Inbox
Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
I hated, hated, hated the Divergent series… but am willing to give Roth another try.
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
This is my go-to read for this weekend. I wasn’t overly impressed by the first book in this series, but
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
One of my favorite podcasts just did an episode discussing this book and it made me want to pick it up again. I haven’t read it since early high school! That was ten years ago and I’m sure I didn’t appreciate it properly. Thankfully, my library had an audiobook copy available on the shelf. I will be traveling long-distance next weekend and hope to convince my car buddy to let us listen to it.
Outbox
My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
I read this book in one sitting. My library hold could not have come in at a better time. I was having a very off week and this really was the perfect book to read. Fluffy, fun, and set in the UK, it tells the story of a young woman’s failures and successes in work and love. It’s not the kind of book you think too hard about–You strap yourself in and are along for a hilarious ride. Still, it has some good things to say about making judgments about people in a time when we can curate our lives to apparent perfection on social media.
This book couldn’t have picked a better release date–with the new Disney movie in theaters, Beauty and the Beast is on all our minds. I’ve had this on my list at the library for months. While it didn’t steal my heart, it was a good retelling. The Beauty character was a hunter who, akin to Disney princesses, longed for more. This longing turned out to be a key plot point and something that drew her and the Beast character together. The way the curse was broken at the end was very unique. I liked that it was set in Eastern Europe and that Spooner combined elements from the fairytale with other Russian folklore.
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Salt to the Sea is by far the saddest thing I’ve read in a long, long time. It was recommended to me a while back by a friend. Set in World War II, it is the story of refugees seeking safety from the Russians in Eastern Europe. I can see why it won a Goodreads Choice award–Stepetys’ writing is lovely and her characters had me engaged the entire time. I listened to it on audiobook on my commute and was so absorbed that transitioning to work was disorienting. This may not have been the best decision because, arriving at work, I felt really sad and drained. Still, it was a beautiful book. If you like historical fiction, World War II, and Young Adult literature, I suggest adding it to your list.
This was a fun graphic novel about a girl who enters the world of online gaming and, while immersed in a fictional realm, finds herself face to face with real-world problems. She grows a great deal, makes new friends, and becomes an activist–in a nerdy, gaming sort of way. The art in this was really lovely.
Since my last Inbox//Outbox post, I have managed to reread the entire Lunar Chronicles series. I had forgotten how utterly delightful they are. Meyer is a master at balancing the fairy tale she’s drawing from with original story. I fell head-over-heels in love with her characters all over again. I finished my reading with Stars Above, a collection of short stories set in the Lunar Chronicles universe. While some of the stories were a bit bland, there were some gems.
My next Inbox // Outbox will be on 4/18/17
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