Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday was a lot of fun. My sister made me a cake, and I made homemade icing to go with it. I got us food from our local restaurant Whistle Stop, which Facebook reminded me is probably my favorite birthday place. Since we are still pandemic followers, and I'm not old enough for a vaccine yet, we got it to-go.

One son called me, and the other one waited until my Zoom party on Sunday. I wanted to play cards on my birthday, so my wonderful older brother set up the call on his account so we wouldn't get thrown out after 40 minutes. And my family somehow managed to let me win, which is not an easy task. Thanks guys!

I met up with a friend for a walk on Saturday, which I've been missing. The weather was beautiful. Then it turned cold and rainy on Sunday, but I hauled myself out for a Pi Day Run/Walk/Crawl. I didn't get an official time, since my phone keeled over halfway through, but I just turned around and made it home again so I know I did the distance. Go me! Luther's Table awarded me a pie and a t-shirt, so I'm very pleased with myself. 

Wednesday I made pan gnocchi with cream sauce with spinach and peas and a side of green beans, which was tasty and made me feel all adult. Friday was going to be an experiment with my insta-pot, but at the last minute I realized it was book club so ordered pizza instead. Book club was nice, and we enjoyed remembering how the last time we met in person was last year in March, a few days before lock down. One member had a cold and skyped in, and I spread the chairs all around my living room so we had six feet of separation. Wow. We're hoping to start meeting in person again maybe in June?

I skipped cooking all week -- one day I found a coupon for Red Robin, which is a favorite of my nephews, and one day I had a craving for sushi, which is a favorite of mine and my brother-in-laws. I ordered a sensible amount of sushi, we were very happy, and I think next time I'll get one more roll or something because who wants to be sensible?

I kept my Friday TV date with Alexander and we watched Raya The Last Dragon which was cute although we did keep equating everyone to the Avatar counterparts.  I did laundry to the end of Deep Space 9's "The Wire" (2.22) which explains a lot about the Garrick/Bashir fanfiction I keep seeing. Now I'm on Voyager's "The Thaw" (2.23) which I have vague memories of. 

My currently reading is back up to 23, since I started all my book club books simultaneously instead of reading them sequentially. I hope this means I don't get stuck at any tough parts.

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" and I'm going to go sign up. Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers. I'm almost on time this week, but I forgot to actually post this. 

Started

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The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett. For my Torches & Pitchforks book club 

Chiggers, Hope Larson. Old Cybils finalist.

Kobe Bryant: Basketball Superstar, Tammy Gagne. 2020 Cybils nonfiction nominee. 

Sofia Valdez and the Vanishing Vote, Andrea Beaty. 2020 Cybils finalist.

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows, Olivia Waite. For April's Romance Series.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion, Annette Whipple. Because I've read them all. 

Burn Bright, Patricia Briggs. Because the next one is almost out.

The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer. For my Friday friends book club.

Class Act, Jerry Craft. 2020 Cybils finalist.

Elatsoe, Darcy Little Badger. 2020 Cybils finalist & Sword & Laser pick.

Completed

Silver in the Wood, Emily Tesh. This was an interesting folk tale story -- a rich guy moves near a mysterious forest and the cute woodsy guy he befriends isn't merely mortal. Which is enticing and exciting but he doesn't take it seriously and gets himself in trouble, so the rich guy's mom has to come sort things out. Lots of great description and evocative language, but I was really amused at this shy romance where they are just getting past the blush-and-smile stage when MOM has to show up to save people from the evil monsters. Because that's not awkward at all. Nope.

Yutsuba&! Vol 4, Kiyohiko Azuma. 2007 Cybils Elementary / Middle Grade Graphic Novel finalist. This is a gentle story about a preschooler with a loud personality with a family and neighborhood that cares for her. She's too young to have ethics or responsibilities, but old enough to have plans and ambitions. I enjoyed seeing details of Japanese life -- the expedition to the fishing pond stocked with fish for beginners, the exercise class, but I never really figured the details of her family and neighbors; I think they spent more time explaining who was who in the first volumes. And of course I never recognize anyone in graphic novels and this one was in black and white so I didn't even have hair clues. Fun but I won't go looking for the rest.

