Good morning! The sun isn’t out and the birds aren’t chirping. Thanks to one of my professors, I’ve realized that crows have pretty much taken over my neighborhood. Luckily they aren’t being loud (yet). I’m sitting at my desk, drinking my first cup of coffee as I try to feel less like a zombie. My sleep has been off lately and with today being the first day I’ve had more than five hours of sleep, you would think I would be feeling refreshed.
Blogging
Today is the first day of Aarti’s A More Diverse Universe blog tour. Aarti’s posted the schedule for the entire week. If you’re a participant and didn’t receive an email, check your spam folder or the line-up for your date. I’m really excited to read everyone’s posts. Also, please consider visiting some of the blogs that are participating in the blog tour and leaving a comment.
Friday is the start of Banned Books Week where readers all over the country pledge to read books that have been banned or challenged in libraries. There are so many great-looking books to choose from. I plan on reading and reviewing one or two banned books to celebrate but I don’t know which ones yet. I’m checking ALA’s list of banned and challenged books along with Melissa’s list of banned books in Tucson for inspiration. Hopefully these two events help me get back to reviewing.
Reading
So last week, I wrote about losing my reading mojo. This week it’s returned! I finally finished my first book of the month, The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan. It was a reread and now I can finally review it.
I’ve realized that one of my problems when it comes to reading is that I often don’t make enough time for it. I’m happy if I can read at least one or two hours in a day but I usually choose to study instead. I’m trying to make it a morning ritual to read for an hour instead of checking email. It’s going okay though this morning, the first thing I did was turn on my computer!
After Brides of Rollrock Island, I started reading two new books: The Secret Life of Frida Kahlo by F.G. Haghenbeck and Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoğlu and James Robinson. Why Nations Fail is really engaging and readable. I’m enjoying the imagery in the Frida Kahlo book but the writing isn’t as engaging as I wish it was. It’s a translation so I’m not sure if that’s the problem or not. Now I wish I read Spanish so I could read the book in its original language. I plan on continuing both books today and study for this week’s upcoming tests.
What are you reading today?
I’m glad you found your mojo. I haven’t lost mine but have little time to read these days – thank heavens for audiobooks!
Kathy, I need to start listening to audiobooks again. I’ll probably get even more reading in!
I know what you mean about not making enough time for reading….today is one of my worst days for reading. Now just to make more time on Monday and Wednesday.
I’m not reading much right now because I’m watching my niece and nephew and it’s hard to squeeze in a book.
I’m enjoying A More Diverse Universe so far, and looking forward to Banned Books Week!
Me too, Liviania! I love reading all the different reviews.
I love to read in the morning. Sometimes I get distracted checking blogs and stuff on my phone, but not turning on the computer before I go to work is one of the best things. I can get a lot of reading done then.
Yes, Kim! Just after a few days of reading first before doing anything else, I can really see the difference.
I’ve considered changing my morning routine to include reading, too. The computer usually gets turned on first and before I know it my time is up. Reading would probably make me happier
I find my sleep is off for a while when school starts. Staying up later in summer does it, I think. I am so excited about A More Diverse Universe and can’t wait to be introduced to new to me authors. And Banned Books has me reading Harry Potter again! Have a lovely week, Vasilly.
I’m working on Octavia Butler’s KINDRED for the More Diverse Universe project. I didn’t get any reading done this weekend because we were out of town. I have a lot of catching up to do! I’m glad you got your mojo back!
Honey, if I read an hour a day, I consider myself lucky indeed. I do try to make up for it on the weekends though. Like today, my darling husband let me stay home and read while he went and did some work shopping for him. Yay! I was able to finish an Inspector Gamache novel by Louise Penny. I have enjoyed those novels so much but always shy away from them for some reason.
I finished my first book of the month too! I’ve decided not to pressure myself with reading anymore and hope that the joy comes back
Bummed to hear the Frida book isn’t too engaging
I have that one too and I’m really looking forward to it!! I just started the new Lanagan yesterday and I’m LOVING it already!!! Glad it was good enough for you for a reread 
And I’ve forgot about crows :p Thankfully, we don’t have them around my new apartment, but there were SO MANY crows around my mom’s house and god were they ever loud!! LOL
Did your professor tell you crows can recognize human faces? That’s so creepy.
I really want to visit all the blogs on the Diverse Universe tour, but I don’t know when I’ll find the time. Maybe I’ll take a day to focus on it.
Ewww! I didn’t know that! I have suspected some of the crows around my neighborhood of “watching” me. Hmmm. . .
I know what you mean about visiting everyone. What I usually do is give myself a quota of blogs to hit up for the day. Once I hit that number, I feel like I’ve accomplished something and keep going with the rest of my day.
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This is without a doubt one of the creepiest things I ever heard! I just know I’ll have chills the next time I see one of those!
It’s interesting to me what you mention about making time to read. I have been buried under school work too recently, and I have a hard time reading just for fun. It always makes me feel kind of guilty, I guess. Well, anyway, I’m glad to hear you got your mojo back!
Kay, I often feel guilty too about reading over studying but there needs to be some kind of balance. I figure if I read just for one hour a day, there’s twenty-three hours left to study. There’s no way that I’m going to study for so many hours but it makes me feel better.
Yay for your mojo coming back! The Nations Fall book sounds really intriguing, I love larger studies like Guns, Germs and Steel etc.
Alex, I still haven’t read Guns, Germs, and Steel but did read Diamond’s Collapse. I’m hoping to reread that sometime soon. Have you read it?
I am really excited about the Diverse Universe tour! I can’t wait to see the books that everyone is reading. I’m still yet to decide a book for the Banned Books Week – I may do it differently this time.
I’m excited to read everyone else’s books for the two events this week and next. I, however, was too disorganized and too concentrated on work ….
Did I just see a DNF on the book on Frida Kahlo…? Yay for your reading mojo returning, but I can completely understand that studying takes precedence over reading. I didn’t read much at all when I was working on my thesis. Besides, you’re studying really interesting topics, so those books do count as fun reading too, right?
As for crows, any reason why there’s such an abundance of them? Here in the city, there are lots of pigeons and seagulls, and they make a lot of noise…
haha! You’re going to read instead of checking email?! I wonder how long that will last?
I generally try to take off an hour or so to read every day, but I also listen to audiobooks while I’m exercising, cleaning, driving, and sometimes working (depending on the task). So I can pump through a lot of books anyway. 
LOL! Today my morning routine was off so I didn’t read, just wandered around the house trying to figure out WHAT to read. *sigh* I really should start back listening to audio books especially fiction.
I’m really sad to have missed the boat on A More Diverse Universe tour. I’m been barely peeking into blogs the past few months, but I am enjoying catching up now.