Congratulations, Graduate

Wow, I think I managed to avoid getting COVID after all! Go me! I'm the luckiest woman in the world! I'm probably invincible. And I should have bought a lottery ticket. 

I almost managed to forget about my elementary book club, because luckily my phone buzzed at me in time for me to hightail it over to the school. We had a good time discussing Save Me a Seat, and the kids talked about immigrants, and friendship, and being a new kid, and what was the best cookie, and whether anyone deserves to be allowed to pour leeches down his pants. 

My brother drove in from Utah to celebrate his niece's graduation, and incidentally to pick him our mom's wine fridge. My brother-in-law's brother also came out with his wife, so we had a few days filled with family gatherings and meals, culminating in the graduation party for our Magna Cum Laude Political Science/Pre-law honoree. 

The weather was lovely for the party, but the weather people had threatened rain. This was lucky for me, because I had ANOTHER book club on Saturday, the triple book club, and I had read all three of those books too. Because of the rain, we switched from an outdoor backyard affair to an online meeting, so I did manage to sneak over and join in. 

On Sunday my sons made me my own Dutch Baby for my breakfast in bed. This has been our Mother's Day tradition since they were small -- well, breakfast in bed is the tradition, and the meal has shifted as they got old enough to become more ambitious. Since I wasn't home until the afternoon last week, I got my breakfast this day, complete with flowers from our yard.

I am still second on my list of all the Cybils finalists. But I'm still working on the categories (as you see, middle grade nonfiction is showing up), so I have hopes of regaining the top spot. Look out, Shaye! I only need like thirty thirty-five forty more books to catch up! (Shaye continues to read the rest faster than me. I'm doomed but happy about it.) Actually, at some point she will stop increasing her lead, because she is really close to done. 

I'm currently reading about 37 books, so maybe I'll manage to finish some of them next week.

The Book Date does a weekly roundup of what people are reading, want to read, or have read each week called "It's Monday! What Are You Reading" and I think I'm in time this week! Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers.

Started

Fireheart Tiger, Aliette de Bodard. Hugo nominee -- Novella.

Someone Perfect, Mary Balogh. Grabbed from library because I like this author.

Never Say You Can't Survive, Charlie Jane Anders. Hugo nominee -- Best Related Work.

Inside the Shadow City, Kirsten Miller. Cybils finalist. 

Measuring Up, Lily LaMotte. Cybils finalist. 

Ship Without Sails, Sherwood Smith. I should admit I'm reading this. I follow the author's patreon and she's sending a chapter a day, although I'm falling behind.

Completed

Medicus, Ruth Downie. While I have to basis for judging, it did feel like a possibly accurate portrayal of life as a struggling Roman army doctor. The characters were relatable but also had some fundamentally different ideas of some basic stuff (slavery, for example) and the medical practices were both primitive and ambitious. I tried to ignore the romantic element as it wasn't credible to me, but the rest of it made for a nice read at my table.

Fireheart Tiger, Aliette de Bodard. Hugo nominee -- Novella. Eh, I struggled with this a bit. The romance elements didn't work for me -- the main pairing didn't balance royal privilege with preference,  and also it was a bit dull. And then the secondary pairing probably worked better, but I was completely thrown out because they had given each other the nicknames "Big Sis" and "Lil Sis," which maybe in this culture (fantasy Viet Nam?) doesn't imply a family type bond but which strongly have that feel for me. So I was reading them as in a mentorship, sisterly kind of context and then suddenly they were a romantic item, and I couldn't make the switch. The royal stuff was cool but I am old and unromantic and that was a bit part of the story.

Breathless, Beverley Jenkins. I was hoping for a slow burn romance, because that's the theme for this week's Romance Book Series. But it doesn't really fit -- they knew each other a long time ago, but haven't seen each other in decades and when they meet again things move very quickly. I liked the next book in this series a lot better; this one was mostly a lust at first sight thing, and I felt that her emotional growth was more "here's the problem -- but now it's gone" thing rather than show her actually addresses her hesitancy and fear of trust. He was magically really sexy, so she's cured! And he was tired of drifting, so miraculously he falls for this woman with a rich and successful family who can set him up with a business! Also, he has a history of promiscuity, but now he's ready to be faithful, and all the women who pursue him (except for our heroine) are shamed for their sluttiness, even though a few weeks ago he would have been delighted to go for it. It was uncomfortable.

