M. Suzanne Terry

This is Day 3 of this year’s (hopefully only) Icepocalypse. So far this week, I’ve slept in, talked to my mom and dad on the phone, made biscuits, submitted several articles for my writing job, started cleaning out the coat closet, and done some strength training. Right now, I’m cozied up with a cup of tea in my most comfortable chair. We have already received notice that the university is closed tomorrow as well. 

I’m so glad I bought coffee on Sunday.

I have also finished three books and plan to finish two more by the end of tomorrow. So I’m making an early dent in this month’s list!

Book Clubs

• The Postmistress of Paris by Meg Wait Clayton
• Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
• Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
• The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood
• Maame by Jessica George
• Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni
• The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley

An issue that I vaguely foresaw when I made my reading goals this year is where to categorize the ongoing massive overlap of titles. Technically, everything in my collection that I haven’t already read is on my to-be-read list. That’s why I own them – for reading. So really, they’re all TBR. And I’m never sure whether to include ebooks and audiobooks as part of my TBR or my collection. I mean, I have purchased them, but I still think of them as TBR, as they’re not physically in the limited space of my home, with their own spot on the shelf. 

I guess the deciding factor is “Can I loan it to you (without violating the stingy fine print I agreed to when I signed up for the subscription)?” Collection – yes. TBR – probably not. So there we go.

Of course, all of this is a moot point this month anyway, because except for three of the books listed above that I will own as soon as they arrive, I’m focusing solely on the TBR.

TBR

I have a lot of library books out, and they’re all just sitting there on my shelf, begging for attention. Reminding me that someone else could be reading them if only I wasn’t selfishly hoarding them (someone else could also put a hold on them if they really wanted to let me know they’re dying to read them right away, so it’s possible this is all just a problem I’ve made up in my head). When Rory Gilmore chastised herself for not taking a book back to the library on time because it robbed someone else of the pleasure of reading it that week? I felt that. Anyway, this month is going to be a heavier focus on reading through most of those and getting them back into circulation where they belong. Fortunately, they’re all on my TBR list (which is why I checked them out to begin with), so I can do this without it pausing my goals for the year.

• Series – I’ve been waiting to tuck into Marissa Meyer’s Gilded because I was waiting on the second one – Cursed – from the library so I could read them back to back. Also reading Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire and A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. 
• Author (this category is lists of books by the writers I particularly enjoy) – Companion Piece by Ali Smith
• Memoir – A Hole in the World by Amanda Held Opelt and Autism in Heels by Jennifer Cook O’Toole
• Romance – Smoky Mountain Dreams by Leta Blake. 
• Non-Realism (includes fantasy, science fiction, magical realism, speculative fiction…I may separate them out into different lists at some point, but for now they’re all one category) – Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and A Million Junes by Emily Henry
• Short Story Collections – Tiny Love Stories
• Cookbooks – The Book Lover’s Cookbook by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Kay Jensen (also my Girlxoxo selection for the month – key word “book”) and A Table in Venice: Recipes from my Home by Skye McAlpine (m home selection).

I’m so excited about this month’s reading list. Never fear, library books – I’ll be with you shortly!