Jet Lagged

There's no place like your own bed
after 2+ weeks away from home!

We're home from our awesome Asia vacation safe and sound and trying to recover from jet lag. I hope it doesn't take too long to adjust .. I was in a fog all day today between about six loads of laundry and I never made it to the grocery store. Our fridge is SO empty! I thought I'd go to sleep early tonight in hopes of waking up cured in the morning but now I'm wide awake and it's already almost 11:30 pm!

Thank you to those of you who followed my trip on instagram. It was a lot of fun sharing photos and having a little interaction with all of you while I was away even though I couldn't always get back online to reply to your comments. I'm going to work on getting some photos and interesting tidbits about our trip up this week, but in the meantime,
What's going on with you? 
Any news to share? 
What have you been reading?

I planned to do a lot of reading on the 19+ hour flight(s) to the Philippines and the 12 hours back to New York, but I barely read at all on this trip! I didn't feel so great on the flight out, so I watched movies and tried to sleep instead.

BOOKS I READ ON VACATION:
While on land, however, I finished my re-read of Demon Angel by Meljean Brook as part of my Guardians series re-read - series catch up I plan to do this summer in preparation for the final book, Guardian Demon which releases TOMORROW! (August 6, 2013) This was actually my 3rd or 4th time I've read Demon Angel and it gets better and better every time I read it. It's five star keeper book for me, no doubt about it. Of course, as soon as I finished it, I regretted not packing the sequel Demon Moon for my trip!

I also read Kitchen by Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto, which I enjoyed very much even though it made me cry on the flight between Hong Kong and Japan. Kind of embarrassing, but oh well. I think I cried pretty discreetly even if I went through several tissues. ;)

On the trip home from Japan I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and I'm really enjoying it so far. I didn't realize it was written from a child's point of view. Anyway, I'm looking forward to finishing it this week. I also started reading Demon Moon last night after we got home from the airport. I just couldn't help it! Of course I'm loving it.. Colin and Savi are two of my favorite characters in this series. This story is so unique, dramatic with an incredible amount of character depth, not to mention impeccable world building and series arc development going on in this one. Actually the same goes for Demon Angel but for some reason I'm really drawn to Savi's character.

MOVIES I WATCHED ON VACATION:
I watched an interesting mix of movies on the two flights from and back to the US and we even went to the movies one night in Tokyo! The other flights between cities and countries were too short to show films. (We had a total of six flights on this trip. Oh Lord, was it nerve-wracking!) :/

1. Jack the Giant Slayer. A twist on Jack and the Beanstalk, a predictable fairy tale.

2. Safe Haven. Based on the book by Nicholas Sparks. I've never read his books, but I enjoyed the movie even if I found it predictable and not as fully developed as I think it could have been.

3. Monsters University. We saw this in a movie theater in Tokyo. The movie was in English with Japanese subtitles. Hee hee.

4. Beautiful Creatures. Based on the YA novel of same name that I read a few years ago. Well done, pretty true to the book with a suitable, non-perfect ending. I liked it.

5. Katy Perry: Part of Me. My daughters and I watched this simultaneously. We were cute and we bonded over this documentary even though we had headphones on. Of course we all like Katy Perry a little more now that we watched this. ;)

6. Painted Skin: Resurrection. A Chinese fantasy action film that I just now discovered is the 2011 sequel to the 2008 film Painted Skin. I guess it can be watched as a stand alone because I didn't feel like I was missing anything. If you like Chinese fantasy action films, give this one a go. Just the right combination of fantasy, action, romance and tragedy to suit me.

Have you seen any of these movies?

Hope to catch up with you this week! :)

Going places!

One of my husband's cousins from the Philippines sent us this video on facebook to help get us excited for our upcoming trip. IT WORKED!

  Aaaahhhhhh! I can't believe we're really going there!

Oh and my Japanese lessons? They fell on the waaaaaaayside. Thank goodness my husband has been keeping up. He's going to be the voice for all four of us in Japan.

