It got busy this week! Lots going on at home, work, and otherwise as well. Life My daughter's school decided to close on Friday, along with several other schools in the area, with some being closed from Thursday. Not enough staff. The school had been on a mask mandate since the beginning of the pandemic, dropping it only for one week when the pandemic had appeared to have stabilized last year. And yet, they dropped the mandate completely at the beginning of this year, when cases were exponentially rising, only to bring it back again starting next week. I've gone from being very annoyed to angry to feeling fatigue in these first two weeks already. I won't lie - we all mask around here and try to avoid going where we don't have a need to be in, and still, we are not taking anything close to the extreme precaution we all took at the beginning of the pandemic. I cannot and don't want to keep my kids home - I have at least that much faith in the schools' precautions
May and June were probably my slowest reading months this year, which I expected them to be. There were a lot of things to take care of these past few months plus a book wasn't always the respite I was looking forward to at the end of the day. Luckily, I enjoyed all the books I did read these past two months, which doesn't happen often.
My favorite read was Lean In, which had never been on my radar until I picked it up impulsively and decided to give it a try. A Visit from the Goon Squad comes a close second - another book I may not have read this year if not for a readalong.
Even though my reading was somewhat patchy, I did blog quite a bit. All the reading I did during the first half of the year built up a huge review backlog that I wanted to take care of. I still have three reviews pending, so the hope is to write them this week and schedule them.
Blog highlights from March and April
- Two readalongs in May
- On early morning reading in bed
- On true equality and perceived equality
- Interviewed by Delia at Postcards from Asia
- Expecting Better by Emily Oster (review)
- The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag (review)
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (review, halfway thoughts)
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (review)
- From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot (review)
- Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill (review)
- The Magicians by Lev Grossman (review)
- Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar and Family by J. California Cooper (reviews)
- The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows (review)
- Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani (review)
Plans for July and August
One commitment I know I am going to have for sure the next couple of months is baby care. So, reading is probably (definitely?) going to take a hit. Besides, lately, I have been less inclined to read and have been knitting most of the time, so I'm taking advantage of the break. Still, I do have some books on my nightstand that I plan to read when I'm looking for a read. They are mostly books I believe will be quick reads or easy listens. Whether I will actually get to them remains to be seen.
- Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn: This one has a pretty good beginning, so I feel reasonably hopeful that it is way better than Dark Places, which was just meh.
- A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan: A review book. This isn't my usual kind of book but it sounds super appealing now.
- Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie: I have been looking forward to reading this one ever since I first heard about it months ago.
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: Probably not a light read so I won't be reading it when I'm looking for only a couple of minutes of reading time, but I love Mandel's writing and want to read this one as soon as possible.
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie: I have read only two Agatha Christie books to date, so this is me wanting to change that... if this one works in my favor.
- The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua: Ooh, some geeky love to read about!! Plus, it's a graphic book!
- Armada by Ernest Cline: Yay for a new book by the Ready Player One author.
- Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella: I've always loved Kinsella's books in the past but lately, her trite formulaic novels about a silly girl who gets rescued or rescues herself in the end has been wearing me thin, so I'm not very sure this one will work out.
And then for audiobooks,
- Missoula by Jon Krakauer: Love Krakauer's books - must-listens for any day.
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins: I'm not decided yet whether I want to listen to or read this book but it's on the list.
- Dead Wake by Erik Larson: This is yet another author that I always have success with.
Comments
Missoula and Dead Wake are both on my audio wish list
Lean In isn't a book on my radar, but I know it's out there. We'll see if that changes after I read your review.