February Mini-Reviews

February was a busy month for reading. I'm trying to think of why that might have been. I started a new job so you'd think if anything I would have read less. But I guess as I was getting used to having a driving commute again (something I haven't had in many years) and listening to books in the car I got through more than I would have otherwise thought. I read 7 books and most of them were new which means, lots of mini-reviews. So let's get to it.

Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address by Stephen Birmingham
I can't remember at what point I decided I loved The Dakota, the apartment building in NYC, but love it I do. It's a beautiful building in a great location (even if originally it was so far uptown you may as well "be in the Dakotas") and it is my dream place to live even though it will never ever ever happen. It's featured in the novel Time and Again. Rosemary's Baby was filmed there. John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived there. So I picked up a copy of this book about the history of the building when it was on sale and dove in. The first half of the book about getting built and the scandal of building this place so far from all the fancy-pants people was very interesting. The second half of the book was basically gossip about the residents which was somewhat entertaining except I didn't know who anyone was and turns out I don't care about NY socialites. Of course the interesting thing is this book was written BEFORE John Lennon was killed so there's a lot of present-tense references to him which was jarring because I did not check the publication date before diving in. It also means there is a fair amount of casual racism. I would love to read an updated version and see if they got all of the attic apartments figured out, since in the '70s, it wasn't clear how many apartments there actually were, which you'd think would be an easy thing to figure out but nothing is clear when it comes to the Dakota.
Gif rating:

Noir by Christopher Moore
I love Christopher Moore. Lamb is still one of my most favoritest books. This was the first of his books I did as an audiobook and I was a little worried how I would like his stuff on audio. Especially because I hadn't listened to much fiction since I find it harder to pay attention to. And I think it may have hurt my enjoyment here because the book was fine but not as good as I would have hoped. It's a noir style novel featuring a mysterious dame who walks into a bar where our hero, bartender Sammy, works. There's also maybe aliens or a strange cult. Something strange is going on. I can't remember a lot of this book. I remember the style ("a size-eight dame in a size-six dress and every mug in the joint was rooting for the two sizes to make a break for it as they watched her wiggle in the door and shimmy onto a barstool with her back to the door.") which I liked. But the story itself I was basically "meh" on. Entertaining enough, but not one I'll probably re-read anytime soon.
Gif rating:

Earpedia: Animals by Sue Perkins
This was one of the Audible Originals that's only sort of a book but could also just be a podcast. Regardless, I count it as a book cos it came from Audible and that's how that works. So this is a "book" about a bunch of animals. Each episode/chapter is about a different animals (Bees! Koalas! African Lung Fish!) and if you like watching nature documentaries but think they could use some humor, this could be for you. It was for me. Plus, as lovely as Sandi and Noel are, I very much miss Sue and Mel as Great British Bake Off hosts, so this was a nice opportunity to hear her humor again.
Gif rating:

Bill Bryson's Appliance of Science by Bill Bryson
Another Audible Original, this one by Bill Bryson and others discussing scientific discoveries. It's a bit like A Short History of Nearly Everything-lite. Some interesting pieces except I only remember bits and pieces of this, despite loooooving Bryson. So take from that what you will
Gif rating

Killer by Nature by Jan Smith
And ANOTHER Audible Original. Except this one is more like a radio play, full cast and sound effects and whatnot. Psychological thriller about a child-murderer and a copycat killer. I remember liking it and being engaged and I wanted the opportunities to pick it up again. But now, honestly, I can't really remember it. Which, that's not great, especially not for a thriller. I can't even remember if there is a twist. I think so? Thrillers usually have twists, right? I gave it four stars on Goodreads after reading it so I guess I liked.
Gif rating:

Full list of Feb books read
Life at the Dakota: New York's Most Unusual Address by Stephen Birmingham
Noir by Christoper Moore
Texts from Jane Eyre by Daniel Ortberg
Earpedia: Animals by Sue Perkins
Bill Bryson's Appliance of Science by Bill Bryson
Relish by Lucy Knisley
Killer by Nature by Jan Smith

The stress of library holds

I'm relatively new to library stuff, at least as an adult. I used to go to the library as a little kid and at some point as I got older I just started buying books instead. Which I still like cos of course, but I've finally embraced the library and I know, it's about damn time.

But I have learned of the stress of library holds. So I really only use the library for audiobooks through either Hoopla or Libby. And sometimes (many times) the book I want to borrow is already out and there's a waitlist. Fine, most of the time I'm not trying to read anything by any particular time, so I don't need the book RIGHT NOW. So I add the book to my hold list and go on my merry way. Some time later, I get an email telling me the book is available and isn't that swell?

