Shaina Reads

• A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin — My boyfriend I finally finished our read-aloud! We've moved right along into A Clash of Kings, but I plan to write a post about how the first reading went. In sum: you are a dirty, dirty man, George.


• What Strange Creatures, by Emily Arsenault — A perfectly decent crime-y thriller for R.I.P. X. (my review)


• The Wasp Factory, by Iain Banks — Another R.I.P. pick. Lots of animal torture and an ending I still can't make up my mind about. (my review)


• Ancillary Mercy, by Ann Leckie — This was the final installment in Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy, a space opera that tackles notions of gender, consent and personhood. I'm planning a double-review post featuring this and The Heart Goes Last (you know, that book I read last month and said I'd review soon) because eff yeah, lady sci-fi writers.


• Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice, by Adam Benforado — This is the first nonfiction I've read since July! Thankfully, this look at humanity's innate social cognitive biases did not disappoint. (my review)

On the blog:

• READATHON, READATHON, READATHON. *\o/* This was my third time participating, and the event ran more smoothly than ever. I also hosted my first mini-challenge, which was way less stressful and more of a blast than I could have anticipated. I'm counting down the days 'til the April event!


• I completed the Peril the First reading challenge for R.I.P. X and corralled all my reviews here! I would say I already miss the spookiness of the event, but, you know, still listening to IT. 


• I waxed poetic about a woodland library and discussed the sort of book that hippies love to read.


• Even more library chatter! I linked up for the first time with River City Reading's Library Checkout feature and unabashedly enjoyed the chance to draw up lists of my library books.

In life:

• I took the GRE and I will never, ever blog about it again!

• Before the test, I went into full-on stress baking mode and made two apple pies in two weeks. I don't think I've ever made better decisions.


• Despite still having the yuckiest viral infection in recent memory, I hopped on a train with my boyfriend to visit some college friends in New York City over Halloween. I don't see these guys enough, and it was wonderful to hang out over bottomless wine, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and many, many plays of Spooky Scary Skeletons.


• Before we left on our trip, we made sure to take the all-important family costume photos. Not pictured: the metallic purple Leela hair I had the next night.

In November:

• I will be promoting and signing people up for my totally bonkers Twelve Books of Christmas reading challenge.  Go, go, go!


• Two of my graduate school applications are due on December 1, and I hope to have them in before Thanksgiving, if possible. The end draws near!


• Speaking of Thanksgiving, my boyfriend and I are heading to Florida for four days of food, family and some good ol' poolside lounging. Although the weather in Connecticut has been surprisingly warm lately, I know I need to bottle up all the sunshine I can to tide me over once the cold sets in for good.


• I nearly forgot that my first blogoversary is this month! Although I technically opened up shop on November 1, my first real post wasn't until November 13. I guess I have until then to figure out a good way to celebrate—any ideas?

• The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway (read 8/31) — You guys! My first ever audio book! All of these words were promptly eaten. (my review)


• Ring, by Koji Suzuki — This was some Japanese horror, and I will probably write a mini-review about it.


• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey — My second ever audio book! I don't think I've ever felt more ambivalent about a read, but I have the sneaking suspicion it's going to end up on my top books of the year list anyway. (my review)


• The Heart Goes Last, by Margaret Atwood — I doubt I have to tell anyone here that Atwood had a new book published yesterday. I haven't had time to properly digest this one yet, but expect a review before long!


• The Fever, by Megan Abbott — Just the thriller I needed when everything else felt like too much effort. It took me right back to my high school days (you know, minus the mass illness).

On the blog:

• I asked you to help me win Books on the Nightstand bingo. I didn't end up reading anything you guys recommended (oops), but I won anyway!


• I started a brand new roundup feature as a way to keep the blog going while I devote ungodly amounts of time to the graduate school application cycle. Thanks again to all the great bloggers I featured in Issues #1, #2 and #3; I couldn't keep this place running without you.


• I pledged to read a whole bunch of creepy literature as part of R(eaders) I(mbibing) P(eril) X, hosted by the fabulous Estella Society. There's still time to join in!


• Because I was already thinking about things that go bump in the night, I asked my fellow horror fans to weigh in on why they love being scared by their reads.

In life:

• Er... GRE math?


• I watched Being John Malkovich for the first time ever on 35mm film!


• Oh, who am I kidding. I mostly did math (and tweeted at Shannon about it).

In October:

• I will finally take the GRE and hopefully never blog about it ever again, for all of our sakes.


• Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon is October 17! It's a full day of reading, socializing, game-playing and prize-winning. I know I say this a lot, but, seriously, do this. The October event is extra special because it's the whole reason I ended up starting this blog.


