Running Running Running

There's an exercise program called Couch Potato to 5K that I've attempted 3 or 4 times but never completed. In fact, after my last attempt I stopped jogging completely and vowed never again. But Pandemics Change Everything, so with my personal trainer trapped at home with me (hi Alexander!) I restarted.

There were a few bumps along the way, but last week I managed to actually complete 4. This morning I managed the first day of Week 5. That is farther than I've ever gotten before, and I feel better doing it than on any of my other attempts. I mean, I doubt if I'll ever be doing half marathons or crazy stuff like that, but this is farther than I ever thought I'd go. Wow!

I'm also still meeting up with a friend to walk in a nearby park every week or so. It was drizzling but I still showed up, which is a miracle almost on the same level as me jogging for 5 minutes without calling for medical help at the end. Just call me a late-blooming athlete. It was good I've been getting in shape, because I needed all my endurance for a day-long wrestling match with Chase bank. So far I'm ahead on points, but the round isn't over yet. The sad thing is they agree with me on everything, but between long holds, dropped calls, and a failed process they are having dealing with my problem. But I'm hoping it will be resolved in a week or so, and maybe they will make a note of a few bad policies so no other customers fall into the booby trap they somehow constructed for their customers.

Good dinners this week. We were alone for one meal, so Paulos made a few quick changes so it was all-vegetarian and Alexander was happy. He saved the leftovers so that when the shrimp dish came out on Friday he and my sister were able to have an alternative. And another delicious salad came out. I don't even pretend to give him salad recipes anymore; I just send him to the farmer's market and tell him to get what he needs.

Lots of book clubs this week. I found a library one for Braiding Sweetgrass, which was fun and I want to go back. I also saw that the Northwest African American Museum had a discussion of Parable of the Sower up, so I called in for that. My Tuesday group met again, and we had our sushi dinner with the friends we established a family book club with. Daringly we met in person over a picnic table outside to discuss Howl's Moving Castle. 

I also listened in to a discussion of where WorldCon should be held in two years (Chicago or Riyadh). If we are back to having international travel by then. And we attempted another Trivia Night, acing the Children's Book Category and doing strongly in 1960s, stumbling a bit on PJ the Clown, and then crashing and burning in the R&B category. Sunday I got to see all my siblings, my mom and my aunt on our Family Call, so it was a good week.

My currently reading exploded a bit (22), but everything is a good read so I'm happy with it. (Three of which I probably won't touch this week so they won't appear on this blog.) I suddenly noticed that the Hugo voting is in a few weeks, so I have to read a lot of stuff. 

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. My CYBIL reading and winner's luck make me eligible this week.

Started

Wolfpack, Abby Wambach. For my Torchers & Pitchforks book club.

New Kid, Jerry Craft. Book from my shelves. That I won! Because that's how lucky I am. Thank you to Completely Full Bookshelf for hosting the 2020 Books By Black Voice Giveaway, and then chasing me down when I left a very obscure identification.

New Suns, edited by Nisi Shawl. For my Cloudy book club.

A Longer Fall, Charlaine Harris. Library book. I picked the us the day before the library closed and I've been hoarding it ever since. 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alex E. Harrow. I suddenly realized I have to vote on the Hugo finalists soon, so I'm trying to read some.

A Properly Unhaunted Place, William Alexander. A Cybils finalist. 

The City in the Middle of the Night, Charlie Jane Anders. Another Hugo book. They gave it to me as part of the Hugo packet.

Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler. Reread. For another book club I found online.

Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling. I'm listening to celebrities read this to me. Daniel Radcliffe was particularly good. 

Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones. For our family book club.

Die Vol 1, Kieron Gillen. Hugo Graphic book finalist. 

Completed

The Heiress Effect, Courtney Milan. Reread, because I reread the prior book. Again I enjoyed this book. The woman was cooler than the guy, who actually came off better as a minor character in the previous story. But he was motivated to step up to be more deserving of the wonderful Jane, whose fashion sense should live forever.  Now I have to find time to reread Violet's story, although that may be tough for a few weeks.

Wolfpack, Abby Wambach. For my Torchers & Pitchforks book club. I thought the metaphor was muddled but the message itself was clear. The beginning talks about the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, and says it's time to move beyond the timid girl punished for stepping off the path and become the WOLF, bold and determined. And then it moves through a lot of good ideas about daring to and learning from failure, trusting in your peers and working as a team (a pack!), with examples from her own life and the world around her. It's a good motivation book, but I kept being annoying and trying for force every point into the original fairy tale, which doesn't really work.

