Looking Forward to October and #15in31

Well I was looking forward to October. I received some bad news yesterday, so we’ll see what happens with the rest of the month.

September had its good moments. My oldest son, Oliver, decided (at the last minute) to go back to public school. That means that days before the first day of school, I was running around trying to buy what’s left of school uniforms and registering him for his school of choice. He didn’t get in, but he’s pretty content with the school he was transferred to. I’m content with him being at school. It’s one less kid to worry about or have to make lesson plans for. Avram, my youngest son, hates that his brother is gone during the day, but is getting used to the whole idea.

I didn’t read as much as I wanted to last month. I was in a heck of a reading rut, but the few books I read were pretty good. The month’s best books were:

Jackaby by William Ritter (supernatural mystery)
Beastly Bones by William Ritter (supernatural mystery)
Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown (graphic nonfiction)
The Great American Dust Bowl by Don Brown (graphic nonfiction)

If you haven’t read the last two books, please put them on your library holds list now. You won’t regret it.

Andi (Estella’s Revenge) came up with a fantastic idea. She’s hosting a challenge called #15in31, where she tries to read 15 books during the 31 days of October. I’m still weeding books from my bookshelves, so I decided to join Andi. At least then I can say that I read some of the books I got rid of. I doubt I’ll get anywhere close to reading 15 books this month, but I want to try. Some of the books on my stack includes:

Rereads

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and The Ocean at The End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman . After reading both books, I was sure I liked them but not sure if I loved them. I’m hoping with a reread, I’ll figure out if I want to keep them or not. I may squeeze in my favorite Gaiman of all, American Gods.

The Night Circus is a book that I’ve been meaning to read to my daughter for ages. Now is the perfect time with it being fall. As anyone listened to it on audio? How is it?

New Books

Marvels by Brain Selznick. I loved The Invention of Hugo Cabret and enjoyed Wonderstruck. Selnick has a wonderful imagination and reading his stories and looking at his illustrations is always a good way to spend a few hours.

The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. This retelling of Arabian Nights has been receiving so many positive reviews. I can’t wait to start reading.

March Vol. 2 by John Lewis. If you haven’t read the first volume of March, you need to start soon. My only complaint about the first volume is that it’s too short. March is a powerful trilogy about Lewis’s rise in the Civil Rights Movement.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This book has been on my tbr shelf for too long.

So that’s just a few of the books I’m reading this month. What are you looking forward to in October?

It’s May already?

What is up with 2012? I usually don’t feel like time is starting to fly by until April when summer is just around the corner. Instead, time has been slipping away since January.

In April, I read 17 books including:

• Hades by George O’Connor
• The Humming Room by Ellen Potter
• The Behavior Gap by Carl Richards
• Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
• Alcestis by Katharine Beutner
• Bake Sale by Sara Varon

They were all good reads but with the exception of Hades, they weren’t great. Reviews are coming soon for all of them.

The next three weeks promise to be chaotic as the semester comes to an end. My reading stack for May is going to be small at best. Since April was such a mediocre month for reading, I’m checking my shelves for books that are beautiful yet devastating. I want to read something that rips my heart out. Here’s what I’m hoping to read this month:

• Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman
• Continue reading Game of Thrones with M
• Land to Light On: Poems by Dionne Brand
• The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
• Beloved by Toni Morrison (re-read)
• Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
• What Looks like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage (re-read)

I’m also participating in Joy’s Reader Workouts, a weekly event hosted by Joy at Joy’s Book Blog. Bloggers share their exercise goals and cheer each other.

My monthly exercise goal for May is to ride by bike every other day for at least two miles. Two miles isn’t a lot but I’m trying to make riding my bike a habit again. I hate getting on my bike after being off of it for weeks and feeling so tired so fast.

Those are my goals for May. What are you looking forward to this month?