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Emily's Reading-In-Order Plans + Rejects
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How is it already March? Wasn't I just starting February?
I read 10 books this month, which is still super impressive for me... I fully expected a book rut after the amazingness that I had in January. My page count, however, was way down... I read 2000 less pages in February than I read in January. It's most likely because most of the books I read were YA, which are just shorter in general.
My favorites of the month:
- Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
- The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
- The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
I hit my nonfiction goal (with Brain on Fire), my LGBT goal (with the Montague duology), and my POC goal (with On the Come Up). I did want to read more POC books this month, but challenges kept getting in the way.
I also am ahead one week on ATY! I finished Weeks 5-9 in February, and I have Week 10, 11, and 12 already checked out from the library.
Overall, a solid reading month. And a lot of highly-rated books.
MARCH FORECAST
March is going to kick off with a bang -- a week off of work at the same time as the ATY Read-A-Thon! I hope to get a solid 4-5 books under my belt this month... the only thing that may hold me back is all of the grading I need to be doing before report cards go out right after break.
Like I said, I have the next few weeks of ATY lined up...
- Week 10: Historical figure
--- The Red Tent
- Week 11: Chinese zodiac
--- The Night Tiger
- Week 12: Book about reading
--- The Little Paris Bookshop
I haven't been reading as many books from my shelves as I hoped to in these first few months... in fact, I'm adding more books to my Unread shelf than I'm taking off lately. Yikes. So, this month, I'm hoping to focus on reading some of the books on my Unread shelf that I haven't already designated for a prompt.
And I want to focus on women authors, because National Women's History Month.
I have my POC book lined up (with The Night Tiger) and my nonfiction book (Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple). I also have What If It's Us from the library, which will satisfy my LGBT+ goal.
I'm aiming for another 10 book month, especially with the Read-A-Thon kicking the month off. Here's to hoping!
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AND my Book of the Month box just came in with Daisy Jones & The Six, which I feel like I need to read NOW before something gets spoiled for me, but I know that will make me fall even further behind on the challenge.
Up next for ATY, I have The Night Tiger for the Chinese zodiac and The Little Paris Bookshop for the reading prompt (which, at least that should be an easy read).
Sigh. I told myself this wouldn't happen, and here we are. Reading in order vs. side reads strikes again.
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The Night Tiger was shockingly good (shocking, because my expectations were pretty low), and I'm already looking forward to rereading it.
Next up is The Little Paris Bookshop, which will be a blissfully easy read after a few dense reads.
I can't imagine reading in order. I don't think I could do it...not even a little bit! Way to get back on track (even if it's just for today)!
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I'm actually really enjoying it! I have been doing a lot of side reads (my goal for the year is 100, so about half of my books this year will be side reads), so that helps ease the burden of reading in order. But for those days where I just can't decide what I want to read... I know I can just pick up the next prompt on my list!
I enjoyed reading in order more than I thought I would, but there's no way I could do it again - not yet!Now I'm interested in The Night Tiger!
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Now I'm interested in The Night Tiger!"
I think you would really get into it. But definitely read it... I listened to the audiobook and I wish I would have read it instead.
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Coming a bit late due to lots of work things going on, but it is what it is.
March was a pretty chill reading month for me. I read 9 books, which is the least so far this year, and still more than I read most months last year. Five of the nine came in the first week during the Read-A-Thon, but then The Red Tent took me 10 days (audiobook only, and work was really hectic).
Nearly all of the books I read were around 4 stars (rounded up or down to that)... none that were OMG AMAZING and none that were UGH TERRIBLE, so I'd say that's a happy compromise.
I hit my LGBT and POC goal, but missed my nonfiction goal... but I've finished Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple today, so I'll count it for March, since it was mostly read in March.
I am behind on ATY by nearly two weeks, which is disappointing, considering my pick for NYPL prompt is My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, which is over 600 pages. I'm excited to read it though! So... I'll fall a bit further behind and be fine with it.
APRIL FORECAST
My birthday month. My favorite month.
We are having a crawfish boil at my house next weekend, so I have a feeling the next week or so will be spent cleaning and tidying and preparing for that (oh, and working, I guess). Then tax season ends on April 15th and I get my husband back (he's a CPA), so...
Forecast for book reading is low and slow this month. Which is unfortunate, because I have some relatively heavy books slotted in for ATY this month.
- NYPL: My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton (600+ pages)
- Astronomy: The Mars Room (prison reform?)
