little megan, big everything else.

Reading books, developing plays, having strong opinions, and trying to change the world just a little in Washington DC.

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Things Megan Reads: Spring of Books & Happiness Edition, Part III

And the last of the books thus far this year!

Jaqueline Woodson is currently the Poetry Foundation’s Young People’s Poet Laureate for a reason. Her characters voices just SING, y’all. I loved From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun and felt so connected to Mel’s struggle to come into himself and accept his mom. Beautiful beautiful things.

We all know how I feel about Margie A. The Penelopiad was very different from her original fiction, but had the same sardonic humor and terror. I loved the way she painted the underworld, these familiar characters, and how the later interact in the former. And what a GREAT title.

Anna and the French Kiss is great YA realistic fiction. Relate-able characters who had real personalities, complicated family and relationship politics, and lots of laughs. Anna and Etienne in the friends-just-friends-really-ack phase reminded me of my relationship which made me smile. 

Dorothy Must Die is another in the list of re-tellings I’m reading as research. I wasn’t a big fan. The action was incredibly slow and I didn’t know enough about any of the characters to particularly care about what happened.

I love the idea of Better Nate than Ever but was largely underwhelmed by it. That said, I can’t think of another middle grade book that tackles what this book tackles, so I’m glad it exists! And I love that Federle is an actor & playwright, so I’ll probably try his recent release, The Great American Whatever.

Though this didn’t get me in the gut in the way We Were Liars did, I still really enjoyed The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Lockhart has some sneakily subversive things to say in her books, and I’m super into it. 

How This Night Is Different is compilation of short stories and each of them felt like a conversation with a different Jewish woman in my life. Albert’s voice is so damn refreshing.

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Things Megan Reads: Spring of Books & Happiness Edition, Part II

I read more books.

Some Girls Are was so gritty. This is a book that has a lot of important lessons to teach without being a book about teaching your those lessons. Teenagers are so freaking mean. We are all such products of the world around us.

The first book in my most recent YA dystopia trilogy, Delirium was fun and fast. Really intrigued by the family politics at play, way more than the love story.

Pandemonium is the follow up to Delirium, and it was fine-not-great.

I winced through every page of Girlchild and would recommend it to everyone. Beautiful prose, very honest, extremely difficult to cope with.

Pretty Girls was terrifying. I read it in a day because it was that much of a page turner but also because I really did not want to sit with the subject matter for any longer than I had to. Highly recommend to folks who like thrillers and are not here for the fucking patriarchy ruling our lives. Aka anyone who likes Gillian Flynn.

I was downright giddy while I read The Royal We. A delightful, well-written love story. I’ve been calling it a grown up Princess Diaries. Maybe my favorite “I love you” moment in any book I’ve ever read.

Though I thought The DUFF was pretty uninspiring, I loved the inclusion of teenage sexual activity that wasn’t only kissing and intercourse. This is the main soapbox that I stand on regarding teenagers, sex, and the media, so props to Keplinger for the real talk, especially as a teenager herself.

I was a bit lukewarm about The Bellweather Rhapsody until the last 50 pages, which I flew through. I know so many people who loved it. I think it merits a re-read in the future.

So You Want to Be A Librarian. Self explanatory :)

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Things Megan Reads: Spring of Books & Happiness Edition, Part I

Spring thus far has been full of allergies (not good), full of books (good), and full of happiness (very good). I have been so busy and blissful that I’ve totally neglected my tumblr o’ books. So here goes:

Read George. This tiny novel is pure magic and the idea of a little human finding this book when they need it most is enough to make an aspiring librarian weep forever.

I will read every Veronica Mars tie in. I just know I always will. Mr Kiss & Tell was lots of fun. The books haven’t tackled the social issues of Veronica’s town quite as well as the show, but I love going back to Neptune.

The Penderwicks was a joy to read. I loved these little humans and understood them so well.

After Birth was blistering. This is one I’ve been recommending to all friends. Currently working through a short story collection of Albert’s and am equally entranced.

I think at 15, I would have completely loved Belzhar. At 25, with loved ones who cope with different emotional/mental issues, I think it’s a book that combines beautiful storytelling with problematic conversations (or lack there of) about mental health. 

