Short Story Month is celebrated in May, apparently. I only just discovered this a few days ago, perhaps because I read short stories at about the same rate I read poetry. Which is to say, not very often. (Though I might need to amend this where poetry is concerned as I’ve read three poetry books this year so far – quite a record for me!)
Saturday, May 21 is the second annual National Readathon Day, a nation-wide marathon reading session to promote and raise funds for literacy initiatives. You can click here find out more about it and how to participate.
In the meantime, for readers planning to participate, I thought I’d start a list of excellent reads suitable for reading in a single day. I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments as well! Continue reading “15 short books for National Readathon Day”
I had so much fun providing a Wednesday reading roundup last week that I’ve decided to make it a regular thing. Thank you, once again, to Taking on a World of Words and Coffee and Cats for the idea!
Since I’m doing the May Smash Your Stack challenge, as part of the Read My Own Damn Books challenge, all but one of this month’s reads so far come from my collection.
Something else I noticed this week: 2016 has found me rereading more often than at any time since childhood. Back then, I’d read the same books on a seemingly endless loop. As an adult, I’ve tended to resist rereading because I feel like I *should be* reading new books. As to why I’m drawn to rereading all of a sudden, maybe it’s something to do with growing older and feeling nostalgic. (This I will want to explore further in a future post!)
Now on to the questions: Continue reading “Wednesday reading roundup: May 18”
Am I really already talking about the books I read in April? Yes, the same incredulity that possessed me at the beginning of last month. This year is flying by at the speed of sound (or is it light?).
This month saw my highest “read” tally all year, thanks in large part to Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon. My titles included the usual mix of middle-grade and adult fiction and memoir. I also read a classic I’ve been meaning to read for a few months (or years…whatever) and finished a book that has been languishing on my “currently reading” list for a few weeks.
Books I read:
Reading Challenge-wise, I’m not doing too badly: 60 percent of the books I read this month were books I already owned. Although … When I look at it that way, I’m barely passing. I will have to keep working on this!
* Indicates a #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks title Continue reading “The unabridged list of books I read in April”
Before Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon started, I set myself the goal of enjoying the experience, no matter how many books and pages I read and how many hours I lasted. Since this was my first go, I knew I’d be figuring things out and exploring the social media communities. For me, the point of participating was to engage not only with books (which I can do on my own anytime) but also with the awesome book people participating.
I had a chance to do that and adored it. Readathoners are the nicest people on the Internet (if not the planet). Full stop. One of my other favorite parts was doing mini-challenges. They gave me a little break from reading to process my experience. Next time, I will try to organize my time in advance. I don’t want to be too regimented but do want to make sure I’m giving myself structured time to engage, read, and write.
And now for my end of event survey and (at the end of that) my perfect reading day (another mini-challenge after my heart): Continue reading “Dewey’s Readathon Wrap-Up”
One reason (among many) I enjoy reading classic literature: It’s a finite world.
Having gone on to claim their “celestial rewards,” as Charles Dickens put it so elegantly (Pickwick Papers, I think, or maybe Hard Times?), authors are safely out of the picture. Therefore, they can’t get into Twitter wars with critics over how their work has been interpreted. They can’t reveal appalling personal views after I’ve already fallen in love with their work. They can’t continue releasing more and more information about characters or stories that obliges me endlessly to reframe the original. They can’t write sequels, disappointing or otherwise.
To be clear, I don’t mean to say there’s anything wrong with the above. In fact, I love attending author talks and hearing what inspired a story I enjoyed. I love being able to say to an author, “Thank you for this experience. Thank you!” I love knowing Nick Hornby and Haruki Murakami and Zadie Smith are still alive and well and hopefully, if I’m lucky, writing more books. Continue reading “Why I love reading classic literature”
I’m afraid I traumatized the first group of students to whom I told, “There are no new ideas.” Actually, I meant it to be comforting. But here in the US, we are in a committed relationship with the idea of originality, which is perhaps a by-product of having a short history. Continue reading “5 quotes on reading and empathy”
Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, the saying goes. I love this sentiment and its idea of open-heartedly sharing each other’s celebrations. Since parades aren’t really my thing, I do believe my bookish self will mark the holiday by reading Irish (and Irish-born) authors … and I might just help myself to some bangers and mash.
If you’re of a mind to honor the day in a similar fashion (perhaps with a group of like minded readers?), here are seven Irish-born authors from whom to choose. And for nourishing the body as you nourish the mind, St. Patrick’s Day style, enjoy a link to a yummy bangers and mash recipe.
Continue reading “7 Irish authors to read on St. Patrick’s Day”
Earlier this week, I wrote about a big book that I doubt I will ever read cover to cover, in the process arguing, essentially, so what? Since I don’t want to give the impressive that I believe it’s always okay to abandon or only partially read big books, today, I want to argue for reading them all the way through. Continue reading “What I learned from reading a big book”
My February reading roundup included almost as many DNF titles as it did completed ones. Typically, DNF implies a book and reader failed to connect on some level. Conventional wisdom says if we love a book, we read it from beginning to end, possibly without putting it down. Not finishing a book must mean something went wrong along the way. Continue reading “Reading Interrupted: BFD to the DNF”
