Home Again, Jiggety Jog

Here in the grey period between Christmas and New Year I'm relaxing at home, ignoring any chores, and reading whatever I want. The boys have gone off to their dad's for New Years and the cats are happy to snuggle after their week with only each other for company.

I had a great Christmas with my family in Salt Lake. My brother and sister-in-law are amazing hosts, the kids were all lovely with only a few squabbles. Well, there aren't really any kids any more -- the newer adults were as much fun to be around as my siblings and their spouses. We went to see the new Star Wars movie, failed an escape room, and dragged the two 21+ niblings off to a neat bar that masquerades as a speakeasy and tried out some fancy cocktails. I gave the kids flashlights and packing knives and a t-shirt each. Oh, and a book, of course. I told everyone that if they didn't like their book they could give it back to me, but sadly no one took me up on that.

The drive home was pleasant -- my brother never gave up the wheel until he pulled into the ferry station where the boat was waiting to take him to his island. Well, it waited until he dashed aboard at any rate. I think he was intimidated by the lack of leg room in any seat but the drivers', but I like being a passenger and he likes avoiding my driving. We listened to a fun cosy mystery (a Daisy Dalrymple) story all the way home, although he jumped out of the car about 90 seconds before the end.

My currently reading shelf has shot up to the mid-twenties, mainly a hangover from the Cybils (which are announced tomorrow!). At some point I should notice that I have an avalanche of book clubs the first week of January, but that's next year! Next decade even! I haven't started anything.

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 so I'll sign up there. Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers. 

Started: 



Lord Darcy Investigates, Randall Garratt. Book from my shelves.

Bloodshot, Cherie Priest. By the next Foolscap GoH.

To Davy Jones Below, Carola Dunn. Another audio for the drive.

Masques, Patricia Briggs. Finishing off a set.


Completed:



A Light In the Darkness, Albert Marrin. Cybils nonfiction. There was no happy ending. I mean, the Nazis were eventually defeated, but not until after the titular Light in the Darkness is killed in Treblinka along with all the orphans he had hoped to help. Along with most of the residents of the Jewish Ghetto. And Warsaw. My only quibble is that the book works better as a history of the Holocaust than as a biography of Janusz Korczak, who mostly disappears from the narrative after he and his orphans are locked up to starve in the ghetto.

Damsel in Distress, Carola Dunn. Audio for car drive. We finished it on the way back. Daisy and her chums save the day while sprinkling delicious period slang all about. The fun in this one is that they hook up with some Americans so there are two different flavors of slang getting flung about. Gosh!

To Davy Jones Below, Carola Dunn. Having finished one, we started another. Poor Kevin got out of the car 2 minutes before it ended, but I think he got most of the effect. This one has more Americans, but sadly they don't talk as much. I remembered a bit of the plot so I got to watch it unfold while sorta understanding what was going on, which was a comfortable feeling.

The Electric War, Mike Winchell. Cybils nonfiction. The twists and turns of the development of electricity and then the electric grid, with Edison showing little concern of ethics as he pushes his way forward. Having met Edison in a previous book, I have to say he comes off better in the Paris World Fair than he does in the following Chicago one, and it's too bad Westinghouse didn't try harder to make things up to Tesla.


Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:






Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 76/? Baen's podcast serial. I didn't listen to this on the drive as the other people in the car had missed the 75 previous installments.

Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 4/10 discs. Finished the third disk!

Book Lust, Nancy Pearl. Still reading in tiny bursts.

One Good Dragon Deserves Another, Rachel Aaron. The plan is a bit tricky..

The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang. Last month's Sword and Laser pick. Waiting to recover it.

Tropic of Serpents, Marie Brennan. The library called this home.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke. The audio arrived as I drove into the Christmas home, but the allure of Daisy Dalrymple was too strong.

ConCom: Conflict Communication, Rory Miller. This got left behind. I'll try to finish before the New Year. I have two days left, so this could happen.

Once a Spy, Mary Jo Putney. I'm enjoying this although I didn't get much reading done over the holiday. The romantic pair is a bit long in the tooth -- just about thirty! They've decided that they are too old for sex, so they will have a marriage of convenience. And then they start to realize what kind of book they are in....

Brave Face, Shaun Hutchinson. Cybils nonfiction longlist. I've read the beginning, some of the middle, and the end. And I read some more of the middle.


Picture Books / Short Stories:

None.


Palate Cleansers

These books I'm barely reading; I use them as palate cleansers between books I'm actually reading. Of course, since I was off having Christmas in Utah, they were untouched.



A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George.

The Educated Child, William Bennett.

Cookie, Jacqueline Wilson.

Give All to Love, Patricia Veryan.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Carol Rifka Brunt.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2017. Nothing.
2. Cybils 2018.  Nothing. Yikes!
3. Reading My Library. Nothing.

Merry Christmas!

We got a feeble amount of decorations up, so I guess I'll declare victory. I found the wreath for the door and the lights for the outside. The pine tree I've usually selected as the primary outside decorating stuff is now gap in front of the house, as it grew too big and started attacking the architecture. It was funny how all of us grabbed some stuff and then stood sadly outside looking at the hole. We threw the lights and baubles on the bushes that have stayed small enough.

