Tag: Reading

April Reading Roundup
It’s a good thing that I keep a log of the books I read, because I can’t remember the beginning of April. That log also will hopefully mean that I can and will get all the way through this blog post, and it won’t end up relegated to the drafts folder like all the half-finished others. I believe in myself! Anyway, I did some reading. A lot of it was rough going in the content sense, which maybe wasn’t great right now? I don’t know. Here’s a roundup.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Tales from growing up in post-apartheid South Africa from the point of view of a true misfit. This book is hilarious, insightful, and deeply concerning, sometimes all at once. I’ve heard the audiobook version is good, but I just had good old paperback. I could still hear Noah’s voice in my head, though.

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

A classic Gladwell deep dive, this time into how we misinterpret interactions with people we don’t know. This is illustrated using a number of real-life cases as examples — mostly prominent police and sexual violence cases — which each build a piece of the picture. It’s also about how we default to truth in interactions. Appropriately for the chosen stories, it takes a more serious tone than his previous books.

Gladwell has been increasingly panned by critics for his anecdotal methodology. (There’s also this review in which the critic ironically appears to have fundamentally misunderstood what Gladwell is saying.) However, there is definitely a place for these accessible discussions. While rigorous and peer-reviewed studies are essential, getting out basic ideas and encouraging people to think about them is also kind of a good thing. Not that I’m biased.

The audiobook is read by Gladwell, but is interspersed with clips from interviews with various experts and court transcripts by voice actors. Each chapter opens with a clip from Janelle Monae’s “Hell You Talmbout“, which helps to keep grounding the tangents Gladwell takes back to the underlying problem of what can go wrong when we can’t talk to strangers.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Audiobook highly recommended: Obama’s voice is wonderfully soothing, and she injects an extra element of life and personality into it. She traces her story from growing up in Chicago through living in the White House, sprinkling smart observations throughout. Also almost made me cry multiple times, often just from nostalgia. Her emphasis, though, is how ordinary her life was.

There is also an upcoming Netflix special that looks to be an equal heart-string-plucker.

Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

A different kind of touching story. This is the story behind this article, and what went into the investigation. Far more than just a story of one man’s serial sexual abuses, it follows many trails that add up to a culture of powerful men taking advantage of women and doing what they can to stay in power, especially by leveraging the press. These are some heavy subjects, and Farrow navigates them sensitively but still directly. The book is made readable (as opposed to a pile of emotional depression dumped on your head) by the momentum of the narrative, which includes some entertaining asides and character profiles. In some ways, it reads like the mystery novel that would never get published because it’s just too crazy.

Audiobook recommended just so you can hear Farrow’s attempts at different voices. And/or you can listen to the eponymous podcast and hear the voices from the people themselves.

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

And now an actual novel! A time travel novel! This story is fast-paced, and it doesn’t baby the reader along: it’s just one damned thing after another. The characters are fun, although I had some trouble keeping them straight. It got a little Russian novel with the names by the end, with everyone separately referred to by first, last, nickname, and sometimes title. That gets points for realism, but as a reader not living the life of the protagonist, I couldn’t ever remember who belonged to which first name. Also points for realism for not starting with an info dump, although I could have used a bit more exposition in the beginning to just settle into the story.

My biggest gripe, though, is that there are apparently sequels, but my library doesn’t acknowledge their existence. They might only be available in the UK. I WANT MORE.

April Reading Roundup Review
- April reading was actually April listening.
- Audiobooks are great.
- My current method of dealing with stress is to learn about other people’s stresses.
- I have to relearn how to sit down and read.
- Does anyone have recommendations for books/podcasts and if so could you sort of secretly share them with me because I already have a bunch on my list but I want more but I don’t want to keep putting off preexisting <li>
- Anyway love you all thanks for reading
4 May 2020
March Reading Roundup
Well friends, we did it: we made it through March 2020. You know that old saying, March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb? Yeah. I think the weather (mostly) got that memo, but everything else still seems to be stuck on big cats. My March reading list is brought to you courtesy of Audiobooks From My Local Library, which has generously allowed me to do other fun quarantine activities like cleaning while still reading away. (Really though, Overdrive is awesome.)

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

Format: audiobook, read by Caroline Criado Perez

Read this. It will make you mad.

Subtitled “Data Bias in a World Designed for Men”, Perez takes sixteen chapters to break down the aspects of life in which women are at statistical disadvantage. As it turns out, that’s pretty much all of them. From medicines to the design of tools and technology to mass transit to breast pumps, things just don’t seem to be made with women in mind. Why is that? As Perez concludes time and again: male is default, and woman is deviant. And things stay this way because gathering the badly needed data on women is just too hard.

