Reading Diaries: Maggie Nelson is Amazing

With only a few weeks left of 2015, the ladies of WWAC are gathering one more time to share what they’ve been reading latelythe books they’ve loved, the books they’ve hated, and what might be ahead in 2016.

Al Rosenberg: WHY IS MAGGIE NELSON SO AMAZING? The Argonauts, Maggie Nelson, Greywolf Press, 2015 I read The Argonauts earlier this year and fell in love with her, and then my coworker handed me Bluets, her earlier work. I couldn’t put it down, and now I’m fangirling all over this keyboard. It’s an amazing piece of auto-philosophy about love of the color blue. Seriously, go read it.

Otherwise, I am attempting to structure my reading plan for next year. I want to be intentional about what I’m reading for a while and focus on areas of interest. 2014 was the year of American Religion, but then 2015 turned into whatever anyone handed me. Next year will be different. I have recently become aware of “A Year of Reading the World,” in which a woman reads books from all the countries of the world. It’s an admirable goal and I would also like to bolster my non-American reading.

Ginnis Tonik: I finished four books (well, technically three books and one trade paperback) over Thanksgiving, and it was awesome. I finally finished A Tangled WebL.M. Montgomery’s only other adult novel. I also finally read Malinda Lo’s Ash, which I read in less than twenty-four hours; it was that good (and got me out of socializing with family). I read the first volume of Joshua Williamson’s and Mike Henderson’s Nailbiter, which I really, really liked and also found a copy of A Night of the Solstice by L.J. Smith at the used bookstore. Originally published in 1987, the book was reissued as a result of the success of the The Vampire Diaries television show. The copy I found was one of the reissues, which was a bit of a bummer, because I love when I can find earlier prints. But still, it was interesting to read the earliest work of an author whose books shaped my adolescence. It could have used a stronger editor for consistency, but it was fun. But honestly, I read these lighter reads in order to keep delaying War and Peace, which I have resolved to read it sometime before the end of the year. Anna Karenina is one of my favorite books, and I read it in less than a week, but War and Peace is such a tome.

8088Wendy Browne: I’ve been without internet at home for a few weeks now thanks to a two-step move to a new house. I vowed to use this opportunity to break down my to-read mountain and am pleased with my progress. My most recent reads include Stormdancer, Outlander, Death Vigil, RunLoveKill, Lumberjanes, Starhawk, A Darker Shade of Magic, and I’ve just started Robin McKinley’s Sunshine, a YA vampire story that has me both intrigued and amused and happy that I still haven’t read Twilight. Wrapping up the year, I have already completed my Goodreads annual challenge of 100 books. I’ve read thirty-seven books towards a successful Audiobook Reading Challenge, earning me the “My Precious” title. I still have a  few more books to go for my Worlds Without End Roll-Your-Own Reading Challenge. I’m unlikely to get through all of them, which I knew from the start, but I just can’t help signing up for challenges. I like the way all the little book covers look on the pages, so neat and pretty.

Anna Tschetter: I’ve had a bit of a start-and-stop month of reading. First I started to listen to the Fellowship of the Ring on audio through Hoopla, but immediately noticed that something was off—huge parts of the first chapters were missing! I’ve talked about my LOTR obsession before and I’ve read the books many, many times. I’m somewhat ashamed to say I have parts of the book memorized, so I knew passages were missing. I was annoyed to find that while Hoopla listed it as “unabridged;” it was the unabridged radio play and not the actual book. Nowhere in their record is this mentioned; I had to do some extracurricular librarian snooping to figure it out. Lame. So I have to wait for a true copy of the audiobook to come through ILL for me. Then I started to read Colleen Houck’s Reawakenedbecause I like books where different pantheons of gods interact with our everyday life, and I thought it might be a good book to recommend to the Percy Jackson crowd. But, in the first few, pages an Egyptian god comes back to life at the Met and immediately starts to mind control the main character, Lilianna. She seemed like an obnoxious uber wealthy girl, but she still didn’t deserve for Amon to suddenly have complete control over her mind and body, not letting her The Turner House, Angela Flournoy, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015do the things he didn’t want. Yikes. I stopped that after about twenty pages. No thanks!

I did finish Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and like Ardo, liked it, but could have done without so many POVs. I also read Kaui Hart Hemmings’ Juniors, which was a sweet story about friendship and finding your place, and Angela Flournoy’s The Turner House. The Turner House was really, really great. I’m bummed it didn’t win the National Book Award, but it’s a pretty amazing first novel about a big family in Detroit and the fate of their house during 2008 financial crisis.

Ardo Omer: I’ve barely used Goodreads in the last few weeks, and I regret it. It’s hard to remember what I’ve been reading without tracking it there. I’ve just finished Love Style Life by Garance Doré, which is a great read that talked about her life, style, and love. I finished reading Six of Crows, as Anna mentioned, and I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest, which was FANTASTIC. It’s a YA book, and I finished it in a day after taking a peek while on the train ride home. The book before that was The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow (who I’m friendly with), and her book is SO GOOD, guys. There is a humorous yet homicidal A.I. and it tackles the theme of violence. That’s what I’ve been reading. Overall, I’ve read a lot less this year and hopefully 2016 marks an increase in my reading.

A Madness So Discreet, Mindy mcGinnis, Katherine Tegen Books, 2015Christa: This month I finally finished a few books that I started awhile back and wanted to get finished before the end of the year—the first was Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. I absolutely adored her first book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, and couldn’t wait to get my hands on her latest. When I started reading it however, I often found that I needed to take the occasional break. It was still funny, and wonderful, but it dealt with mental illness in a much more explicit way than her first book and sometimes her thoughts on her own anxiety hit a little too close to home. Definitely a worthwhile read, but not always an easy one. I also finished Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum, which was mostly fine, but with a kind of blah ending, and A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis. McGinnis’ debut novel, Not a Drop to Drink, was brilliant, dark, and gritty, so I was expecting more of the same with Madness. But unfortunately, I felt like I spent more time waiting for something to actually happen then I did getting caught up in the story. Next up on my list is Seven Tears at High Tide by C.B. Lee, which I am so pumped for. A gay selkie romance sounds like the perfect holiday read.

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Christa Seeley

Christa Seeley

Publishing Consultant. Book Lover. Amateur Cook.

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