REVIEW: The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is the second Haruki Murakami book I've read, and while I have mixed feelings about this one, I have a lot of admiration for his writing and still intend to read more of his work. This book was not originally on my Murakami radar, but I decided to read it when Ti at Book Chatter decided to host a Wind-Up Bird read along. I pretty much missed the group aspect of the read-along, but at least I read it. I finished reading this back in May at which time I wrote most of this post. I finally revisited it yesterday and finalized my thoughts.

I've labeled this post as a review, but it's more of a collection of my thoughts on the book. I guess I'm reluctant to say with confidence that this write up is a review because I honestly don't feel qualified to react to it objectively or to even accurately describe the book's premise! It's so unlike anything I've read before -- an ambitious piece of literature that I sometimes felt challenged to comprehend.

My very simplified plot description of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (which takes place in modern day Japan, if you didn't already know) is this: A man named Toru Okada lives a simple life with his wife of six years, Kumiko, and their cat. Toru is recently unemployed and not really sure what he wants to do about it. Their cat goes missing and Kumiko implores Toru to find him. On his search for the cat, he befriends a teenage girl in their neighborhood and a lonely old World War II Lieutenant who is haunted by his past, consults with an unusual medium about the whereabouts of the cat and then his wife unexpectedly disappears. Toru's search efforts shift from the cat to that of Kumiko and soon a string of strange events occur that even he doesn't understand, spiraling his life in very bizarre and surreal directions. He spends a lot of time contemplating these events and his life in general at the bottom of a dry well.

If I had to name one major theme of this book, I would say it is a study in fate versus free will or perhaps more accurately, the melding of the two philosophies. How absolute is fate? and how powerful is man's free will that he can thwart fate and carve his own path through life? Murakami explores this quite elaborately and in a fairly abstract way that was often difficult for me to piece together.

The Wind-Up Bird is a book you could talk on and on about but still never fully articulate exactly what it's really about, what it all means or how it made you feel. To quote Toru Okada himself, I frequently asked this book to just "name something already. Name something concrete." Toru was always wanting a concrete explanation--something tangible that he could relate to or hang on to so he could understand what someone was talking about. I felt like that a lot myself while reading this book!

Murakami's characters live in reality as we know it, their imaginations AND in some "other version of reality." An "other" place in which they interact with each other in a very surreal way. The word 'phantasmagorical' is probably the best singular descriptor of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (I've always wanted to use that word). 'Perplexingly phantasmagorical' if I were to use two words.

I'm very glad I read the book--it's a fascinating, albeit often slightly nightmarish journey of an ordinary man. The writing is excellent and is nearly effortless to read as Murakami has a natural talent for writing with simple language, realistic characters doing every day things with which we're all familiar. Yet at the same time, strange things happen that make the reader question what is reality and what might be a dream, hallucination or something "other." Murakami strings together a series of events and repercussions that transform the story into something of epic and thought provoking complexity that can be interpreted by readers in an infinite number of ways. It all sounds really 'out there,' and quite frankly, it is.

Yet at the same time it is literature that is accessible to any reader because in the end, the interpretation is left open to the individual. There is no wrong or right interpretation or analysis of this book.

Some specifics about the book that kept me from really enjoying it.. Throughout most of this 600+ page book, I felt that there were clues on every page that I ought to be mentally cataloguing for future reference as the story progressed or for connecting with events that already occurred. Important insights and connections between characters past and present.. events in reality and in "the other side".. I had a hard time putting my finger on all of it.

There are many components of this book that still stump me. At the end of a chapter, I'd often find myself thinking, "Okay so what is the point of THIS chapter?" Some chapters definitely felt more relevant than others and but those that felt more irrelevant to me? Some of those I never figured out how they contributed to the whole at all.. why or how was that connected or how deep was the connection?

