Tag: quick lit

quick lit – next page, please {september 2018}

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Oh, the rabbit holes of the reading life!  You can have a plan but one Instagram post – I’m looking at you, Leigh Kramer – a beautiful new book out that week, and my well-devised plan goes out the window and I am smack-dab in the middle of an outstanding series of four books that are all around or over 500 pages.  I’m not complaining; I’m just saying.

Currently Reading

  • This Messy Magnificent Life: A Field Guide by Geneen Roth. This picks up where Women, Food, and God left off, and has been good. I was moved by Women, Food, and God and with everything that has been going on, the title appealed.  This life is messy. But it is also magnificent.
  • Shadow of the Night by Deborah Harkness. This is the second installment of the four books of that rabbit hole Leigh Kramer led me to.
  • Transformational Speaking by Gail Larsen. Still working through this one. The idea of the “Coffin Communique” was intriguing: what would you say if, after you died, you were given five minutes to say something at your memorial? That’s your message. Thought-provoking, isn’t it.
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This will fulfill Modern Mrs. Darcy’s 2018 Reading Challenge category of a classic you’ve been meaning to read but I got to tell you, I am struggling. I had decided to tackle it in the same way that you eat an elephant: One bite, uh, chapter, at a time.  That is until I read Time’s Convert. Hopefully, I will get back to it by the end of the year.

Read

  • 10 Lies the Church Tells Women by J. Lee Grady. Finished this page turner in one day. I’m interested in the treatment of women in religious circles and a friend loaned this to me as a part of my research.
  • Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness. This is the book Leigh Kramer recommended on Instagram that sent me down that rabbit hole-the series is over 2000 pages. The fourth book stands-alone well and is the first one that I read. I have also completed the first one, The Discovery of Witches. Nothing like I expected but with a lot of elements that I love: time travel, thoroughly researched and rich with historical details, and it’s a book about books. Win-Win. It was also the nice break that I have been craving from emotional and mind-bending reads.
  • Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown. This one was good. Brené’s work on vulnerability and courage has helped me in my journey by giving me practical tips and strategies to live a more authentic and meaningful life.  I generally read, on GP, any books that she writes.
  • Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton. Lovely printing of the journal of May Sarton. This gave me insight into the mind of a writer and help me know that I’m not alone in my crazy as I thought. Will definitely be reading more of her journals in the future.

What have you been reading this month?

Every month, I highlight what I’m reading in these posts: Quick Lit – Next Page Please. And per usual, I’m linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy’s.  Head over thest see what others are reading. Maybe you will find something that will pique your interests.

I’m participating in #write31days for the month of October on my love of books and reading.  Check out the series: This Bookman: Meditations & Miscellany.

til tomorrow, enjoy life

quick lit – next page, please {july 2018}

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Books and Books

*Per usual, I am linking up wiht Modern Mrs. Darcy’s (MMD) Quick Lit. If you are here because you clicked over, all I can say is thank you.  And let me know about it in the comments below.

My reading life this month has taken a back seat to other things that are going on in my world.  You will have to read my next What I’m Into Post to see what that’s all about it.  While I have made no progress in my (MMD) Reading Challenge 2018, I am working on completing the Millennium Series and have just read another favof the summer.  So, despite the low read count (only three?), it was a good reading month.

Read

  • The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Millennium #3) by Stieg Larsson. Per last Quick Lit post, I finished reading this one and moved on.
  • The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A Lisbeth Salander Novel by David Lagercrantz. This is the fourth book in the Millennium series and it was not written by Stieg Larsson. He tragically passed away. I think that David Lagercrantz did a decent job with carrying on the story – I definitely enjoyed finding out more about Lisbeth. I have always loved continuing stories.  When I was little and we finished watching a movie, I would lay awake at night and create a continuing story. I might be one of the few people that absolutely LOVES movie sequels although if the box office is any indication, what I just said was a lie.
  • Circe by Madeline Miller. Finally got this one off the Hold list at my local library. I have been excited about it since reading her debut Song of Achilles a couple of months ago. Her take on Circe’s character and personality was very eye-opening; for example, why was she turning the men into pigs? You will have to read it to find out.

