It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? (4/11/16)

Hosted by The Book Date.

Last week, I buckled down and finished my online driving school! It was sucking up so much of my reading time, so I’m thrilled to have it behind me!

I finally canceled my Audible account after not listening to an audiobook in well over a year. And, what happened? I started a new audiobook that is actually working for me! Go figure. I had to use my 6 remaining credits, so I bought a bunch of light nonfictions I wanted to read, but not enough to read the actual books. One of which is In the Water They Can’t See You Cry, Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard’s memoir. I’ve been listening while getting ready for bed every night and it certainly makes teeth brushing, etc more exciting. Maybe sports celebrity memoirs are the key to audiobooks for me!

I finished reading…

Shelter, Jung Yun
Shelter by Jung Yun (March 15, 2016)
My third 5 star book of the year! Full review coming on Thursday…

Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

I’m currently reading…

Why We Came to the City, Kristopher Jansma


Why We Came to the City
 by Kristopher Jansma (February 16, 2016)
I’m almost halfway through this novel about twenty-somethings living in NYC and it’s reminding me a bit of The Interestings. I’m invested in the lives of the four friends and interested to see where they’re headed.

Upcoming reading plans…

Regional Office is Under Attack, Sunset City


The Regional Office is Under Attack
 by Manuel Gonzales (April 12, 2016)
This debut novel starring female assassins, an all-powerful organization (The Regional Office), and a potential mole first caught my eye months ago while perusing the Riverhead’s catalog.

Sunset City by Melissa Ginsburg (April 12, 2016)
This thriller set in Houston was blurbed by Megan Abbott (author of The Fever).

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33 Comments

  1. Andi wrote:

    I’m reviewing Regional Office this week, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Good for you for finding a 5-star book! They’ve been few and far between for me so far this year, but lots of 4-star books. Can’t complain.

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Few and far between for me as well…sad 🙁 But, the 4 stars are picking up for me too…finally! I’ll look out for your review!

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  2. Naomi wrote:

    Yay – 5 stars! That one’s on my list. I also have the Jansma on my list, so I’m glad you’re enjoying it so far! Have you read The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards?

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I haven’t, but I checked it out on Goodreads yesterday and it’s now on my TBR!

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  3. Athira wrote:

    Excited to hear that you are enjoying Why We Came to the City! I have this author on my must read list.

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  4. Now I really need to find a copy of Shelter… hooray for a 5 star read!
    The Interestings was a favorite a few years ago, so I’ll be watching for your final thoughts on Why We Came to the City.

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Hope you get to it!

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  5. I never seem to get around to listening to audiobooks either. The Amanda Beard one sounds interesting!

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  6. Three of your books are on my TBR list: Shelter, Why We Came to the City, and The Regional Office is Under Attack. I am excited to see that you gave Shelter 5 stars. Hopefully my library copy will come up soon.

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I hope so too! Lots of dysfunction, but such a well done book!

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  7. ooo- I am curious about Shelter and love the cover. Glad to hear it was 5 stars for you. Have a great week Sarah.

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      It IS gorgeous, isn’t it?!

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  8. Can’t wait to read Shelter! I’m on the fence about Why We Came to the City. I hated The Interestings, and have seen this compared to that on several sites. On the flip side, I loved The Ramblers, also being compared to the same book. Hmmmmm, what to do 🙂

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      It’s a similar premise to The Interestings, but a somewhat different writing style. So, I’d give it a shot.

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  9. diane wrote:

    Glad u loved this one as well Sarah.

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      🙂

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  10. I liked Why We Came to the City a lot — much more than I liked The Interestings. Shelter sounds fabulous!

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I feel like the premise is very similar, but the style is pretty different.

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  11. I’m excited The Regional Office is coming up for you!! It is SO MUCH FUN. And hurray for 5 star books!

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Looking forward to it!

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  12. Carmen wrote:

    Last week I bought Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon as audiobook to see if I can advance faster in my reading list. It seems I can’t! I kept listening to the narrator keep talking but I just lost track of what he was saying at some point. I immediately remembered your post about audiobooks. Perhaps novels aren’t a good idea in that format.

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Yep, audio novels definitely don’t work for me!

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  13. Catherine wrote:

    Holy cow- our twinness has been seriously challenged! 5 stars?! I’m not sure we’ve ever been that far apart before. How exciting! I cannot wait to read your review and I will definitely add the link to my blog.

    Will the swimming be enough to keep me interested in Beard’s memoir? It sounds like it might.

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I know, I know! I’m let’s discuss after I put my review up and see where we differed.

      So, I think I’d be hard pressed to get through the memoir if I read it….obviously the writing isn’t fantastic. But, all the behind the scenes stuff about the Olympics and what life was like for her and how quickly she rose to best in the world and how truly young she was is so fascinating to me. She also had some major issues, which she discusses.

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  14. Looks like you picked two great reads this week! So glad to see Shelter was a five star for you and a comparison to The Interestings is always a good sign for me!

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      THANK YOU for recommending Shelter!! It really was perfect for me! And I feel like the Jansma’s premise/story is very similar to The Interestings, but the style is a bit different. At this point, I think it will be a solid 4 stars for me, but probably not 5.

      Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  15. Melinda wrote:

    Oooh, I’m going to have to look into “Shelter”!

    Posted 4.11.16 Reply
  16. The premise of Why We Came to the City sounds very similar to Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life – have you read that one yet? Four friends living in NYC as well.

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      It is a bit similar…but not as dark. And, it was one of my favorite books of last year!

      Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  17. Oh, 5 stars for Shelter!! I’ve wondered if that one would meet the hype, so I put it aside as not a priority until I saw a few trusted thoughts on it from others. I really want to read Why We Came to the City for the reason Myra mentioned above – it sounded a lot like A Little Life when I first read the synopsis, as well.

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      My vote is for Shelter! And City is a little similar to A Little Life, but doesn’t have the amazing writing of Yanagihara (I mean, what does?!) and isn’t as emotionally devastating…but I’m also only 65% through.

      Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  18. Why We Came To The City looks good.

    ENJOY your reading week.

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

    Posted 4.12.16 Reply
  19. On Monday I was trying to finish Gutshot by Amelia Gray and This Census-Taker by China Mieville. Neither book was doing it for me, but I finally finished both. I was going to start Shelter but just needed a getaway. So yesterday (Tuesday) I started Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin. It has been on my shelf for years. It is just my kind of book, it took me away to the joy of reading, I love Peter and the white horse. I have been saved, even though it will probably take me all week to finish it.

    Posted 4.13.16 Reply

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