- Mediterranean: The City of Falling Angels (nonfiction)
- Multiple Perspectives: Not picked yet, but hopefully something easy
- Speculative Fiction: Severance (I mean... speculative fiction)
So... keep your fingers crossed for me. We do have spring break, but I never seem to get much reading done during this break, and it's Festival International de Louisiane at that time, so I'll be busy eating and listening to live music all weekend.
Lots of eating in April. I'm not mad about it.
I added Seductive Poison to my TBR after seeing your review and will be using that for my reject challenge A book about a group of people or cult. I have been Hamilton obsessed since seeing the show a few years ago and have read multiple books about the Hamiltons and their contemporaries. My Dear Hamilton is my favorite so far. I think it strikes a perfect balance between being historically accurate and using artistic license and speculation where needed. It is long but it read very quickly.
Great update, Emily. That Jonestown book must have been tough. Such a tragedy, such a madman.
Emily wrote: "...so I'll be busy eating and listening to live music all weekend. "Sounds like the perfect weekend to me! I'm tagging along to my wife's work conference in Orlando and plan to do a lot of sitting by the pool (they have a lazy river!) with books, especially as it'll be 20 degrees warmer in FL than it is in Jersey.
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Seductive Poison was a tough read, but I think it helped knowing that Deborah Layton would make it out (since, you know, she wrote the book). She did a great job showing how awful it was but also how easy it is to fall into a trap like that.
Steve, you're welcome in the south anytime... it's much warmer and there's better food haha!
It's going to be raining all day on Sunday, so I'm looking forward to a pajama and Hamilton day.
Mod
A full 13 days to read My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton!
To be fair, the book moved really quickly... I was just pretty busy with birthday stuff. Plus, I may have put it down for a few days when Eliza went away for the summer because I just knew what was about to happen and I didn't really want to have that heartbreak in my life.
Overall, though, the book was EXCELLENT and I'm really, really glad I picked it up. It's in my top favorites of the year, for sure.
Emily wrote: "Oof. So that took longer than expected...A full 13 days to read My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton!
To be fair, the book moved really quickly... I was just pret..."
So glad you liked it! It was one of my favorites last year. Isn't Eliza remarkable?! I love LMM for many reasons but putting a spotlight on the Schuyler Sisters is definitely among the top. Now I just need these same authors to write a book about Angelica.
Mod
As predicted, I didn't get much reading done in the first half of the month, and it took me 13 days to finish My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, even though it was my favorite book of the month.
I read quite a few heavy books this month. The Mars Room was captivating, but I had to put it down regularly because the subject matter (poverty, drugs, prostitution, prison reform) was just so emotionally taxing. Salt Houses for the Mediterranean prompt was much the same, since there was A LOT of war going on.
My main goal this month was to get caught up on ATY, but since My Dear Hamilton took so long, I ended up right where I started the month - 2 books behind. Thankfully, summer is on the horizon, and some of my least favorite prompts are behind me (or coming up in May), so I'm hoping I feel less of a need to do side reads over the summer and I can get ahead.
MAY FORECAST
So, I'm still behind by two weeks on ATY, but my options for the next few weeks are a bit lighter in comparison to the ones in April.
- Multiple Perspectives: The Summer Wives (tried to finish this one in April, but school is nuts at the moment)
- Speculative Fiction: Severance (I'm kind of dreading it, but I just think I don't like the prompt)
- Periodic Table: Gold (I loved Little Bee, so I'm hoping to be captivated)
- TBR: One Day (Picked because I already own it)
- Indigenous People: There There (Super excited for this one!)
I hope to get caught up through here, which will still leave me one book behind, but I don't want to push myself too hard with the ending of school (and the massive piles of grading that I still have to do.)
For my side challenges, I'll be reading The Untelling for my POC book -- it's one that I've picked up and put down countless times, so I'm determined to get through it. I plan on History Is All You Left Me for my LGBT book, which may also cross over into ATY's Close Call/Polarizing week... I chose the prompt for a book connected to a cultural appreciation month, and June is LGBT, so I may use that one here. And finally, for nonfiction, I'm listening to (and loving) Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption on audio.
I also have to read The Wife Between Us for book club.
So.... that's a pretty long list, with just a bit of flexibility. Not to mention all the research papers that must also be graded.
And yet here I sit, typing this up for 30 minutes before school starts instead of knocking a few papers out. Wish me luck.