Currently Reading

  • The Girl Who Takes and Eye for and Eye by David Lagercrantz. For some reason, this one isn’t quite a page turner. But I am only on page 139. Plus, I had to read Circe before it had to go back to the library.
  • Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton. “That is what is strange – the friends, even passionate love, are not my real life unless there is a time alone in which to explore and to discover what is happening or has happened.” This pretty much sums up my life right now.
  • The Odyssey by Homer. Translated by Emily Wilson. I loved The Illiad since my first World Literature class and after reading Circe, I did some research on Madeline Miller. I came across an interview that was done by Emily Wilson and Madeline at the New York Public Library and Madeline mentioned that she was very happy to read Emily’s translation of The Odyssey, the first translation done by a woman. I read a couple of articles about it and knew I had to read it. SIDEBAR: Isn’t it about time that we stop staying “the first woman” for things? Frankly, I am sick of it.

Abandoned Reading – Temporarily

  • When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön. Since I’m reading Journal of a Solitude I have put this one aside until I finish.

Last month, I stated that I only have three categories left in the 2018 MMD Reading Challenge: (1) a classic you’ve been meaning to read – I’m thinking A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or To Kill a Mockingbird; (2) a banned book – I want to reread a college fav, Their Eyes Were Watching God; and (3) book nominated for an award. I need some help with selecting this third one.  Any suggestions?

Pic is a bookself in the indie bookstore, Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida. Look closely and you’ll see one of my reads this month.

What have you been reading this month?

enjoy life…

quick lit – next page, please {june 2018}

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I have increased my reading exponentially this month.  I read seven books from the beginning of the year to last month and this month I have read ten! How’d I do it, you ask? Well, I intentionally made time to read this month.  On the practicality side of things, I stopped watching Netflix and Xfinity On Demand and read instead.

Read

  • The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Loved this but I wasn’t surprised. As an English major I read Homer’s Illiad, and have been fascinated with the Greeks and the Trojans since. Madeline kept me engaged with this page-turner and I loss a significant amount of sleep that I can’t put on the Buddy Man. Madeline has written another based on The Odyssey entitled Unfortunately, I’m #11 in line for three copies at my local library. Ugh! Gives me something to look forward to. No Modern Mrs. Darcy Category; just the sheer joy of reading.
  • The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. Read this for our Rocket City Mom Virtual Book Club. I have a full-review on that site. It boils down to this: quick but disappointing read.
  • Sunburn by Laura Lippman. This was the first book from my 16 of the 26 selections from the MMD Summer Reading Guide (MMDSummer#1). I enjoyed it.
  • The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. This is the first of a series. It was very interesting to read about Indian culture and history. This is also the first in Massey’s series about Preveen Mistry. I will read the next one when it comes out. MMDSummer#2 and MMD Category: A book by an author of a different race, ethnicity, or religion than your own
  • I’ll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos. Lovely read. MMDSummer#3
  • The Ensemble by Aja Gabel. This is a debut novel that is still sitting in my bones. It’s about a classical string quartet over a few decades of time. This book reignited my love for classical music. The novel being a debut for Gabel means that there is no back list for this author.  I guess I’m waiting… MMDSummer#4
  • The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory. Quick and enjoyable read – The quintessential beach read. It’s a shame I wasn’t on the beach when I read it. MMDSummer#5
  • The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin. If you like ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, you will probably enjoy reading this book. The medical terminology, which I am not familiar with and unlike Grey’s you cannot physically see, may have gotten in the way of my really enjoying this one.  MMDSummer#6
  • We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union. Laugh out loud funny but raw and authentic at the same time, this is a collection of stories about Gabrielle Union’s life as an actress and activist. I absolutely LOVED this one. I read it in one evening.  My only regret is that I didn’t read this sooner.
  • The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. Interesting premise; how would you live your life if you knew the exact day that you were going to die. I loved this one. Right now it is in the top three books I have read this summer.  It will be interesting to see who, if any can bump it down for me.

Currently Reading

  • When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön. Continuing this one still; this is one to read slowly, contemplating each chapter before moving on. It was going to fulfill the MMD Category: A book by an author of a different race, ethnicity, or religion than your own but The Widows of Malabar Hill did that.
  • Art of the Memoir by Mary Karr. Still taking this one very very slowly. I don’t think I am ready for this.

Doing these Quick Lit posts are so fun!  I love reading but sometimes go about it in a more haphazard fashion.  These posts, along with the Modern Mrs. Darcy’s (MMD) Reading Challenge, help keep me focused in my reading life.  I have missed not doing them. And today, I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy to tell you what we have all been reading lately. Check it out!

enjoy life…