I've been incredibly remiss in posting at all this year...! I still haven't posted pictures from Dayton, OH, from last November. And I went on a trip this past weekend that I'm sure I'll want to share pictures from... I'll have to do better!
In the meantime, June 2018 is in the books. I'm not entirely sure where the year has gone. I've been working. Reading. Playing with the baby. Made a few trips to see family. But it's been a quiet year overall, that somehow just keeps ticking on by.
I thought that an easy way to post would be to do a mid-year book post. I've read soooo much this year so far. (Yay for mindless work and audiobooks for the vast majority of this years reads so far.) I've already finished 75 books this year - last year I only read 66 all year! And I'm already past my previous high (as recorded by Goodreads) of 72 in three different years. My goal for this year is 100, since the last third of the year I don't know what I'll be doing (my job is up at the end of August) and will probably have much, much less time to read.
So. Without further ado.
I've read 4 kids books this year - 2 rereads and 2 new books. The rereads were Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Where's My Cow? by Terry Pratchett, which are both wonderful. The new books were Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by James Dean (the Pete the Cat version) and A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, which were both also wonderful. Most kids books are so good though, aren't they.
That leaves 71 adult and YA books this year so far. I reread His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman which is a longtime favorite series. I then read the prequel book, La Belle Sauvage, the first Book of Dust. I also reread some Evelyn Waugh, Sarah Vowell, and a bunch of Agatha Christie.
I also read a bunch of new to me Agatha Christie. I've now read all the Miss Marple novels! (Still have some short stories.) I read some Poirot I hadn't read before as well. I read some John Le Carre, other Sarah Vowell, George Orwell. I attempted some James Bond, but quit after one book. I was on a Downton Abbey-related kick and read the two books about the Carnarvons by Lady Fiona Carnarvon, as well as Julian Fellowes' novels. I read two of Taylor Jenkins Reid's novels, and loved them both. I read a lot of non-fiction as well, though only 19 titles were. (You read all that Agatha Christie and it really bumps up the fiction numbers!) I've read 30 books by men, 42 by women (one was by a couple, so it's in both counts).
So here we are. What have been the best so far? Well, I'd include the Taylor Jenkins Reid novels, but I focus on real-life here, so I'm just going to pick a few from the 19 non-fiction. (But seriously, at least read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. It's amazing.)
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. This was a reread for me, but if you haven't read Sarah Vowell, I think this is a good place to start. She talks about the Garfield, Lincoln, and McKinley assassinations, and goes to places of importance for each. Vowell is a humorist, so it's a light, and sometimes funny, take on a heavy subject. It's really fun.
America's Women by Gail Collins. Another reread for me. This covers 400 years of American history, from the Mayflower and Roanoke, up through the 1970s womens movement. Collins uses women you might not know about, as well as some more well-known women, to talk about the different periods. I'm more partial to the earlier history, but it's all really well done. (She has a sort of follow up, When Everything Changed, about women since 1960.)
Underground by Haruki Murakami. This was super fascinating. Murakami examines the 1995 gas attack in the Tokyo subway, what led to it, and how people affected reacted. It's a really interesting look at the cult of Aum Shinrikyo as well as the Japanese people as a whole. It's heartbreaking in parts, too.
And Now We Have Everything by Meaghan O'Connell. This one won't be for everyone, as it's a candid take on pregnancy and childbirth and the early years of raising a child. But this was just wonderful for me. I related to so much of it and really appreciated such an open account from O'Connell. Being a parent is rewarding and fun, but so, so hard, and this tells it like it is.
The Feather Thief by Kirk W. Johnson. This is the last book I've read, and it's just so bizarre I've been thinking about it since I finished it. At it's most basic, it's about rare birds, fly tying (like for fly fishing), and theft. Other than that, it's a crazy story about Edwin Rist and why he stole all these rare birds from a British museum and the repercussions of it all. Johnson discusses the Victorian bird craze and the start of bird protection agencies, and how it led to Rist doing what he did. Johnson pursues the story even when there's not much there. It's super bizarre and amazing.
So there we are! Right now I'm only actively reading Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple. I have an audiobook borrowed from the library, but am catching up on some podcasts before I start it. I'm waiting on a hold to come in too - a book about Evelyn Nesbit. I have a few physical books I've started but haven't been actually reading in a while, as well.
So what have you been reading? Anything good? Anything to avoid?
