I MADE IT!

It's eleven in the morning. I've gotten very little sleep. My dog insists on walks and attention (which is normally cute when there has been sleep.) Welcome to the day after Readathon. 

I just want to say that this readathon was one of my most fun, successful, social reading events I've participated in.  

So since my brain is mush and i cannot seem to find coffee in my house I will leave with a short end of event survey. I'll be back with many reviews and bookish thoughts soon! 

Which hour was most daunting for you?

I kind of gave in around hour 18. It was 2 am. Three Dark Queens was interesting but my eyers were no longer willing participants. However I put on the Sorcerers Stone audiobook to help me fall asleep and actually wound up actively listening for the majority of the night.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

For me I LIVE for short story collections during readathon. I still only count them as one book but it's easier for me to feel motivated in the mid hours of the readathon when i can think "30 pages until the next story" instead of "200 pages until the best book."

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?

I really liked the format this year. I thought it was just interactive enough, and the mini challenges were fun and I didn't feel so overwhelmed that I had to stop reading to participate in all of them. 

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

Like I said, I think this year flowed very well. I really like how active the twitter space was, it was a very nice social cushion when reading for hours on end got tough. 

How many books did you read?

4!

What were the names of the books you read?'

The Wangs vs the World by Jade Chang

Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by  JK Rowling

Which book did you enjoy most?

I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed We Have Always Lived in the Castle! I bought it last year to try and boost my end of the year book numbers with a quick, short read and couldn't get into it. This time around I was in love with the style and the story and it was just the right level of creepy for a chilly October night. 

Which did you enjoy least?

This is probably the first time in my life that I haven't completely been about Harry Potter. I was fully prepared to fall asleep but my brain was not on board. I'm glad I had the audiobook to listen to but I would have been equally happy being a well rested reader today. 

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I wouldn't mind hosting a mini challenge or doing some co hosting for an hour or so next spring. I think it would be a fun way to break up the day. 

Hour 12 Update

Hello! I am still here and still reading! This is actually shaping up to being my most successful readathon yet.  Below is my mid event survey and I hope you're all having a blast reading your hearts out.

Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?

After 2 normal sized books I needed something short and festive to keep me going. I'm almost halfway through We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and am loving this adulthood jaunt back into Shirley Jackson's macabre mind. 

2. How many books have you read so far?

2 - The Wangs vs the World, and Delicate Edible Birds. 

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

I'm debating between starting Roses and Rot, because All the Books recced it forever ago and Neil Gaiman gives it his word of approval, and Three Dark Crowns, because badass YA ladies would be a nice change of pace from Literary Fiction. 

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

My puppy has required a ton of attention today, but he is cute and normally sleeps on my feet while I read so I can't get too upset. Otherwise today has been very pleasant and interruption free!

A photo posted by Sarah (@sarahjoyce89) on Oct 22, 2016 at 6:56am PDT

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

October hasn't been the best month, and 2016 has been rough overall. I am actually suprised by how relaxing I've found today. It's not secret that I love reading, but I feel a million times lighter after taking a chunk out of my constantly growing TBR pile and having no other obligations. 

Ready, Set, Read!

It's 7:58 here in EST so that means, lots of sweatshirts coffee, and sleepy readathon excitement! Here's a quick intro before all the fun starts!


1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Michigan, where is it chilly. It doesn't look like reading outside will be an option today.


2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Right now i'm excited to finish The Wangs Vs the World, but I also went on a little book buying spree so everything is new and exciting. 

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Popcorn ft. SnoCaps.  Also maybe Chinese food later...

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

Hi! I'm a Librarian who just finished their MLIS. I work at a museum in the Metro Detroit area and apparently don't get enough of books in my day job. Today I'm putting off netflix binging, Red Wings hockey, and long walks while listening to This American Life to cut down my TBR Pile.  You can also find me at @SarahJoyce on twitter and @SarahJoyce89 on insta for mini readathon updates and pictures of books and my dog. 

