Well, it’s Friday and this was supposed to go out last Sunday, so I’m doing better every week! While reading these books I also celebrated my sister’s birthday, visited a few more libraries (Skyway, Greenbridge), and had some book groups.

I think I am currently reading 62 books, according to goodreads.

Books Completed Feb 14-21

Spirit Level, Richy Craven. Friday friends book club. This was an enjoyable read about some Irish men, one of whom dies early on. The other one can see him, but only after reaching a certain level of drunkenness. This was a bit of a problem for me as I’m very squeamish about drunk driving, and at one point the live guy has to overcome his anxiety about driving to get him and ghost guy somewhere. And I was not okay with that, but they get away with it. There are interesting side characters, some of which stay and some who stay small. There’s a good therapist who helps live guy deal with seeing visions of his dead friend, which would have worked if they were visions and not actually real ghost sightings.

The Golden Lord, Mary Jo Putney. This did exactly what I wanted and expected. Two adults doing a job, having emotions, and handling those emotions calmly and with respect for each other. To my delight they also had psychic powers.

Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor. Sword and Laser club pick. (Audio) I read this when it came out but the audio adds a lot. I liked the magical world and the way the kids get responsibilities right away. The money falling from the sky when you learn stuff was cool. I hope I remember to read the others.

Nightwoods, Charles Frazier. The writing was really good but the characters stayed distant to me. It didn’t seem to add up to a coherent story. The twins were fascinating but too perfect for the needs of the plot.

Rescue, Jennifer Nielsen. I associate Nielsen with hyper-competent kids always several steps ahead, and this protagonist switched between that and a more realistic fallible kid with improbable connections. But all WWII kidlit is my jam so I was happy reading it.

Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler. Ok, the previous one was eerie to read during the pandemic and this one is eerie to read during the executive power grab and incipient trade war and scapegoating of trans people and immigrants. It was also a sad story of irreplaceable loss, as Lauren loses her child and her brother is petty enough not to share when he finds her. So story of both the expansive possibilities of the human spirit and also the depths and paucity it is capable of. No easy realization only harsh perception of reality.

Robopocalypse, Daniel H. Wilson. This is very World War Z but with a different foe. I don’t know which came first. This one isn’t as good at characterization so it’s mostly an adventure story of the war to reclaim humanity’s top spot. A fast read.

Wild Seed, Octavia Butler. Butler liked to pose tough, sometimes impossible questions, and then pursue the answers even into uncomfortable places, and that is true on both the character and the thematic level. What are the ethics in a relationship with a bad person? Is death better than submitting and slightly ameliorating the harm? Is eugenics inherently evil or only in its practice? Book club struggled with these questions.

Notes From the Air, John Ashbery. Poetry. I never got it. None of these poems seemed to say much. I poked around on the web a bit to see if I could get help but nothing worked. I’m assuming there is more there than the trite understanding I had of what they were saying, and the games of spot-the-reference.

Books Started

Nightwoods, Charles Frazier. A book from the next shelf for my Renton Library Quest.

The Will of Many, James Islington. Sword and Laser book club pick.

Golden Hour, Niki Smith. A Book from the next shelf for my Renton Highlands Library Quest.

Wild Seed, Octavia Butler. For Scintillation book club.

All the Hidden Paths, Foz Meadows. I mostly liked the first one.

The Rook, Daniel O’Malley. Very old Sword & Laser pick. (Audio)

To the Gorge, Emily Halnon. Picked up when I visited the Kent Library.

Bookmarks Moved

Ascendancy of a Bookworm: Short Story Collection Volume 2, Miya Kazuki.

Tinker, Wen Spencer. Audio.

The Shadow of the Gods, John Gwynne.

Airs Above the Ground, Mary Stewart.

Lamplighters, D. M. Cornish.

The Year We Disappeared, Cylin Busby & John Busby.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell.

Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy.

Poems, R. Hawley Truax.

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

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

Into the Vast Nothing, J. Bruno.

Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossmann.

True Colors, Abby Cooper.

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan.

Picture Books and Short Stories

Neil Armstrong: First Man on the Moon, James Buckley Jr. I hit the nonfiction section of the Renton Highlands J Graphic books area. This was very readable, with two guides joking around as the books passed through Armstrong’s life, emphasizing his hard work and dedication.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. Onto the kitchen.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Serafi, Shannon Chakraborty. Showdown!

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. The friend of a friend might make things awkward.

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

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

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.