Reading - my workout and bedtime pastime.

All of the reading I've been doing lately happens in three places: at my bedside (tried and true), at the gym (thank goodness for e-books and audio books) and on airplanes (when I can stay awake). So much good reading is happening and I am thrilled. Here's the update:

Finished:

"Winter's Tale" by Mark Helprin: I liked the book overall but goodness it was long. I got a little lost in the fantasy element by the end of the book, but I really loved Helprin's main character, Peter Lake. I also enjoyed how Helprin brought together so many disparate characters. I think what was strange about the fantasy element was the timeline - Helprin brought the characters to the late 1990s, but having written it in the 80s, it felt  not quite right. I couldn't place the time he was actually aiming to convey.

"The Steady Running of the Hour" by Justin Go: I really loved most of this book. It was beautifully written and had a mystery and some travel to follow. The ending, however, was disappointing. I felt like I invested a lot in the main character's storyline and didn't get many answers. The storyline with the older characters, in World War I, was awesome, though.

Currently Reading:

"And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini: It's finally out in paperback. About page 100 I realized, "oh, wow. That's what this is about." And I can't wait to keep reading.
"The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman: I picked this up when I had a crazy long layover and felt reader's block. This has been a great gym book (got the audiobook via audible with a credit) and so far has been an intriguing read.

In Progress, but not actively reading:

"Start with Why" by Simon Sinek: This was a great bike ride book, but got very repetitive. I liked the message but felt it was largely anecdotal and said the same thing over and over again.
"Hard Choices" by Hilary Clinton: Love Hillary. This was a great gym book but I was disappointed when the audio version no longer featured Hillz. I guess she's busy, so I'll get back to the hard back when I need my political fix.
"The Good Luck of Right Now" by Matthew Quick: Loved The Silver Linings Playbook and this book started with high hopes. I like the main character but it got slower for me. The format (in letters to Richard Gear) got somewhat uncomfortable. But, I may revisit because I am invested in the characters.

One of these days, I'll get back to actually writing about reading.

~MJ

Progress in 2014

Surprisingly, I've been able to stick to the "no buying books in 2014" rule pretty well. The Tulsa Library and my own personal library have been my friends, and two gift cards from Amazon.

Since last posting, I've finished more books:

"Insurgent" by Veronica Roth (finished February 12)
page turning! 
"Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn (finished March 5)
It was wonderful to read something for adults. And I was absolutely mesmerized. But so disappointed in the ending.
"Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese (finished March 18)
As transformational as "The Poisonwood Bible." A must-read.
Re-read "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (finished March 23)
Because I couldn't get into anything after Cutting for Stone (yep, one of those) and I was traveling. It was awesome to re-read this book that was so inspiring to me at age 21(ish) as a 27 year old. Some of it felt like I was reading it for the first time. 
"Where'd You Go, Bernadette" by Maria Semple (finished April 6)
HILARIOUS. I was consistently entertained and didn't want to stop reading.

I tried starting, but have yet to finish (for lack of interest, really):

"Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
Roth's "Tobias" sounds a lot like her ... lead female I can't remember. And they both sound like whiny teenagers in this book - I couldn't handle it. Had to take a break.
"The Circle" by Dave Eggers
Not yet hooking me in, and after 100 pages, that's sad.
"A Casual Vacancy" by JK Rowling
Way too many characters. I should have been keeping track in a notebook. I will likely re-visit this because it did seem interesting, just too much for my brain on vacation;-)
"Heaven is For Real" by Todd Burpo
Was interesting sometimes but then got a little preachy. Not my jam.

Currently, I'm reading:

"Winter's Tale" by Mark Helprin
Love this - it's complex but is built like a fairy tale in some ways. It's a long read. I'm about 400 pages in and only halfway through; I had to renew this at the library 3 times and then decided to use a gift card to but the e-version on Amazon so I didn't have to lug the book around while I traveled for work recently. It's also so good I don't mind having my own copy to preserve earmarks.

Yay for reading!

Now, about to watch Season 4 of Game of Thrones. I am tempted to get back into reading those books, but fear it will only confuse me more!

~MJ