may is a super crazy month for me - i am the AP coordinator at my school, so two weeks are spent pulling those exams off, often with nights where i am at work until 6pm. then it's all the senior events culminating in graduation. then it's getting the underclassmen finished up. i can't believe it, but on top of all of that i read 5 books and listened to 2 audiobooks. when i gave up cable 18 months ago, i started reading more, and it's not uncommon for me to read for an hour at night these days. it's much more fulfilling than tv most of the time (quality tv like game of thrones and bloodline isn't on all the time), and i fall asleep pretty quickly in front of tv, frankly. oops.
this month i read:
behind the beautiful forevers, by katherine boo (this is my "new york times bestseller," and i listened to the audiobook. this is nonfiction that reads (listens) like fiction and it frequently made me thankful for things like clean drinking water, free education through 12th grade, and a less corrupt government and legal system. i can't begin to fathom the time and effort that went into the research to make this book, and you should absolutely read this book, which is set in a slum in mumbai.)
between the world and me, by ta-nehisi coates (i shifted some things around so i could make this my "national book award winner." he uses language beautifully to talk about things that are hard to talk about. i think of myself as a progressive person who tries to understand and support the cause of people of color, and this opened up my eyes in a few important ways. coates said things in a way that finally clicked for me. mandatory reading for other white allies as we try to become better at that job.)
on such a full sea, by chang-rae lee (this is my "dystopian novel" and you can skip it; there are many better dystopian novels out there.)
ship breaker, by paolo bacigalupi (i listened to this one, too. it was recommended to me by a student and it is young adult and dystopian and fits no categories in my challenge - we've reached that point where the "easy" categories are all filled up! this is set on the gulf coast in a post-apocalyptic world and you don't need to run out and get this one, but i definitely enjoyed it.)
home, by marilynn robinson (the second in her series that began with gilead, and if anything i enjoyed this book more than the first one. it takes place over the same time frame, telling the same story from gilead, but from a different character's perspective. it was like the curtain was being drawn back and the world of the first book was made twice as vivid. robinson is a masterful writer, and she's written a third book, again telling the story from now a third character's perspective. it will be part of my june reading! again, this book doesn't fill any of the book challenge categories.)
in a dark, dark wood, by ruth ware (this is my "murder mystery" and it got a little creepy in the middle and i had to stop reading so i wouldn't be too afraid to fall asleep. and then i checked the locks on my doors. but i am a weenie so you shouldn't be afraid of this book. it reminded me a bit of the girl on the train so if you enjoyed that one, check this one out!)
a man called ove, by fredrik backman (this is my "book translated to english" (it was written in swedish) and OMG I WAS SO CHARMED BY THIS BOOK. curmudgeonly old guy becomes less curmudgeonly. i cried at the end. there is a cat involved, though that didn't bring on the tears. read this book!)
reading challenge count = 23 of 41 books complete!
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