Someone Perfect, Mary Balogh. I finished this in one sitting because I was procrastinating on doing an unpleasant chore. It did what it promised on the cover, and did it in a way that I enjoyed. There were some echos of Venetia, one of my favorite Heyer novels. She's a smart woman a little on the old side for marriage (mid twenties!) with a beloved brother. He has a bad reputation that is partially earned. But it's also a classic Balogh, where extended families are there for support and love, and emotional honesty and courage give rich rewards, and forgiveness is offered when it is sincerely sought. The characters had to work and change a bit to get what they want, but they do it like adults, so at no point did I need to put the book down and maybe clean something gross before picking it up again. (Sadly, I finished it and then had to clean the gross thing anyway.)

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Vol 1,  Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. I'm watching this series on Netflix (very slowly) so I thought I'd check out the novel version. They are in slightly different order, but I liked seeing the characters from the inside and also learning about what was going on in some parts where I had misunderstood stuff. I also got hints on what were the conventions of the genre, which also helped. But mostly it was fun seeing these guys flail about emotionally while also being really skilled at the magic cultivation stuff that they do.

Shifting Shadows, Patricia Briggs. Audio for my drive. I liked having the shorter stories rather than a novel, because it gave me markers for my progress. The narration varied between a man and a woman, both of whom I associate with Briggs books. Maybe the guy does the Charles books? I like how the stories we have heard from characters about Bran don't exactly match up with the story we get in this book; you can see where they come from and why some stuff got confused. Especially when you compare with the stories about Mercy growing up in Montana. The accent for Ben didn't seem right somehow, but that's still a fun story, as is the final ghost story.

Song of Blood and Stone, L. Penelope. Cloudy book club book. This was a bit frustrating -- I liked the beginning as the world building was established, with the racism and the protagonist's big problem. Then her problems got worse as she met up with the other protagonist, and they had to work together to survive. But I disliked their love story that picked up from that, which kinda spoiled the rest of the book. The politics in the second half were interesting, except for our hero's response, which was tediously simplistic. By the end of it I was utterly fed up with him and had no wish for anyone to be saddled with him as a partner, romantically or politically. I was really hoping for maybe some democratic reforms. Emotionally it felt like a YA, in that the characters had the emotional maturity of a somewhat spoiled fifteen year old. But it's a first book, so I think I'll keep an eye on the author, as I liked a lot of the stuff going on around the main characters even when I didn't want to read about them.

Amari and the Night Brothers, B.B. Alston. 2021 Cybils Middle Grade Speculative Fiction finalist. Amari was a great protagonist -- courageous, loyal, smart, and ethical. I liked her progress in the school for people, and the way the real traitor was disguised. I did want her to broaden her perspective a bit, but that was a minor quibble. I'm looking forward to the sequel!

-----------------Book From Blogging Hiatus -----------------

Skipping this week. 

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Ok, I'm only going to put a book in here when I actually try to read it. Or at least actually pick it up and think about reading it. This week I made some progress in:

Sweep of the Heart, Ilona Andrews. A monarchy constrained by public opinion polls -- neat concept.

The Girls I've Been, Tess Sharpe. Lots of tense moments.

Phoenix Extravagant, Yoon Ha Lee. April's local Sword and Laser group pick.

Vampire Trinity, Joey Hill. Ooh, that part was kinda hot.

Ancestral Night, Elizabeth Bear. Back to my kitchen cleaning.

Red Hood, Elana K. Arnold. Cybils finalist. This flashback is pretty grim.

Emerald Blaze, Ilona Andrews. Fun book from my shelves.

Risk, Dick Francis. Kidnappings is a plural word.

Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emrys. Cool scene.

Forging a Nightmare, Patricia A. Jackson. 

Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Disaster, Serhii Plokhy. 

Pandora's Star, Peter F. Hamilton. March Sword & Laser pick. 

