Rabbit Hole #56: In/Out Oct. 2-15

I've discovered the cause of my reading slump: this election and the tornado surrounding it. I've been spending far too much time focusing on it and not nearly enough time reading. I wish I could say that's going to change, but I have a feeling that's won't happen until Nov. 9.

Be that as it may, I have finished a couple of books in the last couple of weeks!

Recently Purchased

BabyLit Board books

Ok, so I didn't actually buy these for me, but for our friend's adorable two year old. They are hands down my favorite books for the younger set, using the original classics for counting, colors, animals, opposites, ocean animals...well, you get the idea. Definitely check these out if you have wee ones around!

Recently Finished

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (3 stars)

Yes! Finally finished. Nothing new was introduced about these historical characters, who are incredibly fascinating, and I still felt her characterization fell very flat, especially for Cromwell. It was interesting, but just not for me, and I won't be picking up the third installment whenever it comes out.

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter (5 stars)

I loved this. Plain and simple. The insights into Miranda's thought process, his inspirations, the history, the backgrounds on the principal players: everything was on point and worth every moment. I'll be coming back to this one again and again.

Currently Reading

The Watsons by Jane Austen 

Starting in on the second novella in this collection. It's a bit better than Lady Jane so far; we shall see if it continues. 

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

This is an incredible read so far. It's set in a dystopian futuristic Sudan that in some ways feels very current, but with the added elements of magic. Okorafor's writing is engaging and her characters leap off the page. 

I will break this slump. I will break this slump. I will...

To My Sisters Everywhere

To all my sisters,

You are Amazing.
Courageous.
Brave.
Strong.
Determined.
Important.
Inspiring.

For those of you who have shared your stories, thank you. You've showed others they're not alone and forced this country to sit up and confront the truth.

For those of you who are still hesitant to come forward, you are loved. You have a support system millions of women strong. When or if you are ready to share, you will have a wall of others standing beside you.

The country needs to hear our voices. We won't be ignored or belittled anymore.

Rabbit Hole #55: September Reading Update

Still battling a weird reading slump/rut, so only seven books this month, and wondering if it's because of the three challenges. I feel a bit locked in; there's not a lot of wiggle room for me to read things outside of the tasks. I am reading a lot of amazing books, don't get me wrong, but lesson learned for next year, I think.


Popsugar 2016 Reading Challenge (Current Completion: 35/41)

A National Book Award winner: Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (4 stars)

A book 100 years older than you: Lady Susan by Jane Austen (3 stars)


Bustle Women/POC Challenge (Current Completion: 13/20)

YA book by an author of color: Listen, Slowly by Thanhhà Lai (3.5 stars)

Post-apocalyptic fiction written by a woman: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (3.5 stars)


Read Harder Challenge 2016 (Current Completion: 18/24)

A food memoir: Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love and the Search for Meaning by Kim Sunée (4 stars)




Non-challenge books completed: 

March, Book 3 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell (4.5 stars) 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (4 stars)


Check my weekly In/Out posts for more information on the completed reads!

Rabbit Hole #54: In/Out Sep. 25-Oct. 1

Hit a reading wall again. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Recently Purchased

Still doing well on the no-book buying thing. Still miss hitting my favorite stores.



Recently Finished

Lady Susan by Jane Austen (3 stars)

This is a bit of a cheat--I've finished the first novella in here, but I haven't gotten to the others yet. Lady Susan was actually a let down after having read Austen's full length novels. It was full of completely unlikable characters, which I usually like, and multiple narrators, which I also usually like, but the combination just didn't work here. In Austen's other works, you can see a sly wit and beautiful societal commentary, but this seemed lacking in that department. 

Currently Reading

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Still reading. . . Henry VIII's first wife has just died, Anne Boleyn miscarried their son, and Henry's getting the roving eye. Again. 

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter

I am taking my time and savoring this. I love the short essays on the development of the musical, and Miranda's notes on the the actual book. It's always fascinating to see a "mind at work."

Rabbit Hole #53: In/Out Sep. 18-24

Only one finished this week, but I'm ok with that. 

Recently Purchased

NONE! (I have mixed feelings about this...)


Recently Finished

Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home by Kim Sunée (4 stars)

I really enjoyed this, but then, I'm a sucker for travel memoirs and soul-searches. (I unapologetically love Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun.) This ticked all those boxes, plus having portions set in my beloved New Orleans and some amazing looking recipes, and it's no surprise that it was something I would find intriguing. Yes, it's self-indulgent and self-absorbed in places, but what memoir isn't?

