Fall Reads – 2020

Fall is here! I hope to continue more progress on my Reading the Classics Challenge. I am also picking away at the books on my bookshelf. What are y’all reading this fall? Any reads you are most looking forward to? Here is my list:

BOOK CLUB READS

• The Theban Plays by Sophocles √
• Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk √
• Democracy by Henry Adams √
• In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
• The Desert and the Drum by Mbarek Ould Beyrouk √
• Hard Times by Charles Dickens

BUDDY READALONG

• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote √
• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
• Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery

NETGALLEY 

• Girls of Brackenhill by Kate Moretti

BOOK JARS

• What Women Want by Fanny Blake
• The Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale √

OTHER

• Goodbye to a River by John Graves √
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot √
• The Radium Girls by Kate Moore √
• The Pioneers by David McCullough
• The Monsters We Make by Kali White √
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart √
• Cursed Objects by J. W. Ocker √
• The Cold Vanish by Jon Billman √
• Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump √
• Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene √

Feel free to leave a comment about any of the books I’ll be reading or the reads y’all will be reading.

HAPPY FALL READING!!!

WWW Wednesdays – September 16, 2020

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

I’ve had some trouble getting some good reading time in these last few weeks. Work has been crazy exhausting for months, so I’m dealing with burnout during a high anxiety period of time, but at least my friend and I have officially finished Anna Karenina. We’ve been reading and discussing that book for the entire year. I’m currently utilizing book clubs to jump start my reading again.

CURRENTLY READING

RECENTLY FINISHED

Classics Lit & Buddy Readalong: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – book = ♦ ♦ ♦
Virtual Book Club: Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi – ebook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Goodreads Giveaway: The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith – book = ♦ ♦ ♦
Gilmore Girls Lit: Stiff by Mary Roach – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

READING NEXT

Hope everyone is doing well! What are y’all reading? Feel free to leave a comment either about the books I’ve listed, what you are reading or your WWW link.

STAY SAFE & KEEP READING!!!

WWW Wednesdays – August 12, 2020

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

I’m trying to read more classics right now both on my Reading the Classics list and also others that I come across on my shelf.

Currently Reading

Finished Reading

The Bugalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 
Read Classics: The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells – book = ♦ ♦ ♦
Virtual Book Club: Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente – audiobook/ebook = ♦ ♦ ♦

Reading Next

Hope everyone is doing well! What have y’all been reading? Please feel free to comment on these books and/or post your WWW link below!

Stay safe and healthy and Read On!!!

WWW Wednesdays – July 29, 2020

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

Currently Reading

Finished Reading

White Fragility by Robin Diangelo – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦
The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
NetGalley ARC: The Dilemma by B. A. Paris – ebook = ♦ ♦ ♦

I’ve been reading a lot of books about racism and injustices, and while White Fragility is an okay book, I find that other books have been much more powerful. So far I would highly recommend anything by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson and So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. I decided to balance my reading by listening to some Nancy Drew on audio. I was pleasantly surprised that Laura Linney narrates those novels. Also, I finally finished The Dilemma. I should have a review of that posted soon.

Reading Next

Hope everyone is doing well! What have y’all been reading? Please feel free to comment on these books and/or post your WWW link below!

Stay safe and healthy and Read On!!!

WWW Wednesdays – July 22, 2020

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

Currently Reading

Recently Finished

How To Be Fine by Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦
Virtual Book Club: Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor – ebook = ♦ ♦ ♦
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell – audiobook = ♦ ♦

Reading Next

Hope everyone is doing well! What have y’all been reading? Please feel free to comment on these books and/or post your WWW link below!

Stay safe and healthy and Read On!!!

WWW Wednesdays – July 8, 2020

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

I took a small amount of time off of work during the holiday weekend. I thought I would get more reading done, but, alas, I can’t seem to sit down and read books right now. I am listening to audiobooks, while I do housework, etc., but that is the only reading that is happening in my life right now. In the last week, countless friends and family members have tested positive for COVID, and it is making me more than a little anxious. I am much more anxious now than I was three months ago. I am not even able to find peace in my books, but most of the audiobooks that I listened to in the last couple of weeks were amazing!

