Don't Miss That Heat Wave!

I am continuing to read and to inflict the list of my reading on the poor internet. I do actually go back sometimes to see what I was reading and for how long, so I like having the record.

It was a good week -- the weather got cooler so it was pleasant, I got some stuff done around the house, especially with all the paperwork I misplaced around dealing with my mom's estate, and I was gentle with myself when I tended to mope after dealing with said paperwork. Memorial Weekend meant grilling in my sister's backyard and celebrating my niece's birthday which was fun and delicious and then I sobered up in time to get my son from work (lucky for me they ran over by almost an hour). 

We are getting this ready for the two big family events this summer -- my niece's graduation from Dartmouth and then a memorial for my mom in California (where her siblings live). Somehow I have been delegated as the one to make a lot of arrangements, which is a poor decision on the family's part since I have staked out a position as the sibling most likely to forget to do paperwork, but we'll see how it goes. We always enjoy getting together so hopefully a few minor details like me booking the rental house in the wrong town will be overlooked.

My son went off to visit his sisters in the city so I went to the movies by myself and saw Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret, which was as nostalgic and lovely as I hoped. I also remember feeling so glad I wasn't as into my period as the people in the book, and now that I'm done with all that I second my emotion. 

OK, here's a secret. I'm tracking my books from Friday to Friday, which gives me a chance to put this page in order by Monday. So numbers of currently reading books will not always match if you do the math. But I definitely finished more than I started and am making progress on the books I claim to be reading. I've got 37 books out of the library and I know where 36 of them are. I'm listed as reading 44 books on goodreads and I'm serious about at least 35 of them. 

I'm off to check out the other books at The Bookdate's It's Monday, What Are You Reading headquarters. And since I read a lot of kidlit, I'll also sign up at the Children's Book central version, held at both Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.

Started

Tastes Like War, Grace M. Cho. Just as I was congratulation myself on getting my library check-outs under control, the Libby app lured me with a no-wait check out. I'm the victim here!

A Longer Fall, Charlaine Harris. I like the Audio Dramatizations. A movie for my ears!

Bea Wolf, Zach Weinersmith. A gift from my lovely brother and his lovely wife.

The Red Scholar's Wake, Aliette de Bodard. For Cloudy book club.

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, John Grisham. My Tuesday book club explores another children's mystery. 

Messy Roots, Laura Gao. 2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. 

Completed

Spare Man, Mary Robinette Kowal. This is a very contemporary book for all that it's set in the "near" future where we have awesome cruise spaceships prowling the route between Earth and Mars. By that I mean that it reflects a lot of current trends, some pushed forward a bit but others just what we see now. People can don "courtesy masks" which are available all over, either for concealment or because of concerns about germs (their own or others). Introductions include preferred pronounces, often partially declined (why the standard for announcing one's pronouns includes declension I have no idea and I actually am really hoping the future fixes that), gendered insults are frowned upon but still the staple of reactionary antagonists, and lawyers are a rich person's best friend. It's also a delightful pastiche of The Thin Man, complete with cute dog, and has Kowal's delicate touch with complete characters with complex lives and successes and failures. I enjoyed it.

Rocking the Babies, Linda Raymond. I loved the way this book stuck the landing. It was definitely a constant build -- from setting the scene to delving into the reasons the characters are where they are, to stories from their past both internally and then as part of a storytelling that builds a community, to the final passage where the next generation picks up the storytelling to show that the community will continue. There's tragedy and love and struggle and it's a beautiful portrayal of how women just keep going on. And I do mean women -- I noticed at the end of rarely men affect the plot.

Little Monarchs, Jonathan Case. 2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. At first I had to adjust from bad expectations -- for some reason I had misread the cover and assumed this was about surfing in Hawaii. (Why Hawaii? Because that's where I almost took surfing lessons, I guess.) But then I started really appreciated the post-apocalyptic tale. I liked the relationship of respect and authority between the adult and the kid, the way that science was approached, the homeschooling aspect (I mean, there's no home but also no more schools). I also like that tough things happened but sometimes hard work succeeded, and that most people are good but some bad apples will sure make thing hard. I tried to hand this to other people but no one around here listens to me; I need to get back to volunteering in the school.

