You may have noticed that I’ve not written a reading roundup in a while, and that’s because the last few months have been hectic and the end of April found me finally getting to visit my parents in Colorado for the first time since Thanksgiving (so I was too busy hiking to be writing a blog post).
In the meantime, I’ve enrolled in my final semester of grad school, been to multiple states on weekend trips, turned 24, finished my spring semester of classes, and already started summer classes. My library is going to reopen to the public this week, which I’m excited about as it means changes at work and actually seeing Kids in the children’s room!
Recent Blog Posts
Since I’ve written a reading roundup, I’ve written two blog posts over here and another two posts over at Hack Library School.
I’ve forayed intro graphic novel adaptations of Little Women in the post Drawing Little Women and I finally completed the Herculean task of reading the books on the 2020 longlist for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature.
My Hack Library School Posts have forayed into libraries and sustainability in honor of earth day and I decided to reflect on some of my favorite parts of being in a dual degree program as my semester came to a close.
Books I read this Month
In the last two months I’ve read a grand total of 39 books. I was racking on two or three YA novels a week for my Realism class, got a couple of fiction and nonfiction books in for fun, started reading Horror for my summer classes, and read some Alex Award winners while trying to settle on a final paper topic. All of my ratings and reviews can be found on my Goodreads page.
Books for Fun:
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin
- The Way Back by Gavril Savit
- Positively Izzzy by Terri Libenson
- Invisible Emmie by Terrie Libenson
- Just Jaime by Terrie Libenson
- Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derk Backderk
- Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
- Underland by Robert MacFarlane
- Suggested Reading by David Connis
- Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
- Watership Down by Richard Adams
- The Project by Courtney Summers
- Those Who Prey by Jennifer Moffett
- Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
- Can’t Take That Away by Steven Salvatore
- The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir
- We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
- Relish by Lucy Knisley
- Delicates by Brenna Thummler
Books for Class:
- Girl Mans Up by M.E. Girard
- Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo
- Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann
- Check Please! #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
- Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
- It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood
- The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Phillippe
- Roughneck by Jeff Lemire
- Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
- Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. WIlliams
- Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon
- The Round House by Louise Erdrich
- The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
- The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier
- The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade by Max Brallier
- The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King by Max Brallier
- Welcome to Dead House by R.L. Stine
- Stay Out of the Basement by R.L. Stine
- Monster Blood by R.L. Stine
Favorite Book of the Month(s): Check, PLease! By Ngozi Ukazu
This is the first time that I’ve had a re-read as my favorite book of the month, but this one felt like an obvious contender. Ngozi Ukazu started Check Please as a web comic which I discovered the spring of my freshman year in undergrad. I binged all that existed up to that point and then read every update with bated breath until it was complete in April of 2020. I’ve reread the comic multiple times. I’ve read the fanfiction. I’ve backed the kickstarters for the self published editions. To put it simply, I’m obsessed.
Check Please is the story of Eric “Bitty” Bittle, a figure skater turned college hockey player at a little college in New England. There’s sports, there’s high-jinks, there’s friendship and found family, there’s some romance. I love everything about this graphic novel so much and I think you all should read it. If you’re in to bound editions, you can check it out at your local library, or the entire comic remains free to read online at checkpleasecomic.com
Runner Ups for Favorite Book of the Month(s)
- Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
- Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
- Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann
Favorite Non-Book Things
Rather than pick a few things, I’m just going to do a photo dump with some images from the places I’ve been in the past couple of months and some of the things I’ve done! It’s not cheating, because it’s my blog so I make the rules! Places pictured include Boston, Colorado, Kansas, New York, and Pennsylvania! A busy few months indeed.
Bookishly Bright 