Monday, January 27, 2020

Skipped a Week!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

We had a light dusting of snow last week, causing schools to close and panic to engulf the city. Well, really just my house, because I am a huge snow-a-phobe and it took me two week to recover from the psychic shock of seeing SNOW on my lawn. And my road.

I also saw a zillion movies during the past fortnight, since I went to the movies with my friend Linda both Tuesdays, and then with my book club, and then with my son, and then with just me, and then with my BIL. So I saw Cats, Dolittle, Little Women, JoJo Rabbit,  Just Mercy, and 1917. Good thing I like popcorn. Actually, I always get popcorn if there are going to be tense moments, as it is my emotional support snack. I almost ran out during 1917 which would have made things hard for me.

Little Women was a good discussion movie -- we had people who remembered the book vividly, one woman who hadn't read it at all, and a range in the middle. So we approached it from different angles but all enjoyed it. My sister had the most erudite comment -- she thinks at the end the camera is showing us Louisa Alcott instead of Jo March. I just thought we had gone imaginary right before the rush to the train station. Anyway, a good retelling and a good movie.

Cats and Dolittle were colorful and amusing, if a little too deep in the uncanny valley for me. And the latter had a fart joke that went a bit too long for my liking.

The other three were grimmer stories about war and injustice, but definitely worth seeing.

I went to two other book clubs -- the elementary school one where we discussed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. We had two tables -- one for people who preferred the book, the other for movie-lovers (well, some kids sat at a third table because they were indecisive). We talk about both the wizard school and about the differences between movies and books and what we like about both. And then I went to The River Runs Under It, which is the best name for a book club ever and is held at my local library, which has a river running under it. The book was Gift From the Sea by Anne Lindbergh and I cheated because I read that years ago.

It's time for me to get ready for my local convention, Foolscap, which is a weekend of talking about books and nerdy things and why we like them. If you are near Seattle I recommend it highly!

I managed to drop my currently reading shelf down to 20, giving me the coveted single-page view on goodreads. Of these at least seven are books I'm

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. I've got plenty of kidlit to show off this fortnight.

Started: 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)Grave Sight Part 2 (Harper Connelly Graphic Novel, #1.2)Grave Sight Part 3 (Harper Connelly Graphic Novel, #1.3)Grave Surprise (Harper Connelly Graphic Novel #2)
The Tea Dragon Society (Tea Dragon, #1)The Witch Boy (The Witch Boy, #1)The Cardboard Kingdom
Insignificant Events in the Life of a CactusA Little Light Mischief (The Turner Series, #3.5)Hellbent (Cheshire Red Reports, #2)
Kill the Farm Boy (The Tales of Pell, #1)The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club, #1)The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling. I'm not really going to reread this (I reread it a few months ago), but I'm preparing for my elementary book club. I also rewatched the movie and it's fun to compare and contrast what and how they are different.  So I'm skipping around to look at scenes I remember differently or found interesting in the movie.

Grave Sight (Graphic Novel, Vol 2 and 3), Charlaine Harris. Finishing up the graphic version of this book that I reread last year.

Grave Surprise (Graphic Novel), Charlaine Harris. Hey, Hoopla had the next one available! Looks like there aren't any more though.

The Tea Dragon Society, Katie O'Neill. Cybils middle grade graphic novel from 2018.

The Witch Boy, Molly Ostertag. Cybils middle grade graphic novel from 2018.

Cardboard Kingdom, Chad Sell. Cybils middle grade graphic novel from 2018.

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Dusti Bowling. Cybils middle grade book from 2017.

A Little Light Mischief, Cat Sebastian. Thin novella by an author I like.

---

Hellbent, Cherie Priest. By the current Foolscap GoH.

Kill the Farm Boy, Delilah Dawson and Kevin Hearne. My next RML book.

The Bromance Book Club, Lyssa Kay Adams. Selection for this month's Cloudy with a Chance of Clit Lit and the Renton Romance Reading Series in a few months.