• What else will she do?! IT'S A MYSTERY. (More grad school app stuff and hopefully some apple pie baking.)

• The Dust That Falls From Dreams, by Louis de Bernières — A sprawling family saga set during World War I. This was my first read from de Bernières, and I've already picked up my second. (my review)


• The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, by Anna McPartlin — Yet another family drama, this one revolving around a woman's battle with cancer. The story tackled a hard topic with often spot-on black humor, but ultimately it was not my cup of tea. (my review)


• Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen — I finally read it! It only took a whole event dedicated to Austen to make it happen. (my thoughts)


• Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel — The hype train had finally moved on to other things, and I gave this one a go. It was so, so much more than its post-apocalyptic premise. (joint review with The Book of Strange New Things)


• The Book of Strange New Things, by Michel Faber — I snapped this one up right after finishing Station Eleven because I had it on good authority that they paired well. It was different (less world devastation, more religion and aliens) but also quite good. (joint review with Station Eleven)


• Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng — Another long-time passenger on the hype train that I finally checked out, another heavy dose of excitement well-deserved. (my review)

On the blog:

• I finally shared my review of The Library at Mount Char along with a brief Q&A with author Scott Hawkins.


• I participated in Top Ten Tuesday twice, sharing my most-read authors and the syllabus for my forthcoming class, Giving a Shit 101, to be funded by Lauren of Malcolm Avenue Review.


• I shared the fall ARCs I'm most excited for (none of which I've read yet, oops).


• I confessed that I've never read Shakespeare, and y'all seemed pretty OK with that.


• I asked you whether there are "wrong" ways to encourage reading, focusing on a reading program being promoted by McDonald's.

In life:

• I participated in Bout of Books 14 and took a huge chunk out of my TBR pile!


• I sent my boyfriend off on a business trip with some delectable chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Jenna of JMill Wanders knows what I'm talking about.


• GRE math. Ugh. 


• Last Friday, my boyfriend got the news that his grandfather died overnight. Friday evening was spent doing laundry and getting him ready for a last-minute trip to California for the funeral.


• The very next day, I found out that one of my father's ex-girlfriends got sentenced to a whole bunch of prison time. This wasn't unexpected, but it doesn't make for a happy phone call. 


• I watched a whole lot of Cupcake Wars and Next Food Network Star this weekend. See last two bullet points and "stress and anxiety" above.

In September:

• Get over the crap month that was August. My boyfriend's return and the upcoming long weekend should do wonders for that.


• Get crazy busy at work (which should help with the above too—I'm happy when I'm occupied). My boss's three new graduate students arrived this month, and with them came a much heavier need for new research participants. I also need to hire a handful of new undergraduate research assistants and coordinate schedules for my returning ones. Bring it on.


• Figure out where my reading is taking me. I mentioned that I've had a hard time finishing and/or getting into anything recently, so we'll just have to see what sticks.

• Summer Sisters, by Judy Blume — I read this one for the second leg of the #BlumeAlong and adored it. (my review)


• The Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins — This was one weird book, and I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it! I'll be posting a review and a brief Q&A with the author next week.


• Girl at War, by Sara Nović — Beautifully-written and heartbreaking saga of a young girl coming of age during and after the Yugoslav Wars. (my review)


• The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins — I got my grubby paws on the thriller that everyone's talking about. (my review)

On the blog:

• I finally posted a pile of overdue reviews! I talked about The Invisible History of the Human Race and The Girl with All the Gifts, and I compiled a mini-review roundup of three atmospheric reads.


• I shared some of my favorite books from my childhood and teenage years and admitted to just how poorly I remember some of them.


• I got all serious about how I deal with book review regret.


• I confessed that I've never listened to an audiobook and have almost no desire to change that.

In life:

• I enjoyed a week and a half in Oregon and basically ignored all the books I brought with me in favor of swimming, hiking and festival-going.


• While Oregon-ing, I turned 24! I ate chocolate cupcakes, wore a tiara, and did all the other things adults do on their birthdays.


• My mom made her first trip to Connecticut to visit me! I'm sure that those of you who have friended me on Facebook enjoyed her prolific photo posts over the past week.


• My boyfriend and I made a delicious, buttery batch of homemade refried beans.


• I won TWO whole books through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program! I was just becoming convinced that no one ever won those.

In August:

• My boyfriend and I really need to get back on our A Game of Thrones read-aloud. We've read under ten pages since hitting the halfway mark before our vacation. Snails, I tell you.


• Speaking of my boyfriend, he goes out of the country on a business trip next Wednesday, which means a week full of me, myself, my cat and my books. I can't wait for all of that uninterrupted reading time. Social life? What's that?


• Bout of Books 14! Bout of Books 14!