13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher. I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it works for fraught teens but not for adults. As an adult, I think that anyone with the mental space to make these thirteen stories should also have the space to make a call for help. It seemed unrealistic. And then the sheer malice involved in using your suicide to make other teens feel bad for not understanding you (without really trying to understand them) was off putting. By the end (spoiler), when she confesses to watching a boy rape an unconscious girl, I had more sympathy for her not wanting to share this. That kind of failure would be hard to live with -- I understand how a kid would be too shocked and scared to move, but it's still a huge failure. But what kind of person could front load their story with the tales of boys commenting on her ass, or a friend choosing a boy over her, or even a mean prank of stealing the class validations at a time when she really need them, the kinds of things that really hurt as a teen but will be seen in better proportion later, and then add as an almost forgotten last straw that she was a silent witness to a rape? Hannah never deserved to die, but she was not a person I'd want my kids to have as a friend. Clay dodged a bullet there.

Harbor Me, Jacqueline Woodson. Cybils 2018 Middle Grade Fiction finalist. I loved the kids and their voices, as they (encouraged by their wonderful teacher) talked to each other and supported each other through some heavy problems -- jailed parents, deported parents, race, bullying, loss. It's great to see kids who act like the ones I know, kids who have high standards for themselves and compassion for others. But my suspension of disbelief stumbled a bit at their situation. I've seen the resources public schools have for special ed, and the tiny class size and the standards that this kids had made me highly dubious that they would have the chance to be there for each other. So kids are great and this book reflects that beautifully, but America is not. Sigh.

So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo. (Audio). This was a good explanation of black Americans have to wade through, and all the ways that white Americans accidentally or maliciously tilt the playing field against them. It talks about microaggressions and intersectionality and other buzzwords, and does it in a clear voice that doesn't apologize for being hurt by them. 

Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones. For our family book club. It was fun to get together with friends, and they had even (mostly) listened to the book. And their memories of the movie were better than mine, so we had a fun discussion ranging from details to themes. I still love this book; Sophie is a wonderful character and Jones is an artist with words. 

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 7/10 discs. Plugging along whenever I'm in the car. 

Uncompromising Honor, David Weber. Baen Free Radio Hour's serial, part 19. I like the bits with Honor the best. 

Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton. For my Tuesday book club. Now the siblings can get on with solving their problems. 

The Aeronaut's Windlass, Jim Butcher. (Audio) Chapter 50s. Lots of exciting fights and cliffhangers. 

Stamped From the Beginning, Ibram X Kendi. (Audio) For an online book club. Still plugging along, aiming at a chapter a day.

Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer. I got through enough to attend the book club, but I want to finish because I'm enjoying it. But I'll be able to drop the speed now.

Picture Books / Short Stories:

 

Yasmin the Superhero, Saadia Faruqi. Cybils 2019 Early Reader book. This was an enticing read, with clear sentences, engaging and explanatory illustrations, and some neat touches, like the non-English words and their explanations, that would make it a good early reader and boost reading confidence. I liked the message, which didn't stoop to the level of a moral.

Fox and Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride, Sergio Ruzzier. Cybils 2019 Early Reader book. Somehow this book caught me in the wrong mood. Kids should like the contrast between impulsive Chick and long-suffering Fox, but I just felt that Fox martyred herself and that she needed to learn to set some boundaries. It's not doing Chick any good to trample over other's feelings, even if they don't complain. 

I also read two Greek books, but I'm too lazy to take pictures. Both board books, one based on a song what went swimmingly since each page just added a line. The other had a Seek and Find theme and lift-the-flaps. Clearly I read this to my sons decades ago since one flap was lost, but this time I actually worked out all the vocabulary. And then I made my kids take it up to their dad's house because google translate had the kid with the sore knee searching for a cigarette and I figured that might not be right (apparently that word also means bandage).

Palate Cleansers

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

The Educated Child, William Bennett. Mathematics! My kids can still do eighth grade math, although technically neither of them took it. My mathematics majoring son objected to some of the questions as indicating a poor understanding of the underlying concept. Show-off.

Give All to Love, Patricia Veryan. Nothing like arson to bring a family together.

Wool, Hugh Howey. 

The Wind Gourd of La'amaomao, Moses Nakuima. 

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. Nonfiction books and their uses. 

