Blood Loss

Summer has definitely moved into autumn, so we have cooler days, actual rainfall, and earlier evenings. This will soon accelerate with a vengeance, and then Daylight Savings will mean the kids come home from school after dark.

I dragged my junior son off to give blood, where I failed the iron check and he got to experience the joys of a bad draw, resulting in pain, bruising, and a free ice pack (I got free iron pills).

I had fun heading out to hear my Congressman at a local town hall. He seems to be representing me in a way I approve, so I didn't bother to offer any suggestions at the mike. It does strike me as an exhausting job, especially when you have to listen to people who have no idea what they are saying. I don't think I'd have the patience.

I'm eyeing the October Readathon as a way to decisively pull out of my Summer Reading Pile madness, but even before then things are heading in a good direction.  Currently Reading is down to 27 books already, and my goal is to get back to 20 (the size of my Goodreads page).

The Book Date does a weekly roundup of what people are reading, want to read, or have read each week called It's Monday! What Are You Reading and I'm going to sign up. There's also a version that is kidlit focussed, and as I certainly qualify this week I'll check in with either Teach Mentor Text or UnLeashing Readers for their version.

This week I started:


The Giant Pumpkin Suite, Melanie Hill. An ARC I received that looks like a good read. It's set in Minnesota, and so far involves a giant pumpkin seed, a cello prodigy, and twins, so it's in a sweet spot for me (I like pumpkins, prodigies, and twins).

The Late Scholar, Jill Paton Walsh (audio). I think this is her last Harriet/Peter book based on Sayer's detective couple. I liked the previous ones, and I like British accents, so I grabbed it as my next Reading My Library audio choice.

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Lawrence Wright. A history of scientology that I'm reading for my controversial book club. I need to finish by this Tuesday.

The Heart of Valor, Tanya Huff. When I like something, I overindulge. This is book 3.

Four books is probably the most I should start each week. On the other hands, audio books for me are by nature only a single, since I listen on CD in the car and even I don't try to alternate CDs from different stories. At least not very often. So when one finishes the next begins, but they don't pile up.

I finished:



The Seventh Bride, T. Kingfisher. This was a fun audio book, and well worth the auction price I paid for it. I really like Kingfishers voice for young protagonists, which seems realistic but also innocent and inexperienced. It helps that I like most adolescents, and that the narrator's voice grew on me as the CD continued. The wicked were vanquished, the good went on with their lives, although somewhat damaged.

The Youngest Miss Ward, Joan Aiken. One of my favorite things about Aiken is that suddenly she seems to notice that she is writing within the tropes of a genre, and then suddenly breaks out in an unexpected direction. This book had all the hallmarks of a romance, with the added treat of a poet protagonist, when at the end it laughs at the idea of the romance (much to the relief of everyone who noticed all the red flags that were clearly deliberately scattered about) and twists into a cheerful resolution. Harriet may be really nice and forgiving, but she's not an idiot and she sees where her happiness lies.

Indigo, a lot of people. This was a bit heavy on the horror for my taste, and a bit light on the relationships and characters. It didn't help when some of the characters disappeared for long stretches of the story, or maybe never existed at all. The ten authors were also a distraction, as I kept wondering how they managed their collaboration. Google docs? A chain letter? I don't really recommend it, although it they do another one I'll probably pick it up.

Vinegar Girl, Anne Tyler. This didn't really stick the ending, perhaps because Shakespeare had determined the resolution centuries ago. I could see a possibility for something between the characters, but it blossomed much sooner that seemed realistic and without any real reason other than the author had to get to the Act 5 speeches part.

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, Rodman Philbrick. This read to me like the kind of historical fiction I liked as a kid, with an engaging protagonist and an avalanche of coincidences that get the child hero to as many important historical events as remotely feasible. A dash of character growth (in this case, a very light dash) and the book is served. I'm not sure how it won a Newbery; it didn't seem exceptional although it wasn't annoying. 

Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen, Wendelin Van Draanen. My SIL gave my son the first Sammy Keyes book. He read the first few, and I went through the entire series. I really like her independence and the variety of almost-believable problems she deals with while solving mysteries.

The Heart of Valor, Tanya Huff. Not quite as perfectly made for me as book 2, this one also delves into galactic conspiracies and wider concerns, which make for interesting reading. I've ordered the library to bring me the next book ASAP.

I started 4 and finished 7. By next summer I should have this reading pile under control!

Picture books:



Strange, Unusual, Gross, & Cool Animals, Animal Planet. This Cybils finalists seems oddly situated among other more comprehensive texts; I treated it as a lengthy picture book. I can see animal loving preschoolers enjoying it either with an adult or on their own, as the pictures stand alone even if you can't read the science trivia that goes with them.

Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White, Melissa Sweet. A more conventional children's nonfiction Cybils finalist, this biography does a good job focussing on how the children's books were written while also giving a sense of White's overall life and career. The illustrations definitely evoke the sense of his books, giving me a strong memory of how it felt to read the books as a child.

Bookmarks moved in:






Alliance of Equals, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. Part 14-17. Padi has another source of nightmares now -- the guard's gleeful description of torture sunk deep.

