Thursday, July 19, 2018

#24in48 Readathon--July 2018

Another #24in48? My heart is all aflutter, even though my husband is going to do his best to lure me away from my TBR stack. I may not make it to 24 hours, but I'll be reading in every spare moment. For full details and the sign-up, click here.

I'll be updating this post during the readathon, as well as on Twitter under #24in48
Happy reading to all!

Saturday, July 21
Started:
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire 
Dietland by Sarai Walker
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

Finished:
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Dietland by Sarai Walker πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ


Hour 6: Marvelous Opening Lines
"It was late in the spring when I noticed that a girl was following me, nearly the end of May, a month that means perhaps or might be." from Dietland by Sarai Walker

Hour 12: A Whole New World 
The first book I read that altered my worldview was The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I grew up obsessed with mythology, fairy tales, and the King Arthur legend. Reading a story I knew so well from the women's perspectives was an a-ha moment for me about the ways in which women are erased from public view. A more recent read that gave me similar feels is Circe by Madeline Miller. The Odyssey by Homer is another well-known narrative that benefits from giving a central female character the chance to tell her side of the story. 
 

Sunday, July 22
I'm getting behind on the challenges because all I want to do is read! My husband wants attention and we have wildfires burning all around us and I'm in a comfy chair with my books like:
via GIPHY

Started:
The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs

Finished:
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Final Stats:

Total time: 27 hours, 31 minutes, 23 seconds
Books started: 6
Books finished: 4
Total pages read: 1,425

Can't wait to do this again in January!

Sunday, July 1, 2018

#SummerSoLit Book Bingo Reading Challenge

What better way to spend the summer than with the #SummerSoLit Book Bingo Reading Challenge? I hope you'll join me in getting out of your comfort zone and reading and supporting books by POC.
If you Twitter, post updates at #SummerSoLit to join in on the fun.
Challenge dates:
 Summer Solstice (June 22) - Fall Solstice (September 22)

1. "HEAT" in the title: Heat of the Night by Sylvia Day (For romance readers who like to skip to the good parts. Steamy paranormal romance.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
2. Graphic novel with a PoC in it:  Monstress, Vol. 1 by Marjorie M. Liu (Gorgeously drawn fantasy-steampunk graphic novel with a creative and compelling plot and a badass MC with a secret.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
3. Last in a series: Manners & Mutiny (Finishing School #4) by Gail Carriger (Fun, action-packed conclusion to a steampunk/comedy of manners series.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
4. Takes place on an island: Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore (Kind of a genre-spanning, choose-your-own-adventure in which each choice the main character makes sets her on a path to face a truth about herself. The more I think about it, the more I like it.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
5. Collection of short stories by a PoC: Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (Genre-defying, feminist stories about women and their bodies. Think Margaret Atwood with way more queer sex.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ

6. Read 11+ books this summer: LOL. Done by mid-June.
7. Non-fiction about a PoC: Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling by Rosie PΓ©rez (An inspiring memoir of surviving and thriving despite childhood trauma. Added all of her movies to my Netflix queue. You know, for when my eyes are tired from reading.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
8. Disabled male author
9. Fireworks on the cover: Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen (A memoir about turning 60, full of wit and wisdom.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
10. Local author

11. Made into a movie
12. High school summer
13. FREE SPACE: In Other Words/In Altre Parole by Jhumpa Lahiri (Her memoir about her love affair with the Italian language and how it reveals her search for identity and belonging.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
14. LGBTQ main character: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (As soon as Nancy arrives at the Home for Wayward Children, she becomes the prime suspect in some creepy murders. All she wants is to find a door back to the land of the dead.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
15. Roadtrip: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Fast-paced fantasy-adventure about a quest to restore magic to a fictional African kingdom. Dynamic characters and fantastic world-building.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ

