I’m not accustomed to being greeted with nice weather at this point in the summer, but so far August has been cool and breezy and I really hope it stays this way. It’s nice sitting here with all my windows open (except the one where I trapped a fly) instead of barricading myself in my bedroom with the shades down and the AC on, which is what I spent most of July trying really, really hard not to do. Of course, July still wasn’t hot enough for the Queen of No Fur, who requires all laps to be padded with blankets before she seats herself upon them.
She’s cute, though, so I don’t mind. Mostly.
July Reading Stats
Books Finished:
- Death Note 1 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Death Note 2 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
- Death Note 3 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Death Note 4 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Daughters of the Wild – Natalka Burian
- Death Note 5 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Death Note 6 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Death Note 7 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Death Note 8 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Death Note 9 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Death Note 10 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Death Note 11 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- Death Note 12 – Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
- And I Do Not Forgive You – Amber Sparks
- These Ghosts Are Family – Maisy Card
Total Pages Read: 3,546
I swore up and down that I wasn’t going to pad out my reading goal with mangas this year, but that obviously failed. (Look, I was really behind and not catching up particularly well. It happens.) I also started Klara and the Sun (Kazuo Ishiguro) this month, but neglected it badly and ended up temporarily DNF’ing. I have now returned the library copy, which couldn’t be renewed anymore, and bought a copy for myself. Of course, having done that, I’m starting to wonder if I should possibly read Never Let Me Go first. Go figure.
Currently Reading
The African Trilogy
Chinua Achebe
Current rating: 5 stars. I’m not very far along, so the missionaries have yet to arrive in Okonkwo’s neck of the woods and so far his life is pretty good, though I hate how he treats his wives. I’m taking my time with this one and also made sure to read the foreword because it’s set in a time and a culture I’m not familiar with, and I want to make sure I don’t accidentally miss anything. Also: I usually don’t go for all-in-ones (because it means fewer books on my finished list), but this particular edition is so beautiful and I’m really glad I picked it up instead of trying to acquire each book of the trilogy separately. I usually just see Things Fall Apart on the shelf at BN and neither of the sequels, so I’m pretty sure I made the right call here.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
Christopher Moore
Current rating: 5 stars. The title says it all, really. Technically Biff’s name is Levi, but he is generally known as Biff because according to his mother he requires a biff on the head at least once a day. One of my favorite lines:
Joshua [Jesus] stormed out of the house, his snake following close behind. Joseph and I gave them a wide berth. “Try not to let anyone see you,” Joseph said. “They won’t understand.”
He was right, of course. On our way out of the village we ran into a gang of older boys, led by Jakan, the son of Iban the Pharisee. They did not understand.
This book has been a pleasant surprise so far. The only other Christopher Moore I’ve read was Fool, of which I do not have stellar memories, though the first and last time I read it was probably 2012. My main memory of it seems to be a mostly mediocre comedy choked with one-liners, which didn’t make for a compelling read, but I may have to revisit it depending on how the rest of Lamb goes.
The Blind Assassin
Margaret Atwood
Current rating: 5 stars. This may end up being the Year of the Reread, and, honestly, I’m not mad. There may be a million things I haven’t read, but they’ll still be there next year. I first read this in eleventh or twelfth grade and loved it, but it’s been easily over a decade since I last read it so I’m way overdue for a reread. I’m on page 55, and so far the book is holding up exceptionally well.
Miscellaneous Reading News
I’ve finally started to get back onto the reviewing track, which mostly just means that I have a bunch of review draft posts and am halfheartedly working on all and none of them because I delight in oxymorons. On the other hand, I did finally manage to post my many, many opinions on The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, so I guess that’s something. Something’s better than nothing, right?
Also I learned semi-recently that there are two library systems within driving distance of me, so I now have two library cards. I love Baltimore.