Harmful to Minors, Judith Levine. I find myself uncomfortable with the idea of children having sex, but if the definition of children includes people up to age 17 (or older), then things start becoming ridiculous. Should all 14 years be barred from sex because some are too young to handle it?

Merely a Marriage, Jo Beverley.  The problem is not strong enough to hold my attention. She's tall. He regrets his previous wife's death by childbirth. This seems like a short story, not a novel.

The Way Into Chaos, Harry Connolly. My favorite group are the teenage girls crossing the wilderness.

The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown. Joe moves toward the University of Washington. I like the story, although I still don't care much about rowing.

Captive Prince, C.S. Pacat. The captive prince attempts to make a connection.

The Murder of Mary Russell, Laurie R. King. Mary Russell seems to have disappeared from this book. Perhaps she really was murdered.

Unbound, Jim Hines. Wow, Hines, you killed of a big player. Brave writing.

Hostage, Sherwood Smith and Rachel Manija Brown. There are a lot of people having character arcs here.

Someplace to Be Fying, Charles de Lint. I keep forgetting about the details of the murder mystery.

Virtues of War, Bennett Coles. I'm not sure why we are spending so much time socializing in a bar. There's wars to be fought!

Legend, Marie Lu. Privilege is hard to see from the inside.

Flame in the Mist, Renee Ahdieh. My speed on this book is about to slow since the library has called it home. I have requested it back again.

Three Parts Dead, Max Gladstone. My attendance at book club has been flaky (why are back-to-school meetings so commonly on Tuesdays?) so I haven't made much progress.

These I'm barely reading; I use them as palate cleansers between books I'm actually reading.



Kenilworth, Sir Walter Scott. Who to nominate for honors means guessing whom the queen wants you to put forth.

The Emerald Atlas, John Stephens.

A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George.

The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.

2017 Challenge Progress:

1. Cybils 2016!   23/ 107-ish. I found and finished the missing nonfiction picture book, and then read another.
2. Reading My Library:  Still looking for Out of Range. Started the next audio book, Late Scholar.
3. Where Am I Reading?: 31/51. The Figg book spent a plurality in Maine, so I'm counting it. Vinegar Girl stayed in Maryland, as I hoped. I have my eyes on a Georgia book.

Fall Begins -- No More Shorts

I spent most of the week transitioning out of committee work (woot!) and also being a tough parent, which is more unusual than you'd expect because my kids tend to be wonderful teens who do what they should without me wagging a tongue or lifting a finger. This week my tongue had to wag a bit ("weren't you going to?" "when were you planning to?" and "how do you intend to?"). Hopefully that's the last time I need to step up and be responsible!

The weather has cooled down and we even got some rain, so the world is acknowledging that summer is over. I had fun cooking with my niece, although we apparently need to work on our upper arm strength so that jars are not as intimidating. Or maybe I should switch to tomato sauce only in cans.

The fall out from summer reading is still here, but I'm slowing getting on top of things. Currently Reading is down to 30 books already, and I'm actively working on most of them. I supposed most people would try to finish one thing at a time, but I'm not most people. I'm only one people.

The Book Date does a weekly roundup of what people are reading, want to read, or have read each week called It's Monday! What Are You Reading and I'm going to sign up. There's also a version that is kidlit focussed, and as I started and finished a YA book, finished a kidlit book, and read a bunch of picture books I'll check in with either Teach Mentor Text or UnLeashing Readers for their version. I feel my kidlit creds are safe this week.

This week I started:



Ms Marvel Vol 7: Damage Per Second, G. Willow Wilson. I am keeping up with the Ms Marvels!

The Better Part of Valor, Tanya Huff. The second in a series personally recommended to me by my librarians. (They actually recommended the anthology of the first two books.)

Only two books! See, I'm not crazy. And I finished both of them, see --

I finished:



Ms Marvel Vol 7: Damage Per Second, G. Willow Wilson. Fun, although a bit didactic. Ms Marvel faces the tough decision to not aid a blackmailing villain, even if it means her friend will suffer. And then she and her gaming guild go on a quest to make the internet nice.

Vanishing Time, Katharine Britton. This Reading My Library book is the story of a woman searching for a vanished son in South Carolina. I liked the writing and the individual scenes, but I found Cara too alien to really identify with; she's a devoted mom to her young son, the kind of woman who sniffs her kid's laundry when he goes off for a trip with his philandering dad. She's confused by visions and ghosts when lurching around South Carolina, so she decides to muddy the waters by drinking bourbon before driving off to an assignation with an old spirit woman. The people around her, while sympathetic, clearly think she's loony and I can't blame them. There's a romance set up with the controlling man who lies to her to protect her from her feelings, but no one else seems worried about that so maybe he is perfect for her. Also, Cara behaves horribly to her best friend, which bothered me. At the end she promises her friend (who is driving down from Massachusetts because Cara has made several very alarming phone calls) that she's coming home, but then decides to spend more time with the controlling man and once again leaves her poor friend waiting at the airport.

