Twindom

Family festivities continue -- my brother celebrated his birthday. This of the time of year when he is very old, and my sister and I are twins. Soon she will be young again, and I will be the right age. My little brother will continue to be an infant (he's 50. Or something -- he has his birthday in the fall, so who can tell.). And our kids tick along nicely -- one each in February, March, April and May. These are good intervals to have excuses for cake. 

My mom has found a safe harbor while we wait for repairs to complete, and I am starting to look around for places to tempt her into that are much closer to me. I think she's planning to come out for my son's graduation (which we will probably view remotely, but maybe we could be remote together?) and I hope she finds someplace she'd be happy to move to around here. She has an appointment for a vaccine next week (Hooray!). I'm hoping my turn comes sometime this spring. 

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?

The Season Finale of WandaVision was a lot of fun to watch with Alexander. And thank goodness he had me watch to the end so I saw the second kicker.  I did laundry to the end of Star Trek Voyager "The Innocent" (2.22) where Tuvok finds out why he can't keep these kids safe, and then moved onto Deep Space 9's "The Wire" (2.22) which is about Garek and his shady past. 

My currently reading is down to 21, which brightens my hopes of getting onto a single 20-line page. 

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 my internet went soggy most of Monday evening. My excuses -- hear them!

Started

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Prisoner of Limnos, Lois McMaster Bujold. Continuing my Penric spree! 

Be My Guest, Priya Basil. I have no idea how I got this book from the library. Maybe it was one of their grab bag picks? Maybe I ordered it long ago? I have decided to leave it in my kitchen and read it while eating.

The Case for Climate Capitalism, Tom Rand. This was my book on climate change for the Torches and Pitchforks book club.

Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel, Eoin Colfer. Cybils finalist from long ago.

Yutsuba&! Vol 4, Kiyohiko Azuma. Cybils finalist from long ago.

Silver in the Wood, Emily Tesh. I like the idea of having a book that I share meals with.

Blood and Germs, Gail Jarrow. I skimmed this last year, but now I have time to really read this 2020 Cybils nonfiction nominee. 

Completed

Flight Vol 3, Kazu Kibuishi (editor). 2006 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. Ok, I recommend this collection of short stories although I found it tough. I was expecting all sorts of happy endings and cheerful stories, because I have a shallow expectation of comics. Instead these had fair endings, which often meant everybody lost. There's a big variety of art and theme, and I would definitely share this with kids who like comics. I think I will be better prepared for the other books in the series. 

Sucker Punch, Laurell K. Hamilton. Gosh. So. World-building-wise, the book is confronting the idea that Order of Execution are a civil rights nightmare. But most of the worldbuilding is of the large strokes and we promise not to think about it variety, so there's a danger in the author inviting us to peer more closely. It doesn't hold up well here. Also, Anita accidentally psychically assaults a sex worker, which puts her father away from being a morally decent person than before, but she doesn't seem to notice this and figures that as long as she keeps doing this accidentally it's all right. 

An enormous amount of page time is spent exploring ways for Anita and Otto (the serial killer) to have sex together. They are so distracted by this that the villain outwits them easily. So, it's a bit of a mess for pacing, worldbuilding, and exploring polygamy. It's also really long. I've been keeping up with this series for a really long time, but I'm reading now more as an appreciation of a train wreck. It may be time to move away.

Prisoner of Limnos, Lois McMaster Bujold. I like how everyone around Nikys is astonished she hasn't at least slept with Penric, although most are sympathetic with her reluctance to marry him once they understand the demon issue. I hope Bujold comes back to Tanar and Sura eventually -- will Adelis's suit prosper? In the meantime, there's a fun heist scene and then I enjoyed the aftermath, which got more attention that often in heists. I did notice that Nikys, Penric and Desdemona seem to have a better handle on polygamy than Anita does... Sadly, other people apparently are also on Penric sprees, so I can't get the next two on audio for a few weeks. I wonder if I will manage to hold out or if I will just read my own copies... 

