Turkey Time Approacheth

The month is November, AKA NaNoWriMo, so I'm writing a novel. Still. I'm on target for word count, so that's a thing. I manage to come up with plot idea about a day in advance, so I'm thinking overall coherence may be a problem.

I also hosted the judging for our junior high art contest, which was a thing. Now we just have to display it at teacher conferences and my big event is DONE. And I can start worrying about what I've been assigned for Thanksgiving dinner.

The Book Date is collecting the roundups of what everyone is reading and talking about this week at back at her blog. I'll also look in with Teach Mentor Texts which does the same thing for kidlit, since I read two kids books.

This week I finished 6 books:



Mischief and Mistletoe, assorted short stories. I like most of these authors, and my book club just read one of their books, so I was inspired to actually read this one. It was fun, and worked well as I wrote my novel, since there is no overlap between my story and these stories.

Vengeance of the Demon, Diana Rowland. I seem to have drifted away from this series -- I think I missed a few? I like the characters, but the situation is now a bit top-heavy for me to get back into it.

The Gods Themselves, Isaac Asimov (reread). I missed the final club meeting for this book, which was a bit of a shame. I've read it about three times, ten years apart, so for me it was interesting to see how I reacted each time. I liked it the most the second time.

Little Robot, Ben Hatke. I think kids would enjoy this more than I did -- I kept falling into the question of real vs imaginary that it completely not the point. But Hatke's illustrations are still delightful -- his children are real and powerful and smart, even on the pages with no dialogue at all.

Logan (Montana Creeds), Linda Lael Miller. Billionaire cowboy romance, just like it says on the tin. I did recoil in horror from the abysmal health care provided -- who gets a proscription for birth control pills without understanding when they start working, or what to do if you are already pregnant? Next time find a Planned Parenthood, lady! Also, MONTANA!

Strange Relations, Sonia Levitin. I picked this for it's Hawaiian setting, and also because I trust the author. It was a good choice -- the Hawaii, Orthodox Judaism, secular Judaism, boyfriend issues, and even the family backstory mixed well together for an interesting fast read.

And I started new books:



The Cobweb, Neil Stevenson & J. Frederick George. This is of great interest to me as it is set in IOWA.

14, Peter Clines. My next book club book. Anyone have good suggestions for creepy house movies?

Songs of Willow Frost (started), Jamie Ford. My next Reading My Library pick. Chinese orphan in California, so no new state for me.

Bookmarks Moved in one other book, plus the audio:

audio: Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase. Well, thank goodness the hero drank himself to oblivion rather than have sex with his wife while my son is listening with me. I hope I don't crash the car. In the meantime, we're both roaring with laughter at the appropriate places. Reading My Library pick.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson. I'm reading this to catch up to Sword and Laser. I have a strong feeling terrible things are going to happen, so I'm dragging my eyes about the last 100 pages.

The next few books I'm not really reading, just dipping into between the books I'm trying to finish so that I can pretend that I'm going to read the books on my bookcases.



The October Country, Ray Bradbury. Small town ladies are tough. Tougher than death.
If I'm Jewish and You're Christian, What Are the Kids?, Andrea King.
Rob Roy, Walter Scott.
Waiting For the Party, Ann Thwaite.
A Traitor To Memory, Elizabeth George.
Reading and Learning To Read, Jo Vacca. I like books about how reading works.

2015 Challenge Progress:

1. Reading My Library: Listened to the audio book.
2. Where Am I Reading?: 39/51.  Read the Hawaii plus a Montana and started the Indiana. It's going to be tight this year.
3. Award Winning Book Challenge: I have apparently stopped reviewing books. But I've ticked off many awards -- Strange Relations was another winner. 
4. Book Riot Read Harder: 23/24. I still need an African author.
5. Alphabetically Inclined:  I V X  Z still missing. 22/26. Since I only count books I own, this is hard.
6. Best of the Best 2012: 52/25.  I am stalled. Maybe time to go back?
7. Cybils 2014: Complete! I bought the last one as the libraries didn't seem to have it. WOOT!

Writhing In Circles

The month is November, AKA NaNoWriMo, so I'm writing a novel. Well, I'm writing 50,000 words about some characters; novel implies more structure and coherence than I seem to be achieving.

This means that I've utterly neglected my blog, since if I pick up this computer to type, I'm supposed to write the novel first. Today however I've finally let the antagonist onto the stage, and I suddenly realized I had no idea what her agenda was or why she was stalking around being a villain. So instead I turn to this blog to report on what I've read so far in November (not much -- see the whole novel thing).

The Book Date is collecting the roundups of what everyone is reading and talking about this week at back at her blog. I'll also look in with Teach Mentor Texts which does the same thing for kidlit.