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I've participated about once a year for the last five years (YIKES!) and this will be the first time I am home alone and have no school responsibilities to get in my way. I'm looking forward to stress free reading and snacking with no pressure added.

Happy Reading!

Readathon Countdown

The semi annual Dewey Readathon is coming up and...drumroll please...

THIS TIME I CAN PARTICIPATE.

I don't have homework, an ill timed vacation, or any major work projects standing in my way.

I've slowly been buying up new books. 

I'm getting into the reading groove.

I'm still waiting on 3 more <3 font="">

I even started a snack list.

It looks a lot like my grocery list...

Okay it's mostly caramel apples covered in sprinkles and popcorn. I'm nothing if I'm not healthy.

Do any of you have any readathon tips? What about books you're excited to read?

Here I Am - Foer

I'm a loyal reader. The authors that have been there during pivotal points, hard times, hot summers, I come back to them. Foer has been a favorite of mine since high school. I named by dog after the boy in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

So a couple weeks ago I dove into Here I Am with no knowledge of plot. No reviews read. Just the fact that a perennial favorite was back on the new release shelf.

It turns out that Here I Am is the story of the deterioration of the Bloch family, and in conjunction - Israel.
I'd give a more full description but imagine marriage crumbling, online games, and general ennui... you'll get the picture.
All of this is not to say that Here I Am wasn't enjoyable. Foer is still a masterful writer, and in lesser hands I would not have wadded through 500+ pages of, for lack of a better term, "first world problems."
While most of the time each page was indulgent, and even reliant of Foer's ability to create deep emotions out of seemingly banal situations nerves were hit, and often.  Each musing on doorknobs or bar mitvah bands was matched by inner turmoil that was universally relatable.
Here I Am is definitely not a book to race through. It is best enjoyed in small bursts, which are at times necessary to tolerate the 40 year old temper tantrums that came up every other chapter.

Stick around for more coherent, less emotionally confused reviews.

Top Ten Tuesday - Fall TBR

Please excuse me if this list looks a little more "TBR for all of 2016" instead of just Fall. Since I'm finally settled into my new house and actually have free time (what is this no homework thing? How did I forget how awesome it is? Someone please remind me of this the next time I say I'm going back to school) there is quite the book backlog to address. So welcome to my Fall TBR, where release date and excitement level aren't exactly related.

Top Ten Books on my Fall TBR

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
I know it isn't 2011. However I am all about the trailer (featuring a stunning Eva Green) and need SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT after spending the last three weeks with poetry collections and the new Foer Tome. I just ordered this from Book Depository and hope it gets here super quick!

2.The Invisible Library - Genevive Cogman
I have no idea how I missed this series. I'm tired of using the craziness of the last two years as an excuse, so I guess all I can say is I've made a huge error. An error I plan to rectify this fall!

3. Delicate Edible Birds and Other Stories  - Lauren Groff
After loving everything about Groff's 2015 hit Fates and Furies I was excited to hear about her backlog being released in paperback. I'm a sucker for short story collections and have heard nothing but good things about Delicate Edible Birds. It's actually on it's way tomy mailbox as I type. Here's hoping it arrives soon!

4. The Queen of the Night - Alexandra Chee
I've seen this on all the end capes. I've heard all the reviews. I've seen it up and down tumblr and blogspot. I'm caving. Another 500+ page book really isn't going to help me hit my book goal for 2016 but I'm sold on The Queen of the Night.

5. Of This New World - Allegra Hyde
Look! A real October release! I've been hearing Hyde's praises for a couple months now and I must say this debut story collections looks like the perfect combination of fresh and of the moment. I currently have it dog earred for the October Readathon!

6. The Wonder - Emma Donoghue
I loved Room. I don't even know if that's a thing I should say? Room was a masterful and terrible journey. It was expertly written, tho. The Wonder just came out last week but I'm already hearing fantastic things! I can't wait to sink into another of Donoghue's expertly created worlds.