For example, the recurrence of the baseball bat. Introduced in one of the zoo massacre chapters, what was the point of that entire scenario other than to show a baseball bat that would become important in another chapter, by another person in another time. It wasn't even suggested that it was the SAME baseball bat. Was it just another thread in which Tarou Okada was connected to the zoo veterinarian who was Cinnamon's father? Or is it more symbolic than that? Was the purpose of the zoo-baseball bat massacre JUST to make a later connection with a baseball bat and if so, was the elaborate display necessary? Personally, I would have been happier never having read that chapter and maybe one or two others as well, but that's just personal comfort level, I think. Needless to say, I kept thinking I was missing some great significance of the recurrence of the baseball bat other than it connected people and time. Was there more to it? I don't know.. And maybe, just maybe, that uncertainty in me as a reader was Murakami's intention. Well, perhaps not striving for it, but I think Murakami would be totally cool with readers not quite making everything in this book "fit." Because it's not supposed to. He wants things to be left open-ended for readers to speculate, imagine and interpret in their own ways, relevant to our own thoughts and personal life experiences.

So how do I feel about this book? I have mixed feelings. I finished this book with a feeling of "Huh. I guess that's it." Not the usual sentiment I imagine most authors desire, yet for some reason, I actually think that could be what Murakami was striving for. Or if that was not his intention, I think he'd find it totally acceptable for readers to not quite make everything they read "fit" just right. Imagine looking a jigsaw puzzle, the image of a piece of abstract art. Now imagine random pieces of this puzzle missing.. it's still a piece of art. Still something worthy of interpretation and admiration, maybe even more so had all the pieces fell into place. Can you see that? THAT is what this book is like to me.

I gave The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle 3 out of 5 stars on goodreads-- 'I liked it."

I may not have understood everything, particularly the excessively surreal aspects of the book and some chapters were quite disturbing and in my opinion didn't significantly add to the quality or progress of the story, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle certainly gave me a lot to think about!

To Kill A Mockingbird Read-Along

Much to my own surprise, I've never read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I don't know how this escaped the attention of my honors high school literature teachers, but there you have it.

When I got wind that Adam was contemplating a re-read and perhaps a read-along, I jumped at the opportunity to fill in the gap in my classic lit experience.

The plan is to read the book in just 17 days, which sounds doable, but with a busy vacation upon me in just a few days, a 12 hour time difference between Asia and the US and uncertain Internet access, my participation will likely be limited. However, I've got some long flights ahead of me so I'll be toting my 50th Anniversary copy of To Kill A Mockingbird along in hopes of finishing it by the time I get back.

To join, visit the Master Post: To Kill A Mockingbird Read-Along over at Adam's. You can see the suggested reading schedule there, too.

Have you read this classic? 

REVIEW: Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale

Published 1992 by Avon Historical Romance.

This book is my July selection for the #TBRChallenge hosted by Wendy the SuperLibrarian. This month's theme is 'Romance Classic,' interpretation of which is left to the participant. Wendy is very laid back like that. I chose Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale for my classic pick because it was published over a decade ago and is still widely mentioned and read by romance readers today. I so glad that I finally read this book, which I adored.

Christian Langland is the Duke of Jervaulx and a wealthy rake with no regard for morals. He's also a brilliant mathematician who at the opening of the novel is collaborating with a blind Quaker named John Timms on a mathematics paper. John Timms' twenty-five year old spinster daughter, Archimedea 'Maddy' Timms serves as the messenger of papers between her father and the duke. Although she never sees nor speaks to Langland, she is fully aware of his immoral behavior and as a Quaker she is quite repulsed by his character. However, her father has the utmost admiration for Langland's intellect and the two get alone quite well. When Maddy and her father are invited to join Langland for dinner one evening, she finds herself attracted to him nonetheless, even despite her unease with his flirting.

Later that very same night, Langland suffers from what is very likely a stroke when he is confronted by his mistress' husband in a duel. He is so severely impaired that his family allows society to believe him dead when he is actually only suffering from aphasia, or the inability to understand or express speech, written or spoken. His family ultimately confine him to an asylum because no one understands him, nor does he understand them. Out of extreme frustration, Langland lashes out violently so now not only does his family think him mentally disturbed, but violent also.

Months later, Maddy and her father are visiting Blythedale Halle, the asylum that Cousin Edward oversees when she happens upon the cell of a man who turns out to be none other than the Duke of Jervaulx. Maddy has intense empathy for Langland and in fact, is quickly able to discern that he is not so much mentally disturbed but rather extremely frustrated and scared about his inability to communicate. She feels a strong calling to help Langland overcome his disabilities and even be released from the asylum so the safety and well being of Christian Langland becomes her mission. Over the course of this lengthy novel, Maddy and Christian go through all sorts of chaotic, dangerous and frustrating situations, all of which is hugely stressful for both of them. For Christian, he is a brilliant man trapped in his own mind, so to speak, racked by incredible frustration as his family and society strip him of his dignity, power, autonomy and certainly his money. For Maddy, she is a simple woman of faith who has been raised with a strict set of beliefs that challenge her every step of the way as she is constantly questioning herself. To do what she feels is right in her heart or what she was taught to be right by her Quaker faith. Their story is one full of self-doubts, mistakes and manipulations, but in the end, love does conquer all.

It's pretty obvious why Flowers From the Storm has captured the hearts of so many romance readers over the years. Both the plot and characters are quite unique. I loved the fact that Kinsale doesn't slip one bit in the authenticity of her characters. That is, Langland's aphasia improves only slightly, and only as much as would be realistically expected within the time frame of his stroke. The reader is then forced to read Langland's broken speech on the page just as Maddy and the others would experience it. We are left with the same frustrations and misunderstandings that we would be if we were actually in the story ourselves. No narration shortcuts, which makes his character and story that much more believable. Similarly, Maddy's devotion to her Quaker faith is realistically steadfast. So much so that I was actually starting to think she was going to let this chance at love slip away just because of the rules of her faith, an outcome that's actually quite realistic even by today's standard, but not for me and likely not for most romance readers. While I often felt some frustration in Maddy's slowness to come around to acknowledging that her love for Christian is acceptable in the eyes of God, her struggles with her faith and with trusting herself were also very believable.

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, at times I felt the pacing was a bit long winded and at times I thought both Christian and Maddy left too many of their issues unspoken between them. Considering the immense struggles they were both facing, I expected them to share more elaborate and thought-provoking revelations about themselves and each other. Flowers From the Storm is definitely a memorable story and definitely worth reading!

4+ out of 5 stars

Library Loot LXX

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries! 

My 70th Library Loot post.

I'm hoping to go blueberry picking this or next week, so needed to borrow my favorite two canning books from the library.. Well Preserved by Mary Anne Dragan and Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan. Food in Jars also has some interesting rhubarb recipes that I'd like to try, especially since we got some rhubarb in our co-op box the other day and the rhubarb in my garden is happily producing stalks like crazy!

The Flexitarian Table grabbed my eye, so I brought that one home, too, but after quickly flipping through it when I got home, I don't see myself trying out any of the recipes. They look interesting and delicious, but more along the lines of food I'd like to try out at a restaurant and not go through a lot of trouble to make at home when I'm not so sure my family would be keen on the bold flavors and more unusual ingredients.

In fiction, I borrowed the second half of the critically acclaimed Persepolis story by Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis: The Story of a Return. I read the first book, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood last month. Okay since typing this up yesterday, I finished Persepolis: The Story of a Return today.. 5 stars. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical memoirs particularly about personal growth during wartime.

I also borrowed A Tale For the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki for this month's book club. The author is Japanese-American and half of the story takes place in Japan, so it sort of goes along with the Japanese Lit Challenge I'm doing, although not technically. Still, I'm excited to read more Japanese fiction.

What have you borrowed from the library recently? 

