Some Quick Reads

Current Read: Mr. Sammler's Planet by Saul Bellow
Current Listen: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Hey Internet! A quick update for you. I've read three books in the past few days that were all pretty quick reads. I chose to take a little bit of my fall break on some relaxing reads that did not take a whole lot of brain power but were nevertheless quite enjoyable.

First, I read the first two books in the Veronica Mars series, The Thousand Dollar Tan Line and Mr. Kiss and Tell. These were written by the same man who wrote the show and movie, Rob Thomas, with the help of Jennifer Graham. I am a HUGE fan of the show, which is not super well known. It has a cult following big enough that they were able to crowdfund a movie, though. The series and he books center around Veronica Mars, a young woman working as a private investigator in Neptune, California. Both books were very true to the narrative style of the show and the characters. They were easy reads, and not particularly deep--though the mysteries were not too cheesy and unfolded well--so they were very nice for the car trip I took on Saturday. Not a lot of effort involved.

Then, the other day my friend Susie recommended I try Monster by Walter Dean Myers. I have of course heard of Myers, and I did hear that he passed away last year, but I somehow missed his books when I was younger while I was devouring middle readers and YA. Monster is narrated by a 16-year-old boy named Steve Harmon who is in jail after having been implicated in a robbery that resulted in a murder. To help deal with the experience, he decides to write everything down as a movie script, complete with descriptions of camera angles and movement directions. I whipped through this thing during an 80 minute stint on a stationary bike, It would definitely be a great read for late middle school/early high school, and I think a lot of kids in urban schools especially would be able to relate. It definitely was a good use of an afternoon.

With the Veronica Mars books, I only have four books left in the reading challenge! Just started Mr. Sammler's Planet, and then the only things left are Far From the Madding Crowd, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Let It Snow!  So excited that I'm actually doing it! Also, last time I checked I have read 67/55 books for my Goodreads reading challenge. Need to up the goal a little bit next year since the blogging business is making me more motivated to read.

As always, thanks for reading, and that's all she read!