L. Thomas

 Liar, Temptress, Soldier Spy: 

Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott

 Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity 
and the Women Who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women 
Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan

11. A YA novel: 

Paper Towns by John Green
The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Page
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older

12. A sci-fi novel: 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Neuromancer by William Gibson
MADDADDAM by Margaret Atwood

13. A romance novel:

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

15. 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)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Cinderella)

16. An audiobook: 

Voices and Poetry of Ireland (a collection)

17. A collection of poetry: 

Once by Alice Walker

18. A book that someone else recommended to you: 

Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber

19. A book originally published in another language:

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann (French)

20. A graphic novel, memoir or collection of comics: 

Captain Marvel, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick

Sandman, Vol. 1 by Neil Gaiman

Batgirl, Vol. 1 by Gail Simone

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore

Sandman, Vol. 2 by Neil Gaiman
Nevermore: A Graphic Novel Anthology of Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson
Thor: Goddess of Thunder, Vol. 1 by Jason Aaron
Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
Just So Happens by Fumio Obata
Griffin and Sabine: Book 1 by Nick Bantock
Sabine's Notebook: Book 2 by Nick Bantock

21. A guilty pleasure: The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (mainly because I didn't know where else to put this, and some people see Gilbert as fluff)

22. A book published before 1850:

23. A book published this year: 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Jan. 2015 release date)

 Find Me by Laura van den Berg (Feb. 2015 release date)
The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan (May 2015 release date)

24. A self-improvement book: 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

I also read: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon, Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Lives for the Better by Clive Thompson, and Men We Reap by Jesmyn Ward. 

Rabbit Hole #16: June Reading Wrap-up

If you read my June Read Harder update, you'll know that while May was a rather lack-luster reading month for me, I finally came out of my reading slump in June. (Too be fair, I did move halfway across the country in May!)

I ended up reading 14 books last month, 5 of which were graphic novels/comic collections, which is a new avenue for me. I'm really enjoying Ms. Marvel, Thor: Goddess of Thunder and Saga. I also read one of the most disturbing graphic novels (or stories, period) I've read in a while in Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann. Think Pixar's Inside Out with a Stephen King flavor. Yep, that twisted.

A few other highlights from this month: (obviously I read more, these just rose to the top)

Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older: This is a fun urban fantasy novel. If you like mysteries mixed with the paranormal and a whole lot of sass, definitely pick this up. The main character is a partially resurrected human being who is basically a gun-for-hire for the ghost world, keeping the dead from interfering too much with the living. Older does a great job with world building, and his characters are smart and funny, with the requisite melancholy. This is the book that pulled me out of my reading slump; I highly recommend it.


All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: This novel follows two young children throughout World War II. One is a young blind French girl who becomes part of the Resistance; the other is a young German boy with a gift for electronics, radios in particular, who is trained by the Nazis to search out and destroy the underground networks. This shows a very human side to the war, and how even the young were pulled in to the conflict.


Citizen by Claudia Rankine: Read this. This is probably the most important book about our society and race relations that I have read in a long time. Rankine uses prose poetry, essays, and scripts from videos she and her husband produced to create a very real picture of how far we still need to come in this country. It's not an easy read by any means given the subject matter, but it is a necessary one.


The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige: This is the second in Paige's YA reworking of the Wizard of Oz. In this novel, Amy has to regroup after failing to kill Dorothy. She has lost the other members of the Wicked, and finds herself being drawn into the dark side of magic. Paige adds to the Oz legend without compromising the original mythos, creating a fun, quick read.

If you want to know more about these or any of the other books I read, let me know--I'm more than happy to chat about them!

Rabbit Hole #15: Read Harder Challenge 2015 Update-June

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

Here's my list so far:  
(This month's reads are in blue.)

1. A book written by someone when they were under 25: 

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

3. A collection of short stories:

4. A book published by an indie press: 

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (Open Roads Media Sci-Fi and Fantasy)
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine (Grey Wolf Press)

5. A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQ: 

We Are the Animals by Justin Torres

6. 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 
Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older

7. A book that takes place in Asia: 

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

8. A book by an author from Africa:

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

9. A book by or about someone from an indigenous culture: 

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

10. A microhistory: 

Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: 

Tourism, Race and Historical Memory by Lynnell L. Thomas

 Liar, Temptress, Soldier Spy: 

Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott

 Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity 
and the Women Who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women 
Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan

11. A YA novel: 

Paper Towns by John Green
The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Page

