Weekly Reads: 7.1.2013

in which I share my planned reading for the week ahead

You guys! I’m so excited that today is the first of July because it means that my Laura Ingalls Wilder series starts tomorrow! I have so much fun stuff planned including reviews of her books (of course), discussions about some of the key points in her books, and some great expert interviews! Seriously, it’s going to be great! I really hope you join me starting tomorrow!

I had a really busy weekend full of running around to hardware stores and greenhouses, so we could do some (a lot) of landscaping work. I’m so sore today, and I can’t wait until I can sit on my deck with coffee and a book to watch the sunrise or chill in the hammock on the patio (with a book, of course). (Let’s just enjoy that thought for a moment.) Amid all that running around, I began reading

Year of Wonders
By Geraldine Brooks 

This is my first foray into Brooks’ fiction work. When I was in college I picked up The Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women, and I loved it! I got a lot of weird looks reading a book with the word desire in the title because this was pre-50 Shades of Grey in the Midwest. (What people say about prudes in the midwest is partly true, but not all of us are super prudes!) I slowly read the first ten pages of this book. It’s so dense, but I felt something great there, so I continued. I’m so glad I did. I’m only about 40 pages in, and I’m loving it! (I realize that’s a log of ‘greats’ and exclamation points for one small paragraph, but it’s going to be great!)

Later in the week, when I finish Year of Wonders, I’ll start reading The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion through the Art of Storytelling by Annette Simmons. It sounds like an interesting book that should help me out at work.

To break up the more dense and serious tone of Year of Wonders, I’m listening to

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
By Jenny Lawson

Besides reading her story about Beyonce the chicken, I’ve never read Lawson’s blog, but I saw this at the library, so I decided I should listen to it. Lawson narrates it herself in a sweet voice with a slight southern drawl. At first I really didn’t think her particular brand of comedy was for me, but I’ve been laughing so hard as I’ve continued on.

Are you reading anything interesting this week?