Ascendance of A Bookworm Manga, Vol 2 Part 3. I can never overexpose myself to this series. As soon as I finish volume two of the manga I'm off to re-subscribe to crunchyroll to see if they have the anime. Here we see Myne assuming her role as Orphanage Director and accepting child labor as an acceptable factory input (this makes since she herself is seven years old and holding down several jobs). The manga is easy to read (for me, this is saying a lot) and I really like seeing how the artists drew different characters and their reactions. 

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, John Grisham. OK, I have nothing to say about Theo's detecting skills because there is no mystery for him to detect with. Instead there is a lawyerly ethical problem and a lot of infodumping about how our legal system works. Also, this kid plays golf for fun and likes grapefruit juice. So he's obviously an alien. I'll see if anyone in the Tuesday club knows about double jeopardy so they can explain if we saw a crime being committed. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5 Vol 3, Miya Kazuki. Even limiting myself to a few pages a day could not make this book last forever. The next one won't be out until the end of the month! Her fiance is getting suspicious, her best friend's fiance is humiliatingly awful, and the royal family needs to be propped up but don't know how shaky a limb Myne really is. It's all part of her goal to get all the books onto all the shelves! Go for it, Myne! 

The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal. SPOILERS! Foolscap is reading this for our Alternate Timelines month. It's a reread for me, and I actually liked it better because Kowal drops me so deep into her stories that I tend to panic when things get tense. And they get tense a lot in this book. First of all, there's the whole "the world is going to end" stuff. And then there's the protagonist's actual panic attacks. And a smarmy head astronaut/pilot who bears a grudge against said protagonist because she threw a wrench in his habit of raping women pilots delivering his fighter planes during WWII. Kowal did a lot of research for this book, and sometimes it shows, but mostly it's just what our matheticial pilot career woman is doing. I also like how Kowal handles the protagonist being a jerk sometimes. Often she's aware of it and trying to talk herself into being better, sometimes she's oblivious, and sometimes she's beating herself up for the wrong things. Relatable. The book club was also positive, with most people planning to continue on. 

Flash of Fire, M.L. Buchman. This was a fun book about hot helicopter pilots who put out literal fires. Get it? The romance was fairly low key -- they were both instantly attracted to each other and happily started a work fling, but then fell into feelings while working and holidaying together. The only conflict was that she had never seen herself as the kind of person to settle down, so once he got over his shock at hearing this he just had to wait for her to reevaluate things in light of their obvious soulmate status. This left lots of room for cool fire fighting stuff, first on the West Coast, then up to a SUPER FIRE in Canada, then on a SECRET MISSION to North Korea. 

The Bronze Skies, Catherine Asaro. More fun for me! I still like Bhaaj's limited social skills, awe at the highfalutin people she works for now, especially as this gets worse. And I like her stubborn loyalty to the culture she grew up in even as the people aren't entirely sure she's still one of them. The virtual stuff worked pretty well for me, especially as I am very willing to just go with it on these books. The reverse sexist attitudes are also amusing, especially as they aren't highlighted as much in this one, just quietly in the background setting. I'll take a break before going on but I'm definitely still enjoying these even on a reread.

Picture Books

Three books from my Reading My Library Quest, Renton Highlands division, Easy Nonfiction shelves. 

Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers, Melissa Stewart. A fun animal book celebrating some oddballs. I have to quibble about the tone -- in what universe does being odd or stinky make an animal feel underappreciated by the picture book crowd? They are the stars!

I See Sea Food, Jenna Grodzicki. This was a fun concept -- sea animals that resemble people food (besides sushi). I have a nephew who spent several years fascinated with underwater creatures, especially invertebrates, and he would have loved this.

A Place For Turtles, Melissa Stewart. Huh, I guess Stewart does a lot of animal books! This one earnestly shows a lot of turtles and describes what people could do to make their lives safer (or more often, could stop doing to save them from extinction). A bit grim. 

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Miya Kazuki. I'm endlessly rereading this while waiting for the next version. The bookworm's universe is my happy place. Currently I'm on Part III. 

Cobra, Timothy Zahn. I am so far behind.

Children of the Stone City, Beverley Naidoo. The twelve year old has been arrested, but we know he is innocent. And also that twelve year olds should not have black bags pulled over their heads. 

Warcross, Marie Lu. My knowledge of computers is just enough to make me a little leery of the online stuff.

The Engagement, Sasha Issenberg. For Torches and Pitchforks. Book club is this Friday. I think I'll make it. 

