march: 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12

it looks like i read a lot in march, but one of these is an audiobook, one is super short, and one is a graphic novel.  aaaaand one is 1100 pages long, so maybe it all evens itself out!

this month i read:

voyager, by diana gabaldon (this is my "book that's more than 600 pages," the third book in the outlander series.  i continue to love the characters claire and jaime and the quality of the writing and the ease of reading these books.  ridiculous plot twists aside, this one was just as good as the previous two and i'm sure after a bit of a break i'll pick up the 4th book in the series!)

carry on, by rainbow rowell (this is my "YA bestseller," but could also be set in europe or set on an island (great britain), so we may have to see which categories most need filling as the book challenge continues.  this was my book club's pick this month, and i spent the first half of the book being like "this is such a harry potter knock off i don't even know what to think about it" and the second half being like "oh, this is an interesting plot twist.  i am entertained."  and then i finished and in the postscript i found out that this book is a spin off of a different rainbow rowell book - fangirl - which i have not read.  so now i'm mad at the universe (or the publishers, i guess) for not making it apparent that i might appreciate this book a bit more if i read fangirl first.  so now i'm going to read fangirl.  this book was enjoyable and easy to read, but not my favorite book of the year.)

gratitude, by oliver sacks (this is my "book you can finish in a day," borrowed from kate and finished on the morning of the last day of spring break.  it's a set of essays that sacks wrote in the last years of his life.  beautifully written and thoughtful - i really enjoyed this!)

just kids, by patti smith (this is my "national book award winner" and one that i listened to in audiobook form (you know me and nonfiction).  i...don't know what to say about this book.  it was a glimpse into a very different world - i did not know patti smith's music, nor did i know robert maplethorpe's photography.  nor did i really GET the starving artist community or why someone would patronize the arts the way that maplethorpe gets patronized.  this book at least pulled back the curtain a bit on this world and led me to listen to a little patti smith and look at some maplethorpe photographs (pro tip: don't google his photography on your work computer).  and while i still don't totally get it, i can absolutely appreciate it, and for that reason i'm really glad i listened to this book.)

american born chinese, by gene luen yang (this is my "graphic novel," a contender for our summer reading book at school.  i really liked this book - three intertwining chinese-american stories, beautifully drawn and thought-provoking.  i'm not sure my principal will be convinced to pick a graphic novel for our all-school read, but there's a lot to talk about here and i'd love to engage in discussions on the content and on graphic novels in general with our community!)

“I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within.”
—Rumi

“My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”
—Oliver Sacks, Gratitude

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.”
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

february: 6 & 7

my reading slowed down a bit in february - this month i read:

furiously happy, by jenny lawson (for the book challenge, this is going to count as my "book written by a comedian."  a colleague gave me this book because she had disliked it so much she didn't finish it.  not a rousing recommendation, but then my book club picked it for this month's read.  i had read jenny lawson's blog off and on for a little while, and i recognized her voice in this book.  it was fine but nothing special.  it was hard to laugh throughout it because she brings in some stories about her clinical depression, and one can only find that so funny.  don't rush out to buy this.)

the snow child, by eowyn ivey (this is my "book based on a fairy tale."  i bought this book a year or two ago, drawn to it because it was the runner up for the pulitzer prize, but it sat on my bookshelf until now.  i picked it up because - based on a fairy tale!  this is a category in the challenge!  plus, you can't read a book that takes place in alaska in the winter in any season other than winter...and while houston winters can include 80 degree days and tons of sunshine, i figured i ought to read this in the correct calendar season.  ooh this book was eerie.  subtle, captivating characters, vivid setting - there's a lot done really well in this book.  i kept wondering how it would turn out and realizing it was going to be bad no matter what.  if you're in the market for a slow-moving but beautifully done book, this one was great!)