It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? (3/14/16)

Hosted by The Book Date.

I’m not going to say I’ve fully broken free of my slump, but I feel like I’m back in my regular reading groove. Books are at least sticking (i.e. I’m not bailing out of multiple books at 10% before finally settling on something).

Maybe it has to do with the awesome weather we had last week (above 60 for most of the week, 70+ for a few glorious days) or maybe it’s because I’ve finally ironed out some life stressors that were taking up a bunch of my brain space. Whatever the reason, I’ll take it! Now, I just need to get my review writing motivation/inspiration firing again…

I finished reading…

Association of Small Bombs, Karan Mahajan


The Association of Small Bombs
 by Karan Mahajan (March 22, 2016)
Great start, meandering middle, and an odd, but somewhat thought-provoking ending. I’m still processing what to make of it overall. Review to come.

I’m currently reading…

Never Open Desert Diner, Girls and Sex


The Never Open Desert Diner
 by James Anderson (March 22, 2016)
I’m about 40% through and things are getting interesting. I really have no idea where the story is going and have long since forgotten what the blurb said, so I’m looking forward to seeing where it takes me!

Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein (March 29, 2016)
This nonfiction about how high school and college girls are navigating today’s sexual landscape is sort of a must read for me since I have a young daughter. I’m reading little bits at a time OF AN ACTUAL HARD COPY BOOK (if you know me, you know that I’m strictly an e-reader!), so this one will likely hang around for awhile.

Upcoming reading plans…

As Close to Us As Breathing, High Dive


As Close to Us As Breathing
by Elizabeth Poliner (March 15, 2016)
Ever since I loved Tender from the new Lee Boudreaux Books imprint, I’ve been looking forward to this multi-generational family saga (I’m a sucker for these!!) set in a 1940’s Jewish vacation community.

High Dive by Jonathan Lee (March 8, 2016)
This debut novel about the 1984 assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher hits my “fiction based on true crime” hot button.




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29 Comments

  1. I’ve been curious about Orenstein’s new book and As Close to Us As Breathing looks wonderful. Can’t resist a good multi-generational saga! Glad to hear you’re coming out of the reading slump.

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Me neither!

      Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  2. Girls and Sex sounds like a great book. I brewed with a bunch of young women yesterday and I was kind of shocked by the way they talked – it was so different from the women of my generation and, to be honest, I’m not sure it’s all good.

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      It’s so different! My brother is 9 years younger than I am and I was stunned to hear some of the stuff that was going on in high school only 9 years after I went through.

      Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  3. Kathy Martin wrote:

    Nice looking books. All are new to me. I hope you enjoy them. Here is my week. Happy reading!

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  4. I’m still looking forward to As Close to Us as Breathing sometime this year. I’m just not sure when it will be. High Dive is really gaining some momentum in the book buzz. I hope it works for you. And, welcome to the hardcover world!

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Oooh – glad to hear that about High Dive! I seem to have missed all the buzz!

      Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  5. Kym wrote:

    Interesting reading list – I’d want to know more about The Never Open Desert Diner. The title and cover got my attention.

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  6. Majanka wrote:

    Sounds like an interesting list. I hope you enjoy them!

    My It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? post.

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  7. Judy wrote:

    Last week I read The Merchant of Venice and Crime and Punishment (the way back machine), then Shylock is My Name. Many deep and heavy topics. Today I am finally finishing Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector, a book I started months ago and almost DNF. A weird symmetry has been achieved.

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  8. Naomi wrote:

    All these sound like they have good potential. It’s always fun when you have no idea where something is going to go.
    As Close To Us As Breathing appeals to me the most out of all these, but I’ll also be interested to hear more about Girls & Sex (for the same reason as you)!

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I’m not too far in yet, but I’ll keep you posted! So far, nothing earth shattering.

      Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  9. Amanda wrote:

    I’m really curious to hear about Girls and Sex. I am determined to read Cinderella Ate My Daughter first, I just can never make myself read it. I will look forward to your thoughts on this one.

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  10. Glad you’ve finally been able to de-slump… for whatever reason! Looks like you have some good books here… I’m hoping to get to As Close To Us As Breathing on the sooner side of life as well!

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  11. I like the looks of As Close To Us As Breathing and The Never-Open Desert Diner.

    Have a great reading week this week.

    Elizabeth
    Silver’s Reviews
    My It’s Monday, What Are You Reading

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  12. Becca wrote:

    I think it is kind of fun sometimes to just read without checking back to what the blurb says. It’s a little more exciting!

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I normally agree, but I’m not over 50% through and still have no idea and kind of want some hook. Throw me a bone here!

      Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  13. Melinda wrote:

    I’ve heard good things about Girls and Sex and I definitely want to read it!

    Posted 3.14.16 Reply
  14. I’ve been in a bit of a slump but I’m reading The Vegetarian and it’s going pretty well so far. High Dive sounds fascinating – I may have to check it out!

    Posted 3.15.16 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I’ve heard such mixed things about The Vegetarian, so haven’t picked it up yet. I think your opinion will be a good one to trust on this one, so I’ll wait to see what you think! I sampled High Dive and wasn’t too into the sample, so I’m going to sit on it for now. May come back later.

      Posted 3.16.16 Reply
      • You know, I didn’t love the book but I still recommend it. I think having realistic expectations would have helped me.

        Posted 3.16.16 Reply
  15. I have really been wanting to read The Association of Small Bombs! I think I came across it last year, and it sounded fantastic, but never got around to reading it!

    I’m currently almost finished with our Imaginary Book Club pick for this month – Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant, which is amazing.

    Posted 3.15.16 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Small Bombs is coming out on 3/22, so it might be a diff book from what you saw last year? Anyway – I ended up with mixed feelings about it, but my review is going up tomorrow.

      I still haven’t read any Ishiguro, which I need to remedy!

      Posted 3.16.16 Reply
  16. It’s such a complicated time to be a teen (or the parent of one!), so massively different from when I was growing up, which wasn’t that long ago in the great scheme of things.

    Posted 3.15.16 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Isn’t it amazing how quickly things have changed?? I was graduating high school 20 years ago & we didn’t even have cell phones or email accounts (they existed obviously, just weren’t widely used by high schoolers at that point).

      Posted 3.16.16 Reply
  17. Athira wrote:

    I guess I will add Girls and Sex to my list too. Interesting that you read most ebooks now. I am mostly in the same boat as well, ever since I had a baby. If I have a print book going, it will be ages before I finish it.

    Posted 3.16.16 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Exactly my issue. Virtually impossible for me to actually get through a print book in any normal amount of time these days!

      Posted 3.17.16 Reply
  18. Ooooh there are some arcs of Association of Small Bombs at the bookstore. Should I grab one?? Also the Never Open Desert Diner is such a good title. I look forward to hearing what you think!

    Posted 3.16.16 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Yep- definitely grab one of those arcs! It wasn’t perfect for me, but much more good than bad. And Desert Diner was super disappointing 🙁

      Posted 3.17.16 Reply

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