Chiggers, Hope Larson. 2008 Cybils Elementary / Middle Grade finalist. This read more as a junior high book to me, but I guess that sometimes includes fifth graders so fair enough. It also feels like a short story, with the sketched characters but sharp emotions of the campers. It's about the feel of camp, being independent but also unsure of yourself, and that uncertainty is compounded by the reality that you and the kids around you are indeed changing rapidly so things you thought you knew may no longer apply. Kids are kind and cruel to each other, and friendships and tiny romances ebb and grow.

Kobe Bryant: Basketball Superstar, Tammy Gagne. 2020 Cybils nonfiction nominee. I learned a lot about Bryant; before this book I knew he played basketball and died with his daughter in a helicopter crash so I started with a very low baseline. It's a motivational biography, like the Boy Profession biographies I chowed down as a kid; the author makes sure we know how much Bryant's hard work and focus contributed to his success, how he met challenges and prevailed. For me, the whole thing was tinged with his early death -- the book is part of a series about tragic figures. I enjoyed knowing more. 

Sofia Valdez and the Vanishing Vote, Andrea Beaty. 2020 Cybils Early Chapter Book finalist. So far this is the only chapter book I've shelved as a book rather than a picture book; it has a couple of subplots which I guess made it feel like a book (I do enjoy not having to judge these! I can like what I like, and not worry about what kids like). I loved how much the kids brought to the classroom and how much they respected their assignments; Sofia's integrity as an Election commissioner should be a beacon to our nation. The teacher was either a real slacker or a secret genius; was she really that clueless or was she artfully drawing out the kids? Either way I had a lot of fun and may go read the other books in this series.

The Talisman Ring, Georgette Heyer. For my Friday friends book club. I read this in one burst, from start to finish, which usually I'm too scatterbrained to do. I loved it utterly. The silly people were delightfully silly, and the sensible people were delightfully sensible and still kind to the silly people; even the silly people tried to be kind to the sensible people. The villain dressed like one and chewed the scenery in a highly approved way. Book club went well; those of us who reread it enjoyed it.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion, Annette Whipple. This was a lot of fun -- it went through all the books and talked about what was probably made up or elided and what was real, and whether you could go visit the places where the real stuff was. It put a lot of stuff in context and didn't shy away from racism or other bits that make modern readers go hmm. And there were lots of activities to try out things that Laura was doing or just that were referenced. I am far too lazy to do them on my own; too bad I'm not reading this with a kid who has more energy.

Class Act, Jerry Craft. 2020 Cybils Elementary / Middle Grade Graphic Novel finalist. I really liked this. I like the characters and their emotional arcs; I like how they aren't perfect but they want to be good people, and I like how I can tell the characters apart, which is amazing to me. And the sections inside supposedly drawn by Jordan are my favorite. 

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

My wall of currently-reading books is about to expand! I am incorrigible. 

Uncompromising Honor 51-4/??, David Weber. Baen Free Radio Hour's serial. OK, Honor is about to become uncompromising. Fair enough. 

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James. Ancient Sword and Laser pick. Nothing.

A Long Time Until Now, Michael Z Williamson. Made some progress! 

The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein, Farah Mendelson. Hugo finalist. Made progress!

The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton. Didn't touch it.

Someplace To Be Flying, Charles de Lint. Didn't touch it.

The Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum. Didn't touch it.

The Wine-Dark Sea, Patrick O'Brien.  Didn't touch it.

An Extraordinary Union, Alyssa Cole. Made progress!

Seven Sisters, Lucinda Riley. The ebook is arriving soon! I told it to try again later.

Picture Books / Short Stories:

The 1924 Immigration Act and Its Relevance Today, Duchess Harris & Carolyn Williams-Noren. 2020 Cybils nonfiction nominee. It's good when I learn things from kidlit nonfiction but it's also a good feeling when I actually knew most of the stuff in an introductory text for kids. This lays out the context of the law, how it changed, the politics (pretty racist stuff) behind it, and the context for how it was replaced and what has remained. One thing I learned that I should have understood before is that African Americans were explicitly not counted when the cultural heritages of Americans were estimated with an eye towards setting quotas to reflect that. Because of course they weren't.

