#ReadersCrossing

Welcome to #ReadersCrossing, the latest reading challenge from Aentee over at one of my favorite bookish blogs, Read at Midnight. It's inspired by Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, a charming free app available on IOS and Android. Pick a path (Cute, Cool, Sporty, or Natural) and start reading your way around the board. The challenge runs from December 10, 2017-December 31, 2017. Head over to #ReadersCrossing Sign Up Post for full details and to sign up to join in the fun.

Though I tend not to stick to a TBR, here's my initial plan. I'll be starting on the CUTE path.

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CUTE PATH

GRAPHIC NOVEL: Beowulf by Gareth Hinds

(2 EXP)

★★★★

The artwork in this graphic novel adaptation is absolutely gorgeous. The story as a whole (words and pictures combined) was easy to follow and definitely makes the story more accessible to younger readers. 

I found the large blocks of exposition a bit disappointing. They felt more like the summaries you might find in CliffsNotes and lost much of the beauty of the poetry.

PINK COVER: Riot Days by Maria Alyokhina

★★★★

(3 EXP)

In vignettes based on her jail diary and courtroom transcripts, peppered with song lyrics, Masha describes Pussy Riot’s two minute protest at Moscow’s central cathedral and the two years of prison time that followed. 

“Power built on totalitarian principles cannot admit its mistakes. To admit a mistake is to show weakness, to back down. To lose. This power sees conspiracy everywhere behind its back, so it lives with its head turned backwards, checking that no one is following it, that no one is dreaming up a revolution.”

During her time in two different women’s penal colonies, she continued to resist, standing up for basic human rights and shining a light on desperate conditions that she and her fellow prisoners faced every day. 

Now more than ever, citizens have the responsibility to pay attention and to speak out. “Freedom doesn’t exist unless you fight for it every day.”

MAIN ROMANTIC PLOT: Month of Sundays by Yolanda Wallace

(3 EXP)

★★★

I don’t read much romance, but I enjoyed this light, breezy read. 

After a bad break-up, Rachel’s friends fix her up on a blind date with sexy celebrity chef Griffin. Rachel isn’t sure she wants another relationship, but Griffin persuades Rachel to spend the next six months of Sundays exploring local New York restaurants in a sort of culinary trip around the world. (One of the benefits of living in a big city is having access to diverse food.)

I liked the way their relationship evolved. The most awkward part was trying to visualize the sex scenes when both characters were “she/her.” I kept having to go back and reread to keep track of who was on top!

MIDDLE GRADE: Doll Bones by Holly Black

(2 EXP)

★★★★

Zach, Alice, and Poppy have grown up together playing imaginative role-playing games with their dolls. Now that they are 12, Zach feels pressure to act more like one of the guys. His dad escalates the situation by throwing away Zach’s action figures, characters in a long-running game between the three friends. Zach feels hurt and betrayed, sure that the only solution is to focus on sports and leave his friends behind. 

But before he realizes what is happening, he’s been dragged along on a quest to return a creepy china doll to her grave. The creepy-but-not-gory vibe will keep middle grade readers turning pages, wondering if the doll is really haunting the children, or if Poppy herself is behind the mysterious happenings. 

A perfect book for middle grade readers—lovely writing, atmospheric and creepy, but without being too scary.

CONTEMPORARY: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

★★★★

(3 EXP)

Marin, a college freshman, is spending winter break alone in an empty dorm. No one from home has heard a word from her since she left at the end of summer. Now her best friend/former girlfriend is flying from California to New York to visit her and Marin knows they will have to talk about what happened the day her grandfather died. 

The writing is gorgeous and evocative. Marin’s grief and loneliness is palpable and reflected in the cold New York winter and her bare dorm room.

That's it for the cute path. Five books / 1079 pages / 13 EXP

I'll just keep going to see how far I can make it around the board.

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COOL PATH

CONTEMPORARY: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

★★★★

(3 EXP)

See above (on the CUTE path) for review.

WRITTEN BY A CELEBRITY: You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson

★★★★

(3 EXP)

I was familiar with Phoebe Robinson from her podcast, 2 Dope Queens, which she does with “werk wife” Jessica Williams. They’re hilarious, FYI. 

Some people will be turned off by this book in written form, as the tone is extremely casual and liberally peppered with hashtags and text message abbreviations. As I’m from the last generation to come of age before the Internet was a thing, I knew enough to pick this up in audiobook. 

A mix of personal and political, silly and serious, Robinson uses humor and lots of pop culture references to talk about the micro-aggressions she experiences every day as a black woman in America. Some of the book is about the politics of natural hair and why you shouldn’t touch it. She goes on to talk about serious topics like racism, privilege, and coded language. 

She ends with letters to her bi-racial niece about honoring both sides of her identity. Included in this section is a letter written and read by John Hodgeman, apparently the whitest white guy ever. To be honest, that bit about Mr. Rogers might have made me tear up just a little. 

This isn’t a perfect book, but Robinson adds to a timely and important conversation that more of us need to engage in. And if you’re the type of white person who would EVER walk up to a stranger and ask to touch her hair (or her pregnant belly), you NEED this book. And probably a more diverse circle of friends. Just sayin’.

