Self-Indulgent Reading For Healing

Well, after my diagnosis I had a doctor’s note to avoid running for a while and complete latitude to feel sorry for myself and pamper myself as much as possible. So I had a lovely dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant (walked there so I could have wine), whined for sympathy at the family zoom call, and spent sunny days ambling about to the Seaside library, bookstore, bagel place, pancake place, Thai place…, and I spent rainy days petting the cats and calling for food delivery. I must say I do convalescing well. 

At the end of the week my friends came home from Japan, so I heard their fascinating stories, woke up to delicious omelets being prepared by my jet lagged host, and then drove home to reunite with my own cats, who were desperately in need of petting and had been completely neglected by my house mates, who never even fed them.

Goodreads thinks I am currently reading 65 books, but I’ve finished a few of those so I think I’m trending downward. The library thinks I have 83 physical books checked out. In unrelated news, I knocked off ten more libraries on my KCLS branches quest; I think I have three or four left (I’m not sure if one is a branch or another set of lockers).

Books Completed  Oct 3 - 9

Toll of Honor, David Weber. This one is for dedicated completists; it’s retelling some things from a different point of view and using that to give us some back stories of characters who get popular later. Skimming is important in this series as things tend to be explained several times to make sure the reader is keeping up; it’s a sprawling story so I guess that makes sense. I had fun and didn’t have to concentrate much, so it was a perfect read while petting a cat is waiting for a cat to come in from the patio when I wanted to close the back door. 

War of the Wind, Victoria Williamson. A Cybils nominee I went back to finish. I liked the setting and the band of misfits, but I thought it took a while for the protagonist to get over being a huge pain and that the ending slid a few to many things into neat packages. Also I’m still mad about the dog.

Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger. Although I didn’t love this as much as some as I felt the writing was competent but not inspired, I did enjoy learning about what home economics and and has been, and what it could be, and why the patriarchy continues to try to undermine and devalue what it sees as women’s stuff.

Books Started

Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger. Recommended by Miss Yingling.

Redshirts, John Scalzi. Foolscap monthly pick.

Interview With the Vampire, Anne Rice. Sword and Laser monthly pick.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, Lisa See. River Runs Under It monthly pick.

The Stars Did Wander Darkly, Colin Meloy. Talbot Hill Challenge: Scary Book

Bookmarks Moved

The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

Track Changes, Abigail Nussbaum

Inventing the Renaissance, Ada Palmer

Year of the Tiger, Alice Wong

Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

Lepunia: Kingdom of the Gallopers, Kevin Ford

Come See the Fair, Gabriel Savin

Arabella of Venus, David Levine

An Exchange of Hostages, Susan R. Matthews   

Hundredfold, Anthony Esolen

The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

This Tender Land, William Kent Kruger

Bookmarks Languished

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

                                        

                                                                                                               Into the Vast Nothing, J. Bruno             

                                                                                               True Colors, Abby Cooper.

                                                                                         South Riding, Winifred Holtby                     

                                 Calypso, Oliver K Langmead       

                                 The Hunger and the Dusk, G. Willow Wilson

                                 Speculative Whiteness, Jordan S. Carroll

                         Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum

                        Death in the Spires, K.J. Charles

                     So Let Them Burn, Kamilah Cole

                     Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy

                  I’m Nobody, Who Are You?, Emily Dickinson    

               The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell   

         Heavenly Tyrants, Xiran Jay Zhao

      Read Dangerously, Azar Nifisi

      Hearts Still Beating, Brooke Archer

      The Farwalker’s Quest, John Sensel

      One Jump Ahead, Mark L Von Name

   Some Sunny Day, Adam Baron

   Beowulf, J. R. R. Tolkien

The Last Witchfinder, James K. Morrow. Scintillation book club.

Picture Books, Poems, and Short Stories

None.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. Currently learning laundry details for rayon..

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. Relationships are affirmed.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane. Mail bribe.

The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler. Mail bribe.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. I’m in the end game and I think I missed some things.

War QCross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. 

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. I like that I remember these books.

Books Acquired

I only notice when I’m caught up.

Future Plans

This is for the actual future, so weeks beyond the books in this post. It is also probably wrong.

I am reading: 

• Book I own: Wolf Hall
• Library Book: Framed In Death
• Hugo Finalist: So Let Them Burn
• Foolscap Book Club Book:  Wooing the Witch King
• Sword and Laser Club Book:  Floating Hotel
• Scintillation Book Club: Semiosis
• Cloudy Book Club:  What Feasts At Night
• Torches and Pitchfork Book Club:  Moon of the Crusted Snow
• River Runs Under It Book Club: Barricuda
• Talbot Hill Book:  Animal Stories
• Friday Book Club: Some Sherlock Holmes pastiche
• Romance Book Club: Doctor romance (Hello Stranger)

Klutz Problems

Wow, I’m falling far behind! I blame the head injury.