The Paper Kingdom, Helena Ku Rhee. 2020 Cybils Picture Book finalist. This story about a boy dragged along to his parents' job as janitors was well done, although I think it would work better for kids at least school aged, so they know the implications. It's got a bit of a social message, as the kid vows to make the executives be cleaner when he comes to rule an office, but I was just worried about whether he was getting enough sleep. The pictures are nice, especially the dragons that his parents conjure for him to keep him happy while they work.

Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business, Lyla Lee. 2020 Cybils Early Reader finalist. Mindy does not get to go a school as enlightened as Sofia Valdez, and she would probably find it hard to keep up if she did. It's hard enough to go from an diverse California elementary school to a Florida school where she's the only Asian and her classmates think eating seaweed is weird. She manages to hash out a few friendships and deal with her father's absent parenting in a satisfactory way.

Monster and Boy, Hannah Barnaby. 2020 Cybils Early Reader finalist. This is a very different style of book, with an almost magic realist style of fantasy. I liked the short chapters that commented on the situation and reminisced about the monster's past, and even the toilet humor bit was amusing. A good bedtime book, I think, either for a kid by themself or with an adult.

Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes, Kate DiCamillo. 2009 Cybils Short Chapter Book finalist. OK, I have got to loosen up. I can't read these without getting stressed about how terrible the Watsons are as pet owners; they aren't fair to Mercy or to the innocent people she keeps harming. But it's a work of fiction; Mercy is healthy on a diet of toast and other people's popcorn, and even the animal control people don't really want to hurt her feeling. It's still as stressful a book as Cat in the Hat. I suspect that gives is wider kid appeal. 

Too Small Tola, Atinuke. Candlewick Press sent me this to review, and I enjoyed it tremendously but wish I had kids around to try it out on; it feels like it would be fun to read aloud. I liked the details of life in Lagos, which is very different from my own, and I also liked the details about being the youngest and shortest in a family. I liked how independent and resourceful Tola was, and how she was kind and a little bit brave. Also very strong, although also very small. 

The Impact of Black Churches on the Civil War Movement, Duchess Harris & Martha London. 2020 Cybils nonfiction nominee. This was a good enough children's introduction that it reminds me that maybe I should read some adult history. I didn't learn many new facts, but seeing them lined up this way give me a fresh perspective on the role churches play both in the civil rights movement and in Black communities in general.

Stella Endicott and the Anything-Is-Possible Poem, Kate DiCamillo. 2020 Cybils Early Chapter Book finalist. This one endeared itself to me with the astonishing courage of Stella in the face of mean receptionist outside the principal's office. It always astonished me that my kids feared neither the teachers nor the administrators at their school; they knew all these adults were there to help them. The children in this book are not so complacent, and their fears echo my own memories. I was a Harvey.

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. Lots of conflict.

Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho. Big magic happening!

Under the Eye of the Storm, John Hersey. 

Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others. 

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. How to do word by word reading evaluations, and which types of errors are worrisome and which can be safely overlooked.

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2020. I read several Early Chapter books, a picture book, and a graphic novel. 
2. Cybils 2019. Nothing
3. Cybils 2018. None.
4. Cybils 2017. None.
5. Early Cybils: Read early chapter books. 
6. KCLS 10 To Try: 6/10. Nothing. Talisman Ring made me laugh a lot. 
7. Tacoma Extreme Reading Challenge. 16/55, but I'm behind of figuring out if books work.
8. Reading My Library. Nothing. Well, my library is closed.
9. Where Am I Reading 2021: 5/51 states. 5 Countries. I mean, I have more, but I'm still behind on updating my books. I just added Washington for Storm Burst. 

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: Long Time Until Now Next: Somewhere to Be Flying.
• Library Book:  Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows. Next: Who knows. 
• Ebook I own: Extraordinary Union  Up Next: Paladin's Strength
• Library Ebook:  Elatsoe. Next: The Vanishing Half. 
• Book Club Book: The Vanishing Half  Next: Elatsoe
• Tuesday Book Club Book:  Somewhere To Be Flying. Still haven't finished Wine Dark Sea. 
• Review Book:  Dragon in the Library
• Hugo Book: The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein. Next: Joanna Russ.
• Rereading: .
• Meal Companion: I think I'll do a book about books.
• Audio: Waiting on the next Penric. I think it's Orphans of Raspray.