Well, life has not really straightened itself out for me during the last month but I suppose I shall summarize my reading to be consistent. A whopping number of THREE books, hmm? Must be a record. And it’s better late than never, right? The month of March kept me busy with friends and family. I couldn’t leave my thoughts to itself as it would just twist and warp and overwhelm me until all I could do was chronicle every emotion down in hopes that would release them from me. So reading was out of the picture.
But what I did read followed more my state of mind.
What I managed to read this month
I finished Brigid Kemmerer’s More Than We Can Tell in time – though not my review – for its release early in the month. People with hard lives who find each other made me both happy and sad at the same time. It was a weird emotional experience to see fictional characters living out endings that made me wish my own could be like it. Strange to be almost jealous of fictional people, huh? But it continued along the vein of her work that I enjoyed immensely so there was the redeeming factor in it.
Bending the Universe was a huge change in direction for me. A poetry book? Really? Yes, the cover is beautiful but what hooked me was the way the publisher described the poet. A pessimistic idealist. Sounds like those two things are contradictory yet they perfectly describe who I am. Life isn’t easy and I’m realistic enough to understand that perfect endings don’t necessarily exist in this lifetime, but there are parts of me that cling to the idealistic daydreams of my childhood and adolescence. Just wishing. This book captured all of that and more, definitely being my favourite book – out of my meager selections but still worth something – of the month.
As for Dumplin’, I thought the protagonist’s courage and overall message of the book was deviation enough from the simple formula of a beautiful/talented/of-want-in-some-way girl who ends up getting all that she wanted no matter how “bad” it seemed from the start. I didn’t want to read about some special snowflake that everyone was chasing for some reason or another. And this book wasn’t about that. It surprised me in ways unforeseen, no matter how much popularity it had gained prior to my reading of it.
Currently reading…kind of
My current list is so long that I should probably cut some of these short and maybe just never get back to it, although I’m adverse to putting books in the DNF shelf so quickly. But here’s my attempt at the realistic list of books I actually still care enough to read and finish at the moment around my busy schedule.
- Lifeblood by Gena Showalter
- The Case for Jamie by Brittany Cavallaro
- Just Dreaming by Kerstin Gier
TBR…or so I hope
Now let’s be realistic about my ACTUAL TBR list right now. All the books I had planned on reading at the beginning of the year that I’m still holding (I’m so sorry, library patrons) just don’t feel right to me. It’s like I woke up all of a sudden from a long and beautiful dream to find myself searching for more in life. And that apparently translates to what I read as well.
I’ve been pretty philosophical in my thoughts as of late. Happy stories exist but I also want to read things that mirror life more. Hence more poetry and more classics added to the list. The following is a shortened list of books I need to read (for ARC purposes) and want to read in the upcoming month(s).
- The Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
- Save the Date by Morgan Matson
- What Disturbs Our Blood by James Fitzgerald
- Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody
I’ve always believed that books mirror our lives more than the other way around, and clearly this last while has showcased a bit more into how I feel I’m changing as a person as well. While I don’t know how long this tumultuous rollercoaster ride of my life is going to last, I do think it’s expanded my interests and horizons to encompass more than just YA here. Don’t worry though. YA will always be a part of my life – regardless of how old I get it seems. So I hope you’re in for a ride with me!
Down the Rabbit Hole 