7. November Storm - Robert Oldshue
Another October release! Also another story collection.  During the chillier, prettier months I am all about short pieces that give me pause. This collection is supposed to be about people struggling, and dark feelings are another fall favorite.

8. The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware
Basically since Gone Girl came out I've been picking up anything with "The Next Gone Girl" written in it's blurb. There have been a few misses with this (Gone Girl included. I don't know why I continue to do this to myself.) but books like Dark Rooms and The Girl on the Train have completely engulfed me in the last few years, so I'll continue my yearly mystery/thriller buy and hope that yet again I enjoy this story more than Amy Dunne's diary entries.

9. Bad Things Happen - Kris Bertin
Okay, more short stories. Again released earlier this year. But remember how I said the human struggle was kind of a fall trope for me? This is going to fall right into my fall wheelhouse.

10. Children of the New World - Alexander Weinstien
Stay with me for one more short story collection. Children of the New World, which was released earlier this month, sounds like Back Mirror on paper. The stories seem chilling but relevant. I'm hoping they stay just on the "Sarah can sleep" kind of scary.

Now that you know what I'm reading (and how desperately I'm in need of books that aren't short story related) I hope you all will send a few recs my way! Happy Reading!

Bookish Resources - Holy Crap Life Is Busy Edition

You'd think that by nature of working at a library now I'd be up in all the literary news. But alas the stacks I maintain are used more for museum research than leisure reading. This paired with a concentration in Digital Content instead of public librarianship has lead me to feel a little, but not entirely, out of the bookish loop.

Since I am currently working my way through two tomes, in an ill advised attempt to finish my 2016 checklist (that I am woefully behind on.) In lieu of a review this week I've come up with a fail-proof list to keep overwhelmed grad students, or just generally busy people in the bookish loop when there is zero time to read.

All The Books - Book Riot - Podcast
2016 is the year I discovered podcasts. After devouring every history and politically related title I could find on podcast republic I started to look for book based listens. All The Books is the podcast that made me excited to read again. Having a weekly list of titles being released means I usually add one or two to my good reads shelves, and now am not entirely blindsided by the new release section at the book store. Liberty and Rebecca are the best, and I love how excited they get every week just to talk about books. They're truly infectious!

Literary Hub & Electric Literature (because do I really need to also include Book Riot?!)
LBR I spent more than half the time I was in library school working at a credit union that offered no mental stimulation but lots of internet access. These were sites I checked daily in hopes of finding a fun list or insightful article (or snippet of fiction) to keep my brain from oozing out of my ears. I highly recommend each, even though i'm sure I'm preaching to the converted.

Flavorwire
Flavorwire's book section has been my go to for quick book news updates and release info for going on six years. It's not always the most innovative, and occasionally the changes of contributors feels jarring, but I still always find myself coming back for more.

Oh, you might notice that despite increased commutes and the like audio books make no appearance on this list. I cannot for the life of me figure out a way to listen and retain to them. If you have any tips or recs please send them my way!

The Princess Saves Herself in This One- Lovelace

I love this new wave of poetry.This Rupi Kaur, Tumblr ready, kind of verse. I am sure there are millions who hate it,but I am in love with the way it forms mantras out of small lines. It cuts deep in a way that people who came of age with twitter and the threat of character limits really understand.

In case you can't tell I'm not an expert in poetry.
Not of any sort.
None the less I can appreciate words that move me. It is clear that Lovelace has been through some unspeakable tragedies. For me, this collections of poems hit the perfect balance of evoking emotion, hitting home, and flow. It's easy to see the person behind this collection. It's someone who has dealt with greif, and heartache. Someone who has come of age during a time where BA's in English are laughable, and where body image issues turn into life consuming problems.
You don't need to relate to every poem to understand the beauty and power in this collection. I'd highly recommend picking up a copy.

Remember Me?

