Diversiverse: Let's End with a List

We're wrapping A More Diverse Universe! It's been a great run, and I've found so many cool new books AND new blogs to read. 

It's been so interesting to deliberately look around at my reading world and focus my attention on these authors and this issue.  I've read things I might not have otherwise, gone on a real novella kick (novellas--a low-commitment way to check out a new author!), and thought a lot about the insularity of the book world, and how easy it is to settle down with a self-perpetuating stack of stories and really read the same thing again and again.

So in addition to the books I've already reviewed, there are a few I've started but not had time to finish, and a few more I'm excited about, both ones I just couldn't squeeze in this month and ones that I learned about through this event.  And I love a good list!

Pointe, by Brandy Colbert.  I'm largely drawn to the gorgeous cover, and to ballet books in general after reading Meg Howrey's fabulous The Cranes Dance.  I'd never heard of it, but this review at The Englishist caught my eye, and my library had the ebook just waiting for me!  More than just a ballet story, it's about a girl and a community dealing with the aftermath of trauma, which I always find very interesting.

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia, was a recommendation from Ana at Things Mean a Lot.   This one's been on my list for a while, but as a middle grades book, it never made it very high up the list.  But Ana's glowing recommendation (including this joint review of the sequel, P.S. Be Eleven at Ladybusiness) has me sold on this story of three sisters spending the summer in California in the 1960s. 

The Story Hour, by Thrity Umrigar, as reviewed by Literary Lindsey. This one had been catching my eye on the library site for a while, though I wasn't sure why.  I read this review and found out it was about the friendship between a depressed woman in an arranged marriage and her therapist, and I'm sold.  I love dramatic depictions of therapy; no idea why.  Yay!

My god, there are so many.  Books I was already going to read: Intisar Khanani's Thorn, Stephanie Kuehn's Charm and Strange, Karen Lord's The Best of All Possible Worlds, Sherri L. Smith's Flygirl.  Books that were just a blip on my radar before this even got me focused: Jacqueline Koyanagi's Ascension, Pam Munoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising, Benjanun Sriduangkaew's Scale-Bright.

What I'm saying is, I'm really excited about the books I read and the ones I learned about, and I'm excited about focusing my reading more to expand my horizons and bring more diverse authors to my shelves.  Thanks so much, Aarti, for such a great event!