Normal Again

Well, I'm almost back to a normal reading program after spending the summer starting a book a day, and then avoiding that book because pressure gets me down. Now I'm back to just reading whatever I want. And I want books that are on my lists. You know that Facebook thing where there's a word find and LOVE, FAMILY and FRIENDSHIP are spelled out horizontally to make them easy to find? Well, I missed them completely and found LIST going diagonally down the side. That's where my OCD heart lies.

So, I'm reading a book from my online TBR list, a book to satisfy my book challenges, a book for a book club, a book from my shelves, a book from my library's shelves, a book I grabbed for fun from the library, and a leftover book from this summer's reading fun. Oh, on my NOOK I'm reading one book from my library and one book that I own. And when I switch books, I cleanse my reading palette with a few pages of a book from my TBR bookcase. And this insanity makes me deeply happy.

I'll go check in with Book Journey's weekly round-up of what everyone has read, is reading, and will read, and then, since most of my selections are children's books, I'll also check in with the kidlit version at Teach Mentor Texts. I haven't really gotten back in the swing of reviewing these books, so I'm afraid I'm a rather dull entry to both these lists, but I'm trying to jump back on the horse. In a mixed-metaphor kind of way, of course.

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• The Clone Codes, Patricia McKissack (and family). For my elementary school book club.
• Master of None, Sonya Bateman. On of Felicia Day's Vaginal Fantasy bookclub picks, although I think they switched this one out for not having any romance. Well, any sex.
• Wild Girl, Patricia Reilly Giff. Another elementary book club pick. I was supposed to read these over the summer.
• Trial By Desire, Courtney Milan. NOOK. Fun little romance about a woman hero and a man with mental illness. 
• Buffy and the Heroine's Journey, Valerie Frankel. Interesting literary essays on my favorite vampire series.
• Stink: The Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown, Megan McDonald. Another elementary book club pick.
• One Crazy Summer, Rita Williams-Garcia. There were a lot of these elementary book club books. I've been meaning to read this one anyway; it won all the awards.
• The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas: Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars #1, Tracy Mack. I'm finally getting back to my Reading My Library plan.
• Sassy #1: Little Sister Is Not My Name, Sharon M. Draper. Elementary book club choice, and it's by a famous YA author.
• Year of the Tiger, Alison Lloyd. This is for the third L shelf in my library's kidlit section.
• The Lions of Little Rock, Kristin Levine. This is the 2nd L shelf. And it's a book I've heard about.
• The Woodshed Mystery (Boxcar Children), Gertrude Warner. This was the last book for my summer reading sprint. Whew!
• Taken At the Flood, Ken Catran. Book-a-day pick at the end of the summer reading sprint.
• The Snow Pony, Alison Lester. For my Reading My Library quest, chosen because I like her picture books.
• Warp Speed, Lisa Yee. This is a Cybils pick.

And these are from the week before:

• United Tates of America, Paula Danzinger. Summer reading book.
• Turn Homeward Hannalee, Patricia Beatty. Summer reading book.
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor. Best of the Best pick.
• The Cow-Tail Switch, Harold Courlander. Summer reading book.
• Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan. Summer reading book.
• Three Stuffed Owls, Keith Robertson. Summer reading book.
• A Child's Delight, Noel Perrin. From my TBR list.
• The Ghost Belonged to Me, Richard Peck. Summer reading book. A reread.

What am I currently reading? I left some in-progress books at home during my gallivanting, and I cherry picked from my options to things I thought I'd enjoy.

• Ghost Dog Secrets, Peg Kehret. This is for my elementary book club. I have about four to go.
• I Am Not a Serial Killer, Dan Wells. I got this to match with I Hunt Killers, the other YA book about a boy worried that he might be a serial killer. It's my library free choice book.
• The Azalea Assault, Alyse Carlson. First in a murder mystery series, and it takes place in Virginia! Which I need for my Where Am I Reading challenge.
• The Code Book, Simon Singh. This is for my primary book club, the real-life grown-up one.
• The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller. Book from my shelves. Well, technically, from my brother's shelves.
• The Heart of Christmas. NOOK. I got this for the Courtney Milan story, but I'll try the others as well.
• Dragon Ship, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. NOOK. I bought the next Liaden book directly from Baen. Their no-DRM policy is very appealing.
• The Curse of the Wendigo, Richard Yancy. (audio) Another Best of the Best audio finalist. The boys both like it so we only listen when we're all in the car.
• Team Human, Sarah Rees Brennan & Justine Larbalestier. Started on the plane last July, but the onslaught of past-due library books made me pause it.
• Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey. I'm stalled on this one too. I think I'll try it again on my NOOK.
• Phoenix In Flight, Sherwood Smith & Dave Trowbridge. NOOK. I paused this one because  I wanted my Liaden fix.
• Close Range, Annie Proulx. Dipping book. I'm finding the stories very depressing.
• The Borrowers Afield, Mary Norton. Another dipping book. The plot is about to start.
• Knight of a Trillion Stars, Dara Joy. Too rapey to be as much fun as the cover predicts.
• The Catholic Church in the Modern World, E.E.Y. Hales. I'm finding the American history through this lens fascinating.
• Honored Enemy, Raymond Feist. I think the badder guys are about to show up again.
• Smart But Scattered, Peggy Dawson. I read a chapter to reward myself for finishing something.
• Fire, Kristen Cashore. I'm rereading this to celebrate reading Bitterblue.

I've also got a pile of unfinished summer reading books, which I'll probably work through in the next few months:

• Rufus M., Eleanor Estes. I like the innocence of their problems and solutions.
• Tales From Silver Lands, Charles Finger. These are better a few at a time than all at once.
• Pinky Pye, Eleanor Estes. I bought a bunch of Estes at one time. I'm not sure I've read this one before.
• The Tunnel of Hugsy Goode, Eleanor Estes. See above.
• Ecstasia, Francesca Lia Block. I find her mythic stories harder going than her Weezie Bat books.
• Bob, Son of Battle, Alfred Ollivant. I'm not liking the dialect, and I think the guy I hate is supposed to be the hero. Oops.
• Tricksters, Margaret Mahy. I have no excuse for not finishing this yet.
• Tessie, Jesse Jackson. The author makes me giggle.
• Puddleby Adventures, Hugh Lofting. I had too many Dolittle books back-to-back.
• The Avion My Uncle Flew, Cyrus Fisher. I lost this while reading it, but now I know where it is.
• The Eye of the Warlock, P.W. Catanese. Mixed-up fairy tale.
• Redskin and Cowboy, G. A. Henty. Waiting for the boy to run away from home.

What will I read next? The rest of the elementary book club books, then my real life book club book, and then Team Human. Those are my priorities.

Challenges:

1. Cybils: 66/73. I think I'm in good shape for finishing by Christmas.
2. Global Reading Challenge: 15/21. At least one of my current books is set in South America. And one book took place partly in Mexico, so I may count that.
3. Where Am I Reading?:  34/50.  Currently reading a Virginia book.
4. Science Book Challenge: 2.1415/3.14159. I'm not sure I reviewed the last one, though.
5. Reading My Library:  Finished four, reading to march forward again.
6. Eclectic Challenge: 10/12. I need literary and a classic. Still.
7. Best of the Best: 31/25. Inching slowly along; I'll see how far I get before next year's lists come out.
8. Summer Reading Goal: All over but the cleanup. My shelf look bare! Now I can unload the books in boxes onto it!