Currently Reading

Recently Finished

The 4 Season Solution by Dallas Hartwig – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦ 
Don’t Overthink It by Anne Bogel – audiobook/book = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 
More Myself by Alicia Keys – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 

*Hopefully I’ll be able to post some blog reviews of these titles soon.*

Reading Next

Hope everyone is doing well! What have y’all been reading? Please feel free to comment on these books and/or post your WWW link below!

Stay safe and healthy and Read On!!!

WWW Wednesdays – June 24, 2020

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

I put together my Summer Reading List and hope to read a few more classics once I have completed my Anna Karenina buddy read. I need to start making more progress on my Reading the Classics list. Since I don’t have any summer travel plans (anymore – all canceled), I am thinking of having a few reading staycations – at least that is my hope. Anybody ever do that?

Currently Reading

Finished Reading

West with the Night by Beryl Markham – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

*Click on title for full review. I didn’t complete too many books this week, but I am making a lot of progress on Anna Karenina.*

Reading Next

Hope everyone is doing well! What have y’all been reading? Please feel free to comment on these books and/or post your WWW link below!

Stay safe and healthy and Read On!!!

 

Book Review: West With The Night

Title: West with the Night
Author: Beryl Markham
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: 1942
Pages: 294
Format Read: Audiobook
Standalone or series: Standalone
Where I got the book: Library Libby app
Date finished reading: June 21, 2020

Goodreads Description: West with the Night is the story of Beryl Markham–aviator, racehorse trainer, beauty–and her life in the Kenya of the 1920s and ’30s.

My Review: I heard about this book via Jeff O’Neal on the Book Riot Podcast. Based on his description, I thought it would be an interesting travelogue. The goodreads description, as you can see above, can hardly be considered a comprehensive description. I really did not know what to expect with this book. I just really wanted to read something set in a different part of the world. Plus, Jeff O’Neal mentioned that this book was given high praise from none other than Ernest Hemingway.

I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of Beryl Markham. I have definitely been missing out. Her life was absolutely fascinating! She lived a free life, yet maybe at times a bit lonely. West With The Night has everything you could think of: descriptions of the Maasai culture, a lion attack, horse racing, malaria, World War 1, colonialism, fascism, and aviation by only maps, protractors and compasses (no navigational or radio systems).

Plus, Hemingway was absolutely correct. Beryl Markham was a beautiful writer. Her descriptions put you in another time and place beyond what may be imaginable. This book was a truly a remarkable and memorable reading experience. I highly recommend it!

My Rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ½

“Every tomorrow ought not to resemble every yesterday. Still I look at my yesterdays from months passed and find them as good a lot of yesterdays as anybody might want. I sit there in the firelight and see them all.”

Summer Reads – 2020

Summer is here! I think we can all agree that this has been an interesting spring. I have no idea what the summer will hold, but I hope to make more progress on my Reading the Classics Challenge. I am also picking away at the books on my bookshelf. All the rest of the titles are based on giveaways and book club picks. What are y’all reading this summer? Any reads you are most looking forward to? Here is my list:

Book Club Reads

• Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor √
• Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente √

NetGalley Reads

• The Mountains Wild by Sarah Stewart Taylor
• The Dilemma by B. A. Paris √
• The Love Scam by Mary Janice Davidson

Goodreads Giveaways

• The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith √

Reading the Classics

• The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells √
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
• Sanditon by Jane Austen

Readalongs

• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy √

Book Jar Picks

• Visit Sunny Chernobyl by Andrew Blackwell
• Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

Other

• Don’t Overthink It by Anne Bogel – audiobook/book √
• Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg – ebook
• The 4 Season Solution by Dallas Hartwig – audiobook √
• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb – ebook
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates – audiobook √
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo – audiobook √
• White Fragility by Robin Diangelo – audiobook √
• More Myself by Alicia Keys – audiobook √
• How to be Fine by Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer – audiobook √

Share your summer TBR in the comments section!

STAY HEALTHY & READ!!!!

WWW Wednesdays – June 17, 2020

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

Currently Reading

Finished Reading

NetGalley ARC: The Girls Weekend by Jody Gehrman – ebook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 
Eat Sleep Work Repeat by Bruce Daisley – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦
IRL Book Club: The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli – ebook = ♦ ♦
Do Nothing by Celeste Headlee – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

*Click on title of books for full reviews.*

Reading Next

Hope everyone is doing well! What have y’all been reading? Please feel free to comment on these books and/or post your WWW link below!

Stay safe and healthy and Read On!!!