Most of the time, yes, yes it is swell. EXCEPT sometimes I'm in the middle of another library book when my hold comes in. And now I have 2 weeks before that book is going to be returned (and I'll have to get back on the waitlist to try again) but I'm also in the middle of a different library book that's going to go back in 4 days. Now I'm watching the clock, looking at how long these audiobooks are and how many days I have and trying to figure out when I have time to get through these books before time is up. And it feels like I'm in an '80s action movie, trying to disable a bomb with a giant plot-convenient countdown clock.

And recently, I managed to finish Career of Evil riiiiiiiight before it automatically returned, with Libby sending me alerts that I'd have to go back on the waitlist. I enjoyed the book but the stress of having to finish it was not fun and I'm sure I missed crucial details just trying to get through it.

If you have any advice for managing your library holds, I'm all ears. Because I feel like I need to keep better track of what I put on hold and roughly when it should show up.

November Reading Wrap Up

One minute, it was time to turn back the clocks and then all of a sudden it's December and what the what? Things have been hectic the end of the month. Thanksgiving was a bit different this year. Or at least different for me. See, Tom always has to work over Thanksgiving so I always spent the holiday with my family. Last year, I stayed around home instead of traveling down south to see my dad because small child makes for stressful traveling, especially first time traveling and especially alone traveling.

This year I decided to tag along on Tom's work trip (families are welcome cos holidays) because while it would mean traveling with the little one, it would at least be us traveling together. Oh also, it was a trip to the Bahamas, for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. It was also the first time in 15 years that Tom and I got to spend Thanksgiving together. That was fun, if not the most relaxing but really, can't complain.

My reading was a little sparse this month, in part because I spent time reading a book I ultimately didn't finish and thus isn't counted. Sigh. But anyway, let's look at those stats.

Number of books read
3
Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell

Number of pages read
1,070

Fiction
33%

POC Authors
0%

Female authors
67%

US authors
67%

Rereads
33%

Book formats
audiobook - 100%

Where'd I get the book
library - 100%

Decade published
2010s - 100%

Resolution books
33% - just the one book. Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling, perhaps you've heard of her) is a UK author

January Mini-Reviews

So 2019 is almost over. And here I am, just getting started on my 2019 mini-reviews. But hey, I'm in the same calendar year, so that is pretty exciting, even if this is only a brief interlude before once again, I'm a year behind on reviews. Le sigh.

Also, I should really make an icon for these mini-reviews. I'm sure I'll get around to that right as I'm all caught up and done doing mini-reviews.

I can tell how much of a blur this year as been by the fact that I'm looking at the stuff I read in January and thinking about how I barely remember them. A lot was going on; I was just going back to work after being on maternity for 6 mos (and not an initially planned 6 mos leave). Figuring out daycare and work (when there were LOTS of changes there) took up a lot of brainpower.

Basically what I'm saying is, for the next few mini-reviews (this post and future ones) there's going to be a lot of guessing what the book was about and if I enjoyed it. I suppose it's not great for the ones I don't remember.

Let's get started, shall we?

Diary of a Hounslow Girl by Abreen Razia 

So this one I vaguely remember. It was an Audible Original (aka, with an Audible subscription every month you get 2 free downloads of an Audible Original that varies every month. Typically they are things I've never ever heard of but free is fun) so I can't say I was familiar with anything about it. Even the description says "You’ve heard of an Essex Girl or even a Chelsea Girl but what is a ‘Hounslow Girl’?" and I said "Nope, I haven't heard of anything of these because I, a dumb American, do not pay attention to things outside my country, apparently." But all of that was part of the appeal of picking this one up. It's about a bunch of stuff that is unfamiliar to me. In this case it's about a Pakistani teen in London. It's done as a play. Or I suppose a one-woman show, since there's really only Razia playing the part of Muslim teen Shaheeda, torn between wanting to be a modern teen in London and her family's traditional expectations. But the details I remember are vague, so I remember it being pretty good but clearly didn't leave too much of an impression.
Gif rating:

Lullaby by Jonathan Mayberry

Hey, another Audible Original. I really don't remember this one. Like at all. I vaguely remember listening to it and thinking "I know I just listened to this, but I already forgot what's happening." Something about a haunted house. A young couple with a new baby decide to leave the big city for a big quiet house in the Catskills and something weird going after the baby. I think. Maybe. Honestly, this seems like something I would enjoy and would really be paying attention to, and even skimming through some other reviews, nothing is coming to mind. It's super short (like 30 min) so maybe I'll try to listen to it again and see if it sticks this time. Or like...probably not.
Gif rating:

So. Those were some good reviews. Really doing my part here.