What are you reading right now?

Mid Year Reading Update: Book Bingo etc.

Can you believe 2013 is half over already? Holy smokes time is just flying!

As many of you already know, I'm a fan of Reading Challenges. I have fun making lists and keeping track of books and reading stats, so reading challenges add an extra dimension of fun to my love of reading. I'm hoping to reach my goal of reading at least 101 books again this year and I'm pleased to report that I've read 50 book so far in 2013 so I'm just about on track. Three of those books were re-reads, which are not included in my goodreads numbers, but I'm still counting them as books read for the year.

As for the other challenges, I'm doing well with most of them. I've already read four big books [500+ pages] so I've met my Big Book Challenge at least twice over, but I'd still like to finish Anna Karenina by the end of the year. I have one more category to complete for the What's In a Name challenge and I already have a book chosen for that, so I'm sure I'll meet that challenge in the next six months, too. I've also kept up with the monthly TBR Challenge hosted by Wendy the Super Librarian, although I never got around to writing my review for May's book, I did read it and comment on both twitter and goodreads about it. The one challenge in which I'm suffering right now is my own In Death Series Reading Challenge. I'm just not motivated to pick up one of the books in that series lately. Maybe they're starting to feel the same to me..

Below is my Book Bingo Scorecard for the mid-year mark. The completed first quarter squares are marked with a light blue button and the second quarter squares are marked with the white buttons. I'm pleased with my progress so far and think I'll end up filling the whole board except for the Books Re-Read column. I'm not a big re-reader. There's not enough time in the day to read the unread books, you know? For those of you playing Book Bingo, my list of books read for each square is below the scorecard. You'll want to check my list out and be sure to post yours as well, because you need to read a book that someone else has read for the challenge in order to complete the center FREE SQUARE, which is therefore not really free. ;)

Books highlighted below in PINK are completed squares.
I've read all the books listed below.

Read From Your TBR Pile: [15] [see 1st column] 
ONE book:
   1. Surrender At Dawn by Laura Griffin

TWO books:
   2. Promises in Death by J.D. Robb 
   3. A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

THREE books:
   4. First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
   5.
   6.

FOUR books:
   7.
   8.
   9.
  10.

FIVE books:
  11. Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson 
  12. Stardust by Neil Gaiman 
  13. The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn 
  14. Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn 
  15. Spellbound by Nora Roberts

Read Books in a Series: [15] [see 2nd column] 
ONE Book in a Series:
   1. Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs

TWO Books in a Series:
  The Works Series by Marie Harte
  1. Bodywork by Marie Harte 
  2. Working Out by Marie Harte

THREE Books in a Series:
  The Princes Trilogy by Elizabeth Hoyt
   1. The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt 
   2. The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt 
   3. The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

FOUR Books in a Series:
 Elemental Assassin Series by Jennifer Estep
 1. Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep
 2. Thread of Death by Jennifer Estep [novella]
 3. By A Thread by Jennifer Estep
 4.

FIVE Books in a Series:
  1.
  2.
  3.
  4.
  5.

Read 2013 Releases: [12] [see 3rd column] 
 ONE book:
  1. Sins & Needles by Karina Halle

TWO books:
  2. Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas 
  3. On Every Street by Karina Halle

[no list of THREE books - see FREE SQUARE below] 

FOUR books:
  4. Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh
  5. Hearts of Shadow by Kira Brady
  6.
  7.

FIVE books:
  8.
  9.
  10.
  11.
  12.

FREE SQUARE: [middle square] Read ONE book someone else has read for this challenge 
  1. Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi 
   [... read by http://msbuff.com/reading-challenges-2013/]

Read Books Everyone Else Has Read: [15] [see 4th column] 
ONE book:
  1. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

TWO books:
  2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn  
  3. Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie

THREE books:
  4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  5.
  6.

FOUR books:
  7. Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey 
  8. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness 
  9. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi 
 10. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

FIVE books:
 11.
 12.
 13.
 14.
 15.