Perez wields the available data like a scalpel, and highlights the gaps where data isn’t. Here’s a quick taste of what’s in store for you:

1: Almost no medical trials include female subjects in Phase I testing. They have those pesky hormones and aberrant physiologies, and whatever works on males works on females, right? However, researchers have discovered that there are some drugs that only work in the presence of estrogen. That means they don’t work on men, and therefore never even make it to Phase II, where the female testing generally starts.

2: The average smartphone is too large for the average woman to use one-handed. It’s also much too large to fit in the average woman’s pocket (ASSUMING THEY HAVE THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE). It’s ok, of course, because women put them in their purses instead. And don’t worry, they’re probably not going to get any bigger from here. Why’s that? Oh, because we’ve reached the limit of what the average man can use one-handed.

Male is default, woman is deviant.

Unmaking the Presidency by Benjamin Wittes and Susan Hennessey

Format: audiobook, read by Benjamin Wittes and Susan Hennessey

Another anger-inducing book for you! Wittes (a national-security-and-law journalist/Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute/Cofounder of the Lawfare Blog) and Hennessey (Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute/Executive Editor of the Lawfare Blog/former NSA attorney) team up to dive through the history of the American presidency, and point out the ways in which the current office holder is an aberration. And not just an aberration — how he has the potential to change the presidency for good, if we let him.

There are so many examples that I frequently found myself going, “Oh wow, I completely forgot about that major incident!” Which is, of course, a normal feature of today’s political climate. What’s more, the body of this book was written before the Ukraine scandal came to the fore, before it triggered an impeachment. That’s right: a book’s worth of historically-backed proofs of deviations from the previously-accepted norms without impeachment, before Covid-19. It’s been a wild ride, and this book reminds you about all the rapids and waterfalls that we’ve already encountered and have probably forgotten.

Even if you’re tired about hearing how bad things are now, the anecdotes of past presidents are worth the read. The book is well paced to maintain interest, with enough moments of levity to keep it from getting bogged down. Fun linguistic and topical bonus: throughout the book, the authors use he and she interchangeably to refer to any hypothetical person. It’s amazing what a cognitive difference I felt to hear hypothetical presidents casually called “she” instead of the male default. I approve.

A Natural History of Dragons – The Tropic of Serpents – Voyage of the Basilisk – In the Labyrinth of Drakes – Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan

Format: audiobooks, read by Kate Reading

Or, the Lady Trent Memoirs. Now for the fun part of my March reading. These five books follow the life of Isabella, Lady Trent, as she makes all the discoveries she possibly can about dragons. While it is ostensibly set in a fantasy world, everything is easily recognizable as elements of our world in the Victorian era, renamed. But of course, let’s not forget: with the addition of dragons. Isabella starts her tale as a child obsessed with learning about dragons. In spite of the societal expectations that she grow to be A Lady, she embarks on a journey to learn everything she can about all the different kinds of dragons: what counts as a dragon, how to classify them, how to account for differences between species, how they reproduce… In short, A Natural History of Dragons.

Charmingly narrated from the point of view of an older (and sassier) Lady Trent looking back on her eventful life, you get to make all the discoveries along with the younger Isabella. And it’s great. At many points, the dragons are only periphery to her experiences with the different cultures she encounters on her trips around the world. This includes what in our world would be everything from the Carpathians to West Africa to Polynesia and beyond, all underwoven with the mysterious remnants of the ancient Draconian culture.

Each book features a main “big discovery” about dragons. And let me tell you, they just keep getting bigger. I got through the last two books in about a day and a half each, because I just couldn’t put them down anymore. (Er, press pause on them.) If you’re looking for some exciting escapism, this is it. It has everything: scientific discoveries, political intrigue, cultural examinations, personal struggles, you name it. Highly recommend.

March Reading Roundup Review

Everything’s gone political these days, it seems. My March reading did not escape that. I know a common talking point during crises is to say that now isn’t the time to be political. Don’t rock the boat now, there are bigger fish to fry. Why are you worried about the hurricane coming when your house is on fire — or should that be the other way around? But crises are exactly when we need to be paying attention. They’re exactly when the problems of society are most on display.

