After my lovely vacation in Galveston I went off to spend a week with my childhood best friend and her family in Austin, because two vacations are twice as good as one. I lazed around her lovely house (managing to binge all episodes of Ascendance of a Bookworm on Crunchyroll), made her permit-holding son drive me to a handful of bookstores when we discovered there was a bookstore crawl going on during our expedition to get him some birthday presents, spent a morning walking around the Lastbird Johnson nature place where my friend’s wedding took place, surprised said son with a birthday party, ate delicious food both from her kitchen and from good restaurants, and in general had a great time.
Oh, I saw the Minecraft Movie. La-la-Lava Chicken!
I think I am now reading 61 books, according to goodreads. It’s trending down!
Books Completed April 11 - April 17
Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop, Emmeline Duncan. I enjoyed the small business and small town vibes, especially her tension with her uncle and relationship with her grandfather. The book festival was delightful if improbable, and her tendency to rush out to confront people she suspects of murder stood in contrast to the coffee lady’s common sense. I’m enjoying this cost author.
Airs Above the Ground, Mary Stewart. Even though I didn’t get to see the dancing horses in France I can still enjoy this book about a vet who sees some in Austrian, her eager your traveling companion and her slightly dark husband. The train sequence was really good, but of course the best scene is the dancing in the meadow.
The Fall of Roe, Elizabeth Dias & Lisa Lerner. Oh this was so sad. So many women working so hard to ruin other women’s lives and then wanting to be thanked for it. So many self-centered people who made their own choices, and then want to justify them by forcing all others, no matter how different their circumstances, to make the same choices. People willing to lie and cheat so that women can’t control their health. People happy to use those cruel but dedicated people in a climb for power and riches. So many really hateful people in America. The writing was clear and the book well organized, although it was a bit too proud of his excellent hind sight.
A Sorceress Comes to Call, T.K. Kingfisher. Hugo finalist. Kingfisher is excellent with character and here we get three wonderful ones plus a villain. The sister and the young girl are very sympathetic and the horse is really scary. I’m not sure it’s doing anything really new, but it’s a lot of fun.
Diamond Eye, Kate Quinn. I enjoyed the glimpse of Soviet Russia in World War II when they were fighting the Russians, when patriotism and localism existed uneasily together, where propaganda and reality never quite met. Our heroine faces a lot of extra burdens from sexist soldiers, husbands, and journalists, and then different versions of this again on her tour of America. The view of the Roosevelts was also good, and the final action sequence was a lot of fun and a reminder that this is fiction so I shouldn’t rely too much on its authenticity.
Ascendance of a Bookworm Fanbook 5, Miya Kazuki. I am here for the long interview and details of the world, and the pictures were good as I was busily binging the entire anime collection on Crunchyroll and so it was fun to see where a lot of the images came from.
Books Started
The Honey Pot Plot, Jennifer Cruise & Bob Meyer. Because Cruise is so good.
Threads That Bind, Kika Hatzopoulou. Cybils finalist.
Ascendance of a Bookworm Fanbook 5, Miya Kazuki. This is catnip to me.
I’m Nobody, Who Are You?, Emily Dickinson. Small poetry book for traveling.
Dungeon Crawler Carl, Matt Dinniman. Sword and Laser bookclub pick.
Scary Stories For Young Foxes, Christian McKay Heidegger. Talbot Hill 5th grade pick.
Tam Lin, Pamela Dean. Scintillation book pick.
Bookmarks Moved
Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement, Steven K. Kapp (editor)
The Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women, Jong-hee Oh (editor)
Tomb of Dragons, Katherine Addison. N
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, David Okrent
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell
Lamplighters, D. M. Cornish
Into the Broken Lands, Tanya Huff
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.
Samantha Smee: A Pirate’s Life, M.C. Dingman.
Into the Vast Nothing, J. Bruno.
Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossmann.
Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan.
True Colors, Abby Cooper.
South Riding, Winifred Holtby. Scintillation book club. I did not finish in time.
Saving Verakko, Victoria Avelina. I won’t finish this in time for the Romance bookclub.
Logan Likes Mary Anne (Baby-sitter Club 10), Ann M. Martin.
Just Saying, Rae Armantrout
Leak, Kate Reed Petty
Tinker, Wen Spencer. Audio.
Books Acquired
From the library:
Nothing! I was on vacation.
For my shelves:
Well. Maybe I found a few things while supporting local bookstores…
Picture Books and Short Stories
None.
Books on Slow Mode
Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. More kitchen stuff. I need to clean my fridge.
At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. Kip having an adventure.
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.
The Road to Mars, Eric Idle. Mail bribe. Home stretch.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. Mail bribe.
War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe.
Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. Making reading analysis fun.
Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. Mail bribe. Made it to November.
Future Plans
This is for the actual future, so a week beyond the books in this post. It is also probably wrong.
I am reading:
- Book I own: Into the Broken Lands
- Library Book: The Future of Silence
- Ebook I own: Alibi
- Foolscap Book Club Book: Watership Downs
- Sword and Laser Club Book: Micky7
- Scintillation Book Club: Tam Lin
- Cloudy Book Club: Fate Inked in Blood
- Torches and Pitchfork Book Club: Just Saying
- River Runs Under It Book Club: Demon Copperhead
- Talbot Hill Book: Wimpy Kid and I Survived
- Friday Book Club: Lavender Blue
- Romance Book Club: A spy romance!
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