books

Why Do Libraries Get Rid of Books?

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This is an example of a weeded book from Awful Library Books

There is always a lot of controversy when public libraries (or really any libraries) get rid of books. In 2015, the Berkeley Public Library chief resigned due to controversy over weeding books. This was due largely to his behavior and attitude around removing thousands of books, but there are many stories about community members being upset about book removal and disposal including outrage over finding books in dumpsters or being pulped all around the country.

Weeding is the term used by libraries for removing books. I really like this term because it suggests that a library is like a garden, and you have to make room for the plants you want by removing the plants you don’t want. This is an act of cultivation, not of destruction. Some of the books removed by libraries are so old and not relevant any more that they are almost an embarrassment. Sometimes they’re really funny. If you want to see some great examples of weeded library books, check out the blog Awful Library Books.

So why, when it’s so unpopular do libraries get rid of books in the first place?

  1. Space. Libraries are trying to buy books that their patrons will want to check out, but there is only so much space in the library. Some books will have to go so the new books can be purchased.

2. Circulation numbers. Libraries will buy many copies of a bestseller when it’s gaining popularity, but five or ten years down the road there might not be a need for 10 copies of the same book. Similarly, a book that no one is checking out isn’t earning its spot on the shelf.

3. Condition. When books are damaged or look too worn they are removed and either replaced or removed entirely.

4. Merchandising. It may seem weird to think about the fact that libraries have to think about things like shelf appeal since no one is buying anything. But psychologically people enjoy browsing more when the shelves aren’t too crowded and when the titles feel relevant and not old or outdated.

How do librarians choose which books to get rid of?

One method involves evaluating books with the MUSTIE criteria. This means getting rid of books that are:

M misleading (books that aren’t giving factual information)

U ugly (no one wants books that are stained, falling apart, or unattractive)

S superseded (there’s a new, updated edition)

T trivial (there’s no merit for this book)

I irrelevant (there’s no need for this book in the community)

E elsewhere (it’s easy to get this book online, from a partner library, etc.)

What do libraries do with books they’ve gotten rid of?

I think this is the area that causes the most controversy. Choosing how to get rid of a book is really important. Many libraries sell the books they’re weeding at a Friends of the Library store or similar used bookstore. They’ll also use this as a place to sell books that are donated to the library that can’t be used in the collection. Proceeds from sales go back to the library.

Some books aren’t sold though and they are discarded in other ways. They can be used for craft projects, recycled and turned into new books, and sometimes they are thrown away. This is often what has to happen with books that are beyond saving, like books that are water damaged or moldy.

Personally, I think weeding is vital to the library process and makes collections feel more relevant and visually pleasing, but books should be disposed of responsibly because they are a community investment. I am of the opinion that a physical book, though a wonderful thing, is wonderful because it contains information whether it’s a great story or a great recipe. When the information is no longer useful, I think the book is also not useful anymore.

What are your thoughts on libraries getting rid of books? Let me know in the comments.

Top Ten Tuesday: 5 Books I Didn’t Really Like, But I’m Still Glad I Read

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature brought to you by That Artsy Reader Girl.

It has been a long time since I’ve written. Since that time I’ve spent 3 weeks in Taiwan and 10 days in Paris. I’ve got travel posts coming, but I thought today I’d start with a book post.

This week’s prompt is about books that you didn’t really like but you’re still glad you read. I feel like this can be applied to lots of things I read in college, but I included only one college book to make it feel a little less like a required reading list.

So here are five books I’m glad I read even though I didn’t really like them, in no particular order:

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe 

My friend and I read this at about the same time, in an effort to get through some of the classics that had been on our shelves and our lists for years. I actually ended up enjoying this book (sort of), but the beginning was touch and go for me. I’m glad I stuck it out because I think it’s an interesting and influential piece of fiction that shows that being an abolitionist did not mean that a person was not prejudiced. Stowe paints a sympathetic portrait of her characters but still indulges in comments that I consider to be racist. I do, however, think that the character of Uncle Tom has been twisted throughout the ages. I don’t think he’s nearly as obsequious as he’s made out to be in references. His resistance is quiet, but it’s clearly there. Anyway, this book is worth reading just for a better understanding of that time period and parts of our cultural heritage.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

This is another book my friend and I read together. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it (and I didn’t), but I stuck it out so that I could check it off my list. It’s not that it’s a bad book. It’s actually a really interesting look at mental illness and how sometimes the systems that are supposed to make people feel better just end up contributing to the problem. But I don’t love Kesey’s writing style, and I thought the book was not nearly as good as another book that I’d been avoiding from about the same time period, Catch-22, which was far more enjoyable and interesting.