All books read in January
The Diary of a Hounslow Girl by Abreen Razia
The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan
Lullaby by Jonathan Mayberry
World War Z by Max Brooks

Another DNF

I was going to start this post saying "Recently I wrote about a recent book I did not finish" except when I went to look for that post to link, I realize I posted that back in June. So not all that recent. That's just what happens when I don't post like I used to. Anyway, at some point within the last 6 months, I posted about DNF-ing a book.

That DNF-ing was for mental health because of LOTS of baby death and I could not handle it. This isn't that. This is just a regular ol' "This is boring and I don't want to read it" DNF. Which is not that notable as to warrant a blog post except 1) I don't post that often so try not to discourage me and 2) I very rarely DNF if something is boring me. I just slog through and try to find something to latch onto until the book ends and I can bitch about it.

Well, bitch about it when I was caught up with reviewing. Now it's more silently forget about it until I get around to a mini-review.

I think a few things have contributed to me stopping the book when I wasn't feeling it.

I didn't buy the book
Through most of my reading experience, I would buy the books I was reading. I would often buy them on sale but I would use my money rather than employing a free option. Which meant I felt more like I had to read the book to get my money's worth. Later, as I did end up with more and more free books, usually from things such as NetGalley, I wasn't spending money but the idea was the book was in exchange for a review and I can't review if I didn't read. But I have finally embraced the library and thus I can pick up books willynilly should I choose (provided they are available in audiobook which is how I consume like 90% of my books) and there is no risk. Which means if I'm not feeling something, I have less incentive to keep at it if I don't want.

So many choices

I have way less time
Oh man, toddlers. They take up SO MUCH TIME. Real needy and I swear, actively trying to cause themselves bodily harm so constant vigilance is key. My free time is limited to when he sleeps but that free time must also be used for base level house cleaning because toddlers are also tornadoes of chaos and zero cleaning can get done while they are awake. All this is to say that if I'm listening to a book that is 15 hours, those better be 15 enjoyable hours. Even if I'm listening to it while doing some of said cleaning because there are just SO MANY THINGS that I could be listening to instead.

I was recently listening to an audiobook that was 15 hours long. And I slowly found myself in a situation where I would normally turn on the book, but instead I was looking for something else. Like digging deep in some podcast archives rather than just picking up the book again.

I'm trying not to name names with the book but it was a genre I thought would be right up my alley (ha) and instead it was just so...annoying. Maybe it was the narrator, at least in part, but who knows. There was a lot of exposition and dropped in at weird points. Like in the middle of a tense standoff scene and suddenly we're getting UTTERLY POINTLESS background into the past dating lives of these characters and I may have yelled "Who caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaares??" while listening during my morning commute.

Maybe the book would have gotten better. I gave it way more of a shot than I intended, meaning I listened to a full 5 hours and at one point was like "I'm a third of the way through, I should finish." And then I yelled at myself about sunk costs and decided to cut bait and just pick up something else.

I know past me would have finished the book. Past me probably would have read the book in a couple days while on the train and then would have named names in a review she totally had time to write. But past me is not current me. Current me is being more selective with how my increasingly infrequent free time is spent. Perhaps future me will have more time and more inclination to finish these books but who knows? Can I go back to always finishing after I've crossed the line?

I still feel a little bit of guilt not finishing the book. Which is why I listened to 5 hours of it instead of like, 2. But I have accepted that I'm not going to finish the book. It's due back to the library soon anyway and it's def not getting finished before then. I only hope for my future DNFs I feel less and less guilt until I am dropping books once they no longer entertain me. Those of you who are already at that point, please teach me your ways.

October Reading Wrap Up

I know I’m a bit late on this post. Did you know it was Daylight Savings recently? Or rather, the end of it. (I'm never entirely clear.) And are you aware that small ones do not understand this concept that they can sleep an extra hour? On top of that, the little one was sick, and then I got sick and now Tom is sick and I am just praying this doesn’t make a second round. So what I’m saying is the end of October/beginning of November has been a bit exhausting. But look, a little tiger so that makes up for a lot.

Hey, let's take a look at the stats, shall we?

