The Company and Comfort of Reading

Since I took a break from blogging, I've been thinking about what it might take for me to write again. I feel like I've given myself a necessary and treasured gift of time and I wasn't sure I would ever return. I'm still not sure I have anything interesting to say, and I'm still in the midst of multiple scary medical things that demand too much of my time (and will be for months), but there is one subject that needs and deserves a post - reading and Book Bingo.

Like many other bingo players, I covered my card. I'm incredibly grateful to Mary for introducing me to Book Bingo, hosting it, and encouraging all of us to do some summer reading. This is my third year of participating, and it was a special one in many ways. In the past I've had to fuss, fret, and search for books to fit in squares, but this year, books seemed to present themselves in lovely serendipity. This year, I read 7 5-star books, 11 four-stars, 5 got 3-stars, and I only had 2 two-star duds. This is unprecedented as I've been a bit stingy with stars in the past. This year, I finished early with no frantic reading and listening into the wee hours of the night. It just felt like a summer of wonderful reading.

These are the books I read, in order of descending stars. I'll leave you with a link to my Book Bingo 2016 shelf in case you are interested in any of my thoughts, reviews, or specific book information. 

I read a lot this summer, and while I truly enjoyed most of these books, I have also derived great pleasure from the company and comfort of reading. Audiobooks provided many hours of diversion and enjoyment during long drives to hospitals and doctors' offices. Reading on my Kindle (and even a few real books) kept me occupied during too many hours in waiting rooms. I also feel lucky to be part of a reading community, composed of real-life friends, blog and Goodreads friends, and all of you. This reading community has also given me company and comfort, along with some darn good book recommendations, and I can't thank you enough. Happy Reading!

Halfway

We're about halfway through Summer Book Bingo by Mary's rules (and she's the boss!) so it's time for an update. My messy card looks like this:

Eighteen books and nary a bingo, but that's okay. I'm currently reading The Son (With a family member in the title), The House of Owls (Nature writing), and One Man's Owl (With an animal as a key character) so there will be bingoes soon enough. These books are so good that I've honestly been reading them slowly. It's wonderful to be able to have excellent ongoing reads to turn to after some less than satisfying ones.

During the past two summers, I've often struggled to find books to fit into squares, but this year I'm happily enjoying how books just seem to be presenting themselves. I have had a couple of two-star duds, but I'm also finding delightful surprises, like the three incredible books I'm reading right now, and the hopefully exceptional nonfiction (What a Fish Knows) I have queued after that. I'll link to my Goodreads Book Bingo 2016 shelf in case you're interested in specifics and reviews.

There are 47 days left until the Book Bingo deadline of September 5 (midnight!) so there is plenty of time left for a good book or two. Read for the joy of reading and understanding, no matter whether you're in search of covered squares, bingoes, or not!

Great books help you understand, and they help you feel understood. ~ John Green

Summer Book Bingo 2016

I printed my Book Bingo card while on vacation, and have been making some progress. I haven't matched up books to every square, but keep telling myself that those will be easy squares to fill. I know Book Bingo is meant to broaden my reading horizons, and it does; I just have real difficulty reading something I hate, so I took a bit of license (so far) and refreshed twice before printing so I would have the coveted "Mentioned on the Gilmore Girls" square. This meant I also got the somewhat dreaded "With a mythological creature on the cover", but I'm calling Aslan on the cover of The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe mythological because I'm the boss of my card. I've also got "Thriller/Suspense", but I'll worry about that one later.

I'm currently reading The Son and The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, so I may have a bingo in the next week or so. The Son is wonderful so far, just a bit long and difficult to keep track of the extensive family tree and non-linear storytelling. Only 18 more books after that for a complete cover!

If you haven't already printed one, you can get your own card here and join in on the fun. Many thanks to Mary for hosting this for the third year! Wishing everyone a wonderful summer of reading, bingos or not!