Well, they say a good battle plan never survives first contact with the enemy, and so it was with June’s reading list. During the last month, I packed up our things from our 6-month rental, moved them down to our new home, unpacked all the things from our two storage pods, and began trying to put our family’s life back together. I front-loaded a lot of audiobooks because I knew I wouldn’t have a lot of energy for physical reading this month, but even so I didn’t make it through all the physical books I wanted to read. Plus I got sidetracked by two unplanned reads. I guess that’s #writinglife. Expect me to double up on my writing-related books next month, as those are the ones I’m still working through.
Continue reading “What I Read: June 2021”Category: Book Reviews
What I Read: May 2021
Hello, all! I have decided to start aggregating my Goodreads reviews on the blog once a month. I spend a good deal of time writing them, so they might as well get some play! I hope they lend some insight into my reading life and maybe add to your own teetering TBR pile.
Continue reading “What I Read: May 2021”On the Ethics of Negative Book Reviews
A friend once asked me to review on Goodreads a book she was planning to indie publish in a few weeks. Like a shmuck, I said, “Sure, I’d love to” with no further details. I had briefly workshopped stuff with this friend (before dropping out because I had no energy to write at that point in my life). Her stuff had been mostly fantasy YA, and I had enjoyed it. I was sure I would have no problems reviewing this book positively.
I was so wrong. The book turned out not to be SFF but a romance novella. For me, romance is like salt. I don’t mind a little in my books. Occasionally, it really hits the spot like a good salted caramel. But would I ever eat a pile of salt? Nope.
Not only that, but it turned out that the book was, well, just okay. Like, if my friend was still workshopping the book, I would have had lots of questions and feedback. But my friend was ready to ship the book and just looking for some reviews to get the ball rolling. I had no idea what to do.
Continue reading “On the Ethics of Negative Book Reviews”Reading on Vacation: Two Books Set in Idaho
Like many readers, I consider reading a way to relax from my everyday life. Whether it’s escaping to a fantasy world or learning about a new idea, reading improves my mood and gives me a break from the practicalities of life. Reading kept my brain moving during the years when my life was mostly filled with changing diapers, trips to the park, and knocking down block towers for the hundredth time today.
When I go on vacation, I like to take a break from my normal reading routine by finding something related to the place we are visiting. It makes me feel even more grounded in someplace new, even when as a family with small kids, the things we do on vacation are largely the same things we do at home: visiting parks, going hiking, visiting kid-friendly museums, and eating at kid-friendly restaurants. When we went to Disneyland, I read Creativity Inc. When we were in Japan, I read A Tale for the Time Being.
Continue reading “Reading on Vacation: Two Books Set in Idaho”Missing Myself: Scattered Thoughts on Reading and Homeschooling
I’m not sure exactly what I want to write about today.
I could write about the book I just read: I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott. I don’t read personal essays as often as I should. In college, I went on a 8-week, life-changing study abroad, hiking all over England and writing personal essays. It’s the genre I still feel the most comfortable writing in. Yet I rarely turn to books of essays for pleasure. I can’t explain why this is, except that when I read, I tend to be more plot driven than I am when I write.
I picked up I Miss You When I Blink because it was recommended on Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide and I was trying to expand my reading beyond my usual non-fiction or speculative fiction.
Continue reading “Missing Myself: Scattered Thoughts on Reading and Homeschooling”