Week 2: Readers' Square

So far, I'm enjoying this read; although, sometimes it's challenging to follow due to all the literary references included. Nonetheless, it's always interesting and helps me grow my imaginary TBR list.

Je suis en train de lire la chronique des Bridgerton: Anthony de Julia Quinn. Je l'ai lu en anglais précédament mais je le relis en français pour être sûr d'avoir bien compris. Je suis au chapitre 4.  J'adore! Oui je le recommande pour les lectrices cherchant la romance. 

Just finished it. Really well-written and fascinating. Too focused on men and not focused enough on some of the female great pretenders, though. Can't believe the various fake Romanovs were only a page or two in the final chapter.

I started reading Ordinary Monsters a few days ago. It is a fantasy set in 1800s England & Scotland about children with mysterious talents and those that desire to hunt, protect or take advantage of them. I am about 40% of the way into it and so far I am loving it. 

I’ve started Mary Jane: a Novel today. I’m only about 40 pages in, but I’m captivated by the premise of the story and the direction the book is moving. It’s a great summer read, which I picked up on a podcast recommendation. 

I just finished reading this book. It was about a young Asian-American who moved to New York City. It explored themes from coming to age, death, sickness, love, and living as a minority in America. I would recommend it to people who enjoy character study-type books as there isn't really a discernable plot. Ir is mainly a look at this girl as she goes about her life. 

I just started reading Beartown yesterday.  While I am not super far into the book yet, I am really enjoying the way the story is being told from the perspectives of all the different characters!

I am reading The Road to Character by David Brooks, which is the current read for my book club. I am enjoying it so far, every chapter is a mini biography on a historical figure who showed high character in their lives, whether it be through their institutions or their interactions with others.

I'm still reading The Power of Less and attempting to apply its methods to increase my productivity and free myself from extraneous tasks that drain my energy without advancing my goals.

This book suggests some methods for focusing less work and gaining more.

I  had been in a bit of a reading slump the past week, so I spent most of my reading energy focused on finishing ACAFL. Its the follow up to a Dark and Hollow Star, and while I really enjoyed this sequel- it was sooo long!

The Winter Rose is the second book in the Rose Series by Jennifer Donnelly which follows a London family over decades.  I was hooked with the first (Tea Rose) and Winter Rose is fully living up to my expectations. The books are more about the interactions and relationships between the characters, their development and growth as people over time, than necessarily a dramatic event - though there are enough of those as well!  Donnelly is an excellent writer who makes the character and situations relatable, even if not entirely realistic.  I'm on chapter 91 of 136 and I can't read quickly enough to satisfy the need to know what is going to happen next - will the villain get his comeuppance in the end?!

Reading From Blood and Ash, which is the first in a series of... 4 books? Maybe 6? It is fantasy, with some romance. The heroine is a young girls who has the role of a religious icon/entity thrust upon her. I.e., she is "the Chosen One" So far so good!

I decided to pick up a new novel this week and listen to the audio book. I really enjoy reading a book and then listening to the chapter after. It is a kind of fantasy book and it’s very interesting. A bit of a romantic book if people are interested in those types of books. I’m currently on chapter 4 out of 40 so still a long way to go but I’m definitely enjoying it! 

There’s so much suspense in each chapter so if you like that I highly recommend this book! 

I'd been wanting to read this for a while now and glad I did.  I love a book where I can immerse myself in the characters, get a feel for them and what they're going through and it's like watching a movie in my head.  So now I'm waiting for the actual movie to come out and see how it compares.  I've always preferred the books to the movies.

I'm still working on finishing Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, but I've also started D'Vaughn and Kris Plan A Wedding. It's a queer romance with two women who sign up for this reality TV show called Instant I Do where they have to convince their friends and family that they've met the one and they're getting married in six weeks - except of course, they're not actually together. I've only just started the book so I can't say whether or not I recommend it but so far, it's fun and light which is something I need at the moment! 

I am currently reading On a Scale of 1 to 10 by Ceylan Scott. It is a YA novel about a teenager who is admitted to a psychiatric hospital with a variety of issues. She is trying to figure out her past and is on a journey of coming to understand her mental illness and the redemptive power of truth and healing. 

I am really enjoying the read so far and am about half way through it. I find it all the more interesting as Ceylan Scott suffered from mental health problems throughout her teenage years and was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. It makes the story seem all the more realistic to me. 

I had an abridged version of this as a kid and it’s fun to finally read the whole book. I’m about a third o f the way through and enjoying it so far.

This week I have tore through The Bromance Book Club series by Alyssa Kay Adam’s.  These cheesy romance novels follow the traditional story line every romance novel does with one big exception: the men are emotionally mature individuals who read romance novels.  I absolutely love this series and would definitely recommend it as a great easy summer read! 

I have less than 100 pages left in Circe and its a lot better than I thought it would be. Its not that I didn't expect it to be good but because of the style of writing I'm always afraid of going into Madaline Millers books and they just go right over my head. But its not so sufistocated that I can't enjoy it. It talks about the oppression and the objectifaction of women in greece. The way even goddess's were seen as things for men to have. Circe was treated cruelly by almost all she met, especially men. She wasn't God enogh for the gods, and not mortal enough for the mortal world. All she wanted was to be an equal, to be not just heard but listened too. To not be used but cared for, and she was always tossed aside. The book entwines all of the stories of Circe the Great Witch of Aiaia. I'm not sure how it will end yet, but hope she gets the peace and paradise she deserves. 

June 25, 2022

This is the update from my reading log that I have kept all summer. 

I have been reading Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. Currently, on Page 25/525 and it is the most thrilling book to date. So far, you know the feeling of picking up a new book and wanting to learn more and more about it; that is what it was like. The story is written by a Nigerian-American novelist, so it really gives a new perspective compared to my other novels.