16. One word title: Circe by Madeline Miller (Circe finally gets to tell her side of the story you may have heard if you read The Odyssey. Gorgeous writing and compelling characters. Plus, some subtle LGBTQ rep.) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
17. Latina main character: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (Xiomara is a teenager struggling to find her voice in a neighborhood where her curvy body brings unwanted attention and her super-religious mother will do anything to keep control of her daughter in this free-verse novel. I loved the way Spanish is seamlessly woven throughout.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
18. Camping: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (A humorous account of what happened when an inexperienced hiker took on the Appalachian Trail.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
19. 50 year old sci-fi 
20. "SUMMER" in the title

21. A Beach on the cover: To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (The story of a family's life, told in two parts--before and after the death of Mrs. Ramsay. The visit to the lighthouse is a metaphor for all that is unfulfilled in her life.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
22. New York Times Bestseller: The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae (An entertaining collection of essays that mostly skim the surface. I'm more of a fan of her work in television, where her voice absolutely sparkles.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
23. One word title: Dietland by Sarai Walker (A feminist manifesto that takes on diet and rape culture.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ 
24. Muslim female author: Amina's Voice by Hena Khan (Middle grade fiction featuring a Pakistani-American girl navigating friendships, faith, and family.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ
25. Historical fiction with Asian main character: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (First love between a Chinese-American boy and a Japanese-American girl that jumps back and forth between 1942 and 1986.) πŸŒŸπŸŒŸπŸŒŸ

High Summer Readathon--July 2018

Readathons are such fun. Even though I'm already doing several others right now, I'm jumping on the bandwagon for the High Summer Readathon hosted by Michelle at Seasons of Reading. The best thing about this one is that I can read whatever strikes my fancy. YAY!

I'll keep this simple by noting titles as I start reading and add a star rating as I finish.

Week 1: July 1-7

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (119 p) ☆☆☆☆☆
Circe by Madeline Miller (400 P) ☆☆☆☆☆
Monstress, Volume 1 by Marjorie Lu (208 p) ☆☆☆☆
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (176 p) ☆☆☆☆
The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict by The Arbinger Institute (288 p) ☆☆
Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh (134 p) ☆☆☆☆

Week 1 Totals:
Books read: 6
Pages read: 1325

Week 2: July 8-14

Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Child by Thich Nhat Hanh (184 p) ☆☆☆☆
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (496 p) ☆☆☆☆
Pleasures of the Night by Sylvia Day (256 p) ☆☆☆☆
Heat of the Night by Sylvia Day (304 p) ☆☆☆☆
The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck by Sarah Knight (209 p) ☆☆☆☆

Week 2 Totals:
Books read: 5
Pages read: 1449 

Week 3: July 15-21

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams (288 p) ☆☆
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (248 p) ☆☆☆☆
The Widow Nash by Jamie Harrison (352 p) ☆☆
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (448 p) ☆☆☆☆
In Other Words/In Altre Parole by Jhumpa Lahiri (256 p) ☆☆☆☆
Down Among the Sticks and Bones (192 p) ☆☆☆☆
Dietland by Sarai Walker (320 p) ☆☆☆☆

Week 3 Totals:
Books read: 7
Pages read: 2104

Week 4: July 22-28

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara (352 p) ☆☆☆☆
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes (336 p) ☆☆☆☆
My American Duchess by Eloisa James (432 p) ☆☆
The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs (408 p)☆☆
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (818 p) ☆☆☆☆
The Exile by Diana Gabaldon (224 p) ☆☆
The Restless Dead by Deborah Noyes (Ed.) (253 p) ☆☆
Torch by Cheryl Strayed (336 p) ☆☆


Week 4 Totals:
Books read: 8
Pages read: 3,159 (Thanks to Dewey's Reverse Readathon!)

Week 5: July 29-31

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis (240 p) ☆☆

Week 5 Totals:
Books read: 1
Pages read: 240

TOTALS FOR THE MONTH:
Books read: 27
Pages read: 8,277
Books by women: 22/27