It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

This weekend found me hit with a headcold for the first time in years - it did give me an opportunity to do some reading, which was the only nice part of it.  I finished up All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending by Laura Vanderkam and listened to A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva, read by John Lee.  I found the Invest chapter of All the Money in the World a little less engaging than the others, but once again, really liked the thought-provoking questions she asks.  As for A Death in Vienna, I'm a sucker for a good comfort read and the narration is spot-on.

This week I'm looking forward to reading some of my first titles from Netgalley as well :)

What are you reading this Monday?

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! Here are some of my favorite things from around the internet this week:

These three instagram accounts (!): 1. Cats Only Book Club 2. Paris Review 3. Subway Book Review

Navigating a confusing world with Whitman's "Of the Terrible Doubt of Appearances" on Tolstoy Therapy, and what Aung San Suu Kyi would bring with her to read on a deserted island.

A quick note on getting better at things from Ta-Nehisi Coates of The Atlantic.

Rory's review of Mosquitoland by David Arnold made me want to beg, buy, or borrow this book as soon as possible.

A response to the minimalist, de-cluttering craze from someone raised with the "perfectly good" mindset.

What are your favorite things from this week?

Review of Longbourn by Jo Baker

Longbourn by Jo Baker was a bit of (beautifully written) calm that fell into my lap at just the right moment.  It had been on my "Wish List" on Overdrive for a few months, and when it popped up as available, I was stressed and felt pretty glum.  When I listened as I washed dishes and walked home, it left me with an almost zen-like feeling of wellbeing.

Basic plot: In this irresistibly imagined belowstairs answer to Pride and Prejudice, the servants take center stage. Sarah, the orphaned housemaid, spends her days scrubbing the laundry, polishing the floors, and emptying the chamber pots for the Bennet household. But there is just as much romance, heartbreak, and intrigue downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs. When a mysterious new footman arrives, the orderly realm of the servants’ hall threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended. Jo Baker dares to take us beyond the drawing rooms of Jane Austen’s classic—into the often overlooked domain of the stern housekeeper and the starry-eyed kitchen maid, into the gritty daily particulars faced by the lower classes in Regency England during the Napoleonic Wars—and, in doing so, creates a vivid, fascinating, fully realized world that is wholly her own. (from Goodreads)

Memories from reading: Walking through Logan Circle in the damp cold air, along colored row houses and messed up sidewalks on the way back from lunch at a friend's house.

Favorites: I loved the smaller details, the intricacies in describing calm, consistent country life.  I thought that the comparisons, or juxtaposition, of the Bennett girls and Sarah and Polly were profound.  While the last image in the book was really lovely, I thought the end felt a little bit rushed to get the longview and see how the characters all ended up.

Teeth-gnashing: While listening to the audiobook, I sometimes had a hard time understanding who was who - or who the narrator was referring to, since there are so many "she"'s in the novel.  Also, I did not like Sarah's choice at the end, and didn't find it so realistic, smart, or rational.  To be fair, it's fiction.

Weapon of Choice: Audiobook to begin with, then raced through the regular hardcover.

Other titles by this author: The Undertow, The Telling, The Mermaid's Child

Have you read Longbourn or any of Jo Baker's books? What were your thoughts?

(If you make a purchase through a link on this site, I will receive a small commission.)

Classics Club Update

In lieu of an "It's Monday, What Are You Reading?" post, I thought I'd write about my Classics Club progress.  I'm rolling my way through The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and am not finding it as arduous and mind-numbing as I'd anticipated.  (Am I being too honest?) I'm happy to say that I like the way I've split up the chapters, and when thinking about writing this update, I realized I'd...rather be reading.  Ha! It's engaging and I like it even more now that I've gotten past the part I've read six or seven times (double ha).  I'm proud of myself for sticking to it.  Now it seems wherever I go I find another one of the books on my list - more incentive to read this one and keep going.