Royal Escape, Georgette Heyer. Young King Charles 2 is brave in the face of danger, especially when there are pretty girls to distract him.

Flood Circle, Harry Connolly. Too many library books this week. 

Your Perfect Year, Charlotte Lucas. See library book issue. 

Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon. I think we can expect to see this here for a while.

The Wine-Dark Sea, Patrick O'Brian. Not gonna finish this week.

How Rory Thorn Destroyed the Multiverse, K. Eason. Library Quest book. This is fun!

Ship Without Sails, Sherwood Smith. Smith's magic system is complex and yet comprehensible. I love how her characters accept and approach it.

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.

 

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

Stinger, Nancy Kress. 

Dragon's Breath, E.D. Baker. The responsibility of royalty to their countries is an interesting question.

The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler.  (no picture) 

The Road to Mars, Eric Idle. .

The Dark Fantastic, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. Lots of sweeping statements in the first chapter that are interesting but I want to see how they are supported. 

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. I am very excited that I've gone for a whole month without missing a day. Which means my mail bin is almost up to date!

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2022: Moving onto YA Graphic Novels.
2. Early Cybils:  Not done.
3. Reading My Library. Working on audio and Easy Nonfiction from backup library. Started Rory Thorne from main.
4. Where Am I Reading 2022. Never finished updating this. Not sure I'll do it in 2023.
5. Libraries: Started the 10 to Try for 2023. 

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: Royal Escape
• Library Book: How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse
• Ebook I own: Year of Wonder
• Library Ebook: Tastes Like War
• Book Club Book: Red Scholar's Wake
• Tuesday Book Club Book: (I'm ahead!)
• Review Book: Back Home 
• Rereading: 
• Audio: A Longer Fall
  

May Is For Family

We just had a week of summer in May, which is unusual out here in the Northwest United States. Highs in the eighties sometimes happen in July or August, and we complain then! I had just taken my winter blanket off my bed and suddenly I was running the fan all night. My sun lizard son was quite pleased. It's also making me rethink my sorta-plan to grow out my bangs. I really hate that stage when they are in your eyes and I've never gotten past it, but so far I've managed not to grab scissors and chop my way clear. I have no idea what people do with their hair if they don't have bangs though...

Amazingly enough, I'm sorta on track with my running. My friend and I keep each other honest on the weekends, and cheer each other on if we keep up during the week. So I've done another Zombie Run and made progress on RunKeeper's First 10K program. But my knee felt funny so I'm taking a few days just to walk. Somehow we went 4 miles on Saturday, I tried out a new trail with my brother on Sunday, and I signed up for the Art Walk in my tiny downtown and had a lot of fun seeing stuff I've never noticed before -- poems on painted fire hydrants, murals on the back walls of buildings on streets with one way traffic, and an amazing tour of an accountants office. He saw us admiring the mural outside and mentioned he collected art and next thing we knew we were examining the walls of all the conference rooms. Really good stuff!

Several books clubs met, and I had read the books! The Renton Library hosts the amazingly named A River Runs Under It club (because the library is built over a river), and we discussed Cannery Row, which I hadn't read but enjoyed. Some people thought it was funny, but some of us thought the laughter was covering some dark stuff. And the Romance Book Club went online in the pandemic, and now we have people from all around so we'll probably stay online, and we discussed Sabrina Jeffries and also to recognize an author's tone and how to recommend books based on emotional depth. 

And then on Tuesday with the gaming group we made fun of the detecting in the Nancy Drew and decided to jump forward to a book with the author's name on the cover. I picked up John Grisham's Kid Lawyer at the library on my library run. I love going to the library! I'm trying to restrain myself, because they have gone back to only allowing 2 renewals (even I have to admit the 5 months we got during the pandemic was a bit generous). So I'm trying to read down my library pile to fit on a single shelf. But of course I also have to keep up with my book clubs, and my Cybils love, and my Library Quests (I am slowly going from shelf to shelf picking a book from each shelf). I'm sure it'll be okay. My started and completed lists this week are exactly equal, but most of the started books were fairly short and many of the completed lists were longer, so I'm really truly making progress. Really. For sure.

Food wise we've all been pretty good at cooking at home. My sister makes gourmet stuff for family dinner, and it's always fun to see my brother at those. I've been slacking on the bread making and the family has noticed and been a bit sad, which was really surprising and I hope inspiring. I'm managed to keep several weeks ahead in picking out the family menus, which is a more relaxing way to do things and also helps me mix old and new recipes in ways that don't make the cook panic (I meal plan, my son cooks).

