It was a bit quiet on my blog here last week. I intended to post more and participate more in Armchair BEA, which was a great idea, but I found that I didn’t have the energy for it at all. I’ve discovered that I generally prefer reading to blogging; if given a choice, I will read and ignore the reviews that are piling up. I even have maintenance to do with regards to my change in address – change my feed and redirect all my posts, for just two things – but I haven’t managed to convince myself to do that either. Writing lots for work has in some respects taken the fun out of writing for my own blog. I’m resolved to try and get back into it this month now that everyone is back from BEA and the chatter about it will quit depressing me!
Anyway, May wasn’t too bad as months go. I read 18 books, which isn’t very much for me but still amounts to a book every two days. I’m impressed with that; at times I didn’t feel like I was getting anything read! I think that’s because I read three chunksters, particularly the 900+ page Lonesome Dove, but I managed to read quite a few shorter books in between. Here’s what I finished:
Historical Fiction
- Leonardo’s Swans, Karen Essex
- Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
- Virgin Widow, Anne O’Brien
- The Dead Travel Fast, Deanna Raybourn
Historical Romance
- Surrender of a Siren, Tessa Dare
- A Lady of Persuasion, Tessa Dare
- Wicked Becomes You, Meredith Duran
Non-fiction/Memoir
- Vanilla, Tim Ecott
- Talking about Jane Austen in Baghdad, Bee Rowlatt and May Witwit
- Dreams from My Father, Barack Obama
YA (all genres)
- Rumours, Anna Godbersen
- Chains, Laurie Halse Anderson
- Just in Case, Meg Rosoff
- The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan
Fantasy
- Kitty’s House of Horrors, Carrie Vaughn
Literary Fiction
- Baba Yaga Laid an Egg, Dubravka Ugresic
- We Need to Talk about Kevin, Lionel Shriver
- Foreign Tongue, Vanina Marsot
Overall, I think my month was spread fairly evenly across genres, with the exception of fantasy. As you can probably see, I still have a lot of review writing to catch up on. I’ve almost finished the review for Wicked Becomes You but the rest are pretty much untouched. I’ll be working on those this week, but I don’t think I’m going to get back to daily posting unless I hit up some memes or come up with and actually do a weekly feature.
I also wanted to give everyone a quick reminder – next week, on June 8th at 4:30 pm EST, I’ll be on That’s How I Blog chatting with Nicole. The book we’ll be discussing is The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer, so if you’ve got it handy, give it a read and join us! Even though I’ve had to have an earlier time, I still hope at least of few of you will be able to listen in. I’m a bit anxious about it already, but I’ve really enjoyed listening to the previous shows and hope mine is half as fun.
I hope some great reads await you in June! I hope to get through:
- Day for Night, Frederick Reiken
- Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan
- Magic Bleeds, Ilona Andrews
- Dragon Haven, Robin Hobb
- The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Kelly O’Connor McNees
- The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger
- Empress Orchid, Anchee Min
- The Passage, Justin Cronin
Any great ones in that list to start with?
I didn’t participate in Armchair BEA as much as I had intended either. I kind of let blogging fall by the wayside last week since so many bloggers were gone. Looking forward to your edition of That’s How I Blog!
.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..Sunday Salon =-.
Oo! You read Lonesome Dove?! I love that book. I’ve only read it once (it took forever!) and really want to reread it. I think My Friend Amy is doing a readalong in… uh, the fall… and I hope I can join in. And Vanilla sounds fantastic! Since I’m so into Nonfiction at the moment, I will have to try to get my hands on it. You had such a great month! I’m glad to see your new job hasn’t slowed you down too much.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..When Reading Tastes Change =-.
Oh – thanks so much for the reminder! I would love to tune in and hear your discussion of that book. It is now on my calendar!
.-= Molly´s last blog ..Book Acquisitions (not quite Mailbox Monday) =-.
We missed you so much at BEA. I hope our posts aren’t getting too old for you!
.-= Julie P.´s last blog ..Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine’s Best Blogger Awards =-.
I look forward to read your reviews!
Here is myMay Wrap-Up post!
.-= gautami tripathy´s last blog ..Teaser Tuesdays: Snowbound by Blake Crouch =-.
I think you did great, Meghan! That’s more or less what my average has been since I started work, minus the 900 pages books
.-= Nymeth´s last blog ..The Man-Made World by Charlotte Perkins Gilman =-.
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott was great! I think you’ll like it.
I can sympathize with being too exhausted to deal with blogging and just wanting to read.
.-= heidenkind´s last blog ..The Making of a Duchess by Shana Galen =-.
I think your May list is quite a lot!
I disliked Tender Morsels as I felt it was very harsh! but the Kate Pullinger was good and I have read great reviews on the Louisa M Alcott book.
.-= Mystica´s last blog ..Review – Gentleman’s Relish by Patrick Gale =-.
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott was good. Hope you enjoy it.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..May wrap-up OR is it really June already post =-.
I get what you mean on blogging versus reading : when I’m getting ready for my finals at university or working on school papers, writing for my blog becomes really painful and I prefer to take my free time to read, too! But I think you had a great reading month, especially with the chunksters!
.-= kay @ Infiniteshelf´s last blog ..Cat Update! =-.
Can’t wait to hear you on the radio! I’ll be sure to listen in.
Your slow month is more than I read in a good month, so take heart.
And, yes, I can see how your job would affect your attitude toward blogging. You’ll adjust and find your new rhythm.
My May was pretty dismal as far as reading was concerned! I think I read less than 10 books. None while I was in NY and only 1 while I was in Ohio.
.-= Lenore´s last blog ..Tuesday (109) = Picture of Emmy =-.