I'm so far behind! I kept reading picture books and then I had a huge backlog and then my kid and I started watching TV at night so my blogging fell behind. This is a desperate catch-up for two weeks, and it's two weeks late. Oops.
I drove down to get my oldest son from college; they are closing for the rest of the semester (only exams) and have been all online for the past two weeks. Willamette University had really good discipline; my son says everyone masks up all the time and cases on campus were really low. Oregon around them had more of a problem. So the kids all go to basically self-quarantine while waiting to go home. I managed to do the trip without much contact with other people, but we still limited contact with the world when we got home. All shopping is curbside pick up, I didn't go to Costco for my Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, etc.
But we had Thanksgiving anyway. I made a roast turkey, my sweet & sour onions, pinwheels for appetisers, and a pumpkin pie (not as good as Costco's). I bought an apple pie from Safeway because we traditionally have one that is brought my my talented sister-in-law, but they were not coming over from the island this year. On the other hand, we got to have my son with us since his dad wasn't comfortable with him coming up yet. I'm not sure how much fun we were; my guy is a vegetarian and since he never has Thanksgiving with us none of our special dishes really resonate with him. He's mostly here for the pies.
We also had cornbread stuffing, roast vegetables, cranberry sauce from a can (they way God intended it), sweet rolls, homemade rolls (I made them), pecan pie, and chocolate pudding pie. We then ate from the leftovers until Monday, when I used up the rest of the turkey to make a turkey tetrazzini. I use the Pioneer Woman's recipe, which assumes everyone works 12-15 hours a day out on the ranch and needs to fuel up. So my food coma lasts a full week.
I also made a pesto lasagna on the weekend so my vegetarian son could have his own giant pile of leftovers. I meant to make it on Thanksgiving but I kept forgetting because I was always so full I forgot about food.
I am surrounded by Cybils books and need to read about three books a day for the rest of the year.
Also, a very dear friend of mine died of breast cancer. She got several extra years but it wasn't enough. It never would be. I had hoped to visit her last summer, but there was a pandemic. I miss her a lot.
My currently reading has again bloated to 28, indicating the problem I continue to have finishing 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. I will be eligible there for the next month for sure!
Started
History Smashers: The Mayflower, Kate Messner. 2020 Cybils nominee.
This Place: 150 Years Retold, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm. 2019 Cybils finalist.
More Than Marmalade, Rosalin Tolin. 2020 Cybils nominee.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Kate DiCamillo. Elementary book club pick.
Into the Deep, Christy Peterson. 2020 Cybils nominee.
Walk the Wire, David Baldacci. Because I felt tired of reading books from lists.
Sky Gazing, Meg Thatcher. 2020 Cybils nominee.
Women Win the Vote, Nancy B. Kennedy. 2020 Cybils nominee.
History Smashers: Women's Right to Vote, Kate Messner. 2020 Cybils nominee.
She Represents, Caitlin Donahue. 2020 Cybils nominee.
Network Effect, Martha Wells. Another choice to make reading fun again.
My Name Is Tami... And I Believe in Miracles, Tanitoluwa Idewumi & Craig Borlase. 2020 Cybils nominee.
5-Minute Really True Stories for Bedtime, Britannica Books. 2020 Cybils nominee.
An Extraordinary Union, Alyssa Cole. For book club on Saturday. I'm in trouble here.
This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes, Tanya Lloyd Kyi. 2020 Cybils nominee.
Kat & Mouse 1: Teacher Torture, Alex di Campi. Cybils finalist.
The Dark Lord Clementine, Sarah Jean Horwitz. Cybils finalist and book club pick.
Completed
Cy Young, Scott H. Longert. 2020 Middle Grade Nonfiction Cybils nominee.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Kate DiCamillo. For my elementary school book club. Attendance was light again. I suspect having it during lunch instead of class time lowers my desirability, and of course, I can't offer cookies since we are still remote. But the kids that showed up were enthusiastic; we discussed best and worst of Edward's various homes, and what happened to the families after he moved on. I kept my biggest complaint to myself -- Edward can't do anything. He's completely passive, so his entire journey is emotional, and when you think about it, it's rather frightening to be trapped inside an inanimate body with no hope of reprieve. He only ever managed to communicate with one other doll, so it's worse than the Velveteen Rabbit.
Finder, Suzanne Palmer. Sword and Laser pick. I liked it, but other members of the local club were disappointed. They found it hard to connect with the main character emotionally. I liked him more, but wasn't drawn to turn the pages fast enough to finish in time for book club. I also found the repeated use of the guy announcing he's about to explain his plan, and then we get cut out and have to wait a bit irritating. But since I have a loud inner twelve year old I laughed out loud at the complex plan involving the sex toys. I won't chase down Palmer's next book, but if I trip over it I'll probably read it.