So yeah, there’s a lot going on in the world right now. And yeah, it can be overwhelming. Other crises don’t go away when another one comes along. Just remember to make sure that you take care of yourself, both mentally and physically. Take breaks, step back from the world, read a book. Even though my March reading wasn’t all fun and games, it can be weirdly cathartic to look at things that aren’t global pandemic, even if they’re also not so great. Variety is the spice of life, or whatever. Anyway. Stay safe, and wash your hands.

Want to read more? Check these out:
1 April 2020
December/ January/ February Reading Roundup
It’s that time again: December/ January/ February Reading Roundup! Totally normal timeframe! I’m definitely not wildly behind! Yes, I did originally intend for these book roundups to be monthly, but… pobody’s nerfect. In any case, here’s my selection of book’s I’ve read recently-ish.

The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas

This is the fourth installment of Thomas’ Lady Sherlock series. I wrote about the previous three back in October, and finally got my copy from the library in December. That’s the Problem With Popular Books. This book continues the lives of the characters, as expected, and is engaging, etc. etc. Mostly this made my list of Books To Talk About because I want to commend the author (or editor) who has cracked down on the use of the phrase “which happened to be”. I have Sherry Thomas herself to thank for the discovery of my hate for that phrase, when used incorrectly. It is acceptable when the feature being described is something coincidental or ironic, not when you just want more words to say that something is. When used purely to flower up your language, I picture you going around perpetually surprised by your environs, eyebrows frozen up at your hairline.

The Burning Sky Trilogy, by Sherry Thomas

Now we get straight fantasy from Thomas, having previously explored her takes on historical and modern fiction. This is a trilogy in the book-in-three-parts sense, with only sub-conclusions to the first two books. In other words, ya gotta read them all. Thankfully, they are highly readable and engaging (I might need to find a new word for that soon)—once you get into it, that is. The beginning of the first book is the most difficult part to get through: it is exposition-heavy to the point that I almost gave up reading halfway through the second chapter. My persistence was ultimately rewarded, though. My only other big complaint was the footnotes. Throughout the series, she uses footnotes to add more detail and explanations. While I like these additions and the world-building they bring, I don’t like the format. Footnotes in this context felt very clunky. I would have preferred something like chapter openers, even if that meant sacrificing some of the information.

Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott

While this is ostensibly a book on writing (alright yes the tag says “and life”), Lamott has stuffed it full of her observations on life, and her advice for living. Even the parts on writing and the writing process are easily and directly applicable to non-writing aspects of live. Best of all, she writes with a humorous and what I can only describe as real voice that at times had me legit laughing out loud. Highly recommend.

Sweep With Me by Ilona Andrews

Full disclosure before I get into this one: I absolutely love everything I have read by Ilona Andrews. Their settings and characters are just everything I want in life, and I don’t care if you disagree with me. “Sweep With Me” is the fifth book in their Innkeeper Chronicles series, which I believe starts its life as blog installments before moving to book form. This one concludes some arcs from the third and fourth books, but still leaves open some big questions that have been lurking in the background throughout the series. It felt a little short to me, but I do always want more from them so that might be it. I’m frankly too lazy to check actual lengths, since I only have Kindle editions. I highly recommend checking out the first book, Clean Sweep (PUNS), if you’re at all interested in alternate-Earth fantasy with aliens.

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

We’ve finally made it to actual February reading! Here we have a mystery woven through the centuries (ok, a century and a half). This is a beautifully written book with a rich cast of characters connected through time and place. The reveals are well paced to maintain interest, in that sweet spot of progressing quickly while still giving you time to breathe. The exception in my mind is the end, which did feel a little rushed. Or I might have been reading it too quickly. The world may never know.

Range by David Epstein

This book is an examination of the modern love of specialization, and why that is stifling innovation. Also, why you shouldn’t feel left behind if other people are “ahead” of you: different paths lead to different specialties and, crucially, different collections of knowledge. Epstein weaves a narrative line through anecdotes and biographies, exploring the differences between breadth and depth; the latter is valuable, but the former is required for making true progress, by connecting disparate subjects.

February Reading Roundup Review

I’ve left out some December/ January/ February reading in the interest of, well, interest. Check out my October reads for some insight into that. Right now I’m really enjoying the books on writing, because – shocker – writers make really good authors, and they have some good insight on life. I also have a growing pile of physical books that I need to read, that I keep pushing down the list as library books come off hold. [Ok side note I’ve spent a long time now looking at that last phrase, and I can’t tell if that’s proper English. Do book come off hold? Come up for checkout? Get off the hold list? Someone please help me I don’t know what to say.] SO, if you have sent/loaned/watched me buy a book recently and it hasn’t been featured yet, it’s assuredly not because it didn’t make the cut. I’m just not to it yet.