My list of currently reading did not grow. Someday I will get back to two pages on goodreads.  I'm off to check out the other books at The Bookdate's It's Monday, What Are You Reading headquarters. And since I read a lot of kidlit, I'll also sign up at the Children's Book central version, held at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashed Readers. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.

Started

The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal. Foolscap is reading this for our Alternate Timelines month. It's a reread for me. 

The Bronze Skies, Catherine Asaro. I had so much fun rereading book 1 that I'm continuing on. 

The Haunted Bridge, Carolyn Keene. My Tuesday book club wants to read some children's mysteries. I assured everyone that Nancy Drew is awesome and found one that all our libraries own.

Ascendance of A Bookworm Manga, Vol 2 Part 3. Ah, the joy of watching Myne expand her infant paper-making factory by enlisting a bunch of orphans. The kids work for Myne and she uses her profits to feed them. Win-win!

Spare Man, Mary Robinette Kowal. Huh, I'm reading two Kowals at the same time! This one is a retelling, and I still have vague memories of the original (Dasheil Hammett's The Thin Man). Between my poor memory and Kowal's reimagining, I have no idea whodunnit.

Flash of Fire, M.L. Buchman. I have no idea why I got this book. Wait -- it's a romance by a man! For April's Romance Readers book club. Huh. Should have read it then.

Wingbearer, Marjorie M. Liu. 2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. 

How Rory Thorn Destroyed the Multiverse, K. Eason. Library Quest book. I am up to Fiction E on my quest to read a book from each shelf of the Renton Library.

Little Monarchs, Jonathan Case. 2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. 

Completed

Undercity, Catherine Asaro. For my Friday book club, and it was a good choice. It's a fairly easy read, with an interesting protagonist who wanders through interesting places in an interesting society. There's the fun of the baseline matriarchy which is trying out equality and the men are getting close. There the hot old flame who is very interested in reigniting their adolescent relationship, there's the sciency psy powers, and there's the problems of the lost prince Bhaaj rescues as she also saves her culture and probably the empire while negotiating with both the denizens of the undercity and the rich elite. So stuff to talk about but not to stress over.

Squire, Sara Alfageeh. 2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. I enjoyed this, but I'm not the target audience. I saw a lot of the beats coming and I felt the shadow of a moral lesson over the whole narrative. And a lot of the stories seemed incomplete; we got the emotional start of an arc, and then the complications, but the resolutions didn't really land. 

Milk in My Coffee, Eric Jerome Dickey. This was a rich and interesting romance book -- I'm glad I followed up on the recommendation from last month's Romance Book Club. I'm especially pleased that I didn't guess one of the secrets the woman was keeping, and it was an interesting view on how colorism affects people and relationships and how this Black community defined and patrolled itself. The gender assumptions also challenged me deeply. I ended the book hoping this couple works out (it's a happy-for-now ending). 

Forge of God, Greg Bear. The Foolscap book club read this during one of the months I missed because of my mom. Which is too bad because it was really interesting and must have made for an interesting discussion. I would want to talk about whether the book is a set-up for something her really wanted to write, or about how grounded in its time it is and what challenges that presents to a modern reader, or about what we know about the different types of aliens and what their motives are, and how we would face the decisions that the characters did. I hope they had a good time with it! Greg Bear must have been an awesome Foolscap guest of honor.

The Haunted Bridge, Carolyn Keene. Good golly, the mystery in this was AWFUL. Well, the detecting was awful. The mystery of the haunted bridge was fine and Nancy solved it handily. The mystery of the internal jewel thieves that her dad wanted help with was an exercise in incompetence (Nancy identified her main suspect on the basis that she did not match the description) and the mystery of the jerk on the golf course was handled hilariously badly by George and Bess, but that was one of the best scenes. The golf tournament was probably the biggest source of tension in the book, but sadly I am not a golf fan and was not enthralled. Occasionally confused was the highest emotional reaction I achieved. I had to apologize to the guys in my book club.

Little Olympians 3: Hermes the Fastest God, A.I. Newton. At this point I'm questioning the choices of the camp directors. This field trip among mortals seems unwise, especially since the chaperone is only on the brink of puberty. And why favor Athens over Sparta? Huh? But Hermes gets a fun adventure and I like seeing him zip around and solve various problems, so it's a fun addition to the series.

