Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: Reading Plans Gone Awry
Weekend Woots and Woes:
Hope all of you who decided to participate in the Readathon had a
wonderful time and have begun to recover. I had every intention of
participating, but at the last minute decided to visit my mother
instead.
That involved a road trip rather than a
reading day, and because my husband thought it'd fun to join me, I
didn't even get any audiobook listening done on Saturday. Oh well, gabbing with
Mr. BFR and spending time with my mom were well worth missing my books.
In other news, I always bring work with me when I travel, and for the first time ever
I left my laptop power cord at home. ARGH. How was I going to catch up
with work and blogging? I tried a few borrowed cords, but ended up
having to buy a replacement. Money I didn't want to spend, but now I
have a backup with a variety of jack ends, so it should last me through a
few more computers.
What I had planned to read: Here are a few of the print books I had on my Readathon pile:
Gemina by Jay Kristoff (Knopf): I loved the first book in the Illuminae Files series so much I just had
to preorder the new one so I'd get it right away. I love the graphics
and the design of the books, and I've gotten invested in the
characters' stories.- Coffin Road by Peter May (Quercus): I started this last week and am still reading. The Outer Hebrides setting is so vivid.
- The Hidden Keys by Andre Alexis (Coach House): Five siblings are each given a clue to a large inheritance, leading to alliances and betrayals and a quest. I haven't started the novel, but it has promise.
- Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson (Atheneum): Don't you just love the cover of this book (bottom center in the photo)? This is the final installment in Anderson's awesome Seeds of America trilogy.
- Nicotine by Nell Zink (Ecco): As you know, I have a weakness for Ecco books, and the themes hinted at in the summary of this novel interest me: generational clashes (baby boomers vs. millennials), culture clashes (conventional vs. unique), and personal choices.
- The Red Car by Marcy Dermansky (Liveright): I really liked Dermansky's book Bad Marie, so I readily accepted a review copy of her newest novel. The premise: Through grief and second chances, a woman finds herself on the path to better self-understanding.
What I'm listening to now: My current audiobook is Every Single Second by Trica Springstubb
(Harper Audio), which is a coming-of-age story that encompasses a
number of engaging contemporary issues (family, friendship, community).
I'm always drawn to books that explore the idea of how fate can turn in a
split second, and the teen protagonists learns that life doesn't always
go as planned. Arielle DeLisle is believable as our young hero, and I really like her dynamic performance.Here are the audiobooks I packed for my drive: Michael Connelly's A Darkness More Than Night, Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat, and John Sandford's Mad River. Alas the audiobooks remain in their plastic, their disks untouched. Perhaps I'll crack them open during our next trip.
