Tag Archives: Bookish Chatter

Chatter about books, reading and anything related to either one.

Reading & Speed Bumps

For the past several weeks, I have been a reading fool! I’m not really sure why but when the TBR pile goes from a towering stack down to a small pile of books, who cares? BUT, I’ve come to a screeching halt. A speed bump, if you will.

The Anatomy of Ghosts

When I started The Anatomy of Ghosts a few weeks ago, I was in love with the writing. I eagerly turned each page and it was really to my liking. In between reading it, I was reading two other books, both of which I have since finished, yet this one, I just cannot get through. I can’t put my finger on why, either. I still like the writing and I like the characters but it seems a bit slow and although the setting is one that I love, England in 1786, I am finding it hard to get through.

What do you do when you hit a speed bump with your reading? Normally, if I don’t get into a book within the first fifty pages I don’t think twice about putting it aside, but I like this one (at least so far) I just can’t seem to get through it. It sort of has a textbook feel to it. It’s very scholarly in nature and a bit dense. Maybe I should just put it aside for a bit?

Now that I hit this speed bump, all other reading has come to a crashing halt. This, I am sad about because I was doing so well and now the books are stacking up around me again. Plus, a book that I read sometime ago, which I absolutely loved, has completely left my brain and I’ve yet to write the review. Seriously. I guess it’s more like a pothole than a speed bump.

I think I will put it aside for now and come back to it in a bit. Yep. That’s what I’ll do.

The 2010 Indie Lit Awards (Results)

Indie Lit Awards

As one of the literary fiction judges for the 2010 Indie Lit Awards, I can honestly say that reading the shortlist was a pleasure. We had such a great list, as picked by book bloggers which makes it even more special.

In addition to the reads, working with the rest of the panel members proved to be quite rewarding. I picked up some new blogs to add to my reader and hopefully, made some lifelong bloggy buds in the process.

Enough of me…here are the results:

2010 Indie Lit Award Winners

GLBTQ

Winner: Annabel by Kathleen Winter
Runner Up: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green, David Levithan

Literary Fiction

Winner: Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye
Runner Up: Great House by Nicole Krauss

Non-Fiction

Winner: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Runner Up: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Speculative Fiction

Winner: Kraken by China Miéville
Runner Up: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Congrats to all of the winners! A big “thank you” to Wallace for creating these awards. It’s been a pleasure. Oh, and a huge shout-out to Peter Geye!! We loved your book. You are a rock star in my eyes!

If you’d like to see how it all came to be, check out the award site.