I’m very happy to say that in 2015 I’ve been successfully starting books and finishing them. Back around 3 years ago when I first decided to go back to school, I wanted earnestly to keep my book reading hobby. I found out that wish wasn’t in the stars after my first semester of an accelerated pre-req program in Speech Language Pathology. I could barely keep my room clean, let alone be distracted enough to start and keep reading non-assigned material. I’ve been done with school now for 15 months. Finally got my swagger back. :)
Here’s my list of 2015 including my rating scale and comments as necessary.
COMPLETED BOOKS
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson- 4/5 stars (via Audible). Non-fiction book about an African-American attorney who defends the indigent children and adults who’ve been damned to death row. Highly recommended.
- Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer- 2.5/5 stars (via Audible). I was trying something new with this book (sci-fi), an assignment from the Twitter book club (Ninjas Be Reading BC). It’s a new-age Cinderella story about a girl who’s half cyborg and half human. The premise drew me in, but after about Chapter 12 I just got bored. The action was too slow and I wasn’t invested in the characters anymore. I don’t know how I survived the 26 chapters that followed, but I live to write about it
- 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter- 3/5 stars (via Audible). This fiction book came recommended by a friend. It is the recount of a young woman’s life through her eyes. Her early childhood stories really drew me in, however somewhere in her young-adult retelling, things became too hard to believe. I had a hard time finishing the book, and the ending didn’t redeem itself.
- South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami- 3/5 stars (via Audible). Yet another recommendation from a friend, who boasts this is his favorite author. It’s hard to describe what exactly this book is about. There is a protagonist, a man…there is an internal struggle he has about his life. I could connect with many thoughts, much of the angst, and I felt the “realness” of the character. I wished there was more complexity to some of the other characters, but overall I thought it was a solid book. Murakami is claimed to be the master of metaphors and realism. I would recommend looking into his repertoire.
IN PROGRESS
- The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke by Suze Orman (Audible) I’m all those things and I’m trying to get my money right. Not trying, getting it.
- All About Love (New Visions) by bell hooks. This book has been like the Bible to me this year; hard to get through because I have to stop and process what I’ve read. I have “Amen” moments after every 2 pages and I read the book equipped with a pen or highlighter. Working it chunk by chunk.
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (iBooks). This book came recommended by one of the hosts of Books on the Nightstand, one of the podcasts I occasionally listen to. It came with the promise that my life would be changed when I finished, so I’ll keep you updated when I finish reading.
- Getting Rid of It by Betsey & Warren Talbot (Audible). I purchased this on a sale and it has pushed me to de-clutter my paperwork and even consider downsizing my books. It is the “To-Do” project for the month and I’ve been taking baby steps (more like crawling, actually). I like this book because it’s a straight-forward read and they give you homework at the end (i.e., “weekend projects” and the like). If you want to learn how to make your space more enjoyable, if you’re on the verge of a move and don’t want to lug stuff to your next place, this is a great investment.
UNFINISHED MEMORIES
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green- I think I’m about halfway through this book. I pick it up every now and again and admire the art on the cover, just not pressed to finish it.
Shout-out to Audible for helping me get through books this year! I realized I was spending so much time traveling between sites (at least 45 minutes) and getting 45 minutes of “listening” time 3-4 times a week adds up! Reading A Little Life on my iPad is probably the hardest thing to do, and I mostly pick that book up when I travel. I’m okay with that; having a “travel on a plane book, while I’m in the car book, and bedside book.” I didn’t have a goal this year for a magic number of books to read, but I would definitely like to add at least 2 more fiction titles to the list. I’m also becoming more adventurous and trying to read titles/authors I normally wouldn’t. That is truly one of the joys of book clubs, something that I miss dearly.
For the book readers, how do you stay connected to book communities? Do you have the need read with others or what others are reading?
–She
