What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

It was another light reading month for me. I've been spending more time listening to line dance music than my current audiobook, and I've been busier than usual with the people in my life. I've also been reading some longer books that took some motivation to get through. Here are the four books I finished in the past month.

The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey: This was a silly and quick read with my 8-year-old that motivated them to want to read with me in the evening. We have a hold on the next two books in the series!

The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks by Mackenzi Lee: It took me a while to get through this one — it's a bit longer and more meandering than it needs to be — but I enjoyed it. I don't know if I'd recommend this if you haven't read the first two, but if you have, definitely pick this one up!

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell: This got good right before the halfway point (as I was considering DNFing it), which is honestly way too far into a 500+ page book. The world-building was good and the romance was cute, but the book overall wasn't good enough to justify the time spent reading it.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman: I really liked the concept behind this and enjoyed seeing how philosophical dilemmas played out within the world. Unfortunately, it just took me a really long time to get through. The characters didn't come alive for me, and there was a completely unnecessary romance shoehorned in, and at times the plot moved so rapidly that it felt like explanations were being thrown at us just to paper over potential plot holes.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: We Keep the Dead Close, Star-Crossed, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, and Paradise of the Blind
Five years ago I was reading: A Soldier of the Great War, Half the Sky, and Poirot's Early Cases
Ten years ago I was reading: The Hidden Brain, Does Jesus Really Love Me?, and The Homecoming of Samuel Lake

The First Ten Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week we're randomly selecting some books from our own shelves to talk about! Here are ten that I randomly pointed to with my eyes closed :)

1. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
This book was instrumental in changing my own choices about food, which earned it a place in my personal library.

2. The Belgariad Volume One by David Eddings
My middle school paperbacks of the original series were battered and taking up a lot of space, so I got the new combined volumes, and I actually like them better for how they represent the story arcs within the series.

3. Greenglass House by Kate Milford
A friend who shares my love of The Mysterious Benedict Society recommended this series to me, and I liked them enough to buy the first two books for my kids to read.

4. Pastrix by Nadia Bolz-Weber
Bolz-Weber speaks to my heart as a conflicted still-Christian, and I love having her uneasy combination of misanthropy, cussing, and deep faith on my bookshelf.

5. Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume II by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I read through these two volumes in high school, and while Conan Doyle can't come near my love for Christie, I still appreciate these classic mysteries.

6. Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee
This book is in the small category of representations of asexuality I actually liked, and it's also just an excellent, engaging YA story with an authentically diverse cast of characters.

7. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
This is actually my least favorite of Green's books, but I got the hardcovers of almost all of his books as they were released, so I have a good section of my bookshelf that's just John Green books. (Ironically, I don't have The Anthropocene Reviewed, which might be my favorite of his works, nor do I have his brother Hank Green's duology, which I liked better than any of John's books!)

8. The Whole Life Adoption Book by Jayne E. Schooler and Thomas C. Atwood
I think this is the only adoption book I chose to keep out of the slew of them I read for my two kids' adoptions. Whereas most books focus on the adoption process itself and/or dealing with kids healing from major trauma in the first few years after adoption, this was a comprehensive look at how adoption affects kids throughout their life (as the title implies), regardless of the type of adoption that brought them into your family.

9. The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
This is another one I read and then saved for my kids' shelf. It's a cute chapter book based on the author's own experience in grade school. I tried it with my older one a few years ago and they weren't super keen on it, but I'm hanging onto it for now.

10. You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino
This is one of the few books on my bookshelf that I haven't read! I've loved several of Gino's other books and I was interested in the Deaf representation in this book after I started learning ASL, but I haven't yet picked it up.

Have you read any of these?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: The Time Machine, Atomic Habits, and Thy Queendom Come
Five years ago I was reading: Magician's Gambit and America's Public Schools
Ten years ago I was reading: American Gods and Basic Black

Best of the Bunch (April 2023)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in April.

It was a super slow reading month for me. I only finished 5 books (including one very quick read with my 8-year-old), and the only 5-star read I had was a reread, so while I usually don't count those, I'm going to make that the best of the bunch for April!

It was a different experience rereading Out of My Mind since one of my main praises of the book is that it doesn't go in the direction you might expect, but I still enjoyed the read and think it's a fantastic book. Told from the perspective of a nonverbal young girl with cerebral palsy, this middle grade book exquisitely demonstrates how disability is as much about the ways that we as a society treat others as it is about anyone's physical limitations. I'd recommend it in any format, but I especially enjoyed it the way I first experienced it, as an audiobook superbly narrated by Sisi Aisha Johnson.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: The Time Machine, Atomic Habits, and Not Your Backup
Five years ago I was reading: Magician's Gambit and America's Public Schools
Ten years ago I was reading: American Gods and Basic Black

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Top Ten Audiobook Narrators

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week we're sharing some of our favorite audiobook narrators! I am a big audiobook listener, so I know that narrators can make or break the book. These ten are some of the best I've experienced.

1. Cassandra Campbell
Campbell narrated two heartwarming reads I enjoyed, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and The School of Essential Ingredients, as well as one of my favorite nonfiction books, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

2. Rachel Dulude
Dulude did a stellar job narrating all four books in Becky Chambers' Wayfarer series; I was very glad after listening to the first one to discover that she narrated the following books as well!