The Princess Saves Herself in This One, Amanda Lovelace. Poetry for the Torches and Pitchforks book club.



Completed:

Grave Sight Part 2 (Harper Connelly Graphic Novel, #1.2)Grave Sight Part 3 (Harper Connelly Graphic Novel, #1.3)Grave Surprise (Harper Connelly Graphic Novel #2)Archangel's War (Guild Hunter, #12)
The Tea Dragon Society (Tea Dragon, #1)The Witch Boy (The Witch Boy, #1)The Cardboard Kingdom
ConCom: Conflict Communication A New Paradigm in Conscious CommunicationInsignificant Events in the Life of a CactusOne Good Dragon Deserves Another (Heartstrikers, #2)
A Little Light Mischief (The Turner Series, #3.5)The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club, #1)The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1)

Archangel's War, Nalini Singh. This is either the end of a major resting point for this series, with a big bad battle (that dragged on a bit too long for my taste) and shake ups of the main characters, who deal with a wing issue and shifting alliances among arch angels. It's a fun read for the apocalypse series that doesn't know it's a dystopia -- everyone is very happy with their angelic overlords. I mean protectors. And the competence of the characters is always prized, rewarded, and ample.

Grave Sight (Graphic Novel, Vol 2 and 3), Charlaine Harris. I found these on Hoopla after reading the first one on paper, and I'm startling to learn my way around that site. I like the artists view of these familiar characters and enjoyed seeing what changes they made to turn this into a comic rather than a novel. I'm keeping my image of Harper but I like their Tolliver.

Grave Surprise (Graphic Novel), Charlaine Harris.This one showed up as one book!  I'm gettng good at reading on Hoopla. Again, I like seeing a different take on a familiar story using different beats. And I actually found the final confrontation clearer in this version, which is amazing given how bad I am at reading comics.

The Tea Dragon Society, Katie O'Neill. 2018 Cybils graphic novel. I almost put this in the picture book category, but it's sophisticated enough to count as a book. I found it languid but pretty, although I did have to page around a few times to figure out who was who. But quiet, color-appreciating kids should enjoy this luminous story.

The Witch Boy, Molly Ostertag. 2018 Cybils graphic novel. The tropes are familiar (the family assigns roles by sex, but Our Hero rebels!) but the execution is skilled. But I enjoyed watching the boy fight both to love his family and be true to himself, and the family respond both with irritation and affection. I'm not sure what the grandmother has been doing for the past forty years, but who cares about her when the young kids are having assorted crisis?

Cardboard Kingdom, Chad Sell. 2018 Cybils graphic novel. This was popular with my college son, who read it with his inner ten year old. I worried it would be too earnest, but I liked the varied kids and their stories and the feel of imagination and social interaction among kids on a block.

ConCom: Conflict Communication, Rory Miller. I went back and reread from the middle so I could get the full effect, and I liked it. It gives a good paradigm for approaching social conflict, and also guidelines to recognize when conflict has a darker, more violent possibility.

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Dusti Bowling. Aven has no arms, but she does have amazing parents dedicated to making sure she has a full life. So she has a good support system, which any middle schooler needs when entering a new school system in a new state. She finds her friends among the outcasts before moving more strongly into the school main stream. There's a rather silly mystery sub plot, but the main part is about her growing into her new life. I'm interested in the next book, where she starts high school.

One Good Dragon Deserves Another, Rachel Aaron. I like that Julius's superpower is that he's decent. No dragon would ever expect that, so it makes him unpredictable. Now I want to read the next one.

---

A Little Light Mischief, Cat Sebastian. I had forgotten which series this spun off from, so I don't know where the hook actual came from. But it was a pleasant story of two women finding love, self-confidence and employment together, and I was willing to accept the abrupt crumbling of the villains before the power of self assertion and a lack of fear. And at the end I recognized the Turners so I felt all included. Cat Sebastian remains a favorite writer.

The Bromance Book Club, Lyssa Kay Adams. Modern romance using the gimmick of a group of men working to help their relationships by studying romance books. The actual book is much better than the fake regency that is their text to help the hero save his marriage after his wife kicks him out. At the end, he realizes that she also has to fix her stuff as well, which is a nice beat so that the hero voice doesn't take too much of the stage over the heroine. The twins are a little too cute, but kids are hard and maybe I just don't know how the rich really do things. I found the character Mack to be abhorrent, although for some reason he is supposed to be a friend (?) and he gets the next book.

The Princess Saves Herself in This One, Amanda Lovelace. Poems about being a girl and struggling to accept oneself and one's body and to reject the judgements of others, even others in authority over or with affection towards us. Most of it sounds like the anguish of the very young, and I am old and jaded. Also the affectation of putting the titles on the bottom seems silly.


Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Son of the Black Sword (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior, #1)Tender MorselsBook Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason
The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)The Tropic of Serpents (The Memoirs of Lady Trent, #2)Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Masques (Sianim, #1)


Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 78/? Baen's podcast serial. It feels like things are wrapping up.

Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 4/10 discs. I think the male character is actually someone different than the guy on the first few discs, which explains why I found his reactions so implausible. OK, resetting my expectations.

Book Lust, Nancy Pearl. Zoomed to the "L" sections. And my to-read list is growing...

The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang. Last month's Sword and Laser pick. It's next on my e-reader.

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

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke. I'm at 2.0 speed but clearly will not finish this before the library wants the audio back. Unless I take a short commute to visit my brother in Utah this seems unlikely. Also it is rather dull.

Masques, Patricia Briggs. Some of it is starting to be familiar. I need new glass though if I'm going to read this size paperback.



Picture Books / Short Stories:

The Perfect GiftFox the TigerMuch Too Much Birthday
My Toothbrush Is Missing (The Giggle Gang, #4)I Want to Be a DoctorBaby Monkey, Private Eye

The Perfect Gift, Paula Yoo. 2018 Cybils easy reader. A bit too earnest but a pleasant read.

Fox the Tiger, Corey Tabor. 2018 Cybils easy reader. Gently amusing but I was concerned about the turtle at the end.

Much Too Much Birthday, Jennifer E. Morris. 2018 Cybils easy reader. As a parent, I am hung up on how calmly her parents reacted to the news about forty extra guests minutes before the party.

My Toothbrush Is Missing, Jan Thomas. 2018 Cybils easy reader. Predictable humor that should trigger a precocious reader's funny bone.

I Want to Be a Doctor, Laura Driscoll. 2018 Cybils easy reader. Very educational?

Baby Monkey, Private Eye, Brian Selznick and David Serlin. 2018 Cybils easy reader. This was dropped from consideration because of concerns over the racist overtones of monkeys in graphic works. Which is a pity, because the plot and graphic details were great -- I can this being enjoyed by kids. Too bad they didn't use a different animal for the baby, but it grew out of a private joke between the husbands.


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 (Inspector Lynley, #11)The Educated Child: A Parents Guide from Preschool Through Eighth GradeCookieGive All to Love (Sanguinet Saga, #11)Tell the Wolves I'm HomeReading and Learning to Read

A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George.

The Educated Child, William Bennett. How geography matters.

Cookie, Jacqueline Wilson. There's only so much meanness a family will take from a dad.

Give All to Love, Patricia Veryan.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Carol Rifka Brunt. She's starting to realize that other people also have feelings and regrets and make mistakes. That's the painful part of growing up.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. Experts discuss the goals and reservations about basal readers.

