Reading Progress and Plans
Am I the only one who’s underwhelmed by National Poetry Month? I’m feeling a little guilty about it, and feel the need to apologize to my more poetry-loving friends. But to be honest, unless it’s accompanied by music – which is to say, it’s a song – or it’s by Dr. Seuss, poetry is just not my thing. I certainly appreciate beautiful, expressive writing, but I’d much rather encounter it in prose form. Therefore, my reading plans for April do not include any poetry anthologies (although Jen‘s review suggests that Nicholson Baker’s The Anthologist could step into that spot).
We wrapped up the Read-Along for The Sparrow this week; links to the reviews are posted at The Book Lady’s Blog (and they’re still coming in – don’t forget to post yours!). I’m so glad to have read this novel again, and sharing it with a group of readers who find it just as affecting as I do made the experience even better. I think I got more out of The Sparrow the second time around, and I suspect this may not be the last time I re-read it, either.
I’ve just finished Get Lucky by Katherine Center, but won’t post my review till my assigned tour date. I’m just glad I’m not pushing the deadline for this one! I haven’t decided whether my next fiction read will be The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees, which has its tour date just after Get Lucky, or Between Friends by Kristy Kiernan, which shares a plot element with Get Lucky; I’ve discovered that I like paired reading. Meanwhile, reading In the Land of Believers: An Outsider’s Extraordinary Journey into the Heart of the Evangelical Church by Gina Welch is still in progress, but as usual, the double-booking thing isn’t going so smoothly.
My birthday was last week and Lent is over, so book-buying has resumed at a brisk pace (thanks to gift cards!). Here’s the proof:
The Opposite of Me: A Novel, by Sarah Pekkanen
I Don’t Care About Your Band: What I Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Felons, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I’ve Dated, by Julie Klausner
How I Became a Famous Novelist, by Steve Hely
Life Sentences, by Laura Lippman
New in TBR, just because:
Getting In: A Novel, by Karen Stabiner
Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life, by Kathleen Norris
Laura Rider’s Masterpiece, by Jane Hamilton
Ironically (or perhaps not), there were no new additions to the Wishlist this week.
On a topic somewhat related to what I’ve just been discussing, Beth Fish ponders the worth of recap/stats posts.
Assorted Announcements
I was a bit tardy in choosing a winner for my Blogiversary Giveaway, but with the help of Random.org, it’s been done. I used the List Randomizer to sort my entry spreadsheet (I don’t think I’ll ever do another giveaway without using a Google Docs entry form!), and the name that came out on top was…
Kathy gets a $35 e-gift card to the online retailer of her choice. What are the odds she’ll buy books with it? ☺ Congratulations, Kathy!
A blogger realizes that she has to find her own balance, and her own way; in a guest post for Booking Mama, an author reacts to her readers’ reactions; an author reflects on the second anniversary of her first novel, and what she’s learned
Why readers and book collectors aren’t always the same people, and other thoughts about how we read (and how books smell); why students may learn to enjoy reading when they can choose the books they read – this author is inclined to agree
Did you know you can choose what you want your books to say about you? (They don’t even have to be your real books!)
Do you have an “Ultimate TBR” book…one that glares at you from the shelf every time you pass it by?
The 24-Hour Readathon is this Saturday – are you participating? Here’s why she isn’t. And here’s Fizzythoughts‘ latest song parody – perfect Readathon music!
Your book club could be TLC’s Book Club of the Month!
The Book Lady defines what makes an author “#pantyworthy,” and wants to know who’s on your list (her post mentions an author who is definitely on mine!)
A book-inspired challenge to give something up AND give something back
Have a great reading week!