I wasn’t blown away by Sex & Violence, but really appreciate that this book tackled trauma and problematic sexual attitudes in a young, male protagonist.

Only Ever Yours was like getting slapped in the face by a close friend. This book, this way of blowing up our society through dystopian YA lit, is difficult and important. O’Neill’s anger seeps through every page.

I read Ophelia because I’m currently working through a bunch of YA re-tellings as research for a project of my own. It fell into my least favorite re-telling trap and tried way to hard to prove that Ophelia was smart and aware, to the point of sacrificing the character’s authenticity and mucking up the original story.

The Heart Goes Last didn’t disappoint. This book is just as weird and weirdly honest as I’ve come to expect from Atwood and yet still wholly original.  Margie A (as I affectionately call her in my mind) is my favorite author for a reason.

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Things Megan Reads: January 2016 Edition

2016 is already a fantastic year for reading books. I’m glad to have started the new year with such a varied selection and can’t wait to keep reading great things. 

Fates & Furies by Lauren Groff. It took me a while to get through this. Lotto’s section was slow and I got tired of him pretty quickly. But Mathilde was magic and the full impact of the book was very affecting. It’s hyped for a reason. 

Between the World & Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I mean, just read this. Toni Morrison wants you to and that should have way more of an impact than anything I say. There was a lot of great and revelatory and important in here, but in particular I was struck by the idea of being a young black person growing up in a violent culture, taught that your heroes should be the nonviolent protestors of the 1960s. What a wild disconnect. All the things. Read this. 

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins. I rarely read adult fantasy novels; there’s something about the genre that almost always turns me off/I tend to find the gender politics in the genre particularly troubling for whatever reason. I picked this one up despite my tendencies, and I am so glad I did. It was dark and terrifying and dangerous and smart. I wish it was from the female lead’s perspective for the full novel because she was the most complicated and exciting, but I understand why we get others as well. I want to reread this to actually take a critical eye to it in the future, but for now, I am scared and magically entranced. 

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure why this has made it onto “Best Of” lists. It was fun and interesting but the world building was a little off and it wasn’t quite enough of a departure towards fantasy to make the conceit really work, as opposed to the usual the US sometime-in-the-future YA dystopias. Plus the love square (?) was too obvious, not well established, and boring. I enjoyed the read but I don’t know that I care enough about Mare to keep reading.

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson. Peter Pan stories were my absolute favorite as a child, so despite my adult criticisms I remain very critical of anything playing with this story. This was... fine. I wanted to like it much more than I did. Still would like to see the play! 

Champion by Marie Lu. Fun conclusion to this series. Somehow this YA-dystopia-love-triangle was more palatable to me than most of them are. Especially given the way that the series ends. 

Vivian Apple Needs a Miracle by Katie Coyle. I read this book within a month of reading the first Vivian novel, because I needed her in my life again as quickly as possible. I brought it home from the library and yelled “Vivian is BACK!!!” I make many friends in books but Vivian and Harp might be some of my best ones ever. This book was as smart, surprising, funny, BADASS and infinitely lovable as the first. Vivian and her sledgehammer are my #goals for 2016.

What We Left Behind by Robin Talley. I think this book is important but I didn’t particularly enjoy it. Really important and rare conversations being had about gender fluidity and the transitioning journey, but the actual story was a pretty conventional teen love story broken apart by going to college. I’m glad it exists, but I wasn’t blown away. 

All the Rage by Courtney Summers. I finished this book an hour ago and am still processing, but my initial reaction is “wow wow wow.” This book was hard to read, because you just want Romy to open up and tell people about everything that’s happening but at the same time you understand why she’s been taught not to and you hate everything because of that. This reminded me a lot of how I felt when I read Speak for the first time way back when. I’m glad this book is out there. I’m glad I read it. 

Up next: The Penderwicks, more adult fantasy (I’m working on it...), Hilary Clinton, and Sweet Tooth.

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Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. -MLK Jr; April 3, 1968 in Memphis, TN

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Constance Wu attends the 21st Annual Critics’ Choice Awards

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I am OBSESSED with Constance Wu. Smart and honest and an actual comedic genius. 

