Skip to main content

Featured Post

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El

Mayful of ruts


By the end of April, I didn't want to read at all. I felt tired of all the reading I did in April, and paid for it in May. Not that I'm complaining for the time-off, because that break truly helped me think about my reading and how I wanted to explore books for the rest of the year. By the middle of May, I read what I wanted to - which was mostly non-ARCs. So I do have a pile of that to tackle now. On the plus side, I've never been more eager to read than I am now. I've been randomly choosing among the books in my pile for the month, sometimes returning to a book only after a few days. Serendipity is really good.

Books of the month

VietnamericaThe London Train

Other Reads

The Lonely Hearts ClubThe Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Number the StarsSquirrel Seeks Chipmunk


Reviews posted
  1. In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard
  2. The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert
  3. The Lost Girls by Jennifer Baggett, Holly Corbett, Amanda Pressner
  4. Some quick reviews: Coraline, Kira-Kira, Wherever Nina Lies
  5. The London Train by Tessa Hadley
Leif Reads
  1. April/May book: Coop
  2. Life on a Farm
  3. Rounding up a fun farm read
Traveling with my books this year
Only one new addition this month - Denmark. I had already been to Vietnam and Poland through books I read previously. But this time, the perspective was slightly different and that made for some fun reading.

View Traveling with my books (2011) in a larger map


Comments

Caribousmom said…
I so believe in serendipity when it comes to reading! Like you, I have been really into my reading of late - and like you, some of that meant pushing aside my ARC commitments and just reading what I wanted to read (the last being Unbroken which was SO great).  Looking forward to your thoughts on books this month :)
Hcmurdoch said…
Even though you feel like it wasn't a stupendous month, you read some good books! I love seeing the map of where you read! I'm going to click on it now to see the details
Misha said…
Seems like you've traveled a lot this year! :) 
Like you, I only read non-review books during May. But now I have a lot of catching up to do.
Bibliophilebythesea said…
Sometimes when I feel compelled to read ARCs, it just takes the fun out of reading. I am surely more of a mood reader, preferring to pull a book off the shelf.
Um, I'm in love with your "traveling with my books" map -- I'm not going to lie. It combines three of my obsessions: maps (of course); reading (double of course); and travel (YAY!). I feel like if I sat down to create one of my own, I would begin tending to it like a parent would a child! Awesome idea!
Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com said…
I love the map! That's impressive!
Alyce Reese said…
It's so much fun to be able to go on a reading binge!
Athira / Aths said…
I have to remember to do this more often. I like to read newer yet-to-be-released titles, but I need to remember not to feel pressured by that and to just read whenever, whatever.
Athira / Aths said…
I really want to start filling in on the empty months. I have a few great books fitting those categories - I just can't wait to read those.
Athira / Aths said…
LOL! I sure have gone around the world a bit. If only, each book translated to a real ticket!
Athira / Aths said…
I'm beginning to realize the same. Initially, I liked having a schedule, but I made it not work so well for me now. So I'm trying to stir in some serendipity as well.
Athira / Aths said…
I just LOVE maps! That's one of the main reasons I love epic fantasies - so long as there's a map on the first and last pages, I'll drool!
Athira / Aths said…
I hope you do read Boy in the Striped Pajamas, as I can't wait to hear what you thought of it. I'm beginning to listen more to myself and less to my Google document when it comes to reading, and so far it's working well!