This week I finished 5 books, almost all of them graphic novels, children's books, or both:

Wandering Son Vol 2, Shimura Takako. This is a manga about transgender Japanese kids, which is interesting both for the glimpse into how pre-teens manage wanting to cross dress or handle teasing and for the look at the Japanese response to this as well as normal Japanese life. I don't think I'll continue with the series because I'm terrible at reading comics and have problems telling the characters apart even though as my kids point out they look nothing alike.

Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel. My book club read this for our Friday meeting, and we were all blindsided by the depressing nature of it, since we are a pretty fluffy reading crowd. It's a good book and fascinating reading, especially as a contrast to most SF books of this nature -- for one thing, there are almost no engineers figuring stuff out and the author is mostly uninterested in the "how" of post-apocalypse survival. One member read it on a business trip and we agreed that this book could be nominated for "Worst Travel Read Ever."

The Princess in Black, Shannon Hale. Great kids book about a pretty princess who sneaks out to battle trolls in violation of all Pretty Princess codes. I'm looking forward to the sequel which may also include so Goat Boy heroics. I wonder if I could get the reluctant reader into this one...

Mercy Thompson: Hopcross Jilly, Patricia Briggs. This Mercy story was written with the intention of becoming a graphic novel, which apparently makes for a better graphic novel, as opposed to just drawing pictures for any old story. Fair enough -- I like that it has a lot about Mercy's step daughter, who is an interesting character. Alexander liked it too, so there's the youthful vote.

The High Druid's Blade, Terry Brooks. I found this audio story annoying in that it rarely allowed the female characters any agency. Even the evil villain thought of girls as means to attack the guy rather than as people. (Hint -- there is a sword hanging forgotten in a family's home. You have the power to mentally control the sister. Do you lure her to your distant house of ill repute so that the brother will hopefully grab the sword and follow, or do you tell her to walk home and bring it to you so you can fly off and disappear forever and probably no one will care? Do one if you are plot stupid, because the second choice would make the book awfully short.)

Last week I finished:


The Blacksmith's Bravery (Ladies' Shooting Club), Susan Page Davis. Another Reading My Library Quest book. Christians in a rough Idaho town struggle with bandits and remaking their lives in accordance with their new religious beliefs.

A Bride's Story Vol 4, Kaoru Mori. The continuing manga about the Asian steppes.

Sideways Stories From Wayside School, Louis Sachar (reread). For my elementary book club, although I also discovered it makes a great read aloud.

The Plague of Doves, Louise Erdrich. Reading this over several months made it a little harder to keep track of the interlocking story lines, but the beauty of the language held it together.

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor, Nathan Hale. A strong addition to this historical series, this book really gave a sense of the immense effort and courage of Harriet Tubman and her continuing journeys to save people from slavery.

Gateway, Sharon Shinn. Good people risking much to do good things, as expected in Shinn's book. I would have found the romance delightful when I was young, although my jaded self found the emotions a bit exhausting.

Almost Amish, Kathryn Cushman. Are more large print books Christian fiction? Do Christians read more as their eyes get tired? I'm not complaining, I'm just wondering. This was a fun exploration of life inside a reality TV show, with the uptight mom getting redeemed instead of demonized.

Dreams Underfoot, Charles de Lint. Strong stories of people who see into the fae world, with a lot of subtext about stories and reality and truth. Reminded me why I like de Lint, so I'll keep reading more of his stuff.

And while I was in the library I browsed a couple of picture books from the holiday shelves:


Zen Ghosts, John Muth. I always feel the whoosh of the koan's wisdom rushing past my head when I read these books. I have no idea what kids think of them.

Monster Needs a Costume, Paul Czajak. I found it a bit predictable, which probably a lot of kids like but my family was more into a twist ending. The monster discovers that you can have it all.

And I started new books:


audio: Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase. This may take longer than I expected, because Alexander is enjoying it tremendously so I may save it for when he's in the car. Although I'm not sure I want to listen to the actual sex scenes with my 17 year old son sitting next to me...

Logan, Linda Lael Miller. True love in MONTANA.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson. I'm reading this to catch up to Sword and Laser. I like it although it's pretty grim. Also, I do not believe Seth is related to Peter Dickinson, which confused me for a while.

The Gods Themselves, Isaac Asimov (reread). I'm supposed to finish this by Tuesday for my movie/book club. It's fun reading this with only dim memories so that I'm not sure what I've figured out and what I remember.

Bookmarks Moved in a few other books:

Mischief and Mistletoe. Christmas themed Regency romance stories from some of my best known authors. I'm reading it a lot lately because it is utterly unlike my novel and so doesn't mess with my head.