So, the morning I started my restful catsitting vacation in Seaside, I went out for a run. I’m working my way through a Couch Potato to 5k program, and this was finishing up Week 4. And at the turnaround point I tripped and hit my head pretty hard. My nose was bleeding all the way home and I felt very sorry for myself as I gorily made my way back up the hill. Luckily the bear that had been sniffing around garbage cans the night before did not make an appearance.

I managed not to bleed on anything in the lovely house, and I called the nurse hotline  to make sure I wasn’t forgetting how to handle a sports injury. Since I never get sports injuries I hadn’t paid attention to what to do about them, but they just checked for a concussion. The next few days I played with the cats and enjoyed the town, walking to the beach, sampling restaurants and the library and the bookstore, and swapping out my run program for some dedicated ice cream savoring. But my face felt weird and at night I’d worry, until finally I called the nurse line again (at three in the morning) and she asked questions that helped me identify the weirdness as numbness and made me an appointment to see a doctor on Thursday. And one long day involving a lot of driving, a nice doctor who was very reassuring, several rounds of X-rays, a drive to another town where I found a delicious gyro place and a nice book store while waiting to see if I needed an MRI, and finally a last long drive back to Seaside through a rainstorm and I was ready to enjoy my second week.

But I wasn’t gonna try running again. 

Goodreads thinks I am currently reading 63 books, but I’ve finished a few of those so I think I’m trending downward. The library thinks I have 66 physical books checked out. Oops.

Books Completed  Sept 26 - Oct 2

Pokémon Journeys 2, Machito Gomi. My old friend Ash! And some Pokémon.

Trader’s Leap, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. I like watching Shan deal with stuff, including his daughter. Even though I think his mom was a bad person.

Emmi in the City: A Great Chicago Survival Story, Salima Alikhan. Burying stuff before a fire is good thinking.

In the Beginning, Chaim Potok. No, I’ve definitely read this before, but spending time in a Potok world is never a bad thing. It repeats some tropes — childhood illness, studying the wrong stuff, family rejecting sons for your life choices but still loving them despite years of separation, and the worth of good study habits.

A, B, C: Three Short Novels, Samuel Delany. A book club read one of these but I ended up reading all three. I think of Delany for language and ideas but he’s also a great storyteller. 

Jessi’s Secret Language, Ann M. Martin. More proof that I prefer text to graphic novels. I liked seeing Jessi adapt to her Deaf babysitting charge and how she incorporates her dance into her world and her matter of fact awareness of how being Black affects her life.

The Dragonet Prophecy, Tui T. Sutherland. Ok, I did like this but honestly dragons are so cool to look at that I might have actually liked the graphic novel better. But I’m more likely to read on in the text series.

Leah Braves the Flood: A Great Molasses Flood Survival Story, Julie Gilbert. I’m not enjoying the Girls Survive! Books as much as I do the I Survived! books; they lack the emotional depth and aren’t as good at  capturing a sense of the historical period. And yet it’s hard for me to abandon a series like this. 

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Inn-keeping, Sanguine Mandanna. The romance is sweet and the quirky family is fun but I ended up uncomfortable with the parallels between ableism and magic and what it means to lose an ability so close to your heart.

Pokémon Sun and Moon 5, Hidenori Kusaka. I’m baffled by action but I like watching the people run about.

Pokémon Sun and Moon 6, Hidenori Kusaka. See above. It helps to read them close together.

I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906, Lauren Tarshis. Tarshis works hard to have a kid living a life that is interrupted and complicated by the titular disaster as opposed to standing there to tell us about the disaster.

Claudia and the Bad Joke, Ann M. Martin. This works much better emotionally than the graphic novel, which did not really sell me on Claudia’s fear or returning to babysitting or the kid’s callousness about what she caused.

Ghost Island, Jordan Quinn. Cute dragons! Apparently this is the middle of the series, but it worked out fine.

Books Started

Pokémon Journeys 2, Machito Gomi. Talbot Hill recommended.

Emmi in the City: A Great Chicago Survival Story, Salima Alikhan. I’m now a series addict.

The Dragonet Prophecy, Tui T. Sutherland. Talbot Hill recommended.