Picture Books / Short Stories:

Unspeakable, Carole Boston Weatherford. 2022 Cybils Middle Grade Nonfiction. Lovely pictures show the events before and after the massacre of Tulsa. The violence isn't shown graphically, but the impact is strong. 

We Are Still Here!, Traci Sorrel. 2022 Cybils Elementary Nonfiction. I wanted the frame to make things more personal -- each spread was a school kid's report on a topic. But the afterward gave me a lot of detail on what each page was portraying. I see this as an educational book rather than one read for enjoyment, but it would be a good one.

Two Is For Twins, Wendy Cheyette Lewison. Board book I picked up and read at the library, which celebrates having and being a twin. Simple happy pictures showing kids living and going to school, always with a companion.

Over There: Daddy Version, Dorinda Silver Williams. I thought this was a preposition book when I picked it up, but it's a toddler sized meditation on having a deployed father, shown mostly from the kid (who is playing, living, and missing their father) but also from the dad, who is in uniform and calling, skyping, and writing home to convey his love. Didactic but not in an annoying way; I can see this being a great tool to help kids understand their emotions and feel part of something comprehensible. 

Nino Wrestle the World, Yuyi Morales. Reading My Library -- Our World shelf. Fun book showing a boy battling various wrestling opponents with moves improvised from his daily life, and the last page hints at the sequel. 

Crane Boy, Diana Cohn. Reading My Library -- Our World shelf. I liked learning about the development of the Crane festival in Bhutan, but the text left me unsure what was fact and what was story. I liked when I got from the afterward though.

I Don't Want to Read This Book, Max Greenfield. I'm always up for a meta book! This one isn't the greatest of its kind, but the fun fonts kept me turning pages. Apparently Max Greenfield is an actor? 

Palate Cleansers

These books I'm barely reading; lately I use them as bribes to get me to deal with the mail. I've been ignoring my mail.

The Educated Child, William Bennett. 

 

Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others. 

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane. 

Stinger, Nancy Kress. Making progress!

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. 

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2021: Finished Amari and the Night Brothers. Read a few more picture books, and brought home another graphic novel and the start of the middle grade fiction.
2. Early Cybils: Working on Red Hood again. Started the 2006 Kiki. 
3. Reading My Library. Finished Medicus, which I forgot was a Reading My Library book. Continued with the picture books from Renton Highlands.
4. Where Am I Reading 2022. Picked up fantasy China.
5. Libraries: 34/55 for the Tacoma Extreme Challenge. 
   Read a librarian-recommend book for KCLS 10 to Try.

Future Plans

I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.

I am reading: 

• Book I own: Chernobyl Next: Forging a Nightmare
• Library Book: Girls I've Been Next: Desolation Called Peace
• Ebook I own:  Winter's Tale. Next: ???
• Library Ebook:  Never Say You Can't Survive Next: Life's Too Short
• Book Club Book: Life's Too Short
• Tuesday Book Club Book: Strange Love
• Hugo Book: Project Hail Mary
• Review Book: Back Home  Next: 
• Rereading: Risk. Or Maybe Heidi.
• Meal Companion: Happy Families
• Audio:  Ancestral Nights

Mother's Day! Pomp And Circumstance

On Monday I drove my mom to the hospital to for a outpatient operation, and then spent the day waiting for them to release her. I had prepared a bag with a few zillion books, plus my ereader, and kept myself from worrying by starting a handful of new books and plugging along on a few old ones. So my progress last week of finishing more books than I started was completely reversed. But Mom did great and came home tired but hopefully ready for a lot more years of laughing at me for hauling so many books around.

On the weekend I drove to Pullman, Washington to cheer as my niece graduated from Washington State. She's finished in three years and graduated with honors! Woot! Wow, do people not worry at all about Covid19 over there. I wore my mask, but very few other people did. If I don't get corona from this then I guess those vaccinations really do work. Mother's Day was spent driving back home, but I got back in time to celebrate with my son and my mom, and then my other son brought me a cake after he got off work. We had agreed to do our family Mother's Day stuff next week (I usually get my breakfast in bed) so I was surprised and really pleased. It's good cake!

