A Post: Long Time No See

This is a picture of my lovely cat, Stevie; although, it could very well be a picture of me because that's all I seem to be doing these days once I pick up a book.

It all started when I got an email stating that five (four of those featured below) books were available for pick-up at the local library. I had been waiting MONTHS for these and they all came at once. It seemed like a terrible conundrum because I just sat and stared at the pile. I had no idea how to go about choosing the one I'd read first. So, naturally, I let them sit on my coffee table for a few days. I'd casually walk by, pick one up, read a paragraph or two and then set it down. Finally, I decided to dive into the The Investigation because A) it was totally different than anything I'd read this year, B) the author is a male and I've been slacking in that department, and C) I'd been eyeing it longer than any of the others and this was my chance.

The Investigation by Philippe Claudel

I'm still not finished with The Investigation. Don't get me wrong; it's a great read, but I'll be the first to admit that the author's intentions are completely over my head. The overall message and social commentary are quite in your face, but that doesn't mean I completely understand what Claudel is trying to express exactly.

Read any smartypants review of the title on Goodreads and you'll understand what I'm talking about. Well crafted, but not totally engrossing. It's on my nightstand. I get about 5 pages in before I zonk out.








Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

This was my second most anticipated library score. I'm over halfway through, even if it has taken me two weeks, but know I'll really love this one when it's all said and done. The author is incredibly talented, the story heart-breaking and engaging. It's been hard keeping up with this one when it hits close to home. Family loss is always so hard and Brunt expresses it perfectly.












Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity by Emily Matchar

Guilty as charged. I love baking from scratch, learning to knit, and the idea of canning. Yes, I am totally the target audience for this read. Matchar explores the rise of interest in the "good ol' days" and how these fads are changing society. Written like an ethnography, I was sucked in before realizing I was reading five thousand other books. I've got some time because this one comes out in May.












Eight Girls Taking Pictures by Whitney Otto

I don't know much about this title other than it focuses on women who took pictures in the past. I like taking pictures, I'm a woman, and I enjoy reading about the past, so it seemed like a win.















Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

Another of those highly anticipated titles. I had this one on my library list for about six months. Yes, six months! It was that popular. Then the system wonked out and never sent me the e-mail telling me to come pick it up. I lost my spot and had to request it again! Fortunately, the hype had died down a bit and it arrived much earlier. Maybe a bit too early?












For someone who absolutely detests reading more than one book at a time, I'm shocked that this many books are even lying around as a possibility at this point. Don't even get me started on my review list over on Netgalley. I should be banned from requesting more books. No, seriously. Or maybe even the site... you know, until I finish those already awaiting my attention.

What are you reading? Anyone else feeling the spring slump???

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A Post: The TBR Pile and Challenge Progress

Like I fool I may have overextended myself with both my Goodreads and RIP VII Challenge goals. I'll admit that I initially added eight books to the RIP pile before considering that I'd be traveling a lot prior to the completion date. Needless to say, I decided to delete a title and call seven a day.

Totals on the RIP Challenge (click to see previous reviews):

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Dracula by Bram Stoker

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Pigeon Pie Mystery: A Novel by Julia Stuart

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I'm so close to completing my RIP reads. Dracula, A Study in Scarlet and The Graveyard Book are all that remain. And while I'm totally enjoying the thrilling books I've chosen for myself, I'm ready for a change of pace. I'm looking to read the titles I've been saving for the cooler months when I'm positive I'll be cuddled on the couch often.

Books I'm most excited about: 

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

I'm sure there will be plenty of new releases to catch my eye, as well, but these are musts before the end of the year. Feel free to send over suggestions!

I've completed 31 of the 50 books I pledged to read for the year. I won't speak too soon and say I won't finish, so here's to hoping I can pull through.

I've also completed two classic titles and am working on a third in order to fulfill my 50 book pledge by August of 2017 for the Classics Club.


Look out for my reviews of these recent reads:

The Pigeon Pie Mystery: A Novel by Julia Stuart

The Second Empress: A Novel of Napoleon's Court by Michelle Moran

How are you doing for the year? 

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Bring in the Fall- Bring in Yard Sales with Books for Cheap

Many cities around the US of A are experiencing cooler temperatures, along with the nostalgia-producing changes of verdant greenery to bursts of bright flame-like variation along the roadsides. It's officially Fall, and expected.  But I'm in Atlanta, the city that resists such violent interruptions to it's sweltering, sweat producing temperatures, and doesn't go cool until late OCTOBER.  Nevertheless, the Druid Hills neighborborhood, meaning giant houses and meticulously manicured lawns to match, kept their promise and hosted their annual yard sale.  


And I couldn't resist.  


It was hot.  I was sweating profusely- dressed in black and dark denim! But I got what I went for and here are five finds that cost me only five dollars and fifty cents!

To accommodate this find, here are some little previews of the selected titles:

•  Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits

A narrative that follows four generations of a family in Latin America.  The novel provides magic realism, and features strong female characters.

I've heard and seen this novel for years without picking it up.  Magic realism sometimes turns me away, as I've never been much of a fan, but I'm giving it another go.  Finally, when I sat down with an acquaintance to discuss books for a feminist book group we'll be leading starting October (details to come later) this book was on a list of books that explores women's issues and provokes discussion.

• Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children

An infant born at the exact moment that India gains independence spends his life with otherworldly capabilities.  This novel exposes the emergence of modern India through the narrative of it's protagonist. 

I've shamefully never read any of Rushdie's work, so I thought now would be the time to get to it.

• Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge

Mrs. Kitteridge is a creature of habit, and detests abrupt changes to the life she leads in a small town in Maine.  After self-reflection and a closer look at the characters that surround her, Mrs. Kitteridge begins to see the world in a new light.

I've seen this book at nearly every book shop I've stopped in, and once I found it on a must-read for book clubs on Bookmovement I thought it imperative that I purchase it for the 1.50 the woman had priced it.  Furthermore, this synopsis alone sounds remarkably similar to Julia Glass's The Widower's Tale, which I'm currently reading and really enjoying.

• Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin

A novel that captures New York in the 70s, features a mesmerizing tight rope walker, that just happens to be making his way between the Two Towers.  An intricate story filled with various characters around this dynamic city, it's sure to tug at the heartstrings.

I befriended a fellow on Goodreads that could not speak more highly of this novel.  That being said, I felt that I really just had to get it.  It's also a National Book Award winner and that speaks volumes to me.

• Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and Other Stories 

I cant' do this summary justice so I'll just take it from the back of the book:

Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find that he is not the man he was.  What he has become forms the starting point for a piercing, painful, and sometimes comic look into human connection and isolation.

Again, another literary great that I've never managed to pick-up. Better late then never, right? 


Read these titles?  Have some suggestions?  Want to share some great finds you've made recently?

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