The problem with my NY Times Best Seller Reading Challenge

At the beginning of the year, I posted that I'd be embarking on a new reading challenge to read at least one NY Times Bestseller each month by an author whose books I hadn't read yet. Since these would all be bestsellers, I thought I'd discover some great new authors. Five months and five books into the challenge, the results aren't encouraging. I've liked only one of the five. Wading through the others reminded me of the books I was required to read in high school English classes, i.e., I wanted to get through them as quickly as possible and not ever think about them again.

My conclusion, however, isn't that all bestsellers are ill-suited for me. The problem is my stipulation that the books in the reading challenge be from authors who are new to me. During the first five months of this year, I also read two bestsellers written by authors I've read before, and they were both very enjoyable. It makes sense. Most of the books that topped the bestseller lists were by authors whose books I've read before. The reason I avoided the ones written by authors new to me were because I didn't think I'd enjoy them. It turns out I was right

What does this mean for the reading challenge? I'm still going to stick to the rules I laid out for myself at the beginning of the year. Who knows, maybe I'll still find a gem or two? However, my expectations won't be as high just because the books are bestsellers.

How the pandemic is changing my life

 

For those like me who live in Northern California, it's been a month since we started sheltering in place. It was rough at first, even though I'm a boring person who didn't go out much even before COVID-19. However, I still went to the office for work, exercised at the gym, visited the library, and dined in restaurants. I've done none of those things for the past month. While I'm becoming more used to the shelter-in-place routine, things are still different than they were before.

I believe that, like every crisis we've faced throughout history, we will get through this one too. Weeks or months from now, we will be able to return to the life that we had before. However, as with all major events, COVID-19 will change how we live our lives. Personally, I'm already noticing a few different ways that I view things.

• Social distancing - I've become so used to keeping six feet away from everyone that when I watch a movie on TV now, I cringe when the characters are close together. Why are you talking in each other's faces? Why can't you have that exchange while standing six feet apart? If social distancing is so ingrained in me now, it'll take me a while to feel comfortable being physically near strangers again. I shudder to think of the day I have to ride the train to go to the office again.
• Delivery services - I rarely used delivery services before the pandemic. I bought everything in person at the stores, and I preferred eating at restaurants or ordering take-out from the counter instead of having my meals delivered. With sheltering in place, I've been ordering something to be delivered almost everyday. A new world of options has opened up to me, and I have a feeling that after it's safe to go out in public again, I'll use more delivery services than I have in the past.
• Virtual meetings - Before the pandemic, I'd have virtual meetings with co-workers who were located in different cities. Now, every meeting is virtual. My wife has been holding virtual meetings with co-workers for the first time. It's a trend that already started before COVID-19, but virtual meetings will become more and more commonplace for us.
• Entertainment at home - In my last blog post, I mentioned that one of the benefits of this pandemic is that I should have more time to read, and indeed, I have. I've also discovered some good movies and TV shows that are available from the comforts of the living room. Does this mean I'll always stay home for entertainment? Probably not, but now I know it's possible to keep myself entertained without leaving the house.

How has the pandemic changed the way you view how you live your life?

Benefits of a pandemic

We live in scary times. The coronavirus has dominated the headlines the past few weeks. People are dying around the world. Sports events, conferences, concerts, and other gatherings are getting canceled. The stock market plunged. Disneyland closed. While there's certainly a lot of negative impact from this current pandemic, I wanted to take a look at some of the silver linings.

1. Public places are less crowded - I do hope that businesses that are currently suffering from the pandemic see a rebound soon. That said, I'm enjoying the fact that public places I normally go to (gym, library, restaurants) are less crowded than normal. The anti-social introvert in me can get used to not being around too many people. :-)
2. Working from home - The company I work for recently recommended that we work from home. While there are pros and cons to working from home, on the whole, I'm liking it so far. The biggest benefit for me is not having to take the commute train anymore. Not only does that save two hours of my time each day, but the train was a health hazard even before the coronavirus!
3. More focus on cleanliness - Yes, we should've been washing our hands all along, but it's nice to see that everyone is now more concerned about cleanliness. Restaurants, hotels, and airlines I've patronized have also sent me emails assuring me of their cleaning policies (although the fact that so many businesses have my email address is cause for a different kind of concern). If there's one thing that I hope the pandemic leaves us with, it's a renewed emphasis on cleanliness.
4. More time to read (and write) - Going out less? Don't have to commute to work anymore? All of that adds up to more time at home, and what better way to spend that time than reading! It's too soon for me to notice yet, but I do plan to take advantage of this period of "social distancing" to read more and to catch up on writing.

