Reading, Reading, Reading....in August!
2019 Reading Goal: 66/80! Go me!
1. The Ascent to Godhood, Jy Yang - The fourth in this series of novellas, Yang's work continues to amaze me with it's power and beauty. They are an author to watch, and I can't wait to see if they continue this series. You should all read them.
2. How to Live Well With Chronic Pain and Illness, Toni Bernhardt - I asked my therapist to help me find a mindfulness book specific to my situation, and this is what she found. It's a beautiful, and profoundly helpful, book. I read it slowly over several months so that I could really think about it and absorb the lessons. If you are someone who is dealing with chronic illness, please do check it out.
3. Educated, Tara Westover (audio) - Little bit late to the game on this book, and am still thinking through my thoughts. It's clear that Westover is a compelling writer with an amazing story. I do appreciate that she talks a lot about the fact that her own memories may be unreliable, and that this is her perspective. I do think the book deserves the attention that it's received. However, it doesn't feel as if she let enough time pass before she released it into the world...like it was all still a touch too raw and she's still working through it, which left me a bit uneasy. I felt it was fair to read some of the criticism, including statements attributed to her family. Pondering still.
4. The City of Brass, 5. The Kingdom of Copper, S. A. Chakraborty - By Chakraborty's telling, the career she planned for didn't happen because of the recession, so she decided to write historical fiction fanfic...and this is what she got. I kind of hate her. Amazing books magically springing from her brain on a whim. Ok, so I really love her. And I'm mad that I read both books instead of waiting for the series to be finished. #2 was only recently released, so it's potentially a two year wait for the third book. (Darn it.) As many of you know, I adore fairy tales from around the world, and this did the trick nicely. Interesting, complex characters - which often left me wondering who I should be rooting for, or if I really liked/trusted them - and a female lead who's everything I want...my friends who love fantasy, please read these!
6. Finding Your Own North Star, Martha Beck - Literally started this book two years ago. Found it on a professional coaching page I admired (Fundraising through storytelling, and my oh my, it was a brilliant site) I spent a lot of time actually working through the exercises, but set it aside last fall when I started therapy. Given that I'm in between, it felt time to pick it up again. I read through the rest without doing the exercises...but still felt it was a very valuable book. Again, self-help stuff is tricky, and a lot of it is garbage. For whatever reason, though, this one really connected with me and has been very helpful as I work to figure out where I'm going with my life.
7. Turning Darkness Into Light, Marie Brennan - Lady Trent's memoirs may be complete, but now we're going to pick up the story with her granddaughter! It was a treat to return to this world. Maybe not as good as the Lady Trent books, but still well worth the read.
8 The Book of Aron: a Novel, Jim Shepard - This is one of the few remaining Books on the Nightstand recommendations I still had on my shelf (and oh...I still miss that podcast dreadfully). It's the Warsaw Ghetto in WWII from a child's view, and it's utterly devastating. I don't know what made me pick it up now, but in light of current world events....we should all read this book and take a hard look at what this country is doing right now at the southern border.
9. A Light So Lovely, Sarah Arthur (audio) - I can sum this book up in one sentence. Madeleine L'Engle was great. Big sigh. It was a disappointment. I had really hoped for more of an in depth discussion about L'Engle's books and their place in the world, and it wound up being a completely surface opportunity for a fan to squeal over her idol. (That's unkind...but I was truly disappointed. Felt like fanfic of a biography?)
Unfinished:
1. A City In the Middle of the Night, Charlie Jane Anders - I really, really wanted to love this book. Anders is a fantastic writer with interesting ideas, and I loved All the Birds in the Sky. I have to confess, though, that I never connected with any of the characters. This is a book that I preordered, read the first 100 pages or so, set aside, and then went "ugh" every time I tried to pick it back up again. Perhaps it's one of those books I'll come back to later with fresh eyes...perhaps not.
2. They Ayurvedic Self Care Handbook, Sarah Kucera - Full disclosure, this was written by the friend of a friend, and I really wanted to love it because I trusted the recommendation. My problem is that the tone kind of came across as shaming and blaming people for their own illnesses...which I know is not at all what the writer intended. However, there is a lot of 'if you just do x, and work hard enough, you can fix all of your problems' in this book (and in the vast majority of self-help and health books in general). As someone with chronic illness, I know that's not true, and it angers me. Sometimes you just feel like crap, and there's nothing you can do about it. I will come back to this book later. It's entirely possible my current struggles are coloring my view and adding more there than is really present.
