#MustReadin2018 Final Update

The #MustReadin2018 is a reading challenge led by Carrie Gelson at There is a Book for That. I enjoy being part of the group of readers setting and aiming for their own unique reading goals and many of us have been joining Carrie for the past several years. Here are the books I chose at the beginning of the year. There is also a list at my Goodreads account.

Here are my previous posts: January, Spring Update, Fall Update

For the final portion of the year, I've read another nine books.

 

All That I Can Fix is unique and deals with mental health and how a family works through that. 

Voices in the Air is a wonderful collection of poetry. I reviewed it here. 

I was less than impressed with Invisible Emmie, but I understand why readers would enjoy it. I didn't like the disability references in particular, but again, it's a realistic graphic novel with humor so many readers will likely pick it up. My review is here. 

Pashmina is a wonderful YA graphic novel with a bit of magical realism about bridging cultures.

This Will Be My Undoing is a great collection of essays sharing MorganJerkins' perspective on living in the U.S. as a Black woman & feminist.

A Girl Like That wasn't a favorite of mine and then I read a review that indicates it may have some problematic content. I probably wouldn't recommend it since there are so many other books I've loved this year that I appreciated more.

I listened to the audio of Homegoing. It was truly an amazing collections of stories. It's definitely worth a read.  

Invisible Man was the most challenging book to read this year. I sometimes felt that I was not understanding all that I was supposed to, but eventually things would start to make sense again. It was like reading a school assignment, but I was ultimately glad that I stuck with it. 

Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin is a heart-breaker.

I did not get to three of the books on my list: Even This Page is White, Furthermore, and Binti, but I plan to read at least two more of them soon. 

My favorites of the year were Voices in the Air, Homegoing, Rebel Seoul, American Panda, So You Want to Talk About Race, From Twinkle with Love, Give Me Some Truth, and Amal Unbound.

I'm thankful for this challenge because it helps me get to books I would never get around to reading. I hope you had a great year of reading and I wish you many wonderful books in 2019.

#MustReadin2018 Fall Update

This is my fifth year participating in Carrie Gelson's #MustRead challenge. I love it. This is a way to encourage myself to read books I have wanted to read, but never quite get to. It's also a way to keep certain books on my radar that haven't been released yet. Carrie does a great job encouraging us and reminding us to post about our progress.

This year I chose 30 books. In the spring, I posted about the first nine books I had finished. Since then, I have finished another nine for a total of eighteen. Yay!!

 

I loved a lot of these books. I reviewed the Our Stories, Our Voices and recommended it. The stories are inspirational and remind readers that we are not alone. Convenience Store Woman was an adult novel and was perfect for reading while on my trip to Japan this summer. We went to so many, many convenience stores. Also, the main character is unique and has a fabulous voice. From Twinkle, With Love was funny and fabulous. The Way You Make Me Feel also had me in laughter. Dread Nation was intense. We did a discussion about it at Rich in Color. There were also some Native representation issues that were brought up by Debbie Reese. I enjoyed the action and adventure, but it wasn't my favorite. Pemmican Wars is a YA graphic novel and was an interesting way to read about Native history. Give Me Some Truth was awesome as I expected. It was a sequel or companion to If I Ever Get Out of Here. The author does a fantastic job with place and characters. I reviewed it here.  Not the Girls You're Looking For is another super fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I reviewed it here. Amal Unbound is a gorgeous book of family and how strong some young women prove to be. I reviewed it here.

I'm looking forward to reading more on my list. Thanks for stopping by!

Spring Update #MustReadin2018

At the beginning of 2014, I started participating in Carrie Gelson's #MustRead challenge. I love it because while I generally do several challenges a year, often they are number goals or a specific type of book, but with the #MustRead, we commit to specific books. This is a way to encourage myself to read books I have wanted to read, but never quite get to. It's also a way to keep certain books on my radar that haven't been released yet. Carrie does a great job encouraging us and reminding us to post about our progress. 

Here are the 30 books I chose for 2018: 

I've read almost a third of them so far:

 

Now that I have them here, I notice that almost half of these first books are non-fiction. I really enjoyed the three memoirs. When They Call You a Terrorist is a look at what it has been like for Patrisse Khan-Cullors to grow up in the U.S. as a Black woman and what led up to her part in the Black Lives Matter movement. It was not an easy book to read, but is a valuable perspective. I have enjoyed Roxane Gay's writing in the past so I put Hunger on my list. She shares her relationship to her body. She shares some very painful times so again, it wasn't a lighthearted, easy book. The Princess Diarist was less intense than the other memoirs. Much of the book is about the relationship Carrie and Harrison Ford had during the filming of the first Star Wars movie. She has a humorous way of telling stories so it's a fairly quick read. 

The other non-fiction book is So You Want to Talk About Race.  This book is for anyone, but seems to be aimed for White readers who want to learn more about issue surrounding race in the U.S., but don't know where to start or who don't want to ask questions that may make them look ignorant or worse - racist. She provides a lot of background and answers many questions that may be rolling around in the minds of White people. This is book would be a great place for someone to start if they are interested in dismantling racism.

After a few serious and intense books, I was super excited to pick up American Panda. The main character is Taiwanese American and is dealing with some family and identity issues so there are some serious moments. Overall though, it was a story that made me smile and laugh a lot. I appreciated the many opportunities to laugh.

Everything I Never Told You is a book to make you think. We never completely know what perceptions people have about us. At the beginning of the book, readers learn that Lydia's body has been found in the local lake. She's a Chinese American teen in a small town in Ohio. They don't know if it was suicide, foul play or an accident. As everyone works through their grief, they are also trying to figure out how this could have happened.

Rebel Seoul was awesome. This is what I wrote on Goodreads, "This was a fast-paced adventure in a future Seoul. I enjoyed the characters and the machines too. The friendships were awesome. I appreciated the romance, but the friendships were actually more of a highlight for me." 

I had a hard time starting Shadowhouse Fall. I think it works better to have read the first book without a couple year break in between. A couple of chapters in I was back into the setting and connected to the characters again. It's a fabulous urban fantasy.

Symptoms of Being Human is about a gender fluid teen who is not out yet. Riley's father is also congressman up for re-election so their family is sometimes in the spotlight. Riley begins writing a blog and feels a bit empowered there. The book was compelling and may also be informative for readers who are unfamiliar with gender fluidity. 

I'm happy to have this update because it got me to look at my list again. I'm really looking forward to some of these titles. Maureen Goo's book will be out soon and I may be able to go see her in St. Paul in May. I have really enjoyed her books in the past. They always make me smile. I'm currently reading Dread Nation so I'll have ten finished soon. Have a great time reading!! 

#MustReadin2018

#MustReadin2018 

The #MustReadin2018 is a reading challenge led by Carrie Gelson at There is a Book for That. I enjoy being part of the group of readers setting and aiming for their own unique reading goals. In 2017 I read over 125 chapter books so I know it's possible to accomplish my #MustReadin2018 list. I also know there will be other books catching my eye, so who knows? My plan may be completely derailed. Either way, it will be fun.

There are many brand new books on my list from the Rich in Color release calendar and from the post 46 Books by Women of Color to Read in 2018, but I included a few older titles too from the Goodreads TBR. The vast majority are written by women and I tried to include a wide variety. One of the reasons I like this challenge is the individuality of it. Each of us gets to make a distinct plan. It's also very low stress because we can change our list and it's totally acceptable to only finish part of them. I look forward to getting started. Have a great year filled with amazing reading.