2020 June Reading Summary

I’ve got the worst fucking impulse control. The library book drops and the Barnes and Nobles reopened this week, which means I got rid of a stack of books and bought even more books and also a couple of new bookmarks because I buy too many bookmarks.

Also, BN had this sign in the SF section. I died.

June Reading Stats

Books Finished:

1. The Book of Longings – Sue Monk Kidd
2. The Girl with the Louding Voice – Abi Daré
3. Spy x Family 1 – Tatsuya Endo
4. Dune – Frank Herbert

Total Pages Read: 1,528

If I hadn’t been reading Louding Voice with Jennicorn, I’m not sure I would’ve kicked the reading slump that carried me most of the way through June. Fortunately, since we were buddy-reading, I had greater motivation towards the end of the month and even managed to finish Dune, which I spent most of June avoiding. It didn’t actually take me a month to read it; I zipped through the bulk of it during the last three days of June because I went on a mental health staycation on July 1 and didn’t want Dune hanging over my head during my break.

I’m not really sure why I had such a hard time motivating myself to read Dune, because I actually liked it despite the long rambling chapters that Paul, Jessica, and Liet-Kynes spent lost and hallucinating in the desert. (For the record, those were super fucking long and not a lot of fun to read.) I didn’t really know what to expect from the book and it had some of the hallmarks I would expect from a book written in the ’60s, but overall it held up pretty well mostly because of Chani and Alia my god I need a book that’s just about them being the total badasses that they are. Also I fell hard for the sandworms because they’re nosy and unintentionally destructive and now I really want one for a pet so I can feed my enemies to it.

Next up: Dune Messiah. All of the Dune Chronicles books except for Messiah average 500-700 pages and I have no idea why they have to be so long. My mom’s already told me God Emperor of Dune is the next best after Dune and that’s fourth in the series, so I’ve got a ways to go. Good thing the movie isn’t coming out till December.

Current Reads

I’m currently at 331 pages for July, helped along by my staycation and the week-long readathon I’ve been participating in, both of which have greatly boosted my motivation. I also learned that I’ll be off all of next week as well, which I was less pleased about, but, hey, more time for reading!

Last night I decided I’d start trying to read 100 pages per day, at least for the month of July, which hopefully will help speed me through the rest of the Dune series and keep me from falling into any reading potholes. July got off to a strong start thanks to Heart Berries, which was beautiful and excruciating and short enough for me to finish in one day, and I really want to keep the momentum going for as long as I can. I think it’ll help if I establish a book calendar and don’t waste time dithering over what I’m going to read next. I’m at 50/60 books and have a good shot at making it to 75 if I stay on target, so let’s do this thing!!!

Reading Now

1. Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi
2. Miss Iceland – Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

Not to break my arm patting my back, but my reading choices this year have been spot-on so far. There’s been some ups and downs, of course, but I haven’t read anything that I would say was truly awful, which makes a nice change from last year. Last year ended with me slogging through The Amber Spyglass, which – along with The Subtle Knife – was some of the worst crap I’ve ever read. I made it through the His Dark Materials series out of sheer spite, which is really a pity because I loved The Golden Compass. Unfortunately for me, I also read the Chronicles of Prydain right before His Dark Materials, and it was so. Fucking. BORING. I feel like I might have enjoyed it at least somewhat if I’d read it as a kid, but even that I kind of doubt.

Anyway.

2020’s reading choices have been a lot better than the ones I made at the end of 2019, and my current reads are no exception. Homegoing starts with two half-sisters born in Ghana in the eighteenth century and then follows their descendants as they make their way to America. The book is structured as several interconnecting short stories; each story follows one character through one defining moment in their life, after which their story ends, unless they appear in another character’s chapter. You’d think there wouldn’t be enough time to get attached to the extensive cast, but you’d be so wrong. I’m planning to finish this one tonight, because it’s endlessly fascinating and almost impossible to put down. (I also really appreciate the inclusion of the family tree at the very beginning, without which I might be slightly more confused.)

Miss Iceland has also been good to me so far, though I made the same mistake I made with Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and assumed Miss Iceland would be lighthearted fun. It’s not. However, since it talks about LGBTQ rights, I’m not inclined to complain. (I also managed to snatch the only copy on the shelf at BN when I went looking for it. Coincidence? Fate? Either one works for me.)

Miss Iceland is the story of Hekla Gottskálksdóttir, a young woman in early-1960s Iceland, who was named after a volcano and wishes to become a published writer. To that end, she packs a copy of Ulysses, a typewriter, and her first manuscript and takes the bus from her family’s farm to Reykjavík, where she moves in with her queer friend Jón John. So far she’s encountered sexism, harassment, and homophobia (against Jón), and if she doesn’t get published by the end of this I’m going to scream.

I’ll admit that I don’t love the writing. It’s full of things that normally drive me crazy, but I’m not sure if that’s specific to the author or if it’s a general style among Icelandic writers. Despite my issues, however, I really love this book so far, and it’s making me want to read Ulysses. It’s also making me want to investigate traditional Icelandic literature, which the characters reference frequently.

Reading Next

1. The Forest of Wool and Steel – Natsu Miyashita
2. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins
3. Monkey Beach – Eden Robinson
4. Conjure Women – Afia Atakora
5. Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I’ve had The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes on my shelf since it arrived in May and I haven’t heard amazing things about it, so I kinda wanna get it over with because it’s kind of a chunkster and there’s a lot of other things I want to read. Wish me luck, I’m hoping it’s not too disappointing. If it’s at least better than Mockingjay, I’ll be satisfied.

I have much higher hopes for Americanah: I read Purple Hibiscus back in April, so I already know I like Adichie, and I’ve also heard good things about Conjure Women. The Forest of Wool and Steel was totally random, but I fell in love with the cover because I do judge books by their covers and I like Japanese literature, so I had to order it. Monkey Beach I’ve already read, but that was about 12 years ago so I figured a refresh couldn’t hurt.

General Life Update

This week has been a lot better than most of June, which I suppose shouldn’t surprise me because that’s generally what happens when I actually take time for myself. I honestly thought I’d just be vegging on the couch this week, but I’ve actually been surprisingly productive. So far during this staycation I’ve gotten rid of my library books, visited the bookstore three times, gone to the beach, eaten in an actual restaurant that served the best crab cakes I’ve ever had, gotten a pile of reading done, and bought a new shoulder rest for my violin. Vera’s gotten into a bad habit over the years of ejecting my Kun shoulder rest, which is why she now wears a girdle.

TRY EJECTING THAT ONE, VERA. (Which, now that I’ve said that, she probably will.)

In other news, I finally watched Hamilton for the first time! (Yes, really.) I’ll be the first to admit that I wouldn’t pay hundreds of dollars for a Hamilton ticket because I wouldn’t spend that kind of money on any ticket, but I love the production streaming on Disney Plus. The smackdown between Jefferson and Hamilton was hands down my favorite scene, and I’m looking forward to the DVD. The only trouble is that now I’ve got fucking George III’s fucking song stuck in my head gorrammit

Random-Ass Brain Fart

I bought reusable face masks yesterday. This was not the brain fart.

The brain fart happened when I walked into the Arlington CVS and came face to face with racks of wine and for a hot second thought that Virginia really was a different place until I realized that I was in fact standing in a Target that happened to have a CVS in the back. #headdesk

On the bright side, my masks were accompanied by this hilariously misspelled sign, which made me feel somewhat better about myself.