Jessi’s Secret Language, Ann M. Martin. The original version.

Toll of Honor, David Weber. Back to the Honorverse!

Leah Braves the Flood: A Great Molasses Flood Survival Story, 

The Last Witchfinder, James K. Morrow. Scintillation book club.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical. Inn-keeping, Sanguine Mandanna. Cloudy book club pick. 

War of the Wind, Victoria Williamson. A Cybils nominee I went back to finish.

Pokémon Sun and Moon 5, Hidenori Kusaka. Talbot Hill recommendation.

Pokémon Sun and Moon 6, Hidenori Kusaka. Talbot Hill recommendation.

I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906, Lauren Tarshis. It would be easier to keep track if these were numbered. 

Claudia and the Bad Joke, Ann M. Martin. Number 19.

Ghost Island, Jordan Quinn. I had to wait near a bookstore for my medical results. So I waited in the bookstore.

Bookmarks Moved

The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

Track Changes, Abigail Nussbaum

Hundredfold, Anthony Esolen

The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

This Tender Land, William Kent Kruger

Year of the Tiger, Alice Wong

Inventing the Renaissance, Ada Palmer

Some Sunny Day, Adam Baron

Beowulf, J. R. R. Tolkien

Come See the Fair, Gabriel Savin

Bookmarks Languished

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

                                        

                                                                                                         Into the Vast Nothing, J. Bruno

                                                                                                     Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossman

                                                                                         True Colors, Abby Cooper.

                                                                                   South Riding, Winifred Holtby                                   

                            Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

                           Calypso, Oliver K Langmead       

                           The Hunger and the Dusk, G. Willow Wilson

                           Speculative Whiteness, Jordan S. Carroll

                   Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum

                  Death in the Spires, K.J. Charles

               So Let Them Burn, Kamilah Cole

               Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy

            I’m Nobody, Who Are You?, Emily Dickinson    

         The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell   

   Heavenly Tyrants, Xiran Jay Zhao

   Lepunia: Kingdom of the Gallopers, Kevin Ford

An Exchange of Hostages, Susan R. Matthews   

Arabella of Venus, David Levine

Read Dangerously, Azar Nifisi

Hearts Still Beating, Brooke Archer

The Farwalker’s Quest, John Sensel

One Jump Ahead, Mark L Von Name

Picture Books, Poems, and Short Stories

None.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. Currently learning laundry details for rayon..

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. Relationships are affirmed.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane. Mail bribe.

The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler. Mail bribe.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. I’m in the end game and I think I missed some things.

War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. 

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. I like that I remember these books.

Books Acquired

I only notice when I’m caught up.

Future Plans

This is for the actual future, so weeks beyond the books in this post. It is also probably wrong.

I am reading: 

• Book I own: Wolf Hall
• Library Book: The Library of Borrowed Hearts
• Hugo Finalist: Heavenly Tyrant
• Foolscap Book Club Book:  Wooing the Witch King
• Sword and Laser Club Book:  Floating Hotel
• Scintillation Book Club: Semiosis
• Cloudy Book Club:  What Feasts At Night
• Torches and Pitchfork Book Club:  Moon of the Crusted Snow
• River Runs Under It Book Club: North Woods
• Talbot Hill Book:  Fantasy, Historical/biography
• Friday Book Club: Black Wolves of Boston 1 & 2
• Romance Book Club: Doctor romance (Hello Stranger)

Celebrations and Destinations

Wow, I’m falling far behind! I blame the head injury.

This was the week of the tall people birthdays. We were hoping for a nice party on Vashon, maybe with a special appearance from the out of town brother. Sadly illness arrive here and canceled the party which meant that John wasn’t as disappointed that work had canceled his trip. We had a lower-key celebration with good cake.  

I got to have my school book club and proposed a study of genres for the year. The kids were game, especially since I brought three kinds of cookies. I’ve got one vegan kid and one diabetic, so I need to figure out some treat options. After the kid club I drove off for my Seaside vacation! Some nice driving through beautiful forests with a finish of pouring rain and tense situations. But nothing a late sleep. Hold t cure and I was ready to train up on how to pamper my furry housemates while my friends were off on their Japanese vacation. I brought my running clothes because I was hoping to keep up my training in the nearby lovely Oregon trails and backroads. 

Goodreads thinks I am currently reading 65 books, but I’ve finished a few of those so I think I’m trending downward. The library thinks I have 53 physical books checked out. 

Books Completed  Sept 26 - Oct 2

Karen’s Goldfish, Ann M. Martin. Divorce is hard on kids. Karen is desperately cheerful, but she will not see this pet often. It’s obviously David Michael’s goldfish.

