my own words

October 10, 2018

Year 3: An Update (And Giveaway!)

Yesterday was my 33rd birthday! I decided, when I turned 30, that I was going to commit to reading 500 books over the course of the next decade, and started this blog a couple months later to hold myself accountable. So my reading years begin and end on my birthday, and that meant that yesterday marked the end of year three. I like to take my birthday to look back on the year that was, both in terms of numbers and in terms of life, so let’s see what happened:

In Reading

Books read (this year): 87! This is obviously more than my yearly goal of 50. And it’s up from last year’s 84, which I’m excited about because I read some lengthy books this year. But I don’t know that I’ll ever touch the 95 I read the first year again.

Books read (total): 266. I am currently over 2 years “ahead” of my posting. I’m not sure what to do about this, if there’s anything that needs to be done about it. I feel like it’s better to have a buffer in case I ever find my pace slowing, and it’s not like I feel crazy pressure to read every single second. I’m reading as much as I want, and right now that’s more rather than less.

Male/Female Authors: 44 men/43 women. As always, this is just about even despite not making a conscious effort to read equal numbers. It’s always something that’s interesting to keep track of, especially since I read a lot of “literary fiction”, which is a genre that tends to be male-heavy.

Most Read Genres: Speaking of literary fiction, I’ve stopped tracking it as a sub-genre this year because of that very male-heaviness. Instead, I either list it as historical or contemporary fiction. This year, I read 66 fiction books (most-read subgenres continue to be contemporary fiction and then historical fiction), but only 21 non-fiction books (most-read subgenres here were science and history). That’s a 3:1 ratio, while previously I’ve been more like 2:1. I’ve actually been buying more non-fiction lately, but I think I was just going through a particularly fiction-heavy portion of my backlog. I will admit this: it’s a LOT easier to write about the fictional books, so I’m not bummed on that count.

Kindle/Hard Copy: This year, I read 51 paperback or hardcover books and only 36 on my Kindle. This has been my most inconsistent category I track…the first year I read significantly more on the Kindle than in hard copy, while last year was about even, and now this. I do honestly prefer reading a hard copy, so part of that is doing things like buying the physical book for my book club instead of the Kindle version, even when the e-book would be cheaper.

In Life

Girl’s trip to Las Vegas: My annual trip with my best friends was close to home (for me) this year…since Britney Spears was wrapping up her residency at Planet Hollywood, we spent four days in Las Vegas centered around her show! We usually do weekend trips, but it turned out to be much kinder to our pocketbooks to go during the week. And the show was awesome! I was reading: Player Piano

Work trip to Seattle: My first-ever trip to Washington! It turns out January may not quite be the best month to experience a coastal city…it was pretty cold and the wind coming up off the water made it even more so. But I wish we’d gotten more time to explore, so we’ll certainly be heading back sometime, but probably during a more hospitable time of year! I was reading: An American Marriage

My grandfather died: This isn’t any sort of highlight, but it was a significant life event. He’d been doing poorly for about a year prior to his death, so it didn’t come as an awful surprise, but it was still a rough time and he’s missed. I was reading: The Heart of Everything That Is

Second wedding anniversary: We’ve been together for six years now, but only married for two. We didn’t do anything particularly special, just a dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, but it’s nice to celebrate anyways. I was reading: Sloppy Firsts

Weekend in San Francisco: We hadn’t taken a long weekend in months, so we decided to hop over to the Bay for a few days in early July! We stayed in San Francisco for a few days, and then over to Berkeley, and had an awesome time eating and drinking and walking around. I was reading: My Own Words

Trip to Faribault: When you grow up in a Catholic family, a cousin getting married is a pretty regular occurrence. This time it was my cousin Matt, so Drew and I took a long weekend to go to Faribault, which also happens to be my boss’s hometown! It was lovely to be there for Matt and Jessie’s celebration and spend some time with my dad’s side of the family. I was reading: The Luminaries (review to come)

The Giveaway

Every year, I give away a copy of my favorite book that I’ve reviewed on the blog over the previous 12 months. This year, there was no contest: I absolutely loved Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie’s Americanah. I’m hardly the first person to rave about this book, but I found both the story and the prose really, really compelling. So here’s how it works: there’s a Rafflecopter link down there, and the instructions from there are pretty easy. I’ve leave this up for a week, and then use a random number generator to pick a winner! If you win, I’ll get in touch to get your information to give you either a Kindle or paperback copy of this wonderful book! Sorry, international friends…this is a US-only giveaway. a Rafflecopter giveaway

July 30, 2018

A Month In The Life: July 2018

We’re at the point in summer where it feels like it’ll never be over. Though it’s nowhere nearly as bad as Las Vegas, Reno gets very toasty in the summer, and our swamp cooler is one of the best things we’ve bought ourselves for our apartment! And thankfully, we were able to escape the heat a bit with a little weekend vacation mid-month!

