Books Read This Month
Favorite Books This Month
1. Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan
Not only does STABD boast an incredible cover and apt acronym, but I just loved, loved, loved the protagonist, Anlei, and the steampunk China fantasy world. Character-building and world-building are the keys to my heart. Anlei is a warrior but she's also a talented performer, close with her sister, has some trouble relating to and trusting other people...she's just such a full complex character and, perhaps obviously, one that I related to. Furthermore, her partner-in-crime and eventual love interest, Tai, has quite a lot going on for him too, and his character is nearly as developed. The two get to know each other while riding in a stolen airship (!). The plot is similarly robust, and the Big Bad isn't quite as simple as it seems. For satisfying genre fantasy complete with a physically and emotionally powerful protagonist and freaking awesome technology, I highly recommend STABD!
2. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Sweetbitter absolutely blew me away with the patina of its prose. It seems written by someone simultaneously old and young, as Tess is. The unnamed narrator reminds me of The Stranger but then she evolves into a named powerful woman, taking charge of her own sensuality, life, and identity. This is an odd little gem, and I understand it's a hit show now on Starz, but I would highly recommend the book to anyone addicted to these magical melancholy meditations on coming of age.
Posts This Month
How I Did On My July Goals
- Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan
- Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart by Carrot Quinn
- Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
- The Home Edit by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin
- Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon
- Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Favorite Books This Month
Not only does STABD boast an incredible cover and apt acronym, but I just loved, loved, loved the protagonist, Anlei, and the steampunk China fantasy world. Character-building and world-building are the keys to my heart. Anlei is a warrior but she's also a talented performer, close with her sister, has some trouble relating to and trusting other people...she's just such a full complex character and, perhaps obviously, one that I related to. Furthermore, her partner-in-crime and eventual love interest, Tai, has quite a lot going on for him too, and his character is nearly as developed. The two get to know each other while riding in a stolen airship (!). The plot is similarly robust, and the Big Bad isn't quite as simple as it seems. For satisfying genre fantasy complete with a physically and emotionally powerful protagonist and freaking awesome technology, I highly recommend STABD!
2. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Sweetbitter absolutely blew me away with the patina of its prose. It seems written by someone simultaneously old and young, as Tess is. The unnamed narrator reminds me of The Stranger but then she evolves into a named powerful woman, taking charge of her own sensuality, life, and identity. This is an odd little gem, and I understand it's a hit show now on Starz, but I would highly recommend the book to anyone addicted to these magical melancholy meditations on coming of age.
Posts This Month
- May Wrap-Up
- June Wrap-Up
- Bookish and Not So Bookish Goals for July
- What I'm Reading Lately
- My Top (More Than) Ten Auto-Buy Authors
- What I'm Reading Now
How I Did On My July Goals
- Camp NaNoWriMo-Write 3,000 words!-I probably wrote 3,000 words, but did absolutely nothing with NaNoWriMo, so don't know for sure.
- Take weekend trips with friends-July 4th weekend in Ocean City is in the books; next up, visiting friends in Boston!-Yes! I succeeded at vacationing!
- Swim-my parents' new house has a pool, so I've already been swimming more this summer than the past several years combined, and I hope to keep it up! I even bought a new swimsuit for the first time in 15 years.-I did a fair amount of swimming in Ocean City, but other than that, not much.
- Spend a lot of time outside-The beach helped, I've been weeding outside, and walking my dogs. And wearing plenty of sunscreen!-Yes, i have been spending a lot of time outside: walking, taking care of my couple of plants, and reading.
- Read at least 10 books--In previous years, I've averaged 4-5 books a month; this year has been more like 8-9. Since I have some time off this month, I think I can get in at least 10!-Due to unforeseen circumstances, I ended up reading even less this month than the rest of the year, but enjoyed some excellent quality reads and on my way to many more in August!
- Meditate-Yes. A lot of this.
- Dance-Some of this.
- Celebrate-have a birthday party! I haven't had a party since my 25th, but a) my 30th is definitely worth a party and b) ANY excuse to celebrate. Seriously. Life is short. We should have fun. -I had a party and I'm proud that I cleaned up my house finally and had some friends over. It was nice to see some people I haven't gotten to hang out with in a while.
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