Hello.

I don't know there is a better way to start this type of post.

Hello. I'm sorry. I've been gone for quite some time.

You see I've been busy. There were many trips across the country, ones that bring together friends from hundreds of miles away.

I stood up in one of my oldest friends weddings. I didn't make a fool of myself during my maid of honor toast. I only cried a little.

I  moved. Within the same city, and into the house my grandmother used to own.But still, it counts. (Just ask my bank account.)

But really the real reason this blog has been eerily silent for almost two years has everything to do with graduate school. 

You see, I just finished my Master's of Library and Information Science.  After two years, a lot of stress. only a few buckets worth of tears, and a crazy last semester I'm done! I started a job at a special collections library earlier this summer. 

At the begining of the year I called 2016 a year of transition. I think I hit the nail on the head.

Now I have free time. I've binged a couple of shows on Netflix. I'm reading for pleasure again. 

And I've missed the bookish community.  So I'm back, at least I hope I'm back. Historically when I say these things something happens within a week and I jump ship. However the last two years have been an anomaly, and I have a lot of reading to catch up on!

2015 Book List

1. Nobody is Ever Missing - Lacey
2. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - Cohn
3. My Salinger Year - Rakoff
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone - Rowling
5. Franny and Zooey - Salinger
6. Amy and Rogers Epic Detour - Matson
7. the Rosie Project - Simsion
8. Fairest - Meyer
9. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling
10. Changing my Mind - Smith
11. Dark Rooms - Anolik
12. The Geography of You and Me - Smith
13. The Victorian Serial - Hughes and Lund

14. The Strange and Beautiful Life of Ava Lavender - Walton

15. So You've Been Publicly Shamed -Ronson

16. Gutshot - Gray

17. The Forty Rules of Love - Shafak

18. Persepolis -Satrapi

19. Bodie Troll - Fosgitt

20. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling

21. The Ghost Network - Disabato

22. This is What Happy Looks Like - Smith

23. Station Eleven - Mandel

24. All the Light We Cannot See - Doerr

25. The Raven Boys - Stiefvater

26. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling

27. The Dream Theives - Stiefvater

28. Blue Lily, Lily Blue - Stiefvater

29. Ink and Bone - Caine

30. Modern Romance - Ansari

31. The Festival of Insignificance - Kundera

32. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling

33. The Little Paris Bookshop - George

34. Fortune Smiles - Johnson

35.Fates and Furies - Groff

36. The Girl on the Train - Hawkins

37. Carry On - Rowell

38. Fifteen Dogs - Alexis

39. The Turner House - Flornoy

40. The Bad Boys of Butte - Rickey

Another Readathon?

Hi all! I know it's been a solid six months since I've written here. A lot has happened between now and then. There's school, and work, and all those little things that make life worth living. Unfortunately books haven't been a part of my life since the school year started. I blocked off this weekend to change that. 

I miss reading, and as i'm getting over a dozy of a cold I can't think of a better form of medicine. 

So here is a quick introduction, I'm Sarah, by the way. Hopefully I'll find a way to be around here more. 

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Michigan, the metro Detroit area. It's kind chilly today and that makes for perfect snuggly under blankets reading!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

I just bought Carry On and I'm really excited for it, but i'm not really sure what order i'll read anything in, at least not yet. 

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Gummy bears and pita chips? I'm fairly predictable here. 

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

Hi! I'm in my second year of library school (though i don't want to be a traditional librarian), I have a dog who will be my unwilling cheerleader and cuddle partner all day, and I'm currently looking for authors who were born or have lived in New Orleans so I can prep for my next trip!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I think this is my sixth readathon? It may be my seventh. My first was in Fall 10 but I haven't managed every one since. 

The main thing I'm doing different today is not worrying. Usually not having done this introductory meme by 9am would be a stress inducer for me, but i woke up a little after 8 and started reading, and occaionally texting. Sometimes it's good to remind myself this isn't about page or book counts but instead about enjoying reading, and the great community that surrounds this reradathon!

