OK, everyone should nominate for the CYBILS and do it quickly -- nominations end on Oct 15!
NOMINATIONS FOR THE CYBILS ARE OPEN! But only for a few more days. So if you know any good high school memoirs, histories, popular science, etc, through them at me! And also at all the other categories -- nonfiction for elementary and junior high /middle grade, fiction for all ages, speculative fiction, graphic novels, picture books, and board books!
My mom is installed at her new address, and slowly getting to know her neighbors and new environment. There are still a lot of boxes, and she's planning to keep unpacking a few at a time and slowly build herself a home.
I'm still dropping by most days to help with boxes and to volunteer for any errands she wants. And I'm slowly catching up on my house routine and realizing that I really need to get my sink and toilet fixed as my jury-rigs won't last much longer. I hate home maintenance -- why can't things just last forever!
I am currently reading 27 books, since if I hit a tough bit on a book I'm reading I pick up the next one. I do not anticipate a cascade of completions soon. I'm going to be ready a lot of nonfiction, and picking up the rest as I can.
To the Hilt, Dick Francis. For my friend's book club.
Police Defunding and Reform, Olivia Ghafoerkhan. Nonfiction from my local library.
Meltdown, Deirdre Langeland. Middle grade nonfiction from my local library.
Rat Race, Dick Francis. Because Dick Francis books are like potato chips -- I can't read just one.
Beowulf: A New Translation, Maria Dahvana Headley. Well, she's the translator. Hugo finalist.
Red Madness, Gail Jarrow. Because I am a Jarrow groupie.
LGBTQ Rights and Activism, Stephen Currie. Nonfiction from my local library.
Even If We Break, Marieke Nijkamp. Older Cybils finalist.
Paladin's Hope, T. Kingfisher. I like paladins.
To the Hilt, Dick Francis. For my friend's book club. We are all Dick Francis fans, so this was a reread for us, and we also let the conversation roam over many books. For example, I had confused this title with Proof, so had picked it as sorta food related, but everyone else just counted it as one of our favorites. We enjoyed the details of the laird, and how the family dynamics worked with different people understanding different truths of our character, and when this pleased him and when it hurt him. We liked the idea of discovering how deep one's character goes, although laughed a bit at how Francis always drags in physical pain to do this. And the portrait painting was a very interesting twist.
Police Defunding and Reform, Olivia Ghafoerkhan. Nonfiction from my local library. Overview of why this is a current topic and what is meant by the terms. It's short and clear, with photos to keep the pages interesting. I thought it did a good job but didn't exceed expectations.
Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything, Raquel Vasquez Gilliland. 2020 Cybils YA Speculative Fiction finalist. I thoroughly enjoyed this book -- I liked the characters, I appreciated watching them make mistakes and sometimes hurt each other but then recover, apologize, and try to do better. I liked the family relationships, both current and in memory, both the good and the bad. I am astonished at how well the book held together, because it did so much and in so many different directions that it should have been splitting at the seams -- I didn't realize it was science fiction until about a third of the way through.
Meltdown, Deirdre Langeland. I pushed this out of High School Nonfiction into Middle Grade Nonfiction, because it really seems aimed at 5-8th grade, but then I read it anyway because I wanted to have a sense of what those distinctions are. Wow, I had forgotten so much about the Fukushima disaster -- I remembered the flooding and that it brought down a nuclear power plant, but Langeland brought me into the plant as engineers frantically worked in darkness to try to understand what was happening and brainstorm ideas to prevent disaster. They were only partially successful, but the difference between the actual disaster and the worst case possibilities left me grateful for their unceasing work. I also appreciated the discussion at the end on why nuclear power is not the only dangerous option, since global warming is slower but just as deadly.
In Bibi's Kitchen, Hawa Hassan. I finished this in time for book club! It was another good pick -- we enjoyed the concept and the organization, discussed the different women and what patterns we say, and then shared which recipes we hoped to try. We also all smiled because we had all hoped to make one to bring and then ran out of time. It made for a good discussion! Most people had read the ebook so enjoyed looking through the hardback I had gotten from the library, since the big pictures were a delight.
