Time for the slow match of the birthday cakes! My sister, me, and my son mean a cake a month for the next season. I have two niblings in there as well, but they don’t like cake so what’s even the point of having a birthday?

I made a web page for my library visits but now I have to start over and take pictures,

This post should have gone out last Monday, so if I work hard I could have tomorrow post out by Wednesday and then be caught up with my diary! I think I am currently reading 65 books, according to goodreads.

Books Completed Jan 31 - Feb 6th

The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley. I enjoyed this book but I’m not sure I got what the author intended. My take was definitely different than the goodreads consensus. I thought it was a meditation on colonialism and assimilation, how the attitude that the world belongs rightfully to the colonizer poisons relationships with the people being exploited (this means I did not see the sexual pairing as romantic) and also a meditation on how generational trauma and tribalism complicates the act of assimilating into an adopted culture even with the best of intentions. Also that a race to the bottom has rotten prizes even for the winners. I enjoyed the book club discussion!

The Emperor and the Endless Palace, Justinian Huang. Cloudy book club. I enjoyed the journey but found the ending unsatisfying. The different timelines did not manage to come together in a thematic or even an intellectually believable way. Apparently there are going to be sequels but that doesn’t help me now; it’s not so much I need more as I need the current pieces to fit together better. I’d read more from this author because the pieces were all well made.

The Marine’s E-Mail Order Bride, Cora Seton. This was deeply silly, but I think that’s part of the genre? The setup for the romance was completely bonkers, which meant that any emotional beats tied to it did not land very hard. But cowboys are fun and the book was short, and I think it delivered on its promises, including characters who keep their personalities on a shelf until the plot calls for them. I do wonder if the online forum for finding other people forced to marry to receive their inheritance is on Craigslist or Reddit or what. But I would not say this is a successful implementation of the romance trope “marry to sastify a will.”

Deal With the Devil, Kit Rocha. Another book I started ages ago for a book club but never finished, this is an entertaining post-apocalyptic romance between two leaders of super competent overpowered teams struggling to make it in Georgia after a general societal collapse. They have some super powers that I stayed vague on but also have their steely determination and iron loyalty to their found families (and maybe some of their blood family). If that sounds fun, then this book does it well. I forget why I wasn’t in the mood back when I was supposed to read it.

In Limbo, Deb J.J. Lee. Cybils finalist. A good memoir of her teen age years and her difficult relationship with her mother but although I thought it captures her emotions really well I felt it was vague about details so that I never felt fully grounded. Or maybe I’m just not sensitive enough.

Trail of the Lost, Andrea Langford. For River Runs Under It Book club. Interesting account of searching for disappeared hikers on the Pacific Trail, especially since so few of them (or their bodies) are ever found. Although most hikers are fun, when people do get lost in the wilderness it can be very hard to find them, especially if no one knows where to start looking. And shaping the story of fruitless searches is an editorial challenge that I appreciated seeing the author grapple with.

Pizzasaurus Rex, Justin Wagner. Reading My Library Quest, Renton Highlands version. This didn’t work for me. I didn’t feel sympathy for the scientist dude, was repelled by the arc of his female sidekick/prize, and even the radical dinosaur being all cool and all didn’t elevate the feel. Oh well, can’t win them all.

Ishmael, Barbara Hambly. Foolscap book club. Theme is extended universe books. Spock in Seattle! Yet another method of time travel that they never use again! This was fun.

Books Started

The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley. Pretty sure I started this sword and laser pick last week.

Ascendancy of a Bookworm: Short Story Collection Volume 2, Miya Kazuki. I will read this as slowly as I can to savor every moment with these friends or enemies of Myne.

Trail of the Lost, Andrea Langford. For River Runs Under It Book club.

Ishmael, Barbara Hambly. Foolscap book club. Theme is extended universe books.

A Scatter of Light, Malinda Lo. Scintillation book club.

The Stonekeeper: Amulet 1, Kazu Kibuishi. Talbot book club.

Truth About Stacey (Babysitters Club 3), Ann M. Martin. Talbot book club.

Spirit Level, Richy Craven. Friday friends book club.

The Secret Garden on 81st Street: A Modern Retelling of The Secret Garden, Ivy Noelle Weir. I loved the original so I’m checking out the graphic novel retelling.

Bookmarks Moved

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan.

Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor. Sword and Laser club pick. (Audio)

Rescue, Jennifer Nielsen.

Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler.

Notes From the Air, John Ashbery. Poetry.

Down Deep, Catherine Asaro.

Tinker, Wen Spencer. Audio.

Into the Vast Nothing, J. Bruno.

Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossmann.

True Colors, Abby Cooper.

Lamplighters, D. M. Cornish.

The Shadow of the Gods, John Gwynne.

Bookmarks Languished

I have not given up on these! Ignore all evidence.

Poppy and Marigold, Meg Welch Dendler.

Serpent Rider, Yxavel Magno Diño.

Wow, No Thank You, Samantha Irby.

Into the Broken Lands, Tanya Huff

Poems, R. Hawley Truax. I’m back to the library poems.

Samantha Smee: A Pirate’s Life, M.C. Dingman.

Airs Above the Ground, Mary Stewart.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell. For Scintillation book club.

Picture Books and Short Stories

“What I Saw Before the War,” Alaya Dawn Johnson. Eh, it was ok.

I’m the Best Artist in the Ocean, Kevin Sherry. The artist does good squid work. Fun and cheerful.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. Booze! Cocktails! Apparently my liquor cabinet is woefully inadequate.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Serafi, Shannon Chakraborty. All is lost!

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. Friendship is magic.

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

The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). Mail bribe. Since this is a textbook there are assignments after each essay which it gives me exquisite pleasure to skip.

The Road to Mars, Eric Idle. Mail bribe.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. Mail bribe.

War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. I’m getting too curmudgeonly for YA.

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe.

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. Mail bribe. Music is a good tool for calmness.