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Things Megan Reads: WE’RE ENGAGED Edition 

Adi and I got engaged in mid-December, so my non-fiction reading is all coming from a pretty specific genre these days... The New Jewish Wedding was super helpful and informative, The Creative Jewish Wedding Book had a lot of fun ideas and validated a lot of my egalitarian sensibilities, and I’ve referenced A Practical Wedding multiple times a day since finishing it. This is a fun and crazy and exciting time. 

Mindy Kaling’s Why Not Me was hilarious and charming. I really love her voice as an author and found this much more honest and authentic than Why Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me. Her intro made it seem like she feels that way too. 

I was totally entranced by The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma. Reading this book felt like exploring a really detailed abstract painting. It definitely merits a reread and I can’t recommend it enough. 

Jen Larsen’s Future Perfect featured a protagonist who loves her (self-described as fat) body and her journey to square with how others relate to her body, her choices, her future. A strong first foray into fiction and some important rarely told stories. 

I laughed heartily all through The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. A hilarious look at the kids in town who are not fighting off the vampires or zombies, but just trying to live their normal lives while all of that happens around them. Perhaps the funniest chapter titles in any book ever. 

I didn’t want Vivian Apple at the End of the World to end ever. Katie Coyle’s characters are awesome and everyone knows I’m a sucker for a story about an extremist religion. Cannot wait to pick up the sequel. 

Next Up: The Library at Mount Char, Fates and Furies, Between the World and Me.

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Things Megan Reads: Now Is the Winter of Our Underemployment Edition

I recently left my full time job for a lot of reasons, and am now spending the month of December applying to graduate school, babysitting, listening to Hamilton, and figuring out what comes next. As a result, I am reading ALL OF THE BOOKS. I am not unhappy about this situation.

Marie Lu’s Legend series has been really fun. I love that June is very different from the Katniss/Tris brand of YA heroine. I thought this might finally be the YA dystopia that avoided a boy-girl-boy love triangle, but alas. Also really cool and subtle stuff in here about climate change/waters rising. I will definitely read #3.

Pitching My Tent by Anita Diamant. Each one of these essays had a quote I felt the need to write down. Diamant is so relatable and things she wrote 15 years ago still feel fresh. This woman is teaching me a whole lot about being a liberal Jew.

I liked Pretties by Scott Westerfeld so much less than Uglies. Bummer. I’m not sure if I’m going to keep going with this series. We’ll see. 

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell was just what I expected and not what I expected at all and I think that’s perfect. Highly enjoyable and clever, and a refreshing homage to a lot of things I love. 

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente. This book is low key feminist as fuck. I loved it and am so hyped that elementary school kids are reading this. 

Scott Ellswoth’s The Secret Game is a lesson in how you make historical writing matter to a modern audience. Smart, so interesting, brilliantly researched, and fully transparent. And it’s mostly set in my home town, which was just delightful. 

I thought Andy Weir’s The Martian was fun! Some of the science went over my head, but otherwise it was accessible and enjoyable. I kind of wanted Mark to not make it, because I thought the convention of only hearing his voice though logs would be really clever that way, but what can you do. 

I can’t believe it took me this long to read some Cheryl Strayed, but I loved Wild. She’s the perfect level of crunchy feelings-y without losing the honesty or integrity. 

I don’t have enough to say about Wonder by RJ Palacio. Perfect use of a shifting narrator. Multiple differently abled characters whose differences are or aren’t at all that big a deal. The existence of this book is just awesome. WE ALL OVERCOMETH THE WORLD. 

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Things Megan Reads: Many Books Edition 

A Small Place by Jamaica Kinkaid. A tiny book with a lot of power. It was challenging and smart and Relevant with a capital R. 

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen. I read this book as a birthday present to myself. I knew it would be fluffy Sarah Dessen, whose books I truly grew up with in Chapel Hill, but was pleasantly surprised by the depth and beauty of this one.

Ready Player One by Earnest Cline. Great story idea + just okay writing. Despite feeling pretty unaffected at first, I did think a lot about the world of this book in the weeks after reading it. It inspired me to yell “WE’RE ALL LIVING WRONG” and “PEOPLE AREN’T MEANT TO LIVE IN BOXES” even more than usual. 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. 100 pages of “Hmm, what’s the hype about?” and then many more pages of complete magic. I’d put this on the short list of books that have changed my life a bit in the past few years, just below Station Eleven. 