I am still second on my list of all the Cybils finalists. But I'm still working on the categories (as you see, middle grade nonfiction is showing up), so I have hopes of regaining the top spot. Look out, Shaye! I only need like thirty thirty-five forty more books to catch up! (Shaye continues to read the rest faster than me. I'm doomed but happy about it.) I'm currently reading about 38 books, so maybe I'll manage to finish some of them next week.

The Book Date does a weekly roundup of what people are reading, want to read, or have read each week called "It's Monday! What Are You Reading" and I think I'm in time this week! Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers.

Started

Across the Green Grass Fields, Seanan McGuire. Hugo reading.

The Girls I've Been, Tess Sharpe. A friend recommended this. Although now I realize it's also a Cybils book!

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Vol 1,  Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. Because it looks fun.

Song of Blood and Stone, L. Penelope. Book club book.

Amari and the Night Brothers, B.B. Alston. Cybils finalist.

Breathless, Beverley Jenkins. A slow burn romance.

A Colourful Death, Carola Dunn. Cosy mystery.

Shifting Shadows, Patricia Briggs. Audio for my drive.

Emerald Blaze, Ilona Andrews. Fun book from my shelves.

Completed

Night Broken, Patricia Briggs. Audio re-read so I could read while driving during the read-a-thon. And then I remembered how much I like the Mercy Briggs books. Patricia Briggs novels tend to make great listening. My sister was in the car sometimes, and we talked about how we like when Mercy lies to herself, sometimes deliberately to make herself confirm to her own standards (I would not let that bother me...) and sometimes without knowing it, even as she assures herself that she understands things perfectly. This comes up sometimes in her relationship with Adam, where she is not as secure as she would like to imagine herself. And of course, this one has lots of adventure and Warren/Kyle arguing and a new Coyote relative and of course Christy.

Ikenga, Nnedi Okorafor. I really liked how consistent the kid was in terms of his emotions and character, especially as he was learning and changing because of the things that happen to him. These include mundane but profound things like his father dying, his mother dating, and his fights with his friends as well as things like transforming into a spiritual being with immense strength and aggressive emotions and then struggling to come back. He didn't suddenly change into a mini-adult; he was still a kid with a kid's understanding but he was a kid who had been through a lot. That's my adult reaction to the book; I think kids would like it for all the agency he has and because he and his friend has strongly defined characters and great adventures.

Across the Green Grass Fields, Seanan McGuire. Hugo novella finalist. This was joyful to read (which is great in a hospital waiting room), especially as the girl is growing up among the centaurs and rescuing herself from baddies and then accepting the quest to save the world and acquiring her companions. As a story, it felt a bit over stuffed; I didn't think I needed all the wonderful world building middle which unbalanced the short story feel of the beginning and end. But it was a great read when I needed it.

Heat, Mike Lupica. 2006 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction finalist. The best kind of sports novel, where there is also stuff (so much stuff) going on outside the field, but it integrates into the game bits, who the character is and what he does outside is directly tied to how he handles himself on the little league playing field. I sure how this team makes it all the way to the national championship!

Three Keys, Kelly Yang. These kids are again a lot of fun to hang out with (especially the Jason redemption arc) but this time the plot felt really forced into historic mode, with the book an excuse to show the effects and hysteria of Proposition 187. I remember feeling betrayed by my fellow Americans when that passed; it was so obviously a bigoted and horrific idea, and then finding individually that some people I thought of as friends, as decent people, had voted for it. Seeing it from the point of view of those directly affected was searing and raw, but in a nonfiction way that pulled a bit at the fictional tension. The girl's control of her family finances and business decisions seemed a bit unlikely.

A Colourful Death, Carola Dunn. Cosy mystery. I'm enjoying the small village characters, especially the widow. The mystery was just and excuse for them to be interesting; I cunningly solved it immediately because I trust Dunn to make sure I don't like the baddie. The detective sergeant seemed rather naive, but she's young; I thought the older detective had figured it out as early as I did, but he was worried about stuff like proof. Onto the next!

-----------------Book From Blogging Hiatus -----------------

Winter's Orbit, Everina Maxwell. I reread this on a plane ride last December. A science fiction romance with a cheerful but clueless man falling in love with his arranged marriage partner. Very sweet and I liked the world building enough to hope Maxwell goes back for more.