Like this? Check out some other recent posts!
1 March 2020
November Reading (Writing) Roundup and Where I’ve Been

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN— EMORY ROSENOW? Well, I’m still in my awesome reading chair and lost in a book! I’ve just spent the last month lost in a novel of my own writing for a change. (Oh my!) Don’t worry, I still have a couple of book recommendations for you people from things I read in November. There’s just fewer this month – partly because I’ve been waiting for an approximate AGE on SEVERAL books from the library (READ FASTER, PEOPLE).

WHERE— No wait we just established that. WHAT?

So. I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month this year, after talking about doing it for the last I DON’T KNOW six years? But this year I completed it. (Note that this is not the same as completing the novel.) The challenge, for all the cool kids out there who aren’t horrible nerds like me, is to write 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November, or about 1667 words per day. I have accomplished that (please clap), and right now I’m sitting on I don’t know what percentage of a very rough draft, not ready for human consumption yet. So unless you’re a literarily-inclined cat (in which case I have questions) there’s nothing for you to read yet. Patience.

THAT’S RIGHT, I’M A WINNER

I will say, I have discovered this neat trick for writing a novel. It’s not a novel idea or anything, but I think it could be useful for you, if you’re interesting in getting into any kind of writing. If you want to write something, you write, and then you don’t stop writing. (Just like flying is falling but missing the Earth.) Anyway, now onto the reading part of the November Reading Writing!

Book Recommendations

Now the really good stuff that you’ve actually been waiting for! (And if that’s the case I’m really sorry, but you have hyped this up too much. Not me. You.)

Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris

This is my #1 reading recommendation from November. It’s part grammar, part memoire, part history, and entirely delightful. I legitimately was laughing out loud frequently while reading this. Mary Norris worked in the editing stews of the New Yorker as a copy editor for twenty-four years, and draws heavily on those experiences to write her version of How English Works. She uses a lovely writing style (shocking) and interesting anecdotes to explore different facets of grammar, spelling, and common usage. Good luck predicting what she’s going to write about next, too. Huge thanks to Appletree Books for including this in their November local author reading recommendations (Mary Norris is a Cleveland native). Now I know even more useless trivia with which I can amaze (not annoy) my friends!

Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn

Yes, more Julia Quinn. I’m going to read all her stuff. They’re better romances than most of the ones you see. Anyway, none of that’s the point. The point is that, in this book, they wait for the tea to steep. That’s right: the characters take the time to steep their tea properly. None of this nonsense of dropping a teabag into water and going HEY LOOK IT’S TEA, or, even worse, using a gottdam Keurig and magically having tea (Ilona Andrews I love you so much but I am looking at you so hard right now). Tea takes a hot second. Not like an age, but LORDY PEOPLE let your poor characters drink some proper brew, you’re putting them through enough without making them drink leaf water.

Make Space by Regina Wong

This is a book about minimalism. I was like hey cool, sounds interesting, I’m interested in leaning more that direction in my life, I’ll see what Regina ~~George~~Wong has to say. Oh. My. Goodness. This was the most repetitive book I think I’ve ever read. You would think that a book on minimalism would, I don’t know, get to the point? Not repeat itself multiple times? ~~Wong~~Wrong. There are good points to it but HEAVENS TO BETSY does it take a DAY to get to them. My assessment: not worth your time. Don’t make space in your reading schedule for this one.

November Reading Writing Others

The others are more Julia Quinn, but honestly there’s like only so much you can write about them. Rather, only so much I can write about them. An Offer From a Gentleman is a Cinderella retelling. The Secret Diaries of Miranda Cheever is what happens when you never move on from your childhood crush. What Happens in London is enemies to lovers trope… no, actually on second thought there’s a little more I can say about that one: it takes place entirely in London, and there are Russians.

I’m also considering adding more than books to my recommendations, because I think that my opinions should be valuable to you. If you want this from me, please go yell out your front door so I know. If you missed it, be sure to check out my October Reading Roundup for even more romance novels (because nothing says Spooktober like Regency-era lovers). Otherwise, this is my November Reading Writing Roundup out.

