River Days And Nishi Ducki

Well, my mom came down with COVID last week, which was of course concerning. She's all vaxxed up and everything, but there's a strain chasing itself around her retirement community and she probably got it there. Or maybe at her doctor's office. Anyway, she had a rough first few days but then started feeling better so she refused anti-virals, since she likes to feel independent and doesn't like drugs. The rule at the community is that if you are positive you stay in your room and they bring you food; at least her grandson managed to be the one bringing food up a few times. 

My younger son (who is not that young) had his wisdom teeth pulled and also had a rough time of it. He was just feeling really unwell for days afterward and finally called a doctor and they pulled him off the cautionary antibiotics and he improved immediately. Chalk up another family member who thinks drugs are what ails us!

The local library has a great book club with the awesome name of A River Runs Under It (a river runs under our library, get it?) and WE ARE BACK. I had only joined a few months before the pandemic, because I was making an effort to have more social avenues as I became an empty nester (HA!) but I had enjoyed the meetings. Then BOOM -- two year hiatus. It was good to be back, and now the library is providing a facilitator. I think during the pandemic they got used to doing that because they tried to zoom-host as many library-meeting clubs as possible (we were too full of non-techie members). It was a fun discussion of Last Train to Key West which I accidentally read last week, and we voted to move the meeting to the afternoon because our lives are very busy in the evenings. I'm also trying to lure my mom to this club and afternoons are better for her. 

Duolingo has all these little games to encourage people to do more lessons. I'm having fun hanging out in the ELITE DIAMOND league, and now they have this extra tournament thing for us top players. So I mad it into the final round, and suddenly found myself churning out tens of lessons a day (as opposed to my usual 2-4). It's not actually very efficient, but I managed to tag onto the very bottom of the winning side, so now I can relax. I may relax my way out of my elite diamond status, but honestly I'm OK with that.  

Our little town had its summer celebration -- RENTON RIVER DAYS. For two years they haven't been able to hold it, but this year they wanted to come back. It's not as big (or crowded) as in the before times, but they had a parade, and outside band playing, tables set up companionably, booths from local artists and businesses, and encouragement to patronize the local restaurants. For me (I mean, I assume they had me personally in mind) they had two new events -- a 5K walk at your own pace on Saturday morning, which I convinced my usual walking buddy to do with me. She picked the Hill Lover's route, which OK, was not the one I was going for, but it took us in a new direction and there were indeed great views of the town from the top of the hill. And it helped with the other innovation -- a Scavenger Hunt that I roped my son and brother-in-law into with me. We met a giant dog on our walk, and got my team got extra points for Biggest Dog Friend.  I think we did all the missions, although I took some liberties with the definitions. My family humored me, especially my sister who drove around and helped with the camera work. She knows that if I see a list I am compelled to work my way down it! (Looking at the scores, I think we may have won. Everyone go like www.facebook.com/Nishiducki to make sure! Duck with the most likes gets extra points!) 

I am still second on my list of all the Cybils finalists. I'm working through the categories -- I'm finishing up poetry right now. Look out, Shaye! I only need like thirty twenty-five forty thirty more books to catch up! (Shaye has made the strategic error of finishing all the books -- she can't increase her lead anymore!)

I'm also working my way through the Hugo finalists for this year; I've got two more novels to go.

I'm currently reading about 37 books, which is at least not worse than last week.

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 think I'm in time this week (barely)! Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers.

Started

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Vol 1 Part 6 (manga), Miya Kazuki. Thank you, library. I have just looked at the dates, and the manga was translated AFTER the light novel, so my plan to go ahead on the comics and follow with the prose is dead in the water.

Out of Darkness, Ashley Hope Perez. For a book club.

Starfish, Lisa Fipps. Cybils finalist. 

The Darkness Outside Us, Eliot Schrefer. I think this was on the Romance Reading club list for YA Romance month, but I didn't get it in time and finally it showed up on my holds options when I had some space.

Me (Moth), Amber McBride. Cybils finalist.

