As mentioned in a previous post, I thought I would take a stab at posting a monthly book round up of books I read, books I’m currently reading, and books I’m looking forward to reading. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to keep this up on a monthly basis, but I figured I’d at least give it a try.

This month was a reading whirlwind for me, in part because I forgot to monitor my library holds list and as a result, all my books became available at the same time, and in part because when I was still in DC, I read through the books in my sister’s Lucy Knisley collection that I haven’t been able to find at my library. Also, a few of these books were short novellas. I always seem to read a lot in January, probably because I don’t really plan much or travel during the month. By the time I hit December, I’ll probably be down to reading one book a month (and a book club book at that), so I figure I should ride the wave while I can.

READ

French Milk – One of Lucy Knisley’s earlier graphic novels documenting her month-long trip to Paris with her mom. Lucky kid. It’s very much a diary of sketches and doesn’t really go beyond that, but I still loved the drawings.

Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube – From the cover and description I anticipated a story about a woman’s adventures in dog sledding in Alaska. It was so not that. Maybe one or two chapters of that and then the rest of the book covered the author’s struggles with the past, sexuality, and abusive relationships. In Norway. Maybe if I hadn’t been expecting something different, I would have enjoyed this book more,  but I still maintain that writing a memoir in your early 20s is way too young to be writing memoirs unless your target audience is teenagers.

Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride – I will always love Lucy Knisley’s artwork, and I adore that she is able to tell stories of her life through drawing, but I felt like this book was walking the fine line of being interesting and being self-absorbed. Kind of like when you have a friend who you used to do cool shit with until they started dating some dude. It’s the normal progression of life I suppose (I’m not sure I’ll be able to endure years of books about all the cute things her kid does), but I can’t imagine this book in particular appealing to a wide audience as it truly is a hefty 300+ pages of wedding talk. On the one hand, I would have loved to have read her book when I was going through my own wedding planning because there were many things that I agreed with (basically the whole wedding industry is blah). On the other hand, I was hoping for a little more depth and insight into past relationships instead of stories about her fairy-tale romance, her engagement announcement in the NYTimes, and the stress of her mom building a barn for her wedding. I wasn’t able to relate to those stories — or the fact that her parents paid for her wedding despite her being a NYTimes best selling author — and I doubt most brides would. Basically I felt that despite being an anti-bride, she was very much a Martha Stewart Bride, DIY projects and all. Nothing wrong with either, just don’t sell me one thing and give me another.

Today Will Be Different – There were a few moments that amused me and made me laugh out loud, but overall just an ok book. It’s no Where’d You Go Bernadette.

Sweetbitter – I actually started reading this behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant service industry + coming of age in NYC book last year, and couldn’t get past the first few chapters without rolling my eyes. I hated the writing style and the tone of the book and thought I had fallen victim to marketing hype. This month, I gave it a second chance and ended up really enjoying it.

Murder Mysteries – A graphic novel by Neil Gaiman, one of my all-time favorite authors. This book was just…odd. Once again didn’t quite live up to what I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it.

Seconds: A Graphic Novel – I have been scouring my library for stand-alone comics or graphic novels and this one, written by the author of the Scott Pilgrim series, popped up. I loved the drawings (especially of the house/restaurant interiors), and loved the strange, somewhat bittersweet story. A book I wouldn’t mind having in my collection.

Commonwealth – I had been avoiding this book because of all the hype, but when it finally came up in my holds list, I figured it was now or never. It’s a dysfunctional family saga that spans the 1960s to present day, which admittedly appealed to me. I have read several books by Ann Patchett before and thought they were just okay, but I really liked Commonwealth and found that I could not stop reading it.

My Name is Lucy Barton – A woman shares and listens to life stories with her mom, with whom she has a strange relationship with, while lying sick in a hospital bed. For all the buzz this book received, I was expecting a lot more.

The Dog Stars – Another book I started (years ago!) but re-started and finished this month. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and while that probably would turn a lot of people off, it also is about relationships, nature, and yes, a dog. Overall, I thought it was a beautiful book.

Sailor Twain – Yet another graphic novel folklore mystery with beautiful black and white charcoal drawings. The story itself didn’t quite live up to the drawings, but I could seriously stare at some of the drawing panels for hours, especially the ones of the boats in the fog or the boats at night.

Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life -I listened to Steve Martin’s autobiography as an audio book and liked it a lot more than most other books by comics. I liked that Steve Martin didn’t try too hard to be funny or clever, but instead talked about his struggles and perseverance in being a comic.

Britt-Marie was Here – This was one of our book club picks for the month and I described it as basically a senior citizens version of Bridget Jone’s Diary meets Bad News Bears. I didn’t hate the book (I didn’t love it either), but if I met Britt-Marie in person, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like her.

The Dollhouse – The Barbizon Hotel for Women once housed models, writers (like Sylvia Plath), and actresses who came to New York to make a name for themselves. The Dollhouse flips back and forth between present day and 1950s NYC, intertwining two stories of two women who had similar hopes and dreams. I love stories of old New York and I could not put down this book. Not that it was the best book I’ve ever read, but I found it to be really entertaining.

Normal – A Sci-fi novella that takes place in a futuristic world where people can “see”/forecast the future…until it makes them crazy. This mini-novel made met think that I may not be smart enough to read Warren Ellis.

Monstress, Volume 1 – When I showed this book to Sly, he said, “You picked this book because it had a cat on the back cover, didn’t you?” Maaayyybee. In the comic’s beautifully drawn, full color, steampunk, Art Deco, fantasy world, there are five races: humans, ancients, the old gods, halfbreeds, and cats. (Cats!) In this world, a girl struggles to learn more about her past and come to grips with her place in the world. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. (PS: Sly started reading Monstress too.)

READING

I’m definitely the type of person who has several books going at once, typically a non-fiction book, an audio book, a book that I started but didn’t finish reading (because I forgot to renew it at the library), and another that is either literary fiction or something that I can finish somewhat quickly. Right now, I’m in the middle of these books:

A Spool of Blue Thread – I have had this book on my holds list for what seems like forever and I’m just now getting around to reading it. Another family saga drama story. I’m only about a 100 pages into the novel and I’m hoping it picks up.

Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial – I loved Serial, Season 1, so I was curious about this book. I can’t read too much of it at a time, but it definitely provides a little more insight into the case.

The Clancys of Queens: A Memoir – I was looking for a short audio book to listen to while I completed some chores and I think this one came up as a Goodreads recommendation. The author, a woman who grew up in a working class family in Queens, narrates the audio book and is definitely a one-of-a-kind character. After I got about half-way through the book, I googled the author to see what she looked like and she was not who I was expecting at all! I watched a lot of her videos online and it definitely gave me a different perspective now that I can place the voice with the person. So far, I’m really enjoying this book, and am really glad I chose to listen to it as an audio book.

My Sister Rosa – I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a YA novel? Oh wait, I looked it up, it is supposed to be a YA novel. It definitely reads like one. The premise is that an older brother has to watch over his sociopath little sister who he both loves and is scared of.

TO READ

On top of all the books that I’ve been barreling through on my holds list, I made the mistake of visiting the library and hoarding even MORE books. Augh! Here’s some books that are up-and-coming on my list, as well as new books that come out end of Jan/Feb that I’m looking forward to reading:

The Sympathizer – Last year’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel and also our February book club pick.

Heartless – Marissa Mayer’s (of the Lunar Chronicles) newest book.

You’ll Grow Out of It – A coming of age story about a tomboy

Faithful – Alice Hoffman’s latest book. I’m not 100% sure what the plot is about, but I liked the cover. Famous last words…

Find Her – A detective story/thriller. I haven’t read the other books in this detective series, but I heard this could be read as a stand alone book.

Real Artists Have Day Jobs (And Other Awesome Things They Don’t Teach You in School) – I’m not really a self-help book reader, but this appealed to me because it seemed more like a series of funny essays written by a comic about the creative field. I don’t think I fall into the demographic for this book (20-something who just graduated from college), so I’m sure I’ll hate it.

The Animators – The description reminded me of an updated version of Douglas Coupland’s Microserfs (one of my fave books), but set in Brooklyn and in an animation studio.

Homesick for Another World – I don’t normally like reading short stories, but living abroad has made me especially susceptible to stories that deal with a longing for home.

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As always, let me know if there are any books you recommend!

If you’re on Goodreads, you can see my full list of 2016 books here.

If you’re on Goodreads and interested in joining our small book club, click here. Our book club is set to private, but anyone can join! Click on request to join and one of us will approve the request and add you to our group.