Ulysses by James Joyce

This is the college one. I picked this one over some of the other books I read in college because it’s just over the top unlikable. And over the top in many regards. But reading it (and finding ways to interact with it) felt like a huge accomplishment. It’s one of those books that I have a really early memory of–I found my grandfather’s copy of the book and thought it was like The Odyssey. Two paragraphs told me I was wrong (though not totally because this book follows The Odyssey in many ways), and I didn’t think of the book again until I took a James Joyce class in college. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment. But it didn’t seem right to graduate with an English degree without this modernist on my transcript. It would have been like not taking a Shakespeare class.

The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

I’m not going to say that this book wasn’t good because it was. It’s a well-written story about Native Americans and colonization.  The characters are engaging and well-drawn. My real problem with this book is that I don’t like survival/wilderness stories. If you liked the film The Revenant or other works in that line, you’ll really like this book. Even though I wasn’t a major fan, I’m glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone. I try to read every book club book (unless I’ve already read it), whether or not it’s something I would pick out on my own.

Turn of the Screw by Henry James

I picked this book out for one of the wedding favors (post on that later), and I read it to make sure it was good before giving it away. Well….I didn’t really love it. The story itself is creepy and interesting, as James’s only ghost story, but the wordiness of it (sentences that never, ever end, kind of like this one here) was just too much and it destroyed all the suspense for me. Probably no one would have felt that way when the book came out, but Poe is much better at the creepy story. So I’m glad I read this book because I wouldn’t have wanted to give it to someone as a gift when I didn’t enjoy it. Especially as the potential recipient isn’t used to reading Victorian era novels.

 

Over to you–have you read a book that you’re glad you read even though your enjoyment of it was minimal? Have you read any of these books? Is your opinion of them different? Let me know in the comments.

 

Top Ten Tuesday

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature brought to you by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s topic is all about “books you could re-read forever.” There are a lot of books I read, but there aren’t many I re-read, and even fewer that I would read multiple times. The books that make this list tend to have one thing in common, they’re witty. Except maybe for the Harry Potter books. Those are just part of who I am.

Without further ado, here are the books that I would reread over and over again:

  • Emma by Jane Austen
  • Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare
  • The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
  • The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
  • The Harry Potter Books by JK Rowling

That’s actually a pretty short list, though when I was younger it would definitely have included a few different things on it.

Is there a book that you never get sick of returning to? Let me know what it is in the comments!

A 2017 Retrospective (plus some reading goals)

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Happy 2018, everyone.

I hope that you had a good New Year. I spent New Year’s eve with my family, celebrating my Nana’s birthday, and then my husband and I spent New Year’s day driving back home from Portland.

The New Year is always a great time to look back on the year behind you and think about what you’ve accomplished and what your new goals are. I did something a little different this year and thought about it on the Winter Solstice too, which I really enjoyed. It was almost like I was more prepared to make goals on New Years because I’d thought about my accomplishments and what I needed to work on for the next year already. I did something unheard of for me, which is set only one Resolution–to do yoga every day. We’re only 5 days in of course, but so far I’ve met that goal, which is pretty much a first for me.

2017 was an interesting year–in blogging terms it doesn’t even feel over yet because I still have a lot to say about different things that happened throughout the year, but it was full of ups and downs and lots of work. Not to mention, I sort of dropped the ball on blogging.

I didn’t quite meet my book goal–I ended up being five books short of finishing the Popsugar reading challenge–but I did meet my Goodreads goal of 75 books and even exceeded it by a couple of books.

This year I’m not participating in any sort of formal reading challenge (besides the Goodreads one). I have a couple challenges that I’ve entered into with friends, and I will be posting about those. I’d like to do 12 of these, one for each month, so if there’s a particular book (or two) you think I should read, or a challenge you’d like me to write about, please let me know in the comments!

