My Month in Reading (and More): So Long, May!
June 01, 2015
Another month, another wrap-up post!
May has been pretty fantastic in reading, blogging and other life events. While April brought exhaustion and some bookish ambivalence, May brought rejuvenation (well, minus that stupid cold) and fantastic reads across the board.
This was exactly the kind of month I needed before things get crazy at work. I'm planning and supervising a two-month summer internship program for six undergraduates and recent graduates, which will mean busier days, more weekend work and a constantly-frazzled Shaina. This is my second go at running the internship, and I feel much more prepared for things this time around. I know I'll be reading to de-stress, but I hope I find the time to keep blogging, too!
Anyway, back to May:
I read/reviewed:
- Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, by Johann Hari <-- This book is excellent and I can't believe I haven't reviewed it yet. Bad book blogger.
- All the Birds, Singing, by Evie Wyld (chat review here)
- The Shore, by Sara Taylor (review here)
- The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman <-- This book is good, but I want more time to dig in to research on Vietnam before I try to say anything intelligent about it. I read this for my 2015 TBR Pile Challenge.
- Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science—and the World, by Rachel Swaby (review here)
On the blog:
- I wrote about how the homeless often get the shaft when it comes to library access, and commenters shared ways in which some libraries are combating this problem. Thanks for talking with me about it!
- I begged you for non-fiction recommendations, and y'all delivered.
- I dove into a new weekly feature with gusto! I talked about books I got on the cheap for Thrifty Thursdays, a meme started by Sal over at Motion Sick Lit.
- I shared oodles of other reviews: I talked up Tell the Wolves I'm Home (and might still be crying) and took care of some stragglers from Readathon and my TBR Pile Challenge.
In life:
- I baked some delectable blueberry muffins, and then I blogged about it.
- My boyfriend's mom came to visit for Mother's Day. We ate; we beached; we bought books. It was lovely.
- I helped my boyfriend usher in his 24th birthday in style. Food, cake and booze galore.
- I went to Chicago and saw two wonderful people get married. Plus, I got to spend time with family and good friends!
- Oh, about those friends... I met Julianne! She's great. Check out the video we made answering questions from bloggers like you (while we were tipsy)!
In June:
- I want to continue my non-fiction streak. I'm currently in the middle of Considering Hate: Violence, Goodness, and Justice in American Culture and Politics by Kay Whitlock and Michael Bronski and The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science is Still a Boys' Club by Eileen Pollack. I'm really enjoying both, and you all have given me so many more options to explore!
- I want to dominate the discussion of All the Birds, Singing over at the Socratic Salon on June 11.
- I want to finally organize my Feedly so I can keep up with blogs in a timely fashion instead of reading (and commenting on) seven backlogged posts at once. Sorry, guys.
How was YOUR May? Tell me all about it!
12 comments
Sounds like you had a great month! I'm SO excited for the All the Birds chat at TSS, and can't wait to hash things out with you! I also bought Tell the Wolves I'm Home from a used bookstore on your recommendation, so here's to hoping I can get to it soon! I'm hoping to focus on reading a lot of backlist stuff in June, so it's certainly a contender!
ReplyDeleteGreat May! I think I need to read All the Birds, Singing....hearing so many good things about it, but don't think I'll get to it in time for TSS discussion :(
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss you reading The Forever War?? I want to get on that shit so badly.
ReplyDeleteThe Shore was a popular one in the feeds last month. I actually added it to my TBR thanks to you and a few others. I'm glad you and Julianne had such a great time. I kind of enjoy living vicariously through other bloggers.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I haven't heard of Chasing the Scream, but it sounds really interesting! I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying The Only Woman in the Room! The rep at BEA said she'd send me a copy, but we'll see if that happens :P
ReplyDeleteHi, I just wanted to say I just discovered your blog and am really enjoying it! I'm currently reading Headstrong, so I'm glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteHehe, will the gloves come off? ;) Kidding. I'm really excited to see what everyone thought of All the Birds, too!
ReplyDeleteOh, YAY! I hope you adore Tell the Wolves. Be prepared to get kicked right in the feels.
Best of luck with your backlist reading. :)
Aww, bummer! I hope you do get to it at some point, because it's such a gem of a novel.
ReplyDeleteI don't know! I feel like I messaged you about getting it for one of my #readathon mini-challenge prizes??
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it was good, but I feel utterly unprepared to review it because 1. I almost never read war stories, and 2. I know next to nothing about Vietnam. I plan to dive into some serious Wikipedia reading before even trying.
I'm glad we persuaded you to check out The Shore! All in a day's work as a book blogger. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd oh, me too! I'm usually all green with envy/excited as heck when I see other bloggers are meeting up and hanging out, and I feel so lucky to have gotten a chance to do so with Julianne!
I'm actually finally settling down to write my Chasing the Scream review this morning (because the book is finally due back at the library tomorrow—no more renewals, no more procrastinating!).
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying The Only Woman, though I have to say that the blurb led me astray... this is much more of a memoir than a look at the question of why there are so few women in STEM (unless things change dramatically in the second half of the book). I'm going to reserve my judgment until I get to the end, though.
Oh, yay! Nice to (virtually) meet you and thanks for stopping by. :)
ReplyDeleteSO happy to hear you're reading Headstrong—it was such an enjoyable romp through women's history.