May 2018 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 my reading goals, a few book-related links, and general blog news.  

May News 

I don't know where to start today. There's so much to share! First of all, let me acknowledge the weird blog schedule for the last month. I barely posted at all in May. I had a massive reading slump this spring. Compile that with a slow reading year in general and I just didn't have enough content to post on a regular basis. So, I gave myself three weeks off and just didn't worry about it (much). Plus, the slow May I had planned where I would lounge around and read books was suddenly...not that.

Why not, you ask? Well, I got a job!

Today is actually my very first full-time day in the office, but I did several training days in May so that I could hit the ground running. I'm no longer teaching, which is a big switch for me. However, I've remained in the higher ed world and joined a consulting firm which works with mainly private colleges and universities. The firm offers consulting on a range of issues from enrollment management to student success to campus planning and architecture. I'm working as a Project Manager and will be mainly focused on projects we do with faith-based schools. From the moment I read the job description, I knew it was going to be a great fit. I'm so excited to be starting a new chapter professionally. This has been a long time coming.

Suffice it to say, that consumed so much of my life and thought in May. Even though I didn't do that much actual working time, I suddenly felt the urgent need to fit a whole summer of productivity (teachers know what I mean) into 2 weeks. Add in getting us ready for our big trip and it was not the deck-sitting, book-reading time I anticipated. But it was a good month.

And speaking of that big trip, we just got back on Thursday! Hence, this delayed monthly recap post. We spent 12 days away from home, which might be a record for us (outside of time with parents). We hit NYC, Rome, Cinque Terre, Florence, and a bunch of small towns in Tuscany. It was an amazing trip and we came home utterly exhausted, but so happy. If there's interest, I may do a post here recapping our trip a bit. Otherwise, I have just a few posts on Instagram.

The great thing about the trip is it gave me dedicated reading time like I haven't had in ages. Planes and trains ferried us around the world and afforded me hours to indulge. I set aside most of the heavier reading I've been doing this year and just read fun stuff. I can't wait to share it with you in the upcoming weeks.

For today, the lists below are short, but a good reflection of time spent elsewhere last month.

Cooking for Jeffrey - Ina Garten

Cooking for Jeffrey

Title: Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Author: Ina Garten

Publication Date: 10/25/16

Pages: 272

Genre: Food / Nonfiction

How I Found It: I can't remember

Date Completed: 5/20/18

Summary: A collection of Barefoot Contessa recipes, purportedly gathered because they are her husband's favorites.  

What I Thought: I liked the concept of this book - that Garten was gathering all her husband's favorite recipes. As someone who does 99% of the cooking in my own household (because I like to, not because I'm the woman in the house), it's an idea with which I'm quite familiar. I love treating Kevin to his favorite meals.

While there are some great recipes in this book, I didn't really get the sense that it's true to its title. In the introduction, Garten mentions that every recipe is Jeffrey approved. Yet, references to the titular personage appear rarely after that. I guess I was hoping for more personal discussion in the recipe introductions. Doesn't make the recipes less good, but it did make the book less engaging.

Unbelievable - Katy Tur

Unbelievable

Title: Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History

Author: Katy Tur

Publication Date: 9/12/17

Pages: 304

Genre: Memoir / Political / Nonfiction

How I Found It: I heard about it from a lot of places.

Date Completed: 5/20/18

Summary: Tur recounts her days on the campaign trail with Trump. She started reporting on his campaign shortly after the infamous announcement at Trump Tower in which then-candidate Trump referred derogatorily to Mexicans. She share the details of her life on the road up through election night 2016.

What I Thought: This book was hard to read at times. Not because it was poorly written. On the contrary, Tur did a wonderful job capturing the tumultuous emotions of the 2016 campaign season. That's exactly what made it hard to read at times. It's hard to emotionally reinsert yourself into that era, particularly knowing how it turned out. 

Tur was one of the earliest reporters to join Trump campaign and, perhaps consequentially, developed an odd relationship with the candidate. His hot-and-cold relationship with the media is exemplified perfectly in his treatment of Tur during the campaign. He would favor her and then immediately turn around and insult her and her work. Tur does a decent job of explaining the emotional effect this had on her, although I think she is still fairly guarded in what she chose to reveal about her own feelings. That reporter instinct to conceal personal feelings must be hard to kick in some aspects. 

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give

Title: The Hate U Give

Author: Angie Thomas

Publication Date: 2/28/17

Pages: 444

Genre: Young Adult / Fiction

How I Found It: It's been all over since publication.

Date Completed: 5/11/18

Summary: Starr Carter lives in an urban neighborhood but commutes out to a wealthy suburb for school. When she witnesses the murder of a childhood friend, the careful walls she's built between her two lives begin to crumble. 

What I Thought: This book is intensely powerful. The debate over officer-involved shootings and the Black Lives Matter movement is so intense in our country. Yet, we often forget the very real lives that are affected with each tragic shooting. Thomas places us directly in the epicenter of one of these moments. She does not shy away from the diversity of emotions or political responses. 

This book is exactly why I am trying to read books with a more diverse authorship. There was so much in here that, as a white woman, I will just never understand. Some of it was hard to digest, forcing me to confront my own biases (we all have them). Some of it was just heartbreaking; we are so unaware of our own privileges. 

American War - Omar El Akkad

American War

Title: American War

Author: Omar El Akkad

Publication Date: 4/4/17

Pages: 352

Genre: Dystopian / Fiction

How I Found It: I can't remember

Date Completed: 5/8/18

Summary: The United States has ceased to be united. Facing increasing environmental disaster, disputes over consequential policy decisions led the South to secede once again, launching a new Civil War. The novel follows the story of how one girl's live intertwines with the events of that conflict.

What I Thought: I really wanted to like this book. The premise is fascinating to me. As we currently stand at such a fraught point in our history, the idea of another civil war doesn't always seem so crazy. Particularly since El Akkad wisely had the country split over environmental concerns and scaling back the use of fossil fuels. If and when America does ever get to that point, the fight will likely be enormous. 

The book is set up as a decades-long story following the path of one southern girl in particular. Sarat Chestnut and her family end up at a camp for refugees after the war breaks out in 2074. It is there that her fighting instinct is ignited and nurtured. She goes on to be a key player in the war itself. 

Of Mess and Moxie - Jen Hatmaker

Of Mess and Moxie

Title: Of Mess and Moxie: Wrangling Delight Out of This Wild and Glorious Life

Author: Jen Hatmaker

Publication Date: 8/8/17

Pages: 224

Genre: Faith / Memoir / Nonfiction

How I Found It: I'm a Jen Hatmaker fan.

Date Completed: 4/28/18

Summary: Hatmaker broaches motherhood, faith, and the messiness of life in her new memoir. As always, she does it with grace and heart. 

What I Thought: Hatmaker delivered exactly what I expected her to here. She's funny and witty and so real. She's not afraid to engage with hard issues and lay her vulnerabilities out on the table. 

She does it in a way, however, that still protects others in her life. I love that she's clearly only sharing stories that she's received permission to share or aspects of vulnerability that are hers alone to reveal. It has to be such a hard balance and she walks it well. 

One of my favorite parts of the book was Hatmaker's real talk about motherhood. Now, I'm not a parent, but I love reading about the Hatmaker family. I regularly read her Facebook posts about her kids to Kevin and we laugh and laugh. The book is no different. It just adds in a layer of depth that is not always present in the sound bites on social media. She talks about what it's like being a working mom and how she doesn't let her kids - or anyone - make her feel guilty about that. Loved that section! See the second quote below for a perfect example of Hatmaker blending humor with real talk. It was a encouragement to me, someone who has no intention of giving up work if and when I ever have kids. Mostly because I would lose my mind. 

April 2018 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 my reading goals, a few book-related links, and general blog news.  

April News 

I feel like I've been longing for spring on here every month. I've talked incessantly about the weather like I'm at a cocktail party and don't know anyone. I can't help it, though. It was such a long winter and this spring has felt like a very, very long time coming. It is finally here and it is glorious. Leaves on the trees, color everywhere. North Carolina offers the most beautiful spring colors. My lilac bush is right on the verge of blooming. I'll be smelling that sweet scent every time I open the front door within days. So, forgive my months-long diatribe on the weather.

It was, once again, such a busy month. We can't catch a break this spring. I feel this way every year, but I always forget just how intense things are. Kevin is not in grad school this year, which is wonderful, but he still worked almost every weekend of the last two months. He's finally done with his crazy season; I have two weeks left until I'm finished with the semester. He's thrown himself into outdoor projects full force, mostly because we're hosting a party for some of his student workers today and he wants our yard to be nice for that. This will be our third summer in this house and we are slowly but surely making our deck area a wonderful summer oasis in which we love spending time. I can't wait for long, lazy evenings out there with cool beverages and good friends.

Part of what has made April particularly busy is all of the extra stuff I've been doing on top of my regular job. I started leading the choir I'm in that goes to sing at nursing homes. I'm still serving on the board of our local housing authority; this month, that involved a conference in Myrtle Beach and several extra meetings because we're making some major transitions. A commitment that is usually 3 hours a month became 3+ hours a week in April. Sigh. I'm also the new Production Assistant for Pantsuit Politics! I've actually been doing this since the start of March, but we've got our rhythm down and I'm doing as much as I can to help the amazing Sarah and Beth. If you aren't already listening to this podcast, you really need to! Today's episode is an interview with Jen Hatmaker and it exemplifies everything I love about the show and why I wanted to work with them. On top of all of that, I've been very actively searching for a full-time job. I'm hoping to have some news on that front next month...

Somehow, I always seem to read more when I am crazy busy. I ended my reading slump and, though my numbers aren't super impressive, every single book I read was gold. Seriously. Not a bad one in the bunch this month. I can almost never say that. I would easily recommend any of the books I read this month, and have already! If you haven't read my reviews this month, I definitely encourage you to go back and take a look. I am confident you'll find something to enjoy!