For the Record: April 2014

I didn't read much this month, which surprised me since it didn't feel that way.  I suppose I was busy (our house rebuild still absorbs tons of time) and the month just disappeared. Plus, Willa Cather had me procrastinating.  There were no huge standouts, though Under the Overpass has stuck with me the longest.

4 Books Read in April: (25 year-to-date)

1 Classic:
  - Death Comes for the Archbishop, Willa Cather (3) It makes me sad to have to give three stars to a book by Willa Cather! But, as I said in my review, this was really much too slow and meandering for my taste.  It was more successful at filling in a gap in my history reading than being an enjoyable novel. This was the twelfth book of hers I've read (of twenty published works) and unfortunately, the least enjoyable so far.

1 for Book Club:
  - Me Before You, Jojo Moyes (3) Coming on the heels of such popular successes as The Rosie Project and Eleanor & Park in my recent reading, and being generally just as adored, I had high expectations for this book and ended up being majorly let down.  The characters were rather stereotypical, the plot rather predictable, and the writing and construction very unrefined.  It was enjoyable, but in an empty sort of way.  I won't be surprised, however, if I'm alone in that opinion at my book club meeting tomorrow.  For some reason it seems to be a tear-jerker for most girls, but not even close for me.

1 Nonfiction:
  - Under the Overpass, Mike Yankoski (3.5) This was loaned to me by a book club friend.  Homelessness is an obvious issue where I live, and I've always struggled with wanting to help without enabling.  This book really allowed me to give the issue some serious thought, and has stayed in my head...pops back in every day when I'm confronted with the homeless around me.

1 Other:
  - The Position, Meg Wolitzer (3.5) The Position had many similarities in style, though I didn't love it quite as much as the Interestings. I love Woltzer's talent for writing about mundane life in a way that is anything but boring.  She is also amazing at the pacing and structure of her storytelling.  She'll be an author I return to.

      


2 Current Reads:
  - Cloudsplitter, Russell Banks.  My 15yo son was horrified when he found out that this book had been a gift from my husband almost fifteen years ago, and yet still sat unread on my shelf.  Horrified.  All those years of rejection: he couldn't even fathom the depths of injustice I'd inflicted upon the earth.  He made me promise I would rectify the situation immediately.  (He has a very strong sense of justice.)  I'm at page 139 of 759 total, and thoroughly enjoying it so far.
  - Devil in the White City, Erik Larson.  I haven't had much available audiobook time lately, but I'm about a quarter through and it is wonderfully fascinating.  I wish I didn't have to concentrate so much when I'm homeschooling or house-designing...I want to listen to my book!

      

On My Nightstand:
There is so much I want to read, and I honestly don't know what will be next.  These are the two that I keep looking at on my nightstand:

  - Longbourn, Jo Baker (sounds like my kind of light reading!)
  - With or Without You, Domenica Ruta (a former Indiespensable pick that I'd like to move off the shelf.)