As our family slowly moves onto the vaccinated side of the line, we are slowly rejoining the world. My nephew just got a job helping at Target, which is huge news.
My house is moving slowly. Alexander got his first Stage 1 Gritstone vaccine, so we hope that gives him permission, and Paulos got his second Pfizer jab, so soon he'll join the ranks of the fully vaccinated, like me. Then maybe we can start socializing.
I myself have been throwing myself back into the world. I went to Costco! (once) I went to the gym! (once). I've restarted the Walk-to-5K program on RunKeeper, and I'm into the second week. It's actually tougher than it was when I started, because I took a 6 months break from exercising. Oops.
Saturday was my Triple Book Club night, where we discussed the Sword and Laser pick Network Effect, then the Cloudy pick Last Night at the Telegraph Club, and the Torches and Pitchforks pick Nickel Boys. I only finished 2 of them, but I read enough of the third to enjoy the talk. We plan to move back to in person meeting sometime before the end of the year.
I also agreed to go check out some hotels on our Foolscap Exploratory Committee.
Paulos is taking over cooking for the summer, so he made a pesto lasagna for leftover and cooked pasta primavera for a meal. He was going to make falafel, but we went out to celebrate their cousin's new job. Well, my boys didn't go, since their vaccines aren't ripe yet, but we brought them back food.
I am currently reading 24 books, which seems slightly too many but I'm OK with it.It's fewer than last week somehow, probably because I'm checking earlier on Monday.
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
Apple Cider Slaying, Julie Anne Lindsey. To read while eating.
Chaos on Catnet, Naomi Kritzer. Because I liked the first one.
Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold. Continuing my audio reread of the World of the Five Gods series.
All Systems Red, Martha Wells. I'm helping read this one aloud at the reading circle I'm in.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Malinda Lo. For Cloudy book club.
Black Butler XVI, Yana Toboso. Reading the series.
Almost American Girl, Robin Ha. Cybils finalist.
The Last Emperox, John Scalzi. For Tuesday book club, and Hugo reading.
Completed
High Cotton, Robin Kristie Johnson. A LibraryThing EarlyReaders book. I appreciated the honesty and perspective that Johnson brings to her essays; she examines both the damage and the love her mother gave her. Loving someone with addiction means seeing many different aspects and Johnson did a compassionate job of sharing these experiences and how they shaped her future life. I also appreciated how her fierce love for her children also grounded her life. I struggled with the stories about her relationships with married men, because I'm very judgemental. She's open about the damage this could cause, but also about the reasons, some fundamental, some more petty but still powerful, that she indulges in them. But I'm still squeamish, because it's wrong.
I received a copy of this book from LibraryThings's EarlyReader's program.
Gator Bait, Jana Deleon. I jumped from book one to book 5 or so, so a few things have shifted. The Sinful Lady leaders know the truth, the cop has been promoted to boyfriend, although I think they are new, since they hadn't had sex and she has to break into house for reasons, and his dog still attacks her on sight. But they still zoom about being crazy but fun, and I laughed several times. I appreciate the athleticism of the old ladies, and the goofiness of the town election.
The Hidden Land, Pamela Dean. Sequel to Secret Country. Read aloud. Wow, I clearly have read this before, but I remember almost nothing, just some scenes and emotions. And I've also clearly read the third book, because some of what I remember hasn't happened yet. I hope the oral reading group I'm in stays around, because I'm really enjoying this. Here I like how frustrated I get with the kids and their refusal to commit to the fantasy world, because they can't take seriously something they made up, but since to me both they and the fantasy world is made up, I can commit equally to both. Also, the kids squabble a lot, but that seems pretty realistic.
Chaos on Catnet, Naomi Kritzer. Although not quite as delightful as the first (that would be an exceedingly tall order) this was still a fun and satisfying read. The Clowder makes a smaller appearance, as Steph now also have real life friends to do things with. But they do rally when needed, and Steph makes a big effort to be the force she wants to see in the universe. I really enjoyed seeing the near-future Minneapolis and how the weather affects mobility, and how Cat has developed since we first met them.
Son of Sam Killings, Alexis Burling. 2020 Cybils nominee. I hadn't realized the timing of these murders -- my family had just moved out of New York City as they started. And while I've read some essays of Breslin, I hadn't realized he was the guy the murderer was writing. I like when these books look at wider implications -- how tabloid journalism fed off the terror while feeding it, and how they influence the investigation and maybe even the murders themselves. I thought some of the stuff about the killer's later life in prison was a bit pointless but Burling gets to pick what to write about.
I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher.
