I’m so far behind I barely remember what was going on. I marched in a NomKings rally and complained about my slowly de-numbing face. We had a friends bookclub but over zoom because of traffic, and we heard more stories about a member’s recent trip to Japan.
Goodreads thinks I am currently reading 72 books, but I’m so far behind at marking things as complete that who knows. The library thinks I have 80 physical books checked out. In unrelated news, I have completed my quest to visit all KCLC libraries (in real time, not back in October).
Books Completed Oct 17 - 23
Year of the Tiger, Alice Wong. I just heard that Alice Wong died, so that is coloring my memories of the book. She felt very vibrant on the page, pushing to be heard and refusing to sit quietly. I didn’t always agree with her, but I did appreciate how much she did to clear the way for quieter people with disabilities to be heard as well. And her family strikes me as regular people being quietly amazing for their kids.
Beowulf, J. R. R. Tolkien. I read the translation ages ago for a book club, but I finally managed to get through all the end notes, which weren’t really worth it. I believe that Tolkien worked hard and knew a lot of Old English, but I don’t and can’t really appreciate whether or not a letter dropped out of words I don’t know.
The Stars Did Wander Darkling, Colin Meloy. Horror for kids is still too scary for me; I probably am much worse at seeing kids in danger than kids are. I did like the nostalgia factor as it was set in the last century.
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, Lisa See. Lots of conversations about historical medicine, foot binding (that was a tough one), and marriage and privileges. I liked this view into a period I don’t know much about, and will look out for this author.
Redshirts, John Scalzi. I enjoyed this reread, although I again noticed my biggest complaint with this; it’s hard for me to tell his characters apart by voice and they have long bantering conversations. There’s a fun bit where it’s plot relevant that someone doesn’t talk much but I hadn’t noticed because I treated the main groups conversations as kind of an internal hive mind stream of consciousness. But there was plenty to talk about.
Ruth and the Night of Broken Glass, Emma Carlson Berne. Good competent writing that gives an overview of the historical event but I didn’t get a strong sense of place and time from the characters.
Books Started
Give Me a Reason, Jayci Lee. I need a K-drama book.
Where the Woods End, Charlotte Salter. I met her at the Seattle WorldCon.
Ruth and the Night of Broken Glass, Emma Carlson Berne. A Girls Survive book.
I Survived the American Revolution, Lauren Tarshis. An I Survived book.
Bookmarks Moved
The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson
Track Changes, Abigail Nussbaum
Interview With the Vampire, Anne Rice
Hundredfold, Anthony Esolen
The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton
This Tender Land, William Kent Kruger
Inventing the Renaissance, Ada Palmer
Come See the Fair, Gabriel Savin
Hearts Still Beating, Brooke Archer
Some Sunny Day, Adam Baron
An Exchange of Hostages, Susan R. Matthews
Heavenly Tyrants, Xiran Jay Zhao
Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy
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
I’m Nobody, Who Are You?, Emily Dickinson
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell
Read Dangerously, Azar Nifisi
The Farwalker’s Quest, John Sensel
One Jump Ahead, Mark L Von Name
The Last Witchfinder, James K. Morrow. Scintillation book club.
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel
Lepunia: Kingdom of the Gallopers, Kevin Ford
Arabella of Venus, David Levine
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 more polyesters.
At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. Long slow ending is like finishing a milkshake; good to last drop.
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. The teen romance stuff isn’t working for me, but it’s true it’s just as easy to fall in love with a rich guy (as my grandmother used to say).
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: Tom Lake
- Hugo Finalist: So Let Them Burn
- Foolscap Book Club Book: Hugo Short Stories,
- Sword and Laser Club Book: Floating Hotel, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn
- Scintillation Book Club: Fangirl
- Cloudy Book Club: What Feasts At Night, The Gilded Crown
- Torches and Pitchfork Book Club: Moon of the Crusted Snow, Canticle For Leiberwitz
- River Runs Under It Book Club: Barracoon
- Talbot Hill Book: Animal Stories
- Friday Book Club: Some Sherlock Holmes pastiche
2 comments:
Did Mimi ever seriously say 'just as easy to fall in love with a rich man'? I remember the phrase from childhood, but I think I heard us kids use it more. Just like 'stand him on his wallet, he gets taller'. But then, maybe you had different conversations than I did.
She definitely did, and so did MaryAlice. You probably heard it from me from them.
Although I don’t remember the wallet one so maybe we did have different conversations.
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