IMWAYR! Three At Once

Am I the only one that begins multiple books on a staggered schedule and then still somehow winds up finishing them all at the same time?  That's what happened this weekend when I finished not one, not two, but three books!  Okay, so two books and one I decided to bail on, but still that's not too shabby of a reading practice.

Also, apparently this past weekend (Saturday) was National Independent Bookstore Day?  I was lucky enough to find out before it was too late and I made an intentional stop to a semi-local independent bookstore to pick up some new reads and a few stickers (they told me I could have as many stickers as I wanted -- but I restrained myself to only three).

Did I need to buy books?  No, but this seemed like a good excuse to pick some up and support a local business.  For now, these books are being added to my TBR pile.  

Let's get into the books I finished though.  As a reminder, here is my key for books:

Pick 👍    So-So ✔️    Pan ⏭️    Bail 💀

Finished Reading

After Moses by Michael F. Kane, (👍)  It took some time to finish this novel, but in the end I found this to be quite the fun read.  It is structured in a very episodic style that I can't recall having encountered much in novels before, but I think it worked in the novel's favor.  After Moses follows the crew of the Sparrow from Mars to the moons of Jupiter and back as they deal with bounties, syndicates, and slavers.  I really enjoyed the family that was forged on the ship and how all the smaller stories built up to the final arc of the book -- finally bringing to light the mysterious past of the main character.  

If you enjoyed series like Firefly or Cowboy Bebop or The Mandalorian then you will probably enjoy this science-fiction version of a Western.  I will definitely be looking for the sequels, as the book ends with a solid hook into the next series.  But, like most television shows, does a good job of being its own contained novel as well.  What I'm saying is that the ending is not necessarily a cliff hanger, but it does a decent job of setting up more stories to come.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (👍) This was actually a read for a book club of sorts that spun off from my writing group (TeachWrite).  While the focus was on the book as a source for encouraging our writing, it honestly speaks to the bigger picture of creativity and its relationship with fear.  I actually read this book once before via an audio edition, but this time I took it slow so that I could highlight and select passages to discuss with my book club this Thursday.  I've found myself reading more and more of Gilbert's books over the past few years, but even if you aren't a fan of her other works this one is more in line with a self-help or mindfulness book that does help put some of my own struggles with creativity into perspective.

You Are a Writer by Jeff Goins (💀) And now we come to the shortest of my reads but also the one I bailed on.  I want to clarify that I did not bail because it was bad, but because I didn't feel like the later half of the book really applied to what I needed to know and learn about writing.  It definitely has some helpful tips and it's a short read -- but just not one I felt like finishing at this time.

Currently Reading

Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith (Young Adult)

The Blue Witch by Alane Adams (Middle Grade)

Both of these were just started, so I don't have a lot to say about them yet.  But after a month of longer reads, I'm happy to be returning to some YA and Middle Grade fiction.

2021 Reading Goal: 31/75

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog link co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for kids and young adults.  The original IMWAYR focusing on adult lit was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is currently hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.