Rival Magic, Diva Fagan. 2020 Cybils Elementary / Middle Grade Speculative Fiction finalist. This was a lot of fun! The relationship between the two girls was a bit telegraphed, but they both had their own personalities and complicated families and both really needed a friend. This is a very female centered story, with two girls and their mothers doing most of the work, although a guy shows up to be a villain and the brother has emotional weight. I liked the level of complexity of the politics, although I'm old enough to think that heredity is a terribly reason for choosing a governor and maybe they could try democracy. On the other hand, it's not like democracy attempts work out better, so I'll just enjoy the interesting magic system and the innovations the girls have to make to use it effectively.
Apple Cider Slaying, Julie Anne Lindsey. This was a pleasant mealtime companion, with lots of interest in food and not too many gruesome murders to deter my pleasure in eating. The main character was a bit of a ditz, but she got the job done. I'm not impressed with her business skills, as by chapter two I had thought of the financial solution she ended up going with in the last pages, which would have saved her a lot of plot.
Black Butler XVI, Yana Toboso. It's been too long since I read #15, and I've forgotten what exactly they are supposed to be investigating, so I wasn't as interested in their clever stratagems as I should have been. But I like the art and I like the characters, even the ones I can't tell apart (which in this case was a lot of them). I'll order the next one and try to read it before I forget the exciting scene that is about the start.
Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:
Uncompromising Honor 69/??, David Weber. Baen Free Radio Hour's serial. Caught up on a bunch.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James. Ancient Sword and Laser pick. I'm picking this up again!
The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein, Farah Mendelson. Hugo finalist. Finished a chapter!
The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton. Read some pages.
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. Progress!
Seven Sisters, Lucinda Riley. Didn't touch it.
Sharks in the Time of Saviors, Kawai Strong Washburn. Didn't touch it.
The Lost Orphan, Stacey Halls. Read the first few chapters.
Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells. I think I'll listen to the audios. So far I've heard the first four, and I'm still waiting on the fifth. On the other hand, my read-aloud group is reading the first one, so I'm enjoying that again.
Nine Tailors, Dorothy Sayers. Read aloud. We have three different people taking turns, and I like them all. One knows about bells, one knows about churches, and one just reads well.
The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match, Juliana Gray. Too much spying, not enough romance.
Picture Books / Short Stories:
Great Structures in History: A Medieval Castle, Gail Jarrow. It was fine. I'm digging back through her kidlit nonfiction, and she's not at her best in these standardized series.
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. One tower at war, one tower underwater.
Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho. Our sorcerer should bring the girl along for negotiations.
Under the Eye of the Storm, John Hersey.
Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others.
Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. I skip all the teacher exercises.
Reading Challenges
- Cybils 2020. Finished Rival Magic. Started Almost American Girl. Also another 2020 nominee.
- Early Cybils: Nothing.
- 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. 38/55. No change.
- Reading My Library. Finished Cider Slaying.
- Where Am I Reading 2021: 22/51 states -- picked up West Virginia. 11 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: Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Next: ?
- Library Book: Lost Orphan. Next: Next Year in Havana
- Ebook I own: Ex traordinary Union Up Next: Paladin's Strength
- Library Ebook: A Pratchett Up Next: Luminaries
- Book Club Book: Last Night in the Telegraph Club Up Next: Ramona books
- Tuesday Book Club Book: The Last Emperox. Next: I need to finish The Wind Dark Sea
- Review Book: Back Home. Next:
- Hugo Book: The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein. Next: Joanna Russ.
- Rereading: Patricia Briggs, maybe?
- Meal Companion: something in New Jersey
- Audio: Paladin of Souls Next: Murderbot?
4 comments:
Congrats on your family getting vaccinated—that's so exciting! And it's great that you're starting to rejoin the world—I'm a bit terrified of doing that myself, but I'm planning to go to the grocery store soon as well, which should be nice! The books you're reading all sound excellent—I read Almost American Girl by Robin Ha and really enjoyed it, and I'm hoping to get to Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo very soon! Thanks so much for the great post!
So happy that your family is almost vaccinated! We are fully vaccinated and I just loved getting a hug from my sister - at last! You are quite the prolific reader! Interesting reads!
My husband and I were fully vaccinated at the college by early April and our community has returned (mostly) to normal. We're going on our first real vacation in a little over a week, so we will see how traveling goes. I enjoyed Almost American Girl and do hope to get back into Murderbot Diaries in the coming year. I'll have to see if our local library options have it on audio. Have a great reading week, Beth!
We are waiting for when we can go and get our second jab. Originally we were told August, but it should be sooner than that.
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