Family Assemble!

It's always fun so see my boys, so I was glad when they came home from college. I even managed to feed them before they zipped up to see their little sisters at their dad's house.

I hit bit of a reading block this week. I was feeling a bit down in general, and just couldn't settle to anything, including any book. The only thing that had interest was the first Sookie Stackhouse book, so I leaned into that. I read the first ten, and dug up most of the short stories along the way. I hope that this indulgence will end with me getting productive again, before my house falls apart, all my responsibilities blow up, and my library books come due. Also I need to cook a lot for Thanksgiving.

My currently reading shelf continues to hover around 20, but really I'm only actively reading about five books.

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 belatedly try to sign up there. Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers. (It's a sign of my weak nature that I feel better that Teach Mentor Texts is also slow this week. It's not just me! Although I'm sure her excuses are better).

Started: 






Living Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris. Book 2 of the Sookie Stackhouse books.

Club Dead, Charlaine Harris. Book 3.

Dead to the World, Charlaine Harris. Book 4.

Dead as a Doornail, Charlaine Harris. Book 5.

Definitely Dead, Charlaine Harris. Book 6.

All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris. Book 7.

From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris. Book 8.

Dead and Gone, Charlaine Harris. Book 9.

Dead in the Family, Charlaine Harris. Book 10.


Completed:





A Velocity of Being, Maria Popova. Cybils nonfiction longlist. I'm glad I read this slowly to savor -- it's a collection of essay/letters and art from creative people about their relationship to books, written to people who may still be establishing that relationship. It's lovely and interesting and I have no idea who the audience is.

Sookie Stackhouse Books 1-10, Charlaine Harris. I've read these before, and I remember that by the end of the series I found it hard to keep up with all the different characters and events. But it turns out if you read them all within a few days it's much easier to keep up with events. I bet people can guess what the books read from Monday through Wednesday looks like. I hope this has broken my reading block so I can get back to my regular life!

Bookmarks Moved In:





Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 68-9/? Baen's podcast serial. The companions object to the technique our hero used to grow a conscience. He decides some slaughter will make it better.

Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 3/10 discs. The short guy continues to be unappealing.

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

One Good Dragon Deserves Another, Rachel Aaron. Confidence in Bob is getting shaken.

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

Brave Face, Shaun Hutchinson. Cybils nonfiction longlist. Wow, this kid does not do himself any favors, and the world rarely does either.

Tropic of Serpents, Marie Brennan. Just for fun. I'm thinking I might like the audio better.

1919, Martin Sandler. Cyblis nonfiction longlist. I'm enjoying and learning a lot from this.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke. For my Tuesday night book club. I suggested this, so I feel bad about how little I've read. But the call of Sookie was too strong.

Picture Books / Short Stories:






"Fairy Dust," Charlaine Harris. Tasty tasty fairies.

"Dancers in the Dark," Charlaine Harris. A stalker, an Irish vampire romantic, and a girl on the run find love, death, and a career.

"Dracula Night," Charlaine Harris. Silly but fun. I like Sookie when she is messing with Eric.

"One Word Answer," Charlaine Harris. Turns out Sookie is pretty smart. And I like the insight look where Harris talks about the story and realizes that she hid important series information in a short story that people might miss (I did, the first time!).

"Tacky," Charlaine Harris. Wedding story that includes carnage and a new romance. I admire the lightness of touch that Harris uses to combine these.

"Lucky," Charlaine Harris. An exciting story about an insurance agent. No, really.

"Dahlia Underground," Charlaine Harris. Dahlia is flexible despite her age. Already she has a broader appreciation of Weres, and now she considers that a few humans may be worth talking to.

"Gift Wrap," Charlaine Harris. A little sexy, a little fun, and a little sign that the fairies are completely alien to Sookie.

"Two Blondes," Charlaine Harris. Sookie and Pam bond through mutual cleverness and agility.

"Small Town Wedding," Charlaine Harris. Sam proves that he is far less socially skilled that Sookie. Or his mom, and she has some blind spots. But even some human pull themselves together in this one.

Palate Cleansers

These books I'm barely reading; I use them as palate cleansers between books I'm actually reading. And since I wasn't home, I didn't read them this week.



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.
3. Reading My Library. Nothing.
4. KCLS Ten to Try. All done!

Countdown to Turkey Time

I had my elementary school book clubs this week, and I managed to make cookies and read the books! Turnout was good for both groups, although a lot of the kids hadn't finished the books. I happily spoiled everything for them (Clementine doesn't die!).

