I'll Give You the Sun and some updates

Current Read: The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
Current Listen: New York by Edward Rutherfurd

My name is Katie, and it has been one day since I purchased a book.

I'm ashamed. I bought two. BUT. To explain. One, The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty, was purchased with the three dollars I was given for selling a few old DVDs to Half Price Books, and I was actually GIVEN 11 cents for buying that book, since the amount I was paid was less than that of the book. The other one, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra, was purchased at a fun little thrift store in Chesterton, Indiana for 1.07. SO I paid a total of 96 cents for two books. Not feeling too guilty about it. I'm also planning on selling a bunch of books soon, which is the other benefit of actually reading everything I own. After I read it, I'll know whether or not it's a keeper that I want to re-read and recommend to others (The Shadow of the Wind) or whether it is taking up more space than I think is worth (Our Town). I'm not anticipating HATING anything that I've purchased or been given in the past, but nor am I counting on loving every single thing. Also, I'm a millennial with college debt. Sometimes I sell things because I need money. Or need to at least feel better about spending money on books.

But now to the matter at hand. The magnificent I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. This was recommended to me by Kristina Horner in the same video that led me to Aristotle and Dante. Almost want to write her a thank you note, since these two books were two of the best that I've read all year. I'll Give You the Sun follows twins, Jude and Noah, who grew up incredibly close, but at age 14 are torn apart by tragedy. The twins share the narration, Jude at age 16 and Noah at age 13, which created both suspense and dramatic irony as the plot was teased out bit by bit. Both of the twins have an artistic sensability, which took some getting used to and almost created a sense of magical realism as the two talk to ghosts and view circumstances as though they were a part of a painting. I was brought to tears several times, but I ended the book feeling incredibly uplifted. I am holding off on buying it only because it isn't out on paperback. I also just ordered Nelson's other book, The Sky is Everywhere, from the library. So we'll see if I end up just buying both in the end.

And now for a few updates. Firstly, I have finalized the last few books of my reading challenge! It's really doable, actually. Rather than posting the whole list, I'll just show you the categories that I have yet to complete and what will go in them.
A classic romance: Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

A book more than 100 years old: The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t: Mr. Sammler’s Planet by Saul Bellow (Finally figured out something for this! We were told to buy this for our First Year Seminar course at Butler but then never read it)

A book with antonyms in the title: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

A book that came out the year you were born: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

A book set during Christmas: Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

A book based on or turned into a TV show: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

A book you started but never finished: Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (RIP)

Secondly, I've been thinking more and more about venturing into the Youtube space. I have been spending more and more time watching Youtube videos and have been exploring the world of booktubing since the BookTubeAThon a few week ago. That seemed like a LOT of fun, but I'm worried about how low my production value would be. I was thinking I would try something simple for a first video, like a video version of the TBR list that I just talked about.

Finally, I just want to express how grateful I am to everyone that has taken the time to read my thoughts on books and book buying and life. I have noticed that it has been motivating me to read more so I can write more blogs, which I think is just awesome. Reading makes me feel much better about myself than bingeing on Netflix. Finding hobbies as an adult can be tough, but this one seems like it's a keeper.

So, readers (because I have those now), what are your thoughts? Opinions on anything in my to be read? Suggestions for future posts? Should Youtube happen? Did I make any grammar mistakes?

That's all she read!