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by James Cameron. I love this book. I say love in the present tense as I plan to read it many more times. I had some extreme moments of identification with James. This is an important book.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman. I’m pretty sure I had major problems with this book. It borrowed so heavily from many other fantasy worlds that I love, without the reverence or self-awareness I wanted. It tried to traverse so much in so little space. I also feel that the author has some fraught gender politics happening. Despite some great moments, it left me with an odd taste in my mouth. 

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. This was really sweet but didn’t leave much of an impression. Especially compared to I’ll Give You the Sun, which I thought was exceptional.

The Passage by Justin Cronin. At a certain point, there was a level of I JUST HAVE TO FINISH IT with this book, which is never good. But, a very cool story with a cast of universally intriguing characters. I’m on the fence as to whether or not I’ll continue the series.

Sway by Kat Spears. A great palate cleanser after The Passage. A bit fluffy and predictable but not in a bad way. Fun modern twist on Cyrano for a generation that probably doesn’t know who Cyrano is. 

The Pearl That Broke It’s Shell by Nadia Hashimi. This was a very poignant book with an incredibly smart, young protagonist who I genuinely cared about in a way I haven’t with many books of late. Nadia Hashimi lives in the DC suburbs and I’m now on a mission to hear her speak somewhere. 

Up next: Finishing The Secret Game, Legend, A Monster Calls, and finally getting to some Cheryl Strayed. 

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Things Megan Reads: Late Summer Edition

This crop of books was great and challenging for a variety of reasons. I’m really glad that I read every one of these books, which isn’t always true. Whether I loved or wasn’t sure about each one, they were all definitely worth the time and space.

Big Little Lies was delicious. Moriarty’s prose was oh so readable and I hung on every chapter. I desperately needed to finish this book, which is my favorite way to feel while reading. I especially loved that Moriarty dealt with a lot of “big issues” in this book without it feeling like a “big issue” book. All of the characters were relatable and complicated, and I so wanted the best for all of the many players. The ending is brilliant. This is a really insightful and honest novel hiding in what looks like a fluffy package. 

Missoula should be required reading for everyone. Everyone in the world, but especially in the United States. Especially anyone who has ever used the phrase “rape culture” disparagingly. Jon Krakauer shows you the hell that rape victims are put through. The reality of the way police officers & lawyers & community members spoke to the women assaulted in this town was shocking and painful to read. I read this book in a day over a series of plane flights, layovers, and finally a long stretch of quiet in my apartment. I was filled with blinding rage for most of the day. This is brilliant work by Jon Krakauer, who I especially respect for his openness regarding how in the dark he was about much of this prior to researching this book. Everyone should read this. Get on the hold list now, it’ll take a while. 

I’m embarrassed to say that I’d never before read In Cold Blood, or anything by Truman Capote. It was an interesting read, a horrifying story, and a very cool look back at the differences between then and now in many ways. It was especially cool to read this book after just recently having read two Jon Krakauer pieces. You can see the direct line from the early non-fiction novelists to what Krakauer and many others do now.

I feel very conflicted about The Girl on the Train. There were moments of brilliance, and I just want to know more more more about all of these people, what they were thinking, what really happened here. Hawkins’ structure was interesting, and I get why she made the choice to write this novel in this way, but it felt oppressive to me- I just wanted to find out what was happening in between the chunks of time we get to see, and not in an awesome curiosity peaking way. That said, interesting story being told about our mental states and how all of our different issues act upon each other’s different issues. Conflicted.

