Hello from the other side!

My first year of graduate school is done, which is incredible and almost unbelievable.  I'm genuinely happy to have chosen my program, and while the past year has been mental, it's also been more wonderful than I had thought it would be.  There have been lots of busy days and nights, lots of uncertainties, but also real strides and progress.

So...so far so good.

But what have you been reading, Cornelia?!

Well, this is the part where I flop.  Not much - lots of rereading books, since after long, long days filled with different kinds of reading assignments, I was too exhausted to try anything new or stick with it.  Magazines hit the spot on very early weekend mornings before doing a million things.  However, I have been dabbling, thanks to browsing around once a week at the library.

I started to read The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith/JK Rowling and am sticking with it.  Having read many a detective-crime novel, I don't see what everyone went crazy-angry about.  This is a mystery - it's not meant to be another Harry Potter.  The characters are engaging and different, relatable and also captured well (classic JK Rowling) and I like the plot so far.  The only downside is the hardcover is a door-stop and hard to carry around.

I've also begun Until We Are Free by Shirin Ebadi.  I read Iran Awakening in 2003, and as a young teenager found her account of her life and work to be inspiring, compelling, and frightening.  I haven't picked up her work since then, until I saw this one sitting out at the library.  A Nobel Peace Prize winner and phenomenal woman - if you haven't heard of her, check out her work and her writing.

That's all from me - still getting used to the change in season.  Life is more relaxed but still busy, and I'm relieved that the weather is finally nice enough to read outside.

What are you reading this first Monday in May?