Reading Challenges
  1. Cybils 2017. I read one!
  2. Cybils 2018. Easy readers and many of the graphic novels.
  3. Cybils 2019. Nothing.
  4. Reading My Library. I started the next book!.
  5. Ten to Try. Of course I'm doing this again. Starting out with a bang -- I've got 3/10 already!
  6. Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge. I'm mostly hoping to get lucky.
  7. Where Am I Reading: Tracking, not attempting.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Where Am I Reading 2020

th0ROPKV32I'm going to track where I read this year, because I like to know. I'm not sure I'm declaring this an actual challenge as I don't plan to work on filling in the gaps.

I'll track the states and also the countries.

I'm not officially declaring a goal, but I hope to read across a lot of different places. And it's fun to see where my books tend to cluster and where my characters avoid.





Alabama:
Alaska: The Great Alone
Arizona: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, 
Arkansas: Grave Sight (graphic novel), They Called Us Enemy
California: Armstrong & Charlie, Redshirts, Grand Theft Horse, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Magic For Liars, The Ballad of Huck & Miguel, 13 Reasons Why, Middlegame, Parable of the Sower, Front Desk, Deadly Sexy, Parable of the Sower, March Fong Eu, Zodiac Killer
Colorado:
Connecticut: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
Delaware: 
Florida: The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora, Beverly Right Here, Tacking Pythons
Georgia: Some Were In Time, Jubilee
7/10

Hawaii: On the Horizon, The Wind Gourd of La'amaomao
Idaho:
Illinois: Radium Girls 
Indiana: In the Dream House
Iowa:
Kansas:
Kentucky: Cleaning the Gold, Becoming Muhammad Ali
Louisiana: A Longer Fall (maybe?)
Maine: The Puffin Plan
Maryland: Star Spangled
7/10

Massachusetts: Allergic to Girls School and Other Scary Things, Hey Kiddo, Your Own Sylvia, History Smashers: Mayflower, Hopeful Heart, 
Michigan: One Good Dragon Deserves Another, That Can Be Arranged, Poisoned Water
Minnesota: The Cat Came Back, Don't Call Us Dead
Mississippi: The Affair, Heavy, John Lewis, 
Missouri: 
Montana:
Nebraska:
Nevada: Normal
New Hampshire: Books For Living, Kat & Mouse 1
New Jersey: All Boys Aren't Blue
7/10

New Mexico: 
New York: Archangel's War, Vendetta In Death, Gregor the Overlander, Shout, American Dreamer, Golden in Death, Tell the Wolves I'm Home, The Winter Sisters, Speak, Harbor Me, New Kid, LaGuardia, Angel's Blood, Ordinary Hazards, Meg Jo Beth & Amy, To Dance, Judgment in Death, Reunion in Death Skylark and Wallcreeper, Kiss No 8, My Name is Tami ... and I Believe in Miracles, Becoming Kid Quixote, 
North Carolina: The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, The Last Mirror on the Left
North Dakota: Walk the Wire
Ohio: Redemption, Cy Young, Many Lives of Eddie Rickenbacker
Oklahoma: Braiding Sweetgrass, Indian Removal Act and the  Trail of Tears, 
Oregon: Her Naughty Holiday
Pennsylvania: Fences, Amelia Rules! Superheroes
Rhode Island: 
South Carolina: The Parker Inheritance 
8/10

South Dakota
Tennessee: This Promise of Change, Who Give a Poop?
Texas: Fly Like a Girl, Honeybee, Free Lunch, Wolf Rebel
Utah
Vermont:
Virginia: 
Washington: Rare Encounters With Ordinary Birds, Youth to Power, Fledgling
West Virginia: Reaching For the Moon
WisconsinCatfishing on Catnet, Little House in the Big Woods
Wyoming: 

Washington D.C.: The Fix, Marshmallow S'more Murder, History Smashers: Women's Right to Vote, 
5/11

