Mimi

Fun to read about a fellow slow but determined runner.

Good plane reading. While locations and details are obviously different, this book about a freshman at Harvard brought back all the feels of the academic lifestyle.

Loved this. I read it on the flight to Seattle, which felt appropriate since that's where Lindy West is from. Sad, though, because she's speaking in Ann Arbor this week while I'm here!

Mostly interesting because it's clear that even in her notebooks Joanne Didion is an exceptional writer. But otherwise, not sure why this was published.

Wavering between 3 and 4 stars... This “book about books” (a category for the Read Harder Challenge) was sometimes very good and sometimes felt thin. It did make me want to reread [b:Stuart Little 138959 Stuart Little E.B. White https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347367311s/138959.jpg 2884160] and [b:What I Talk About When I Talk About Running 2195464 What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Haruki Murakami https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473397159s/2195464.jpg 2475030], and to add [b:Giovanni's Room 38462 Giovanni's Room James Baldwin https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493320612s/38462.jpg 814207] to my list, so I'll go with the 4 stars.

According to one reviewer, this doesn't stand up to Elena Ferrante's writing at all. What does? It works at what it is, a tightly compressed examination of a marriage. Points off, though, for being yet another book set in Brooklyn.

I liked it very much, but it's not a book to rush through–lots of interesting reflections to ponder. Also not a book to read in bed at night, because the sentences can be quite meditative.

Calming. Makes me want to go off and be alone somewhere, with coffee and books, of course.

Just ok, really. Read some good reviews and then saw it on the new bookshelf at the library, so decided to try it.

A fantasy novel for the Read Harder Challenge. Not a category I am especially fond of, but this book was pretty exciting and has the appeal of a strong female lead. It is clearly meant to be the first in a series, but the immediate story wraps up in a satisfying way.

A book of short stories for the Read Harder Challenge: Read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative. These stories focus on Vietnamese refugees in the United States, all going through the life experiences we all share. Amazingly well-written. Have to add [book:The Sympathizer 23168277] to my list now.

I thought this book would satisfy my Travel Memoir requirement in the Read Harder Challenge, but it wasn't really about travel. Rather, the author describes learning Italian, loving it so much she moves to Italy so she can immerse herself in the language. A native English speaker, she wrote this book in Italian, and then it was translated by Ann Goldstein (Elena Ferrante's translator). I am wondering why I haven't read Jhumpa Lahiri before–this was an excellent book. More books to add to my list!

Got sucked into the Lacey Flint mystery series. Not bad.

A memoir, not really about birds or art per se, but how the study and observation of small things can enrich your life. Exactly the kind of calm book I felt like reading right now.

A sick day mystery read that turned out to be surprisingly good.

A frequently banned book for the Read Harder Challenge. Yikes–hard to read (shallow yuppies, violence, torture, admiration for Donald Trump), but deserving of the many academic articles written about it (as seen in JSTOR!).

A “book about war” for the Read Harder Challenge. Again, books about war are not a category I would seek out (the point of the challenge, obvi), but this book is riveting.

This essay-length book is basically the author's reflection on her lifelong obsessive diary keeping. Her habit is one way, perhaps, of dealing with our evolving relationship with time as we age. Or maybe it only serves to highlight the changes.

At any rate, this New Yorker review of the book is very good, but almost as long as the book itself.

For the 2018 Read Harder Challenge: “A one-sitting book.”

Another Read Harder Challenge book: “Read a book about sports.” I know nothing about most sports, but I do like David Foster Wallace's writing. This book was excellent, even for someone who doesn't know zip about tennis. I didn't know anything about lobsters either, but the essay he wrote for Gourmet ([b:Consider the Lobster and Other Essays 6751 Consider the Lobster and Other Essays David Foster Wallace https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388854217s/6751.jpg 2207382]) is one of the best things I've ever read.

Great book, which I keep thinking about days after I finished. It's not only about the author's 76-year-old father and his decision to transition to being a woman, but also manages to be an absorbing history of WWII, Jews, and rampant anti-semitism in Hungary, which continues today. Oh, and feminism and abusive relationships and broader identity issues.

For the 2017 Read Harder Challenge–“Read a superhero comic with a female lead.” Done.

I am taking on Book Riot's 2017 Read Harder Challenge, with the intention of reading 24 books in categories I don't ordinarily gravitate towards. Does Blue Is the Warmest Color qualify for the “all-ages comic” category? Maybe not. Clearly I am not a big reader of graphic novels, or comics, but I really liked this one–touching story and lovely images.

Lovely book, with interesting characters. Mostly I fell in love with the two sets of parents, who were amazing. This book was for the 2017 Reading Challenge category “Read a YA or middle grade novel by an author who identifies as LGBTQ+.”

I was intrigued by a werewolf book being mentioned in at least two issues of The New Yorker–must be good, right? And it is. And it turns out it's the first of a trilogy. Cool.

One of the few times I wished a book was longer, not because it was well-written, but because it seemed like it ended just as I was starting to get into the story and the characters. It's said to be loosely based on Margaret Mead, but I don't know enough about her to compare the events in this book to those in her life.