This Week in Reading: March 23

entomology of a bookworm this week in reading: crooked letter, crooked letter by tom franklin; the fishermen by chigozie obioma, half of a yellow sun by chimimanda adichie, that's not english by erin moore; the listener by rachel basch; under the bus by caroline frederickson

I hit a bit of a reading slump in recent weeks, which left me scrambling to meet some review deadlines in a way that made reading some very excellent books very... not excellent. Luckily, my last two selections--The Fishermen, by Chigozie Obioma (on sale April 14th), and Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie--seem to have broken my ho-hum streak. I can't recommend either enough, and am not sure I can find the words to do either justice. So. Read those.

In an effort not to fall behind on galleys again, I'm moving ahead to May books already. Under the Bus: How Working Women Are Being Run Out is either a complement to or foil of (I'm not sure yet) works like Lean In, focusing on the (large) portion of women in the workforce who are not given the opportunity to decide to lean in or opt out, but are required to work in order to make ends meet. I'm excited about the promise of a different side to these arguments. I'm also hoping to pick up The Listener, by Rachel Basch (out last week) and/or That's Not English, by Erin Moore (on sale March 24th).

On the audio front, I'm listening to the tail end of James McBride's Song Yet Sung this week, and will probably move to Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin next.

I'm also working on some blog tweaks and adjustments this week for Bloggiesta. Who else is participating? And, of course, I want to know:

What are you reading this week?

18 comments

Sarah (Sarah's Book Shelves)March 23, 2015 at 12:23 PM
I've got my eye on That's Not English as well - maybe for Nonfiction November. And - Under the Bus sounds really interesting - I had all kinds of issues with Lean In's message, so this one sounds like it could be up my alley :)
mariahelenaMarch 23, 2015 at 12:54 PM
I just started listening to The Night Circus and so far, I'm so mesmerized by it.
tanya (52 books or bust)March 23, 2015 at 1:00 PM
I like the new look. And i think Crooked Letter would make a great audio choice. Wish I could participate in Bloggiesta this time around. Looks like there are some great challenges.
BethMarch 23, 2015 at 2:50 PM
I read Americanah last month and have been itching to get some more literature on Nigerian culture, as well as other work from Chimamanda, so thanks for sharing these! Let me know what you think about Crooked Letter on audio. I tried reading it last year but didn't get sucked in so moved onto other reads.
As the Crowe FliesMarch 23, 2015 at 3:15 PM
I don't know how bloggers like you keep on top of reviews that you're obligated to post. It always impresses me! At least when I get in a book slump I don't have any pressure to review or post.

I've got a copy of The Fishermen kicking around my house someplace and I'm glad you've put that book back in the forefront of mine. And I LOVED Half of a Yellow Sun. Adichie is such a terrific writer.
Kerry MMarch 23, 2015 at 4:21 PM
When I hit a slump, I tend to stop reviewing books for the blog, but I still have commitments to Shelf Awareness that I can't just skip, so I focus on those. It helps, but the slumps are never fun no matter what.

I didn't intend to read Half of a Yellow Sun and The Fishermen back-to-back, but it actually worked rather well. They are very different, but I loved both of them.
Kerry MMarch 23, 2015 at 4:22 PM
Oh, I hope you read Half of a Yellow Sun and I hope you love it! I have had Americanah on my shelf staring at me since last summer, so really need to get on that. I loved Adichie's writing style in Yellow Sun.

I'm hoping Crooked Letter is suck-me-in kind of reading (I need some of that after a few slow-paced audio picks), so now I'm concerned...
Kerry MMarch 23, 2015 at 4:22 PM
Thanks! And there's always next Bloggiesta!
Kerry MMarch 23, 2015 at 4:23 PM
I LOVE that book on audio. Is it the Jim Dale narration? (He is so excellent.)
Kerry MMarch 23, 2015 at 4:24 PM
I liked a lot of Lean In but definitely had issues with it--the largest being that it assumed a level of choice when SO many women (and men) aren't afforded the opportunity of choice in the question of whether to work or whether to stay home. I feel like Under the Bus will fill that hole in the conversation, and that's really, really important.
mariahelenaMarch 23, 2015 at 4:26 PM
Yes. He is amazing!
RobMarch 23, 2015 at 6:48 PM
Looks great! I accidentally bought a non-enameled cast iron dutch oven, which people say shouldn't be used for acidic foods like wine and tomatoes, so I've had trouble finding a use for it. I bought it specifically with coq au vin in mind, annoyingly.

I love cookbooks and have been trying to figure out how to incorporate that into my blog. I love the idea of seeing more cookbook reviews out there, though!
MysticaMarch 24, 2015 at 3:36 AM
I am way behind on my reviews and need to catch up. The Listener is the one I am eyeing.
purplemoonmystMarch 24, 2015 at 2:57 PM
I am way behind on my reviews. Oh well. UNDER THE BUS sounds like a book I might like to read. I will have to check it out.
Julianne - Outlandish LitMarch 29, 2015 at 8:10 PM
Ahhh, I'm glad to hear that The Fishermen is good! I was intrigued by it and considered requesting an ARC. Good plan on starting on May books. It's so hard not to wait until right before an ARC comes out to read it! I'm behind on one now, because of that. OH WELL, life goes on (I hope).
shainareadsApril 7, 2015 at 5:31 PM
Uh, YUM. I love couscous, and this looks like a delightful dish to drape over it.
Lynn @ Smoke & MirrorsApril 8, 2015 at 9:50 AM
I use my cast iron for everything like that, just don't allow the acidic foods to sit in the iron pot once the dish is done. Remove it from the cast iron once completed, and you're fine. :) (I LOVE my cast iron!)
Kerry MApril 8, 2015 at 9:55 AM
YES YES YES.

Thanks for stopping by!