Mrs. Ram's Jams

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been on the go. Last week my family and I vacationed in San Antonio, and now Little Thing and I are visiting family in Illinois through next week.

If I had been smart, I would have written blogs to post prior to gallivanting across the country, but of course I didn’t. Mild writing panic has plagued me the past couple of weeks, so to make myself feel better and to make myself more hysterical about not writing, I read, voraciously.

Not to mention, a “What I’ve Read” post is much overdue.  

Here’s what I’ve read since May:

• Force of Nature (Aaron Faulk, #2)–Jane Harper–It wasn’t as good as The Dry. I don’t know if I’ll continue with the rest of the series.  

• The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo–Amy Schumer

• Uprooted–Naomi Novik–If you love fantasy, read this book. I actually want to reread it, and I haven’t said that of a book in a long time.

• The Essex Serpent–Sarah Perry

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life–Mark Manson–I’m not a huge self-help book fan, but Manson gives a fresh take on several important ideas to keep in mind about life. I loved what he discussed in regards to certainty.  

• Home Fire–Kamila Shamsie–This is a gorgeous modern-day retelling of Antigone. It’s a bit uneven in places, but a solid four out of five stars.

• Red Rising (Red Rising Saga #1)–Pierce Brown–Science fiction awesomeness.  

• Good Omens–Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

• A Brief History of Time–Stephen Hawking–Fascinating and surprisingly easy to read.  Did parts of it go way over my head? Yes, but who cares?

• Golden Son (Red Rising Saga #2)–Pierce Brown

• The Wife Between Us–Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen–Decent, but it does that whole unreliable/woman/alcoholic narrator thing, which I’m over at this point.  

• Tiger Lily–Jodi Lynn Anderson

• The Great Alone–Kristin Hannah–AMAZING!  

• Love Hate & Other Filters–Samira Ahmed

• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (Magic Cleaning #1)–Marie Kondo–My house looks phenomenal thanks to this book.  

• Legendary (Caraval #2)–Stephanie Garber

• Austenland (Austenland #1)–Shannon Hale–This is the second worst thing I’ve read all year.  

• The Ghost Writer–Philip Roth

• Fair Shot:  Rethinking Inequality and How We Earn–Chris Hughes

• Tell Me More:  Stories about the 12 Hardest Things I’m Learning to Say–Kelly Corrigan–Corrigan’s voice is funny, poignant, and endearing. She’s a treasure. I’ll be reading more of her in the future.  

• City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)–Cassandra Clare–My students have been talking about this series for years, so I finally caved. It’s a solid YAL read, but Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows series, written loosely in the same vein, is much better.

• Draft No. 4:  On the Writing Process–John McPhee

• Mrs.–Caitlin Macy–This is the worst thing I’ve read to completion in years. The book blurbs ridiculously overhyped this book.  

• The Element of Style (Elements of Composition Series)–William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White

• City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)–Cassandra Clare

• Marlena–Julie Buntin

• Red Sparrow (Red Sparrow Trilogy #1)–Jason Matthews–Way too long and slow, but totally entertaining. Who doesn’t love a good Russian spy story?  

• You Are a Badass:  How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life–Jen Sincero–I was okay with this book until I got to Sincero’s misguided and dangerous rhetoric about depression.  

• City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)–Cassandra Clare

 
As always, any discussion is welcome, and of course I’d love your recommendations.