september: 33 & 34

september's reading!

so far gone, by jess walter (i really liked this book, the second i've read by this author.  it's got cool character development where the first part focuses on one character, we get introduced a few others and one of them becomes the focus of the second part, etc.  the story is continuous but we see it play out through different character's perspectives.  it feels au courant, with the 2016 election the backdrop for a falling out of characters that propels the plot, but it's not so mired in that as to be depressing.  i'd definitely recommend this one!)

all the way to the river, by elizabeth gilbert (i read this because a friend invited me to see her speak in pittsburgh; having read it, this is one of those books that i'm not sure who to recommend it to.  the author falls in love with her best friend who is dying of cancer.  the book is about the friend/lover's decline and death.  but it's also a really interesting take on friendship and addiction and it's beautifully written...but the whole time i thought, there's no way this book would have gotten published had the author not already been super famous.  but i read it quickly and was definitely interested...this one needs the right audience, for sure.)

august: 30, 31, & 32

now we move to august's reading!

calypso, by david sedaris (this was a re-read, but i love david sedaris's books so much that i could probably re-read all of them and be joyful.  they're amazing both as audiobooks and traditional reads!)

in the heart of the sea, by nathaniel philbrick (i tore through this audiobook about the whaleship essex's sinking at the hands (fins?) of a whale in 1820.  an incredibly well told story, great narrative nonfiction - i learned a lot and had a lot to report out to arron along the way.  highly recommend!)

a court of mist and fury, by sarah j. maas (this is the second book in the series of five...but the last one that i will be reading.  i liked but didn't love this series and the books are long and my reading list is also long and i don't think i'll derive enough joy out of continuing to read them.  glad i got a glimpse into the world of romantasy, but this book was just okay for me. hot take!)

july: 26, 27, 28 & 29

oh boy - terribly behind on logging my reading!  here we go to catch back up...in july i read:

wild dark shore, by charlotte mcconaghy (loved this book - this is the third book by this author that i've read, and while all are stand alone books with separate characters and plots and settings, they have this in common: an admiration of the natural world and a strong female protagonist.  and they're gorgeously written!  if you don't know this author you should.)

supercommunicators, by charles duhigg (i read this as a little professional development over the summer.  i folded some pages back and made some notes but ultimately this was not life changing.)

brave new worlds, by salman khan (another professional development read - this was pretty interesting in terms of talking about AI and education and so i'm glad i read it...but it was also an unabashed advertisement for khan academy and sal khan's other ventures and that got pretty distasteful by the end.  i don't think this is a necessary read in book form - these ideas are ones you can grab onto from shorter articles.)

the names, by florence knapp (i liked this book - three parallel stories of the same woman taking the same baby to record his name - and picking three different names.  does she pick the name her husband wants, she wants, or her older daughter wants?  we see her make different choices from here and the life of the new baby change based on what name he's given.  i liked the premise a lot and was eager to see how the storylines would play out.  this would be a great read to take on a vacation with you!)