Cathy from 746 Books has started a series called The Books that Built the Blogger, and the idea is to talk about the books that have most influenced you. I spent a few days thinking, but these are ones that immediately came to mind. Childhood: The Oz series by L. Frank Baum Recently I wrote…
January was a tough month for a lot of us! I want to keep this blog somewhat politics-free, but I will say this month was scary and emotionally exhausting. The Women’s March in DC was amazing and I want to stay somewhat positive, although I keep feeling like we’re living in a Stephen King novel…
Bidding a not-so-fond farewell to 2016, here’s what I read in December: Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch Before the Fall by Noah Hawley All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain What I’m reading now: What’s Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi. What’s up next: my library…
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, readers! 2016 wasn’t great for a few reasons, and for me it wasn’t a particularly good year in blogging and reading. For the first part of the year I blamed it on finishing my degree (not a bad excuse, really). And the second half of the year? Work got complicated…
What can I say about November? It’s been awful, and every day has felt a little worse. You avoid the newspapers, let yourself forget for a bit, and then someone on Facebook reminds you that you mustn’t “normalize” or stop fighting. Do we accept this election, or does two million votes have to count for…
October was a much better month for me, despite a lot of stress, extra hours at work, and transitioning to a new office. We had a good friend visit from London, and we spent a great day (enjoying the last gasp of warm weather) driving around to Virginia wineries. I didn’t read as much as…
September wasn’t a great month for me — reading, reviewing or otherwise — but here’s what I read: Arabella of Mars by David Levine Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace Lady Cop Makes Trouble by…
Hello readers! My August wrap-up is also my 20 Books of Summer Wrap-Up, and it will tell you something about me that I ended up at exactly 20 books at the end of the month (hint: I’m a bit on the goal-oriented side.) I’m always sad when summer ends. As a kid, summers meant long,…
As August comes to a close, I’ve finished 18 books for the 20 Books of Summer Challenge, but here are a couple I didn’t make it through. I don’t really change my reading in the summer. I’m not a fan of the “summer page turner.” But if you’re on a plane or on the beach,…
July was a fantastic month because of our trip to Hawaii. When I travel, I don’t necessarily try to tie my reading to my trip location. But on this trip I noticed a few interesting parallels. First, I read The Dictionary of Mutual Understanding, which is about the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, while we…
For me, traveling requires a lot of preparation: closet-cleaning, shopping, list-making, and of course, stocking up on books to read. I often think about what makes a good travel read. For me, there’s no one definition of a good travel read. Some like to read about the place they’re going to, some prefer really light…
May was the month I got back to some serious reading and blogging. It was cold and rainy here, and by cold I mean I was still wearing tights, sweaters, and a coat until last week. Now it’s full summer mode and I couldn’t be happier, even if it means humidity and mosquitoes. Summer means…
The Book Stop 