Serendipitous Settings

Now that school's over I'd like to focus on reading. I say like to instead of offering any more commitment because my life has been chaotic lately. I, and I'm sure many of you bookish folks, would agree, don't usually love chaotic. But right now it's fun, and the unknown isn't as scary. I'm waiting to hear back from a few internships and just came back from a weekend in Boston!
Which is actually why I'm writing this post.

As part of a new kind of reading challenge I'm doing a check list instead of reading to a book count. One of those checks is a book in a forgien language.

Now I'd just recently watched a Ted Talk with Elif Shafak and immediately knew i wanted to use one of her novels for this challenge. My local bookstore only had Bastard of Istanbul (which she wrote in English) and The Forty Rules of Love, which i bought after trying to clarify that it was written in Turkish (I'm still not sure. Shhh)

Anyway, Forty Rules sat at the bottom of my TBR pile for about a month. I didn't touch it during the readathon, and after I started a large Murakami (again for this challenge) instead of diving into a more digestible novel.

I finally packed it in my bag for an early Saturday flight to Boston and immediately knew I made the right choice. The main character lives just outside of Boston, and while this setting isn't relevant to the story other than to show a distance between 2008 America and 13th century Turkey I clung to it.
You see I don't know much about Rumi, and while I hate to admit it I'm fairly ignorant of most customs of Islam. I'd jumped so far out of my comfort zone that I had to claw at the one thing that felt like home when my head was swimming with religious passages.

In the bookish side of the internet we talk a lot about how books change us, or how we find them at the right time. I don't know that I learned more about myself here, or that I am changed by Shafak's story. However I do know that this small setting, just outside of Boston, kept me reading even when I wasn't sure I wanted to finish. It gave me a connection sometimes that's all a reader needs.

Halfway There *cue the Bon Jovi*

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
I'm about a third of the way through So You've Been Publicly Shamed. It's really interesting so far.
2. How many books have you read so far?
I've only finished , Gutshot, a collection of short stories.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Continuing on Publicly Shamed. Hopefully starting Red Queen.
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
I've had quite a few interuptions today, some have been self imposed, like going to the gym and getting lunch, others are more dog-barking related. That's life though, and there's no point getting upset over minutes in between pages.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
How chill I've been. Honestly. In years past it's been a race to finish books, and by this point i'm burnt out and angry. Now my numbers aren't as high but i've enjoyed everything i've read and look forward to continuing on, with a break for Orphan black, of course.

READATHON GO GO GO

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Michigan, where is it supposed to rain. Guess I won't be reading outside.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Maybe Red Queen? I picked it up on a whim yesterday but it seemed like a good readathon book

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Gummy bears. Always gummy bears.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
Hi! For those of you who don't know, I'm Sarah! I'm currently a grad student getting my MLIS in hopes of preserving books in the digital era. Other than school and books I enjoy writing, netflix and traveling. Fun Fact: I once had a fish named Ophelia who, due to some medical issues, would only swim upside down.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
My first readathon was in the fall of 2010. I haven't fully participated in every one since then but the last few i've made honest efforts in. Last year I finished two and a half books while still making time for myself. So I guess I'll continue to follow a schedule of reading until my eyes or tired or i need a break, and then playing with my dog or going to the gym. Breaks are important! Reading needs to be fun!

Guess i'll switch from my Chamber of Secrets audiobook to actually reading. See you guys later!

 
 

No Regrets, But Also No Reviews

Woah.
I could make excuses, but they'd all involve the words Grad School, Writing, Fan Fiction, and Life. I didn't realize what adding another class to my schedule would do to my reading habits, let alone my reviewing and musing ones. It's actually strange. I'm studying to work with books, to preserve them, to do all of these things that make them more accessible but that currently means i have to steal time to enjoy them.
But the semester is nearly over and I'm done stealing.