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I hereby vow from this day forward to never again say that I don't like to read nonfiction.
You (Goodreads, this challenge, probably anyone reading this thread) have convinced me to read nonfiction books - to even make a challenge of reading one a month, to vow to read 40 before I turn 40 - and now I am hooked.
Of the 4 books that have earned a true 5 star rating from me this year, 3 are nonfiction. WHAT THE HECK.
I just finished Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand and honestly, it was amazing. So much so that I even volunteered to drive by myself to see family an hour away just so I could have two solid hours of listening time to this book. I then came home and sat on my couch and colored while finishing it. I'VE LISTENED TO THIS BOOK FOR FIVE HOURS TODAY.
Ugh. So I guess I'm a nonfiction reader now? That's cool. It was much easier when my TBR was just full of fiction.
Oh, yes, some wonderful non-fiction out there. I wish I would read more of it. I think it is sometimes more compelling when you know that a story is true.
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I just finished Week 18 with the periodic table prompt using Gold by Chris Cleave and it was SO GOOD. Took me a little minute to get into, but once I did, wow. The emotion and adrenaline in this book really impacted me. I have no idea what I will follow this one up with.
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9 books! I read 9 books this month!
May is always a hectic month for me with the end of school, so I had fairly low expectations going into this. I knew I had to catch up on ATY and hit all of my side goals, and I also knew that would take up a majority of my reading for the month.
It definitely did. I read no books for my reject challenge, and I only had three side reads - two audiobooks and the book club pick for the month. Otherwise, it was all ATY.
My best books of the month were Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption on audio, narrated by Ed Hermann, who is just amazing, and Trail of Lightning, which turned the prompt I was least looking forward to into one of my favorite prompts of the year. I definitely wouldn't have picked up that book without a prompt directing me to it.
JUNE FORECAST
I am currently caught up on ATY at the moment. I started Queenie as a side read last week, intending to finish it before May ended, but cheerleading took over my life and I only got a few chapters in before we left for camp. So I need to finish that one and Nine Perfect Strangers for the Week 22 prompt.
Up next for ATY, I have:
Week 22. A number in the title or on the cover
- Nine Perfect Strangers
Week 23. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #1 Something Old
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
Week 23. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #2 Something New
- A Woman Is No Man
Week 24. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #3 Something Borrowed
- Spinning Silver
Week 25. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #4 Something Blue
- Fates and Furies
I also want to read Becoming for my nonfiction goal, since it's been sitting on my bookshelf staring at me for the last couple of months. Both A Woman is No Man and Their Eyes Were Watching God will cover my POC goal, and I just picked up The Great Believers for my LGBT goal.
I also have Sadie for my book club pick this month.
I am genuinely excited about almost all of these books, and the ones I'm not excited about... well I'm excited to at least get them off of my unread shelf on my bookshelf. Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised.
With the Read-A-Thon this weekend and an 11 hour drive for a family vacation the following week, I'd say I have plenty of time to get all of this reading accomplished (and then some!)
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I DNF'd it, Emily, and I seldom DNF anything.
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The four I knocked out:
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
How Not to Die Alone
Spinning Silver
Sadie
Spinning Silver and Sadie are both top contenders for best fiction I've read all year... both absolutely transported me and I had a hard time putting them down! Most people would categorize Sadie as YA, but it didn't feel like a YA book (and the protagonist is 20ish so...?), and most people would categorize Spinning Silver as adult fiction, but it felt like it could have been YA (and most of the protagonists were in their teens, so...?)
I'm having an excellent reading month!
Up ahead is The Great Believers, while finishing How to Walk Away and Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder on audio.
I just finished my latest audiobook and was debating what to listen to next ... I'm taking your recommendation and listening to Spinning Silver! I need a fairy tale retelling, so this was perfect. 😁 I'm about 1.45 hours in, and finding it really engaging!
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And we are entering July, which, as a month, has my least favorite prompts. Sigh. At least I'm caught up on ATY and I can run through these with some fun side reads.
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9 books! I read 9 books this month!
Which, unfortunately, is not as high as I was expecting... I usually read more in the summer months, especially kicking off the month with a Read-A-Thon, but some of the books I had lined up were just clunkier than I thought they would be, and I didn't read nearly as much on vacation as I thought I would.
My biggest disappointment is that I didn't meet my LGBTQ+ goal this month.. during Pride month, no less! I picked up The Great Believers, but I couldn't get to it in time. Luckily, my book club chose it as our July read, so I will probably start on it today.