34/51


Continents: 6/7

Asia: (5)
  • China: The Poppy War (sorta), 
  • India: Mangos, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship
  • Japan: Giant Spider and Me Vol 2-3,
  • Philippians (sorta): Trash
  • Thailand: All Thirteen
Africa: (6)
  • Alternate Africa: The Tropic of Serpents
  • Alternate Egypt: The City of Brass, The Haunting of Tram 015
  • Nigeria: LaGuardia
  • Somalia: Call Me American
  • Sudan:  Walk Toward the Rising Sun
  • Somewhere off the west coast: Deep
  • South Africa: It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
South America: (2)
  • Uruguay: Cantoras
  • Brazil: The Light Brigade
Antarctica (1):
  • Countdown Conspiracy
Oceania:

Europe: (9)
  • Belgium: Once a Spy, The Prince and the Dressmaker
  • Germany: Flowers In the Gutter, We Had To Be Brave
  • Holland: Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation
  • Italy: A Farewell to Arms
  • Poland: Spinning Silver (sorta), Surviving the Angel of Death
  • Portugal: Plasitus Maritanus
  • Sweden: The Deal of a Lifetime
  • Turkey: Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
  • UK: A Little Light Mischief, Someone to Honor, Dogsbody, A Traitor to Memory, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Dangers of Temptation, The Duchess War, Witchmark, Cookie, The Heiress Effect, The Warden, Someone to Remember, Tooth and Claw (sorta), The Secret of Chimneys, Out of the Blue (Edinburgh), Aunt Dimity and the King's Ransom, Slippery Creatures, The Gown, A Sporting Chance, More than Marmalade, The Sugared Game, Proper English, Harry Potter, The Professor's Daughter, Five Children and It, Give All to Love, Outlaw, Lady's Code of Misconduct
North America: (6)
  • US (see above states)
  • Canada: Funny You Don't Look Autistic, Surviving the City, This Place
  • Mexico: The Pearl
  • Cuba: Refugee
  • Haiti: Hadriana In All My Dreams
  • Dominican Republic: Clap When You Land 

29 Countries (counting Antarctica) 

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Book Riot's 2020 Read Harder Challenge



I'm going to try Book Riot's Read Charder Challenge this year, although it's a pretty hefty one -- 24 books. On the other hand, you can use the same book for multiple challenge, so maybe I'll get lucky. And I like the concept of paying more attention to what you are reading, of incorporating mindfulness into my reading hobby. Obsession. Whatever you want to call it.

If I keep up with tweeting the books I read, I'll try to remember to use their hashtag #ReadHarder. That's a lot of letters, though. Also, I say this to remember it later, they have a link to suggestions for each of the tasks in case I need help finding something.