Completed

Spear, Nicola Griffith. For Foolscap book club. This was lovely to read -- I love how Griffith works with language, how it flows and always enhances the understanding of the character and the world she is moving in. I loved how she weaves in Arthurian stories, bringing in elements and twisting them a bit to fit the story she is telling. I read a bit of her commentary on her story, both in the afterward and in her Big Idea on the Whatever blog, and she talks about the sources she drew from and how she made some of the decisions she did in which to choose and how to adapt them. The book club was a lot of fun -- we had people ranging from a woman who did a college dissertation on Arthurian stuff, a guy who hadn't known in advance that King Arthur would be involved, some other people like me who adore Griffith's work. We had fun talking about both this book and all the wide ranging examples of retellings of the Arthurian myths. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Vol 1 Part 6 (manga), Miya Kazuki. Myne spends more time with the guildmaster's family (and Freya) and tells them some secrets. She also tells her family about her mortality, and asks for their help. And her fashion ideas make for a very interesting baptism dress. I like how her big sister is good hearted but also aware of all the special treatment Myne gets, and sometimes is jealous. 

Forging a Nightmare, Patricia A. Jackson. I really wanted to like this book because I met the author and she was kinda amazing, but it's pretty far out of my comfort zone. It's a book populated with all the creatures of Christian biblical lore, and our hero is an FBI agent charged with figuring out who has been murdering and defacing people with twelve fingers, a question he is especially interested in because he had his extra fingers removed as a baby. This leads him into a dangerous world where even his allies are menacing and betrayal can attack from any angle. The author's vocabulary is impressive -- the book is full of SAT words which worked really well when describing the enormous stakes and history of the combatants, and also helped me stomach the often violent descriptions of the battles (I am a delicate flower). I mention this because I recently read another book with both angels and an extensive word list, but in that one the author tended to get all the words just a little bit wrong. I didn't even notice what Jackson was doing for hundreds of pages because she doesn't ever misstep (the few times I tripped were because I was wrong, not her). Anyway, I enjoyed the book but had to keep putting it down for a while because the images were strong. FBI procedurals are not really my cup of tea, although the addition of nightmares and the Four Horsemen and immense regions of hell did help. 

Immersed in Verse, Allan Wolf. 2006 Cybils Nonfiction finalist. I really enjoyed the passion Wolf brings to this how-to book on becoming a poet. He's sure that everyone will enjoy discovering the poems within them and around them, and he shares his own examples and those of skilled writers in showing different techniques and uses of poems. I like how his enthusiasm on getting a poem to express just what you want conveys the joy of writing, and his practical ideas on everything from journaling to organizing events where you can read your poetry. I'm not sure it would convert the poetry allergic, but it's definitely a great encouragement to anyway thinking to dip their toes into poetic waters.

Everything Blue, Joanne Rossmassler Fritz. 2021 Cybils poetry finalist. OK, when I read a poetry book I'm looking for poems, or a poem. I want to read something that blows my head off. That's not what this is. It's a verse novel, and I've always resented those because I hear "poetry book" and then I get something else. I get a story made of of poetic shards, pieces of emotions and moments of clarity that will build into a cohesive whole but that don't try to follow conventional linear and narrative paths. And while reading this and the other Cybils poetry offerings this year, I realized that if I recognize what it is and don't try to judge it as something it isn't, I really like these. I shall invent my own terminology and call these "Mosaic novels." I bet the rest of the world already figured this out decades ago and there is already a word for them, but I live in a cave where I've been grumbling about "novels in verse" and "kids on my lawn."

Anyway, here is a girl in a family that has good intentions but has been looking away from each other rather than supporting each other, and that hasn't noticed this. Sometimes they reach out to each other for comfort but usually in vain because they are looking away, and similarly the narrator doesn't see when her family needs her because she is only looking at her own needs. (She's only in middle school, so really this is expected from her! Her older siblings and parents have weaker excuses.) During the course of this book we see the family almost splinter apart but manage to start moving towards each other, and there is hope at the end. 

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Vol 2, Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù. I am now thoroughly spoiled for the TV show because the super sneaky villain has been revealed and is currently several steps ahead of the sympathetic guys who are also starting to admit their feelings for each other. And there is at least one more book (maybe 2?) so I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. 

Starfish, Lisa Fipps. 2021 Cybils poetry finalist. This was heartbreaking and very moving -- the story of a fat girl who is bullied by her mom as well as at her school, but it's the stuff her mom sets the family up to do to her that really hurts. It's another mosaic novel, with the girl showing us how she feels in each moment, from her best friend leaving to finding a new friend next door, to her mom encouraging the contempt of her siblings and her father desperately searching for a way to help not just his daughter but the toxic mess his family is sinking into. It's condensed a bit -- everything that happens seems legitimate but it all happens very close to each other, but this isn't a memoir it's a story. It's a great mirror for fat girls, but also a transparent window for anyone thinking fatphobia is not big deal. Also it's a great mosaic novel.

