As promised.

A new update. I have been reading even if I haven't been posting. Busy, busy, busy. Life beats out blogging every time.

What to report? I started the month with Wolves in Chic Clothing. I am not even going to link to it. It is that dumb. I got it from a friend who gave me a bunch of books before her move to Canada. (Hi Christie! We miss you!) I really read it because Sarah saw that I was planning on reading We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch and she said she owned the book and wanted to read it too. Unfortunately, she had another book to finish before she could start on that one so I decided to wait on her. Trashy books are a good stop-gap measure.

After the trashy book that shall no longer be named, I did read We Wish to Inform You and I really thought it was amazing. The best part of the book is the fact that it goes into the history of the strife between the Hutus and the Tutsis long before the massacre ever occurred. The other thing I found fascinating about the book was the fact that most of the Hutus did what they did not because they had personal animosity towards the Tutsis but rather because they were trying to be "good citizens". When their government told them to kill to protect the state, that's what they did. Many of them now speak of their regrets and say they love their Tutsi neighbors, but that is the word the current government is preaching. The point is that at their core, many of the people of Rwanda are very susceptible to the whims of their leaders and the biggest problem with that is that the whole genocide could happen again should the tide of power turn in Rwanda.

One note about this book that I think is important. I found it to be extremely easy to read. It reads like a long article and is not particularly gruesome. The author writes as a journalist, but still manages to include enough personal stories and anecdotes to push you forward through the denser parts. Do not be dissuaded by the intense subject matter. I consider this a must-read.

I just finished Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. I have heard a lot of things about this book and wanted to read it myself. No one has really recommended it outright, but I was interested in the subject matter. Too bad I didn't like it. Obviously, I can handle a certain level of melancholy based on my previous reading material, but this book was too bleak. Everything falls apart and none of the characters is particularly relatable or likeable. I am not sorry I read it because it is well-written, but I won't be recommending it.

Finally, I am in the midst of listening to Simon Winchester's Krakatoa on tape. It is also fascinating. I am listening to the unabridged version which clocks in at 12 hours. I was about 4 hours into it before we hit any actual eruptions, but the history of the area and the fact that earlier eruptions of the volcano may have been a factor in such diverse historical events as the fall of the Mayan Empire, the fall of Rome, and the Plague make the time well-spent. However, I would not have been averse to an abridged version. I have a couple of hours to go, but Simon Winchester always makes an interesting read even if his books always seem to go about 75 pages longer than they should.

Next up: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, The Great Influenza by John M. Barry (timely, no?), and Bleachy-Haired Honky Bitch by Hollis Gillespie not necessarily in that order.

More to come.