Fairest of All, Anu Chouhan. Fun and bouncy fairy tale retelling. I bet the original was good too; this is the graphic novel adaptation.

The Hexologists, Josiah Bancroft. I enjoyed this fantasy mystery. It doesn’t have much depth, but the married life is fun, the dragon is delightful, the baking is amusing, and the world is an interesting mishmash.

Black Tie and Tails, Wen Spencer. This picked up right where the first ended and brought more fun. I’m starting to really dig this series. Now Boston is joining Pittsburgh as great Spencer locations. I hope she does another series in Hawaii someday.

I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941,  Lauren Tarshis. Cool historical details of New York mobs and Japanese American neighbors as well as a good emotional journey with the lost dad and the single mom doing the best she can. Hey. If your mom’s best gives you Hawaii, be grateful!

I Hate Fairyland 4: Sadly Never After, Skottie Young. Eh. The art isn’t really to my taste and I’m jaded about fairy tale retellings that are jaded about the source material. Give me bounce!

Mary Anne and the Search For Tigger, Ann M. Martin, up to number 25! Logan isn’t perfect! Some kids are budding criminals; extortion and kidnapping are starter crimes. This was a good one.

The Ghost at Dawn’s House, Ann M. Martin. These early ones are the best. I wonder when Martin syndicated herself? I liked the mystery and the compassion around the solution. The slumber party was kind of nostalgic.

Books Started

Fairest of All, Anu Chouhan. Talbot recommendation.

Karen’s Goldfish, Ann M. Martin. A Babysitters Little Sister book.

Trader’s Leap, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Catching up with the Liadens.

Year of the Tiger, Alice Wong. It looked interesting.

I Hate Fairyland 4: Sadly Never After, Skottie Young. Talbot recommended. 

In the Beginning, Chaim Potok. I didn’t recognized this title - maybe it’s one I missed?

The Ghost at Dawn’s House, Ann M. Martin. Jumping back a dozen books.

Inventing the Renaissance, Ada Palmer. Looks great. So great I bought it.

Bookmarks Moved

The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

Track Changes, Abigail Nussbaum

An Exchange of Hostages, Susan R. Matthews   

Arabella of Venus, David Levine

Hundredfold, Anthony Esolen. New poetry book.

The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

This Tender Land, William Kent Kruger

Read Dangerously, Azar Nifisi

Some Sunny Day, Adam Baron

Hearts Still Beating, Brooke Archer

The Farwalker’s Quest, John Sensel

One Jump Ahead, Mark L Von Name

A, B, C: Three Short Novels, Samuel Delany

Bookmarks Languished

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

                                        

                                                                                                      Into the Vast Nothing, J. Bruno

                                                                                                  Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossmann       

                                                                                      True Colors, Abby Cooper.

                                                                                South Riding, Winifred Holtby                                   

                         Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

                        Calypso, Oliver K Langmead       

                        The Hunger and the Dusk, G. Willow Wilson

                        Speculative Whiteness, Jordan S. Carroll

                Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum

               Death in the Spires, K.J. Charles

            So Let Them Burn, Kamilah Cole

            Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy

         I’m Nobody, Who Are You?, Emily Dickinson    

      The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell   

Heavenly Tyrants, Xiran Jay Zhao

Beowulf, J. R. R. Tolkien

Lepunia: Kingdom of the Gallopers, Kevin Ford

Picture Books, Poems, and Short Stories

None.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. Currently learning laundry details for linen and cotton.

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. Home base is getting established. Emotional roots sinking deeper.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane. Mail bribe.

The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler. Mail bribe.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. I’m in the end game and I think I missed some things.

War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. 

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. I like that I remember these books.

Books Acquired

I only notice when I’m caught up.

Future Plans

This is for the actual future, so weeks beyond the books in this post. It is also probably wrong.

I am reading: 

• Book I own: Wolf Hall
• Library Book: The Poisoned King
• Hugo Finalist: Heavenly Tyrant
• Foolscap Book Club Book:  Wooing the Witch King
• Sword and Laser Club Book:  Floating Hotel
• Scintillation Book Club: Semiosis
• Cloudy Book Club:  Someone You Can Build a Nest In
• Torches and Pitchfork Book Club:  Spook
• River Runs Under It Book Club: North Woods
• Talbot Hill Book:  Fantasy, Historical/biography
• Friday Book Club: Black Wolves of Boston 1 & 2
• Romance Book Club: Doctor romance (Hello Stranger)