Re-Read books: [15] [see 5th column] 
ONE book:
 1. The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

TWO books:
  2.
  3.

THREE books:
  4.
  5.
  6.

FOUR books:
  7.
  8.
  9.
 10.

FIVE books:
  11. Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady
  12. "Falling For Anthony" by Meljean Book [novella]
  13.
  14.
  15.

And that's it so far! The next Book Bingo check in will be due around October 1. In the meantime, let's read!

Did you make any reading goals for 2013? How are you doing with them so far?

The Graduates.. wherein I brag about my kids!

The school year FINALLY ended for us yesterday. Phew! And what an eventful end it was. BOTH girls graduated their respective schools in the last two days!

Here is where I exercise my bragging rights to the full extent of my freedom to do so. You have been warned! ;) ...

Our youngest daughter, Anna, graduated from middle school (8th grade) on Monday night and will be starting high school in September. I can't believe my baby is going to high school! She finished her middle school career with a Presidential Award for Educational Excellence having earned high academic achievement measured with GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale (90 or above on a 100 scale) for her entire middle school years (6th-8th) and having also achieved high scores on state and national standard achievement tests. She also earned High Honors in Literature and Process Writing this year. Separate from her academic achievements, Anna earned her Girl Scout Silver Award this year having completed a long term community service project of improving the visitation rooms in a local DYFS [Division of Youth and Family Services] office where children in the foster care program are now able to reconnect with their parents in cheerful, inviting rooms that are uplifting and conducive to healthy interaction and playtime. We're so proud of her!

Our oldest daughter, Maria, graduated from high school last night.. I cannot believe we are the parents of an 18 year old high school graduate! Where did the time go? I didn't think I was going to get emotional at her graduation, but at one point my husband whispered to me that he just saw her yawn and when I looked at her, she did look kind of sleepy (I think the heat was getting to everyone--it was pretty hot sitting out there in the football field wearing those graduation gowns!). I was instantly flooded with memories of her as a baby falling asleep in my arms or sleeping alongside me in bed as a toddler and I couldn't stop the tears from welling in my eyes. I was simultaneously overwhelmed by the quick passage of time and at the same time filled with so much pride in the intelligent, conscientious, responsible, compassionate and beautiful young woman she has become.

Like her younger sister, Maria also graduated with excellent academic standing. She was a member of the high school's University Program since freshman year, a member of the National Honor Society and graduated in the top 10% of her class with a GPA above 4.2. Her senior research project was on the sexual exploitation of women in the media, a suitable subject for her as it combined her passion for photography and other visual arts with an important social issue. She was also active in several clubs, community service projects and a member of the swim team for one year and the girls volleyball team all four years. In September she'll be attending Rutgers University (my Alma Mater), possibly double majoring in photo journalism and women's and gender studies. Naturally, we are very proud of her.

Now for some photos!

Anna and her friends dressed up for the 8th grade semi-formal dance. Anna is in the black and white dress at the bottom right.

8th grade semi-formal

Maria and Nick going to senior prom. Don't they look great? These two have known each other since kindergarten and started dating halfway through their freshman year in high school. He'll be going to an art school in NYC in September where he plans to study graphic design. Interestingly, Maria and Nick were named female and male 'Best Artist' in their high school this year--Maria for her talent in photography and Nick for his talent in all fine arts, painting is forte. He even received 1st place in a private art show in our community last spring. Anyway, they had a really nice time at the prom. Maria said the sweetest part of the night was that Nick willingly danced with her all night even though he doesn't like to dance. Aw.. very sweet.

Maria & Nick
Senior Prom

I don't have any photos of Anna on her 8th grade graduation - my husband has them on his computer. But she wore the same pretty white sundress for her sister's graduation last night, so I figure that works! My best friend from childhood (from when we were 4 years old!), who is also Maria's godmother, came to Maria's graduation last night. Her presence really made the day special. Here are all of us girls walking to the graduation site:

Me, Anna, Maria and her godmother Angela

Here's a photo of my two Class of 2013 graduates.. high school and 8th grade:

Maria and Anna

Finally, the proud parents... 