LGBTQ Rights and Activism, Stephen Currie. I liked the quick look at the big points Currie uses to trace the modern push for rights (Stonewall, Aids, DADT, marriage equality) and thought it was a clear and well documented book. But it didn't elevate itself beyond that. I did like reading it and discussing it with my nibling, who is interested in this topic.
You Should See Me In a Crown, Leah Johnson. 2020 Cybils Young Adult fiction finalist. A sweet story of an amped-up high school experience -- a girl desperately seeking scholarship money throws herself into her school's over-the-top prom court competition, which complicates many things -- her love life, since her new girlfriend is also in the competition and our hero isn't really out, her other friendships, since some buried stresses and secrets somehow also come out, and her family, since they all want to protect each other but that's not always possible. It's a bit exhausting for me, since that wasn't my high school experience (or my kids), and young emotion often makes me want to lie down.
Rat Race, Dick Francis. This was a jump back to a book written in the late 1960s, and it showed some age. The hippie character was even more unlikely, and the woman's tolerance of him even more baffling, because nowadays casual and repeated sexual molestation is more of a red flag to society. But I enjoyed the depression plot, as the character wasn't magically cured but only slowly and with many setbacks started moving forward. And he was beat up with a knife, not with fists, so a completely different pain scene!
Red Madness, Gail Jarrow. I knew almost nothing about pellagra, so I was caught up in the various theories and rather frightening experiments run by the doctors trying to trace the cause. Jarrow does a great job presenting both the context and the facts, so that we see what people knew and understood about disease, and why they made some good and bad predictions. The American South doesn't come out looking good, which resonates a lot today, as they prefer killing off more of their vulnerable citizens than admitting to any mistakes. I am very grateful for enriched wheat products.
Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:
Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James. Ancient Sword and Laser pick. Didn't touch it.
The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton. Read a few pages.
The Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum. Didn't touch it.
The Wine-Dark Sea, Patrick O'Brien. Didn't touch it.
Seven Sisters, Lucinda Riley. The library brought it back, but I pushed for another week.
Sharks in the Time of Saviors, Kawai Strong Washburn. Didn't touch it.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Malinda Lo. Didn't touch it.
Vampire Trinity, Joey W. Hill. Made progress.
Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir. Hugo novel finalist. Made progress!
Conductors, Nicole Glover. My eating companion. I made a bit of progress, now that I'm home and eating at my table. But I think I will be too late -- the library wants it back.
Neogenesis, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. I am very excited that almost all of the characters are now on the same planet.
Deal With the Devil, Kit Rocha. Cloudy book club pick. Didn't touch it.
The Relentless Moon, Mary Robinette Kowal. Hugo novel finalist. Made progress.
Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emrys. From my (digital) shelves. Made progress.
Terra Nullius, Claire G. Coleman. Didn't finish it for book club, and want to finish the next book on time.
The Mountains Sing, Nguyen Phan Que Mai. Didn't finish it for book club, and want to finish the next book on time.
Picture Books / Short Stories:
None.
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. I think the good guys are making their move.
Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho.
Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others.
Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.
I am reading:
- Book I own: So many partially read books! I have no idea.
- Library Book: Amulet. Next: Notes From Underground
- Ebook I own: Luminaries. Next: Winter's Tide
- Library Ebook: Cybils pick. Next: Cybils pick.
- Book Club Book: Nos4a2 Up Next:
- Tuesday Book Club Book: I forget. Next: I need to finish that sailing book.
- Review Book: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb Next: Back Home
- Hugo Book: Ruthless Moon. Next: Harrow the Ninth.
- Rereading: Steerswoman
- Meal Companion: Conductors
- Audio: None Next: I have a book on CD I'll start listening to if I ever catch up on my podcasts.
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