May is bursting out all over -- there are flowers and nice days and rainy days, and school is thinking about wrapping up. I keep trying to get back in the habit of walking, and maybe even jogging, but no luck. I get at least one good walk in on Saturdays, but sometimes that's all.
My triple book club met last Saturday, and I had failed to read two out of the four books. I was good for Sword and Laser -- I liked The House on the Cerulean Sea although I wasn't as bowled over as some. I had read last month's book for Cloudy, and found the dude in Reckless annoying but liked the lady and the set up of the mystery. I only made it halfway through this months book -- I had planned to speed read it and then there was a lot of torture which slowed me down. I'll manage to finish Ember in the Ashes this week sometime. And Medical Apartheid is really good but really grim and I should have given myself more time with that one.
Our family zoom meeting went well on Sunday -- no surprise engagements but all my siblings showed up as well as mom and my aunt. And Foolscap Concom met and checked off some tasks and we may be able to meet up together in person later this summer.
On Wednesday I suddenly felt drained of gumption and ordered out instead of roasting tomatoes for my tomato calzones. Friday I pulled myself together and served pasta with spinach and brie. (Which made for some lovely leftovers, I must say.)
I kept skipping laundry so no TV to speak of.
My currently reading is inching back up -- 28. Oops.
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.
Started
Fugitive Telemetry, Martha Wells. The new Murderbot story fell into my hands.
Castle Waiting, Vol 2, Linda Medley. The sequel to a Cybils finalists. Or maybe part of the finalist? I wasn't sure, so I read it.
Efron Divided, Ernesto Cisneros. 2020 Cybils finalist.
Medical Apartheid, Harriet A. Washington. For Torches and Pitchforks.
The Secret Country, Pamela Dean. Listening to a read-aloud.
Something That May Shock and Discredit You, Daniel Mallory Ortbert. Another read-aloud.
An Ember in the Ashes, Sabaa Tahir. For Cloudy.
The Assassination of John F Kennedy, Sue Bradford Edwards. One of the nominees for the 2020 Cybils for nonfiction.
Faithless in Death, J.D. Robb. Because Eve and Roarke are fun to read.
Completed
Fugitive Telemetry, Martha Wells. This backs up to Murderbot's integration into Preservation, which does not go as smoothly as Mensah could wish, although probably it goes as she expected. Murderbot's belief that humans in general aren't to be trusted is again justified, but it also manages to make some more connections. More importantly, it tries using some of the connections it has already made, and that actually works.
Castle Waiting, Vol 2, Linda Medley. The Cybils listed Castle Waiting as a finalist, and I was unsure if that was a giant omnibus or what, so I read this too. Anyway, I wanted to see how some stuff worked out. It was fun hanging out with the castle people, with the new mom now a regular and the visiting dwarf-like people the newcomers. I like the way the different ages relate to each other, and the stories they tell, and I was amused to see how long the horse guy spent recovering from his hoof injury. This one was also easier to read; I don't know if I was reading it earlier so my eyes weren't tired or if the font was that much bigger, but there was much less squinting. Some storylines still haven't been completed but I don't see any other volumes, so I'll have to be content with the journey so far.
The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison. Addison is wonderful at worldbuilding -- her court seems solid and ancient, and I feel uneducated for struggling a bit with the naming conventions and other rules. There is an appendix that explains them, but they feel so much a part of the world that I keep thinking I've known all this and will remember it in a bit. Meanwhile watching Maia struggle to survive both physically and spiritually in his new role as emperor is enthralling. The many twists and betrayals at the royal palace mean that physically he's in jeopardy, but the choices he must make to solidify his position also risk his sense of self. The reactions of people as they realize that morality and decency matter to him is varied but always recognizable; this is a delight to reread.
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen. It was fun checking in for 30 minutes a day to hear this read aloud by someone who loves and understands both Austin and the time she is writing for. I've read it before but I was young then and hearing it now as someone the age of the chaperons made for a different experience. We could also see where it was probably still a rough draft, and how scenes seemed more descriptions of what Austen planned rather than the scintillating final passages that appear in other sections or books.
Switchback, Melissa F. Olson. Book two in a series. It's a fun urban fantasy with a good version of vampires and an FBI unit created to oppose them. I liked the procedural bits and the team building, although I find the romance to be rather perfunctory -- these kinds of books are supposed to have a love interest, so these two people have to fall for each other even though I don't really see what this particular people see in each other beyond narrative inevitably. But the reading is fun and I hope to finish the series soon.