Swordheart, T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon). This is the Cloudy pick for this month. I really enjoyed this reread; Halla is a delight and so are Sarkis, Zale, and Brindle. The plot is a little meandering -- they spend a lot of time moving between two towns, either walking or in an ox-cart, so they wouldn't move fast even if they stayed on a straight line. But that gives us more time to enjoy the group, from Halla and Zale speculating on the mechanics of sword-life to Sarkis finding new decadences the southern lands have found to wallow in. Or, for spice, the annoying bandits and Hanged Mother priests to find new ways to harass our beloved group. The club was mostly enthusiastic (we particularly liked the boob humor). 

One member did bring up a concern she had seen from an asexual reviewer. Halla's deceased husband could be read as asexual -- he certainly took no pleasure from his rigidly scheduled marital events, and ensured that she didn't either. I don't think the book comes across as anti-asexual (which some people, including that reviewer, disagree with) -- it wasn't Halla's job or that of her friends to probe for the reasons her dead husband had for treating her badly, and so it wasn't something the book could address in depth. But if a reader is sensitive to the difficult position that asexuals find themselves in when society in general expects them to mate and have kids, not to mention when a toxic family uses any lever they can find to force people to to their will, then mentions of this guy will not help. It was interesting to me to see where our definitions of "anti" differed; one negatively depicted character who (might) be associated with an identity seems a bit far, but then the ways in which he was depicted were very personal to the reviewer and echoed some of the prejudices experienced by asexual people; this resonated with some of the club members. The book is generally queer friendly.

Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel, Eoin Colfer. 2007 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. Slick graphics and wide variety of fairy body types meant that it was easy for me to distinguish the characters. I read the book back when it came out, so some of the plot evoked dim memories, but either they changed things for this version or my memory is as feeble as I have come to expect, so I was kept in suspense. One thing I did remember and that was kept is that Artemis is not a good guy, which bothered me back then but did not trouble my kids in the slightest. Even in elementary school they were more sophisticated readers than me. A fun gripping story with a good feel of constantly shifting expectations, hopes, and heroes. 

Be My Guest, Priya Basil. This turned out to be a memoir/meditation on the role of making and sharing food in building friendships, community, and solidarity among family, lovers, neighbors and strangers. Cooking delicious food can be a weapon in a complicated marriage as well as an act of love; eating food at someone's table makes you both judge and supplicant. I brought it downstairs and read it while eating (I have many solo meals) and it was a good companion and I think helped me bridge the gap between mindlessly chomping while I read and feeling lonely at my solitary table. I like the idea of having a friendly book that I save for meals, so I am sharing my table with the author. Also, I liked the intimacy of Basil's writings as she confesses her greeds and peculiarities with the assumption that the reader will forgive and perhaps even share them.  

The Case for Climate Capitalism, Tom Rand. This was my book on climate change for the Torches and Pitchforks book club. It arrived the week of book club, so I had to hustle on reading it -- normally I let my library books lounge about for weeks until their due dates loom and I have to get the pages turning. It seemed a reasonable and lucid book, probably because I agreed with it. Rand thinks that climate change is happening and is a huge existential threat to our industry, environment, and survival. He agrees with many of the warning books put out by the left, but thinks we don't have time to reinvent society along non-capitalist lines -- we need to start work now. Pragmatism is the only praxis that matters. We need to throw everything at the problem -- carbon taxes. Tax incentives to help new technology get developed and to help existing technology get implements. He spends several chapters talking about how the system is set up to hinder rather than help -- from accounting practices that discourage using capital to implement energy conservation measures that pay off over years instead of months to the economy-threatening bluff that oil companies' values really are -- if they actually retrieved and used all the oil assets on their books, the world would be uninhabitable. Of course, looking around, it seems highly unlikely that we'll do half of the things he lists as necessary, so we are all probably doomed and I'll never have grandchildren. Time for chocolate! (luckily I have that fudge) 