3. Hugh Fraser
As many of you know, I've been working my way through Agatha Christie's complete works, and my absolute favorite way to experience these books is via the audiobooks narrated by Hugh Fraser. Most of the ones with female protagonists are narrated by Emilia Fox — who's also excellent — but Fraser reads the largest number, and his voice is part of what makes these books a comfort read for me. (Also it's fun to watch him play Captain Hastings in the old Poirot series!)

4. Dion Graham
Graham's name has now shown up on several excellent YA listens, including Concrete Rose and Dear Martin, and I also enjoyed his narration of one character's chapters in the full-cast Lovely War audiobook.

5. Martin Jarvis
Jarvis' narration of David Copperfield blew me away; he managed to create distinct voices for at least 30 different recurring characters in this lengthy story. I also got to experience his excellent narration of the books Family Matters and Metamorphosis.

6. Katherine Kellgren
Kellgren's narration of the first five books of the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series is likely one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much; she manages the perfect balance of sincere and wry that these books require. I was devastated to learn that cancer took her before she could narrate the sixth and final book of the series, as the replacement narrator did her best but couldn't fill Kellgren's shoes.

7. Robin Miles
I greatly enjoyed Miles' narration of the Binti series, as she brought to life the books' first-person Himba narrator, and she also did a great job narrating the audiobook of Hidden Figures.

8. Will Patton
Whenever I recommend someone read the Raven Cycle series (and the subsequent Dreamer trilogy), I tell them they have to listen to the audiobook to get the full effect of Will Patton's narration. I'm glad he returned to narrate the Dreamer trilogy, as it wouldn't have been the same without his voice. It was also fun to hear him pop up to narrate part of the multi-narrator audiobook of Killers of the Flower Moon.

9. Bahni Turpin
Turpin is a powerhouse audiobook narrator whom frequent audiobook listeners have probably heard at least once. When her name's on the audiobook, you know it will be excellent. Some of the titles I've heard her narrate are Everything, Everything, So You Want to Talk About Race, and The Hate U Give, and she also narrates part of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

10. Julia Whelan
Whelan, like Turpin, is a name that pops up everywhere in the audiobook world. Some of the books I've listened to her read are The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, and Educated.

Who are some of your favorite narrators?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Not Your Backup, and Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
Five years ago I was reading: Magician's Gambit and America's Public Schools
Ten years ago I was reading: American Voices of World War I, Quiet, and Basic Black

Ten Titles with Animals in Them

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's theme is a non-book freebie, but I decided to do last week's theme instead because I hadn't done it yet! These are ten books whose titles contain types of animals.

1. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

2. The Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight

3. Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

4. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

5. Kingbird Highway by Kenn Kaufman

6. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

7. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

8. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

9. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

10. The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

What other great books have animals in the title?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: SLAY, Not Your Backup, and Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
Five years ago I was reading: A View from the Bridge, A Soldier of the Great War, The Shallows, and America's Public Schools
Ten years ago I was reading: American Voices of World War I, Thirteen Reasons Why, and Moby-Dick

What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

It was an unusually light reading month for me! I had a lot of travel as well as a lot of illness, both of which cut into my reading. I'm close to finishing my current audiobook, though!

Sparkling Cyanide by Agatha Christie: I'd call this one a classic Christie. The solution is surprising and not surprising and involves elements that are somewhat but not overly farfetched. Overall it was an enjoyable read and one of those I think anyone could pick up to get a good sense of Christie's style.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: I'm pretty sure that Rainbow Rowell and I have vastly different ideas about what a healthy romantic relationship looks like. Aside from that piece, I liked this book a lot and it prompted me to want to read Carry On.

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper: This was definitely a different experience rereading this, since one of my main praises of the book is that it doesn't go in the direction you might expect. The switching of verb tenses bothered me more in the print version compared to the audio, but I still think it's a fantastic book and I'm glad my book club picked it for our next discussion.

When Pigmen Fly by Cara J. Stevens and Mitchell Creeden: Stevens tries to do a lot with this last book, which works about as convincingly as anything else in the past few books. I don't have strong feelings about this book one way or another, but I am glad this series provided a connection point for me and my 8-year-old.

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: SLAY, Not Your Backup, and Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
Five years ago I was reading: Bird by Bird, A Soldier of the Great War, and America's Public Schools
Ten years ago I was reading: American Voices of World War I and Moby-Dick

Best of the Bunch (March 2023)

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in March.

It was another good reading month, with a lot of 4- and 4.5-star reads! But of the 7 books I read this month, I had only one 5-star read, so that's my Best of the Bunch.

I decided to read Snapdragon in a waiting room and I literally almost cried in front of a bunch of people MULTIPLE TIMES, y'all. It's a story of found family and embracing the things you love (even when they're unusual) and gender expression and magic. Even though the story jumps between times and places (e.g., a scene is happening and we skip to Snap telling her friend the last thing that happened), I didn't find it hard to follow — it was just like watching a film or TV show. I love books that have this kind of heart, and the graphic novel format just made it that much better. (Also I didn't have any trouble telling the order of the dialogue bubbles, which can be a real struggle with graphic novels.) Highly recommend this one, and I hope to read it with my kiddo as well.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Kiss & Tell and Drinking the Rain
Five years ago I was reading: The Thorn Birds, Homegoing, and America's Public Schools
Ten years ago I was reading: The Westing Game and Mindless Eating

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter