Tuesday Check-In

Dear Reader, Hope you had a good reading week! FINISHED: I enjoyed listening to The Power of Habit, and I figure I picked up a few interesting and useful tips, so I'd give this a 3.5/5. The best part of the book was listening to all the anecdotes - those are always what I like best, rather than the lessons learned. It's why I also enjoy fiction as much as I do - what's important to me is trying to understand how the human psyche works. And it's never the same! So I am continually fascinated. In any case, definitely a fun one to pick up. Not very heavy-handed with the "business advice", either, so don't let that part of the title scare you away. CURRENTLY READING: Trevor Noah's book is still incredibly enjoyable - now to add to the unforgettable pooping story is the one about Hitler! Oh my gosh, I was laughing so much while listening to this - I am certain people think I'm insane, because they can't see my earbud when I'm listening. And I don't want to give anything away, so all I can say is just: Do yourself a favor and read it! - What I love most about it, and what is making it a 5-star book for me, is that Noah not only masterfully relates his formative years, he also delves quite deeply into many social issues with - unsurprisingly - quite a bit of depth and perspective. For every memorable story, he also has some great insight into the way things work - in South Africa, in America, and in the world. I've begun My Name is Lucy Barton, and so far (maybe an hour in?) it's...slow, but kind of poetically bucolic (although not everything in the town where Lucy grew up was sunshine & roses, of course). I am enjoying listening to the narration of this woman's life in bits & pieces. I have no idea where the story is going at this point, but...it's not unenjoyable to listen to, nonetheless. The other books are slow but steady progress...I kind of pick up each in turn. I'm about halfway through the Tolstoy, and I can't believe it! It's hefty but so engaging. And I'm still not totally into The Golden Compass, although it's a good adventure read. So...I'll just keep chugging along! (I've been immersed in trains recently, as that's the current theme of my daughter's Kindermusik classes - hence the above turn of phrase.) See you next week! Yours, Arianna

Tuesday Check-In

Dear Reader, I managed to finish two whole books last Thursday, what a red-letter day!  Both about 3 stars for me, I think. FINISHED: The Goldfinch turned out, ultimately, to be severely disappointing. It started off amazingly, and I couldn't put it down. What promise! What great characters! (Loved Boris!) But...it lost me about midway through, and then I just couldn't wait to be done with the thing. Too much pointless introspection at the end, which I kind of just half-listened to. For some reason, I just couldn't seem to muster up any interest in Theo's life when he was in his thirties. Blah. It's too bad, because Tartt really is a great writer, but her stories always seem to fall flat for me. I think it's going to take a lot to convince me to read another from her. The House We Grew Up In was a nice little diversion; more of a light read about a dysfunctional family, stories of which always intrigue me. This book outlined a bunch of memorable characters that made up this family which really fell apart one awful day in the early 2000s, and it took them decades to find their way back to each other, to forgive, to understand, to accept each other again. It was a good diversion read when I couldn't get into my heavier books (read: when I was nursing my daughter at 5 in the morning!). CURRENTLY READING: So I've since begun two new books to replace those above. The first is Trevor Noah's autobiography, Born a Crime, which I freaking LOVE. I knew it got good ratings, but I still wasn't sure I was going to like it as much as I do! Oh, my goodness. You'll be sold once you get to the pooping part, hah! Having him narrate his own story is really enjoyable to listen to. And he's just got just a great storyteller's personality. I would recommend this to anyone & everyone. And the other is My Not So Perfect Life, which I received a ARC of free in the mail - it's my replacement "light read." I haven't read Sophie Kinsella before, but she's typically "chick lit", right? Well, I could use a good, fun, girly read - and I like that this one points out that the grass isn't always greener. It came out in early February, so of course I'm already too late for a preview review, but...ah, c'est la vie. I have barely cracked the cover on this one, though, so I'll let you know whether I will stick with it. I'm almost done with The Power of Habit, which has been really very enjoyable. I'm still upset, though, by the story about the woman who gambled away everything she had just because she was - Oh, poor me! - a bored housewife. I get that she had a problem that she couldn't control once she was in really deep, but...why did she have to go to the casino in the first place?! What I wouldn't give to have some down time to get chores done, much less more time to pursue all of my interests! She could have taken a class, joined the PTA, started going to the gym, read a freaking book! Man, her story infuriated me. Which, I know was the point - the author draws an interesting parallel between her story and that of a man who murdered his wife while sleepwalking (the horror!). But, still. I found myself yelling at my audiobook in the car all too often while the narrator was relaying her story. ON DECK: I'm trying to read more for Black History month. I know it technically ends today, but I feel I didn't get to read enough for it, so I'm going to personally continue it for a while longer. Any must-read suggestions?? Also, I've got to read My Name is Lucy Barton for my book club - I really haven't been keeping up with my book club, and I miss it! That's queued up to follow The Power of Habit. Well, I'm off to go pick up 1491 for a bit. Happy reading! Yours, Arianna

Tuesday Check-In

Dear Reader, Hi, gang! This one's gonna be a short post, because I don't have much to report - I'm still in the middle of a bunch of books: Making steady progress on all, but nothing much to report. I did love The Color Purple, which I flew through. Celie is an amazing character, and one I won't soon forget. I wish I had been older to see the talk about this book when it was first released. I'd love to say more, but I just don't have the time today. Sorry this is such a lame post! I hope to have more (or at least better!) updates next week. Until then, happy reading! Yours, Arianna

Tuesday Check-In

Dear Reader, Over the weekend, I finally finished City on Fire. I'd give it a solid 4 stars. Hallberg is a fantastic writer, and I'd like to see more from him. I thought the book was really ambitious and so many times it lived up to its accolades (well, pre-release), but it got a bit too wrapped up in itself and ended up being a bit disappointing, although overall very satisfying. Which is a shame, because that first chapter really shone with such promise. But it was such a great homage to the NYC of the 1970s - I was able to feel like I had been there, myself. I had to admit, though, I was a bit frustrated by this author who seemed to really know SO MUCH (I loved how many casual references he threw into the book - I learned a lot!) and probably researched everything, but he didn't bother to find out that Vassar doesn't have sororities. Never has. That irked me. But, I know, such a small part in the grand scheme of things... Anyway, with that behemoth under my belt, that means I'm only in the middle of TWO huge books now: Anna Karenina and The Goldfinch. Making slow but steady progress on both. In other news, I've started to read The Color Purple for Black History Month, because that's been on my to-read for what feels like ever! So far (maybe 80 pages in) it's fantastic. A bit difficult to get used to Celie's writing, but once you do, the book flows wonderfully. I think this will be a pretty quick read for me, despite some difficult subject matter. I'm so glad I've finally gotten around to it. And, I'm looking forward to seeing Whoopi's portrayal after I finish reading! I also picked up an ebook I'd let languish for a while while trying to get through City on Fire by reading it on my phone (originally I'd started with the ARC we received at BEA 2015, but I just don't find as much time for picking up books these days, unfortunately!). So my current phone read (started last November!) is The House We Grew Up In, which I received as an ARC via Netgalley ages ago - I'm trying to get through some Netgalley backlog before I request any more materials there. (I mean, the book was published at the start of 2013! That's how behind I am.) It's an intriguing British family story that revolves around this fascinating, perpetually childish matriarch who is a hoarder, and the effect that her problem has on her family - which includes the tight-laced eldest daughter with her reactionary cleanliness bug, the defeated husband who's divorced her but lives next door, and the lost-at-sea younger siblings. I am also really flying through this book; it's a nice break from the denser stuff I've been reading, but it's no fluffy novel, either. I do enjoy these close examinations of families and how these people - who might not have otherwise connected, but are forced into closeness because they were born into the same family - learn to grow together. I hope you all are having lovely reading lives, these days. I feel like mine is really starting to pick back up! Yours, Arianna

Support Shelf Notes! Purchase your copy of this book here:

Tuesday Check-In

Dear Reader, Hi! I unfortunately haven't finished a book since my last post, but I wanted to check in anyway, as part of a new style of posting we're experimenting with. Oh, wait! I have finished a book: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians! That was a fun YA adventure. I don't think I'll continue with the series, but it definitely might be something I recommend to my daughter when she is older. It was a great divergence from regular YA, and I do love that there was a strong female character (a warrior, who protected the protagonist). Again, the "Evil Librarians" part had me loving the book more than I might have otherwise, I must admit. But definitely a worthwhile read; I'll have to check out more BranSan, but now I'm thinking more The Way of Kings. And what has replaced my morning commute audiobook, then, you might ask? Well, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. This is an audiobook borrowed from my sister, although I had been wanting to read it. I have a soft spot for pop psychology books! (I'm not huge into business advice books, but this one doesn't tread that much into that sort of territory, so I think it's safe.) I'm fascinated by the stories Duhigg tells of people who have changed their lives significantly by simply altering a habit (it all seems very Pavlovian to me, really), as well as the stories he told of those with brain damage who were able to maintain somewhat normal lives through the power of habit. I am about 1/3 of the way through right now, and reading about football - which normally would bore me to tears, but I'm eagerly reading about it in this book! Otherwise, I'm just chugging along through the other books I mentioned in my last update post. City on Fire is actually becoming really engaging again during the last 100 pages, so I hope it holds up through the end! And I still can't put The Goldfinch down. I hope soon I'll have some more finished-book updates for you. Until then, happy reading! Yours, Arianna

My current reading life.