The Zen Path Through Depression, Philip Martin. I read this a chapter at a time, dipping into it when I had a few minutes in the morning, afternoon, evening and bedtime. It was very soothing -- I've dealt with depression and never feel that far from the pit, and found the meditations and ways of thinking very soothing. Sometimes it was good to feel someone else has been there, some were addressing problems I had never really felt, and some were insights into ways to deal with thought patterns that were very familiar to me. I'm glad I finally got this off my shelves and into my eyes and my soul. I didn't want to open it when I really needed it, but now I have it ready if I need it next time.

-----------------Book From Blogging Hiatus -----------------

Navigating Minefields: A Young Man's Blueprint for Success on Life's Battlefield, Victoria Duerstock. 2021 Cybils nominee. I found the short essays on adulthood and character refreshing, but other than a couple of bits of dating advice that seemed rather naive I wasn't sure why it was aimed at young men rather than young people, which felt a bit exclusionary to me. I could see leaving this book somewhere to be dipped into (do other families have bathroom books?) but I'm not sure if young people, men or women, would pick this up on their own. My own sons would've reacted very cynically to it so maybe that is influencing my judgement. I did get one of them to skim through it for his opinion -- he's a bit older than the intended audience, and he was also unsure who he would give this to.

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Ok, I'm only going to put a book in here when I actually try to read it. Or at least actually pick it up and think about reading it. This week I made some progress in:

Ethan of Athos, Lois McMaster Bujold. I hope I'm not being too annoying with my obvious anticipation of favorite scenes during this audio. My son seems to enjoying Bujold's quite snarky comments from Ethan's viewpoint.

Many Points of Me, Caroline Gertler. Cybils finalist. Still struggling with the protagonist, who is now choosing to hide her regretted misdeeds from her mom rather than make an effort to put things right.

Sinister Magic, Lindsay Buroker. Audio for while I do my chores. Thank you, Ms Buroker, for helping me keep my kitchen clean.

Cobra, Timothy Zahn. The Baen Free Radio Podcast serial, part 16. The close-to-graduation screw up part!

A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine. Hugo finalist.

Sweep of the Heart, Ilona Andrews. More political intrigue! Friends and new acquaintances are in cahoots.  

Warcross, Marie Lu. I was supposed to read this for Foolscap book club but I cheated and skipped the middle. Going back for it.

She Who Became the Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan. Hugo novel finalist.

Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy. 

The Dark Fantastic, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. I lost this! But now I've found it.

The Wine-Dark Sea, Patrick O'Brian. 

Ship Without Sails, Sherwood Smith. Sadly she is sending these faster than I read them, because I don't always read on my ipad.

Picture Books / Short Stories:

Sally's Snow Adventure, Stephen Huneck. ANIMALS. Sally, a dog, goes on vacation in the snow and hangs out with other dogs, all being their perfect doggy selves. No people, no distractions, just dogs. If your kid likes dogs, this is a great book. Sally is a very good dog -- 10/10. (Reading-My-Library book)

The Crocodile Under the Bed, Judith Kerr. ANIMALS. Hey, this is by the author of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. I had no idea she was still alive. It's a nice book about a kid denied a treat who ends up having a much nicer time, with fun interactions with various wild animals. The illustrations aren't quite my cup of tea, but this would be a fun book to read with kids. (Reading-My-Library book)

Berenstain Bears: Inside Outside Upside Down, Stan Berenstain. EASY READER. I've always disliked the BBs, finding them smug and unsympathetic. This was easy to slot in there, as the boy is heedlessly worrying his parents and is saved from disaster by happenstance and not any effort on his part. But this is exactly the kind of book I'd like to read in Greek -- I need a lot of work on those prepositions and location words. Too bad I had the English version! (Reading-My-Library book)

Palate Cleansers

These books I'm barely reading; lately I use them as bribes to get me to deal with the mail. I've been ignoring my mail.

 

Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others. 

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane (no picture). I like seeing how different people translated Horace and other Latin guys.

Stinger, Nancy Kress.  

Dragon's Breath, E.D. Baker. I think I've been brought up to speed (this is not the first book in this series)

You Can Write Children's Books, Tracey E. Dils. Picture books. 

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. I'm mostly keeping up with the present July selections. Mostly.