I also went to three movies, proving that I'm getting my money's worth from my Century Club pass at Regal. I saw Playing With Fire with Linda, Charlie's Angel's with Susan, and Terminator: Dark Fate with Kevin. All were visually pleasing, and none had plots that bore examining. The popcorn was good and I was happy.

I didn't read much; somehow it was hard to settle to anything. Instead I enjoyed the movies and the latest season of Great British Baking Show on Netflix.

My currently reading shelf continues to hover around 20, but really I'm only actively reading about five books.

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

Started: 




Grave Surprise, Charlaine Harris. I eventually figured out that this was the second book.

The Ghost's Grave, Peg Kehret. From the Talbot Hill Book club (Tuesday edition).

A Velocity of Being, Maria Popova. Cybils nonfiction longlist.

Grave Secret, Charlaine Harris. And this is the fourth one.

Clementine, Sara Pennypacker. Talbot Hill Book Club book (Thursday version).

Tropic of Serpents, Marie Brennan. Just for fun.

1919, Martin Sandler. Cyblis nonfiction longlist.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke. For my Tuesday night book club.

Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris. Audio for car.


Completed:




Grave Surprise, Charlaine Harris. There's dead bodies, and grieving people, and a lot of complications around that, but mostly there is Harper and her brother Tolliver who are beginning to acknowledge that even though his dad married her mom when they were teens, they have feelings that aren't really appropriate for siblings. So maybe they aren't siblings? In the meantime, no one better murder either of them while they figure this stuff out. It's a nicely creepy book, in that the levels of uncomfortableness run across many of the story lines.

Dissenter on the Bench, Victoria Ortiz. Cybils nonfiction longlist. Ortiz uses important cases in Ginsberg's career (as a lawyer, a judge, and a supreme court justice) to shed light on her life. Each chapter features both a case (Ortiz prefers one that concern young people) and then weaves back between the results and implications and a section of Ginsberg's life, from youth through old age. It's a good way to give both the sense of her as a personality and of her impact on the law.

Ice Cold Grave, Charlaine Harris. Mostly on audio. I was pretty far into this before I realized I had skipped one, so at first I was a bit surprised at how fast Harper and Connolly had moved on their feelings. And the sheer horror the mass murder scene was also really dark, as was the plot point around the troubled boy that Zelda figures will be a future serial killer. He has different plans, though. It was almost a relief when the last bad guy kidnapped Harper and she went racing across the winter landscape to save herself. Oh, she and Tolliver are definitely a couple now.

The Ghost's Grave, Peg Kehret. A good turn out, although many hadn't read the book. I got them talking about reader expectations, particularly from cover art, and whether or not the book met those expectations. We also talked about older relatives.

Clementine, Sara Pennypacker. Another good turn out, which was surprising, but again many hadn't read the book. The older kids were contemptuous of little Clementine, but I got the younger ones talking about whether kids should be judged on results (mostly bad) or intentions (mostly good) and whether principals are their friends (most agreed they were. Schools have improved from my youth). Some of them now want to go back and read the book.

Grave Secret, Charlaine Harris. The mystery of the last Harper Connelley book didn't really work for me. The coincidence of the links between their job and their sister and their dad strained my credulity, and I really need Harper and Tolliver to stop referring to each other as brother and sister. They may be comfortable with it but I'm not! But it was fun to see Harper interact with Manfred and to have to take the lead when her brother gets injured. I am clearly still on my Charlaine Harris kick.


Bookmarks Moved In:




Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 67/? Baen's podcast serial. Our hero has reluctantly decided to defend some innocents. This may not turn out well for him and his companions, who were not consulted.

Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 3/10 discs. The male character seems like a jerk. The person reading him does his best, but he's just not someone I'd want to be around.

Book Lust, Nancy Pearl. Got into the Cs at the movie theater.

One Good Dragon Deserves Another, Rachel Aaron. It's a battle of the seers! Bob and his pigeons against the world.

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

Brave Face, Shaun Hutchinson. Cybils nonfiction longlist. This looks like a grim book about a very unhappy life. I hope he continues past to show his future!


Picture Books:

None this week.

Palate Cleansers

These books I'm barely reading; I use them as palate cleansers between books I'm actually reading. And since I wasn't home, I didn't read them this week.



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.
3. Reading My Library. Nothing.
4. KCLS Ten to Try. All done!