12. A sci-fi novel: 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

13. A romance novel:

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

15. 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)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Cinderella)

16. An audiobook: 

Voices and Poetry of Ireland (a collection)

17. A collection of poetry: 

Once by Alice Walker

18. A book that someone else recommended to you: 

Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber

19. A book originally published in another language:

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann (French)

20. A graphic novel, memoir or collection of comics: 

Captain Marvel, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick

Sandman, Vol. 1 by Neil Gaiman

Batgirl, Vol. 1 by Gail Simone

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore

Sandman, Vol. 2 by Neil Gaiman
Nevermore: A Graphic Novel Anthology of Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson
Thor: Goddess of Thunder, Vol. 1 by Jason Aaron
Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

21. A guilty pleasure: The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (mainly because I didn't know where else to put this, and some people see Gilbert as fluff)

22. A book published before 1850:

23. A book published this year: 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Jan. 2015 release date)

 Find Me by Laura van den Berg (Feb. 2015 release date)

24. A self-improvement book: 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

I also read The City of Fallen Angels by John Berendt, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, Twelve Little Cakes by Dominika Dery, and Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. There just really weren't any good categories to pop those in to. I think it's safe to safe I'm over the reading slump I had in May, which I attribute to the end of the school year and the absolute craziness of moving! I'll publish a post later this week on a few of mytop favorites from this month. 

On Leaving and New Beginnings

I've been musing over this post for a while now. Every time I sat down to write, it just didn't feel quite right.

I've gone through the gamut of emotions the past few weeks, from being nervous to incredibly excited, to a feeling of sadness at leaving so many amazing family members and friends, to sheer joy at FINALLY being able to call New Orleans home. Those have settled down for the most part now, to a feeling of contentment. This move was the right thing. It FEELS right.

To my family and friends back in Nebraska: I love you and miss you. That was the hardest part about leaving--saying goodbye to all of you. However, I think moving across the country today is much easier than it would have been even ten years ago. As much as we love to complain about social media, it allows us to stay connected in an instant. We no longer have to deal with collect calls and worrying about long distance charges (annnnndd... I just dated myself with that reference. Ugh.). Text messages and unlimited talk on cell phones makes connection easy. So while I miss you, we're never very far away!

And we are settling in here. As I write, it's been raining off and on all day, and the dogs and cat are snoozing. They're still getting used to all the new smells and neighbors, but they're adjusting. There are still boxes to unpack, which I'm sure there will be for a while, but we have the main areas settled and are starting to make it feel like home. Our neighbors are amazing and have been extremely welcoming. We've already been to two festivals, are going to another tomorrow; we're heading to a brewery tonight, and we are meeting fabulous people (some of which we were lucky to know before!), so boredom is definitely not an option! We're not naive about the city--we know it has its dark side, that not everything is a party. But it's more alive than any other place we've ever been. It's what has drawn us back here year after year, and why we finally decided to stay.

There will definitely be more postings on our new adventures here, so you've been warned!

Our new home

Rabbit Hole #14: Read Harder Challenge 2015 Update--May

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

This month was not the greatest reading month for me as we've been packing for our New Orleans move (and moving--hence the lateness of this post!!). Nonetheless...

Here's my list so far:  

(I know the challenge is not about how many in each category one can read, but to read one from each category. For myself, though, I wanted to try to see if all of the books I was reading could fit into the various categories.)

1. A book written by someone when they were under 25: 

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

3. A collection of short stories:

4. A book published by an indie press: 

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (Open Roads Media Sci-Fi and Fantasy)

5. A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQ: 

We Are the Animals by Justin Torres

6. 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 

7. A book that takes place in Asia: 

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

8. A book by an author from Africa:

9. A book by or about someone from an indigenous culture: 

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

10. A microhistory: 

Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: 

Tourism, Race and Historical Memory by Lynnell L. Thomas

 Liar, Temptress, Soldier Spy: 

Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott

 Flapper: 

A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity and the Women Who Made America Modern 

by Joshua Zeitz

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II 

by Denise Kiernan

11. A YA novel: 

Paper Towns by John Green

12. A sci-fi novel: 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

13. A romance novel:

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

15. 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)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Cinderella)

16. An audiobook: 

Voices and Poetry of Ireland (a collection)

17. A collection of poetry: 

Once by Alice Walker

18. A book that someone else recommended to you: 

Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber

19. A book originally published in another language:

20. A graphic novel, memoir or collection of comics: 

Captain Marvel, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick

Sandman, Vol. 1 by Neil Gaiman

Batgirl, Vol. 1 by Gail Simone

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore

Sandman, Vol. 2 by Neil Gaiman

21. A guilty pleasure: The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (mainly because I didn't know where else to put this, and some people see Gilbert as fluff)

22. A book published before 1850:

23. A book published this year: 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Jan. 2015 release date)

 Find Me by Laura van den Berg (Feb. 2015 release date)

24. A self-improvement book: 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Rabbit Hole #13: (re)Read Me a Story

There's nothing like an old story with a new twist.