Currently Reading

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

I do normally love historical fiction, but Mantel just isn't doing it for me. This is not one of those books I can't wait to pick up; I pick it up because I'm committed to finishing it (I never DNF--did not finish--a book. Some see this as a weakness, but I feel I can't truly judge something unless I've experienced it entirely, i. e., finishing the entire book). The story is fine; I'm just not thrilled with her writing. I also realize I'm in the minority here. 

Lady Susan, The Waltons, Sedition by Jane Austen

Three of Jane Austen's lesser known short novellas, some unfinished. Not too far into the first one, which is told in as an epistolary, so I'm interested to see how closely these align to her completed works.

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter

I really don't think I need to say more, do I?

Rabbit Hole #52: In/Out Sep. 11-17

As I said, nothing finished one week, and then this week--four finished! One of these days I'll figure out my reading habits.

Recently Purchased

 A Wrinkle in Time quintet by Madeline L'Engle

I really thought I still had this series; it was one of my favorites growing up. With Ava Duvernay's new movie version of A Wrinkle in Time coming next year, I knew I had to reread this one. (And the cast! Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling?!?! I am SO here for that!)

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

Another post-apocalyptic novel, this time set in a futuristic Sudan, with magical elements thrown in. I'm looking forward to this one, as it's a combination of so many different genres.

Recently Finished

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Much like Jackson's classic short story "The Lottery," we're dropped into the middle of small-town America where ordinary people do horrific things to each other. The Blackwoods, or what's left of them anyway, are isolated in their ancestral home after an "incident" destroys everyone else in the household. It's wonderfully creepy and disturbing, everything Jackson is known for. 

March, Book Three by John Lewis,  Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

A beautiful conclusion to Lewis' story of the Civil Rights Movement, this book focuses on the bombing of the Birmingham church and the March to Selma. And the more we read, the more one realizes that the issues that Lewis and King and so many others were fighting for haven't gone away, they've just changed forms. There is still so much to do, and Lewis, with his sit-in of Congress this spring, is still leading the way. 

Listen, Slowly by Thanhhà Lai

This was a charming, if predictable, middle-grade story about a young girl discovering her roots in Vietnam. There were hints of the Vietnam War and the impact it had, and is still having, on those involved, but it was primarily about a tween learning that the world is bigger than her little corner of Laguna Beach. I would recommend it for younger readers, though. 

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

This was a fun read and interesting enough that I might pick up the sequel. I wouldn't say there was anything particularly ground-breaking about it, though. As I said last week, it's a mash-up of Beauty and the Beast, the Hunger Games, and 1984, which isn't a bad combination; it just doesn't lend itself to stand out among other dystopian fictions. At some point, you would think this genre would wear itself out; I don't know how many more ways you can create a world gone awry.

Currently Reading

Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home by Kim Sunée

A lot of the reviews of this criticize Sunée for being too shallow, too uncaring. But this is a memoir of her twenties, a time when most of us were shallow and uncaring toward those around us. Taken as such, this is an engaging read, coupled with recipes from New Orleans, Swedish and French cuisine. I'm enjoying it so far. 

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

This is the second in Mantel's series about Henry VIII's advisor Thomas Cromwell.  The story is interesting, but as with Wolf Hall, I'm just not finding her writing style very compelling. It's too much exposition and too many characters thrown into scenes. I'd like a little more dialogue--Twain's showing versus telling, if you will--without it, everything seems very detached. 

Rabbit Hole #51: In/Out Sep. 4-Sep. 10

I have gotten a lot of reading done this week, just haven't been able to finish anything. Next week will be much more interesting. I seem to go through phases--finish three books in one week, and then nothing, and then three the next. I can't figure it out.

Recently Purchased

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

This has been on my radar for a while, because who doesn't like good, creepy Gothic stories?!? It also happens to be my book club's pick for this month. I'm hoping I like it better than the last two.

Recently Finished

Currently Reading

March, Book Three by John Lewis,  Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

With all the controversy (ridiculous, if you ask me) over NFL players not standing for the National Anthem, this is the perfect book to be reading right now. 

Listen, Slowly by Thanhhà Lai

I have to keep reminding myself that this is middle grade YA, so I shouldn't really be as critical of it as I'm being. It's good, but the repetition of how miserable the angsty tween is because she has to spend her summer with her grandmother in Vietnam is getting really old. I know the whininess is realistic, it's just not lending itself to much character development. Here's hoping the last 100 pages or so gets better. 

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Throw Beauty and the Beast, the Hunger Games, and 1984 together and you have The Bone Season. It's been a fun read so far, and a nice switch from the heavier literature I've been reading, but it's nothing spectacular. Probably won't continue with the series unless something truly unique happens in the last 150 pages.