Last week I finished: A Masque of Infamy by Kelly Dessaint (autobiographical novel, coming of age story, tough themes) Washing Cars & Wasting Time by John C. Oliva (memoir, quick and funny read, especially if you've ever worked retail!) Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith (four strangers meet on a train and share stories about love and life) This week I'm reading: Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa by Benjamin Constable The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara and I'm slowly reading the Italian book Che animale sei? by Paola Mastrocola for a summer language challenge

Same score for me, and I echo your comments as well! :)

This week I'm reading The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler (fiction) and A Complicated Marriage: My Life with Clement Greenberg by Janice Van Horne (memoir). Last week I finished The Liars' Gospel by Naomi Alderman, a fictional retelling of Jesus' life (from a Jewish historical context) by four people close to him (Mary, Judas, Caiaphas, and Barabbas). Stacia - Hope you enjoy the Ruth Ozeki book as much as I did!

This thread is encouraging. My only is almost 4, and I still feel brain fog much of the time! I was starting to worry, thinking it should be clear by now. I do need to be better about getting enough sleep, though... but nice to know that for some of you, around age 4 was a turning point.

Thank you!!

LOL!! I thought the same thing! I loved reading your thoughts on 1Q84. Well said!

I have a Nook Tablet and read almost exclusively from it.

I skipped my prom. Instead, my boyfriend and I got dressed up (not prom dress dressy, but very nice), went out for a fancy dinner (fancy for high school kids, at least), and then went to hear Hélène Grimaud perform with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Got to meet her afterward, too! I remember people telling me I'd regret missing my prom, but I'm almost 37 now and still haven't felt that regret. I just think back to it and remember how perfect that evening was.

Thanks, it was a really hard one to write coherently about. Everything was a huge swirl in my head. LOL Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, too!

I posted my thoughts on 1Q84 on my blog today. Finished reading an advance copy of Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It by David M. Ewalt (due out in August). It was part history of RPGs with a focus on D&D of course, and part memoir of the author's experiences playing them. I'm a pretty new RPG player, started playing a sci-fi one called MegaTraveller with some friends a couple years ago (we don't get to meet terribly often). So I found the book pretty fascinating, especially the evolution of this open-ended, creative type of gaming.

Oh, I think it's definitely surreal, too. I sort of think it doesn't fit into one category.

LOL I love all the Murakami funnies posted here! I'm finished with 1Q84. (I loved it but... I'm already a huge, huge Murakami fan so I'm used to his quirks.) Anyhow, I feel good about the ending. I don't think I'd want a Book 4. I also finished reading The World's Strongest Librarian (subtitled A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family) by Josh Hanagarne. LOVED this memoir! It was so positive and honest and uplifting. This week I'm reading Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It by David M. Ewalt, and The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag.

That was beautiful. I'm so glad they did it this way.

There's a Murakami Reading Challenge going on this year, too! http://murakamichallenge.blogspot.com/

Yay!! I really did love it. I do think there are glimpses of magical realism in it, but definitely not compared to the wild ride that Murakami takes his readers on. ;) Two people commented on my Amazon review for Tale for the Time Being, both recommending that I read her book My Year of Meats. I'll have to add it to my TBR pile, too.

I have said this to a few friends, actually. I'm a huge Murakami fan, but I agree that 1Q84 might not be the best one to start with if you've never read his work before. Unless you're really into surrealism and magical realism already. ;) The short stories in the collection "The Elephant Vanishes" are a good starting point. It's my favorite collection (the story "TV People" is what got me hooked on his stuff). The novel "Norwegian Wood" too, although it's completely different (more of a coming-of-age story, and reflective of the feelings among young people in Japan just after the post-student movement).

Recently finished an ARC of a middle grade book called Twerp. I'm halfway through 1Q84 (got a head start on it last month) and am also reading The Longing (fictional stories about immigrants looking for freedom and opportunity in America in the early 1900's).

I liked the second book, Perelandra, so much more than the first. Haven't gone on to the third yet.

I'm reading 1Q84, just started Book Two. Just finished Stuck in the Middle with You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan. Loved it. I hope to have a review up soon. Also reading a self-published book, called Spiral Aloe: Deceit in Losotho, Africa's Mountain Kingdom by L.A. Forbes. It's about an American who joins the Peace Corps and goes to live in a small village in southern Africa. It almost has a third-person memoir feel about it, but it's fiction. I'm enjoying it so far, not so much for the plot (so far there doesn't seem to be one...) but because of the cultural interest.

My 3-year-old picked out a black and green zigzag dress for Easter Sunday. DH says she looks like a little Easter egg! :laugh:

I just read Born To Read: Unschooling in the New Paradigm by Kytka Hilmar-Jezek. The Kindle edition was free on Amazon the other day. It was riddled with typos and errors - lots of kitten killing going on with those apostrophes! It also had a condescending tone toward working mothers and anyone who homeschools with a different philosophy than she does. Definitely left a bad taste in my mouth, and I was disappointed... there's a lot about unschooling I find attractive, but there's just no need to put down other schooling choices in the way it was done. I just posted a full review with examples on my book blog.

I'm in the Florida panhandle, the going rate is between $80-$100 per month for weekly 1/2 hour lessons.

I had pre-eclampsia with my daughter, who was 7 weeks early. She had IUGR, too, so she was smaller than a normal 33-weeker. Spent almost 3 weeks in the NICU, fighting jaundice and learning to coordinate suck/swallow/breathe - we could only hold her for short periods of time so that she wasn't burning too many calories trying to keep her body temperature regulated. She had the apnea and bradycardia spells common to preemies. She came home still under 4 lbs and has done really well (she's 3 1/2 now). Every preemie is different, and you never know what's around the next bend, or if prematurity is going to rear its head again later on (teeth enamel issues, sensory issues, etc.). Pre-eclampsia isn't a walk in the park, either - I still struggle with my blood pressure (had no issues with it before pre-e).

I have a book blog at www.lovelybookshelf.com The 52 books in 52 weeks challenge inspired me to start it.

I'm going to give Feedly a try, too. Good opportunity to only add feeds I'll read!