Reading on a Rainy Day

Hello dear friends! It's been a while since I've talked about books. I'm not reading much but I'm trying to get more of it into my day. This is the part about new jobs and / or new places that can be hard - it gets so busy that it's difficult to squeeze in any kind of hobbies. Finished reading Saga by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples: As always, this series is stellar. I loved this one and boy, did it throw some emotional punches along the way. There were more heartbreaking heartbreaks in this one than in the previous books, if that makes sense. It's been a while since I read the last Saga volume so it took me a while to get my bearing - I had to reread certain sections of the previous volume, but then that's the challenge with series books. Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel: I enjoyed Sleeping Giants quite a bit but not so much that I wanted to read the sequel. However, when I saw this ebook at Netgalley, I decided that I did want to read the sequel ...

Looks like most of my reads nowadays are quick reads. Works for me very well, since I usually go days in between reading and it becomes very hard to go back to a book after a few days of being away from it. It's really because of this that I bailed on Amsterdam , however I have been reading other books. Finished reading Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly: I first heard of this book only very recently when I came across an article about the movie based on this book. Almost soon after, Hoopla had this book available and I pretty much devoured it right away. An awesome woman protagonist? Check. Doing amazing things in 1887? Check. An intriguing subject? Check. If you're not aware, this book is about Nellie Bly's ten days being undercover as an inmate in the Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum, where there appeared to be several very sane women also being held against their will. Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen: This book is part of a collection of drawi...

I seem to be going through phases of a lot of reading/blogging followed by radio silence. Right now, I may be seeing the start of a reading/blogging phase because things have calmed down somewhat at work and we have plenty of leftovers to tide us through this week so my evenings can be chore-less too. Of course, now that I have gone and said that, something is bound to come up. Finished reading Sh*tty Mom by Mary Ann Zoellner: I was looking for a fun read with this one and I got just that. See my review for more. Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero: Oh, where do I start with this one. I loved loved this book. There's so much going on in it but in a real-life way. There is a lot about teen pregnancies and drug addiction, but also plenty about being Mexican & American, writing poetry, and wanting to go to college. This is a must-pick! The Trouble with Women by Jacky Fleming: This is a quick but very relevant book that I picked on NetGalley. It takes a very sa...

Whoops! I didn't mean to disappear without saying something about it but wow, I can barely get any time nowadays to blog. Part of the reason is that I lost the slots when I usually blog to other things. My breaks at work are replaced by more work or an actual step-away-from-the-desk break. The evenings when I usually put my blog post together have been taken over by Shreya because she is now awake for longer and of course, just as energetic as she was when she woke up in the morning. ::smh:: The nights (after Shreya finally falls asleep) are Star Trek hours because I have been watching Voyager and love that show! The next two weeks are going to be busier because we have visitors staying with us over the long weekend, so I'm probably going to be "catching up" for a long time. So, this may be that post where I'm saying I'm going to be out for some more time. We'll see - I do have a review ready so something may air up here. Finished reading Since my...

It's been four weeks since my last update and I wish I could say that I read a ton! But, sadly, I barely read for two of those four weeks, and of the books I did read, I DNF'd one and am on the way to DNF-ing another. Let's talk about that first DNF - Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. I had a worry that this book was not going to work for me. Still, I wanted to give it a try and see what the whole hype was about. I think I lasted about 15% of the book before giving up on it. The suspense was there, but to me, the book was so badly written that I couldn't make myself read any more of it. I had so much trouble with the author's sexual objectification of women, all the many stereotypes (hey, are you 50+ and unmarried? Then I think you are a cat-lady too.), and the strew of words that were in this book just to up the word count but not to really add anything to the story. And then, when Meg shared the ending with me on Litsy, I totally cringed. At that point...

Almost halfway through one of the busiest months, I'm surprised that I am still reading something. It helps that when I'm tired, reading is all I really want to do, even if I generally pass out a couple of pages later. This past week, I finished two books, started three books, and even DNF'd one. I started listening to #Girlboss on Monday and even if it was supposed to be a quick listen, I realized that I couldn't bring myself to care much for the story. When the author starts off with a disclaimer that this is not a feminist book, I pretty much sigh with frustration. Maybe it's not a feminist book, but then you don't have to bring it up, you know? I love reading stories about successful women but I don't like it when those successful women try to shy away from the f-word. You can call it whatever you like, but if you don't like the word, don't bring it up at all. Feminism isn't a bad word and it's high time we stopped viewing it as such. An...

Last two weeks were somewhat heavy on reading (heavy for me). I've started defaulting to reading whenever I get a few free minutes, rather than browsing through the interwebs or playing WordWhizzle on my phone. I'm hoping that this continues because I desperately want to read 10 other books right now and am just about trying to focus on a couple instead. Finished reading Over the past two weeks, I finished two wonderful books.  God Help the Child  was my first Toni Morrison that I read, plus it crosses off one author from my Summer Reading List . I loved the writing and the bold ideas that Morrison explores in this book but was somewhat underwhelmed by the plot. Under the Banner of Heaven  by Jon Krakauer was more a mixed bag, compared to his other books. There were plenty of chapters that I found very fascinating with much of it making me angry and not very hopeful for humanity. It mainly explores the 1984 murder of Brenda and Erica Lafferty (the latter a 1.5...

Through much of May, books have been taking a backseat. I began to listen (and sing along) to music in the car and chose to aimlessly browse the webs during my usual reading times. I'm not sure what caused the low reading morale then but the reading mojo is back. Been back for a week now, and probably thanks to... Finished reading Saga : Read. This. Series. That's all I can say. It is just the kind of fantasy I love (intergalactic) and yet it's not about space at all. Makes sense? It is about earth today and all the virtual boundaries between different races. Of war and a love that threatens to end the war. Of a couple's determination to give the best life possible to their daughter. Oh, I could go on but the short answer is that this is a fabulous series that everyone should read. Currently reading Under the Banner of Heaven : The only reason I am reading this book is because it's written by Jon Krakauer, whose Into Thin Air , Into The Wild , and Missou...