Monday, June 27, 2011

School is finally over, and we spent the first half week of summer vacation in limp laziness, enjoying the bursts of sunshine and complaining about the low temperatures.  Several days saw us warm enough to venture to the pool, but the boys found the warmth of the TV screens much more entertaining.  Sadly, the rest of the summer will have a much more restricted screen availability, so life may get harder.  They'll probably be begging for more school soon.

So, did I read anything in between mocking the children's couch potato competition?
  • Trick of the Light, Rob Thurman
  • Penderwicks at Point Mouette. Jane Birdsall
  • Margaret Sanger: Pioneer of the Future, Emily Taft Douglas
  • In the Teeth of the Evidence (reread), Dorothy Sayers
  • Fray, Joss Whedan & artists
What trends do I see? I read nonfiction really really slowly.  The biography of Margaret Sanger was amusing but I still crept along at barely fifty pages a day, even when I restricted my other reading.  I really liked the Penderwick books and I'm delighted to hear that more are scheduled.

Right now I'm reading:
  • Feng Shui, Robin D Laws. On loan from my brother.
  • The Battle for Azeroth, ed. Bill Fawcett. Analysis of the World of Warcraft MMORPG.
  • Little Fuzzy, H. Piper.  In preparation for Scalzi's relaunch, I got this for my NOOK.
  • Omnitopia , Diane Duane (audio).
  • Territory, Emma Bull (vacation book)
  • Downbelow Station, C.J. Cherryh. Reread.
  • Bad Prince Charlie, John Moore (vacation book)
  • The Rogue's Return, Jo Beverly (vacation book)
  • The Secret Duke, Jo Beverly. Found under my bedside table with a bookmark.
  • How I Met My Countess, Elizabeth Boyle. Also found.
  • The Terrorists of Irustan, Louise Marley.  I snuck this into my vacation pile.
The first book is borrowed from my brother, so I only read that in one place at home instead of carting in around, so it moves slowly.  None of the others are my main reads; I have to pick my next book from my stack and start something from my library pile. I'll see what I feel like when stumbling about preparing for swim lessons tomorrow morning.

Quick stats on my Challenges:

A-Z: 38/52. Nothing new.  Can anyone recommend a book whose author starts with an "N"?
Cybils: 45/76. We're in the middle of the next poetry book.
Global Reading Challenge:12/21. All American lately.
Once Upon a Time: LOTS/5. I'm an overachiever. Way past time to start the Shakespeare.
Read Around the World: 12/20. The library has some stuff on hold for me, though.
Science Book Challenge: 2.141/3.141... No change.
Stream: 3/3, 1/3, 3/3, 3/3. This is really fun.  I have to rein myself in from splitting in too many directions, though.
Take a Chance: 4/10. About to start challenge #8.
20/11: 17/20. If I caught up on reviewing, I'd be done.  This is still true.  
What's In a Name?: 5/6. The movement in the title one is hard.  I just noticed that my jewel book also had movement in the title.  Humph.  Still looking.
Where Am I Reading?: 22/50. I added Maine. Why is Oregon so hard? I thought stuff happened in Portland all the time!

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