To kick off an awesome summer full of trips and books and friends I'm participating in the Dewey Readathon for my fourth year. I'm super excited. There was a trip to the bookstore. I have an abundance of gummy bears. Really, things are going to be great.

I really miss writing here, and while you can more often than not find me reblogging pictures of pretty books and begging for recs on tumblr this is where my heart is. I love the format, and the way it helps me keep track of my reading life.

So I'm back, even if being back means once again just for the months between classes.

Get ready for some serious reading/blogging tomorrow.

2014 Wrap Up

It's been a crazy year. I kept most of my resolutions! I traveled, I read. I applied to grad school and then I actually went! People came in and out of my life and that's okay.
But this is a book blog, and another major resolution I had for 2014 was to revive it or let it go.
I found that I really love writing here on Loving Books. It helps me organize my thoughts about books and all things literary. It's shaped the person I've become. I was pretty good about updating this year, at least until I went back to school.
The only thing I didn't really live up to were my goals of leading classics and authors of color. I'm at three for each, so next year hopefully I'll do better. 
So even though in most peoples eyes my 2014 probably looks like a shit show I'm looking at it as the year I kept promises to myself. Here's hoping I can do the same in 2015.

Now, since it is the end of the year, I present you with the list of books I've finished in 2014:
1. The Dinner - Koch
2. Divergent - Roth
3. Insurgent - Roth
4. Allegiant - Roth
5. Hyperbole & a Half - Brosh
6. Paris My Sweet - Thomas

7. No One Belongs Here More Than You - July

8. Eleanor and Park - Rowell

9. One More Thing - Novak

10. Northanger Abbey - Austen
11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone - Rowling
12. A Replacement Life -Fishman
13. Detroit: An American Autopsy - LeDuff
14. Fangirl - Rowell
15. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling
16. Anna and the French Kiss - Perkins
17. Attachments - Rowell
18. Lola and the Boy Next Door - Perkins
19. Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling
20. Daughter of Smoke and Bones - Taylor
21. The Other Language - Francesca Marciano
22. Days of Blood and Starlight - Taylor
23. Dreams of Gods and Monsters - Taylor
24. To All the Boys I've Loved Before - Han
25. Can't and Won't - Daivs
26. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling
27. Just One Day - Forman
28. Landline -Rowell
29. 1Q84 - Murakami
30. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling
31. Gone Girl - Flynn
32. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - Rowling
33. Shadow and Bone - Bardugo
34. Cat's Cradle - Vonnegut
35. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling
36. Because - Riippi
37. Friendship - Gould
38. Isla and the Happily Ever After - Perkins
39. Cinder - Meyer
40. Scarlet - Meyer
41. The Vacationers - Straub
42. Cress - Meyer
43. The Maze Runner - Dashner
44. This is Where I Leave You - Tropper
45. Mood Indigo - Vian
46. The Anatomy of Dreams - Benjamin
47. My True Love Gave Yo Me - Perkins and others 
48. Bad Feminist - Gay
49. Room - Donoghue
50. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Smith
51. Just One Year - Forman
52. Just One Night - Forman
53. Texts from Jane Eyre - Ortberg 

See y'all next year.

Top Ten Books I Read In 2014

2014 was a big year. I lost my grandmother and went back to school. I lived my life around trips that would take me far from Michigan. I started to think that there's a future where the words hourly pay don't always apply.
I like to think it's because of all these changes that I chanced upon so many good books this year. There were times when I needed a long challenge and others where the only thing I could handle were fluff and decadence. I found a book about dealing with loss some six months after I needed it. I discovered Roxane Gay and started to love nonfiction in a new capacity.  YA demanded a bigger shelf in my library and reminded me never to overlook a genre just because of the average age of it's readers.
I'm closing in on 50 books this year. My goal was 35. 2014 could have been a bad year, but I'm counting these 10 books as the silver lining.