Here's a favorite recently-read excerpt:

"'I love mankind,' he said, 'but I marvel at myself: the more I love mankind in general, the less I love human beings in particular, separately, that is, as individual persons.  In my dreams,' he said, 'I would often arrive at fervent plans of devotion to mankind and might very possibly have gone to the Cross for human beings, had that been suddenly required of me, and yet I am unable to spend two days in the same room with someone else, and this I know from experience.  No sooner is that someone else close to me than his personality crushes my self-esteem and hampers my freedom." Dostoyevsky, p. 79

Are you working your way through the classics? Have you read The Brothers Karamazov before?

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Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! Here are a few of my favorite things floating around the internet this week:

A lovely review from The New York Times of a novel from a former professor.

One of my favorite series from Oh Dear Drea - pictures taken by her daughter.

An excerpt from 2015 Whiting Award Winner Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi's Fra Keeler.

Kelly at The Well Read Redhead is giving away a copy of Life from Scratch by Sasha Martin! Memoirs and food - yes, please.

Shannon from River City Reading reviewed A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, which I am dying to read.

What are your favorite things from this week?

Books for A Snowy Day (Part II)

*Clears throat*

I have an exciting announcement to make (don't get too excited) --

I think I've found my sweet spot when it comes to nonfiction.

A few months ago, Karen from One More Page tweeted about finding a good nonfiction book that wasn't also over 500 pages.  Readable, engaging nonfiction that isn't either flashy or too dry - is that possible?

(Many of you who read nonfiction regularly are rolling your eyes, because, duh. I, however, was more skeptical.)

Here's what I've discovered in the last few months, though, and what's become my (obvious) secret - read whatever the fl*ff you want.  What are you interested in? Read about that - and if the book doesn't hold you, put it down.

This was very good news, of course, for this post.  Here are a few of my newest favorites, which have been getting a lot of face time in this dismal wintry weather:

Daily Rituals: How Artists Work edited and with text by Mason Currey.  I had heard of his website years ago, but never much got into it, and then stumbled across the book while I was at the library.  I'm fascinated by how other people live their day-to-day, and the short pieces on artists ranging from John Adams to Andy Warhol are just right for waiting for the shuttle/metro to take you home again.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.  Everyone and their mother has been talking about this one, so I'll keep it short.  From the back cover: "Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves." Perfect for dodging the chatty Cathy next to you at your gate (or, you know, starting a great conversation!).

All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending by Laura Vanderkam.  I first read Vanderkam's 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, and I really enjoy her voice and writing style.  While I don't find everything applicable, and I sometimes think she can be a little off base, I think the questions that she asks are fantastic.  She seems to really explore the range of time (and here, money) issues that come up, and the more philosophical questions behind them.  Definitely recommend.

What are your favorite reads for snowy, traveling days? How do you feel about nonfiction?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Good morning! Wherever you are, I hope your week is off to a good start.  The last few weeks were incredibly busy for me, but also really, really good.  I had some interviews, saw a bunch of old friends, and got to do one of my favorite things - traveling!

Reading while on the go is so satisfying to me.  For every small delay or thing I have absolutely zero control over - like, say, a train car catching fire or losing power, both of which happened on these trips (!) - I'm able to work on my own frame of mind.  Reading helps...plus, it's distracting :)

While I was on said train with no power, I finished up 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam.  I found out about Vanderkam through Everyday Reading, a really lovely book and lifestyle blog, and am glad I did.  One of my goals for this year is to read more non-fiction, and this was a good kick in the pants to get started on managing my time more effectively and feeling motivated about it.  I've got another one of her books, All The Money In The World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending, on hold at the library, and I'm interested to see how she approaches a different theme.

That in turn got me to pick up The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, which I'd been looking at for ages.  It passed my initial test (do you keep reading after the first few pages?), but I'm not sure about the style.  It reminds me a bit of Malcolm Gladwell, whose books I haven't been able to stay interested in - weird, but true.

Since I was traveling, I hadn't been able to pick up my first Classics Club book, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, so I borrowed the audiobook to listen to on OverDrive.  It's not the same translation as my "real" book, but hey, anything to get this sucker read!

What are you reading this week?