History Smashers: The Mayflower, Kate Messner. 2020 Middle Grade Nonfiction Cybils nominee.
Sky Gazing, Meg Thatcher. 2020 Middle Grade Nonfiction Cybils nominee.
Into the Deep, Christy Peterson. 2020 High School Nonfiction Cybils nominee.
More Than Marmalade, Rosalin Tolin. 2020 Middle Grade Nonfiction Cybils nominee.
History Smashers: Women's Right to Vote, Kate Messner. 2020 Middle Grade Nonfiction Cybils nominee.
------Week 2 -----
Walk the Wire, David Baldacci. This was a break because I was feeling lackluster about reading only stuff I had to for book clubs and Cybils. So I snuck out and checked this from the library and sped through it. It dragged a bit because it mixed together two of his series and I've only read the Amos Decker stuff, but it did remind me that I could go back and read the other stuff. Maybe in a few months. Also, it took place in North Dakota, which is awesome because my Read-in-all-50-states challenge hasn't been doing so well this year. Decker himself didn't really change much, but he's gearing himself up to do so. This book was more about realizing where he wants to go rather then getting there, and also solving a murder and saving the world from terrorists.
Network Effect, Martha Wells. Another indulgence! I had bought the Murderbot book when it came out, but got distracted from reading it. It was fun to hang out with Well's characters again. Murderbot gets to work with old and new friends. Well, colleagues. Well, co-workers. OK, friends. There were some unexpected side plots, and I ended up tagging this as a romance because of some of them. Now I want to reread them all because it's just so much fun to hang out with.
My Name Is Tami... And I Believe in Miracles, Tanitoluwa Idewumi & Craig Borlase. 2020 Middle Grade Nonfiction Cybils nominee.
She Represents, Caitlin Donahue. 2020 Cybils High School Nonfiction nominee.
This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes, Tanya Lloyd Kyi. 2020 Middle Grade Nonfiction Cybils nominee.
This Place: 150 Years Retold, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm. 2019 Cybils YA Graphic Novel finalist. This is a book of short stories, all in comic form, with assorted writers and artists. They start with an introduction to the character being profiled and their importance to history from a Native American viewpoint, then a timeline shows relevant events and laws. There's a lot of well deserved bitterness and a sense of living in a post-apocalyptic world throughout. It's an fascinating and powerful read and really speaks to the living presence of First Nations in today's world.
Give All to Love, Patricia Veryan. OK, this is a very strongly flavored book, and if you don't like the flavor it won't work. The characters are emotional to an extreme, and will weep or despair or swoon at the slightest hint. Virtuous women seem vaguely unaware of many of their body parts, and completely oblivious to men's (evil women get a bit more scope). Everyone respectable believes deeply in honor codes and social norms and would rather die than break them, as they demonstrate several times. The cowardly bad guy is scorned from choosing exile over certain death on the dueling field (that he was fooled by a bluff makes his defeat even more satisfying. If you get over that, there's also the tiny issue that he's her legal guarding and has been raising her since she was ten or thirteen or so -- the gypsies that had apparently stolen her were vague as to her actual age. Anyone still here? No? I still enjoy the complicated families, born and found, Veryan creates and their bone-headed but giant hearted approaches to life.
5-Minute Really True Stories for Bedtime, Britannica Books. 2020 Elementary Nonfiction Cybils nominee.
Jane Against the World, Karen Blumenthal. 2020 High School Nonfiction Cybils nominee.
Kat & Mouse 1: Teacher Torture, Alex di Campi. 2006 Graphic Novel Under 12 Cybils finalist. I dragged my feet on reading this because I thought the protagonists were the ones torturing the teacher; as I am old i tend to cheer for the teachers in that case. But I was pleasantly surprised that our heroes were defending teachers with their clever sleuthing efforts. I like the poor girl in a rich school concept, and find the conflict between the craven mom willing to give in to blackmail to make their new life work and the cheerful dad who does not intend to forge grades for rich brats. I think I'll try to follow this series along.
Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:
Uncompromising Honor 39-41/??, David Weber. Baen Free Radio Hour's serial. Bad guys are helping the Solies, but who are they to argue? Also, Baen repeated a section. I noticed!
Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling. I'm listening to celebrities read this to me. This goes away at the end of December, so I'd better finish up!
Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James. Sword and Laser pick. I want to finish this!
A Long Time Until Now, Michael Z Williamson. Easy read, but not a page-turner.
Children of Time, Adrian Tchaikovsky. I want to finish this!
