June 1: Next On the List

In my mind, the end of May signals the end of Spring, and that is fabulous. Not that Spring is bad; it's just the most frustrating of the months for me. My mind, body, and soul crave the summer sun, and when it goes back and forth between sunny warmth and chilly rain, it makes me want to explode!

The end of May also thankfully signals the end of the semester, and summer vacation begins! Ok, it's not real summer vacation, since I still have a 9 to 5 job that keeps me at a desk all day, but it means I don't have to schlep to Queens and write papers! Library school isn't too demanding, but once I have a vacation, I do realize it's more time consuming than I think. The end of the Spring 2012 semester marks my halfway point of earning my MLS—three semesters down and three to go. I can't wait to finish it!

W    H    A    T        I    '    M        R    E    A    D    I    N    G

I've had the goal lately of reading what's already on my shelf instead of seeking out more books, and I've been pretty good at sticking to that. I just finished David Treuer's Rez Life, on Jill's recommendation at FizzyThoughts, and it was both fascinating and a little boring. I'm planning on really looking back through the book and taking a few notes for my post on it, because it has some really interesting points I want to remember. 

But that's where my stretch of reading what I own seems to end; I got a little Hold Happy on the NYPL site the other day, and now all my requests are coming in. I just started Christina Sunley's The Tricking of Freya, also on a long-ago recommendation of FizzyThoughts (geez, Jill, it's not even a contest of who I get most of my book recs from). Also on the immediate backburner: Are You My Mother?, Alison Bechdel's newest graphic memoir (I loved Fun Home) and The Half-Mammals of Dixie, a short story collection by George Singleton (a recommendation I'd starred long ago from BermudaOnion). So maybe none of these help clear off my own shelves, but at least I'm helping keep my library in business!

And I know this is a book blog, but I just have to mention another thing taking up my time... There are few things more satisfying to the literary soul than getting hooked to a really quality, amazing TV series. The last one for me was Friday Night Lights (if you haven't watched it...seriously...go do it), and I'm fairly certain nothing can top that. However, I'm finally starting Mad Men from the beginning. I'm about eight episodes in and so far, I just don't much care, but I will give it to the end of the season and re-assess. I also just started the second season of Veronica Mars. Colin and I just binged our way through the first season and it was so fabulous that I don't think it can be topped. But I love the characters so much that I have to keep going. I really love Netflix.

W    H    A    T    '    S        C    O    M    I    N    G        N    E    X    T

As everyone knows, BEA is next week! I'll probably be attending only one day, and in a "company capacity", but I'll still be around for many of the festivities! I love attending book conferences in a blogger/librarian capacity (as opposed to manning an exhibition booth!)—discovering what's new and getting excited about all the amazing book industry has to offer. If you are around BEA or any of its festivities be sure to shoot me a message!

Summer is here; time to stretch out in the sun—whether at the beach, in a park, on the lake, or in your backyard—and relax with some books. My favorite time of year!

Happy June!

May 1: Next On the List

April was a pretty successful reading and blogging month for me. I was able to get through a nonfiction chunkster as part of a joint reading effort with Aarti, and I still worked in a few books that served as a nice distraction. We've both finished reading Lions of the West at this point, but we haven't finished discussing it yet (oof, it did start to drag a bit), so you can read more on that later.

I've also (mostly) caught up on the blogging, which is a huge success!!

W    H    A    T        I    '    M        R    E    A    D    I    N    G

I've been reading a ton of JUV fiction lately for my Children's Lit class, and I'd like to do a reading roundup to summarize them. I actually read The Giver for the first time, and...well...I think it's a book you need to read at a particular moment in your life. It's the favorite book of one of my closest friends, but she read it as a child and loved it, while I just found it "meh". Maybe reading it as an adult loses some of the magic. Speaking of dystopian, I also read The Hunger Games for the first time. Dystopian lit isn't my thing, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

I'm currently reading Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why on my eReader. I know it was all the buzz a while back, but I've just come to the conclusion that if I want to be a YA librarian, I should probably read more young adult books. I went to a local school librarian conference for work last week, and one of the sessions I attended was about YA materials. Plus, I just got into my two classes for next semester which are YA Literature and Programs and Services for Young Adults. Hence my inspiration.

I don't have anything on my upcoming reading schedule, and I'm still working on getting through what's on my own shelves before I start acquiring a ton new things...

