Wednesday, July 1, 2015

June 2015 Chapter

Welcome to the Read.Write.Repeat. monthly wrap-up.  Every month, I give a quick overview of what books I read, the progress made on the 100 Best Novels goal, a few book-related links, and general blog news.  


June News 

It's hot.

Southern summers are a whole new thing for me and...wow. I've never worn my hair up so many consecutive days in a row. I don't hate it, though. In fact, quite the opposite. Kevin and I are getting more consistent pool time than we ever have before (thanks to awesome friends!) and we really do not mind the heat. It's a million times better than snow.

The big news of the month is that we are buying a house! Well, hopefully. We still have to do the inspection and all of that, but, after six months of actively looking, we found we really like and we love the potential it has. Plenty of space for us now and for us to grow into. We are feeling incredibly blessed and also slightly terrified. First time home-buying is quite the range of emotions. Presuming everything continues to go smoothly, we'll be closing the first week of August. Our life right now is all about budget talks, paint colors, decorating ideas, and preparing to beautify the backyard. We love it.

Personally, I have been trying to bury my head in the textbook for the course I am teaching at the local community college this fall. I need to push through and get my syllabus finished, but I am struggling. Summer is for fun beach reads, not Critical Thinking textbooks. Still, I am very excited about the class and am getting some good ideas. My biggest deterrent has definitely been all the books I have been reading pool side...and, you know, the house. 


Books Reviewed

  1. Texts From Jane Eyre - Mallory Ortberg
  2. The Sweet In -Between - Sherri Reynolds
  3. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
  4. The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
  5. The Apprentice - Jacques Pépin
  6. Balm - Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  7. Boy, Snow, Bird - Helen Oyeyemi
  8. The Romanov Sisters - Helen Rappaport
  9. The Great Zoo of China - Matthew Reilly
  10. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - Mindy Kaling
  11. Eeny Meeny - M. J. Arlidge
  12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling

Books Read

  1. Eeny Meeny - M. J. Arlidge
  2. Searching for Dragons - Patricia C. Wrede
  3. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
  4. Balm - Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  5. Alive - Scott Sigler
  6. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery
  7. Blindness - José Saramago
  8. All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
  9. Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell
  10. The Selection - Kiera Cass
Pages Read: 3,590

Favorite Book Read: It should not come as a surprise to anyone that I loved this year's Pulitzer Prize winner. Beautiful. Simple. Complex. Moving.

100 Best Novels Progress

  • None. Oops. I am making great progress in An American Tragedy, though.
  • 41% complete

2015 TBR Pile Challenge Progress

I finished two books from the challenge: Blindness and The Elegance of the Hedgehog. We're at the halfway point, but I have finished 66% of the challenge. I've started Paris by Edward Rutherfurd and am also particularly looking forward to Jesus Feminist.


Articles

This article is about movies, not books, but I found the thesis fascinating: superhero movies as an attempt to rewrite 9/11.
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As we head into July, I hope you have a wonderful, safe weekend celebrating Independence Day (if you are in the States) and many hours ahead of you by some sort of body of water, be it ocean, lake, or pool. And, while you're at it, let me know what great summer reads you are enjoying!

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