Category: Fiction

The 100-Book March: A Reading Challenge

On By ChristineIn Fiction16 Comments
books on brown wooden shelf
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I’ve always been a meticulous record-keeper when it comes to keeping track of what I read and when. I use Goodreads (and a spreadsheet) to do that. While I always set a yearly reading goal, I usually pick the number I know I’m going to read anyway.

This year I’m attempting to read 100 books. I set this goal not because I care that deeply about quantifying my reading but because I want to change some bad habits. Late last year, I realized I’d fallen into the rut of using my pockets of free time to skim news headlines or scroll through Instagram for the hundredth time. Having a yearly reading goal that’s big and bold is a reminder to use my found time to read instead. So far, it’s going well. (Admittedly, the last couple of weeks have been difficult since I went back to obsessively reading the news for COVID-19 updates.)

Because I don’t want to turn reading into a job, I set some rules for myself when I started this journey in January:

No selecting books based on how long they are. I don’t want to try to “trick” the system by purposely seeking out short books or avoiding long books. I read what I want without regard for how it will impact my goal.

Quit books that aren’t working for me. I’ve always been a joyous and enthusiastic un-finisher of books I don’t like. I never count unfinished books in my yearly lists, and I won’t force myself to keep reading a book I’m not enjoying just to put it on this year’s list. When I force myself to keep going on a book that isn’t speaking to me, I end up reading less because I avoid reading altogether!

Don’t stress about monthly goals. In order to reach 100 books in a year, I need to read about 8.5 books a month. But tracking that closely stresses me out. I’m avoiding looking at numbers and instead focusing on using any extra free time I have in a day to read. Some months are going to be busier than others. I’m okay with that. (March has been a splendid reading month so far because of Spring Break and because I can’t go anywhere.)

Celebrate the positives. If I don’t make it to 100 by the end of the year, I’m fine with that. What I care about is renewing my commitment to books (and breaking some of my bad technology habits). Part of the fun of setting a goal is the time spent working toward it. So far, it’s been a fun little project.

Do you set reading goals? How many books do you read a year? How do you find ways to read more?

Do You Read Fiction? Turns Out It’s Good for You!

On By ChristineIn Essay, Fiction, Productivity2 Comments
stack of books in shelf
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I wrote about the benefits of reading literary fiction for  Harvard Business Review last week. I interviewed some really interesting people who are bringing guided literature discussions to a place you’d least expect: corporate America.

You can read my article, “The Case for Reading Fiction,” here. Come back and tell me you always knew reading fiction was good for the soul!

Do you think you could talk your organizational leadership into doing reading groups?

 

 

My Favorite Books of 2019

On By ChristineIn Book Talk, Fiction, Literary Fiction, NonfictionLeave a comment

Choosing my favorites is hard because I read a lot of good stuff. I’ll cheat by using categories.

Best Historical Fiction
The Island of Sea Women

 

Best Set in a Boarding School Book (my favorite sub-genre)
The Swallows

 

Best Book about an Old Lady Serial Killer (also a nominee for Best Use of Cross-stitch)An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good

 

Best Psychological Thriller
The Turn of the Key

 

Best Romantic Comedy
The Unhoneymooners

 

Best Nonfiction That Scared Me Half to Death
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

 

Best Sequel
Olive, Again

 

Best Weird Book
The Need

 

Best Nonfiction That Confirms the World Is Terrible
The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters

 

Best “Change Your Life” Book
The Myths of Happiness

Best Overall (Tie)
Home Fire  Girls Burn Brighter

 

Romance Trope: Characters Who Hate (and Then Love) Each Other

On By ChristineIn Fiction3 Comments

I’m not a big romance reader, but when I do read it, I absolutely love books where the romantic leads begin by disliking each other–either because of some misunderstanding or because of a first impression that leaves one or both cold. I can’t explain why I like this storyline, but I’m sure there’s an explanation that will reveal a lot about my psyche.

Here are my top four favorite books with a hate/love romance trope:

The UnhoneymoonersI read this one after a trusted reader friend recommended it. She told me it was hilarious, and she wasn’t wrong.

Olive and Ethan take a fake honeymoon to Hawaii after her sister and his brother get married and can’t go on the trip. While in Hawaii, they realize they may not hate each other as much as they’d always believe.

The dialogue crackles in this one. Bonus points to the authors (Christina Lauren is a pen name for a writing duo) for featuring a Mexican-American protagonist.

 

The Hating GameLucy Hutton is really nice. Joshua Templeman is ruthless. They both want the same job, and are forced to work just inches from each other as they compete to win the attention of their shared boss.

Lucy and Joshua absolutely despise each other until Lucy gets a chance to see Joshua in a different light. Her grumpy co-worker is suddenly way more interesting.

Sally Thorne  really gives her characters a lot of dimension. She’s great at dropping them in situations and letting them fight their way out of it.

 

Bridget Jones's Diary (Bridget Jones, #1)I admit to not being a fan of the movies, but I loved the first book. Bridget’s relationship with Mark Darcy is funny in part because she’s so awkwardly clueless and he’s so tightly wound.

Fielding brilliantly writes Bridget’s voice in such a narrow and limited space (her diary), but that’s part of this book’s charm. Bridget has her head so far up her own butt that she can’t see what we readers can see: Mark doesn’t hate her. Mark is infatuated with her.

 

 

I've Got Your NumberPoppy loses her engagement ring, right before she’s about to marry the perfect man, Magnus Tavish. On top of losing her ring, somebody has stolen her phone. But the universe taketh away and the universe giveth back. She finds a phone in a garbage can and takes it. She needs it in case someone finds her ring.

Before long, Poppy and the phone’s rightful owner, are embroiled in each other’s lives in all the best and worst ways.

Nobody writes comic romance better and more consistently than Sophie Kinsella.

 

Currently Reading: The Killer You Know

On By ChristineIn Currently Reading, FictionLeave a comment

I’m on full-on summer reading mode, which means I binge on psychological thrillers.

I’m currently reading The Killer You Know by S.R. Masters. It’s sufficiently plot-twisty with an original story line, which is saying a lot. When you read a lot of thrillers, they start to blend together. I particularly like the shifting narrators and time periods in this one.

The Killer You Know

 

From the publisher:

“What if your childhood friend turned out to be a serial killer? After fifteen years apart, a group of friends discover that one of them might be resurrecting a game from their past. This time with deadly consequences.”

This Week in TV: Chernobyl (and a book recommendation)

On By ChristineIn Fiction, TVLeave a comment

I only sort of remember when the Chernobyl tragedy happened. Seeing it come to life in HBO’s Chernobyl miniseries is definitely going to give me nightmares. But it’s still worth watching.

I’m off to find good books to supplement my viewing experience.

In the meantime, my favorite book about  radioactivity is The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French. It’s tender, warm, and funny. In fact, I may re-read it as an antidote to the relentless bleakness of Soviet bureaucracy in Chernobyl.

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady

From the publisher:

“Marylou Ahearn is going to kill Dr. Wilson Spriggs. In 1953, the good doctor gave her a radioactive cocktail without her consent, and Marylou has been plotting her revenge ever since. When she discovers his whereabouts in Florida, she hightails it to Tallahassee, moves in down the block from where he resides with his daughter, Caroline, and begins the tricky work of insinuating herself into his life. But she has no idea what a nest of yellow jackets she’s stumbled into. Spriggs is senile, his daughter’s on the verge of collapse, and his grandchildren are a mess of oddballs, leaving Marylou wondering whether she’s really meant to ruin their lives … or fix them.”