The first challenge is sort of a book club challenge of sorts–my friend and I are reading Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott first and then Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe by the end of January. These classics have been sitting on our shelves for a while, and we figure if we don’t read them together we’ll never be motivated enough to read them at all.

The other challenge was given to me by a different friend. She thought it would be interesting to read about the same event or period of history from two different, opposing perspectives. If anyone has a suggestion for this, please let me know. I’m thinking that the US Civil War might be the easiest historical period for me to find (though it is certainly not my favorite…).

My blogging plan for the year is to do a lot more movie/book posts. I have a lot of fun writing those. I’m also going to share some travel/DIY/recipes–whatever comes to mind.

Is there something you’d like to see on the blog? Have a reading challenge for me? Let me know in the comments.

Top Ten Tuesday: 11 Books I Need to Read By the End of Year

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IMG_2962Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.

The period between Thanksgiving and the end of the year is typically a good time to wind down, but if you’ve got a big reading challenge to finish up it doesn’t alway feel that way.

My grandma and I are going on a cruise next week, and, not unusually, my suitcase is packed with more books than bathing suits.

For most of the challenge, I just sort of picked books up and looked to see if they fit any category on the list, but as the year draws to a close, I decided to pick out all the books so that I knew what I was going to get myself into.

This is the list of books I’m trying to finish by the end of the year to complete the advanced Popsugar reading challenge:

The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare

For the category of “book with a season in the title.” I haven’t read this late Shakespeare play, and it’s one of the few digital books I’m bringing on my trip.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

I’ve been saving this book for the “book about food” category all year, and now it’s finally time to read it.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Everyone in my book club loved this book that they read the year before I joined. Since it was made into a movie this year, it seemed like the perfect choice for that particular category.

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe 

The category of “books mentioned in other books” was a really interesting category, but it was kind of difficult to pick a book for it. Shakespeare would have been a no-brainer, but I really wanted to choose a novel. Jane Austen’s heroine in Northanger Abbey is a self-proclaimed connoisseur of gothic literature and mentions this book.

Unnatural Creatures edited by Neil Gaiman

I don’t have a lot of books with cats on the cover, so I chose to interpret this cat as any animal in the cat family. My edition of this book has a lion on the cover.

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood 

It’s probably no secret that I love Margaret Atwood and really admire her ability to write well in a number of different ways—across genres. This book will be fulfilling the category of “a book written by someone you admire.”

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

This classic is “a book recommended by an author I love.” I wanted to finish this book I started reading aloud with Paul, and pretty much every fantasy writer was influenced by Tolkien. I picked George RR Martin as the particular author I love, in case anyone is interested.

Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik

I try to fit in the books in this Naomi Novik series wherever I can, but “a book involving a mythical creature” seemed too perfect to pass up.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

I buy books on pretty much all of my trips, so that category was a no brainer, but I wanted to save it for a book purchased on the ultimate trip—our honeymoon. This is one of the (probably too many) books I bought. I couldn’t help it—I didn’t find anything much in the used bookstores, but the new ones were filled with beautiful covers. Books are probably the cheapest souvenir you can bring back from London.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

I’ve had this book on my shelf for a while, and reading the back made me think it might work for a book about an immigrant/refugee, which was one of the categories I hadn’t filled yet.

Catherine the Great by Robert K Massie

For a book that follows a character’s life span, I decided to pick a biography instead of a novel. I haven’t read a lot of nonfiction this year, so I wanted to read at least one more before December comes to a close.

 

Over to you—is there a book you’re dying to read by the end of the year? Do you pick out your reading list in advance or do you prefer to play it by ear? Let me know in the comments.

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Fictional Characters who Would Make Great Leaders

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s topic was characters that would make excellent leaders. This proved to be very interesting, and in picking characters I also thought about 10 traits that are important for leaders.

I tried to pick characters that weren’t filling traditional leadership roles (i.e. no monarchs, and that were fictional and not real-life people).

Here are 10 attributes of great leadership, and 10 characters who fit them:

 

Intelligence—Professor Higgins from Pygmalion

It’s great to be able to command a room, but strategy and thoughtful leadership requires intelligence. Professor Higgins might be a little obtuse at times, but he’s nevertheless a successful teacher who is quite accomplished at research.

