This was time for everyone to go on vacation! My niece went to Europe, my sister and brother-in-law went to Europe (30th Anniversary trip!), and I went to Oregon. Also I had a nice book club. Failed to give blood and skipped a book club because my arm was sore from all the attempts to get blood out of it, and my mother’s birthing chair came back from the restorer and looks great!
Goodreads thinks I am reading 67 books. But I know I finished a bunch of them. The library thinks I have 54 physical books checked out, which seems maybe a tad high..
Books Completed July 11 - July 17
Hannelore’s Fifth Year at the Royal Academy, Miya Kazuki. I’m still enjoying going back to this world. Hannelore seems to have as much confusion about what is going on as Rosemyne, and she’s not living an isekai.
I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005, Lauren Tarshis. Great balance of realistic danger but also comforting notes such as saving the dog. My older son remembers when Katrina was in the news, so this is his first time seeing an historical book about his own life.
Karen’s Grandmothers Graphic Novel, DK Yingst & Ann M Martin. Finally working on my summer reading list! Karen is a bit selfish, and I wish someone would talk to her about happiness is not a zero-sum game.
Karen’s Haircut (Baby-sitters Little Sister) Graphic Novel, Katy Farina. Wow, this tiny book had a lot of hidden stuff about the pressure on girls to be beautiful. Also, I can kinda buy little kids pretending to get married, but planning it for weeks and having adults attend the ceremony? That’s weird, right? And with the corrupt idiots on the American Supreme Court clutching their pearls over the existence of gay people in books for children, it makes you think about how embedded much more explicit stuff for straight people is in kidlit. Literacy is dangerous, y’all.
Lyorn, Steven Brust. This leaned a lot on the delightful lyrics, but also made me think Brust might manage a giant conclusion. I believed he might make it to the end of the cycle, but assumed it would be more picaresque. I guess I’d better plan on a complete reread in a few years.
Threads That Bind, Kika Hatzopoulou. Cybils YA SF finalist. This had some cool worldbuilding based on an alternative world with some people have powers, making them feared by the majority. And in it our heroine has a complicated family, a possible boyfriend/soulmate, and a prophecy about bringing about a disaster. All the strands work together well.
Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement, Steven K. Kapp (editor). This gave me a lot of insights into the different ways autism can present itself and how that will impact people differently.
Wooing the Witch Queen, Stephanie Burgis. A fun, somewhat frothy fantasy romance. Lots of misunderstandings, but not based on assumptions about the other’s opinions, so it was fun rather than frustrating. And Burgis have a light hand in making both people deal with their own selves and save themselves while also providing each other support. There are some background villains, some annoying exes, and some fun worldbuilding.
Dawn and the Impossible Three, Ann M Martin. This was very nostalgic in how divorced worked back then (possibly still). A kid reader would probably appreciate how much more capable Dawn is than the flailing parents. I appreciated it too, but I also know about the collateral damage.
Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver. Gut punching but also lovely. I’m very squicked by drug addiction so it took me a few extra months to read his after The River Runs Under It bookclub, but I’m glad I persevered. And I thought the David Copperfield association really helped me deal.
Banned Together, Ashley Hope Perez. Essays by authors who faced having their writings censored. There was a variety of responses; poems, stories, bits of memoir, all showing how much they longed for books about people like them as children, and how cruel it is to actively work to make kids today miserable by blocking access to texts that could be lifelines.
Float Plan, Trish Doller. This was supposed to be for Vacation Month in the romance book club. Good thing I read it late, because there are no vacations in it. Instead it’s a romance that leans into women’s fiction, spending as much time on the protagonist’s work on grieving her ex, and learning to let go and start living again. He gets a wee bit of character growth as well, but the dude is mostly there to support her. I also liked the sailing details, and if I see another book by Doller I’ll probably pick it up.
Wow No Thank You, Samantha Irby. Some amusing essays, some baffling as our lives are very different, but a fun read.