What has it been like for you during the coronavirus situation? How are you coping?
Stay safe, everyone!

Leap day

Happy Leap Day! It's not often we get a February 29, so to celebrate this day that comes only once every four years (roughly), I researched some questions I've had about leap years, and I wanted to share what I found with all of you.

1. Why do we have leap years?
This one is easy, and you probably already know the answer. The Earth takes more than 365 days to orbit the sun. To be more precise, rounding to three decimal places, it takes 365.242 days for our planet to circle the sun. If we didn't have leap years, our calendars will eventually go out of sync with the seasons.

2. What's the rule for determining if a year is a leap year?
In most cases, years that are divisible by 4 are leap years, e.g., 2020. The exceptions are century years, which have to be divisible by 400, e.g., 1600, 2000, 2400. The reason that not every century year is a leap year is because it doesn't quite take 365 1/4 days for the Earth to complete its orbit. If we had leap years every four years, we'd wind up with too many.

3. How often do people who are born on Feb 29 celebrate their birthdays?
I've wondered about this for a long time. If you're born on Feb, do you get a birthday party only once every four years? Apparently, people who are born on leap day celebrate their birthdays on Feb 28 or Mar 1. If you happen to be born on Feb 29, I'd love to hear about when/how you celebrate your birthday!

4. Any other interesting leap year trivia?
I'm sure there are lots that you can find by searching the internet. I found this fact pretty astonishing though. According to Guinness World Records, the Keogh family of the UK has three generations of family members with birthdays on Feb 29. Peter Anthony Keogh (Feb 29, 1940), son Peter Eric Keogh (Feb  29, 1964), and granddaughter Bethany (Feb 29, 1996) all share the same birthday. I wonder what those birthday parties are like!

NY Times Best Seller Reading Challenge

One of my favorite aspects of past reading challenges has been reading books by authors who are new to me and (sometimes) whom I wouldn't ordinarily read otherwise. I was exposed to some of my favorite books through reading challenges. They include Legend by Marie Lu, This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales, and Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (which I read as part of last year's reading challenge).

I have high expectations for this year's reading challenge, which I'm calling the NY Times Best Seller Reading Challenge. At least once a month, I will read a book that made it to the top of the NY Times Best Seller charts on either the Combined Print & E-Book Fiction, Hardcover Fiction, or Paperback Trade Fiction lists within the last six months. The catch is, it has to be a book by an author I've never read before. Since a lot of people must have liked the books in order for them to reach the #1 spot on a NY Times best seller list, I'm hoping that, by the end of the year, some more books by new authors will join my list of favorites.

As always, I will let everyone know how this reading challenge went at the end of the year. Happy reading in 2020!

Favorite reads of 2019

Happy New Year, everyone! As we get ready to welcome 2020, here were my favorite reads of 2019.

1. The Wife Between Us - Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Many books have claimed to be the next Gone Girl, but of all the psychological thrillers I've read since Gillian Flynn's, The Wife Between Us is the most worthy successor. The book is full of twists, some of which I was able to guess but some that I was happily surprised by. It's also written in a way that kept me turning the pages, wanting to find out what happens next. I literally couldn't put it down and finished the book in two days.

2. Recursion - Blake Crouch

This was the most gripping and mind-blowing book I read all year, so it's no surprise that it landed near the top of my list of favorite reads. Unfortunately, I can't say more without spoiling what actually happens in the book, but I highly recommend it! The only reason it wasn't #1? It took more than the usual amount of suspension of disbelief to buy into the premise, but once I did, I was sucked in.