24/24
  1. Read a YA nonfiction book Apollo 8: The Mission that Changed Everything, Martin Sandler 2/26/20 (also: Fly Like a Girl, Stamped, Flowers in the Gutter)
  2. Read a retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, or myth by an author of color Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship, Chitra Soundar 6/4/20, The Wind Gourd of La'amoamoa, Moses Kuaea Nakuina 10/14/20
  3. Read a mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman Bloodshot, Cherie Priest 1/11/20. Trash, Andy Mulligan 10/23/20
  4. Read a graphic memoir Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, Anne Frank, Ari Folman, David Polonsky 4/8/20, That Can  Be Arranged, Huda Fahmy 10/14/20, They Called Us Enemy, Takei,  Scott & Eisinger 10/24/20.
  5. Read a book about a natural disaster I Survived the Eruption of Mount St Helens 1980, Lauren Tarshis 1/8/20
  6. Read a play by an author of color and/or queer author Fences, August Wilson 8/3/20
  7. Read a historical fiction novel not set in WWII Someone to Honor, Mary Balogh 2/29/20, Jubilee, Margaret Walker 10/18/20
  8. Read an audiobook of poetry Dreams of Many Rivers, Margarita Engle 2/19/20
  9. Read the LAST book in a series Hellbent, Cherie Priest 1/27/20
  10. Read a book that takes place in a rural setting The Pearl, John Steinbeck 2/20/20, Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder 9/7/20
  11. Read a debut novel by a queer author American Dreamer, Adriana Herrara 3/26/20, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong 9/7/20, Out of the Blue, Sophie Cameron 9/9/20
  12. Read a memoir by someone from a religious tradition (or lack of religious tradition) that is not your own: Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, Anne Frank, Ari Folman, David Polonsky 4/8/20, That Can  Be Arranged, Huda Fahmy 10/14/20
  13. Read a food book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before  (American Dreamer, Adriana Herrera 3/26/20)
  14. Read a romance starring a single parent A Little Light Mischief, Cat Sebastian 1/22/20 
  15. Read a book about climate change  (gets a big mention in Witches Are Coming, Lindy West 5/17/20)
  16. Read a doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950, written by a woman In the Company of Others, Julie Czerneda 2/1/2020
  17. Read a sci-fi/fantasy novella (under 120 pages)  The Physicians of Vilnoc, Lois McMaster Bujold 6/14/2020
  18. Read a picture book with a human main character from a marginalized community A Girl Called Genghis Khan, Michelle Lord 3/5/20
  19. Read a book by or about a refugee Refugee, Alan Gratz 3/27/2020
  20. Read a middle grade book that doesn’t take place in the U.S. or the UK Refugee, Alan Gratz 3/27/2020, It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime 9/15/20
  21. Read a book with a main character or protagonist with a disability (fiction or non) Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, Dusti Bowling 1/19/20
  22. Read a horror book published by an indie press Hadriana In All My Dreams, Rene Depestre 4/13/20 (Akashic Books)
  23. Read an edition of a literary magazine (digital or physical) (All Hugo nominated magazines) 7/20
  24. Read a book in any genre by a Native, First Nations, or Indigenous author Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer 8/20/20, The Wind Gourd of La'amoamoa, Moses Kuaea Nakuina 10/14/20


Some of these are easy -- the picture book for example. The horror book will be hard, because horror is scary. And I think I'll just plan to get lucky with #3 and #14 -- I read a lot of mysteries and romance, so surely one of them will fit!

Monday, January 13, 2020

Goodbye, Second Son

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
I'm spending the fresh year dodging bad weather and huddling at home. Of course, I keep my home unfashionably cold because I like layers and heavy blankets so my kids tell me I might as well be outside except that I'm dryer. Hey, 60 degrees is a fine indoor temperature, except at night when I like things a bit cooler.

I had fun with the kids at book club, although they had slacked off at doing the reading. I brought my cookie-making son as a show and tell, although he's getting old enough not to be as interesting. I think high school is the peak age of coolness to a fourth grader. Older than that and you are just an adult. Boring.

We have all the Christmas decorations stacked on the coffee table because we are missing one giant outdoor ball. Maybe it blew away? But whenever we move to put the boxes in the garage we get distracted by going outside to beat the bushes one more time. That's the dangers of evergreen landscaping around my house -- decorations get swallowed by the plants. And the weather reports call for SNOW next week. The WSU boy left on Sunday for a lengthy and slow drive back to campus through intermittently open passes and snowy roads.

My currently reading shelf descended even further to 21, and I have hopes of getting it to 20, which is one page. Of these at least seven are books I'm although I'm not really reading, I refuse to give up on. They are paused, not abandoned. Honest.

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. I clung onto my kidlit credentials with that book for the elementary school.

Started: 

I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980 (I Survived, #14)Archangel's War (Guild Hunter, #12)


I Survived the Eruption of Mount St Helens 1980, Lauren Tarshis. For my elementary school book club.

Archangel's War, Nalini Singh. Catching up on a series. I think I skipped a few books here...


