I don't have much to share about freelance writing today. Instead, I'm writing about something I have finished: the 2019 Reading Women Challenge.
I saw it on Instagram early this year, so decided to print off the list and stick it onto my fridge. I just finished the last one.
Here's what I read for each category, with a yes/no judgement if you should read it (and yes I realize my italics stopped working partway through this. I'm too tired to figure out why):
1. Mystery/thriller by WOC: My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. YES.
2. Woman with a mental illness: The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti. No.
3. Author from Nigeria or New Zealand: The Luminaries by Eleanor Canton. NO (and I say this knowing it won the Man Booker Prize. WHAT A SLOG).
4. About or set in Appalachia: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. Yes.
5. Children's Book: Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary. Yes.
6. Multi-gen family saga: The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan. Yes.
7. Featuring a woman in science: The Women Who Flew for Hitler by Clare Mulley. YES.
8. Myth retelling: Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith. Yes.
9. A novella: The Shaw by Cynthia Ozick. Yes.
10. About a woman athlete: Go for the Goal by Mia Hamm. Yes, though more to look back 20 years at women's sports than anything else.
11. YA book by a WOC: Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson. YES.
12. Lambda Literary Award winner: The Huntress by A.E. Radley. Yes.
13. Translated book published before 1945: Child of All Nations by Irmgard Keun. Yes.
14. A play: Familiar by Dana Gurira. Yes.
15. Written by a South Asian author: The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. YES.
16. By an indigenous woman: Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog. Yes.
17. From 2018 Reading Women Award shortlist: Educated by Tara Westover. Yes.
18. Romance or love story: Only a Promise by Mary Balogh. Yes.
19. About nature: Why Buffalo Dance by Susan Chernak McElroy. Yes.
20. Historical fiction book: The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenny
21. Book bought/borrowed in 2019: Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl. Yes.
22. Book you got because of the cover: Devil's Daughter by Lisa Kleypas. Yes.
23. Any book from a series: Only a Kiss by Mary Balogh. Yes.
24. Book featuring a religion other than your own: Plain Faith by Irene & Ora Jay Eash. Yes, with reservations.
Added a whole bunch of books to you to-read list? I've got more below!
Recent Bylines
"Running with Donkeys" for The New York Times
"How to Use RPA to Increase Back Office Efficiency" for CIO Dive
"Running to the Wedding. Any Wedding" for The New York Times
"How Predictive Analytics is Changing Patient Care" for HealthTech
"Binghamton Researchers Developing Muscular Dystrophy Drug" for Binghamton University Magazine
"How Cities Fulfill the Demand for Public Wi-Fi" for StateTech
"Automation Technology Can Enhance Federal Cybersecurity" for FedTech
"When Procurement and Supply Chain Butt Heads on KPIs" for Supply Chain Dive
What I'm Reading
- Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall. I loved this, not just because I know Chris and I got to run with Sherman. It's a feel-good adventure story, and one I think a lot of people sorely need right now.
- Familiar by Dana Gurira. I haven't read a play in a while. I enjoyed it, and should probably do more of it.
- Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber by Mike Isaac. Big tech is kinda bad, right. Reading this as WeWork fell apart emphasized that so much power and money should not be in the hands of the few.
- Huntress by A.E. Radley. What a fun mystery!
- Child of All Nations by Irmgard Keun. My fear with reading older books is that they'll read like older books. Not this one. I would have believed you if you told me it was written today.
- Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean. Saucy romance novel, and there's nothing wrong with that.
- Jell-o Girls by Allie Rowbottom. I liked it, but it should have either been shorter with some story lines cut out, or longer with everything fleshed out.
- The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly. I'm not sure if I liked how this was split into two separate narratives. I still stayed up WAY too late finishing it, of course.
- Educated by Tara Westover. Religious fanaticism is a disease. Also I listened to this as an audiobook – it was great.
- Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog. I started reading this right as the skipping of Native American Heritage Month was…skipped by the white house. Our country has been terrible to Native Americans and continue to be.
- Late Night. Entertaining, if uneven – very uneven.
- The Bookshop. Maybe my expectation were wrong. I expected it to be a light story about a bookshop. It was not.
- Judy. Oooooo this was so good. SO GOOD. Rene deserves an oscar nomination, hands down.
- Warren. This is bitter and silly. I loved it.
- Crooked House. I felt like this got me primed for Knives Out, which I cannot WAIT to see.
- Endeavor. I had no idea season 7 was available. I usually wait until it's free somewhere, but I treated myself and bought it.
- You've Got Mail. Streaming on Amazon Prime! I love it and I still have challenges with it, but I love it.
- As Good As It Gets. I used to listen to the score of this movie to write. I can't not hear it when I watch the movie (which isn't, of course, the movie's fault).
- Bojak Horseman. I think it's the smartest show on television.
Until Next Time!
Jen A. Miller
jenamiller.com
runningalovestory.com
twitter.com/byjenamiller
instagram.com/jenamillerrunner
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