• The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips (ARC) — Eerie and oh so readable! Look out for a review of this one in late July/early August.


• Bird Box by Josh Malerman — Solid backlist horror, though I wasn't impressed by the ending.


• The Wives of Los Alamos by TaraShea Nesbit — Quiet, atmospheric, and devastating are all words I'd use to describe this one about the wives of scientists involved in the Manhattan Project.


• Considering Hate: Violence, Goodness, and Justice in American Culture and Politics by Kay Whitlock and Michael Bronski (my review/thoughts)


• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie — My second cozy by this juggernaut, and I liked it much more than my first.


• Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine (my thoughts/notes on seeing Claudia speak)


• Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume — I revisited this old favorite for the #BlumeAlong and was surprised by what I did and didn't remember! 


• The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey — I did this one as a buddy read with Katie from Bookish Tendencies and Emily from Backlist Books. We chatted on Thursday evening, and I hope to get a review up sometime next week! The short version: I loved it.


• Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson — Verse poetry for Books on the Nightstand bingo. I honestly don't feel knowledgeable enough about poetry or Greek mythology to review it, but I enjoyed the ride.


• The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (my review)

On the blog:

• I got a little personal and talked about using books as an escape from the sometimes harsh realities of life.


• I hosted a giveaway of Claudia Rankine's excellent poetry/prose collection Citizen after loving it myself and getting the chance to see her speak. Congratulations again to Heather of Bits n Books for winning!


• I shared the three most fascinating facts I learned from Johann Hari's Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, an A+ read from May. If you have any interest at all in the American drug war, I implore you (again) to pick this one up!


• I unveiled my Books on the Nightstand bingo card and asked you all how you mix up your own reading habits.


• I waxed poetic about reading Judy Blume as a young gal in honor of this summer's #BlumeAlong, hosted by Kerry at Entomology of a Bookworm.


• I helped initiate another #flashreadathon after building a library stack that could crush my cat. Two of my ten reads in June happened during the readathon, and I call that a success!

In life:

• As already mentioned, I got to see Claudia Rankine speak as part of New Haven's International Arts and Ideas Festival. She was warm, charismatic and a fantastic reader. I feel so fortunate to have seen her for free and gotten my copy of Citizen signed. If she comes to a place near you, make the trip!


• I've trained a batch of brand new interns in my lab. It was a hectic first couple of weeks, but they're self-sufficient (and so productive) at this point. I mostly make sure they have what they need and don't burn things down these days.


• I watched the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup for the third time in six years! (From my couch, that is.) I love me some hockey and bearded men on skates, and I especially love the Hawks because, y'know, Chicago.


• At the behest of Trish from Love, Laughter and Insanity and with some encouragement from Cass of Queerly Seen, I ordered my first Stitch Fix box! (If you want to know more about Stitch Fix, Trish wrote a pretty good overview of the program and shared two of her boxes.) I ended up keeping three out of the five items they sent me and am well on my way to a capsule wardrobe.


• My boyfriend and I have reached the halfway mark in our A Game of Thrones read-aloud to each other. We're having so much fun with it, and I will definitely be posting about it soon.

In July:

• By the time you're reading this post, I'll be at 30,000 feet on my way to Oregon, probably reading something from my carry-on. I'm so thrilled (and lucky) to start off my month on vacation!


• Birthday, birthday! Expect photos of woodland celebration at the Oregon Country Fair when I return.


• More books, of course! Who do you take me for?

• 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.

• OK, so this one is vaguely Shaina-related. Have you guys heard of Oh, The Books!? They're a pair of YA bloggers (an evil mastermind and a crazy cat lady, to be exact), and they put together the most ridiculously comprehensive weekly recaps I've ever seen. Check - your post is probably on there! They've featured me twice, and I've had a lot of fun poking around their site.
• Trish of Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity hosted her very first Day in the Life feature. She asked bloggers to devote a post to their daily routine, and they came out in spades - more than 60 people shared a slice of their lives! It was a lot of fun to sneak a peek into the days of the people behind the blogs, and I really hope to participate next time. Congrats on such a successful event, Trish!
• Have y'all ever wanted a place you can go to seriously talk about that last book you read without worrying you'll spoil it for someone else? The Socratic Salon might just be for you. It's a brand new blog, but the five women who run it have kicked it off to an amazing start with an in-depth discussion of Hausfrau. If spoilers don't scare you, check it out!

• Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon. 24 straight hours of reading. I wouldn't be a blogger if not for Dewey's. 'Nuff. Said. DO IT.
• April of The Steadfast Reader and Katie of Bookish Tendencies are hosting a month-long Cloud Atlas read-along. I've never read anything of Mitchell's, so why not dive in with some friends?