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2021: Finished two poetry books. 
2. Early Cybils: Finished Immersed in Verse. I have the next one on deck.
3. Reading My Library. Still only working on the kids books from Renton Highlands Library -- I finished off picture books and started on EASY READERS and also grabbed an audio CD book. I figure the audio book can go simultaneously since I can only listen in the car (no CD player in the house).  
4. Where Am I Reading 2022. Everything Blue was in Delaware!. 27/51. I've got 13 countries. 
5. Libraries: 44/55 for the Tacoma Extreme Challenge: Picked up 10-Fiction from 2022, 20-Refugee, 
   Finished Ancestral Night for KCLS 10 to Try.

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: She Who Became the Sun Next: Desolation Called Peace
• Library Book: Never Tell  Next: Heartstoppers 4
• Ebook I own: Wine-Dark Sea  Next: Your Perfect Year
• Library Ebook:  On the Corner of Hope and Main  Next: Threadbare
• Book Club Book: Threadbare
• Tuesday Book Club Book: Wine-Dark Sea
• Hugo Book: She Who Became the Sun
• Review Book: Back Home  Next: 
• Rereading: Heidi. 
• Meal Companion: Never Tell
• Audio:  Sinister Magic

Temperature Says Summer Is Here

July has started! It was pretty quiet for me. I'm not really in the mood to celebrate my country, especially since I think the recent supreme court decisions pretty much repudiate what I thought our country was about. So no sparklers for me. 

My sister's family went to Jamaica, so I walked over to feed their cats and texted to hear about their adventures and let them know about any excitements over here, like my getting some of the sprinkler heads to line up correctly. I'm sure that was as much fun as all the beaches and luminescent water and historical tours they were doing. 

I escaped the heat a few times by seeing some movies -- Elvis was interesting but also really long, and Thor: Love and Thunder was fun but bogged down a few times. My mom had a doctor's appointment that went well, and I went to a small cookout with friends who haven't seen each other in a few years, because of the pandemic. And, oh yeah, my mom got COVID on Sunday. She's currently dealing with a really bad sore throat, so tomorrow I'm going to see if I can get her anything for it. 

I am still second on my list of all the Cybils finalists. But I'm still working on the categories -- I'm working on poetry right now. Look out, Shaye! I only need like thirty thirty-five forty thirty more books to catch up! (Shaye has made the strategic error of finishing all the books -- she can't increase her lead anymore!)

I'm also working my way through the Hugo finalists for this year; I've got two more novels to go.

I'm currently reading about 39 books, which is at least not worse than last week.

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 think I'm in time this week! Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers.

Started

The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker. Recommended for the staff at the small convention I help with.

Hunt the Stars, Jessie Mihalik. Sword & Laser's July pick.

Starship Down #1, Justin Giampaoli. Comic recommended by Seattle Public librarian.

Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga), Part 1 Vol 4, Suzuka. Catching up with the manga.

Dragon's Breath, E.D. Baker. Another book for my palate cleansers.

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, Julia Quinn. Belated arrival for romance graphic novel discussion.

Sinister Magic, Lindsay Buroker. Audio for while I do my chores.

Huda F Are You?, Huda Famy. I like her autobiographical comics. 

The Last Train to Key West, Chanel Cleeton. My local library's in-person book club is back! Yay!

A Place to Hang the Moon, Kate Albus. Cybils finalist. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga), Part 1 Vol 5, Miya Kazuki. Chugging along!

You Can Write Children's Books, Tracey E. Dils. Another palate cleanser.

Immersed in Verse, Allan Wolf. Cybils finalist. 

The Zen Path Through Depression, Philip Martin. Part of a read-my-shelves challenge.

Aunt Dimity and the Enchanted Castle, Nancy Atherton. Reading along in this series. 

Black Butler 22, Yana Toboso. Chugging through the manga.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Vol 2, Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù. I am now ahead of my television viewing, although the TV show timeline is different so it isn't all that clear.

Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison. I love these books. 

You Don't Have to Be Everything, Diana Whitney (editor). Cybils finalist. 

Everything Blue, Joanne Rossmassler Fritz. Cybils finalist. 

Spear, Nicola Griffith. For Foolscap book club.

Completed

The Jasmine Throne, Tasha Suri. Cloudy book club. Actually I finished this in June but didn't noticed because my Kindle app helpfully moves things off my currently-reading list when I finish a library ebook, which means I often forget to review them. Anyway, I liked it but didn't love it; there was a lot of great sweeping empire bits, and lots of different goals from different characters, but the love story seemed mostly tedious to me and it took a lot of pages. We all finished it but don't want to rush on to the rest of the series. 