Yes Please was a tad disappointing. I love Amy Poehler. I can quote Parks & Rec and I can quote interviews she’s given over the years. I think she’s funny & honest and takes no shit and I love all of that. Despite Poehler’s charm and some great insight/life advice being dished out, I don’t think this was a well crafted book and the anecdotes felt oddly removed & ingenuine, which is odd for this kind of book and Poehler’s apparent personality. I wish I listened to the audiobook and may try this again that way in the future- so many friends have given it rave reviews.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass challenged me. The reality of these high schoolers is so incredibly far removed from what I knew high school to be, and I had a hard time getting on board. I fully acknowledge this is me not being able to get over my own privileged experience. Medina’s narrator had a much younger voice than most young adult novels do, while dealing with much heavier life events that many do- an interesting, and poignant, contrast. I want to read more Meg Medina, I think. I like to be challenged, and I like that young women like the young woman I was at 15 are reading this kind of story. 

Up Next: Jenny Lawson, Jandy Nelson, Nadia Hashmimi, Jamaica Kinkaid.

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Things Megan Reads: Beach Week & August Edition

Brown Girl Dreaming was wonderful, honest, beautifully written magic. I am so glad that young people are reading this book for so many reasons.

Into Thin Air produced the overwhelming reaction of “WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER TRY TO SUMMIT EVEREST. THIS IS INSANE.” But Jon Krakauer writes non-fiction that reads like fiction, and he is one of my favorite storytellers, so this was awesome. I’m slowly moving up the holds list for Missoula and I cannot wait.

Just One Day & Just One Year were not nearly as exciting as Gayle Forman’s other books. I liked the journey of the first book, but the second was difficult to enjoy. Through the whole novel I felt like I was just rushing through to get back to where I knew the characters would see each other again. 

Station Eleven. Easily my favorite book I’ve read in the past year. This book included all of my favorite things: a post-apocalyptic world, theatre, and extremist religion. I enjoyed every narrative twist and turn and found the ending to be super powerful. I’ll think of this book every time I’m waiting in an airport.

Pointe is a fantastic first book from Brandy Colbert. I adored Theo and wanted the best for her- wanted her to love herself and make it to her final realizations. I can’t wait to read more from Colbert- her voice is so so promising.

The Leftovers was spoiled a bit for me. I watched the first few episodes of the HBO show, and those first few stories made up probably 3/4 of the book. Perrotta’s tone is intriguing, but I wish I’d read the book first.

The Age of Miracles was intense and focused and SCARY. The world fell apart with such uncomfortable calm and it truly spooked me. I’ve had several moments of extreme anxiety since reading this book and haven’t fully recovered yet. I love a book that can so seriously affect me, but this one left me a bit more shaken than I would have liked.

Up next: The Invention of Wings, The Sky is Everywhere, and Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass.

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This story took me on such an amazing journey. I don't yet have eloquent words for just how wonderful I think it is. It is definitely a new best friend.

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Things Megan Reads: Lots of Neil Gaiman Edition

The only Neil Gaiman book I’d ever read prior to this edition for Things Megan Reads was Coraline. I loved it, but hadn’t read anything else since. I loved The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Neverwhere in very different ways but thought they were both awesome.

Rooms was disappointing. Cool premise, interesting different narrative voices, but it just never got going. I forced myself to get through it but wouldn’t recommend it.

Lock In sounded exciting but I had a hard time getting into it. Really interesting concept of a future DC affected by a polio-esque disease outbreak, but the plot didn’t keep up with the premise. 

Me & Earl... was a really quick and lovely read. Funny and heartwarming and heartbreaking. Swayed towards a younger audience than the YA books I usually read but I really liked it. 

Next up: Just One Day & Pointe in the YA category, The Dovekeepers & The Bone People in the fiction-I-should-have-already-read category. 

[lesbianelsas]

Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori accepting their Tony Award for Best Original Score. They are the first female team to win for Best Original Score.

[daniellemohlman]

Believe it or not, this is the first time a female songwriting team has ever been awarded the Best Original Score Tony Award. Fun Home’s score is incredible and definitely deserving of this award. But it’s 2015. This shouldn’t be a first. Gender parity in playwriting is a real issue, folks.

P.S. The speech shown above was given during an untelevised part of the Tony Awards. So that part where Jeanine Tesori says “You have to see it to be it”? The people watching the Tonys at home did not see it.

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THIS.

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This Friday night brought to you by Israeli couscous with vitamin greens & garlic, Neil Gaiman, and taking time to dream and breathe deeply.

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Hello, new friends.

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Brb. Fainting.