April Reading!

April is one of my favorite months. Not only are we seeing some sun here in the Pacific Northwest, but St. George's Day is this month!

Do you know this holiday? In Spain on April 23, lovers give each other books and roses! Did you catch that? This is a holiday spcifically for giving books!
Here is a link to the post I wrote last year about it (I apologize for the copying and pasting)...
http://notthenewyorktimesbookreview.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-holiday-for-giving-books.html

I'm enjoying my reading this April as well. I'm in the middle of book three of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series, and find myself engrossed in this intense friendship between Lenu (the narrator) and Lila set in Naples, Italy.

Here is the list of what I've been reading from my Bookcrossing page (www.bookcrossing.com, and my "name" there is 2of3Rs, if you want to explore Bookcrossing). Bookcrossing is the only place I keep a running list of what I'm reading...

Reading Now
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante

Read in 2016 (In reverse chronological order...in other wrods, the first book I read in 2016 was 7 Kinds of Smart, and the book I most recently finished was The Story of a New Name.)

7 Kinds of Smart by Thomas Armstrong
Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving
The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra
Why We Buy by Paco Underhill
Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut
God Help the Child by Tony Morrison
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante

As you can see, I read The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, which came highly recommended to me by a friend. I will admit that I almost gave up on it in the middle, but am glad I persevered. Plot twists, mistaken identities...well done! Anthony Marra's The Tsar of Love and Techno was intense and lovely, as was his Constellation of Vital Phenomena which I read last year. I loved Toni Morrison's newest, God Help the Child. Powerful. I read Hyperbole and a Half. Again. Why do I not own this book? It makes me laugh so hard that I cry. She has a new one coming out in October.

                  

What have you been reading? Will you be celebrating St. George's Day this month?

Thanks for stopping by! Clicking on the book covers will take you to Powell's City of Books. You can "like" us on our Facebook page: NOT The New York Times Book Review. Happy Reading!

A Holiday for Giving Books

I just now realized that one of my favorite holidays is almost here! April 23 is St. George's Day. On this day in Catalonia, Spain, lovers exchange books and roses. Did you get that? THERE IS A HOLIDAY FOR GIVING BOOKS.

You can read my first blog post about this wonderful day here: http://notthenewyorktimesbookreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-new-favorite-holiday.html

I first heard about this several years ago when I received an Advance Reader's Copy of The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The accompanying letter from the publisher talked about St. George's Day, which I'd never heard of. I eagerly shared this holiday information with my co-workers at Barnes and Noble. We wondered together why Barnes and Noble wasn't all over this. A holiday FOR GIVING BOOKS? It seemed like a no-brainer. (Not that I am always in favor of companies finding yet another reason to sell stuff to people, but this is BOOKS.)

My partner and I are both avid readers, and we have enjoyed celebrating St. George's Day together. There have been years we've missed it (maybe just one year) when she was traveling for work. But I think it's a pretty great thing. It kind of seems like a holiday just for us.

Will you be celebrating St. George's Day?

Thanks for stopping by! You can check out our facebook page: NOT The New York Times Book Review. Happy reading!

World Book Night and St. George's Day

Okay, I missed the boat on this one. World Book Night is tonight.
(Read my blog entry about this here: http://notthenewyorktimesbookreview.blogspot.com/2012/01/back-in-saddle.html)

I missed the deadline for signing up to distribute books. The bookstore where I work is participating in World Book Night, providing books for people to distribute. We had boxes of books come into the store, and over the last week or so, people have come in to pick up the books they will distribute. They are free! What a wonderful event!

(I need to be more proactive next year and sign up earlier.)

In addition to World Book Night, today is also St. George's Day! In an earlier blog post, I describe this as my new favorite holiday
(You can read that blog post here: http://notthenewyorktimesbookreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-new-favorite-holiday.html)

I do love the idea of a holiday for giving a book to my beloved, not just any gift, but a BOOK.

This year I chose OLIVE KITTERIDGE. (And the reason I am writing this on St. George's Day but posting it after April 23 is so that a certain someone doesn't read about her St. George's Day present before she receives it!) I have not read it, and it's been selling steadily since it won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009. Since no book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year, it seemed fitting to choose a Pulitzer Prize winning book as my St. George's Day gift.

       

I've also heard that it's kind of dark. And maybe even depressing. But really well written. My certain someone does tend to like books that explore the darker aspects of humanity and life, so I'm hoping that this will be a good choice for her.

Did any of you receive a St. George's Day book? Or did you give one?

You can tell us about your St. George's Day right here on the blog by leaving a comment. You can also send email to us: 2of3Rs(AT)gmail(DOT)com. Thanks for stopping by the blog!