What Summer Reading Slump?

What did I do in June? Read, mostly. That and use lots of acronyms.

No, seriously. I read e-books online at work (almost) every morning (Anne series). I listened to audiobooks as I rode the bus to and from work (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). And then I got home from work and my internship and just read plain old regular books while I was cooking, while I was eating, while I should have been doing homework, and while I was falling asleep (everything else, except In Cold Blood, because being murdered in your bed isn’t exactly what you want to read right as you lay in bed at night). I heard Angie Thomas speak and had her sign my book (!!) before she went to the ALA (American Library Association) conference, which I missed. But I followed as much as I could on Twitter, thanks to #alaac17, seeing tons of pictures of exciting awards and author talks and workshops and ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies). I read tons of picture books while I was planning my weekly ST (storytime). I’ve been having a total blast helping out with SRP (Summer Reading Program) as part of my internship, and learning more about ECRR2 (Every Child Ready to Read, v.2) -- practices that help librarians serve our youngest patrons better. And then I got used to throwing all these letters around and got lazy so the Middle Grade Graphic Novels I was reading became MG GNs and Anne of Green Gables became AOGG and To Kill a Mockingbird became TKAM. So if you want to talk to me now you have to keep up with basically just reading my mind and filling in whole words. JK (that means just kidding and it was the last acronym I’ll use in this post paragraph). Back to the books.

So this was one of the best nights of my life

A patron asked if we had any books like Rollergirl, which I not only hadn’t read, but hadn’t heard of, so I requested eight MG GNs from the library and knocked out one a day until I felt like I would be able to answer the question the next time. (for the record, I think Telegemeier’s stuff is alright -- I do love the Babysitter’s Club!! -- but my personal favorites in the stack were El Deafo and, actually, Rollergirl).

I stayed in the MG/YA track, reading Dumplin’ and Ramona Blue because I’d heard good things recently (verdict: fun, quick, reads; didn’t love either). The beginning of June was also abuzz with mixed reviews of “Anne with an E,” and since I didn’t really like Anne of Green Gables as a kid, I thought I’d give it a second chance. All I can say is that I’ve read through Anne of the Island now AND HOW ARE SHE AND GILBERT NOT MARRIED YET?! Not sure I’m invested enough to make it to the wedding, honestly. Also I realize that it was a different time and different lifestyle but seriously what human woman is proposed to that many times? I could actually see much value in AOGG this time around, but I am a little over it now.

I picked up Wonderstruck and Mockingbird from the library distribution shelf and took them home on a whim and am quite glad I did, as each provided an afternoon of enjoyment.

I also reread To Kill a Mockingbird this month for Teen Book Club. I remembered less that I thought and it took more time to finish than I thought, so a surprise all around. I suppose that’s what happens when you realize that book you “just reread” hasn’t actually been opened in SIX YEARS because that’s how long it’s been since you were a freshman in college. Between that and Harry Potter’s 20th birthday, I am basically feeling ancient. I have to use the abbreviations to keep up with the youth.

As aforementioned, I read In Cold Blood, which was a total thriller, an absolute page-turner, and utterly fascinating. I also found Big Little Lies a great page-turner: less creepy, more surprising.

I think I’ll watch the mini-series this weekend. I’m also interested in the In Cold Blood movie and “Anne with an E,” at least for an episode, just to try it, at least.

In which case, I should probably sign off. I’d say BRB, except I won’t be back until next month.

In that case: TTYL!

May Reads

Um, how is already June 1^st?! I cannot even handle 2017, y’all. And these next eight weeks are going to. be. cray. Just, you know, work, an online class, and doing my Capstone so I can be graduated in August. Time flies. Hopefully I’ll have some time to read (for fun!) in June and July, but we’ll see. I felt like I had to take advantage of my few short weeks of free time in May, just in case!

I read Their Eyes Were Watching God the first week of May, which has been on my list for about a year and a half, and just so happened to be the last book on my Modern American Novel syllabus. Y’all. It was so good. I was so hooked, so into it, literally gasping in the library, to the dismay of the other people in the silent study area. My bad on that one.

I read Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, which I picked up at a Half-Price Books back in December for $5 because I like the phrase “ordinary life,” before Amy Krouse Rosenthal wrote that viral NYT Modern Love piece and I finally realized who she was, even though I’ve read her books and (obviously) own a few of them. Of course I didn’t read it then, when I could’ve written her, as she mentions her own author correspondence with such affection; I could’ve said that I, too, think that an item’s minute size makes it cute, regardless of what it is, or that I also believe in hunger prevention, because who knows if that party will have snacks, and who wants to be grumpy at a snack-less party some dim-witted person held at dinnertime? So instead I have to content myself with the knowledge that had I read it in December, before I knew who she was, I might not have written to her then either, and even if I had, she might not have responded, so either way all I have is my agreements with certain entries.

I then started an essay collection by Anne Fadiman, At Large and At Small, which I picked up (also at Half-Price Books) because I so loved her collection Ex Libris. I took a break from it, though, to read Wonder in two days, which I wholeheartedly loved. (although the book is not perfect, and an excellent critical perspective can be found here). I finished the essay collection and then read The Taliban Shuffle while recuperating from nasal surgery, during which I felt another author connection, because Kim Barker mentions her own deviated septum and using her very limited vacation days to go back to America specifically for surgery. Obviously the whole foreign-correspondent, journalist-in-a-war-zone, meet-for-tea-with-the-Taliban thing wasn’t as relatable, but I still enjoyed the book.

 And then. THEN I got the email: my hold at the library for The Hate U Give had finally come in!! I swear I was number 300 on the list when I requested it; clearly some people decided just to buy the book instead. Anyway I *almost* didn’t go out with my friends that night because I wanted to read it, instead, but decided just to shorten my evening instead and stayed up until 3 in the morning finishing it. I don’t really know what to tell people beside “READ IT” without giving away spoilers or talking for ten minutes straight, so just read it, please. It is timely, honest, and moving. Atypically, I both laughed out loud and cried actual tears reading this book – often just within a chapter or two.

And then I needed a little pick-me-up, so I read Me and Marvin Gardens over the holiday weekend, which is a lovely little chapter book about friendship, discovery, and caring for the earth. I look forward to talking about in Tween Book Club at the library! Happy summer, all!