Then we packed up the car and picked up my brother and drove to Christmas! It was a long drive (especially since we had a late start) but we made it. Go us! It was great to see the extended family, including the I had dropped off at the airport in the morning but who got there much sooner than I did.

My currently reading shelf has shot up to the mid-twenties because I want to read a least part of all the Cybils books, but really I'm only actively reading about five books. Of course, Santa might bring me something...

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 so I'll sign up there. Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers. If I rush over there I can sign up before the Monday lists close -- I'm a bit behind this week.

Started: 



Playlist, James Rhodes. Cybils Nonfiction.

Once a Spy, Mary Jo Putney. Romance by an author I like. Just because.

Beyond Gender Binaries, Rita Santos. Cybils nonfiction.

Glimmer of Hope, The March For Our Lives Founders. Cybils nonfiction.

We Are Here to Stay, Susan Kuklin. Cybils nonfiction.

The Electric War, Mike Winchell. Cybils nonfiction.

Damsel in Distress, Carola Dunn. Audio for car drive.

Completed:



Enemy Child, Andrea Warren. Cybils nonfiction. The story of an American congressman who was imprisoned in the detention centers with his family during World War II because his parents had emigrated from Japan. They were lucky in that their neighbors in San Jose didn't steal or destroy their property, so they had something to return to after their time behind barbed wire. It's a good history, but felt more like a book for junior high than high school.

Playlist, James Rhodes. Cybils Nonfiction. This is a love story to classical music (well, through several periods including "classical" but us laypeople are sloppy with language), especially played by the piano. In vibrantly illustrated pages Rhodes shares brief histories of his favorite composers in a style aimed at teens, and then goes into detail on why he loves two of their pieces. There's a spotify playlist to accompany it, and he was so persuasive I signed up and listened along. He does a great job of explaining his reactions to the music and what is going on and when to look for particular musical events.

Captured, Alvin Townley. Cybils nonfiction. I had vaguely heard of the American airman who blinked "TORTURE" out when his North Vietnamese captors coerced him into a propaganda news stunt. This book goes into detail, from the mission when he was shot down through his years of imprisonment in various camps of different levels of barbarity and torture through his eventual freedom. At times it's harrowing, as the torture sessions are vividly described, and at times moving as he uses his faith and respect for his country for strength to carry on.

Beyond Gender Binaries, Rita Santos. Cybils nonfiction. A look at attitudes and definitions of non binary people in societies all over the world. Sometimes these definitions are current, sometimes almost stamped out by colonialism, some stamped out but making a return. Seeing the history of non binary people and the different but accepting ways society carved out places for them should reassure both nonbinary and cisgender kids that this is part of being human.

Glimmer of Hope, The March For Our Lives Founders. Cybils nonfiction. The kids (not kids much longer -- they are adults now but I'm old) describe how their early steps into advocacy moved. I'm really hoping that in years from now this seems like the start of change. In the meantime it's a glimpse into how ordinary people can jump into politics and make a statement.

We Are Here to Stay, Susan Kuklin. Cybils nonfiction. Essays about young undocumented immigrants, describing how they got to America and what their legal worries are, but also talking about their dreams, ambitions, and how their gray legal status circumscribes their lives. The author intended her photographs to accompany the essays, but the abandonment of DACA has made several people's lives more precarious, so instead start blank outlines depict where the images would have gone. It's a grim reminder but does detract from the impact. It's heartbreaking to see the kids who are trapped between their parent's (often well-justified) decisions and the laws.



Bookmarks Moved In:





Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 76/? Baen's podcast serial. Hey, they skipped a podcast! Some kind of glitch at Apple, I guess.

Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 3/10 discs. Finished the third disk!

Book Lust, Nancy Pearl. Still reading in tiny bursts.

One Good Dragon Deserves Another, Rachel Aaron. They have a plan.

The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang. Last month's Sword and Laser pick. Waiting to recover it.

Tropic of Serpents, Marie Brennan. Like The Poppy War the library is calling this home.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke. The audio arrived as I drove into the Christmas home. Maybe on the way back.

ConCom: Conflict Communication, Rory Miller. This got left behind. I'll try to finish before the New Year.

Brave Face, Shaun Hutchinson. Cybils nonfiction longlist. I've read the beginning, some of the middle, and the end.

A Light In the Darkness, Albert Marrin. Cybils nonfiction. Any book about the Holocaust is grim enough that I don't race through it. Well researched and written, this book is heartbreaking on many levels.


Picture Books / Short Stories:



"Alpha and Omega,", Patricia Briggs. I got the first novella in the Anna & Charles series for the drive. My brother has read some of the books, but he thinks he skipped the introductory story. So he knew where things were going but it was a relaxing and pleasant listen.


Palate Cleansers

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



A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George. The end is in sight!

The Educated Child, William Bennett.

Cookie, Jacqueline Wilson.

Give All to Love, Patricia Veryan.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Carol Rifka Brunt.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2017. Nothing.
2. Cybils 2018.  Nothing.  I had some library failures, but I'll have to order them back. Of course, the new ones will be here next week.
3. Reading My Library. Nothing.