So, I have discovered that non-fiction works even better for Summer Brain than fluff!

Aside from Welcome to Utopia: Notes from a Small Town I very much enjoyed Orange Is the New Black: One Year in a Women’s Prison It brought back memories of when I worked in a group home for teenage delinquent girls. I recognized all the types she mentioned. Also, the lingo is the same. It was kind of disturbing when the author would lapse into prison lingo. It didn’t really always work.

I have decided I like non-fiction a good fix for Summer Brain because a) I don’t have to get emotionally involved or b) I already know how it will end. For example, in Orange is the New Black, I already knew she would get out of prison alive because she is writing the stinking book. Perfect!

I am currently reading The Millionaire Next Door and enjoying it greatly as it meets both a and b above. Yay!

Much to my friend Ivy’s disbelief, I am intrigued by small towns. Ivy grew up in a tiny town, and has no interest in returning. I, for one, am always curious about what it would be like to live far away from all the stuff that scatters my attention.

After reading Welcome to Utopia: Notes from a Small Town by Karen Valby, I am slightly less entranced by small town life. It seems like a whole bunch of people want to get away from Utopia, Texas, but only a few actually make it out. Most of them get stuck by circumstances or lack of motivation or lack of drive. It was a bit depressing.

So, I’ve decided that since our 100+ degree temps are here, my brain is melting inside my head. I can’t read anything too thoughtful. I need fluff!

So I read The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade. It was really fun. The head cheerleader gets hit by a bus and dies. (Sounds really fun, huh?) But her ghost comes back to finish her unresolved issues. The only person who can see her is Will Killian, a weird Goth kid who wouldn’t normally even register on her radar. She begins a quest to get him to help her move on.

Really fun. I promise.

Apparently, that’s all I can manage.

I must be stressed again, because I’m reading about 4 books right now. Let’s review.

Anna Karenina (Oprah’s Book Club). At the risk of sounding pretentious, I’ll say I’m re-reading Anna Karenina. I was feeling the need for some Russian drama. Yup. Must be stressing out.

At the risk of sounding REALLY pretentious, I’ll say I’m re-reading The Name of the Rose: including the Author’s Postscript. I don’t know what I was feeling like for this one. But I read a chapter of Anna K, and a chapter of this one. Is that twisted?

Apologize, Apologize! is this month’s book club book. I’m only 100 pages in, but so far I love it! This family is so messed up. It’s a wonder it hasn’t imploded.

I know I’ve talked about Goodreads before. If you are not a member, and you like reading, you should definitely check it out. On the other hand, if you feel like your To-Be-Read list is already quite long enough, don’t bother.

Well, I joined a group on GR that is doing a challenge, and there’s nothing I love better than a reading challenge. Actually, I’m part of three challenges, but only one of them pertains to the next book on my list.

See with this challenge, one person (chosen at random) gets to choose a shelf and everyone in the group reads books listed on that shelf. For example, last months picker chose the “chick-lit” shelf. So you could read any book that shows up on that shelf. Now the way books get put on the shelf is when GR members put it there. So, a book that I might not consider “chick-lit” might end up there. Doesn’t matter. If it’s on the shelf you can read it and review it and get credit. The more books you review from the shelf, the more chances you have to be the next shelf-picker. Clear as mud?

Okay, this month’s shelf is History. So I am reading The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. I guess I can see it being shelved as history, but whatever. I’m getting credit!

I am such a nerd.