Top Ten Books I Read in 2014

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephenie Perkins
Sometimes a book comes around when you need it most. I was in a slump when I picked up Anna and immediately I fell in love with her, Paris and a British boy. I loved Anna and the French Kiss so much I recommended it to anyone who would listen. I bought it's sequels immediately. I squeed (is that a real word? oh well, is to me) and cooed over passages and themes.
Really, AatFK is a book that 16 year old me needed, but would have refused to read. I'm glad I'm more open now.

2. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Every summer I like to pick a huge book and make it my project. This year I grabbed 1Q84 and dedicated the most of June lugging it from work to home and back again. I liked to whine about it's lenght and it's slowness but really I loved what I read. 1Q84 made me think. It gave me people living like, well, people - only in a slightly altered universe. It gave me a mystery that I'm still irritated about. It kept me captivated for all of its 1100 pages.

3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
If Anna and the French Kiss is a book 16 year old me needed. Fangirl is one that 19 year old Sarah would have clung on to for dear life. Fangirl managed to make the more nerdy/fandom parts of my life seem relevant, like they didn't need to be kept in the shadows until someone else mentioned Hogsmead or a Sonic Screwdriver. I loved the chapters of FanFiction and Cath's general attitude. She was for a bad year in college. It was good to see that my second year hellish experience wasn't something that only happened to me.

4. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Bad Feminist is everything I needed it to be. It gave me permission, at least as much permission as a book can, to be imperfect while still wanting equality. It's full of Essays on sexism, the media, race, and politics and I loved every single one of them. I want to give a copy to every important lady in my life. It's a great book. Go pick it up.

5. This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
Family Drama - Check
Infidelity - Check
A Distant Family Sitting Shiva - Check Check Check
Okay I'm a few years behind here, but This is Where I Leave You is a fantastic book.  It's funny and emotional and just great. Gah.

6. Divergent by Veronica Roth
January was cold. I was snowed in more often than not. Since I couldn't do much else I read. The Divergent series made winter bearable for me. I didn't love Tris, and Four went from interesting to boyfriend worthy to irritating too many times to count, but i loved Roth's dystopian Chicago and the factions.

7. One More Thing by B.J. Novak
This was my favorite short story collections of the year. It's full of fast reads. They're funny and culturally relevant. Plus Novak was always my favorite part of the Office and I just love him in general.

8. Daughter of Smoke and Bones by Laini Taylor
Hands down the Daughter of Smoke and Bones series was my favorite set of books this year. Karou was interesting, Akiva was sulky, but cool. The worlds, Angels, Chimera, everything was fantastic.  I did like the first book the best, but they were all fantastic. I have a review of the series coming up later this week with more fangirling, so stick around.

9. Room by Emma Donoghue
I'm going to ask you to be patient with me. I actually finished Room today. I'd put off reading it for years but bought it on a trip to Canada in the spring and needed to read something on hand instead of buying a new book for my kindle. I was immediately sucked into Jack and Ma's world. It didn't matter that it was small and horrifying. I tried to pace myself because sometimes Donoghues proses made me anxious. In the end i finished in about three days and now I'm sitting here, typing this and generally be upset over a book.

10. The Vacationers by Emma Straub
I'm ending my list with a perfectly pleasant book about an outwardly pleasant family who just happens to be crumbling. Dirty laundry is aired during a summer trip to Spain. It's a great, quick read and one of my favorite new releases of 2014.