In Books…

Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: This is an extremely comprehensive account of the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. If you’re already very familiar with the facts, this likely won’t do much for you, but since my own memories of the coverage of the case were fuzzy, I found it informative. It doesn’t have the kind of narrative flow that distinguishes the best true crime, but it’s very competently written and is a solid foundation on what happened…even if the question of who did it remains frustratingly beyond reach.
Disgrace: It’s quite short, less than 250 pages, but this novel about a college professor in South Africa whose fling with a student lands him out of academia and into the countryside with his only daughter is rich with meaning and deeply layered. It’s not an easy book or enjoyable in the traditional sense, but it’s powerful and very good.
The Looming Tower: I’ll admit I was a little concerned about reading this just six months after Ghost Wars since it seemed like it would have a lot of the same information, but I needn’t have worried. This book focuses less on Afghanistan and more on Osama Bin Laden and the development of al-Queda, and for my money was the better of the two. Despite containing a lot of information, it was clearly told and resisted diverging too far from its central narrative.
My Own Words: This collection of pieces of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s writings and speeches, dating from middle school all the way through her long and continuing career on the Supreme Court is a solid work. An enjoyable portrait of a keen-minded lady, though I’ll confess I’m more looking forward to the biography that’s on the way from the same writers.
Olive Kitteridge: I feel like I’ve read a lot of books lately in that “interconnected vignettes” style, so I was dreading picking up this set of loosely intertwined short stories. But there’s a reason Elizabeth Strout won the Pulitzer…each story is a full story and Olive was a character I found myself interested in reading about. She’s a mess of contradictions in such a human way. There are some stronger stories and some weaker ones, of course, but it’s a very solid collection.
The Romanov Empress: I used to read a lot more historical fiction and enjoyed it, so I was intrigued by this story of the life of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. She was the mother of Tsar Nicholas II and outlived not only him, but three of her other children as well. The book was competent but not exemplary…she lived such a long, full life that it ended up being more of a highlight reel than a story that I could really get into. I do want to read an actual biography of her now, though!
The Pleasing Hour: This novel about a young American woman who goes to France to work as an au pair has some truly lovely writing and does some good work with characters at points, but never really finds a compelling plot or comes completely together. It’s a debut, though, so I’m looking forward to read more of Lily King’s work.

In Life…

Weekend in San Francisco: There was a motive behind this one that I’ll let you all know about if it develops into anything, but honestly any excuse to go enjoy the Bay Area is good enough! I flew in on a Wednesday night and Drew drove over to join on a Thursday, and after a brief obligation Thursday, we had the rest of the weekend to explore the city and Berkeley, where we stayed on the spendier weekend nights to save some money. We ate, we drank, I made TWO bookstore stops. It was really fun, San Francisco is a great city.

One Thing:

Every once in a while there’s a big Reddit thread about the best phone apps you’ve never heard of. The last time I browsed one, I downloaded TripIt! for my phone and this weekend’s trip to the Bay was the first time I used it and I really liked it! You can either sign up to let them have access to your emails so it will scan them for things like confirmation numbers, or forward your emails directly (I did the former) and it’ll organize them by trip so you have all your information together in one place. Maybe more naturally organized people have a system that works for them, but for me I found it really helpful to have and I recommend trying it out if that sounds like something that would work for you!

Gratuitous Pug Picture:

June 19, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! I’ve always maintained that I’m awful at compiling lists of beach reads, so I’m taking this week’s topic about summer books to literally share with you the books I’m planning on reading over the next few months!

The Completionist: It seems like dystopian stories with a feminist bent are pretty popular these days, but something about this one caught my eye and I’ve got a review copy to read!

The Feast of Love: I’m a sucker for stories set in places familiar to me, and Baxter’s supposed a great writer, so this Ann Arbor-based book about the love people share in various types of relationships seems like a good place to start with him.

Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: Jon Benet Ramsey’s murder seems unlikely to ever be solved, but I’m definitely interested in reading the foremost true crime account of what happened.

The Looming Tower: I’m a little worried this is going to be substantially similar to Ghost Wars, which I read in January, but I’m curious to read it anyways.

My Own Words: Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a role model and a national treasure and my husband bought me this book quite a while ago so it’s time to actually read it.

Olive Kitteridge: I’m always here for prize winners, and this one got the Pulitzer in 2009. I’ve also never read Strout before, so here’s hoping I enjoy her work as much as others have!

The Romanov Empress: Ah, self-indulgence in the form of historical fiction about royalty. This book follows the mother of Nicholas II, which will be a new perspective for me to read from!

The Pleasing Hour: I’ve actually read some mixed reviews of this debut, but it’s short and it was cheap for the Kindle when I bought it so I’ll try it out.

Shantaram: I do love a gigantic sprawling novel.

The Informant: Another huge book, this one is about a federal investigation of price-fixing by a major worldwide corporation and the sometimes dicey control the FBI had over its prize witness and sounds fascinating.

