It’s Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
It’s Monday, and I’m back from a nice long trip to California with sunny weather and lots of wine drinking! Along the way I read and reviewed a lot of books – which is good because two night classes a week will keep me pretty busy from here on out.
January was also about catching up on my December reads. Here’s what I posted from my December reads:
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- The Settling Earth by Rebecca Burns
- Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
- Veronica Mars: Mr. Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
And here’s what I read in January:
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- The Humans by Matt Haig
- Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland
- Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding
- Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed by Meghan Daum
- The Martian by Andy Weir
- The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
My favorite read this month? Americanah, a fascinating book about race and what it’s like to be an African immigrant in the U.S. This book was good on so many levels. I felt like a stupid white person A LOT but I never minded.
I also loved Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed, a book of sixteen essays by writers who have chosen not to have children. This is a topic I’ve thought about a lot, and I loved the different perspectives presented in this book, and the differences in how men and women write about the issue. The views of the “childfree” are so rarely represented, or they’re misrepresented. This book is a welcome addition in that every child-free person doesn’t have the same story to
January was a good month for fun reads as well, from Mistress Firebrand (historical romance) to Retribution Falls (a Firefly-like series) to The Martian.
The book I liked least? The Humans by Matt Haig. I found it extremely disappointing since I’d heard such good things about it.
A book I started and didn’t finish? Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld. I love everything by Westerfeld, but this book didn’t work for me. I didn’t care for the story within a story format, and I just didn’t like the characters or the story.
I also wrote about using Twitter, and got a lot of great responses. I want to blog more about the blogging process. Thoughts?
I did great on challenges in January. I’ve read half of my Winter TBR list, and I read books for the TBR Pile, Library, Foodie, and Around the World challenges.
What I’m reading now: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout and Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs, which are short stories set in the world of Mercy Thompson.
So, happy Monday! What are you reading?