The Curse of the Short Story

I'm drawn to short story collections. A few years back I made a deal with myself that I couldn't continue to read them back to back. I'd lose details. I wouldn't be able to keep up with who wrote what, or what stories went together.
What I was really trying to save myself from was mediocrity.
I really do love short stories. I think they are art and do not get nearly the praise they deserve. That is until certain collections get too much praise.
As I write this I have read five collections in 2014 and have left two more unfinished. I guess that is one of the blessings of this medium. You can stop anywhere and still get a mostly full narative. But I come across the same issue every time I pick up a new group of stories, and it's a problem that stems from running this blog.
How do I write about them?
This year alone I've forced out "reviews" for No One Belongs Here More Than You and One More Thing. One collection I a loved and another abhorred. Even with strong feelings I had a difficult time articulating them. 
For instance in the summer I read The Other Language and Can't and Won't very close to each other. The Other Language reminded me why I invest in $20 hardbacks, but Can't and Won't made me regret buying an ebook. I never got around to reviewing either collection. In the end I was tired of trying. Do I talk about every story or just the ones that really made me think? Is it wrong to focus on a piece that may not represent the collection as a whole? 15 good pages doesn't make up for 300 bad ones and vice versa.
I've seen other reviews handle books like this with grace. There are bloggers who seem to just know how to talk about short story collections, even when they're not part of their regular reading experience.
I wish I had a solution. I'm several stories into Hilary Mantel's The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher right now and to be honest I'm not a fan. I could talk about the writing style or the themes that just aren't capturing my attention, but nothing feels trailered enough to address my issues with each story.
So this is me saying I'm sorry for messy reviews of story collections, and warning you that there may be more coming. I finished My True Love Gave To Me a month ago and it is one collection that definitively deserves to be highlighted on this blog. I promise I'll try to get over my review issues soon.

Lola and the Boy Next Door

Lola and the Boy Next Door

Stephine Perkins

Lola Nolan is anything but normal. She lives her life in costumes - the crazier the better. Bright wigs and combat boots are a staple in her wardrobe, as is her wanna be rockstar boyfriend.  So what happens when the one person she never wants to see again returns to her neighborhood?

After finishing Anna and the French Kiss I was smitten. I needed more of Perkins' writing. Her characters jump off the page and wrap readers in a warm hug while dragging them through the mess of their teenage years. Lola could have easily become a cardboard cut out of the 'weird girl' stereotype but instead she feels real, and it's exciting to take this journey with her.  However this personal feeling makes it difficult to separate a book like Lola from it's predecessor, especially as it is part of a loose series.
Even in terms of setting this feels like a Perkins' novel. Anna and the French Kiss took Paris and brought it to life. I spent days dreaming about crepes and Truffaut movies after finishing it. Lola and the Boy Next Door makes San Fransisco sing. It has it's own air. It's bright and exciting and full of interesting places. It's colorful, effervescent, San Fransisco becomes the only place where Lola could have grown up. Anywhere else wouldn't have done her justice.
And for those of you missing Anna and Eitenne, don't worry. They show up too!

Life and School and Books

I finished my first semester of grad school!

That means I'm well on my way to become a librarian, or something like that.
What it means for all of you is that I'm on break and want to queue up enough reviews and posts so that the ...er...silence of this past semester
Until my brain fully recovers from final projects and discussion board posts I'll leave you with some thoughts.
I had an interview yesterday and it was one of the first times I had to actually articulate my reasons for going back to school, for wanting to work with books and people. It's a first because everybody who knows me, as soon as they hear about me being back in school, goes OH MY GOD YOU WOULD BE SUCH A GOOD LIBRARIAN. I mean a lot of them also tell me it's a dead profession and I'll never work, but I'm focusing on the positive.

Anyway, I had to articulate my reasons for wanting to be a librarian and besides the fact that I love to help people, and helping people locate information really feels a bit like a calling at this point.
But the books aren't to be overlooked. There are few consistence in life. People move, circumstances change. Books have always been there when life gets too big. They're there when I'm pensive and in need of mental stimulation or when I need something light and fluffy to take my worries away. They have the words I can't express and idea's that keep me up at night.
Books and reading are the reason I started this blog, a main part of why I took so many screenwriting courses in undergrad and the way I was able to develop my own love of writing.

I promise I was less wordy at my interview. I'm not a complete idiot.

Reviews and real posts coming soon! Happy December loves!