Longshot, Dick Francis. Friday night book club pick. This was a fun read, both for those of us who have read every Francis and those who like him but have only read a few. This had a fun protagonist, made him the one new to racing so it was easier to explain stuff to us novices, and gave him a good range of people to meet and be threatened by. It was also fun to compare it with the Clive Cussler we read a few months ago (Francis has aged better, although this is not as old). 

Starship Down #1, Justin Giampaoli. Long long ago, during the pandemic (remember the pandemic?) Seattle library gave me this as part of a SF bundle, but marked it NO DUE DATE. Um, I sort my library books by due date, so it languished at the far end of the shelf for over a year. I finally noticed this and read the comic. I found the art engaging, although I (of course) had some struggles with telling people apart, especially when the priest renounced his vestments. Theologically I find the premise a bit confusing, but I enjoyed the main character and her ambitions. I don't think I'll seek out the next in the series though. 

Hunt the Stars, Jessie Mihalik. Sword & Laser's July pick. This was something that exactly hit my summer reading mood. It's a light hearted SF romance that plays with a lot of SF tropes -- there's a ship with a found family, all buddies from a previous war, and then they are hired to help some of their old enemies (the money is good) and both groups find out what their respective governments have been lying about while they have to do some serious rescue work. Oh, and they fall in love. I mostly skimmed the sex bits because I was enjoying the Empire swashbuckling and the human skills letting them compete with the alien psionic powers, and it was all great fun. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga), Part 1 Vol 4, Suzuka. (I don't know why goodreads says the author changed??). Reading the manga after the light novels does make things easier, but I think I'm going to try to catch up and do it the other way, because I prefer the pleasure of "oh, THAT's what is happening" to the quiet complete comprehension. Myne and Lutz are working hard and making mistakes, and I really like all the detail in the illustations. 

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, Julia Quinn. This was crazy. I mean, I had fun and it was short, but I was a bit confused about which bits to take seriously. The panel with the girl and her broken legs after the tragedy with the pirana birds should have been a clue. I have no idea who the audience is, or with what other works of literature it is in conversation with. 

Huda F Are You?, Huda Famy. This time Famy looks at her identity crisis as teen, where she struggled with self esteem and instead tried to match the interests or expectations of anyone around her. And of course, deal with some anti-Muslim prejudice along the way. I enjoyed and related to her stories of figuring all this out in high school with high family expectations but low personal understanding.

The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker. This gave me a lot to think about, both personally and professionally. It reinforces some ideas about ritual and formality and ways they work both positively and negatively in different environments, and how to make a space work for you or to know when an event is over, and the responsibilities of the host in everything from a dinner party to a formal wedding to a science fiction convention.

Freedom Walkers, Russell Freedman. 2006 Cybils Middle Grade and YA Nonfiction finalist. This was a good overview of the bus boycott complete with an impression selection of black and white photos. I learned a few details but also noticed good coverage of Rosa Parks and Claudette Corvin and other details I know from other books. So when it covered stuff I knew it was accurate and I trusted it for the stuff that was new to me. 

Violets Are Blue, Barbara Dee. 2021 Cybils Middle Grade fiction finalist. There's a lot to like here -- I was fascinated with Ren's interest in extreme make-up, and I sympathized with her efforts to find a social balance in middle school, finding friends without sacrificing who she wanted to be. It felt a bit problem-novel-y to me; I spotted her mom's problem early and just watched the end collapsing in, but it's a good example of a problem-novel with relatable people and complexity in their lives.

Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga), Part 1 Vol 5, Miya Kazuki. This is the one where we get lots of details about the merchant guild, and also learn with Myne that there is more magic in the world than she thought. I, being clever, and also probably because I've read the light novels for this bit, have also spotted that with the odd vegetables that she keeps getting in trouble with. 

Vampire Trinity, Joey Hill. Well, I made it through. Some of the world building was interesting, but I didn't the relationship dynamics that interesting, or that hot. So I would say this series isn't for me. 