W    H    A    T    '    S        C    O    M    I    N    G        N    E    X    T

And I speak of acquiring new books because we all know BEA is coming up in the very near future! I'm not sure exactly when I will be attending yet (gotta work it out with the work schedule) but it's always enjoyable to attend, even if just for an afternoon. It's much more fun to be an attendee than a booth rep!

Another exciting thing to come is that Emily St. John Mandel has a new book coming out this month, The Lola Quartet, just as I finally read Last Night in Montreal and I was hoping she'd write something new! Plus, she's coming to WORD for the book's launch party later this month.

In my own personal excitement, I'm finished with school for the summer in two weeks. I'd like to say this gives me more free time to read, but that's probably not true; I read so much on my commute, that I'll probably read less once I finish and spend time doing other things. However, summer is coming which means beach time and park time, never without a book in hand.

Happy May!

April 2: Next On the List

I am way behind on my posting. Way behind. It's actually starting to stress me out a little, because I don't think I've ever been this slow at it before! I've got a back log of at least five books to write about (I know, I know...to some of you, that is normal), but my reading is not slowing down. I have class to thank for this. As I've mentioned before, that gives me so much reading time on the back and forth commute.

Anyway, that's all boring and probably of zero interest to anyone, but hopefully I'll have some time to catch up this month with both Spring Break (which only means no class for a week; doesn't mean as much when you still have to work full time) and a week-long trip to Nashville (which will hopefully mean a week spent relaxing in the sun by my parents' pool).

W    H    A    T        I    '    M        R    E    A    D    I    N    G

I'm unable to attend book club this month because of class, so I officially have nothing on my reading schedule. This is giving me the perfect opportunity to read some things that have been sitting on my shelf for-ev-er. I just read Emily St. John Mandel's Last Night in Montreal, which I won from a book blog at least a couple years ago, and I'm currently in the middle of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, which I also won somewhere years ago. My goal may just be to go through a single shelf and read everything that's been sitting there for at least a year.

I've still got several things on my list for my Westward Ho! reading project. I have at least one review for that pending, but I want to read at least one title from my original list this month. I also am planning on bringing back my JUV FIC Corner, because I've been reading tons of books for my Children's Lit class. I did not read all of them as a kid, which was the original theme of the project, but still reading from an adult perspective is thought-provoking.

A short but sweet summary; here's to the end of March (thank God; it's the worst month) and looking to warmer days ahead.

March 1 (ok, 5th): Next On the List

Ok, so I'm a few days late with the beginning of the month update, and that is just representative of my February and March so far. February was a pretty pathetic reading month for me. I finished a whopping two books, which is pathetic considering I have more time than usual to read as I haul 75 minutes to and from class twice a week.

W    H    A    T        I    '    M        R    E    A    D    I    N    G

I've officially given up on Jonathan Raban's essay collection, Driving Home. I got up to page 180 or so and was intending to read and post on it in stages. I reached a stopping point so I could read Sea of Poppies for book club, and as you can see, I still have not written about that first chunk of Driving Home (or Sea of Poppies, for that matter). Once I tried to get back into it and write about the first part, I couldn't even remember anything significant, and it was just looming as something I thought I should read but wasn't really enjoying. And I think this ended up holding me back for a lot of last month. Overall, this book was just not what I expected. A couple of the essays were really good, particularly one about Mark Twain, but the rest were not a journey of America, per say. They felt more like literary analysis of various authors, some of them not even American! In a nutshell, I was looking for a road trip, and this was not one. Oh well.

The other pitiful part of February is that I've been reading the same two books for 2-3 weeks. I don't usually read more than one book at once, because my brain can't focus in depth on more than one story. I've been reading the new graphic novel Marzi by Marzen Sowa since before Valentine's Day. I really like it, but this is something I'd usually breeze through in a weekend. When I didn't finish it one weekend, I needed a novel to read, because I didn't want to carry the large graphic novel in my purse, so I started West of Here by Jonathan Evison, which is a chunkster. It's almost 500 pages, so it's just taking a while for that reason. Plus, I don't really like any of the characters too much. The ones in the present day sections are just so miserable, and I hate reading about miserable people. It puts me in a miserable mood. So perhaps this is also why I'm not flying through it. Add to this the numerous children's books I have to read each week for class, and my leisurely reading is just subpar right now.

