2015 Reading Wrap-Up: Third Quarter

It seems that the summer months are the best time for me to read. So far, I’ve read the most books during that time. Since I’ve started to pay close attention to what I read, I’ve noticed that I haven’t read as many magazines this year as I did last year, though I’ve tried. I guess this year is simply the year of books. Plus, since engaging more in the online book community, I’ve learned of so many great books that it’s hard to not want to acquire and read them immediately.

As for my Goodreads reading goal, I’ve since surpassed it. My goal was to read 30 books and I’ve read 48 thus far, well, 47.5 books since I did not finish one. As for the other reading challenges, I’m not doing so great because I keep forgetting about them.

Anyways, here are the books. They are linked to the reviews I’ve written. The articles are linked to their respective websites.

Books and comics read

Books by month

July

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch (Snow Like Ashes, book 1) ★★★☆☆

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter, book 1) ★★★★★

The Curse of Crow Hollow by Billy Coffey ★★★★☆

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell ★★★☆☆

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter, book 2) ★★★★★

August

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews ★★★★☆

Party of One: The Loner’s Manifesto by Anneli Rufus ★☆☆☆☆

The Wife of His Youth by Charles W. Chesnutt ★★★★☆

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha, book 1) ★★★☆☆

Juniper Berry: A Tale of Terror and Temptation by M.P. Kozlowsky, illus. by Erwin Madrid ★★★★☆

Jason and the Argonauts by Apollonius of Rhodes, trans. by Aaron Poochigian ★★★★☆

September

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter, book 3) ★★★★★

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Cycle, book 1) ★★★★☆

Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better by Pema Chödrön ★★★☆☆

Comics/graphic novels by month

July

August

New Spring: The Graphic Novel by Robert Jordan, adapted by Chuck Dixon, illus. by Mike Miller, Harvey Tolibao, and Joseph Cooper ★★☆☆☆

The Battle of Blood and Ink: A Fable of the Flying City by Jared Axelrod and Steve Walker ★★★☆☆

Saga, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan, illus. by Fiona Staples ★★★★★

Rat Queens, Vol. 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’rygoth by Kurtis J. Wiebe, illus. by Roc Upchurch and Stjepan Sejic ★★★☆☆

September

Favorites of the bunch

The Curse of Crow Hollow

Saga, Vol. 2

Note: I’m not including the Harry Potter books here because I’ve reread them many times.

Least liked

Party of One: The Loner’s Manifesto

New Spring: The Graphic Novel

Best stories

The Curse of Crow Hollow

Juniper Berry

Best writing

Jason and the Argonauts

The Curse of Crow Hollow

Awesome cover

Snow Like Ashes

Reading challenges hits

Book Riot 2015 Read Harder Challenge

A book by a person whose gender is different from your own: The Curse of Crow Hollow

A book that someone else has recommended to you: Fangirl

A collection of short stories: The Wife of His Youth

It’s a short story from a collection and I’m counting it because I doubt I’ll read a collection of short stories this year.

Classics Club Reading Challenge

The Wife of His Youth

Jason and the Argonauts

Notable experiences while reading

This summer was filled with family dropping by so I met more folks that I’ve either never met before or haven’t seen in a very long time during these months. I also went zip lining, which was fun, met one of my favorite authors, and saw the Pope drive by in a little Fiat. That last bit was unexpected. I went out for breakfast and on my way back, there was the Pope waving hi.

Magazines read

None, unfortunately.

Noteworthy articles read

I’ll try to include a quick word on what each is about since there are so many.

“Words Without Borders” by Matthew Battles (Lapham’s Quarterly)

This is an excerpt from Battles’s book Palimpsest: A History of the Written Word. In this excerpt, Battles discusses how writing was introduced to the Ancient Greeks and how it developed over the years.

“Writer Elizabeth Gilbert Shares Her Unexpected Secret to Success” by Elizabeth Gilbert (Good Housekeeping)

The title says it all. It’s a short article and the lesson discussed is an obvious one but I enjoyed reading it.

★ “U.S. Chamber of Commerce Works Globally to Fight Antismoking Measures” by Danny Hakim (The New York Times)

Again, the title says it all. This one pissed me off. I’m glad that this piece was written. I suggest you take a look at the graphic embedded in the article and read the letters sent to foreign governments telling them to lessen their antismoking laws.

★ “Paper Chasing” by Jake Bittle (The Point Magazine)

Here’s another article I enjoyed reading. I think book lovers who also enjoy collecting books will like this one as well.

★ “Treasure Island Author Robert Louis Stevenson Was a Sickly Man with a Robust Imagination” by Danny Heitman (Humanities: the Magazine of the NEH)

This article was a fascinating read for me. I knew nothing about Robert Louis Stevenson prior to reading this but I have read two of his popular works — Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — and enjoyed them both immensely. If you’re curious about Stevenson as well, I suggest you read this article.

★ “The Ex-Pimp Who Remade Black Culture” by Justin Gifford (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

I enjoyed reading this article as well. It’s on Iceberg Slim, who is like the father of Black urban literature. I think I’ve read one book by him so I need to read his other books.

★ “Melancholy” by Carina del Valle Schorske (The Point Magazine)

This one explores how we talk about melancholy and depression.

Currently reading

I’ve been reading these since summer and have yet to finish either one. I’m just not enthused to pick them up.

2015 Reading Wrap-ups:

First Quarter

Second Quarter