Reads from March to May 2023

I’m sure to those who have been following my blog for some time, you know the news already. For those who haven’t, I lost my husband two months ago. From early March to now, I’ve been reading more books about grief, loss, and different kinds of trauma though my reading time hasn’t been so consistent. I have other things occupying my time like thinking about me and kid’s future. By the time I find time to read on most days, I’m too tired I only read for probably no more than 10 minutes and then I fall asleep.

How do you select your next read? (February 2023 reads)

After I am done with a book, I ask myself “what should I read next?”

This year, I am doing an A-Z challenge by the author’s first name. I started my year going in order where it was A for Alex Michaelades (The Silent Patient) and B for Brit Bennett (The Vanishing Half). Then it quickly went out of order. It jumped to E for Eve Rodsky (Find Your Unicorn Space: Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too-Busy World) because I heard about this book on a podcast. Then afterward it was Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare. When I borrowed Spare from the library, I was on a very long waitlist. I think I was 2000th+ in line and I am not exaggerating. I did not mind the wait because I could read other authors from now until it was my turn, but then a few days later, I was able to borrow Spare. There goes my attempt in reading my next book in alphabetical order.

Do you keep a reading log? (December 2022 reads)

I think I need to keep up a reading log to keep track of what I’m reading. Maybe I could journal a line or two on what I think of the book at that moment. Sometimes I forget about my thoughts on the book by the time I write these reviews. For me, my setup is pretty simple: I keep little notes throughout the book. If it’s a physical book, it’s post-it notes with the date of my reading reflection. If it’s an e-book, I just add an e-note. I have nothing for audiobooks, but I hardly read those anyways. I would like to keep my reading log reflections in one place like a journal though. That would be nice.

Do you keep a reading log? Comment below!

What is your reading speed? (October 2022)

I have come to accept my reading speed varies by what I am reading. Before I use to push myself to read fast just to say I finished a book in x amount of days. But then I realized that speeding through reading is not the same as engaging in my reading. I would find myself reading slower because I want to hang on to every word the author says. If it’s a story based on a historical event, I like to pause my reading and type “did [name of event] really happen?” and go on a deep dive. If I am reading a poem, I like to re-read and analyze and reflect on what I just read. I don’t think poems — especially profound ones — deserve a skim.

More Summer Escape reads

Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.

Anna Quindlen

I am still sticking with the Summer Travel theme into August. I think I’ll continue my summer escaping into Labor Day. That’s technically the last day of summer right? So where did the books take me?

Books that take you places (July 2022 reads)

I am a little bummed out that I have not gone traveling for the past two years. I would have like to use the opportunity to travel this summer with Lana while my husband was in annual training but I just started my new job. Don’t get me wrong — I enjoy my new job a lot. It has made my life a lot better with a shorter commute and a well-supported team.

Anyways since I’m not travelling this summer (or likely not for a while), I decided to made my reading list more focused books that will take me to places. I’ll just call it my Summer Escape Reads.

Mid-Year Reading Status (June 2022 reads)

At the beginning of this year, I decided not to borrow or buy any new books. I wanted to focus on books that have been on hold at the library for some time (I’ve been pushing them back several weeks out), books on my library wishlist, and books I’ve kept on my shelf and have never read. So far I think I upheld this challenge pretty well but I was not perfect. I did buy a couple of books to support Ukrainian authors so that’s on my shelf. And of course, I can never resist borrowing a cookbook that catches my eye. Also, I needed to borrow some light fluffy reads to balance all the heavy serious books I read. In March and April, I was reading a lot of graphic novels for a reading challenge at the library. Graphic novels were never on my TBR pile, but it was a nice change to explore a few. See? Not perfect at all and that’s okay.

Books as decor? (May 2022 read)

I meant to post this on Friday, but I’ve been nursing a cold for the past few days. It’s not COVID.

I came across this hilarious Buzzfeed article where actress Ashley Tisdale admits she made her husband buy 400 books to fill this gorgeous bookshelf for an Architectural Digest photoshoot. I think what they did was harmless. They bought from a bookstore supporting the shop, the publishers, and the authors. I think it’s all good. It wasn’t like they bought fake books made of woodblocks or plastic. It wasnt like they claimed they read all these books. Here is a glimpse of the books on their shelf, and I have to say, it’s incredibly random. Do I see them read any of these books in their leisurely time? Uh….I really don’t know. I just assumed her husband bought the first 400 unique books he could find.

Do you collect quotes? (And March 2022 reads)

Does anybody like to collect quotes? I do. I don’t like to collect pretty squares of platitudes and save them to my phone; it becomes jumbled with all the things I keep on my phone and I completely forget about it until I need to declutter my disk space and end up throwing it away. For me, I believe favorite quotes deserve a better place than my phone, they deserve a page on my notebook. I like to keep this notebook in the living room as my “living coffee table book.”

February 2022 reads

…or shall I say read. There were plenty of books I read, but I wanted to finish The Final Revival of Opal and Nev from beginning to end.

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

“How did I not just let life run me over? I’m sorry, I don’t usually use this word, but it’s because f*(|< that. I believe in myself above all.”

Dawnie Walton, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

This book has an unusual format through a series of interviews a la VH1 “Behind the Music.” Across four decades it goes back and forth with the interview format with the main characters and other music industry folk and family, the Editor’s notes, and “present day” with the main character, S. Sunny Shelton, who has a connection with the band. Opal and Nev is a fictional short-lived interracial rock-and-rock duo in the 1970s — don’t expect it to be a story about interracial romance because this is not it. The story focuses on Opal, the African-American half of the duo, who had to deal with racism throughout her musical career. As her fame and voice diminished into obscurity, Nev’s star rose. Then you have Sunny devoted to weaving the story of Opal and Nev. There’s more to it, but I don’t want to spoil any of it. I guess I was expecting a long epic musical career, but that may have been naive of me.

I’ve been on the waiting list for this book for many weeks in the library and I finally got it! It arrived in time for Black History Month! Though the theatre kid in me enjoyed acting out each character, I would re-read this book in audiobook format to hear their take on it. Plus there were some lyrics sprinkled in the book where I would like to catch the tune through the magic of audiobooks. When I read it, I really tried my best punk rock impression.

#whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge: Deb, Sue, Donna, and Jo. 

January #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge and my favorite books from 2021

I decided for this year, I won’t be borrowing any books from the library or buying any books until I finish reading the books from my bookshelf. I bought these books because they caught my eye or because I added it to my order to qualify for free shipping. I also was on a waitlist for books from the library. When it arrived, I kept extending the hold because I already had other books I was reading. Based on the books on my shelf and on my waitlist, I think I already have my to-read pile for 2022. Not borrowing anything new or buying any books will be a challenge. Since last year I read 31 books, my new goal for this year would be to read 34 books making it about a 10% increase from last year.

December #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge

Here are some books I finished in November going into December. I can’t believe I’ve gone through an entire year reading at least 21 minutes per day! Even after this year is over, I can’t imagine a day when I am NOT reading something.