Books Started
When the Moon Met the Sun, Alaina Hope. Author is a niece of a friend. Hope I like it!
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912, Lauren Tarshis. More history.
Because Internet, Gretchen McCulloch. Looks interesting and I’ve met her.
Karen’s Haircut (Baby-sitters Little Sister) Graphic Novel, Katy Farina. I’m of course reading all things babysitter, and this is on my Talbot Summer Reading List.
Dawn and the Impossible Three, Ann M Martin. Babysitters raising your children.
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein. Foolscap book club. I grabbed the audio from the library.
Banned Together, Ashley Hope Perez. Essays by authors who faced having their writings censored.
Float Plan, Trish Doller. This was supposed to be for Vacation Month in the romance book club.
Bookmarks Moved
Heavenly Tyrants, Xiran Jay Zhao
One Jump Ahead, Mark L Von Name
Tribute, Sherwood Smith
An Exchange of Hostages, Susan R. Matthews. I put it down when they guy learns something about himself but I’ve picked it up again.
The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers, Robinson Jeffers
The Wild Girls, Pat Murphy
Endling: The First, Katherine Applegate
Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan
The Honey Witch, Sydney J. Shields
Bookmarks Languished
I have not given up on these! Ignore all evidence.
Into the Vast Nothing, J. Bruno.
Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossmann
True Colors, Abby Cooper.
South Riding, Winifred Holtby.
Lepunia: Kingdom of the Gallopers, Kevin Ford
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell
I’m Nobody, Who Are You?, Emily Dickinson
A, B, C: Three Short Novels, Samuel Delaney. The A novel is the Foolscap pick.
Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy
Picture Books and Short Stories
I’ve been requesting the books the bigots got the Supreme Court to protect their kids from, and it’s clear that now any parent can object to any book for pretty much any reason, so have fun with that, teachers!
Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope, Jodie Patterson. A OK picture book, the Supreme Court remains crazed and bigoted, but I have no idea why anyone would pick this book if they were intending to help people accept trans kids. It reads like it was written by someone who has never met a trans kid or a parent of one, despite being written by an obviously compassionate parent of a trans kid. The first page has the kid declaring “I’m a ninja.” This is swiftly followed by “I’m a boy.” The argument is weakened by the list of boy things the kid enjoys, like skateboarding.
Look, if your very young daughter tells you that she likes doing boy things and she is a boy, the first assumption is that they think girls can’t do boy things, a misapprehension of zillions of young kids. You don’t immediately move to being trans. I don’t think the author did that, but this is how she simplified it for a picture book, and it really does a disservice. But would make for some good discussions for early elementary grades, so maybe this was intentional? It’s above the intellectual level of the US Supreme Court, but they seem mostly concerned with who pays their bribes.
Books on Slow Mode
Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. I am learning about kitchen cleaning.
At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. Friendship is the best magic.
50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane (no picture).
The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). Mail bribe.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. Mail bribe.
War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe.
Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe.
Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. Mail bribe. Made it to December. Lots of Christmas stuff, but obscure and foreign so it doesn’t seem out of place in Jusy.
Books Acquired
I only notice when I’m caught up.
Future Plans
This is for the actual future, so weeks beyond the books in this post. It is also probably wrong.
I am reading:
- Book I own: Wolf Hall
- Library Book: Lawless
- Hugo Finalist: Heavenly Tyrant
- Ebook I own: When the Moon Met the Sun
- Foolscap Book Club Book: Arabella of Mars
- Sword and Laser Club Book: She Who became the Sun
- Scintillation Book Club: Unravelling
- Cloudy Book Club: The Bright and Breaking Sea
- Torches and Pitchfork Book Club: Poverty, By America
- River Runs Under It Book Club: This Tender Land
- Talbot Hill Book: Summer Time! No Book.
- Friday Book Club: Dune
- Romance Book Club: Jane Austin!