Number of books read
6
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
The Honest Toddler: A Child’s Guide to Parenting by Bunmi Laditan
Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez
Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear by Kim Brooks
Damn Fine Story: Mastering the Tools of a Powerful Narrative by Chuck Wendig

Number of pages read
1,635
Second highest for the year

Fiction
33%

POC authors
17%

Female authors
67%

US authors
67%

Classics
17%

Book formats
Audiobook: 83%
Paperback: 17%

Where’d I get the book
Gift: 17%
Library: 83%

Decades Published
1940s: 17%
2010s: 83%

Resolution books
50%

Evil Under the Sun – UK author and published before 2000
The Honest Toddler – POC author
Invisible Women – UK author

December 2018 Mini-Reviews

You guys, this is it. I'm done with 2018 mini-reviews. Now all of the books I need to review have been read within the calendar year! I mean, sure, 2019 is close to over so this cycle is about to start itself over again, but that is very much not the point right now. I don't know why you're such a downer. I'm feeling good about this, don't rain on my parade.*

Alright, let's see what I read in December 2018.

Becoming by Michelle Obama
Things politically are...not great, to put it in the most understated of terms. Reading/listening (audiobook. Which she narrated!) to this was conflicting because there was a lot of "She's so great. Remember when there were competent people in charge?" But this is about Michelle and the focus isn't really on politics (though they obviously come up). She talks about growing up in South Side, Chicago. She talks about her time at Princeton and what it was like to be female and black in this environment. She talks about being a lawyer and meeting Barack and their troubles starting a family and the strain politics can put on a marriage and times she was proud and not-so-proud of her country.
Gif rating:

Stephen Fry's Victorian Secrets by John Woolf and Nick Baker, narrated by Stephen Fry
An Audible Original all about the Victorians and some of the more taboo pieces of every day life, including religion, sexuality, drugs. Ya know, all the fun stuff. I can't say I know a huge amount of Victorian history but this was a fun audiobook, and Fry is a great narrator. It's a bit melodramatic, but that makes it all that much more entertaining.
Gif rating:

Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Food in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens by Andrew Beahrs, narrated (in part anyway) by Nick Offerman
I include the narrator here since that was part of the draw for this, another Audible Original. (The other draw is the free nature of these originals.) Anyway, this is a biography of Mark Twain, based around food. More specifically around certain dishes that were important to Twain at different points in his life, based on a list of meals Twain talked about missing during his year in Europe. I did zone out from time to time but overall it was an entertaining story/series of interviews about Mark Twain. And makes me think I should prob read more Twain...
Gif rating:

New Family Values by Andrew Solomon
Another Audible Original. Apparently I was saving them up for the end of the year. This one is a series of interviews about families, particularly about the changing nature of families from the traditional nuclear family with a mom, dad and 2.5 kids to gay families and adoptive families and child-free families and multi-parent families. I remember enjoying the book but honestly, I don't remember a huge amount about it. So good but bland, I suppose?
Gif rating:

*Looking at my last mini-review post, I dunno why I have cast you, the reader, in such an antagonistic role here. But I have. Go with it.

Changing Reading Habits

If it hasn't been clear by my significant decrease in posting, habits have changed over this way. Time to read and write have been reduced and my method of reading has had to change as well. I have fully embraced both audiobooks and the library, which really, is about time.

But it's not just the format that's changed, but also the genres. Or more specifically, one genre. Books that deal with parenting. Fiction. Non-fiction. Memoir. Advice. I mean, this shouldn't be too surprising given the whole reason for habits changing.

It's this fancy fella here

I didn't read much in the way of pregnancy books. And I didn't really start picking up parenting books until the last couple months. I suppose it happened when the parenting stuff started to seem more active/interesting because newborns are cute but man, can they be dull. Toddlers are far more active. Far more. The monster goes to a weekly gym class to try to burn off some energy and give him somewhere padded to run.

I haven't necessarily picked up a lot of advice books but more just wanting to read about other parents and the weirdness that is having kids. Kids are weird and parenting is simultaneously the most boring, common thing you can do and so unique and all-consuming. So what are those parenting books I've read? Well, I'm glad you asked, because otherwise this post would be very short.

Act Natural: A Cultural History of Misadventures in Parenting by Jennifer Traig

Parenting norms have changed so much over the years (people used to tie babies to boards and just sort of...prop them up in the corner and leave them there) and cultural histories are great so this was fun. I mean, also disturbing at times. As history often is.

Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool by Emily Oster

If there is one type of parenting book I love, it's data-driven parenting and I am being sincere here. The only pregnancy book I really read was hers (Expecting Better) and as soon as I finished it I immediately looked for anything else she had written. Alas, at that time, there was nothing else and I had to deal with those first months with NO science behind why parents do the things we do. Parenting advice that is more "here's the information, make your own choices using that" is the best kind of advice.

Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First Century Parenting by Drew Magary 

Parenting is weird and the thought of a 3 year old yelling something that sounds very much like "What's up, fuckface!" is hilarious. And other parts of the book are very touching or very emotional (NICU time, for instance). Listening to this as an audiobook was a great choice for all of the different emotions.

Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi Laditan

The library is great because I can pick up a book I may have otherwise passed over, because what do I have to lose? I'm not spending any money on this. And thus when I saw Jenny Lawson say this book was funny, I figured give it a shot. It was funny and cringy and did a good job highlighting how wonderful but also isolating parenting can be.

The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Parenting by Bunmi Laditan

I didn't necessarily intend to read two books by Laditan, let alone back to back, but such is the way things go. The premise of this book started to wear thin near the end (a toddler answers advice column about parenting toddlers from his point of view) but for the most part it was funny.

Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

I've watched a lot of Jim Gaffigan's standup. I like watching something to fall asleep to that I already know well (so I won't stay up watching it) that both Tom and I can agree on. Which means watching the same few standup specials on Netflix (Gaffigan, Mulaney, Oswalt, Wong are the main ones) an embarrassing amount. Like Netflix, please never tell me how many times I've watched these (or Planet Earth or Blue Planet or Great British Bake Off, which are other night time go tos). Listening to an audiobook of him talk about being a parent to 5 kids in a tiny NYC apartment was right up my alley. Even if a fair amount of the material here made its way into his standup. Or vice versa. Since I clearly don't have a problem with hearing the same jokes 1000 times, this was fine by me.

I didn't start out intending to write some (extra) mini-reviews, but there you go. A round up of recent parenting books. And I'm sure there will be more in my future.

September Reading Wrap Up

September was a busy month, reading wise. I don't really know why, but I'll take it. Good thing audiobooks are a thing or else my reading would be zero. Plus sitting in traffic is far less painful if I'm listening to book (or a podcast, but this is about books. Focus.) Also really making use of the library. Finally. I mean seriously, about damn time, me.

Not only did I have a good reading month BUT I also THREE TIMES! Which given my writing trends, that's pretty incredible. I mean, sure, none of them were real reviews but still. Getting things done. Some things, anyway.

He's proud

Why don't we get to those stats, shall we?

Number of books read
6
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First Century Parenting by Drew Magary
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi Laditan

Pages read
1,680 - most read in a month so far this year!

Fiction
50%

POC Authors
17%

Female authors
67%

US authors
83%

Rereads
17%

Classics
17%

Readalong/Book Club
17%

Book Formats
audiobooks - 100%

Where'd I get the book
Library - 83%
Kindle/Audible - 17%

Decades published
1930s - 17%
1990s - 17%
2010s - 67%

Resolution books
33%
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson (published in 1991)
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (published 1937, by a UK author)
Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi Laditan (POC author)

November 2018 Mini-Reviews

I was doing well with these mini-reviews at one point. But I'm back to being almost a year behind. ALMOST but not quite. Also I got an actual, for reals review written, so get off my back, imaginary nagging reader.

Anyway, let's see what I can remember about these books I read back in November 2018.

I'm A Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

As mentioned my last mini-review post (which was back in JULY so you're forgiven for not remembering this), I got an audiobook collection that included a few books by Bryson, including this one, Neither Here Nor There and Notes From A Small Island. I've read all of these books before. Multiple times. So it's surprising I'd never written about this one or Small Island previously. Surprising/disappointing, as it means I can't just link those old reviews. Sigh. Anyway, I'm A Stranger Here Myself also titled Notes From A Big Country (which is what my book copy is called) is a collection of columns Bryson wrote after moving back to the US from England and all the differences he found, the things he missed, the things he doesn't care for (there's much of that - read this if you enjoy a hilarious curmudgeon). It's a great book if you want to drop in and out of it, since the columns are stand alone. And I also recommend the audiobook, even though it was an abridgment, because listening to Bryson read this was great.

Where Should We Begin? The Arc of Love by Esther Perel

I had an Audible subscription and in addition to getting credits for audiobooks, you also get 2 free books every month out of their collection of some Audible originals. Sometimes these are great, sometimes they're disappointing, sometimes they're just sort of fine. This falls into that third group. This wasn't so much like a book. It was more like a podcast. Really, it's a series of recordings from various therapy sessions she's conducted, centering around love. Romantic love between spouses. Love between parents and children. But mostly it's the couples talking about their problems, love, adultery. As I skim through reviews from others and some notes I have, I remember that while listening I liked her advice. But this far removed, I basically don't remember most of it. It didn't stick with me and past me gave this 3 stars on Goodreads. So yeah, it was fine. And free which is important.

Full list of books read in November 2018
I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
Tales from Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
Where Should We Begin? The Arc of Love by Esther Perel
Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix