What I'm Reading, Week 36

One of my favorite ways to read is to have multiple books going at a time, especially if they're in different genres. James Dashner's The Maze Runner and Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese-American Internment in World War II by Richard Reeves definitely fit that description. I'm nearly through the former, which shouldn't be at all surprising, since I've repeatedly demonstrated a weakness for young adult literature. Am I enjoying it? I think so...it definitely moves quickly, and it's nice and mysterious, but it feels a little thin. I don't know how to describe it other than that. I'm intrigued enough to look into reading the rest of the series. I reserve my judgment at this time.

On a completely different note, thus far Mr. Reeves' look at Japanese-American internment during World War II has been completely and utterly engrossing. I feel that this embarrassing and disgraceful moment in American history is often overlooked in the face of the Allies' ultimate victory in WWII, much to the detriment of the U.S. How can we expect to learn from our mistakes if we gloss over them? Reeves has written a captivating chronicle of this shameful policy that clearly illuminates the major players in this incident. I'm only about a quarter of the way through, but I frequently find myself putting the book down to take a breath and quell my outrage. I highly recommend this book to anyone. Literally anyone.

What I'm Reading, Week 32

I'm still reading the same book as last week because my migraines have reared their ugly heads and impeded my progress. Without further ado, I present to you the full list of all the books I've read to this point. While admirable, my pace is significantly off what I need it to be to achieve my goal. Sigh.

Note: due to a factory reset I performed on my phone a few months ago, these are no longer in the order in which I finished them. In fact, I can't even be sure this is the whole list. ::facepalm::

Total: 45
1. Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
2. Authority by Jeff Vandermeer
3. Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer
4. The Martian by Andy Weir
5. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
6. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
7. Yes Please by Amy Pohler
8. The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
9. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
10. Obernewton by Isobelle Carmody
11. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
12. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
13. World After by Susan Ee
14. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
15. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
16. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
17. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
18. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
19. American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare by Karen Abbott
20. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
21. Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
22. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
23. The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport
24. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
25. The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Steadman
26. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
27. Black Heart by Holly Black
28. Red Glove by Holly Black
29. White Cat by Holly Black
30. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
31. Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea Hannah
32. The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Ann Noble
33. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
34. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
35. A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
36. A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz
37. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
38. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
39. David and Goliath by Malcom Gladwell
40. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
41. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
42. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
43. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
44. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
45. Feed by Mira Grant
46. Chestnut Street by Maeve Binchy

What I'm Reading, Week 31

Sorry for those of you out there who don't go in for non-fiction, but I happen to find this book is truly riveting. Anyone who has even a passing interest in the history of the United States, or North America's indigenous people, should give S. C. Gwynne's Empire of the Summer Moon a try. I'm about halfway through, and it has been enlightening thus far. Like many people of my age raised in the United States, what little I learned in public school about the people who lived here before European settlers arrived was largely limited to the groups encountered on the eastern coast of the continents. Gwynne depicts the brutality of the American frontier two hundred years later without flinching. It really sucked out there, for everyone, and there is, of course, much more to the story than my limited education led me to believe.

Gwynne weaves the stories of the American frontier, Quanah Parker, and the Comanches together seamlessly as he elucidates how the three came through history, rushing headlong to meet each other in unmitigated violence. I'm thrilled at the amount of detail he provides, as it's unusual to find such a captivating work of non-fiction that doesn't skimp for narrative's sake. I can't put it down! When can most people say that about history? Not a beach read, but who cares when it's this good?

Highly recommended.

What I'm Reading, Week 15

Back to the world of non-fiction, and what a relief! The Infernal Devices series turned out to be hideously and unnecessarily heart wrenching. I assume it was written with the specific object of making adolescent girls cry their eyes out. Pfffffff.

But this was pretty good!

Karen Abbott's American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare was a very enjoyable biography of Gypsy Rose Lee. Flaws: a little shallow, and the way Abbott jumps back in forth in time is a bit confusing on occasion. Still, Ms. Lee's life story is so interesting and muddled (usually deliberately), you can't help but enjoy it. I also liked this much more than Sin in the Second City, which I read a few years ago and was my first exposure to Abbott's writing.

If you like novelistic history/biography, naked women, or the art of completely changing every aspect of your life, definitely check this one out.

What I'm Reading, Week 9

I totally forgot I was still reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, but I did finish it this past week. Fun fact: read the entire thing thinking it was fiction. Turns out it's a non-fiction novel. I found it amusing. If you like a Southern Gothic atmosphere, this is right up your alley. Apparently, it's much better than the Clint Eastwood-directed movie of the same name from 1997. I can't tell if I would have enjoyed it more or less if I had known that it was non-fiction. Funny how that works, you know? I suspect I wouldn't have plowed through quite as quickly.

I've also jumped into The Light Between Oceans feet first (as it were) and, so far, it's a good read. I think it's gonna be a tearjerker though, and I've had a lot of feelings lately, so I don't know if I've got this in me. Could be some more trashy teen lit coming up after this one. It chiefly concerns a lighthouse keeper off the coast of southwestern Australia. Set in the early 20th century, it explores the echoes of decisions both big and small throughout the characters' lives. I know that's real vague, but it's a nice piece of fiction, if you care to take a look.

What I'm Reading, Week 5

Still reading A Voyage Long and Strange. Not surprising.

My mom came into town on Saturday, so I haven't been reading as much, but I did manage to start the third book in that series by Holly Black, which shall remain nameless. Also borrowed Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire from the library, and it seems like it could be an interesting endeavor.

I impulse purchased Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, but I haven't started it yet. Have any of you read this? Did I make a mistake?

What I'm Reading, Week 3

You're thinking, "Oh, man, I missed weeks 1 and 2!" Welp, no you didn't, and I'm not a man. It's merely the third week of the year. Herein I will describe what I'm currently reading in my quest to complete 100 books in one calendar year. Accountability, yo.

I'm currently on these two suckers, A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz, and Madeline L'Engle's perennial favorite, A Wrinkle in Time.

Horwitz's book, which I'm only a little ways into, seems to be somewhere between a historical study and a travelogue. His charming writing explores the history of America between Columbus and the Pilgrims, more or less. I'm quite enjoying it so far; and, although I have a weakness for American colonial history, I think it'd be interesting to a wider range of people than just fanatics like myself.

A Wrinkle in Time, published in 1962 and winner of the Newbery Medal for that year, first crossed my path about 13 years ago, sometime in middle school. I loved it upon first reading and I love it even more now, if possible. The story brings up issues both mundane (feeling like an outcast in school) and fantastical (saving one's father from intergalactic enemies) and uses them to probe deeper meanings of life, probably for the first time in the experience of the book's intended audience. Really, though this is my umpteenth re-reading and tinged with more than a little nostalgia, it makes me think a little more broadly. If you never read it, you missed out, so go ahead and just power through. I'm almost done, it's only a good few hours of reading for an adult.

Have any of you read these? What did you think?