Dear Reader, Hi! Been a while, eh? Amber & I both needed a break from blogging for various reasons, but we're hoping to revive Shelfnotes and see where things go. Perhaps we'll be working in a different format; we're not sure! But we hope we can breathe some new life into our beloved book site. So, I suppose an update is in order, first. Since having a baby in March of 2016, my reading life has changed significantly. For a while - during those first few heady months - I was barely reading anything, of course. But eventually I was able to establish some new reading habits - totally different from my old ones. I haven't had a chance to pick up many physical books for several reasons, mostly due to time constraints and baby's interest in putting everything under the sun in her mouth. But I do get a lot of opportunity to read on my phone, and plenty of audiobooking time when I am driving to and from work (another recent change: a commute to go with a new house). So, a bit unorthodox for me (I do so miss my books, which still haven't been totally unpacked), but I'm happy to be reading. What am I reading, then, you might ask? I'm glad to share! I'm in the middle of a bunch of books and have only finished two so far this year: FINISHED TransAtlantic (Colum McCann) This one was pretty good but not great...I definitely preferred Let the Great World Spin, which I actually just read this past summer (getting my Colum McCann on all at once, apparently!). I picked up TransAtlantic because I've had it on my shelf for a while - we got copies signed by the author at one of the BEAs, and it's languished on my shelf ever since. (Despite that McCann was a charming Irishman in person!) The story was fascinating, and there's no denying McCann is a great writer, but I'd love to see him focus on one storyline for the entirety of a book. While I do love the concept of overlapping lives (and how everything ties together), I think he'd do so great focusing on just one. Some of the vignettes were certainly better than others, too - I was just about snoozing through the senator's story, but I did love the one that focused on Lily building her second family, and then her empire. McCann's characters are memorable and so achingly human. Into the Beautiful North (Luis Alberto Urrea) This book was the Big Read selection for the Poughkeepsie Public Library in 2016; I was late getting to it, but still wanted to read it. It was a really well done YA adventure - I'd give it 3.5 stars.  I feel it was definitely an important read for many to encounter especially right now, in such polarizing times. Urrea humanizes the "other" so well: he shows the reader all sides and situations, investigating the many shades of grey anyone's story can be. If everyone would just read about Nayeli and her friends, they might be more empathetic. Urrea created an unforgettable cast of characters who you wanted to cry along with in their frustrations and cheer with in their triumphs.  READING City on Fire (Garth Risk Hallberg) This book is so difficult for me to write about, especially being 600+ pages in. Hallberg is an absolutely amazing writer - I am continually struck by his turns of phrase, and it's so easy to see why this book was the subject of a high-stakes bidding war. However, I also understand why its Goodreads ratings aren't as high as was expected of the book's performance, and why it didn't end up being the bestseller it might have been. I'm going to struggle to really review this book once I'm done with it, but I am really engaged with it, if not wholly enjoying it. It hasn't fully drawn me in, even though it's hooked me - does that make sense? I'm eager to see the resolution of the epic story, though! Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Brandon Sanderson) I'm almost done with this one - I've been audiobooking it on my commute. It's fun and hilarious, and I see why BranSan (that's what my husband and I call Sanderson - his favorite author - for short) is so popular! But, this is clearly geared towards kids, and I think I next need to read one of his non-YA books to truly catch the BranSan bug. While Alcatraz's breaking-the-fourth-wall wit is great, the book's self-consciousness can get kind of annoying after a while. I think, though, that for a kid, it would be really fun, and a nice change from the classics one might be forced to read in school. Also - the whole reason I am reading this at all? The evil librarians! So it gets bonus points just for that. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (Charles C. Mann) Slowww going on this one - I think I've been picking through it for over a year! But it's pretty fantastic. I'm learning so much about the pre-Columbian Americas, and how we've interpreted and revisited many of our assumptions about the continents before the arrival of the Europeans. I think this is an important text for any high school U.S. History teacher to read and share with their students. The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt) I read The Secret History a couple of years ago and was severely unimpressed with Tartt, so I kept putting off reading this one because I didn't have much faith in it, despite the rave reviews! However, I'm now unable to put this one down! It's not terribly riveting in terms of a mystery like Secret History was, but it is really well written and you just want to keep reading to find out how Theo's life turns out. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy) I'm about 1/3 of the way through this tome, and reading it piecemeal as it was originally published - about a chapter a day! I am loving doing this, even though it will take me quite a while to complete. But I imagine I am a Russian during Tolstoy's time, eagerly awaiting the next day's installment. As with most thousand-page Russian novels, this one likes to delve quite a bit into the philosophy of the Russian state, but the story still holds up despite the interesting digressions. The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman) This one I've been meaning to read for a while, since it's gotten such great reviews. I'm not terribly far into it yet (maybe 1/5 of the way in?), but it's got an engaging setup and a compelling protagonist in Lyra, the orphan who runs amok in the streets of an alternate-universe Oxford, in which everyone has a sort of "spirit animal" and children are disappearing for mysterious reasons. You'll also note that not a single one of these books is recently published or to-be published: I've decided to take a break for a few months from the, well, breakneck pace of reading we'd been doing to focus more on things I've been wanting to read. So, you may see more classics (or less recently published) books here, but I hope you'll still enjoy hearing about the stories I'm encountering. I missed you, Shelfnotes! I hope you'll hear more from me this year. xo Yours, Arianna

The Friday 56 - June 13th 2014 - AmberBug

The Friday 56

Meet The Friday 56, a meme we found on Freda's Voice (another great book blog). The rules are as follows:

Welcome to Week 182!

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

A Sleep and a Forgetting

"You want to be careful, Nannie," her father added, "about people's feelings when you meet them, and afterwards seem not to know them."

"But I do know them, papa," she remonstrated.

"You want to be careful," her father repeated.

"I will - I will indeed." Her lips quivered, and the tears came, which Lanfear had to keep from flowing by what quick turn he could give to something else.

*To give a little explanation, the book is about a Doctor who meets a father & daughter while on vacation. 

The Daughter has a memory problem and forgets people right after she meets them. 

The above is an example and repercussion of that.*