Category: Reading Challenge

Shelf #26 Complete (FINALLY), On to Shelf #27

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This project completely derailed, and I didn’t start Who Fears Death until January 1st. Like I wrote earlier, 2024 never gave me a break, and I’ll own that I didn’t manage the stress well. I’m working on setting things right, because 2025 has been giving me signs that I need to make major changes. It’s scary, but exciting.

Who Fears Death is brutal and brilliant. There’s so much going on in this novel, and since I treat my bookshelf exploration as reading for fun, I didn’t take notes to do a true review. Nnedi Okorafor’s worldbuilding is brilliant, and I appreciate how she distinguishes her work as Africanfuturism. I learn so much from reading her writing.

Now for shelf #27!

I’ll probably read something by Chaim Potok or The Shipping News depending on my mood and when I have time. I went a little overboard with requesting ARCs, and I have some book club deadlines. I’m definitely more motivated to read when I have due dates or reviews to write in advance of a book’s publication. The downside is that it cuts into my goal of reading the books I already own. I need to figure out how to stop time!

Books I’ve read:

  • George Orwell 1984
  • Amos Oz To Know a Woman
  • Sheena Patel I’m a Fan
  • Alan Paton Cry, the Beloved Country
  • Alan Paton Tales from a Troubled Land
  • David Payne Ruin Creek
  • Iain Pears The Dream of Scipio
  • Nichole Perkins Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be
  • Torrey Peters Detransition, Baby
  • Harold Pinter Homecoming
  • Regina Porter The Rich People Have Gone Away
  • Chaim Potok The Chosen
  • Chaim Potok The Promise

Chapter a Day Slow Read Challenge

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Inspired by a conversation among brilliant educators I follow on BlueSky, I decided to use a “chapter a day” strategy to read books that are long, challenging, or intimidating to me. I went through my bookshelves and selected books and authors that I want to read, but haven’t for the above reasons.

Here are my current choices (in no particular order).

  • A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: My only experience reading Dickens was the abridged version of Great Expectations in my 8th grade literature book.  A friend loves teaching this, so I’ll give it a try.
  • As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner: Aside from some short stories, I’ve never read Faulkner. I have friends who love Faulkner, so I feel compelled to finally read one of his novels.
  • The Odyssey by Homer and Ulysses by James Joyce: When I was in college, The Modern Library published its list of 100 Best Novels, and Ulysses was number one. My fellow English majors were trying to figure out why, since we knew no one who had read it. The list generated so much discussion. My plan is to read The Odyssey first and then attempt Ulysses. I’m going to time this so it happens over the summer.
  • One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez: My favorite professor was always telling me to read this. I tried but it was too complex, and I decided that my junior year of college, when I was overloaded with English courses, was not the right time. I’ve been meaning to come back to it.
  • Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre: I’ve read Existentialism Is a Humanism, and for some reason, I feel the need to tackle this beast. There’s more behind my reason, but I’ll save it for a later post.
  • The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: I love Steinbeck, but I haven’t read this because it’s very long.

These books have a total of 253 chapters, so I’ll need to add more. I’m not worried about having exactly 365 chapters since I’m sure there will be days where I just don’t have time to read. 

I started with One Hundred Years of Solitude, and I’ve found that the most difficult part of this is limiting myself to one chapter a day. I see why my professor kept telling me to read it.

I’ll be posting occasional updates on my progress and my thoughts on each book as I finish.

Shelf #25 Complete, On to Shelf #26

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I decided to read The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison because I needed wisdom to ground me in this time of chaos. Morrison’s nonfiction is always relevant and it pushes me into deeper understandings of the world around me. Playing in the Dark is one of the most important books I’ve read, and The Origin of Others, which is based on her Norton Lectures, builds on some of the ideas in Playing in the Dark. As an English teacher, I love reading literary analysis, especially when that analysis challenges interpretations of the canon. Morrison helps me view texts through the lens of race, and in this text, the broader concept of othering. My goal is to teach more works by Morrison this year, especially “Recatitif.”

Now for shelf #26!

I will be reading all the books by Nnedi Okorafor that I haven’t read yet. I’m proud to say that the only reason some of her books are unread is because I turned one of my students into a fan, and I let her borrow all of them! She read through all the books in my classroom library, and then the ones on my personal shelf.

Books I’ve read:

  • Haruki Murakami Kafka on the Shore
  • Haruki Murakami Men Without Women
  • Vladimir Nabokov Lolita
  • Sequoia Nagamatsu How High We Go in the Dark
  • Solomon Northrup 12 Years a Slave
  • Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories
  • Nnedi Okorafor Noor
  • Michael Ondaatje Anil’s Ghost
  • Michael Ondaatje Divisadero 
  • Michael Ondaatje The English Patient 

Shelves #22 & #23 Complete, On to Shelf #24

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I’m reading faster than I can post, and I’m not going to complain about that. The Association of Small Bombs was good, and I see why it was nominated for and won so many awards. The writing was brilliant and the content was thought provoking. I probably should have spent more time with it, but June was a bit chaotic.