The Better Part of Valor, Tanya Huff. My librarians are awesome; this was exactly what I wanted. Military SF with little angst, fun ideas, and good triumphing after only a few sacrifices.

Dragon Steel, Laurence Yep. This seems almost familiar, but I think I am recognizing the author's style rather than the plot. I'm fairly sure that I read the first book a few decades ago, and I had no trouble jumping into this sequel with Shimmer and her human friend Thorne finding that the dragons are not as happy to welcome them back from exile as she had hoped. I like the standard format of adventure and character growth -- it reminds me of my childhood reading.

I started 2 and finished 4. By next summer I should have this reading pile under control!

Picture books:



The Inventors of Lego Toys, Erin Hagar. This Cybils NF finalist has a good balance between a biography of the people and a history of the company, with information given in compact bursts with engaging and appropriate illustrations.

Raybot and Weebot!, Adam F. Watkins. Thinly veiled parable of a pesky younger brother who really brings joy to the family is redeemed by energetic and appealing illustrations and the fun of living in a junkyard as a robot.

Inside This Book (are three books), Barney Saltzberg. As always I am a sucker for meta. The dwindling books show three different sibling personalities. The youngest has suspiciously good drawing skills but I will forgive a good dinosaur story much.

Leave Me Alone, Vera Brosgol. Grandma power with fun pictures and aliens. As a parent, I adore this story of an adult seeking peace, and children would go along for her repeated attempts to avoid helpful companions.

My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay, Cari Best. Blind kid runs in school race after overcoming difficulties. The friends don't actually have that big a role in the book. It's cute enough.

Floodwaters and Flames, Lois Huey. This Cybils NF finalist gives an interesting tale of the Dayton Ohio flood, with clear stories told from a variety of viewpoints and photos illustrating each point. Captions indicate the difference between the image and the story, with clear lines showing where the information is coming from. Most people were chosen to show what was happening in various sections of town, although the inclusion of Orville Wright was clearly for his celebrity.

Bookmarks moved in:






Alliance of Equals, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. Part 14-15. Stepmom up on the ship is getting warnings of trouble.

Harmful to Minors, Judith Levine. No one really knows what children experience sexually, so laws are based on what adults are comfortable admitting. This can cause problems when reality intrudes.

Merely a Marriage, Jo Beverley.  Decent tall dudes are in short supply (ha ha -- see what I did there?). And the attraction to her True Love remains inconveniently strong.

The Way Into Chaos, Harry Connolly. OK, I did not see that coming. Good job, Connolly. And I like this Tyr.

The Seventh Bride, T. Kingfisher. I'm almost done -- it's the wedding scene.

The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown. Lots of detail on Joe's background, with some jumps forward to how that affects his rowing.

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, Rodman Philbrick. I like the Quaker guy and his Underground Railroad station; I hope Homer can talk himself back into safety.

Indigo, a lot of people. OK, stuff is escalating.

Vinegar Girl, Anne Tyler. Tyler has not started to redeem Pyotr yet, so I hope this starts soon.

Captive Prince, C.S. Pacat. Our princes are not getting along.

The Murder of Mary Russell, Laurie R. King. Why love is a bad reason to do anything.

The Youngest Miss Ward, Joan Aiken. A snow storm gives Harriett a nice few days, which are probably the only bright spot for the next few years.

Unbound, Jim Hines. I don't really understand the puzzle, but I figure that's Isaac's job.

Hostage, Sherwood Smith and Rachel Manija Brown. A kidnapping does explain the title of the book.

Someplace to Be Fying, Charles de Lint. There's a murder mystery, and there's mythical bird creatures. The former is fine, but the latter is what grabs my interest.

Virtues of War, Bennett Coles. I'm still stuck on the war atrocities. There's also an annoying ambitious and unscrupulous officer, but the war atrocities seem a bigger deal.

Legend, Marie Lu. The meet-cute is about to explode.

Flame in the Mist, Renee Ahdieh. I am not reading this sibling relationship as healthy, and I think the sister is in over her head. Not her fault; she has a serious training deficit.

Three Parts Dead, Max Gladstone. Is this going to be grim-dark? I can only handle one book with war atrocities at a time. Luckily I'm not supposed to read this fast since it's for my Tuesday club.

These I'm barely reading; I use them as palate cleansers between books I'm actually reading.



Kenilworth, Sir Walter Scott. The queen resents it if you don't dress up for her visit, and a feeble excuse like being locked away from your clothes won't fly.

Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen, Wendelin Van Draanen.

The Emerald Atlas, John Stephens.

A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George.

The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox. I don't actually worry about the math. I remember learning it once and I trust past me'd understanding.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.

2017 Challenge Progress:

1. Cybils 2016!   21/ 107-ish. I am working on the nonfiction picture books, but I seemed to have misplaced one. Which is impressive considering it's a giant picture book.
2. Reading My Library:  Finished Vanishing Time but haven't found Out of Range which is getting concerning. Could I have left it in the taxi?
3. Where Am I Reading?: 29/51. Vanishing Time gave me South Carolina. Working on Maryland. The Figg book is still in Maine, but I'm only about 1/3 of the way through.