Busy Busy Busy

I zipped off to Houston for an unexpected Spring Break, where I managed not to do any blogging. Oops. So this is my catch-up post as to what I've been reading for the past few weeks, and it's not tax books!

• Long May She Reign, Ellen Emerson White
• A Kiss at Midnight, Eloise James
• Horde, Ann Aguirre
• The Water Castle, Megan Frazer Blackmore
• Broken Homes, Ben Aaronovitch
• The Floating Circus, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
• Balanced on the Blade's Edge, Lindsay Buroker
• Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station, Dorothy Gilman
• Night Broken, Patricia Briggs
• One Week Girlfriend, Monica Murphy
• War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
• Final Sail, Elaine Viets

Also some picture books:

• The Day the Crayons Quit, Drew Daywalt. I had the best reading experience for this -- it was read to me by a preschooler who had learned every word.
• Disney Frozen Magical Story. With the same preschooler. Now I can see the movie!

What am I currently reading?

• Poems to Learn By Heart, Caroline Kennedy (ed.). This is a Cybils poetry book. I already had some of these memorized, so that's a good sign.
• The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman. AUDIO. Poor kids went nowhere in my car last week, so they are languishing.
• The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau. AUDIO. This is the March Sword and Laser Kids book. Xan and I listen to it so we don't get ahead of Paulos with Mrs Pollifax.
• Carter's Big Break, Brent Crawford. AUDIO for me to listen to when I'm alone. It's from the 2013 Best of the Best for teens list.
• The Golden Leopard, Lynn Kerstan. A book that's been waiting on my NOOK. Not much romance yet, but it looks promising.
• Heart of Steel, Meljean Brooks. I started this on the plane, but the main character's drug use is off-putting.
• Rose, Holly Webb. NOOK. A Cybils SF pick. 
• Perdition, Ann Aguirre. I like her.
• We Are Not Eaten By Yaks, C. Alexander London. My kids both already read this! Humph.
• The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern. I think I will be glad when I have read this, although it's not really my cup of tea.
• When Molly Was a Harvey Girl, Frances Wood. RML book that is due tomorrow. I put it down somewhere last night.
• 100 Cupboards, Nathan Wilson. Another RML book due tomorrow -- I started it when Molly went AWOL. I don't have time for my foolish ways!

Reading intermittently, and deliberately slowly. These never change much:

• Radio Fifth Grade, Gordon Korman. 
• Out to Canaan, Jan Karon. 
• A General Theory of Love, Thomas Lewis. 
• The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens. 
• How To Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, Orson Scott Card. 

2014 Challenge Progress:

1. TBR Triple Dog Dare: 22 +3. Success! I made it! Hooray!
2. Cybils: 40/77.  Got the last picture book from the library, read some poetry, and finished one SF while starting another.
3. Where Am I Reading? 22/51. Ohio and Florida are there, and I'm currently reading a Kansas and a New Mexico.
4. Alphabetically Inclined: 15/26. Got the O.
5. What's In a Name?: 5/7. Edge is a shape, right?
6. Book Bingo: 22 Squares. Got the mystery. Need 7 more new releases and a few TBR.
7. Gentle Spectrum Challenge: 5/10, 9/10. I'm rocking the category section.
8. Small Fry Safari: 5/8. No change. Still need furniture, pairs, and something precious.
9. PoC Speculative Fiction 3/5: Both Broken Homes and Water Castle qualify!
10. Best of the Best 2012: 51/25.  No change. I'm inching through Carter's Big Break on audio and not enjoying The Night Circus much in print.
11. Reading My Library:  Finished one more, currently reading two more. All are due back on Thursday.