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...

Rabbit Hole #40: January-April 2016 Reading Reflection

I started this year with a pretty ambitious goal: to complete three reading challenges for a total of 84 books. Given how many books I was able to read last year, I thought, and still think, this is an achievable goal, but I do wish I had focused on one challenge at a time. Looking at all the challenges and bouncing between them tends to get overwhelming; I never really feel as though I'm accomplishing anything.

To date, I've read books for 31 of the challenge tasks. Here are some of the high--and low--points:

1. Nonfiction for the win! I've read some amazing nonfiction titles in the last four months: Redefining Realness by Janet Mock, My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem, The Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsberg by Irin Camon and Shana Khizhnik, Slave by Mende Nazar, Year of Yes by Shonda Rimes, and As You Wish by Cary Elwes. They covered very disparate topics, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. I was rather disappointed by The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore, though. I really thought it would focus more on the actual comic; however, it turned out to be more of a biography on the creator. (And the writing bothered me. The sentence structure was one I would scold my students about using.)  I never thought I'd be one for reading much nonfiction, but these past few years have been proving me wrong--there are so many authors writing in such an accessible way that they take nonfiction from mundane facts and statistics to well-written, engaging reads.

2. At this point, traditional sci-fi and I don't get along. I was really excited about finally reading some Ursula K. LeGuin, but I just struggled to make any connections with the characters in The Dispossessed. I do have her Left Hand of Darkness for another task, and Joanna Russ's The Female Man so I'm hoping something may click. I loved Octavia Butler, but otherwise, most sci-fi just seems cold and clinical to me.

3. Why is it so many series suffer from the sophomore slump? I just finished Deborah Harkness' All Souls Trilogy, and while I loved the first and third books, the second just was...meh. I've noticed that with a lot of other series as well. Anyone have any ideas?

4. I really do love magical realism. I got hooked many years ago reading Isabel Allende's The House of Spirits, and this year, Tiphanie Yanique's Land of Love and Drowning and Karen Russell's Vampires in the Lemon Grove are two of the best books I've read so far.

I'm starting off the second quarter with a lot of fantasy/retellings/paranormal reads. I think I just need to ease my way out of the school year with "lighter" reads, and save the heavier reads for this summer (which may seem counter-intuitive, I know). I also look forward to my reading picking up again; March and April really felt as if I were slogging through everything, and I was in a bit of a slump.

To the next four months!