Week in Reading: April 11th

I ran a lot this weekend: a long run Saturday, and a short but very, very hilly, beautiful trail race this morning. I (surprisingly) wrote a lot: two long-form pieces, two short blurb reviews, an author interview, and two mid-length reviews. I prepped for a lot of work coming my way this week. I did not read a lot. But that's ok! Because this week is a new week, packed with lots of travel time (aka reading time), exciting adventures, and good books:

I did finish up the very short--but very good--George, by Alex Gino, on audio this weekend, so will be diving into Challenger Deep, by Neal Shusterman next (both for the Read Harder challenge). For May releases, I wrapped up The Loney, a slow-build debut novel that I expected to be creepy in a fantastical way and was instead creepy in a cult-like Catholicism way (but was still excellent despite my misplaced expectations). Now I'm looking at Swallowed by the Cold, a slim collection of short stories by Jensen Beach, out next month from Graywolf Press, and/or Champagne Uncorked: The House of Krug and the Timeless Allure of the World's Most Celebrated Drink, because who doesn't love a book about champagne? (Side note: My one and only party skill is being able to sabre open a bottle of bubbly.)

Of my own damn books, I'm devouring Just Mercy for the kick-off of what I hope will be a recurring Social Justice Book Club, and plan to tuck The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss, into my bag for an upcoming flight (this last will be a re-read to prep for an upcoming book club discussion).

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What are you reading this week?

Clean Your Reader: A Wrap-Up (and For Me, Lessons Learned)

But first, an apology: I've been a terrible host of the CleanYourReader challenge. So much so that many of you probably don't even know it's been an ongoing thing that some readers (myself very much not included) have been participating in with all the diligence I'd hoped to inspire in myself.

The goal for Clean Your Reader was simple: Over a three-month time period (January to March), make an effort to finally, finally read all the e-books collecting dust on our e-readers. Some participants did a great job. I, on the other hand, read one e-book. One!

I've Been Reading My Own Damn Books... and It's Changing How I Think About My Reading

So far this year, I've finished 10 of my own damn books (out of the 27 books I've finished so far this year). That might not seem like a huge percentage to some, but considering that 12 of the remaining 17 books I've finished have been assigned for Shelf Awareness reviews, I'm really pleased with it. (Even more so when I consider the fact that only 10 of the books I read in all of 2015 were from my own damn bookshelves.)

Andi's challenge thus far has been more about mere accomplishment, though. It's redefining how I think about my reading entirely.

Looking Ahead: April Books I Can't Wait to Read

Spring publishing season is sneaking up on me more quickly than I like to admit... and though the influx of shiny new titles will be even larger next month, as everyone gears up for the infamous Summer Reading Season, there's no shortage of books calling my name this month:

Week in Reading: April 4th

Welcome to the first iteration of April's weeks in reading. The next three months for me feature a ton of meetings and lots (and lots and lots) of travel, which means I'll likely be reading a lot, but writing very little. My goal, at a minimum, is to keep up with weekly reading posts so the books I'm reading get a little bit of attention (and, of course, I'll still meet my paid review deadlines). Anything beyond that will be a bonus! Having set expectations accordingly, on to this week's reading stack:

Looking Back: March Books

April kind of snuck up on me (what else is new), so this post is a little bit later than intended. But c'est la vie and all that. March felt like a jumble, but in reflecting on it, it was a decent month for reading--especially as it came to Reading My Own Damn Books:

Book Review: Jane Steele, by Lyndsay Faye

I've written before about how much I've loved Lyndsay Faye's historical fiction, so while I was sad to see the end to her Timothy Wilde trilogy, I was excited to hear of her newest venture -- the story of a serial killer inspired by Jane Eyre. And Jane Steele did not disappoint.