Wingbearer, Marjorie M. Liu. 2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. Beautiful book with great colors and illustrations; I really liked the protagonist and her willingness to face adventure to save the birds (and hopefully found her identify). The scenes with the dragon were cool and I enjoyed the hints of complex relationships between the various cultures. I wish they had visibly flagged it as the first of a series; as it was the emotional arcs just stopped with a thump.

Busman's Honeymoon, Dorothy L Sayers. This was enough fun to reread that it deserves its space on my shelves. I love the scene where they finally figure everything out while the repo people are trying to haul away all the furniture.

An Easy Death, Charlaine Harris. This was a "dramatized production" and I think also abridged a bit, and it was a very fun read. It is a perfect example of a good book to do chores with, because sometimes I'd be procrastinating on the chore but then realize that I wanted to hear the story and I'd get to work. I liked the woman they got for Lizbeth but I'm not as sure about the guy who spoke Eli's role. But I think I have the next one so I'll give him another chance.

Picture Books

Two books from my Reading My Library Quest, Renton Highlands division. 

Let's Talk About Animals, Harriet Blackford. This was colorful and informative and I can see enjoying it with a young kid, maybe between 3 and 8. 

Weather Words and What They Mean, Gail Gibbons. This was a bit scattered. It would probably work better as a review than an introduction. I didn't like that I got a lot of names for clouds but couldn't really identify them.

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Miya Kazuki. I'm endlessly rereading this while waiting for the next version. The bookworm's universe is my happy place. Currently I'm on Part III. But it's on pause as I slowly savor the new release over in part V. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5 Vol 3, Miya Kazuki. Only a few more side stories, and then I'll go back to Part III until volume 4 comes out...

Cobra, Timothy Zahn. Wait -- is it almost over? No, apparently there's another section.

Children of the Stone City, Beverley Naidoo. I have a retrieved a new box of CDs with the correct third disc. As a very thinly veiled story of Arabic kids in Israel, it's very disturbing in terms of how they are treated by the authorities and how limited the information is that they are given about about the history around them, both of which seem dangerously tragic. 

Warcross, Marie Lu. I'm sorta glad that how I experience games like World of Warcraft nowadays is completely unlike how games work in this book.

The Engagement, Sasha Issenberg. For Torches and Pitchforks. Sure are a lot of words in this book. Lots of pages too.

Royal Escape, Georgette Heyer. So far this is in between -- it's more interesting to read than the mysteries, but not the page-turner of the romances. So far no chances for the ugliness Heyer is capable of.

Flood Circle, Harry Connolly. Too many library books this week. 

Your Perfect Year, Charlotte Lucas. See library book issue. 

Rocking the Babies, Linda Raymond. Wow, the ending is getting tough.

Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon. I think we can expect to see this here for a while.

The Wine-Dark Sea, Patrick O'Brian. Not gonna finish this week.

Ship Without Sails, Sherwood Smith. Smith's magic system is complex and yet comprehensible. I love how her characters accept and approach it.

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.

 

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

Stinger, Nancy Kress. The mix of FBI dogged investigation with scientific methods is cool.

Dragon's Breath, E.D. Baker.

The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler.  (no picture) 

The Road to Mars, Eric Idle. .

The Dark Fantastic, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. I started this about a year ago while traveling, but then forgot it in a suitcase. I think I'll enjoy nibbling at the ideas, so I'll put this on the slow-read section.

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. I like my routine of waking up listening to the days classical selection while sorting some mail. It both defines the start of the day in a pleasant way and helps me keep on top of the mail (I have problems with this sometimes)

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2022: Started.  Working on Graphic Novels.
2. Early Cybils:  Not done.
3. Reading My Library. Working on audio and Easy Nonfiction from backup library. Started Rory Thorne from main.
4. Where Am I Reading 2022. Never finished updating this. Not sure I'll do it in 2023.
5. Libraries: Started the 10 to Try for 2023. 

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: Royal Escape
• Library Book: Flash of Fire
• Ebook I own: Year of Wonder
• Library Ebook: Bronze Skies
• Book Club Book: Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal
• Tuesday Book Club Book: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer
• Review Book: Back Home 
• Rereading: 
• Audio: A Longer Fall