The Last Train to Key West, Chanel Cleeton. Oops. I misread my calendar -- the re-start of the local library in-person bookclub is NEXT Wednesday, not the past Wednesday. So I hope I remember enough of this book about three women staring down the guns of matrimony in depression-era Florida in the 1930s. Turns out they are also staring in to the eye of an enormous historic hurricane that is going to dramatically affect each of their relationships! I liked how the book had the women barely interact, so I as the reader could connect them, but what really bound them together was the theme -- what makes a marriage? why enter into one? when to leave one? what kind of relationship do I want? or can I accept? They all have different situations and have to work with limitations and expectations that both help and hinder. 

Phoenix Extravagant, Yoon Ha Lee. OK, I admire Lee's versatility, because the setting and tone is so drastically different from his other books (that I've read). I really liked how Jebu is really ethical -- they don't like killing, they do think even sapient automatons deserve respect, they are willing to risk themselves for these beliefs. It was interesting to me how this revealed confusions I have over nonbinary characters; like when they had to pee in the woods I had no idea of how awkward this was, when they had sex with a woman I had no idea why they weren't worried about pregnancy, when they were a couple I had no idea what the societal implications were. OK, that last one wasn't really about their gender, more about how because I'd already tripped over the other questions I realized that I wasn't comfortable filling in the background idea from my life, or even from my vague guess of what fantasy societies such as these do, but really had no idea what this particular place was doing. 

Aunt Dimity and the Enchanted Castle, Nancy Atherton. These are short, low stakes cosy mysteries. In fact, I mostly read these now to see how low the stakes can go. The mystery this time is why the new guy in town is sad. Several people ask him, and he finally tells one of them. The end! Oh, also a toddler likes ducks. But meanwhile Lori continues having a perfect life with perfect children and endlessly kind and accommodating friends, relatives, and neighbors. It's a vacation of a series.

Black Butler 22, Yana Toboso. The final stage of wrapping up the werewolves/secret chemical weapon subplot is presenting Ceri's new friend to the Queen! So we get to go to dress shops and have etiquette lessons. This is entirely the content that I have signed up to this manga for, so I was very happy.

A Place to Hang the Moon, Kate Albus. 2021 Cybils Middle Grade fiction finalist. Since I was old enough to read I've devoured books about kids in World War II, so this book about British evacuees was made for me. It also stars a librarian and the three siblings are all bibliophiles. On an emotional level, I liked how they were struggling to be a family and hoping to find an adult to parent them, and what that meant to them. I can't really judge how other people would like it because the author was apparently mostly writing the things I like best and I loved it.

Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison. I knew I'd like it because just the chance to hang out in the Elven kingdom with elves and goblins was going to be great. And then Addison managed to up the emotional stakes a lot and I realized how much I liked the protagonist and how he was rebuilding his life and I ended up really loving this book. 

You Don't Have to Be Everything, Diana Whitney (editor). 2021 Cybils Poetry finalist. I just couldn't gel with this collection, probably because they were selected for teenages, especially teen aged girls, and I am old. There were a few poems that I liked, but most of them I knew before this book. I think it does what it wants to do very well, but it's not doing it for me.

-----------------Book From Blogging Hiatus -----------------

I think this is long enough already, don't you?

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Ok, I'm only going to put a book in here when I actually try to read it. Or at least actually pick it up and think about reading it. This week I made some progress in:

Many Points of Me, Caroline Gertler. Cybils finalist. I'm avoiding this one because I'm afraid of grief.

The Wine-Dark Sea, Patrick O'Brian. I was supposed to read this with my Tuesday book club last year. 

Ethan of Athos, Lois McMaster Bujold. I drive my son to work in exchange for him doing Wordle/Quordle with me. If we finish early, I have provided him with this audio to prevent me from starting interesting conversations like "so what do you plan to do with your life?". I think he's enjoying it; it's definitely better than those conversations! (I'm loving it. We're in the fast-penta scene with the Cetagandans.)

Sweep of the Heart, Ilona Andrews. More political intrigue! Friends and new acquaintances are in cahoots.  

Forging a Nightmare, Patricia A. Jackson. Lots of progress, but then I got made at the main character.

Cobra, Timothy Zahn. The Baen Free Radio Podcast serial. The close-to-graduation screw up part!

She Who Became the Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan. Hugo novel finalist.

A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine. Hugo finalist.

Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy. 

The Dark Fantastic, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. I lost this! But now I've found it.

Ship Without Sails, Sherwood Smith. Sadly she is sending these faster than I read them, because I don't always read on my ipad.

