Tag: literary fiction

Bout of Books 27: Day 3

On By Karena FaganIn ReadathonsLeave a comment

No challenge today. well technically there was, but it’s one looking for recommendations and 1) I don’t need recommendations at the moment and 2) it’s meant for their comments section. So let’s get on with the update!

I finished Daisy Jones and the Six. It was so good. I got so stuck in genre last year that I barely made a dent in anything else. I had so many people tell me how good it was. I will admit for the longest time, I thought it was a nonfiction about some band I’d never heard of (let’s be real. I don’t know about a lot of bands so this wasn’t that surprising). It was told in the style of an oral history that really added to the story. It was way more fun to follow the band’s journey with the back and forth of all the members and the people around them. I give it 5 stars for sure.

Fuck yes, Daisy.

I also finished Nevernight, my read along book. According to Goodreads it was my 3rd reread of it and I still love it. Jay Kristoff is a sneaky sadist shit and I love him. I don’t say that lightly. There aren’t very many cis straight white authors who can entertain me the way he does (maybe Nicholas Eames).

Total pages read: 357. Not bad. I mean, it’s nothing compared to the previous day, but to be fair yesterday I was battling some wicked allergies so I’m content with what I did accomplish.

How’s your Bout of Books going? What are you reading?

Bout of Books 27: Day 2

On By Karena FaganIn ReadathonsLeave a comment

Share Your 2020 Reading Goals is today’s Bout of Books’ challenge. Well. My husband has been badgering me for awhile and this year since i’m not currently working, I decided to try it. I’m going for 365. I’ve gotten close to it before. In 2016, I managed 350, so it’s possible! The trick is making sure my books are not just white lady historical romance novels as that’s the easiest way for me to consume books.

Also how did my first day go you ask? I’m pretty chuffed to be honest. I managed to catch up with Jessica (you’ll be meeting her soon) on our Nevernight readalong and finished 81 pages. Then even though I was only supposed to read 9 chapters of Lonesome Dove, I got hooked and ended up reading 41 chapters which amounts to 287 pages. I meant to finish Daisy Jones and the Six, but then my youngest spawn asked to watch a couple episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and who am I to say no? Especially since one of those episodes is The Wish and not only do we meet Anya, but we also get Vampire Willow and…I digress. I did manage 94 pages of Daisy Jones so it wasn’t a complete wash. The only negative is I didn’t finish a book so according to Goodreads, I’m behind.

Today’s plan? Well, depending on where my friend gets with Nevernight, I may or may not finish that. Definitely Daisy Jones will be finished. I also need to start A Memory Called Empire for the SFF Challenge.

How did your first day go? What are your plans with your second?

WWW Wednesdays 6/15

On By Karena FaganIn No Longer Unread, Reading Explorations1 Comment

WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

Every week I’m going to jump on here and talk about the week’s books. So let’s get to it shall we?

What are you currently reading? I’m currently reading The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye. I’m not loving it, but I’m not hating it. I admit to being a bit biased since the concept of the book is two magicians competing using their magic. Sounds a bit like The Night Circus and in my opinion, the latter did it with more imagery and heart. So far, I’m not feeling very interested in any of the characters. I’m disappointed because I wanted to love it. I’m also reading Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger. I’m only a few chapters in, but I’m really loving it. A Chinese-American protagonist, alcohol created superpowers, creepy things in the night? What’s not to love?

What did you recently finish reading? I finished a few recently. The Great 2016 Challenge has been working pretty well for me. The most recently finished was The Star-Touched Queen by Roshabi Chokshi, which I found to be really well written with lovely imagery and an engaging plot. I also read two sad books, What Lies Between Us by Naomi Munaweera and  An Unrestored Woman by Shobhaa Rao respectively. I expecting a sad read, but the content of that sadness was something I wasn’t ready for. I don’t want to give things away, just that these normally would be books I avoid. They were wonderfully written so I don’t want to dissuade anyone from reading it. It was just the subject matter. I have to say especially for An Unrestored Woman, I loved the way it was written as paired short stories. My main complaint with short stories is that I want more, this fulfilled that need. I also finished a nonfiction with Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction by Erika Janik. On the whole it was filled with a lot of cool facts and references, but it could have been so much better. It seemed to focus mostly on white ladies only and I think the author would have benefited from looking at comics as well for her examples of lady detectives. Especially to show the difference between the roles of the lady detectives in the beginning with the ones in modern times. Jessica Jones in comparison to Nancy Drew? Lots of food for thought there.