December 20, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by The Broke and The Bookish! This week’s topic: books we wouldn’t mind seeing under the tree! While my house is filled to bursting with books as it is and I’m really trying to slow the progress of more books into the house, there are always books that I’m looking to get my hands on a physical copy of. Here are ten books that I’d figure out a way to make room for.

Elizabeth’s Women: I’m 100% here for all things Tudor, and this book, examining the various women who played a role in the life of Queen Elizabeth I, seems pretty much right up my alley.

My Own Words: Ruth Bader Ginsberg is my HERO. I love her. This book collects many of her writings and speeches and I want to read all of them.

Thug Kitchen 101: Fast as F*ck: I’ve got a handful of cookbooks, but I find as much of my cooking inspiration online as in pages these days. I know there’s a whole backlash with these people since we found out they’re actually white, but their recipes are tasty and totally vegan…even if I’m not and sometimes have to reverse-engineer flax out of recipes because I’m allergic, I’m always down for a quick meal!

Version Control: I actually read much more non-fiction than fiction in hard copy, but this is one of those relatively few novels I actually want to own on paper. I actually don’t know too much about the plot, just that it’s about time travel and living in the age of the internet and it’s gotten great reviews from sources I trust and I want it.

Strangers In Their Own Land: I grew up in small-town, quasi-rural Michigan and spent three years of my life in college-town Alabama, so I’ve been surrounded by Republicans for most of my life. Like most Democrats, most Republicans are decent people, and this book taking a coastal elite liberal sociologist to Louisiana to meet and understand the people on the other side seems like something I’d get a lot out of.

White Trash: America likes to pretend like it doesn’t have a class system, and while it might not be as rigid as the one in the U.K., we definitely do. I’m really interested in reading this book that looks at white American history and really examines the way society has been organized, and who ends up at the bottom of the ladder.

Pit Bull: The Battle Over An American Icon: I’ve known pit bulls who leave me wary, and I’ve known pit bulls like the one my pole studio owner has that think they’re a lap dog. There’s a lot of fear out there about this breed, and as a long-time dog nerd, I’m really curious to learn more about them.

Goldenhand: I’ve written about how much I love the Sabriel series more than once, and this is the fifth book in that series, so obviously I need to own it like I do all the others.

The Phantom of Fifth Avenue: My fondness for books about royalty should make it pretty obvious that I’ve got a soft spot for books about out-of-touch rich people. This look at Huguette Clark, who inherited a massive fortune and died alone, seems totally fascinating.

Bad English: One of the great things about English, in my opinion, is its rapaciousness…the way it grows, absorbing parts of other languages and changing with the times. People like to get fussy about using “proper” English, completely ignoring the way that the English they speak would have been regarded with abject horror only a few generations back. A book about the way people try to keep English from evolving is something I think I’d just love.

November 8, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I’ve Added To My TBR Lately

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by The Broke and The Bookish! This week’s topic: ten books I’ve added to my TBR lately. If you take a look at my Goodreads account, my TBR is gigantic. And I already have physical or digital copies of many, many, of these books. I try to keep it from getting any bigger, but my TBR has taken on kind of a life of its own at this point. Here are ten books that I’m excited to read someday…you know, after I read the literal hundreds of books I already own.

Candy: This story about drug addiction in modern-day China was banned in China. I’m a sucker for a banned book.

Sweet Lamb of Heaven: I’m not a big horror reader, but I enjoy psychological horror, especially in a domestic drama kind of context. When you add in political campaign elements, I’m intrigued!

Unmentionable: I’ve always been a nonfiction lover, and this book about what it was actually like to be a Victorian-era lady seems like the kind of thing I’d enjoy!

Girls of Riyadh: It sucks, in many ways, to be a woman anywhere. But especially in Saudi Arabia, where women are oppressed on a level that is mind-boggling to consider. A perspective on Saudi womanhood is something I’d really enjoy reading.

Goldenhand: Although I have a copy of the fourth book in the Abhorsen series, Clariel, I haven’t managed to read it yet. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to read the recently-released fifth book already!

My Own Words: Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of my total heroes, and her recent writing collection is something I’m dying to read!

On Such A Full Sea: I’ve always, since I was a teenager, been interested in post-apocolyptic stories. This one was highlighted by a few of my favorite readers, so I added it my own list.

Brown Girl Dreaming: I’m not a particularly big fan of poetry, and so verse novels make me skittish. But I’ve heard enough good things from enough people that I’m going to give it a go.

The Phantom of Fifth Avenue: I’ve actually not read a lot about the Gilded Age (except The Great Gatsby, of course), and this nonfiction about a young woman who inherited a massive fortune and became a recluse seems like it would be interesting and informative reading.

Death With Interruptions: What if one day, people just stopped dying? I loved Saramago’s Blindness, and this novel that personifies death seems like it would hit my sweet spot for books that make me think.

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