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Apr
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April Reading Wrap-Up
2010 at 12pm Posted by Rebecca Schinsky
Another month, another batch of fantastic books. Covers are linked to my reviews, but, of course, I’m behind on reviews, so they’re not all hooked up yet.
I love it when I’m able to balance fiction and nonfiction evenly, as I did this month, and there’s not a single one in this collection that I wouldn’t recommend. Sure, I didn’t love Beatrice and Virgil, but the book is nothing if not discussable, and for that reason alone, it’s worth a read. (Smart money is on it as the book most likely to have book club members fighting this year.)
Of the fiction, The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors and Day for Night are going to stay with me a long time, and I can’t wait to tell you about Orange is the New Black when I review it next week.
So, no favorites this month because they were all good. A great problem to have!
What’s the best book you read this month?
March Reading Wrap-Up/First Quarter Check-In
2010 at 8am Posted by Rebecca Schinsky
So what that we’re more than a week into April? Better late than never, right?
Without further ado, here’s what I read in March. Titles I’ve reviewed (I’m a little behind) are linked to reviews.
Though I would like to have read more than six books, I can’t complain because this was a really solid reading month with not a single dud in the bunch. In fact, all of these books are immensely recommendable and discussable, and you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Now for the first quarter check-in on that whole “reading deliberately” thing. Here’s what I’ve read (and why) since the beginning of the year.
- 18 books between January 1st and March 31st
- 8 from the TBR
- 8 review copies
- 1 re-read
- 1 classic
The primary reason I set out to read deliberately this year was that I started feeling out of control of my reading choices in the second half of 2009. I wanted to be more selective about the review copies I accepted and make more time for reading from my personal TBR, and I feel like my reading in the first quarter reflected those goals well. Almost all of the review copies I accepted were for books I would have read on my own anyway, and the ones that pulled me outside my usual reading habits (like Just Don’t Fall and Flawless) were wonderful.
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters: Award nominees (Booker Prize 2009); from the TBR pile (how’s two-birds-with-one-stone for my first completed book of the year?)
The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris: Review copy by an author I’ve been wanting to read.
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova: Second novel by an author I previously enjoyed, from the TBR pile
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: Classics, LOST Books Challenge
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell: From the TBR
Where the God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom: From LibraryThing Early Reviewers; author I’ve been wanting to read
Searching for Whitopia by Rich Benjamin: Review copy unearthed from the bottom of the TBR about 3 months behind schedule
Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles: From the TBR
A Common Pornography by Kevin Sampsell: Review copy
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski: From the TBR: unfinished
In the Land of Believers by Gina Welch: Review copy
Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin: From the TBR
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake: Review copy
Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation by Elissa Stein and Susan Kim: Review copy
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell: Re-read of an old favorite
Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell: Review copy
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley: From the TBR
Just Don’t Fall by Josh Sundquist: Review copy
So, all in all, I’m enjoying reading deliberately and hope I can maintain the happy balance I seem to have found. What are your best reads of the year so far?
February Reading Wrap-Up
2010 at 9am Posted by Rebecca Schinsky
So, February. Not my greatest reading month ever, owing mostly to the fact that I slaved away trying to convince myself to keep reading House of Leaves (it took me a WEEK to read 100 pages. Really.) and was then totally off reading for a few days to recover after I pulled the plug on it. But my other reads this month have been fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed my post-HoL nonfiction kick. Without further ado, my February reads with links to my reviews (or explanations of why I quit, for HoL). Dexter, Naked, Mennonite, and Assassination were audio books.
Thinking in Pictures is still awaiting review.
Aside from House of Leaves, which was a major FAIL for me, this was a rather satisfying reading month. Only two of my reads were review books (A Common Pornography and In the Land of Believers), which supports my “year of reading deliberately” goal to balance review books with personal TBR titles…and it gets even better because I would have read those two books on my own anyway. Basically, everything I read this month was something I really wanted to read (even when it didn’t work out so well), and that makes me happy.
What did you read in February? Recommendations for me?
January Reading Wrap-Up
2010 at 12am Posted by Rebecca Schinsky
One month into this year of reading deliberately, and I think I’m doing pretty well so far. Every book I read this month was a book I really wanted to read. Some were review copies, some were rescued from extended stays on the TBR pile, and all were well worth the time I invested. I read seven books this month, and I’m quite happy with that, especially since two of my reads (The Little Stranger and The Swan Thieves) were chunksters.
Here’s my January 2010 reading. Covers link to my reviews.
And still awaiting review:
This is normally the part where I declare my favorites, but I’m having a hard time with it this month. Of these seven books, I enjoyed The Swan Thieves the least, but I still thought the writing was beautiful and the concept compelling. Guess I shouldn’t really complain about a month in which all of my reading was good.
What about you? What kind of start did your reading year have? Any favorites I should know about?
November Reading Wrap-Up
2009 at 2pm Posted by Rebecca Schinsky
November was an interesting month for me. For the first time since I started blogging, I developed a backlog of books that I’ve finished reading but haven’t yet reviewed. I’ve always been pretty good about writing my review shortly after finishing a book, and while it’s nice to have plenty of material waiting in the wings, I’m feeling a little stressed and would like to be caught up before the holidays.
Here’s what I read in October but reviewed in November. (Covers link to my reviews.)
And here’s what I read and reviewed in November.
And there’s one I read in November but will review in December:
It was a good reading month for me in terms of quality but not necessarily in quantity. I’m sitting at 90 books read for the year and somehow have to find a way to read 10 more this month in order to meet my goal of 100 for the year.
All of my reading this month was pretty great, so I won’t select favorites….both of the fiction selections, In the Woods and Await Your Reply, were well-written modern thrillers, and my nonfiction selections spanned too many subgenres to make them easy to compare. All in all, this wasn’t my best reading month of 2009, but it wasn’t the worst, either. I’m looking forward to wrapping up this year with solid selections and kicking of a new reading philosophy in 2010.
What’s the best book you read in November? Any recommendations for my holiday travel reading?