What do you think you’ll read next? Technically I’m kinda reading We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrl to Covergirl, the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement by  Andi Zeisler already, if you count I’ve read the introduction. I’m really interested to read the points about commercializing feminism. I love books about art in all of its forms so Roses and Rot by Kat Howard sounds like it’s totally in my wheelhouse.

What does your book life look like this week?

WWW Wednesdays 6/8

On By Karena FaganIn No Longer Unread, Reading Explorations1 Comment

WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

Every week I’m going to jump on here and talk about the week’s books. So let’s get to it shall we?

What are you currently reading? I’m continuing the great 2016 Hardback Challenge with What Lies Between Us by Naomi Munaweera and Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives in Fact and Fiction by Erika Janik.

What did you recently finish reading? I just finished First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies by Kate Andersen Brower. I wasn’t overly thrilled with it. It came off super gossipy and sort of catty. Brower used a lot of anonymous sources saying one first lady said awful things about another first lady. The cattiness seemed to take up most of the book instead of really focus on the women themselves and their lives. Or she would use one First Lady’s faults to bump up another which is a serious no-no in my book. I also finished Before We Visit the Goddess, the latest by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I adored Mistress of Spices, Queen of Dreams, and Leaving Yuba City: Poems. When I reviewed it for Litsy, I kept going between Pick or So-So. It just felt a little underdeveloped for me, but on the whole I did enjoy it. I’m a big fan of mother/daughter stories.

What do you think you’ll read next? An Unrestored Woman, a debut novel by Shobha Rao that I picked up at the Bay Area Book Fest last weekend. The bookseller promised me a tragic story and it feels like I’m ready for one right now. Also for my fantasy needs, I’m going to read The Star-Touched Queen by Roshabi Chokshi. I have heard such wonderful things.

What does your book life look like this week?

WWW Wednesdays 6/1

On By Karena FaganIn No Longer Unread, Reading Explorations1 Comment

WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

Every week I’m going to jump on here and talk about the week’s books. So let’s get to it shall we?

What are you currently reading? Surprisingly enough I didn’t get any reading done during the holiday weekend! I kind of started Jane Steele by Lyndsey Faye which has been raved about by some of my closest book nerds. I also have been enjoying the Maiden series by Elizabeth Hoyt. Right now I’m on Thief of Shadows. It feels a bit different from some of the other romance novels I’ve read, mostly because they have been following more commoners around than the nobility and it’s a bit refreshing.

What did you recently finish reading? I finished Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape by Peggy Ornstein. I was, unfortunately, not very surprised by the information that Ornstein revealed, which is a sad state of what’s going on with our youth and their sex education. The book provides a great deal of food for thought to get the conversation started.

What do you think you’ll read next? I probably will pick up Redwood and Wildfire by Andrea Hairston for my book club. My next non fiction looks like The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies by Kate Andersen Brower, which was pretty much inspired by me listening to Hamilton, even though Eliza never got to be First Lady.

 

What does your book life look like this week?

WWW Wednesdays 5/25

On By Karena FaganIn No Longer Unread, Reading ExplorationsLeave a comment

WWW Wednesday is a book meme run by Taking on a World of Words.

Every week I’m going to jump on here and talk about the week’s books. So let’s get to it shall we?

What are you currently reading? I’m reading The Children’s Home by Charles Lambert in a probably doomed attempt to read all my 2016 hardbacks before they go to paperback. So far, I’m into it.

What did you recently finish reading? Just finished Ancient, Ancient by Kiini Ibura Salaam for the book club.Wasn’t overly fond of it. I also finally finished All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders. I’m putting it solidly in the so-so category. I didn’t hate it, but it also didn’t blow my socks off. The characters all felt particularly overwrought. I know there was some crazy environmental stuff going on, but wow.  Also right before publishing this post I read The Earl Next Door by Charis Michaels. I love renovation romances, but I was disappointed there wasn’t more of the renovation in this one. The overall plot was pretty good though so I’ll forgive it this time.

What do you think you’ll read next? I’m gonna try to pick up Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape by Peggy Orenstein again. I got kicked out of a nonfiction mood the last time I tried reading it. I’m okay now.

 

What does your book life look like this week?