Blood and Germs: The Civil War Battle Against Wounds and Disease, Gail Jarrow. 2020 Cybils nonfiction nominee. Well, that was a grim read. I think I was expecting it to be even grosser and thought that would distract from the misery of the Civil War because, spoiler alert, wounds and disease totally won that battle. There was picture after picture of soldiers heading off to war before dying of measles, mumps, typhus, poor shoes leading to infection, or scurvy. And this was before the pictures of soldiers dying of gunshots or cannon balls, either outright or on the battlefield while ambulances failed to appear, or in medical tents while having limbs sawn off or while contracting gangrene or other deadly infections in a time before the germ theory, when soap theory was still considered a bit outlandish. There were a few survivors -- I liked the pictures of older amputees who survived the war and their treatment, but in general it was a bad time to need medical treatment. The chapters were well organized and had a lot of pictures which made the information very personal, and I liked seeing the development of trends that had staying power -- professional nursing, a medical corp for the army, best practices for medical treatment, but there didn't seem to be a strong throughline to tie it all together.   

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review. 

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

My wall of currently-reading books is slightly less massive! 

Uncompromising Honor 51-4/??, David Weber. Baen Free Radio Hour's serial. They seem to be appearing on my phone correctly now, so I'm only two behind.

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. Made progress!

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! And I won't have time to touch it...

Picture Books / Short Stories:

I am definitely suffering from a lack of laundry now that my boys are back at college. I've acquired a habit of pausing before folding laundry to read a picture book. But less laundry is cutting into that time.

King and Kayla and The Case of Found Fred, Dori Hillestad Butler. I admire Kayla's good habit of writing down what she knows, what she needs to know, and then starting to think about how to fill in the gaps. Of course, King then goes out to solve the mystery for her, but that's why dogs are important. Also, it was fun seeing how enthusiastic King is about everything -- his favorites are awesome. 

Robot Dreams, Sara Varon. 2007 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. OK, the dog is this one bucks the trends of amazing dogs -- he's disloyal and a terrible friend. The robot is abandoned, lonely, and mutilated, but manages to continue on with life. I was expecting a cute friendship story and instead got an almost wordless story of loss, betrayal, personal growth and the way life just goes on and sometimes goodbye is the best thing to say. Wow. 

Killer Whale VS Great White Shark: Who Would Win?, Jerry Pallotta. Well, it arrived just after the book club but I still enjoyed this battle of the champions. This one left out some of the beats -- no corny jokes, but on the other hand these creatures could and do sometimes battle!  

See the Cat, David LaRochelle. 2020 Cybils Easy Reader finalist. This is right up my alley -- the book interacts with itself and the reader, the humor matches mine; this would have been a delight to share read with my kids as they moved into reading.  

There's A Wolf at the Door, Zoe B. Alley. 2008 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. This was a charming book; its oversized pages made it seem cosy somehow. The wolf carried the story between chapters that each told a fairy tale mostly straight but with its own twists; my favorites are the sheep in from the Boy who Cried Wolf. 

King and Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats, Dori Hillestad Butler. Hey, this is the first one! I like how it's introduced with King being Kayla's first suspect in the mystery, but she quickly rules him out on evidence even without understanding his cries of innocence. 

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. 

Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho. 

Under the Eye of the Storm, John Hersey. Here comes the storm, but there is no room at the dock.

Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others. 

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. How to assess reading strength by counting and evaluating errors.

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2020. I have finished Easy Readers. See the Cat was a lot of fun.
2. Cybils 2019. Nothing
3. Cybils 2018. None.
4. Cybils 2017. None.
5. Early Cybils: Read some graphic novels. Working on Easy/Early readers and graphic novels. 
6. KCLS 10 To Try: 3/10. Nothing. I just realized the Shadows in Death is set in the future!
7. Tacoma Extreme Reading Challenge. 10/55, 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: 3/51 states. 5 Countries. I mean, I have more, but I'm still behind on updating my books. I should add in Michigan (Sucker Punch) and Germany (Be My Guest)

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: None. Next: Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows
• Ebook I own: Extraordinary Union  Up Next: Paladin's Strength
• Library Ebook:  Luminaries. Next: Elatsoe
• 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: None. Up Next: Dragon in the Library
• Hugo Book: The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein. Next: Joanna Russ.
• Rereading: Burn Bright.
• Meal Companion: Silver In the Wood. Up Next: Don't know. I should try to stick with books I own, in case I spill.
• Audio: Waiting on the next Penric. I think it's Orphans of Raspray.