Sunday Salon: September 1, 2019

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz has taken over running The Sunday Salon.

My life in books over the past week: 

• Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
• My Sister, the Serial Killer by Okinkan Braithwaite

Challenge progress:

• A to Z Reading--I have read books with titles for 21 letters so far: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, and W.
• Big Book Challenge--I have read 8 books over 400 pages.
• Diversity Reading Challenge--I have read 48 books.
• Literary Escapes--I have read books set in 33 states so far, adding no new states in the past week. I have read in 50 countries so far, adding Nigeria in the past week.
• Motif Reading Challenge--The August motif is "Mode of Transportation."
• Non-fiction--I have read 18 books so far.
• YA Award Winners--I have read 10 of the 11 winners

Completed challenges:

• My Own Books--I read 21 books off my shelves from March 15 to May 15, 2019.

My life outside books:

Work:

Work is plowing forward, full steam ahead these days. The meetings are adding up and filling my days and I have two conferences to go to this month: one at the University of California, Irvine and one in Corona Norco (near Riverside, CA).

Personal:

It's almost CYBILS time, people! I was a round 2 judge for the past two years (non-fiction and graphic novels) and have applied to be a judge again this year. I really love getting to read intensely in a specific genre knowing that others around the country are doing the same thing. Then, we get to collaborate and negotiate to pick winners. Such fun! I encourage others to apply if you have to the time to devote to the process.

I have only read 2 books in the past two weeks because I have become obsessed with a new TV series and I am binge watching. It is on AcornTV and is called A Place to Call Home. It's set in Australia, just outside Sydney, in the early 1950s. There is murder, rape, betrayal, and lots of scandal. Basically a high class soap opera (think Downton Abbey in Australia but with more townsfolk). But, it's also a super interesting commentary on life in post-WWII Australia as it tackles class, religion, homophobia, domestic abuse, love, friendship, and the slowly changing attitudes of both the upper and working classes.