Up first, we have David McCullough's John Adams. I don't want to say too much about it since my first post for the readalong goes up tomorrow, so keep your knickers on just a little bit longer. We'll just move right along to book number two which is Pox: An American History by Michael Willrich, a rather weighty tome which centers around the war against smallpox as a way to explore the debate between civil liberties and government mandated vaccinations. One thing I will say about both of these books: they make me feel woefully ignorant about history and rather awesome for learning.
I am also re-reading The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness in preparation for FINALLY reading the last book in the series Monsters of Men. Serendipitiously, Erin is hosting a Reading Buddies for Knife. Just as with my first reading, my second is rocking my world. Ness created a world, and characters, which I adore.
Then there's Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gillman which I am reading for The Year of Feminist Classics. So far this one is surprising me. I didn't really know anything about the story going in, and yet, I am still surprised; it's like it's not what I was expecting even though I really didn't have any expectations.
For something completely different, I am reading The Pun Also Rises: How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics by John Pollack. This is wonderfully witty and oddly intriguing for anyone interested in words.
So that's five books at once - I'm a dirty slut - and I have to admit that I kind of like it. At the same time, I'm forgetting details before I'm even done reading. Calling characters by the wrong names and the such not. Bad me. I may need to focus a bit, concentrate on one book, finish it, and then pick up the next and finish it. Perhaps this weekend - YAY READATHON - will help me with that. Then again, I've been meaning to read The Dark is Rising series for a while now....
Haha! I must be an old dried up whore then, because I always have at least two going and sometimes more, and I've been doing that forever. I love the objects of your desire. Especially that Ness series...I've got the first book.
ReplyDeleteI've spent the whole year reading 3-4 books at once and I finally got tired of it! Now I've just got a b ook and an audio going and I'm perfectly okay with that.
ReplyDeleteWow, you are living dangerously with 5 going at one time! I once tried to do 3, but the sheer effort of keeping it all straight ended up with two of them never being finished as I raced onward to other things. I also just read Pox and thought it was very interesting, if dry at times. I didn't like the middle of the book as much as the beginning and end. Happy reading to you, you promiscuous little reader!
ReplyDeleteHaha! This post cracks me up! I'm usually a monogamous book gal but if I am going to stray, the books have got to be wildly different or else I fear I might be calling out the wrong name in a fit of pleasure.
ReplyDeletebut...YAY readathon!! I haven't been doing any reading lately (or at least not enough to mention), so I look forward to hopefully at least finishing the 200 pager I've been working on for weeks. ;)
I try to read one book at a time but usually it doesn't work. How's Herland so far? I'm hoping to get a copy of it so I can read it this month.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for the read-a-thon to start. I'll be cheering you on!
I just finished The Knife of Letting Go a few days ago...in fact my post on it published today. But yeah, did the HOOJ cliffhanger annoy you at all?
ReplyDeleteLike you, I am generally monogamous with my reading. I wish I could be loose with my reading habits but I don't have the concentration!
ReplyDeleteYou dirty little whore!!!!! I just finished The Knife book too (for the first time) and realize I now have to read the next one. What a cliffhanger!
ReplyDeleteYou're such a ho. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.
ReplyDeleteI entered the dark side of book whoredom a long time ago - never have only one book going at a time anymore. :)
ReplyDeleteThat picture is HOT!
ReplyDeleteAnd I find that I prefer monogamy but sometimes, you know, it just happens. ;o)
Sandy - The whole situation makes me feel dirty like I'm cheating on the "main" book. :)
ReplyDeleteAmanda - I'm very much a one book at a time kind of reader.
Heather - Since I usually only have one going, I feel really awkward being in the middle of five.
Trish - Exactly! If they are too similar, you do run that risk. :)
Vasilly - It's a strange little read. Slow and a bit awkward at times, but I'm still enjoying it.
Amy - When I finished Knife, I actually had to search out a bookstore to find the Ask and the Answer (I was on vacation at the time).
Stephanie - I usually don't have the concentration, and actually I am not sure I have it now; that's in part, why I have so many going!
Jenners - Right!!!! I practically had a heart attack when it ended.
Jill - A dirty, dirty ho.
Carrie - I wonder if after all these years, I'm coming over to the dark side....
Christina - Isn't it? It gives me little shivers up and down my back.
I go back and forth. Sometimes I have five or six books going at once, sometimes just one. Currently, it's just one.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Herland fun? I loved it. I especially like the special cats they bred.
I usually read more than one book at a time and can't imagine doing it any other way now. To me it is the same as people who watch more than one TV series at a time. Plus, it makes the good ones last longer. And maybe it's a bit of ADD.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I'm usually reading 4-5 books at one time, so I guess I'm a slut!! Ha, I love this post.
ReplyDeleteToo funny! You are really walking on the wild side. :) Book Skank, I love that name.
ReplyDeleteI have loved reading lots of books at once, but lately I'm in a monagabook mood. It's kind of refreshing to read one book until it's done...
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