When I got to shelf #23, I decided to read The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios by Yann Martel. I include “We Ate the Children Last” as an option for students to read for the literary analysis essay, so I had an idea of what I might be getting myself into with this collection of early short stories. I felt like I was reading art. Martel is a brilliant writer, and now I want to read Life of Pi again.

Books I’ve read:

  • David Mamet Jafsie and John Henry: Essays
  • Yann Martel Life of Pi
  • George R. R. Martin A Game of Thrones
  • George R. R. Martin A Feast for Crows
  • George R. R. Martin A Storm of Swords
  • George R. R. Martin A Clash of Kings
  • George R. R. Martin A Dance of Dragons

Now for shelf #24!

The Fall by Simon Mawer is one of my favorite books of all time, so choosing a book from this shelf was easy. I started reading Trapeze today.

Books I’ve read:

  • Simon Mawer The Fall
  • Simon Mawer Mendel’s Dwarf
  • Robin Maxwell The Secret Diary of Anne Boelyn
  • Robin Maxwell The Queen’s Bastard
  • Robin Maxwell Virgin

Shelves #20 & #21 Complete, On to Shelf #22

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I ended up being disappointed in The Tattooist of Auschwitz. As I was reading, I kept feeling that something wasn’t right, and because it was based on a person’s life, I felt wrong for not liking it and questioning its veracity. I did some research, read some reviews, and found that I wasn’t alone. 

It’s disappointing to me when authors take on topics like this and miss the mark. Diving into the critical reviews did give me a deeper understanding of life in the concentration camps and various roles prisoners played to ensure their survival, so it wasn’t a total loss.

Now for shelf #21!

I’ve read all these. Multiple times. Since I needed a brain break (it was the last week of school), I decided to read the Crescent City series. I bought the ebooks as a bundle because there was crossover to ACOTAR in the last book. Otherwise, I probably would have skipped them. I read the first book when it came out, and didn’t love it enough to invest the time. Plus, there’s the fact that they are ridiculously long. Somehow I read all three (2,443 pages) in 23 days. The third book was slow at times, but I enjoyed the series overall.

Shelf #22 (Finally)!

I’m trying to remember why I felt the need to own every book by Bernard Malamud. Maybe I should have picked one to read, but I grabbed The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan instead. 

Books I’ve read:

  • Gregory Maguire Wicked
  • Bernard Malamud The Fixer

I need to finish my bookshelf challenge by the end of the summer!

Shelf #19 Complete, On to Shelf #20

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I read the majority of the stories in Sinking Bell in one night. They were excellent, but I probably should have taken more time to think and process them, especially since the endings of the stories were ambiguous. I was too immersed in Bojan Louis’s writing, and I didn’t feel like slowing down. What stood out to me was how distinct each story and character was. Yes, the style of writing in each story was similarly captivating, and there were common threads running through the collection, but each character had a clear persona and voice. I’ve read a couple books recently where the authors didn’t do the best job of making characters not seem like nearly the same person, which is why this stood out to me the most. It didn’t surprise me to learn that Louis teaches creative writing. 

Now for shelf #20!

Ah, Cormac McCarthy. A student just finished reading Blood Meridian, and I told her to read No Country for Old Men so we can discuss The Judge, Anton Chigurh, and what it means to be evil. She thought that was a great idea. Yes, you should probably worry about us. That said, the only book by McCarthy I have not read is Cities of the Plain, the third book in the Border Trilogy, and since I didn’t love the first two, I will not be reading that now. Instead, I have decided to read The Tattooist of Auschwitz. I’m halfway through, and it’s good, so far. I’ll save my thoughts for when I finish the book, because I’m sure I’ll have plenty.

Books I’ve Read:

  • James McBride Deacon King Kong
  • Cormac McCarthy All the Pretty Horses
  • Cormac McCarthy Blood Meridian
  • Cormac McCarthy The Crossing
  • Cormac McCarthy No Country for Old Men
  • Cormac McCarthy The Road
  • Larry McMurtry The Last Picture Show
  • Mary McGarry Morris A Dangerous Woman

Shelf #18 Complete, On to Shelf #19

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Babel was amazing, but it took forever to read. Have I mentioned that this school year has been extra chaotic? My brain is barely functioning, so I won’t be able to give Babel the review it deserves. I’m looking forward to summer, because I plan to give myself a break. No book clubs. No PD. I’m going to do whatever I feel like doing and try not to feel pressure to sign up for ALL THE THINGS. 