Picture Books / Short Stories:

Pokko and the Drum, Matthew Forsythe. Reading-my-library Picture Book - ANIMALS. As a parent, I completely understood the introductory words to the effect that giving Pokko that drum may have been a mistake. But it's clearly a mistake these frog parents are committed to making. I also liked the frog mother's dedication to her book.

Sterling, Best Dog Ever, Aidan Cassie. Reading-my-library Picture Book - ANIMALS. The amusing illustrations and clever idea of Sterling, the dog who thought he had to be a fork, made the lesson about being loved for yourself go down very easily. 

Little Mouse's Big Secret, Eric Battut. Reading-my-library Picture Book - ANIMALS. Hee hee, a mouse tries to be selfish and is accidentally awesome. 

It's Duffy Time, Audrey Wood. Reading-my-library Picture Book - ANIMALS. Although normally I'm a bit put off by Wood's illustrations, the uncanny valley is not as strong for me with dogs as with people. I almost missed the sneaky face clocks all over. 

The Best Worst Poet Ever, Lauren Stohler. Reading-my-library Picture Book - ANIMALS. This was a lot of fun -- the cat poet with a quill and the pug dog with a manual typewriter, and their reconciliation when the pug takes being compared with a lot of gross food as a compliment. 

Bear's Big Breakfast, Lynn Rowe Reed. Reading-my-library Picture Book - ANIMALS. This was a fun celebration of the letter B, a letter we should all appreciate.

Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm, Jerdine Nolan. Reading-my-library Picture Book - ANIMALS. I loved this. I liked the illustrations, I liked the story and the voice, and I liked the concept. 

In My Mother's House, Patricia Poloccio. Reading-my-library Picture Book - LIFE ISSUES. Two moms and their three kids, as told as a memory by one of the kids. It's a history of a block in Berkeley and of a family, and it's joyful and caring.

The Buddy Bench, Patty Bronzo. Reading-my-library Picture Book - LIFE ISSUES. This didn't work well as a story book -- the rhymes were forced and the rhythms cramped. As an explanation of what a buddy bench is and why it's a good addition to a school playground it does better. 

Pete the Cat and the Bedtime Blues, Kimberly Dean. Reading-my-library Picture Book - BEDTIME. I continue to be a bit creeped out by Pete the Cat, so I would have snuck this back into the library bag as quick as possible back in the day.

Ten on the Sled, Kim Norman. Reading-my-library Picture Book - CONCEPTS. A fun counting book as you watch the animals depart the sled, with twists around which ones will go next and also when they will appear again. Fun enough.

The Remember Balloons, Jessie Oliveros. A lovely picture book exploring how grandparents or other people can lose memories (the balloons) and how that feels and what it looks like. The conceit of memories as balloons is well illustrated, with the younger siblings having fewer but increasing balloons and the parents and grandparents ginormous clouds. Watching the balloons slip away was emotionally wrenching for me. 

Palate Cleansers

These books I'm barely reading; lately I use them as bribes to get me to deal with the mail. I've been ignoring my mail.

 

Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others. This one is fun -- the failed date with the baddie, and now hanging out with the guy who looks like the goodie. 

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane (no picture).

Stinger, Nancy Kress. High stakes. 

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. I'm mostly keeping up with the present July selections. 

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2021: Finished two middle grade fictions and a poetry book. 
2. Early Cybils: Finished Freedom Walkers and started Immersed in Verse.
3. Reading My Library. Have the next one waiting. Continued with the picture books from Renton Highlands -- I found some lost ones for CONCEPTS and LIFE ISSUES and read BEDTIME and worked on ANIMALS (by far the biggest category).
4. Where Am I Reading 2022. Picked up Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. 25/51. I've got 13 countries. 
5. Libraries: 44/55 for the Tacoma Extreme Challenge: Picked up 10-Fiction from 2022, 20-Refugee, 
   Finished Ancestral Night for KCLS 10 to Try.

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: Forging a Nightmare Next: Desolation Called Peace
• Library Book: Out of Darkness Next: Never Tell
• Ebook I own: Your Perfect Year  Next: Wine-Dark Sea
• Library Ebook:  Darkness Outside Us  Next: On the Corner of Hope and Main
• Book Club Book: Out of Darkness
• Tuesday Book Club Book: Wine-Dark Sea
• Hugo Book: Desolation Called Peace
• Review Book: Back Home  Next: 
• Rereading: Heidi. 
• Meal Companion: Never Tell
• Audio:  Sinister Magic