Practicality –Ruby from Cold Mountain

In desperate times,  you need someone who is sure and level-headed, who has vision for day to day necessities and can get things done. I can’t think of anyone who does this better than Ruby. She works hard and doesn’t get bogged down in niceties.

Inventiveness—Hugo from The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Inventiveness or resourcefulness are essential to leadership–how else can you make a bad situation better? Hugo may be young, but his ability to fix intricate clock workings and to find ways to better his solution would make him a great leader under the right circumstances.

Sacrifice—Cyrano from Cyrano de Bergerac

A great leader must make sacrifices, and Cyrano knows this all too well. As his friend dies on the battlefield, Cyrano knows he can’t tell Roxanne the truth and he sacrifices his own happiness to help her stay true to a great man’s memory.

Charisma—Emma from Emma

It definitely helps get your point of view across if you’re likable, engaging, and charismatic. Emma is a great example of this, and she sways many people to her causes with less logic than affability and persuasion.

Risk Taker—Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

A true leader does not sit idly by; she takes risks. Alice is a natural risk taker. There are few others who would follow a rabbit down to a magical kingdom–most people would convince themselves they hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary and wouldn’t give the rabbit a second glance.

Bravery—Wesley from The Princess Bride

Being a leader means standing up for your cause, often in the face of others who would like nothing better than to pull you down. So being brave in the face of skilled swordsmen, giants, and Sicilians when death is on the line, like Wesley, is imperative.

Eloquence—Temeraire from His Majesty’s Dragon

Temeraire is a dragon, and he actually fulfills many of these qualities, but when push comes to shove, it’s his ability to speak well that persuades other dragons to take up his cause.

Idealistic—Princess Mia from The Princess Diaries

If you have no vision for the future, how can you lead anyone into it? Princess Mia sort of breaks my rule about rulers, but since she’s not really a ruler in any of the YA novels, and since she doesn’t even know she’s royal until she’s in high school, I put her on the list. Really, there’s no one who fits this virtue better. Though she may not always go about things the right way, she’s always interested in a better version of her country–one that’s more environmentally and economically sound.

Persistence—Bee from Where’d You Go, Bernadette

You’re not likely to realize all your goals on day one, so leadership is all about trying and trying and trying again. Bee will stop at nothing to find her mother, traveling to the very ends of the earth to bring her home again.

 

Now over to you. What quality do you think is most important in a leader?

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween Freebie

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature, brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.

Happy Halloween!

It’s so strange–as a kid you’re excited about Halloween no matter what day of the week it falls on, but as an adult I feel like I’m usually more excited about the weekend closest to it. This year, our friends threw a party and everyone dressed up as their childhood dream job. I dressed up as an archaeologist a la Indiana Jones, and Paul dressed up like a fighter pilot.

The atmosphere of disguise and pretending to be someone else is my favorite part of Halloween, so in honor of that, here are 10 memorable costumes from my childhood and 10 books to go with them.

Archaeologist—Lost in Translation by Nicole Mones

This book is probably the best (as well as only) book that I’ve read recently that features archaeology as its subject. The protagonist acts as a translator for the dig, helping them secure permission from the government. Also a great love story

 

Esmerelda—Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies

Oh I loved this costume. My mom didn’t make it, but it was homemade by someone. The cotton fabric had this rich, watery quality to it.

Anyway, I think of Esmerelda as a character who stands up for those in need, even at great personal cost. I can’t think of anyone who exemplifies that more than Miep Gies, who helped hide the Franks with her partner at great personal risk.

 

Belly Dancer—Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher

My family did make this costume. It felt like everyone had a hand in it. Unfortunately we lived in Oregon, which meant I had to basically ruin the costume with layers or I’d get wet from the rain.

This YA book was one of my favorites around this time in my life (5th grade or so). I loved the emphasis it placed on storytelling and the intrigue. The life it depicted was as enchanting as it was disturbing.

 

Cleopatra—Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff or watch the movie with Elizabeth Taylor

This was probably one of my more memorable costumes. My hair was the right length and the right color to fit all the images you probably have in your mind of the Queen. My makeup was a bit sloppy, but that didn’t matter because I felt incredibly regal.

I like this biography of Cleopatra because it tries to rescue the woman from behind the legend created for her. I also love the movie with Liz Taylor because it does exactly the opposite.