3. Broken Lands - Jonathan Maberry 

The Rot & Ruin series is one of my favorite YA series of all time, so imagine my delight to discover that there's a new series set in the same universe. Many of the beloved characters from Rot & Ruin play a part in Broken Lands, and if this book is any indication, I'm going to love the new series too.

4. An Anonymous Girl - Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen 

After reading The Wife Between Us, I had to read the next book by this author duo. An Anonymous Girl shares a lot of the same elements that made their first book such a great read, but it's not another Gone Girl, in case you were expecting a similar story line. However, it's still a great book, and I highly recommend it. I can't wait for the next book by Hendricks and Pekkanen.

5. Aurora Rising - Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff 

Speaking of author duos who I want to see write more books together, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff have done it again. The books in their Illuminae Files trilogy were the top reads the last three years. Their latest collaboration, the first in the new Aurora Cycle series, is also great. This book isn't written in an unusual format like the Illuminae Files were, but it's still a must read for fans of YA speculative fiction.

6. Stepsister - Jennifer Donnelly 

Stepsister is one of the best fairy tale retellings I've read. I liked how we heard the Cinderella story from the point of view of one of her stepsisters, and in a way that made us sympathize with her without turning Cinderella into a villain. But more important than the quality of the story were the messages in it, including (as quoted from one of the characters), "We all make mistakes. What matters is that we don't let our mistakes make us." This book was not only entertaining but inspirational.

7. Redshirts - John Scalzi 

I'm not sure how much my love of Star Trek played a role in my enjoyment of this book, but I sure liked it! I've wondered what it was like to live the life of a redshirt on the show, and now I know. Unexpectedly, this book got me thinking about its thematic message more so than most of the books I read this year. Whether you're a Star Trek fan or not, I encourage you to give this book a try.

8. Saint Anything - Sarah Dessen 

Based on the description, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book, but I chose it to satisfy my Authors A to Z challenge. I'm sure glad I did. This was the best contemporary book I read in 2019. I immediately liked the main character and her best friend, and as a result, I was easily invested in the story line. I'll be reading more books by Sarah Dessen now.

9. Circe - Madeleine Miller 

After all the buzz I heard about this book, I gave it a try and liked it as much as I expected to. It helps that I'm already a fan of Greek mythology. I really enjoyed the way the story is told in Circe's point of view, shedding more light on some myths that I only knew superficially or only heard one side of. The novel really brought Greek myths to life in a way where I felt like the characters involved were more real.

10. Scrappy Little Nobody - Anna Kendrick 

I don't normally read non-fiction, especially autobiographies, so the fact that Scrappy Little Nobody ended up on my list of favorite reads of the year was a surprise. I selected this book to fulfill the Authors A to Z challenge and because I liked the Anna Kendrick movies I've seen. She is hilarious in writing, and if anything, reading this book makes me want to watch more of her movies.

What I read in 2019

As another year comes to an end, it's time to review the books that I read in the last twelve months. In 2019, I read 84 books, one less than in 2018.

The average rating for the books I read was 4.01 stars per book, broken down as follows:

• 5 stars - 24 books
• 4 stars - 37 books 
• 3 stars - 23 books 

The 4.01 stars average was a slight decrease from the 4.07 stars per book in 2018.

Of the 84 books read, 26 were part of the Authors A to Z Challenge that I embarked on in January. One of the goals of the reading challenge was to read books by authors whom I haven't been exposed to before, and in that regard, I considered my efforts successful, as 16 of the 26 books were from authors new to me.

The ratings for the books in the Authors A to Z challenge were distributed as follows:

• 5 stars - 6 books 
• 4 stars - 10 books 
• 3 stars - 10 books 

The average rating for the books in the challenge was 3.85, lower than my overall rating for books read in 2019. This shouldn't have come as a surprise since I read several books outside of my comfort zone. However, the experience was well worth it, and I'll have to repeat the reading challenge again in the future.

In my next post, I’ll list my top ten favorite books of 2019. Stay tuned!