BOOK AWARD WINNER (Nebula Award): Uprooted by Naomi Novik

RECOMMENDED BY A FRIEND: Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

SET IN YOUR COUNTRY: Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary

★★★

Beatrice (aka Beezus), who’s nine, wishes she had more time to read, but is asked to spend what seems like every waking moment of her life being responsible for her four year old sister, Ramona. While I get that Ramona is the fun, imaginative wild-child, she’s also a naughty little shit who throws a tantrum on the rare occasions she doesn’t get her own way. Possibly because I have two younger sisters, I really felt for Beezus.

Progress on the COOL path. Three books / 726 pages / 8 EXP

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SIDE QUESTS

BOOKS

SEASONALLY INSPIRED: Gather 'Round the Sound: Holiday Stories from Beloved Authors and Great Performers Across the Globe an Audible collection

★★★

A free collection of short stories from Audible. By far, my favorite was “Zip Code 12345,” a nonfiction piece about children’s letters to Santa. “An Aussie Night Before Christmas” by Yvonne Morrison was a fun take on the classic poem and “The Music Coming from the House” was a heartwarming tale by Paulo Coehlo.

FRUIT IN THE TITLE: Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

★★★★★

Sal and her mother go out to pick blueberries, and Little Bear and his mother come to the same patch to eat blueberries. The two little ones get mixed up and hilarity ensues. The parallels between Sal and Little Bear provide both structure and entertainment. 

Simple, expressive black and white drawings and charming, repetitive language makes this one a fun read-aloud. One of my childhood favorites!

FREE SPACE: 

TIMED (READ A BOOK IN 24 HOURS): Dancing Girls and Other Stories by Margaret Atwood

★★★★

As a whole, this collection is not quite 5 stars for me, though many of the individual stories definitely are. 

I loved this collection when I read it years ago. As an angsty teenager, Atwood’s dark world view was right up my alley. Especially in the context of the world’s economic and political climate right now, her pessimism feels truer than ever. 

The women in these stories are mostly middle-aged and dissatisfied with the lives they are living. There is a pervasive sense of futility in their relationships and little sense that any significant change is possible. 

Anyone who’s ever been in a long-term relationship will recognize the miscommunications and words not spoken that pile up over the years.

This is not a happy collection, but I kind of like the way Atwood shines a light on the dark corners. 

My personal favorites:

“Betty” is almost a coming-of-age story, set against the backdrop of the neighbors’ imploding marriage. 

“The Grave of the Famous Poet” was hilariously dark. A couple bickers while exploring some ruins and later the woman muses that perhaps she could kill the man. “Instead I brush my teeth, wondering if he’ll ever know how close he came to being murdered....” Wrong? Perhaps, but I laughed out loud several times while reading this one. 

“A Travel Piece” features a travel writer, bored with being pleased, who finally finds herself in a situation she’s never encountered. 

“The Resplendent Quetzal” paints a depressing picture of regret, blame, and words not spoken. 

“Lives of the Poets” explores a woman’s rage. 

“Giving Birth” was the jewel in this collection, possibly because so much of it felt like TRUTH (yes, TRUTH in all caps). “She remembers the way women who had babies used to smile at one another, mysteriously, as if there was something they knew that she didn’t, the way they would casually exclude her from their frame of reference.”

INSECT ON THE COVER: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

STILL READING 

I've been reading this one slowly, savoring the beautiful writing and Janie's journey to self-empowerment. So far, I have read to page 90. Will finish, but not in time for this challenge.

SHOVEL STRIKE (FRIEND PICK): Warcross by Marie Lu 

SET AT SEAS OR BEACH: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

★★★

(2 EXP)

In many ways, this was similar to Girl on the Train. The unreliable narrator witnesses a murder and no one will believe her story. 

Lo Blacklock is a travel writer who never gets the good assignments, mainly because of her history with anxiety and depression. One night, she wakes up in the dark to find a masked man standing in her apartment, stealing her purse. What is really terrifying is that he is wearing latex gloves and the thought spiral she goes down when she sees them had me terrified along with her. In the aftermath of the break-in, her anxiety gets ramped way up,  she stops sleeping, and ends up having a huge fight with her boyfriend, right before leaving on a luxury cruise assignment that dropped in her lap because her boss is pregnant. 

She is determined to prove herself on this assignment, the chance she’s been waiting for. The ship gets underway and things are not going all that well for her. When she is awakened by a scream and a big splash, things get worse. She calls security, convinced that she’s witnessed a murder. Of course, no one believes her once it comes out that she regularly combines anxiety meds with lots of booze, on top of her recent trauma. She keeps insisting that she’s telling the truth, which leads to some real danger. 

There were some suspenseful moments, but also some tedious and repetitive ones. I thought this one started out well, but I didn’t care for the ending.

SIDE QUESTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

GIVE KUDOS ON A POST/VIDEO: 3 EXP

SHELFIE POST OF A CAMPER READING: 2 EXP

Progress on SIDE QUESTS. Four books / 795 pages / two SM quests / 13 EXP

Twelve books / 2600 pages

While I had the motivation to read, I did get sidetracked by the combination of a more demanding work schedule than normal and the gaming aspect of the challenge. My husband just shook his head and snickered at me every time I got excited to catch my campers reading. I had a great time and will continue to follow Read at Midnight for more great book recommendations and (hopefully) more reading challenges.