In the non-book-arena, I'm getting really good at making design decisions (a big deal for someone who takes forever to make decisions!) Our house rebuild is trucking along, and I've spent so much time critically thinking abou the design that I'm pretty certain my brain-usage-percentage has increased. Although my exhaustion level has also increased...but I'm going to go ahead and pretend that is unrelated. I'm ready to be done with construction and design and just live in my house already, but we've got another year ahead of us I fear. And that's why I prefer to talk about books!
11 Books Read in April: (29 year-to-date)
2 Classics:
- The Professor's House, Willa Cather (4) [Another step through my Willa Cather Challenge, and again she didn't let me down. Review here.]
- Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky (3) [I did it! I finished it! I'll be talking about how I finished it soon.]
2 for obligations (book club/ARC):
- The Secret Lives of People in Love, Simon Van Booy (4.5) [I have a post about Van Booy in the works, but basically: if you haven't read him, do.]
- Hikikomori and the Rental Sister, Jeff Backhaus (3) [Interesting, but didn't feel completely genuine.]
2 from my shelf: [Review for both books here.]
- Ireland, Frank Delaney (3) [Somewhat disappointing and boring, but still about Ireland!]
- Annie Dunne, Sebastian Barry (3.5) [beautiful writing, as to be expected, but its introspective pace wasn't a great fit for this time in my life...took me moonnnths.]
5 others:
- Benediction, Kent Haruf (4.5) [Purchased from my new local book shop...quick to read and just about perfect. Review here.]
- Emily's Runaway Imagination, Beverly Cleary (3.5) [Read aloud to my 8yo, Cleary is always fantastic. Though this wasn't her best, the autobiographical element made it better.]
- The Chaperone, Laura Moriarty (3.5) [Love the era, but would have much happier with this book if it had not told an entire life story & only focused on the "chaperone" period.]
- Follow the River, James Alexander Thom (3) [Very enjoyable audio book, and pretty solid historical fiction, though it did lack appropriate character development.]
- The Heretic's Daughter, Kathleen Kent (4) [Historical fiction worth reading. About the Salem Witch Trials, but from a different perspective that really allows a whole picture to develop.]
2 Current Reads:
- Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, Therese Anne Fowler. The writing is so "lite" that I'm having a bit of a struggle paying attention, but am enjoying reading about the 20s and the Fitzgeralds.
- The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle. Read-along at Unputdownables starts now!
On My Nightstand:
I'm hoping that this weekend will turn into a read-a-thon weekend, though weekends are never long enough in general. Here's what is on my radar:
What a great way to organize your reading record!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Sometimes I'm tempted to cram more information in, but this way of doing a recap has worked well for me.
DeleteYou had a great reading month! I can understand why you are wanting to talk about reading.
ReplyDeleteAnother year on the house???? It will be worth it, but I can imagine that it's hard waiting for all that goodness to be completed. It seems like my dh and I only do major upgrades when we are about to sell a house. We don't get to enjoy the changes. But, you will really enjoy your house when it is finished.
Yes, the house has been exhausting! Largely because I'm particular and want every little thing to be perfect. All the kids are really looking forward to being back home too - it will really be a treat to have it finished and be living in it! (And no more decisions!)
DeleteI cannot wait to read your thoughts on Van Booy! I adore him.
ReplyDelete