My husband and me

Certainly an eventful time in our household! May the academic achievements, personal growth and simple enjoyment of life continue for everyone! xo 

Austen In August

Confession: I have never read a book by Jane Austen. O_o

But that's going to change this summer because I plan to read at least one Jane Austen novel in August. I joined the Austen In August event hosted by Adam who blogs at Roof Beam Reader, I've decided to finally crack open the single volume collection of seven Jane Austen works that I own. I bought this tome several Christmases ago for myself and it still sits on our bookshelf unread. Now the question is which book should I read first?

Have you read Jane Austen? If so, which book is your favorite?

In other words, which of the following Austen books do you suggest I read?

Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice
Mansfield Park
Emma
Northanger Abbey
Persuasion
Lady Susan

To join Austen In August, visit Adam at the Austen In August Sign-In.

For book event discussions on twitter, follow the hash tag #AustenInAugustRBR.

Summer Reading

Happy Summer Solstice, northern hemisphere people!
Happy Winter Solstice to those of you in the southern hemisphere!

I'm so happy summer is finally here and today's weather in the NY metro area is a perfect way to start the season.. the sun is shinning, it's 81º F with no humidity (ahhh!) and a gentle breeze is blowing. It doesn't get much better than this. It would be nice if it stayed this way, but I'm sure hot and humid is right around the corner!

Two more half days of school for my girls with a graduation ceremony each night and we are done!

First, I have exciting Reading Challenge news to share with you. Well, exciting to me, anyway. ;) I actually succeeded in completing my goals in Carl's Once Upon a Time VII Reading Challenge! Woohoo! I chose to participate in the third quest, which was to read five books from any combination of fairy tale, folklore, fantasy and mythology genres and read Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. And I did it! This is what I read:



1. Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs  ... GN Urban Fantasy
2. Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh                         ....  Paranormal - PNR
3. MirrorMask by Neil Gaiman                         .... Fairy tale
4. Stardust by Neil Gaiman                                .... Fantasy
5. The Dark-Hunters, Vol. 1, 2 & 3 by Sherrilyn Kenyon    .... Manga - PNR 
5. Hearts of Shadow                                              .... Folklore - PNR
6. "Falling for Anthony" by Meljean Brook     .... Paranormal w/mythological/biblical elements
7. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness     .... Fantasy - folklore
8. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness              .... Fantasy - folklore

9. Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream Graphic Novel

Congratulations to me!

Now let's talk about summer reading! My summer reading plans include reading some Japanese Lit, Jane Austen and The Guardians series by Meljean Brook with several other spontaneous choices thrown in along the way.

I'm already signed up for the Japanese Literature Challenge hosted by Dolce Bellezza that I posted about last weekend. I'd like to read at least two books before we travel to Japan in a few weeks.

I've also signed up--but not yet posted about-- the Austen In August reading event hosted by Adam who blogs at Roof Beam Reader. I'm really excited about it! I want to post more about it in a separate post, so look for that very soon.

Finally, I am determined to catch up in The Guardians series by Meljean Brook this summer in preparation for the release of the final book in that comes out in August, including re-reading a few of the earliest books I read many moons ago and then reading the more recent releases that have been languishing unread on my TBR shelf. I'm pretty excited about this reading project as I'm a huge fan of Meljean's writing prowess. Her world building and character development are phenomenal. The writing is really smart--I just love it.  If you enjoy fantasy and urban fantasy, I think you'd like this series. Well, the series is technically marketed as paranormal romance, so expect some sexiness.

In addition to those three more specific reading goals, I'll be reading a bunch of other books, too. Some will be the monthly book picks for book club, the TBR Challenge and whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

What's on YOUR summer reading list?