I did have a great reading month, though. I had two 5 star books: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Sadie. Order of the Phoenix got a rating upgrade after this reading because I just really connected to it more, and Sadie is on track to be my favorite YA novel of the year.
JULY FORECAST
July is probably my least favorite month of ATY, which is a problem when reading in order. These four prompts are all prompts I probably would have put off until the end if I weren't reading in order.
Up next for ATY, I have:
Week 27. A book off of the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list
- The Bluest Eye
Week 28. A book related to something cold
- The Great Alone
Week 29. A book published before 1950
- ???
Week 30. A book featuring an elderly character
- The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy
For nonfiction, I will read Becoming (which I didn't get to last month). My POC goal will also be covered by Becoming and The Bluest Eye. For LGBTQ+, I'll definitely be reading The Great Believers to cover for my June book, and I'll have to find another one for July... haven't decided quite yet though.
I'm hoping to have a good reading month... I have nothing planned, other than getting ready for school to start, so I should have plenty of time to enjoy my summer break.
Mod
I only read 8 books this month, which is probably the lowest summer month on record. I'm not sure what happened -- I think it mostly had to do with wanting to savor the books I was reading, combined with some wicked book hangovers after I was done.
Because, y'all. This was my best month of reading in a longggg time.
My favorite of the month (by a close margin) was Becoming, which was astounding and beautiful and poignant and energizing and I honestly never wanted the audiobook to end. I miss having Michelle talk to me in the car.
The Great Alone and The Great Believers were close second places... both absolutely gutted me. I couldn't pick up a book for days after finishing each of these. Both (for very different reasons) left me crying and thinking about the time period and wishing I could spend more time with the characters.
Also, I finished Whisper Network last night and, holy cow, it was so good. It had the feel of a thriller-meets-social-commentary, and I really couldn't guess the twists in it. Plus, it had amazing female friendships, which I'm all about. It would be PERFECT for the 2020 connected to a news story prompt with the #MeToo movement.
All in all, amazing reading month... it was definitely quality over quantity this month.
AUGUST FORECAST
All that being said, I did fall a bit behind on ATY, but I have a couple short, easy reads coming up with The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy and The Little Prince.
August is always a slow reading month for me, with school starting, but I'm hoping to get at least 7 books that I can apply to the summer reading challenge, so that I can have that last entry in. The downside is that I have The Luminaries also picked for the 500+ pages, and at 800+ pages, I can see it eating most of my month.
Here's hoping for a good challenge (and lots of my husband fishing and leaving me to read) ahead!
Emily wrote: "JULY UPDATE
I only read 8 books this month, which is probably the lowest summer month on record. I'm not sure what happened -- I think it mostly had to do with wanting to savor the books I was..."
I read the Luminaries for one of my summer challenge books. It took me a while to get started, partly because I had several library books that had made their way off hold (finally) and had strict deadlines for finishing. I loved the book... and as the book progressed it went much faster. I hope you like it as much as I did.
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That's good to hear, Edie! It's been sitting on my shelf foreverrrr so I'm looking forward to reading it.
Oooh your July reading month was amazing. Becoming, The Great Alone and The Great Believers are 3 of my favorites from that past 2 years so pretty crazy to read all in one month!I'm waiting for The Whisper Network to become available from my library and am looking forward to it.
I've been catching up on your updates and I love that you were dreading the topics in July, but it ended up being one of your favorite reading months. That happens to me a lot. I think that is why I'm not taking the voting very seriously this year. I find that the topics I haven't voted for often end up giving me some very good books that I probably wouldn't have chosen on my own. Keep up the good work.
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Tammy, I hadn't even thought about it that way, but you are so right. Some of the prompts I was dreading the most ended up having the best books -- I'm just hoping the trend continues next year!
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But holy cow, I really, really enjoyed it. It was long, but I thought it was so intricately woven and so beautifully told... just such a good story, despite the length. I'm so glad I finally read it!
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Woe is me. Only 5 books this month (and one of them was The Little Prince!).
My breakout, by far, was The Luminaries. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed that big ol book, and it has really stuck with me since I've finished reading it.
Plus, between that and The Interestings, I finished my most intimidating physical books on my shelves... a win!
But still... only 5 books. I blame the start of school.