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Ok, I'm only going to put a book in here when I actually try to read it. Or at least actually pick it up and think about reading it. This week I made some progress in:

Sweep of the Heart, Ilona Andrews. Another Innkeeper story! The cat is doing better, and the story picks up.

Medicus, Ruth Downie. Book to keep at the table so I can read while eating. Downie makes Roman Britain feel very real; I hope she is accurate as my imagination is now completely set.

Risk, Dick Francis. Kidnappings is a plural word.

Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emrys. Cool scene. I like the elders.

Ancestral Night, Elizabeth Bear. I meant to listen to a lot on the drive, but Briggs seduced me. Also, the narrator got in trouble.

Vampire Trinity, Joey Hill. The sex bits aren't very interesting to me, so I tend to fall asleep quickly.

Red Hood, Elana K. Arnold. Cybils finalist. Go Gramma!

Forging a Nightmare, Patricia A. Jackson. 

Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Disaster, Serhii Plokhy. Read-a-thon gave me an excuse to sit and read; this is not a good book to dip in and out of.

Pandora's Star, Peter F. Hamilton. March Sword & Laser pick. It's funny how my instinct to side with the cops has been broken by the whole 2020 thing.

Phoenix Extravagant, Yoon Ha Lee. For local Sword and Laser group.

Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy. These are getting shaky in terms of whether they should stay on the list. 

Terra Nullius, Clare G. Colman. These are getting shaky in terms of whether they should stay on the list. 

Forfeit, Dick Francis. These are getting shaky in terms of whether they should stay on the list. 

Picture Books / Short Stories:

Mapping Sam, Joyce Hesselberth. This was recommended to me by a library at Renton Highlands Library, so it's my entry in the Ten to Try challenge. It's a lovely depiction of how maps and graphical representations show information, with a cat leading the way through the art to the science.

Welcome to Bobville, Jonah Winter. This is a strong message book, but it's a good message and the artwork is a lot of fun, so I would enjoy reading it to kids. There's a science fiction series about the Bobiverse, where a guy named Bob is replicated, so that has some relevance, although the SF Bobs are willing to differentiate. Winter had a lot of fun the Bobville, so that the ending where nonconformity threatens the town feels a bit rushed, but that's where the message is. Maybe Republicans would ban it, because the book definitely things individuality is great. From a Life Issues shelf at the library.

Mr Wayne's Masterpiece, Patricia Polacco. Polacco's picture books are generally great, with interesting and wholesome stories, and this is no exception. Good, kind teachers help a kid realize her potential. But I don't really like the art style -- I can tell it's really good, but it's not for me. It hits some uncanny valley stuff for me. From a Life Issues shelf at the library.

Palate Cleansers

These books I'm barely reading; lately I use them as bribes to get me to deal with the mail. I've been ignoring my mail.

The Educated Child, William Bennett. How to make changes at a political level.

 

Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others. 

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane. 

Stinger, Nancy Kress. Making progress!

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. OK, I'm doing the day's song, and then jumping back to where I fell behind. So I'm catching some of April and working my way through December -- Christmas is over!.

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2021: Started Amari and the Night Brothers from the library.
2. Early Cybils: Working on Red Hood again. Finished Heat. 
3. Reading My Library. The library reopened! I got the next book. But maybe I'll keep working at the back-up library, because picture books are fun.
4. Where Am I Reading 2022. Picked up Nigeria.
5. Libraries: 34/55 for the Tacoma Extreme Challenge. 
   Read a librarian-recommend book for KCLS 10 to Try.

Future Plans

I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.

I am reading: 

• Book I own: Chernobyl Next: Forging a Nightmare
• Library Book: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Next: Girls I've Been
• Ebook I own:  Winter's Tale. Next: ???
• Library Ebook:  Breathless Next: Never Say You Can't Survive
• Book Club Book: Song of Blood and Stone
• Tuesday Book Club Book: Strange Love
• Hugo Book: Never Say You Can't Survive
• Review Book: Back Home  Next: 
• Rereading: Risk. Or Maybe Heidi.
• Meal Companion: 
• Audio:  Shifting Shadows