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2017. Started Properly Unhaunted Place. 
2. Cybils 2018. Finished Harbor Me. 
3. Cybils 2019.  Finished two Early Readers.
4. Reading My Library. Libraries are closed. I'm stymied!
5. Ten to Try. At 9/10. I now have my KCLS staff recommendation on hold. 
6. Where Am I Reading: 18/51 states. 16 Countries. Nothing new.
7. Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge. 20/24. Four left:  6 (play by PoC or queer author), 13 (food book about a new to me cuisine),  23 (literary magazine), and 24 (Indigenous author). 

Phase Two! So I'm More Isolated

Ring the Bells! We're in Phase 2, having graduated from Phase 1. What that means is that more kinds of businesses can open (pet grooming, for example) and restaurants can seat more people. 

I expect to change nothing. I'll venture out, but only to outdoor places. I'll see friends, but masked and preferably outside. I prefer pickup shopping. I am very interested in seeing how the library reacts -- the plan is for them to start trying Curbside Pickup in Phase 2, rolling it out in different locations. I am willing to go pretty far.

It was another good cooking week. Once again I sent Paulos into the farmer's market, where he managed to score some tasty local cheese as well as some veggies. So we had four-cheese pasta with kale and a tasty salad on the side on Wednesday. Friday they were heading out to spend the weekend with their dad and sisters, but I demanded my dinner anyway, so Paulos kindly prepared chicken enchiladas and did the prep work for Spanish rice and guacamole. So I served it to the rest of the family and tried to take all the credit. I mean, I had to put the pan in the oven! I pushed the button on the rice maker! That's where the real cook shines through.

Just to show I remember my way around the kitchen I threw together some blueberry muffins. They turned out OK but not great. Next time I'll make the lemon glaze for the top to hide any imperfections.

My busy social whirl continues as it has since the start of the pandemic. I had a Skype/Minecraft meeting on Tuesday. The other guys in Minecraft like to build stuff with redstone. I meanwhile devote myself to adding new rooms to my mansion/skyscraper that now towers over our home village. And I refuse to learn any shortcuts and barely remember how to not fall to my death. But we manage to have fun together, I think. 

It was last week of school so I showed up for the library goodbye. The kids each brought their favorite book and read a few pages, which was a lot of fun. I kept notes so they have the list for themselves. I signed up for two virtual bookclubs through the local library and then managed to put them both down on my calendar incorrectly so I missed them both. My only consolation was that I had accidentally scheduled Family Game Night against when I thought I had a bookclub, so I left dinner as everyone got ready to play Bards Dispense Profanity and then came right back down just in time to join in. And then I had a walk with a friend in the park on the weekend, some book ordering on Juneteenth, and a Family Zoom call with a few scattered relatives on Father's Day. 

My currently reading is 18, three of which I probably won't touch this week so they won't appear on this blog. One is for a book club that meets today and I probably won't get to much of it in time, but maybe I'll show up anyway. Six are audios, which I find to be a lot. 

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. My CYBIL reading and winner's luck make me eligible this week.

Started

Rabbit's Bad Habits, Julian Gough. Cybils finalist.

Harbor Me, Jacqueline Woodson. Cybils finalist. 

The Heiress Effect, Courtney Milan. Reread, because I reread the prior book.

Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer. For a book club that meets tonight. I do not think I will finish, since audios only go so fast.

Completed

The Ballad of Huck and Miguel, Tim DeRoche. My next RML book. The conceit of a retelling of Huckleberry Finn is a bold one, but DeRoche pulls it off. He ages Huck down a bit and gives him an impressive but imperfect vocabulary that could have been insipidly twee but manages to always stay on the right side of the line. Huck's dad resonates even louder, and the social commentary, updated to match today's sacred cows, looms nearer, but that may be because they are closer and not insulated by the past. Miguel is still seen through a child's eyes and so is not as distinct as Huck, but the story belongs to Huckleberry as in its predecessor. Tom Sawyer is not as much of a jerk either. This was definitely one of the prize discoveries of my library quest, a book I would not have found without it. 

The City of Brass, S.A. Chakraborty. A fun fantasy novel with a complex society, with deep characters ready to wrestle with it. There aren't clear lines between the good guys and the evil guys, but realistic people (well, maybe not people) trying to make a good life for themselves and their people while living a moral life. But different ideas on how to do this, mixed with prejudices, blind spots, and long standing grudges means things aren't simple and good intentions can result in horrific results. Nahri's voice is more interesting to me, but the author managed to make Ali sympathetic even in his youth and self-righteousness. I hope I manage to find and read the next one.

The Prince and the Dressmaker, Jen Wang. Cybils 2018 YA Graphic novel finalist. I did not enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I found the two characters a bit unpleasant; the prince is spoiled and very unaware of how entitled he is -- his wealth and position is taken for granted, and when he decides to give up his pleasure for the good of the country his resolution lasts about two hours before he sets out to sabotage himself. The dressmaker is quick to take advantage of the opportunities the price offers, but the instant he hesitates to destroy his life for her, she abandons him. There's no attempt to find a middle ground, no concern for the danger he faces (which immediately becomes very real). And then the author makes everything better and everyone lives happily after in peace and harmony and rainbows. No one has to make a hard decision or give up something pleasant in pursuit of happiness. Which would be a fine in a light-hearted romp, but the book always wants to dabble in tough emotions, if only for a few pages, which broke the tone up for me.

Rabbit's Bad Habits, Julian Gough. Cybils 2019 Early Chapter book finalist. I missed chapters! Also, I went through an exhaustive discussion of the eating habits of rabbits, good and bad, when our preschool had pet ones, so a lot of the humor was a bit stale for me. But the pictures were fun, and Bear's goodness provided a path to redemption for rabbit which would be fun for kids. Too bad about wolf, though.

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine. Sword and Laser pick. Vast and ambitious. I was interested throughout, and really enjoyed the language and poetry stuff. I look forward to discussing this at the ZOOM meeting.

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 7/10 discs. I made it to disc seven!

Uncompromising Honor, David Weber. Baen Free Radio Hour's serial, part 17. I think there were two part 17s. Or two part 16s. I've already lost track. 

13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher. It took me so long to read this that when I saw the person who recommended it to me she disavowed it. Oops.

Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton. For my Tuesday book club. The beginning is about done -- we've set up all the siblings with problems. 

The Aeronaut's Windlass, Jim Butcher. (Audio) Chapter 30s. There have been some big fights, but this feels like the start of a story. Did the others get written?

Stamped From the Beginning, Ibram X Kendi. (Audio) For an online book club. I'm reading this slowly -- listening to a chapter, then going back and listening again while making notes to post as a readalong. Then we'll have a discussion somehow at the end.

So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo. (Audio). I got this right before the online friends started reading Stamped, so it's a bit of an overlap. Not so much in theme but it terms of the time I have for audio listening. 

Picture Books / Short Stories:

 

Calm Down Zebra, Lou Kuenzler. I won this book in a giveaway from Sloth Reads.  It's a fun book with colorful animals all over the page and it's fun to watch things go from staid and organized to wild and colorful. I found the text a bit wooden but then again I don't have a kid on my lap. The sibling dynamics were fun, with the older sister starting in instructional mode and then moving to just having fun. Which makes sense if you live with a bunch of crazy animals anyway!

"The Wolf and the Woodsman" was read aloud on a podcast this weekend. It's quite timely. I like Kingfisher's new twist on Little Red Riding Hood, with motivations for the grandma, the wolf, and the woodsman. And I appreciated little's Hood's baking attempts.

Palate Cleansers

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

The Educated Child, William Bennett. 

Give All to Love, Patricia Veryan. Lots of honor fighting about who loves whom. 

Wool, Hugh Howey. 

The Wind Gourd of La'amaomao, Moses Nakuima. 

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. 

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils TBR Challenge: I won the tote bag! I'm the luckiest Beth in the world!
2. Cybils 2017. Nothing. 
3. Cybils 2018. Finished Prince and the Dressmaker.  Another category down! Started Harbor Me. 
4. Cybils 2019.  Finished one: Rabbit's Bad Habits. That's the last in the Early Chapter Book category. 
5. Reading My Library. Finished The Ballad of Huck and Miguel. Of course, now I'm at a bit of a standstill since my library won't be open for another month or so. Apparently 
6. Ten to Try. At 9/10. I now have my KCLS staff recommendation on hold. 
7. Where Am I Reading: 18/51 states. 16 Countries. Hmm. Both my Africa countries are in fantasy universes, so it's a bit dodgy to say where they are. But I count fantasy Britain as Britain, so my count stays.  
8. Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge. 20/24.  Penric is a novella! Four left:  6 (play by PoC or queer author), 13 (food book about a new to me cuisine),  23 (literary magazine), and 24 (Indigenous author).