Jactionary: Quarterly Reading List

I'm almost two weeks late in posting a quarterly reading list, but it's finally ready. Below is a list of the books I read in April, May, and June of this year. Please feel free to share your reading lists and recommendations in the comments section below!

Completed:

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

A misfit teenage girl from an abusive home falls in love with fellow music lover and together they rally against the bullies and forces that would tear them apart.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

A married couple on the brink of divorce try to stay in touch during a long-distance Christmas by reconnecting over the phone.

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell

A series of essays that provide random tidbits of insight (like why ketchup is so popular with children) and features on individuals with unique talents (such as the dog whisperer and Ron Popeil, the kitchen gadget guru).

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell

An in-depth look at underdogs and how disadvantages can be turned into hero-worthy strengths.

Your Baby's First Word Will Be Dada by Jimmy Fallon (full review here)

Barnyard dads band together to try to ensure that their babies first word is "Dada."

Once Upon an Alphabet: A Story for All the Letters by Oliver Jeffers

A refreshing update on children's alphabet books.

Matched by Ally Condie

The first book in a three-part dystopian series begins with seventeen-year-old Cassia Reyes' matching ceremony going awry when she discovers the Society has made a mistake in revealing she has two possible marriage matches, one with her best friend and another with a boy she's known all her life but never truly gotten to know before.

Crossed by Ally Condie

The second book in Condie's three-part series features Cassia on the run from the Society as she tries to track down the boy she loves, join the rising rebellion, and reunite with her family.

Reached by Ally Condie

The final installment in the Matched/Crossed/Reached series centers on the rising rebellion against the Society, a mutating plague running rampant in both citizens and rebels, and the consequences of Cassia's decision to love one boy while abandoning another.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

A fascinating dual story that takes place in turn-of-the-century New York about a female golem who finds herself without a master and a two-thousand-year-old Jinni released after hundreds of years in captivity.

Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado

One woman's look at what it's like to live at or below the poverty line in twenty-first century America.

Positive: A Memoir by Paige Rawl

A young adult memoir about living with HIV.

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (full review here)

A wonderful picture book about how Duncan's crayon box turns against him and goes on strike.

Horoscopes for the Dead: Poems by Billy Collins (full review here)

A four-part collection of poems examining loss, hope, memories of the past, and those who've left us.

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin (full review here)

A comical picture book about what dragons love (tacos), hate (spicy salsa), and what happens the two combine.

Duchess of Death: The Unauthorized Biography of Agatha Christie by Richard Hack (full review here)

A wonderfully well-written account of the interesting life of the world's best-selling mystery author.

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman (full review here)

A picture book tale about the unexpected friendship between a boy and a robot.

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith [J. K. Rowling] (full review here)

The second installment in the Cormoran Strike detective series features the gory death of a controversial author and a bevy of characters who all host reasons for wanting to end his life.

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty (full review here)

An empowering picture book for young girls teaching them the can-do Rosie the Riveter attitude in a twenty-first century context.

Hilda and the Troll by Luke Pearson (full review here)

An installment in the Hilda children's graphic novel series featuring the adventures of a young girl who meanders in the forest and meets mythical creatures.

Fox's Garden by Princesse Camcam (full review here)

A beautiful wordless picture book about the bond between animals and humans.

How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal (full review here)

A comedic graphic novel about the many ways your beloved house cat might be secretly planning his revenge.

Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith (full review here)

Another of Keri Smith's novelty books for children, teens, or adults that provide an avenue for releasing tension by getting to break the rules of standard book etiquette.

The Clocks by Agatha Christie (full review here)

Hercule Poirot sets out to discover why when Sheila Webb arrived at 19 Wilbraham Crescent expecting to meet an elderly blind woman, she instead found a dead man's body.

The Juggling Pug by Sean Bryan (full review here)

A town makes a celebrity out of talking puppy who can juggle, but soon fame goes to his head.

A World of Girls: The Story of a School by L. T. Meade

A best-selling nineteenth-century British girls' school story about the rivalry between twelve-year-old Hester and Annie and what happens when tragedy hits the schoolhouse and Hester's baby sister goes missing.

Red Rose and Tiger Lily; or, in a Wider World by L. T. Meade

The sequel to Meade's best-selling girls' school story features Hester and Annie's adventures several years later as they deal with a parents' remarriage, new family members, a close family's financial distress, and the life-threatening accident that befalls a childhood acquaintance.

The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin

A very well-researched, historical look at the life of actress Nelly Ternan.