1. The Ascent to Godhood, Jy Yang - The fourth in this series of novellas, Yang's work continues to amaze me with it's power and beauty. They are an author to watch, and I can't wait to see if they continue this series. You should all read them.
2. How to Live Well With Chronic Pain and Illness, Toni Bernhardt - I asked my therapist to help me find a mindfulness book specific to my situation, and this is what she found. It's a beautiful, and profoundly helpful, book. I read it slowly over several months so that I could really think about it and absorb the lessons. If you are someone who is dealing with chronic illness, please do check it out.
3. Educated, Tara Westover (audio) - Little bit late to the game on this book, and am still thinking through my thoughts. It's clear that Westover is a compelling writer with an amazing story. I do appreciate that she talks a lot about the fact that her own memories may be unreliable, and that this is her perspective. I do think the book deserves the attention that it's received. However, it doesn't feel as if she let enough time pass before she released it into the world...like it was all still a touch too raw and she's still working through it, which left me a bit uneasy. I felt it was fair to read some of the criticism, including statements attributed to her family. Pondering still.
4. The City of Brass, 5. The Kingdom of Copper, S. A. Chakraborty - By Chakraborty's telling, the career she planned for didn't happen because of the recession, so she decided to write historical fiction fanfic...and this is what she got. I kind of hate her. Amazing books magically springing from her brain on a whim. Ok, so I really love her. And I'm mad that I read both books instead of waiting for the series to be finished. #2 was only recently released, so it's potentially a two year wait for the third book. (Darn it.) As many of you know, I adore fairy tales from around the world, and this did the trick nicely. Interesting, complex characters - which often left me wondering who I should be rooting for, or if I really liked/trusted them - and a female lead who's everything I want...my friends who love fantasy, please read these!
6. Finding Your Own North Star, Martha Beck - Literally started this book two years ago. Found it on a professional coaching page I admired (Fundraising through storytelling, and my oh my, it was a brilliant site) I spent a lot of time actually working through the exercises, but set it aside last fall when I started therapy. Given that I'm in between, it felt time to pick it up again. I read through the rest without doing the exercises...but still felt it was a very valuable book. Again, self-help stuff is tricky, and a lot of it is garbage. For whatever reason, though, this one really connected with me and has been very helpful as I work to figure out where I'm going with my life.
7. Turning Darkness Into Light, Marie Brennan - Lady Trent's memoirs may be complete, but now we're going to pick up the story with her granddaughter! It was a treat to return to this world. Maybe not as good as the Lady Trent books, but still well worth the read.
8 The Book of Aron: a Novel, Jim Shepard - This is one of the few remaining Books on the Nightstand recommendations I still had on my shelf (and oh...I still miss that podcast dreadfully). It's the Warsaw Ghetto in WWII from a child's view, and it's utterly devastating. I don't know what made me pick it up now, but in light of current world events....we should all read this book and take a hard look at what this country is doing right now at the southern border.
9. A Light So Lovely, Sarah Arthur (audio) - I can sum this book up in one sentence. Madeleine L'Engle was great. Big sigh. It was a disappointment. I had really hoped for more of an in depth discussion about L'Engle's books and their place in the world, and it wound up being a completely surface opportunity for a fan to squeal over her idol. (That's unkind...but I was truly disappointed. Felt like fanfic of a biography?)
Unfinished:
1. A City In the Middle of the Night, Charlie Jane Anders - I really, really wanted to love this book. Anders is a fantastic writer with interesting ideas, and I loved All the Birds in the Sky. I have to confess, though, that I never connected with any of the characters. This is a book that I preordered, read the first 100 pages or so, set aside, and then went "ugh" every time I tried to pick it back up again. Perhaps it's one of those books I'll come back to later with fresh eyes...perhaps not.
2. They Ayurvedic Self Care Handbook, Sarah Kucera - Full disclosure, this was written by the friend of a friend, and I really wanted to love it because I trusted the recommendation. My problem is that the tone kind of came across as shaming and blaming people for their own illnesses...which I know is not at all what the writer intended. However, there is a lot of 'if you just do x, and work hard enough, you can fix all of your problems' in this book (and in the vast majority of self-help and health books in general). As someone with chronic illness, I know that's not true, and it angers me. Sometimes you just feel like crap, and there's nothing you can do about it. I will come back to this book later. It's entirely possible my current struggles are coloring my view and adding more there than is really present.
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