Completed:

Once a Spy (Rogues Redeemed, #4)CantorasI Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980 (I Survived, #14)
Bloodshot (Cheshire Red Reports, #1)Sweep with Me (Innkeeper Chronicles, #5)

Once a Spy, Mary Jo Putney. Yes, she learns how to have sex, and they live happily ever after, well, they do once they defeat Napoleon (Wellington and his forces play a contributing role). It does exactly what it says on the tin and I was very happy with this book, but I'm not sure who I would recommend it to.

Cantoras, Carolina de Robertis. The Torches and Pitchforks book club pick for December. This was a lovely book and I'm so glad I finished it after the meeting. I liked having the hints about the plot from the discussion. It was a great book on many levels -- I liked the prose, the structure, the imagery, and the peek into the history of Uruguay during their dictatorship and for lesbians during and after it. I bet my mom would love it.

 I Survived the Eruption of Mount St Helens 1980, Lauren Tarshis. Those lazy kids hadn't read it! So I tried to give them some hints since it's one of the Battle of the Book books, and then we talked about volcanoes and how close they are, Seattle as an exotic destination, and boy books/girl books and the assumptions we make when we recommend things.

Bloodshot, Cherie Priest. Lots of action drove me quickly through to the end. I liked how ambiguous the main character was -- it was in first person so the reader is invited to sympathize with her, and her enemies are clearly very very bad, but when you pull back a bit Rayleen isn't really worth cheering for either. There are a lot of murders there! But she's interesting, which is what I want in a vampire heist mystery story.

Sweep With Me, Ilona Andrews. Wow, I found this just in time. It's completed and up for sale now. I really liked the Orro subplot, especially the happy ending. And I really want to be Calpernia in my next life. I mean, I wouldn't be good at the planet ruling and mayhem, but the retirement in a B&B that has those innkeepers? Perfect!


Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Son of the Black Sword (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior, #1)Tender MorselsBook Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and ReasonOne Good Dragon Deserves Another (Heartstrikers, #2)
The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)The Tropic of Serpents (The Memoirs of Lady Trent, #2)Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
ConCom: Conflict Communication A New Paradigm in Conscious CommunicationMasques (Sianim, #1)


Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 77/? Baen's podcast serial. OK, it's back!

Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 4/10 discs. I am reading this one track at a time. Sadly the tracks are about 45 seconds long, which seems a bit excessively short.

Book Lust, Nancy Pearl. Finished the "C" section. And I really want to read some of the companion sets she recommends.

One Good Dragon Deserves Another, Rachel Aaron. Oh oh. There have been some reversals. I have to trust in Bob.

The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang. Last month's Sword and Laser pick. Hey, the library gave it back!

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

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke. I have the audio and switch back and forth between it and the paperback. So far I'm up to 1.75 speed but I need to get up to 2.0 since this is a very long book.

ConCom: Conflict Communication, Rory Miller. Oops, forgot to finish this.

Masques, Patricia Briggs. The main characters have met, and this time I know that they are peers. Well, one is currently a wolf.



Picture Books / Short Stories:

"The Seven Nipples of Molly Kitchen," D.J. Butler. Baen Free Radio Hour podcast offered this in place of the currently serialized novel. I liked the alternate America with magic and compassionate but dependable practitioners.


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 (Inspector Lynley, #11)The Educated Child: A Parents Guide from Preschool Through Eighth GradeCookieGive All to Love (Sanguinet Saga, #11)Tell the Wolves I'm HomeReading and Learning to Read

A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George.

The Educated Child, William Bennett. The importance of history and geography, and teaching kids to be patriotic.

Cookie, Jacqueline Wilson.

Give All to Love, Patricia Veryan. Is love in the air? For the side characters, I mean.

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

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. Basal readers and vocabulary.

Reading Challenges
  1. Cybils 2017. Nothing. I ordered some up, though.
  2. Cybils 2018. Nothing.
  3. Cybils 2019. Nothing.
  4. Reading My Library. Nothing. I rechecked out my next book.
  5. Ten to Try. Of course I'm doing this again. Starting out with a bang -- I've got 3/10 already!