Hmm. Back in November my sister, my son, and I volunteered again at the CERT graduation exercise, playing very annoying victims. We always show up early to get some wounds painted on. It’s a good review of my CERT skills as well. I’m also getting back into running, with an emphasis on not falling down. And I snuck into the local school’s book fair and got some books and some book adjacent toys, mainly notebooks.

thinks I am currently reading 67 books (I’m actually writing this on New Years Day). That’s creeping up again but I’m falling behind on marking things done so not as badly as it appears. The library thinks I have 65 books checked out, which is way too many and many of them are approaching their due dates.

Books Completed November 14 - 20

Heavenly Tyrant, Xiran Jay Zhao. This Lodestar (not a Hugo) nominee took me a few tries to get through. I couldn’t get immersed in the protagonist’s voice, partly because I’m old and she’s definitely a very passionate teen, and partly because she kept angrily circling the same emotional paths. But I like the worldbuilding and the questions it raises. I like how revolution is messy and demands compromises as well as determination, and how decisions can be reevaluated after seeing how things are working.

North Woods, Daniel Mason. I enjoyed this biography of an apple orchard, but I felt the pieces were stronger than the sum of its parts. I didn’t like the occasional dips into ghosts and mysticism, which grew stronger at the end, leaving me with a feeling of emptiness. But it was an interesting read and the library book group had some good things to say.

Some Sunny Day, Adam Baron. Great luck with this pick from the next shelf at the Renton Highlands library. Cam was a fun kid with an interesting family and an exotic life (he’s English). I liked his intense way of dealing with the world and his loyalty to the people who make him food.

Dad Rock Dragon Quest, Joan Reardon. I liked the character development in these books, which felt necessary but not very didactic. Seeing the protagonist learn to understand her dad’s flaws as well as his good points was fun, especially when there are dragons. I kinda hope she learns to do that with her mom and the mom’s boyfriend, because they kinda seemed to be using dad’s more flamboyant flaws to get away with taking their own shortcuts.

The Babysitters’ Summer Vacation, Ann M. Martin. Kid summer camps are always a fun fantasy for me, and now I’m enjoying seeing how different the TV show take on this is.

Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny, Rebekah Witherspoon. This felt a little odd to me, because it was half a sensitive story of two adults working out good boundaries for a loving relationship and half those same adults having very raunchy sex along the way. Witherspoon was good at both, but for me those are different reading experiences so not knowing what the page would bring me kept me on my toes.

The Gentleman’s Book of Vices, Jess Everlee. I’m glad I finished this; it was sweet.

Thirst, Mary Oliver. Very good bedtime reading. Some poems that knock the top of your head off.

Books Started

The Pursuit of… , Courtney Milan. A trusty and trusted writer of historical romance.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Fanbook 7, Miya Kazuki. I’m still addicted.

Framed in Death, J. D. Robb. I’m here for another one.

3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years, John Scalzi. I’m getting a kindle for Xmas (shh, don’t tell me what I got me) and it comes with Kindle Unlimited so this fell into my electronic hands).

Dad Rock Dragon Quest, Joan Reardon. Fun fantasy I saw while visiting libraries.

Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny, Rebekah Witherspoon. For Doctor month at our romance club.

The Gentleman’s Book of Vices, Jess Everlee. Huh, this was a dnf (did not finish) that I meant to get back to.

Ice Cold, Tess Gerritsen. I’m jumping into the Rizzoli & Isles series at #8, but I’ve seen at least ten minutes of the tv show so I grabbed this from the G shelf for my Renton Reading My Library Quest.

Bookmarks Moved

The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

Gold Dust, Catherine Asaro

Semiotics, Sue Burke

The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

All the Beauty in the World, Patrick Brinkley

This Tender Land, William Kent Kruger

Inventing the Renaissance, Ada Palmer

Arabella of Venus, David Levine

The Farwalker’s Quest, John Sensel

Floating Hotel, Grace Curtis

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

Bookmarks Languished

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

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

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell

Read Dangerously, Azar Nifisi

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

An Exchange of Hostages, Susan R. Matthews

So Let Them Burn, Kamilah Cole

Hello Stranger, Lisa Kleypas

Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy

One Jump Ahead, Mark L Von Name

Lepunia: Kingdom of the Gallopers, Kevin Ford

Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

The Library of Borrowed Hearts, Lucy Gilmore

Bluebird, Ciel Pierrot

Picture Books, Poems, and Short Stories

Iggy Peck, Architect, Andrea Beaty. This series is great it all its formats. I liked the concept, the illustrations and the rhymes.

Do You Want to Be My Friend?, Eric Carle. This book is very proud of how it is teaching all these pre reading skills, but I think it is so fun that even the parents won’t notice.

The Princess and the Pony, Kate Beaton. Ugly pony, polite Princess, and a good example of thinking outside the box. I read this a few years ago and enjoyed it again.

Still a Family: a Story About Homelessness, Breanna Reeves Sturgis. Does what it says on the tin.

SumoKitty, David Beidrzycki. Excellent life lessons from an excellent kitty.

Robobaby, David Weisner. Excellent book about the importance of older siblings when getting a new robobaby.

The World Needs More Purple People, Kristen Bell. Kinda preachy but I liked it. I think one of my kids would have resented the didacticism and the other would have only heard a suggestion to dye himself purple.

Yes You Can, Cow!, Rashmi Sirdeshpandi. Recommended by the Even the Trunchbull podcast, this was as good as I expected. I think stage families would appreciate it.

Dim Sum Palace, X. Fang. Another winner from the Even the Trunchbull podcast. It’s a bedtime story, a love story to dumplings, a cosy story, and now I’m hungry.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. Organizing one’s laundry days is the current topic.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane. Mail bribe. Emily Dickinson is cool.

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

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James. The ending moves back to the personal.

War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. My gaming is not on this level.

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. I’m getting some good ideas for kid management.

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: Fair Trade
Library Book: The Memory Thieves
Friend Book Club: Movie month!
Foolscap Book Club Book: The Martian
Sword and Laser Club Book: I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom
Scintillation Book Club: Morgaine Chronicles
Cloudy Book Club: Wooing the Witch Queen
Torches and Pitchfork Book Club: How to Fall in Love With Questions
Romance Book Club: Snowed in together: Stitch in Snow
River Runs Under It Book Club: Orbital