Christine Seifert's Blog: Lady Professor Reads, page 4

What I Read: September 2019

I can’t believe September is over already, but here we are. It was a good reading month for me. I read eight books and I liked all of them. Here they are:

 

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead is one of those books that isn’t easy to read (because of the subject matter), but that is necessary to read. It’s about a “reform school” in Jim-Crow-era Florida and the boys who survived it (and don’t). I think understanding the profound and lasting effects of Jim Crow is a responsibility for white A...

Totally Inappropriate Children’s Books

I love searching through out-of-print books and finding those that have aged particularly poorly. Here are my recent favorites. I found all of them on out-of-print booksellers’ sites.

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The description of the book reassures readers that all experiments are perfectly “safe.” But really?

 

 

 

 

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This is supposed to be a kids’ version of Adam and Eve. I know the image is blurry, but if you look closely, they are naked. What could possibly go wrong with putting nude cartoon kids on a book cov...

What I Read: August 2019

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This the better late than never edition.

I read 7 books this month.

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella–Fixie Farr can fix everyone’s life but her own. When she saves the laptop of a successful investment manager, he repays her with an IOU. Fixie decides to use it to help her loser high school crush get a job. As in all Sophie Kinsella books, nothing goes right but everything ends well. Just as cute and funny as all of Kinsella’s books.

Snap by Belinda Bauer–Jack has been in charge of his siste...

Currently Reading

It’s so, so, so good. But it’s also heartbreaking. Colson Whitehead is a writing master.

What I Read: Second Half of July 2019

I’m woefully behind on my monthly reading posts, and I have no excuse except that I’ve been busy (and happily) reading. Here’s how the second half of July shook out.

 

The Line That Held Us by David Joy

Gorgeously written book about a man helping a friend who has made a very bad mistake. It reminded me a little bit of Winter’s Bone with a side of Netflix’s Ozark.

 

 

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

Cute rom-com that reads fast and funny. I read it in an afternoon, and I almost never...

What I Read: July 2019, Part 1

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I’ve finally hit my summer reading groove, and that means I’m reveling in all this time for reading. I’ve started a few books I didn’t finish, but for the most part, I’ve read some good stuff. Here’s what I read in the first half of the month:

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
A moody Gothic-inspired suspense novel about Claire Cassidy, an English teacher, who discovers that someone has been leaving notes for her in her journal. When people around her turn up murdered, Claire knows that...

Reading Next

A student recommended this book to me years ago. I diligently bought it and then never read it. Time to rectify this oversight!

Here’s Amazon’s description:

“The white tiger of this novel is Balram Halwai, a poor Indian villager whose great ambition leads him to the zenith of Indian business culture, the world of the Bangalore entrepreneur. On the occasion of the president of China’s impending trip to Bangalore, Balram writes a letter to him describing his transformation and his experience as...

What I Read: June 2019

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I have no real definition of a “summer read.” Whatever I happen to read is a summer read to me. But I do find that in the summer, I read a wider variety of genres. I hop from one to the other and back again, which feels like a far richer experience.

Here’s what I read in June:

Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Arthur Less, an author of limited renown, receives an invitation to his ex-boyfriend’s wedding. Instead of going, he decides to accept every other invitation he’s received. While traveling th...

Currently Reading: The Killer You Know

I’m on full-on summer reading mode, which means I binge on psychological thrillers.

I’m currently reading The Killer You Know by S.R. Masters. It’s sufficiently plot-twisty with an original story line, which is saying a lot. When you read a lot of thrillers, they start to blend together. I particularly like the shifting narrators and time periods in this one.

 

From the publisher:

“What if your childhood friend turned out to be a serial killer? After fifteen years apart, a group of friends d...

This Week in TV: Chernobyl (and a book recommendation)

I only sort of remember when the Chernobyl tragedy happened. Seeing it come to life in HBO’s Chernobyl miniseries is definitely going to give me nightmares. But it’s still worth watching.

I’m off to find good books to supplement my viewing experience.

In the meantime, my favorite book about  radioactivity is The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French. It’s tender, warm, and funny. In fact, I may re-read it as an antidote to the relentless bleakness of Soviet bureaucracy i...