 

Delores Umbridge—Matilda by Roald Dahl

It would be too easy to choose a Harry Potter book for this character. Instead I chose one with another despicable school administrator.

 

Bumblebee—Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

I don’t really have any memories of this costume, but it’s featured in lots of toddler pictures, so it definitely existed. I chose a book that’s sweet but also stings.

 

Pink Power Ranger—Bossypants by Tina Fey

Not that Tina Fey would have ever dressed up as a Power Ranger, but the message behind the costume is I will clearly kick your butt while defying all of your expectations–hence Tina Fey’s book.

Did the Power Ranger costume not say that to you? Maybe it’s just me.

Alice—Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

This book seems like the perfect counterpart to Alice in Wonderland. Not only does it have a quintessentially English feel (complete with footnotes), there’s also some traveling via mirrors going on. I will rave about this book more later. But it and the show are perfect Halloween reading.

 

50s housewife—Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell

This book is a really interesting look into the mind of a woman who seems to be a perfect 50’s housewife, but is really a person with her own complications, flaws, and concerns.

 

Snow White—The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

I didn’t actually consider this costume to be a costume for Snow White. My mom and I found a bunch of these pretty German-style costumes at the thrift store, and the three of us (Mom, me and my best friend) went around dressed up as Bavarian beauties or something–we never quite settled on that. But I went dressed up that way to the preschool where my aunt worked, and all the kids called me Snow White, which was flattering.

Anyway, Angela Carter’s not-so-fairy tales are perfect for Halloween or really any time of year.

 

What was your most memorable costume? Let me know in the comments.

Top Ten Tuesday: 5 Unique Book Titles

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.

Today’s topic is unique book titles. And what sets a book apart more than a crazy title?

Here are 5 books from my TBR list that have intrigued me on the basis of name alone:

  • Stalking the Wild Asparagus–Euell Gibbons
  • The Mouse-Proof Kitchen–Saira Shah
  • The Fishing Fleet: Husband Hunting in the Raj–Anne de Courcy
  • The Blind Assassin–Margaret Atwood
  • The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing–Mira Jacob

 

Have you read any of these? What’s your favorite book with a weird title?

 

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books I’ve Enjoyed on My Blogging Hiatus

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish.

Hello, dear reader. It’s been a while.

I was moving, so I stopped writing. I was planning my best friend’s wedding, so I stopped writing. I was planning my own wedding, so I stopped writing.

But now, it’s time to start writing again.

Now, I won’t be continuing with my reading challenge posts (or at least, I won’t be making up for the ones I missed). I’ve been wondering about that lately. Whether you can make up for lost time, lost sleep. In this case, I think it’s better to just move forward.

I know that the topic for today is boyfriends in literature (as in ones you’d want), but instead I’m going to write about the 10 books I enjoyed the most while I haven’t bee writing.

  • Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

This book is a bit of an undertaking, since its size alone was daunting. But in my case, the size worked out. I didn’t feel the need to bring any extra books on my honeymoon, which in turn made me feel free to pick up a few on our trip.

This book has been on my TBR list for a long time. Every time I went looking for it at a bookstore I couldn’t find it. And then one day, I was in a bookstore looking for something completely different and it was staring at me on the shelf.

As for the book itself, it is quite special. The magic is used as a tool, and not as a way to solve every problem. The protagonists are interesting, flawed characters, and the writer has obviously done her research–she puts you right into the time period, dense footnotes and all. It’s not the fastest moving story, but it’s certainly satisfying and well worth reading.

  • Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat by Chrissy Teigen

I do not like canned tuna. I have never liked canned tuna. But the tuna noodle casserole in this book had me rethinking that long established viewpoint. This book is full of delicious recipes, and it’s one of my favorite cookbooks at the moment even though it is missing the all-important category of dessert. Beyond the recipes, it’s also hilarious. Teigen writes with great humor and irreverence and makes you fall in love with her and her food.

  • The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

This book is not necessarily my favorite of Allende’s novels, but it is certainly worth reading nonetheless. The love story against the background of the Holocaust in America and the heartbreaking history of Japanese internment is sweet and special.

  • Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

My honorary aunt Jen recommended this book to me (she recommends this book to everyone. She thinks it’s hilarious, and she’s right). If you need a pick me up for any reason, I have a feeling this book will help.

  • Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This book was a present from one of the Christmas exchanges that The Broke and The Bookish put on, and the blogger who gave it to me told me it was one of her favorites. I can definitely see why. It’s sort of un-put-down-able. The subject of the book is a little challenging, since it deals with a young man listening to the tapes one of his classmates recorded right before she committed suicide. Rather than being depressing though, the book has a strong sense about what responsibility and justice means and the arguments it presents are quite compelling.

  • The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman

I’m not going to lie, this book to me a while to get into and I had a few false starts before I finished it. But it was so worth it. This book was intricate and touching, bittersweet in all the right places and with just the right amount of mystery.

  • The Revolution of the Moon by Andrea Camilleri

So women of history were badass. This shouldn’t be all that surprising though, because modern women are badass as well. This book is based on the true story of the woman who, for a brief time, ruled Sicily as a governor on behalf of the King. Highly capable and extraordinarily clever, she was able to implement all kinds of positive changes before being taken down by conservative, powerful men and the Church. A fascinating story.

  • Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

There aren’t many people who can write nonfiction as if its fiction, but Berendt does. The picture that he paints of Savannah is mesmerizing as are the characters he populates the city with. That the story is all true is just icing on the cake.

  • The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley

I’m not sure how a book set in the middle ages manages to feel so modern, but this book does.  It tells the story of a man who procures relics for collectors–bones and mementos of canonized saints involved in the purchase of indulgences and what happens when he gets on people’s bad sides.

  • Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan by Ruth Gilligan

Did you know that there’s a substantial Jewish population in Ireland? Me neither. But this book tells some really amazing stories about them.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Read In a Day

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish.

Let me just say that I’m not really good at reading books in one sitting. I’m not even very good at reading one book at a time. If I’ve “lost” my current book around the house, I’ll just pick up another one. This usually leads to a lot of library books nestled in strange corners of the couch or atop precarious laundry piles or hidden under papers I just took off my desk. I’m also not that focused as a reader, reading for an hour before getting up to do something else and then coming back to my book. Or I’ll switch a chapter on and off with one book with another book or another task. So reading a book in a day for me is very unusual. Here are ten (recent-ish books) that overcame all the odds. Or were very short.

 

Chasing the Rose: An Adventure in the English Countryside by Andrea di Robilant

I’ve talked about this book before on the blog, but it sticks in my mind. I read it years ago now, but it was one of the first books in a long time that I felt utterly consumed by. If you’re interested in Italy (and why wouldn’t you be), and you like people who chase down weird family history and/or roses, you should read this.

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher

I sat down to read a few pages of this at the library, and didn’t look up until the whole thing was finished. Fun and clever.

My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes that Saved My Life by Ruth Reichl

I was just captivated by the stories along with the recipes. One of the better cookbooks I’ve read in a while.

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

This book is pretty depressing, but it’s very short and well-written. So that’s something.

Ragnarok by A.S. Byatt

I really liked Possession, so when I saw another book by Byatt at the book sale, I knew I needed to read it. It’s definitely nothing like her other work, but it was really interesting and immersive (even if maybe you didn’t want to be immersed in it)

Butter Celebrates! Delicious Recipes for Special Occasions by Rosie Daykin

I read this book quickly, as there wasn’t much to it besides the recipes. I’ve only tried one so far and it didn’t really work out. This is why I get cookbooks from the library instead of buying a bunch of them. But I have hopes for the next recipe anyway.

Patience by Daniel Clowes

Read it fast to get it over with–I didn’t feel like I could not finish the graphic novel since it takes such a short time to read them, but it wasn’t my favorite by a long shot.

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

Another graphic novel, which I read quickly because it was very good.

A-Z of Wedding Style by Kate Bethune

Another very short book, with lots of pictures and white space. I really enjoyed the illustrations though. A good book for people who like fashion.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

I’ve done a lot of ranting and raving about this book, but it definitely deserves it. In addition to being a great book, it was also a very quick read.

 

So there’s 10 recent book I’ve managed to complete in a reasonable amount of time without getting too distracted by anything else. What’s the last book you read in a day or in a single sitting? Let me know in the comments!