W    H    A    T    '    S        C    O    M    I    N    G        N    E    X    T

This week...THIS WEEK...I will finish BOTH of these books! On the coming agenda, I have a couple things:

• The Go-Between by I. P. Hartley, finally another NYRB classic for my next book club meeting. The meeting isn't until the 22nd, so I've got a bit of time.
• The Unseen Guest by Maryrose Wood, the third in the Incorrigible Children series. I was so excited to receive an advanced copy for an author tour which will happen later this month!
• Lions of the West by Robert Morgan is still on my agenda...I just have to get through these two books first!

Did you know that this month is the Public Library Association conference in Philadelphia? I am attending for work, but I'm especially excited since the public library is the realm I intend on entering once I finish my MLS program. (And I am also very excited for the cheesesteaks.) You know what conferences mean...NEW BOOKS. I only hope to duplicate my awesome book score from ALA in January!

Happy March!

February 1: Next On the List

In an attempt to mentally organize and motivate, I think I'm going to start taking a monthly mental pause to assess what I want to read, where I am with any reading goals, and what exciting things are on the horizon. It sounds silly because reading should be a relaxing, enjoyable activity, but it can sometimes get a little overwhelming to think of all I have and want to do!

W    H    A    T        I    '    M        R    E    A    D    I    N    G    

In January, I started my own personal Westward Ho! reading project, for which I read two books (but only blogged on one; I'll get there!). I don't have anything on the immediate agenda for this, only in the abstract future—the next couple of months. I am going to be reading Lions of the West with Aarti, but that's not going to start until at least March.

Yesterday I started the book for my February book club meeting, Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh. I've been taking a bit of a break from book club for the past two months. It's not that I grew tired of it, it's just...well, the last two meetings went on for two and a half hours. I mean, I enjoy talking about books, but that is a long time to discuss one book. The discussion is great for about an hour and then it gets too detailed, like people are grasping for straws for something to discuss, and it's the same couple of people who just keep talking. It is possible to over-discuss a book. Anyway, I just needed a breather and now I've had one, so I'm excited for next week's meeting! The book, by the way, is "eh" so far (I'm 100 pages in). Like every book I've read for this book club, I probably won't love it but I will enjoy the discussion of it.

I started Jonathan Raban's essay collection, Driving Home, last week, and it is a chunkster. I took a break from it for a bit to start my book club book, but it's a library book so I plan on finishing it in the next two weeks. (The only time I'm able to start a new book in the middle of another one like this is if it's essays or short stories!) So far, some of the essays are interesting and some are boring. I thought it would be more of a travelogue, but a lot of his essays are just analyzing other authors' works and have little to do with American travel. It's not really what I expected from the book as a whole.

I got some fabulous books from ALA Midwinter, including:

• Marzi, a new graphic novel that the girl at the Random House booth generously let me take
• Maggie Now, a Betty Smith novel I'd never heard of, thanks to the HarpeCollins booth
• Come In and Cover Me, the new Gin Phillips (I loved The Well and the Mine) thanks to Penguin's $5 all-you-can-hold sale
• The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam (I have Old Filth but haven't read it yet!)

Conferences are fun, but when you're working at one and have to stand in your exhibition booth all day...well, you miss out on the fun of discovering new books! Luckily, the last day was pretty slow and I got to wander a bit.

W    H    A    T    '    S        H    A    P    P    E    N    I    N    G

If you live in Brooklyn (or even just in NYC) and you don't know about WORD yet, you should. It's an independent bookstore in Greenpoint, and they have some fabulous events. It's where I've gone to readings with Emily St. John Mandel and Jon Michaud. In December, I missed Haley Tanner, who was coincidentally there as I was reading her book. But in February, they have some great things coming up, including an event with Jonathan Evison (of West of Here) which I will sadly have to miss because of class, one with Joe Wallace who I met there once and subsequently read his book, and one with Michael Showalter of comedic fame. 

Related: Wet Hot American Summer is one of my top 5 movies of all time, and in college, my friend Gretch and I once spent an entire three-hour studio painting class throwing Wet Hot quotes back and forth until, at the very end of class, a guy sitting next to us finally asked, "Are you guys quoting Wet Hot?" I asked Colin if I could tell Michael Showalter that story, and he said no, it would not impress him. I think it would. We quoted the movie longer than the movie itself.

Happy February!