Whoa! I read ten books in April. That's the most I've ever read in a month. And I liked all of them! Really loved 70% of them! That feels pretty good.
I graduate in 17 days, so things might get a little quieter around here for these last two weeks as I try to get my act together. Wish me luck! Now let's look at what went down in this very bookish month.
What I Did
- I didn't fuck up my poetry reading. I read some stuff that was kind of heavy, but it went well.
- I participated in the first #ReadingMyLibrary challenge. It taught me a lot about my local library AND I met my goal of reading 6 library books this month. KILLED IT.
- My mom got me Roxane Gay and Karen Russell's autographs!! Still can't get over it.
- I went to the Chicago Reader Book Swap. It was scary and crowded, but obviously I picked up the best tactics for nabbing great books and came out a champion. I was born for this.
- I participated in my very first 24 hour readathon! It was a blast. And I read 3 books. I'm so glad I made the time for this.
- This sounds dorky and I don't know how to make it not sound dorky, but I've just had a great time at work and school and the internet. Hanging out with my friends in and out of school has been great. And I love my book blogging friends more than ever. It's just been a really nice month apart from my soul crushing fear of the future. I feel really lucky.
Books Read
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara - What an amazing experience.
- Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill - My kind of book. Brilliant.
- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent - So beautiful! I'm so glad I didn't put off reading this book.
- Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter by Nina MacLaughlin - Very inspiring. Definitely what I needed to read at this tumultuous time in my life.
- The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka - So many tears. Stunning.
- Ghost World by Daniel Clowes - These characters are actually me and my very specific close friends. WEIRD. An excellent graphic novel.
- The Wallcreeper by Nell Zink - WEIRDER. Very strange, very funny, brilliant writing.
- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers - Not my favorite, but a pretty incredible debut novel.
- The Last Flight of Poxl West by Daniel Torday - An interesting experience with a book within a book. The ending was crazy!
- I Am Sorry to Think I Have Raised a Timid Son by Kent Russell - Not the best book I've ever read, but it made me think a lot about fathers and what it means for me not to have one.
My Best Posts in April
- Grapes of Trash: Dating and the Apocalypse - if you like reality tv show and book pairings
- Reading Kent Russell's Essays When My Dad is Dead
- Top Ten Stunning Quotes From Books
- Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon - April 2015
- Thrifty Thursday #1: The Wild Shore
Books I Plan to Read in May
- War of the Encyclopaedists by Christopher Robinson & Gavin Kovite - I've been interested in this one for a while, and I finally have a copy!
- The Shore by Sara Taylor - Because everyone else is doing it. And also Southern fiction focused on ladies? Yes, please.
- Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum - Yeah, I'll actually read it this month.
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - My two person book club's ACTUAL final book choice.
- People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara - Because Yanagihara has proven to be really really good. And this sounds crazy.
Things I'm Looking Forward to in May
- Graduating. I guess. Two more weeks. Somebody help me.
- Deciding what to do with my life. Just kidding, that's my least favorite thing.
- Having my family and boyfriend visit Chicago! That'll be a good time.
- I really don't have any big plans. Hire me!
- Trying to review/talk about more books I love. I realized that I mostly wrote extended posts on books that were kind of problematic, when I'd love to share more books that I can back 100%. I'm going to try to focus on that more once I graduate and have copious amounts of free time!