SEPTEMBER FORECAST
This is about the time of year that I start scrapping all of the plans I previously made and start itching to mood read. Call it autumn or the start of school... I tend to reread and mood read a lot in September and October.
That being said, I have a few good ones planned out. I'm currently reading Less for the name in title prompt (after, sadly, ditching Rebecca in favor of clearing up my prompts quicker). Also looking forward to Chemistry for the school-based prompt later in the month.
For mood reading, I'm listening to both Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones (which is AMAZING, honestly), and A Court of Thorns and Roses (in the gym only, in an effort to incentivize myself to get into a habit of going to the gym -- blame Atomic Habits on that one).
All in all, I'm going to keep trucking along... hoping that the Read-A-Thon next week gives me the boost I'm searching for!
Atomic Habits is SO good. I listened to that one too.
I liked Atomic Habits, too, but I didn’t stick with my new habits! Maybe I need a reread and reboot.
Yeah, I didn’t actually put any of it into practice but it was great! 😂
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My last three books have been 5 star reads!
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
The Last Time I Lied
I'll Give You the Sun
All so, so unexpectedly good!
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Looking back, September was a great month of reading. I had some really good books (Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, The Last Time I Lied, and Next Year in Havana) along with a great reread (I'll Give You the Sun).
I had a couple not so great books (gosh darnit, Less, for getting my hopes up) and I ended up DNF'ing A Court of Thorns and Roses, but overall, I finished 9 books, which is great for a September.
OCTOBER
I'm actually ahead by one book on ATY, so I'm really excited about that. I find that, at this point in the year, I'm much more likely to randomly grab off of my shelves rather than sticking to a plan, so I'm trying to let myself just revel in the freedom for a minute. October is always a great reading month for me, so I hope the trend continues this month.
Mod
October is usually a pretty good reading month for me, and this month was no different. I did complete 3 audiobooks, which I think is a personal record for me, since I mostly only listen to them in the car and at the gym (which is very infrequent lol).
My surprise favorite of the month was Station Eleven, which was a book I DNF'd years ago. I'm so glad my book club picked it up this month, and that I chose to go audio with it... I think the audio really added to the story. I also really loved Rebecca (a reread of one of my favorite classics).
NOVEMBER FORECAST
I'm a bit behind on ATY, but I should be finishing Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything for the STEM prompt, and I only have a couple hours left of the audio for Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls for the TV show prompt (connected to Gilmore Girls, obv).
Last year I only read 4 books in November, so I'm hoping this month goes better than that lol. That's basically my only goal -- stay up to date with ATY and read more than 4 books.
I've heard such good things about Station Eleven. Maybe I'll give it a go on audio!
Mod
I'm having the opposite experience with my current audiobook - the narrator's voice is just not gripping. It puts me to sleep! I think I'll ditch it and try Station Eleven instead.
I'm glad you gave Station Eleven a second chance. I loved that book! Rebecca, however..... [eyeroll]. I just could not stand how whiny and helpless she was. Super ugh. *lol* Good luck with your November reading!
Mod
I read so. many. nonfiction. books. this month. Apparently Nonfiction November is a thing and I jumped right one board. My favorite was probably Gabrielle Union's We're Going to Need More Wine, which was narrated by her and really good.
I also read The Starless Sea, which, unsurprisingly, was amazing. My anticipation for the novel may have colored by 5 star rating a bit, but the world-building by Morgenstern is just phenomenal.
All in all, I finished 7 books, with four of them being nonfiction.
DECEMBER FORECAST
I cannot believe it's already December. I have 6 books left for ATY, and if I finish those, I'll exceed my 100 book goal for the year by one book. With the holidays, it's hit or miss on how much I'll actually be able to read. On the one hand -- holidays. On the other, my husband is going out of town for a 4-day fishing trip, which leaves lots of quiet reading time.
I've pretty much thrown my plan to the wind at this point. I'm hoping to read books off my bookshelves, but the last few prompts of ATY have been off-plan reads, so we will see how my mood goes. I'm currently in the middle of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane for the food prompt, followed with Fates and Furies for the National Book Award nominee.
I still haven't picked my book for the 2019 release (hopefully just pulling a book from Book of the Month club off my shelves) and I may just read whatever the Book of the Month book is for the last prompt.
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It does help that they were both YA, but I'll take it. I started and finished On the Come Up yesterday, and I started and finished One of Us Is Lying today.
I gave them both the same rating, but they were very different books, and it has me rethinking my rating system...