Writings, Wanderings

Going on summer break from school has been good to me. Although I had a good school year, I had a lot going on and as my last month's blog entry stated, my reading suffered. For June I took the time to rejuvenate by focusing on reading what I felt like when I felt like it as well as writing in my next novella (maybe short novel?? it's turning out longer than I anticipated but I think editing will keep it under 40K). I finally read the Grisha trilogy ( Shadow & Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin & Rising ) by Leigh Bardugo. I have seen others gushing about on Instagram for months now! This fantasy series is definitely more young adult than adult, but I wanted to keep reading and plan on reading the other stories in the Grishaverse. I found her system of magic interesting and was invested in the characters. Loved Nikolai! Yes, there was the over-used love triangle (or was it a pyramid at one point?), but it did not overwhelm the other elements. Recommended read for tee...

How did your November reading go? I finished four novels (one as an audiobook). My favorite one was the audiobook and happened to my book club's choice for the month which means I never would have picked this one up on my own. It is my favorite because the author did such a good job with her research but the book itself was gut-wrenching. Placed in the 1920's and 30's, Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women  by Kate Moore traces the struggle faced by the women who worked for the radium companies to have their health problems diagnosed and then compensated as the ugly truth surfaced that they had become sick through their jobs. I was amazed to learn how radium had been considered healthy enough to add to their water, paint on their faces, and put in sandboxes. With this public perception, it was not surprising that it took doctors so long to pinpoint the source of the women's problems, but the companies' avoidance of their responsibility an...