Last Days of Summer

Last week with my boys before one heads off to college, and then the other has to gear up for his junior year at high school. Wow, no more kids -- they are both young men. We spent the time lounging around the house, occasionally doing some chores. Luckily we all enjoy living in squalor.

Oh -- we defeated Pandemic, saving the world and bringing hope and joy to everyone! Except Montreal, which didn't make it.

I'm still doing my summer reading thing of starting a book every day, which will probably mean ending up with a few dozen bookmarks by the end of August, but that's how I like to roll in the breaks between routine. Currently Reading is about 32 books right now.

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'm going to sign up. There's also a version that is kidlit focussed, and as I started several kidlit books (and finished one YA),  I'll check in with either Teach Mentor Text or UnLeashing Readers for their version.

This week I started:



The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, Rodman Filbrick. I bought this years ago, so I'll try to read it.

Mira's Last Dance, Lois McMaster Bujold. The chronologically final Penric story.

The Goldfish Boy, Lisa Thompson. A book with a main character who has OCD.

Mercenary Courage, Ruby Lionsdrake. Another book by Lindsay Buroker, grabbed while my Amazon Unlimited account is active.

In Other Lands, Sarah Rees Brennan. Yay -- it finally arrived!

Captive Prince, C.E. Pacet. Finally starting this give from Tor.

Mated to the Meerkat, Lia Silver. Catching up on a well liked author.

Partner, Lia Silver. Almost forgot about this one! Grabbed off Amazon.

Black Butler IX, Yana Toboso. I continue my path through the Black Butlers.

Harmful to Minors, Judith Levine. I got this book when my kids were tiny. Now I can figure out everything I've done wrong!

Ten books. But some of them are short!

I finished:



Penric's Mission, Lois McMaster Bujold. I like this older Penric, especially as he deals with the siblings -- the sister, whom he has a crush on, and the brother, who is deeply suspicious of him, and I like how deep his relationship with his demon has grown.

Stolen Legacy, Lindsay Buroker. Oh no, I reached the end of this series! I enjoyed the slowly developing trust between the two leads, as well as the other family and chosen-family aboard the ship. And I like how Buroker is willing to have tough stuff happen.

Desperate Hearts, Rosanne Bittner. I hope I am not spoiling anything when I tell you that they live happily ever after. In Montana.

In Other Lands, Sarah Rees Brennan. A one-day book. I had really liked this as a free online story, but the polished and expanded version is even better. At different points I was either laughing out loud or wiping tears from my eyes. This coming of age story is perfect for anyone who has read more than one portal fantasy (where kids find a way to a magical world).

Valor's Choice, Tanya Huff. I haven't tried her SF before, but I'm glad I did. I liked the tough sergeant and her attempts to train up the new officer, and the various aliens both in and out of the alliance.

Mated to the Meerkat, Lia Silver. This was a fun summer read -- fast, not pretentious, and constantly amusing.

Hmm, I started 10 and finished 6. My summer currently-reading pile continues to grow.

Picture books:

No new ones, but we did find some actual kids to test the Cybils finalists on, so that was fun.

Bookmarks moved in:



Alliance of Equals, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. Part 13. Still moving rather slowly.

When the Sea Turned to Silver, Grace Lin. The next audio book for the 2016 Cybils finalists. I'm on the last disc, so it's time for the kids to kick the Emperor's butt!

The Lost City of Z, David Grann. OK, we've settled down into Fawcett's life, especially those parts set in or obsessed with the Amazon, and the author's journeys while tracking down information about him.

What If?, Randall Munroe. I brought this along while my sister gave blood, and constantly wanted to quote bits. I may not be learning useful stuff, but all the information is delicious.

These I'm barely reading; I use them as palate cleansers between books I'm actually reading.



The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox.

Kenilworth, Sir Walter Scott.

Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen, Wendelin Van Draanen.

The Emerald Atlas, John Stephens.

A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.

2017 Challenge Progress:

1. Cybils 2016! 15 / a lot. Really close to finishing the audio -- there's a long drive coming up that should do for it. Put holds on a few board books. 
2. Reading My Library:  Finished Desperate Hearts, so I journeyed to the library and picked out the next five books. Let's see if I pay attention to finishing them.
3. Where Am I Reading?: 26/51. No luck. Montana and California, but I already had them.