I think I first noticed my obsession with “retold” stories when Wicked by Gregory Maguire came out. The Wizard of Oz is a much-loved story from my childhood (much to my husband’s chagrin), and the idea that the Wicked Witch might not be quite what we were told was intriguing. Maguire's take on Elphaba and Galinda, and the entire ensemble of Ozian characters breathed new life into the story, adding another, and might I say much needed, dimension. (I also love the musical, except for Fiyero’s casting…) I’m also diving into Danielle Paige’s new Oz books, beginning with Dorothy Must Die, and loving the idea that Dorothy isn’t as sweet as she seems.

Fairy tales seem to be easy source material for these retellings. Jane Yolen's Briar Rose sets Sleeping Beauty in the tragedy of the Holocaust. Marissa Meyer’s YA Lunar Chronicles retell the princess tales in a futuristic society (Cinder/ella is a cyborg), while Helen Oyeyemi’s beautiful Boy, Snow, Bird transports Snow White to 1950s segregated America. Maguire also has Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Cinderella) and one of the most intriguing reworkings--Mirror, Mirror, which links Snow White with the story of Lucrezia Borgia and her family.

There are also side characters in literary fiction who are so interesting that their stories are practically screaming to be told. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Conde turns The Crucible and the Salem Witch Trials around by giving Tituba her voice (and also has a really odd crossover with The Scarlet Letter--which also has a great retelling in the dystopian When She Woke by Hillary Jordan). Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys takes Jane Eyre’s mad wife in the attic and makes her an extremely sympathetic and tragic character. Another one of my favorites is My Jim by Nancy Rawles, a retelling of Huck Finn from the perspective of the wife Jim has left behind. It’s a poignant and heartbreaking tale, much different from its source.

For those who want a comedic twist on their old plots, Christopher Moore's books Fool and The Serpent of Venice (King Lear and The Merchant of Venice, respectively) are wonderful romps through the Shakespearean landscape. He also has his slightly irreverent novel Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, which is one of my all-time favorites.

As much as I love new, innovative plots, there’s nothing that sends me for my wallet quite like a retelling of a classic story. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I just noticed that Sarah Pinborough has a new trilogy of “wicked” princess stories.

**Disclaimer: I linked each of these books to Barnesandnoble.com so interested individuals could read the plot synopses. I do not receive any compensation from them.

Rabbit Hole #12: Read Harder Challenge 2015 Update--April

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

Here's my list so far:  

(I know the challenge is not about how many in each category one can read, but to read one from each category. For myself, though, I wanted to try to see how many of the books I was reading could fit into the various categories.)

1. A book written by someone when they were under 25: 

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

3. A collection of short stories:

4. A book published by an indie press: 

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (Open Roads Media Sci-Fi and Fantasy)

5. A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQ: 

We Are the Animals by Justin Torres

6. 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 

7. A book that takes place in Asia: 

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

8. A book by an author from Africa:

9. A book by or about someone from an indigenous culture: 

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

10. A microhistory: 

Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: 

Tourism, Race and Historical Memory by Lynnell L. Thomas

 Liar, Temptress, Soldier Spy: 

Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott

 Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity 
and the Women Who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz

11. A YA novel: 

Paper Towns by John Green

12. A sci-fi novel: 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

13. A romance novel:

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

15. 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)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Cinderella)

16. An audiobook: 

Voices and Poetry of Ireland (a collection)

17. A collection of poetry: 

Once by Alice Walker

18. A book that someone else recommended to you: 

Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber

19. A book originally published in another language:

20. A graphic novel, memoir or collection of comics: 

Captain Marvel, Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick

Sandman, Vol. 1 by Neil Gaiman

Batgirl, Vol. 1 by Gail Simone

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore

21. A guilty pleasure: 

22. A book published before 1850:

23. A book published this year: 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Jan. 2015 release date)

 Find Me by Laura van den Berg (Feb. 2015 release date)

24. A self-improvement book: 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo