The year is flying by. This is probably a good time to review my progress toward the reading goals I set at the beginning of the year. The primary challenge was to read 200 books and at least 50,000 pages. I'm ahead of schedule—barely—when it comes to total number of books, but blowing the top off the page-count goal. I've completed 83 books containing almost 23,000 pages. And, two of the books I completed this week count toward the categories in the Eclectic Reader challenge.
Where I've been reading
I started this week with flights from Richmond, Virginia, to Dallas, returning from my weekend visit with my sister and her family. I was at home for a couple of days which allowed me to attend another graduation ceremony. This time it was my grandson graduating from pre-school. Add in a quick overnight trip to Austin for a meeting with a customer, and then back north for a weekend at home.
What I've been reading: Completed this week
Format: Paperback
Source: borrowed from Sanger Public Library (ILL from Irving Public Library)
Completed: 26 May
★★★☆☆
When her husband suddenly dies, Ramatoulaye pours out her sorrows in a series of journal entries to be sent as a letter to her life-long friend, Aissatou. College graduates, both women enter into marriages based on love, but filled with conflict with the in-laws. Ramatoulaye's sorrow is not just the death of her husband, but the death of her hopes and expectations. Both husbands elect to marry a second wife—allowed under the Islamic faith—and the two wives react quite differently. Aissatou divorces her husband while Ramatoulaye chooses to stay married. Throughout the letter, Ramatoulaye details the decisions she has made and the reasons behind them.
Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from Sanger Public Library (via Freading)
Completed: 20 May
★★★☆☆
In the ninth volume of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries, the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is the scene of a prisoner exchange. Sheriff Prestone has been taken captive by the Welsh forces and young Elis ap Cynan was left behind when his fellow soldiers fled Shrewsbury. Cadfael negotiates an exchange of the two, but when a desperately ill Prestone is murdered shortly after returning to the Abbey, all within its walls are suspect.
Format: Paperback
Source: borrowed from Sanger Public Library (ILL from Irving Public Library)
Completed: 30 May
★★☆☆☆
It's very rare that I'll rate a book with only two stars. In the case of The Screwed Up Life of Charlie the Second, the reason is because of the explicit descriptions of sexual acts. I kept looking at this book from the viewpoint of the YA librarian in a public library or high school. I don't think I'd add this book to the collection. The story line was good, but not outstanding. The teen angst had an authentic voice. The spoiler was simply the amount of detail which imposed on the story.
What I've been reading: In progress
The third and (I think) final Jack Staples book will be released on 1 June. I received an advance copy from the publisher, and I really need to finish reading it as soon as possible. Jack Staples and the Poet's Storm, like the two books before it, is allegorical Christian fiction for young adults. This last book in the trilogy is the culminating battle between the Assassin and the Author and his Awakened.
Back in December, I submitted a request that the library add the rest of the Ketty Jay series to their Overdrive subscription. Now, The Black Lung Captain is available, and I'm following through and have borrowed it. I've only read the first few pages, but it starts up with the crew thrashing through the countryside barely ahead of a mob that wants to murder them for robbing an orphanage. Looks like there will be high adventure throughout the book.
This Week on the Blog
I'm pleased to be linking up with The Sunday Post, hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on the blog, showcase books and things received. Share news about what is coming up on the blog for the week ahead.
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which the BookObsessed online community will receive a few cents if you make purchases.
Wow! That's quite a reading goal you've set. I barely manage 83 books in a year. I need to take a speed-reading course. Have a good week. Ashley at Chronicles
ReplyDeleteAshley, it's the most ambitious goal I've ever set. However I'm also trying to read quite a lot of mid-grade and YA fiction and I had anticipated that those books would "read faster". And, to be honest, if it's a choice between reading and posting to the blog, reading wins!
Delete