2 December 2019
October Reading Roundup
Posts are going to be a little thinner on the ground for a moment, while I’m doing THINGS. LOTS OF THINGS. EXCITING THINGS. Yay! And no I’m not going to write about them just yet. Sorry. Anyway, for now here’s some of my October reading (it’s a little romance-heavy, just so you’re forewarned), from the good to the don’t waste your time.

October Reading In Color

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

A thoroughly entertaining, light-hearted read. The characters are vivid, varied, and charming, and the scenes are set clearly. However, I felt that the pacing was just a little off. Not terrible, but it felt a bit like it was over before it started, or rather the big conflict happened without me noticing it. That could of course be on me. Jeni’s Ice Cream makes an exciting cameo, for my fellow Columbus-ites (ugh).

A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

Sherlock Holmes but he’s a woman. Also so is like everyone else. Glorious. The premise is lovely, the characters are very good, and it takes you straight to late Victorian London without passing go. And while I had some issues following dialogue (DIALOGUE TAGS ARE GREAT. USE DIALOGUE TAGS. Thomas clearly needs to read some Thursday Next.) and there were some whiplash perspective changes, the writing was overall solid. This is the first in her Lady Sherlock series, and it does a great job of setting up future tales of the great detective. The violin playing seems to be absent, though.

The One in My Heart by Sherry Thomas

When I went to check out the next book in the Lady Sherlock series, there was a WAIT LIST so I decided to try another book by the same author. According to the blurb description, this is her first foray into modern romance; her modern society looks somewhat different from mine, but I guess I also didn’t grow up on Park Ave so what do I know.

The characters eventually gelled, but I spent the first half of this STRUGGLING to understand anyone’s motivations and also just what was happening. Thomas likes to keep the reader in suspense, which is a great technique, but we need some basic info. Literally every character was keeping significant secrets for most of the book, so there really wasn’t anyone to side with. Dialogue tags were again an issue (it’s pretty cool to read a scene and then get to the end and realize you had the characters flipped. Also odd that that kept working…). This book does deal with some serious mental health issues in what I thought was a sensitive and caring way, and the main character is good at condemning statutory rape, so that’s pretty cool. There is also just a ton of sex in this book. Like, a few scenes short of being straight erotica. (I exaggerate slightly.) Just so you know.

A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas

BOOK TWO, WOO! Characters in this Lady Sherlock sequel seem to have really stabilized, and the dialogue tags and perspective hops are also improved. The story was engaging and the mystery was well-done, although I personally struggled to keep some characters straight. This is partly a me thing, as I identify characters by the first letter of their names; so if there’s both a Paul and Peter, for instance, I struggle. The pacing was slightly uneven (although never boring), and I thought the denouement delayed the actual explanations just a little bit too long.

To Catch an Heiress by Julia Quinn

Talk about wait lists. Julia Quinn, romance author extraordinaire, has multiple series. Many books. I swear that there’s a wait list on every single one from my library. I’ve been on hold for the second book in her main-ish series for over a month now, and the estimated wait time is still 8 weeks.

Anyway. This is the first book (of two, so far) in whatever this series is called. The story is entertaining, the characters are strong, and it keeps you engaged the whole time. I’m too lazy to do any actual research, but there were some moments that felt very anachronistic to me; Quinn writes in the Regency period so much though, so maybe she knows better than I. Expert that I am. This is a satisfying romance with great heaps of emotion, so if you’re an emotion junkie like me you’ll love this.

The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas

Oh baby it’s book three! Well written mystery that takes its time without feeling stodgy. The reveal was great: not at all predictable, but also not out of the blue. The characters are still strong and ripening like a good cheese. Gouda, probably.

How to Marry a Marquis by Julia Quinn

The second book in the Heiress whatever-it’s-called series. A sweet story with a strong female lead and a good supporting cast. There are classic romance tropes (they’re classic for a reason, ok?), but they’re well done. Satisfying as ever.

The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell

See, I don’t just read romances! Although I’m sure you could argue that this is a romance too: this will make you fall in love with The Danish Way. This is a highly entertaining account of the author’s year abroad in Denmark, and her attempts to understand hygge and to integrate (or not) into the Danish culture. Notably, what is it that makes Denmark the Happiest Country in the World? This book is full of sharp observations, good tips, realistic takes, and witty/hilarious dialogues. I highly recommend this book.

October Reading Roundup Review

Helen Russell has taught me to end chapters with bullet point summaries. Therefore: What do I think about my October reading?
- Romances are great hits of emotion.
- Dialogue tags are important.
- I get stuck on authors.
- It’s now November, and I need more hygge in my life.
3 November 2019