reading – Page 9 – Sally Allen

June 9, 2016June 1, 2017

Wednesday reading roundup: June 8

Reading time has been scarce this week, but I managed a bit of reading and listening. Now I just need to figure out what to read next...

This week has been a bear. And I don’t mean a cute, Winnie-the-Pooh-getting-stuck-in-a-doorjamb-because-he-ate-too-much-honey bear. It’s been a giant, hungry, roaring, why-did-you-wake-me-up-from-my-hibernation bear of a week.

All this is to say, reading time has been scarce. I’ve gotten some listening in while walking and driving, and I managed a few chapters before sleepy time most nights this week. Put all together, not many pages have been read.

Well anyway, here is the full, if slim, tally for WWW Wednesday, with thanks (as always!) to Taking on a World of Words and Coffee and Cats: Continue reading “Wednesday reading roundup: June 8”

June 1, 2016May 30, 2017

The unabridged list of what I read in May

My May reading goal was to smash my stack. I haven’t so much smashed as gently nudged it. On the upside, I I exceeded my goal to read 80% of my own books.

Happy new month, readers! My May reading goal was to smash my stack. I haven’t so much smashed as gently nudged it. To be fair, though, it’s a gargantuan stack. On the plus side, I promised to read at least 80 percent of my own books this month, and I exceeded that goal. I read 10 books, nine of them my own. Thank you to JMill Wanders’ Take Back Your Stack Readathon for the final push!

Books I read: Continue reading “The unabridged list of what I read in May”

May 28, 2016May 30, 2017

15 (more) short books for #TBYSReadathon

For other readers who enjoy short books, whatever the reason(s), a (second) list of 15 excellent short books good for reading straight through.

I love reading excellent short books. I love reading big books too. But when it comes to Readathons, excellent short books take the win. As a slow reader, I can read them straight through and still read them well. Plus, I love that feeling of reading a whole book in a single day. Putting it down and getting off the sofa feels like getting off a long plane journey. I’m blinking and disoriented, and the world looks different, new.

#TBYSReadathon - short books — My #TBYSReadathon pile

This weekend (May 28 – 30) I’m participating in the Take Back Your Shelves Readathon, hosted by Jenna from JMill Wanders. It’s a reader’s choice affair, so I’m taking the opportunity to finish May’s “Smash Your Stack” challenge strong. At the head of my list this weekend is a fun short book, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (the second in Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series). I began it last night and am keeping my options open for what I’ll read next. My one caveat is that it’ll be a book I already own (because #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks).

For other readers who enjoy short books, whatever the reason(s), here is a (second) list of 15 short books I’ve enjoyed or am looking forward to reading (maybe even this weekend!). Continue reading “15 (more) short books for #TBYSReadathon”

May 27, 2016May 30, 2017

What makes a short story collection work?

In a successful short story collection, each story is an integral piece of a larger puzzle that is greater than the sum of its parts.

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!)

I can’t say the same about short stories. Helen Oyeyemi’s What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours is on my list. The YA collection Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories caught my eye on Instagram recently. Stephanie Perkins edited it, and I adored her holiday YA collection, My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories, the year before last. I haven’t acquired either yet, though. Continue reading “What makes a short story collection work?”

May 25, 2016June 1, 2017

Wednesday reading roundup: May 25

Another Wednesday, another opportunity to share my reading roundup, with thanks to Taking on a World of Words and Coffee and Cats for the inspiration!

Another Wednesday, another opportunity to share my reading roundup. Many thanks, as always, to Taking on a World of Words and Coffee and Cats for the inspiration!

This month’s reading challenge is to “smash your stack,” and I’m doing my level best. So far, I’m sticking to my promise to read only my own books, the one exception being Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn for my book club (well done, me!). Continue reading “Wednesday reading roundup: May 25”

May 23, 2016May 30, 2017

Why I’m rereading Harry Potter, again

The world of Harry Potter shows me how to choose love, beauty, and meaning even when the world feels very dark indeed.

I’ve mentioned before that I first discovered the Harry Potter series when I was looking for a children’s book to read in Greek. This is because reading children’s books is one way I maintain my language skills (or try to, anyway).

The book engaged me so much that I ended up consuming it in one giant gulp, in English, before returning to work my way slowly through the Greek version, dictionary in hand. But it wasn’t until reading the third book, the Prisoner of Azkaban, that I well and truly fell in love with the series. That was when I began to see it as an allegory about growing up and becoming a grown-up, which has to do with taking responsibility for your life and choices, especially when they’re imperfect and undesirable. Continue reading “Why I’m rereading Harry Potter, again”

May 20, 2016May 30, 2017

15 short books for National Readathon Day

For readers planning to participate in National Readathon Day, here's a starter list of excellent reads suitable for reading in a single day.

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”

May 16, 2016May 30, 2017

Four (more) alternatives to a traditional book club

So many book clubs I’ve participated in might have survived if we'd had an alternative to reading a single book, especially when we didn’t share the same taste in books or the same goals for our book discussions.

A few months ago, I wrote about three ways to shake up your book club with new approaches, inspired by my numerous and varied failed book club attempts.

My current book club operates on the traditional “let’s all read the same book” principle. Still, I can think of many groups I’ve participated in that might have survived if we hadn’t put that particular pressure on ourselves. This is especially true when we didn’t share the same taste in books or the same goals for our book discussions.

I love talking about books and hearing what everyone is reading. In the spirit of creating community (and social events!) around books and reading, here are four more suggestions. They’re tailor-made for readers looking for a social night out and some casual book chatting but without the restrictions of reading a single book. Continue reading “Four (more) alternatives to a traditional book club”

May 11, 2016June 1, 2017

Fun Wednesday meme: Three WWWs

Happy hump day reading! Taking on a World of Words is hosting this fun meme, which I first discovered at Coffee and Cats. It asks three simple but ever alluring questions: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?

They’re alluring questions because … because … oh well, I can’t help myself:

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a book lover in possessions of three current reads and 500+ of her own damn books* must be in want of more book suggestions. Or something.

Now that’s out of the way… Continue reading “Fun Wednesday meme: Three WWWs”

May 10, 2016May 30, 2017

Reading pet peeve #2: The phrase guilty pleasure

I could live the rest of my life quite happily without ever, ever again hearing the phrase guilty pleasure applied to one’s reading choices.

What bothers me is, it constructs false binaries: pleasure or enrichment, entertainment or education, fun or value.

As an academic, I’ve seen how these binaries can taint the idea of pleasure, as if feeling happy or good is somehow unworthy or lacking in value. If we’re not suffering, we’re probably not being challenged enough, or working hard enough, or smart enough to understand that we don’t understand.

No.

We can enjoy books and still be smart about them. We can enjoy books and still be rigorous with them. Now I think about it, don’t we enjoy books because we find value in them? Continue reading “Reading pet peeve #2: The phrase guilty pleasure”