You by Caroline Kepnes

This book was such a roller coaster for me. I kept finding myself rooting for Joe to hit it off  with Beck, even as I was desperately hoping she'd escape his machinations. The second-person POV was perfect for this title of single-minded obsession; it was amazing how Kepnes could put you right in the mind of this totally reprehensible obsessed stalker.

Books 61 and 62: If There Be Thorns and Seeds of Yesterday by V. C. Andrews

I haaate leaving series unfinished,but this may be where I say good bye to the Dollangangers. The overwrought adolescent gothiness of the series has its own charm for sure, but it wears thin after so long

Books 58, 59, and 60: The Internet Girls series by Lauren Myracle

Angela, Maddie, and Zoe are the winsome threesome, BFFs, since middle school. The course of the series takes the girls from age 15 to high school graduation, and through various trials and tribulations of high school friendship, including alcohol and drug use, new relationships, gossip, sex, preparing for college, etc. The "thing" for these books is that they're all told entirely through IM chats (although I think the updated versions call them texts; they have screennames, so I don't know who they think they're fooling). I think these books originally came out around the time that I was in high school, although they've recently been updated for ebook and the new decade, which is one of my pet peeves. Even with the pop culture references updated and references to iPhones sprinkled in, the mid-2000s feel is still present enough to make me nostalgic for my days of high school AIM chatting, the inside jokes and BFF group name, the crushes, the worry about growing apart from friends. Myracle hits some of her topics more on the nose than others, but it was great fun to have my hish school experience come rushing back to me with such clarity.

I've heard these books have been banned because of language and the girls' frank discussions of sex. I'm not sure how I would've reacted had I read this when I was a high schooler as well; obviously Myracle's characters will be more advanced than some teens and less than others. In my opinion, these discussions were meant to be more helpful than salacious. Still, something to keep in mind before reading.

Book 57: The Subversive Copy Editor by Carol Fisher Saller

I admit it—I miss studying. Now that I'm out of school, I miss curling up to do assigned reading, taking notes, and trying to remember to apply what I've learned to assignments. Now that I'm out of school and in the workforce, almost like a real adult, most of my learning is either self-guided or of the depressing learn-from-your-mistakes variety. I recently got the urge to read a bunch of books related to my job as a book editor as a sort of less visually stimulating version of a training montage.

Written by the Chicago Manual of Style's online Q&A editor, The Subversive Copy Editor assumes a familiarity with the basics of editing and style and spends the majority of its pages on dealing with authors and coworkers (advice may also be helpful when dealing with self-appointed grammar police). Saller stresses cooperation and flexibility over adherence to any one style, which is a nice reminder if you're in a position in which arguments over comma placement can send you into a rage spiral at any given moment. Saller has a great sense of humor and the book is a surprisingly fun read, given its topic. If you have to deal with writers or editors, or just find yourself frequently mediating grammar disputes, this book's call for compromise makes it a useful addition to your library.

Top Ten Books I've Read So Far This Year

 Top Ten Tuesday topic is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Books I've Read So Far This Year. I expect this list to be vastly different by the time I reach the end of the year, although I'm pretty confident that The Secret History, Ready Player One, and maybe The Rosie Project at least will still be there. We'll see!




1. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

2. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

3. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

4. Reality Boy by A. S. King

5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

6. The Love Affairs on Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman

7. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

8. You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle

9. The Doll and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier

10. I Am the Weapon by Allen Zadoff

Book 56: The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A. S. Byatt

A. S. Byatt's Possession has been on my to-read list forever, but I found this little gem of a book for only a dollar at a used book store, so I snapped it up. The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye is a book of five stories, like fairy tales for adults.

Each of these stories has a wonderfully dreamlike quality, which makes the book perfect for late night plane rides or vacation readings. The final story, which shares the book's title, is easily the most complex, about a middle-aged divorced storyteller who finds a djinn during a vacation in Turkey. It reads like a love letter to fables and myths.

Book 55: The Doll—The Lost Short Stories by Daphne du Maurier

I love Daphne du Maurier. The House on the Strand, My Cousin Rachel, Rebecca, especially Rebecca. This collection of short stories is incredible.

I had kind of assumed that this collection would mostly be horror stories based on the title story, "The Doll," which is fairly chilling, but most of these stories, the strongest in fact, are about the rise and fall of relationships. A man and woman on a romantic holiday during which feelings change drastically between the ride there and the ride back, a series of letters that reveal the intensity and decline of an affair, it's all so painfully honest and so true to life. She totally captures the odd balance of power that begins and ends relationships.