Vengeance of the Demon, Diane Rowland. I read this while sorting my mail, because I needed an incentive as the letters were piling up.

The next few books I'm not really reading, just dipping into between the books I'm trying to finish so that I can pretend that I'm going to read the books on my bookcases.



If I'm Jewish and You're Christian, What Are the Kids?, Andrea King. The latest chapters discuss what happens to observance if you only do religion for the kids, so you have an excuse to give them presents or something.
Rob Roy, Walter Scott. It is possible that our main character may have now met up with a Scot rebel, so that the interesting part of the plot can begin. The book is halfway over. Thank goodness I met this author through Ivanhoe and not this thing.
Waiting For the Party, Ann Thwaite. I had no idea that Francis Burnett was also famous for her adult fiction, back in her day. That she did not have a great marriage is not as surprising.
A Traitor To Memory, Elizabeth George. My favorite subplot is the musician who can't play and who is inexplicably writing a diary (there's an explanation, but it seems wildly improbable).
Reading and Learning To Read, Jo Vacca. I like books about how reading works.

2015 Challenge Progress:

1. Reading My Library: Finished two. Moving along with the C's in audio books.
2. Where Am I Reading?: 37/51.  Finished the North Dakota, but repeated Tennessee, Idaho and Michigan. Got a Hawaii and Indiana on my shelves.
3. Award Winning Book Challenge: I have apparently stopped reviewing books. But I've ticked off many awards. 
4. Book Riot Read Harder: 23/24. I still need an African author.
5. Alphabetically Inclined:  I V X  Z still missing. 22/26. Since I only count books I own, this is hard.
6. Best of the Best 2012: 52/25.  I am stalled. Maybe time to go back?
7. Cybils 2014: Complete! I bought the last one as the libraries didn't seem to have it. WOOT!

Halloween Reading

I've misplaced my NOOK again! I have to say, the biggest disadvantage of the one-touch is that it's so easy for me to lose it; it's very lightweight and easy to carry. This had not struck me as a disadvantage while I was reading it...

I need to finish a few of the library books on that before they go POOF. Of course, the new stack of books I brought home today will not help me concentrate on my missing e-books.

Oh wait, I left it in the car. Oops.

The trip to the library was timed perfectly today -- I got there a bit early since I knew I was restocking for my Library Quest, and I had time to leisurely go through the five shelves in the column to pick out my books. My criteria are twofold: 1) Setting. I need to buckle down on my 50 States Challenge. 2) Desire. Do I want to read any of these books? My hope is that by picking some books purely by setting, I'll come across some things I never knew I wanted to read.

The hold shelf three books:



I Don't Like Koala, Sean Ferrell. I read this while waiting for my boys to show up. Having seen my own share of creepy "lovies", I enjoyed this story. I especially like the blending of imagination and reality on the long hike the boy takes to lose Koala.

Little Robot, Ben Hatke. I've read other books of his and enjoyed them.

Rain Is Not My Indian Name, Cynthia Leitch Smith. This has been on my TBR list for ages, and I just stumbled across several more positive reviews, so I ordered it up.

I also found a book on the Quick Picks shelves:


Archangel's Enigma, Nalini Singh. I like this series, so it's nice to see the latest out now.

And I had to restock for my Library Quest. I got a new audio since I'll finish the current one in the next 7-10 days, and then 5 more from the next column of shelves as I started the last of the first column today:



Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase. My friend gave this 4 stars, so I'll try it. I find it a bit odd to listen to sex scenes via audio, so we'll see how it goes. Must remember who else is in the car...

Songs of Willow Frost, Jamie Ford. I picked this one because it's set in Seattle, my home city.

Refusal, Felix Francis. I like the Sid Halley stories from Dick Francis, so I'll what the son has him get up to.

Stakeout, Parnell Hall. This seems to be set in New Jersey.

City of Saints, Andrew Hunt. This seems to be set in Utah.

Dreaming Spies, Laurie R. King. I usually get along with the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes stories.

I've currently got 51 things out from the library, including ebooks, music, books for me, and books for the kids. That's higher than my limit -- I try to stay under my age and I'm not there yet. Oh well, a few are ebooks that will go away by the end of the week, and I only have 3 holds outstanding so maybe I can start catching up next week.

I finished Almost Amish by Kathryn Cushman for the Library Quest. It was a Christian book -- are those more common in the Large Print section? I liked how the religion was incorporated in the character's lives in ways I see in real life, and I liked how the super focused competent woman wasn't demonized, even as that trope was acknowledged. It did not make me want to attempt an Amish lifestyle in any way, or be part of a reality TV show.

I'll go sign in to Library Loot which is at Silly Little Mischief this week to see what everyone else is getting.  Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week.