Now for shelf #19: 

It may be a while until I get to the next book on this adventure because I have a pile of books friends lent me and three for book clubs this month. When I have time, I’ll probably read either Lost Children Archive by Valeria Lusielli or Sinking Bell by Bojan Louis.

Books I’ve read:

  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

I read some of The Essential Tales of H. P. Lovecraft because a student was creating an activity for a presentation he was giving on Lovecraft. His game was called “Ms. Kraft or Lovecraft.” Apparently, I did too good of a job of emulating Lovecraft’s style because no one could tell any of the pairings apart. I win!

Shelf #17 Complete, On to Shelf #18

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I wrote this on April 6th, but never published it. Go me!

This is probably not going to be a great year for reading. I’ve been in a funk, and it’s probably because I’m being pulled in too many directions. This has also been a very difficult school year, and burnout started much earlier than usual. I absolutely loved The City We Became and The World We Make, but it took me a long time to read them. I think I started The City We Became three times before I had time to keep going. Once I get the fourth marking period mapped out and organized, I will be able to focus on reading again. 

As for a review . . . I have to say that I was surprised at how different these books seemed from The Broken Earth trilogy. They weren’t what I expected, but that’s not a bad thing. The novels center around the avatars of New York City, which has just been awakened, and the battle that ensues with an entity trying to destroy it. I’d say more about the general plot, but I don’t want to spoil anything. The avatars are the embodiments of each of New York City’s boroughs, Jersey City (in an interesting twist), and the city as a whole. What I loved most was the character development of each avatar and the dynamics between them. I read the bulk of each novel in one sitting because I was so invested in the world building and the characters. I’m sad that it ended up being a duology instead of a trilogy because I’d love more (but I totally understand why the trilogy didn’t happen). Highly recommend these!

Now for shelf #18!

This decision is easy. I will be reading Babel by R. F. Kuang. 

Books I’ve read:

  • The Stand by Stephen King
  • The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
  • Lightning by Dean Koontz
  • The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
  • Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle 
  • Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence

Shelf #16 Complete, On to Shelf #17

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A Certain Justice was good, but I feel like I read it before even though my reading logs have it marked as unread. I even checked the last printed version and it’s not highlighted, so I either missed it or have read something extremely similar. I’m pretty sure I missed it somehow because the events and the ending seemed too familiar. Oh well! I liked it, and it satisfied a bunch of challenge categories, so I have no regrets.

Now for shelf #17!

No one will be surprised that I plan to read The City We Became and The World We Make by N. K. Jemisin. I may also read The Love Songs of W. E. B DuBois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers because I really want to read it, and while it’s nice to read a ton of books every month, I’ve noticed that focusing on that goal has caused me to avoid longer texts. The years I read fewer books overall are the years I read the most pages. It all evens out in the end.

Books I’ve Read:

  • The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
  • The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin
  • The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin
  • Corregidora by Gayl Jones
  • My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
  • Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
  • Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata

Shelf #15 Complete, On to Shelf #16

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These took longer than usual to finish. When I started Smilla’s Sense of Snow, I couldn’t put it down, but the second half of the novel got really messy. It could have been because school was extremely stressful while I was trying to finish it (internet outages, end of the marking period, etc.) and I didn’t have a lot of time or energy to read every day, but a lot of the second half didn’t really make sense to me. Not in the “I didn’t understand what was going on” way, but in the plot hole/continuity/character arc way. I did spend a lot of time researching Denmark, Greenland, and all the social issues addressed in the book, so even though I didn’t love it, I’m better for having read it. Plus, it satisfied a lot of challenge prompts. (Beat the Backlist: 4-word title, travel by ship, and these woods hold secrets; The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge 2024: A thriller or crime novel in translation)

Midnight Robber was tough to get through because I was unaware that it was going to take an extremely dark turn. The novel starts off pretty light, but then the main character experiences something devastatingly traumatic and it was a lot for me to process. I was tempted to DNF it and come back to it later, but because of how much I liked the main character, I needed to see her through to the end. I’m glad I did! Another reason I wanted to see it through was that it satisfied so many reading challenge categories. (Beat the Backlist: these woods hold secrets, between 300 and 400 pages, and second chances; The StoryGraph Reads the World 2024: Jamaica; The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge 2024:A science fiction or dystopian book by a woman or nonbinary author)

Another reason it took longer than usual to get through Smilla’s Sense of Snow and Midnight Robber was that I HAD to read Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar before the book signing at The Midtown Scholar. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read and it will probably have its own post (once I read it again).

Now for shelf #16!

I’m going to stick to P. D. James for this shelf because I need something lighter, and I want to start reading some of the books I got for my birthday! I usually double (or triple) up on books, but they can’t be similar at all. Plus, I don’t want any content surprises. I’ve read most of the Adam Dalgliesh novels and I’ve loved them all.

Books I’ve read:

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley
  • The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
  • Children of Men by P. D. James