2020 Reading Log, Quarter 2 (April-June)

I ended 2020 Quarter 1 with 13 books, then the pandemic struck and we were quarantined at home with the children. This was both better for reading (more time at home) and worse (less commuting listening to audiobooks and constantly helping children with schoolwork, cleaning, or other household tasks!)

Actual Books

14. God Game, Andrew Greeley. One of the first things I did when the college shut down for the pandemic was to head into my office to collect my laptop, charger, and course materials. I also went to the department's library and grabbed all the neuroscience texts I could (planning to develop a new elective) and also the science fiction/fantasy books left by a co-worker when she retired. This is the first one I read, and I didn't particularly enjoy it.

15. The Andromeda Strain, Michael Crichton. This one, on the other hand, was EXCELLENT.

16. Prozac Diary, Lauren Slater. A memoir of one of the first (and long-term) users of Prozac, with great insight into OCD, depression, and how Prozac helped lift this user out of that fog.

17. Beloved, Toni Morrison. Wow, just WOW. 

18. Midwives, Chris Bohjalian. A quick read of a midwife under trial after a birth led to the death of the mother.

19. Daughter of the Blood, Anne Bishop. On the recommendation of Desiree. Unfortunately, the library only had this one available electronically. Now that they're re-opened for pick-up, I may try to get the other novels in this trilogy.

20. On Being Ill, Virginia Woolf. I actually liked the introduction more than the actual text.

21. Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood. I like to read Atwood and think that she's prescient about some things, but this one had a bit too much science fiction (gene splicing, cloning, species editing with immediate success) too quickly for me to actually think it would happen in the future. Her other books, however..

22. Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls, Lisa Damour. For the library's summer parenting book club. I got a few good tactics to use (mostly with my oldest son, ironically), and I do agree there is a great amount of pressure put on children currently in school that there didn't used to be... but an "epidemic of stress and anxiety" speaks more to me about not teaching our children resilience and coping skills. I also see this playing out in my college classroom as more and more children come with requests for accommodations due to "test anxiety" which is not a DSM-recognized diagnosis. It's perfection or nothing in our society, which is a real shame.

23. The Innkeeper's Song, Peter Beagle. I liked this the more I got into the story. It helped that there were three female protagonists.

Books Read to Boys

24. The Mark of Athena, Rick Riordan. Trying to finish this series before the end of summer!

25. Pawn of Prophecy, David Eddings. Finally introducing the boys to one of my favorite authors. 

26. The House of Hades, Rick Riordan. Only one more left in this series that we started last night.

Audiobooks

27. Another Country, James Baldwin. This one took a long time to listen, so I ended up finishing on my Nook just to complete it. Not really sure how I feel about this one... I understand why it's on many "must read" lists though!

To compare, at the end of:
2016-- I had finished 17 books
2017-- I had finished 25 books
2018-- I had finished 37 books

2019-- I had finished 28 books

Not too shabby, I think!