The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein, Farah Mendelson. Hugo finalist. Argh, I'm enjoying this but have no time.
The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton. I don't want to give up.
Someplace To Be Flying, Charles de Lint. Making progress. But I should be reading the current book, not this old one.
The Bone Witch, Rin Chupeco. The library will want it back soon.
The Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum. It expired. I'll put the hold back on.
Return of the Thief, Megan Whalen Turner. I'm still torturing myself by not moving on from the middle of the story. But my son wants it so I should pick it back up.
Wolf Rebel, Paige Tyler. Substitute for my Library Quest: Action/Thriller bag. The protagonist just decided to endanger a child to make herself feel better. I'm not impressed.
A Lady's Code of Misconduct, Meredith Duran. Again, I liked the set up but I'm still bogged in the middle.
The Wine-Dark Sea, Patrick O'Brien. My Tuesday book club book. I'm still behind.
Picture Books / Short Stories:
These Cybils nominees are discussed on the previous Cybils post.
These nominees will be discussed on the next Cybils post which I am still working on (unless you see a link here, and then it'll be there).
And these were my non-Cybils judging picture book reading for the past fortnight:
Wanda Gag: The Girl Who Lived to Draw, Deborah Kogan Kay. 2008 Nonfiction Picture Book Cybils finalist. I know and love the picture book Millions of Cats but I knew nothing about the author. She was a fascinating artist who had to support her siblings and mom from a young age, have a deep artistic vision and many other projects, and was in general a cool woman.
Fabulous Fishes, Susan Stockdale. 2008 Cybils Nonfiction Picture Book finalist. My nephew loved sea creatures, so this is exactly the kind of book I would have brought home for him to enjoy. Although he preferred photographs to drawings, so the bright and enthusiastic pictures would have charmed me but been tolerated by his fastidious younger self. The easy rhymes and carefully chosen words with lots of alliteration and internal rhymes make this a delightful read-aloud. Too bad I can't test it on him -- he's a high school senior now.
A River of Words: A Story of William Carlos Williams, Jen Bryant. 2008 Cybils Nonfiction Picture Book finalist. I like these biographies where the illustrations try to evoke the feeling of the poet's words. The collage and bright colors echo Williams's breaking with standard rules to make his word pictures.
Let's Go! A Story of Getting From There to Here, Lizann Flatt. 2007 Cybils Nonfiction Picture Book finalist. Fun and cheerful pictures with a good try at diversity show how people traveled in America across the years. I liked how First People were active and varied in the early page, although they then seemed to completely disappear. Maybe the illustrator was just drawing the ones who wore fashionable city clothes. Anyway, the people were charmingly cheerful and the illustrations had lots of fun details and were busy without being cluttered.
The Language of Universe: A Visual Exploration of Mathematics, Colin Stuart. A lovely and large book, suitable to hold comfortably between two or three people -- either two mathematically inclined peers or an adult and child (or children). This book looks at all sorts of mathematics and how they appear or are used in the world. Bold background colors help organize the text and guide the reader; occasionally I wasn't sure of the sequence I was expected to follow but that was an occasional annoyance. It's really dense; I am not sure I'd want to read it cover to cover at one sitting because the best way to react to many of the pages is to start talking about them and trying out some of the ideas. I received a copy of this book for review.
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.
Wool, Hugh Howey. Mysteries in two silos are explored.
Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho. Fairies! And two young kids with no ability to read each other's plans.
Under the Eye of the Storm, John Hersey. .
Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. Dealing with gifted children in the classroom.
Reading Challenges
- Cybils 2017. None. I just need 3 YA books to be done. But YA is hard.
- Cybils 2018. None.
- Cybils 2019. Finished This Place, last of the graphic novels. Now onto middle grade books.
- Early Cybils: Several nonfiction picture books.
- Reading My Library. Working on the action adventure one.
- Ten to Try. At 9/10. I'm STILL working on the last one.
- Where Am I Reading: 31/51 states. 27 Countries. North Dakota fell into my lap.
- Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge. I'm done.
I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.
I am reading:
- Book I own: Return of the Thief. Next: No idea. Especially since I keep avoiding thi sone.
- Library Book: Wolf Rebel. Next: The Bride book.
- Ebook I own: An Extraordinary. Up Next: Probably a T. Kingfisher.
- Library Ebook: Lifting As We Climb Next: Becoming Kid Quixote
- Book Club Book: Howl's Moving Castle. Next: .
- Tuesday Book Club Book: Wine Dark Sea. Next/also: Somewhere To Be Flying until we pick something.
- Review Book: None. Up Next: Not sure.
- Hugo Book: The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein. Next: Joanna Russ.
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