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien. I listen to books for an hour a day, each for 30 minutes, and this was the other pick. This is a wonderful read aloud, especially with people not afraid of the songs. Hobbits make for great stand ins for children, since they are actual adults who can do adult things like fight dragons and take trips and have cosy houses, but they can also justify anything because they are short people. I missed getting to read this book to my kids because I let their dad have it, and he will never know what an amazing gift that was. So it was fun to get to hear it now. Maybe I'll have grandkids to inflict it on someday.
Temporary, Hilary Leichter. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this book from a library grabbag of "Adult Fiction" and once again my library has given me a lovely gift. This is literary fiction right up my alley, since it's almost like an experimental SF book. The character is a magical temporary worker filling in for all sorts of jobs, just as everyone is filling in roles in life that we are just faking until we convince ourself and everyone else that we own them, that we are steady. It's short and fun and thought provoking. Thanks KCLS!
The Assassination of John F Kennedy, Sue Bradford Edwards. 2020 Cybils nonfiction nominee. This is a decent reference book. In quick chapters with many illustrations, including photographs, diagrams, and text boxes explaining concepts or terms, it lays out where people were on that day, then gives a short history of Oswald, and finishes with a discussion of the controversies over the verdict and commissions and the general consensus on both facts and the reasons for the conspiracy theories. The backmatter was well planned out but my copy had some errors -- several bullet points on the timeline were blanked out or missing and there were other such mistakes. I liked the index and the notes for each chapter.
The publisher gave me an ecopy of this book for reviews (possibly an early copy, given the missing pieces?).
Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:
Uncompromising Honor 63/??, David Weber. Baen Free Radio Hour's serial. I'm behind.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James. Ancient Sword and Laser pick. Nothing.
The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein, Farah Mendelson. Hugo finalist. Nothing.
The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton. Didn't touch it.
The Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum. Didn't touch it.
The Wine-Dark Sea, Patrick O'Brien. Progress
An Extraordinary Union, Alyssa Cole. Progress.
Seven Sisters, Lucinda Riley. I told it to try again later.
High Cotton, Robin Kristie Johnson. A LibraryThing EarlyReaders book. Progress!
Sharks in the Time of Saviors, Kawai Strong Washburn. For the KCLS new author's program. My copy has arrived but I haven't opened the box yet.
Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold. Continuing my audio reread of the Five Gods world.
Stars Beyond, S.K. Dunstall. About halfway done. It's not especially good for eating to.
Playing With Fire, April Henry. Scary.
Picture Books / Short Stories:
I Talk Like a River, Jordan Scott. 2020 Cybils Picture Book finalist. This was a lovely picture book, with a perfect blending of art and words working as a team to carry the emotion. The stutter was expressed as a blurring of the images, as the reached for meanings recede from the speaker. The movement to the outside is a return to safety, and then the father's advice gives the boy a way to process his speech in a way that is affirming rather than debilitating. It's a stunning view into the world of stuttering. I really loved it, but I'm not sure that kids would share my enthusiasm. Hmm.
Palate Cleansers
These books I'm barely reading; lately I use them bribes to get me to deal with the mail. Hmm. I should get back to that.
The Educated Child, William Bennett.
Wool, Hugh Howey.
Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho.
Under the Eye of the Storm, John Hersey. Still a really bad storm; their sail is gone and they are on engine power.
Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others.
Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.
Reading Challenges
- Cybils 2020. One picture book. Working on a middle grade book.
- Early Cybils: Well, Castle Waiting was a maybe.
- KCLS 10 To Try: 8/10. I did get a recommendation from a librarian, but I'll probably read that with a book club this summer. Epistolary will be hard.
- Tacoma Extreme Reading Challenge. 33/55. Progress!
- Reading My Library. Finished Temporary, which was from a grab-bag.
- Where Am I Reading 2021: 16/51 states. 10 Countries.
Future Plans
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: Educated. Next: ??
- Library Book: Playing With Fire. Next: ??
- Ebook I own: Extraordinary Union Up Next: Paladin's Strength
- Library Ebook: Luminaries. Up Next: a cat mystery
- Book Club Book: Medical Apartheid Up Next: Louisiana Longshot
- Tuesday Book Club Book: The Consuming Fire. Next: I need to finish The Wind Dark Sea
- Review Book: High Cotton. Next: Back Home
- Hugo Book: The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein. Next: Joanna Russ.
- Rereading: Network Effect
- Meal Companion: Stars Beyond
- Audio: Curse of Chalion
2 comments:
Wow! How do you read so many books at once, and keep them straight!
I'm going to be starting The House on the Cerulean Sea soon as it is the next selection for one of my book clubs. I've heard fantastic things about it, but not I'm worried that the bar is set too high!
Have a great week!
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