I spent most of the week transitioning out of committee work (woot!) and also being a tough parent, which is more unusual than you'd expect because my kids tend to be wonderful teens who do what they should without me wagging a tongue or lifting a finger. This week my tongue had to wag a bit ("weren't you going to?" "when were you planning to?" and "how do you intend to?"). Hopefully that's the last time I need to step up and be responsible!
The weather has cooled down and we even got some rain, so the world is acknowledging that summer is over. I had fun cooking with my niece, although we apparently need to work on our upper arm strength so that jars are not as intimidating. Or maybe I should switch to tomato sauce only in cans.
The fall out from summer reading is still here, but I'm slowing getting on top of things. Currently Reading is down to 30 books already, and I'm actively working on most of them. I supposed most people would try to finish one thing at a time, but I'm not most people. I'm only one people.
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 and finished a YA book, finished a kidlit book, and read a bunch of picture books I'll check in with either Teach Mentor Text or UnLeashing Readers for their version. I feel my kidlit creds are safe this week.
This week I started:
Ms Marvel Vol 7: Damage Per Second, G. Willow Wilson. I am keeping up with the Ms Marvels!
The Better Part of Valor, Tanya Huff. The second in a series personally recommended to me by my librarians. (They actually recommended the anthology of the first two books.)
Only two books! See, I'm not crazy. And I finished both of them, see --
I finished:
Ms Marvel Vol 7: Damage Per Second, G. Willow Wilson. Fun, although a bit didactic. Ms Marvel faces the tough decision to not aid a blackmailing villain, even if it means her friend will suffer. And then she and her gaming guild go on a quest to make the internet nice.
Vanishing Time, Katharine Britton. This Reading My Library book is the story of a woman searching for a vanished son in South Carolina. I liked the writing and the individual scenes, but I found Cara too alien to really identify with; she's a devoted mom to her young son, the kind of woman who sniffs her kid's laundry when he goes off for a trip with his philandering dad. She's confused by visions and ghosts when lurching around South Carolina, so she decides to muddy the waters by drinking bourbon before driving off to an assignation with an old spirit woman. The people around her, while sympathetic, clearly think she's loony and I can't blame them. There's a romance set up with the controlling man who lies to her to protect her from her feelings, but no one else seems worried about that so maybe he is perfect for her. Also, Cara behaves horribly to her best friend, which bothered me. At the end she promises her friend (who is driving down from Massachusetts because Cara has made several very alarming phone calls) that she's coming home, but then decides to spend more time with the controlling man and once again leaves her poor friend waiting at the airport.
The Better Part of Valor, Tanya Huff. My librarians are awesome; this was exactly what I wanted. Military SF with little angst, fun ideas, and good triumphing after only a few sacrifices.
Dragon Steel, Laurence Yep. This seems almost familiar, but I think I am recognizing the author's style rather than the plot. I'm fairly sure that I read the first book a few decades ago, and I had no trouble jumping into this sequel with Shimmer and her human friend Thorne finding that the dragons are not as happy to welcome them back from exile as she had hoped. I like the standard format of adventure and character growth -- it reminds me of my childhood reading.
I started 2 and finished 4. By next summer I should have this reading pile under control!
Picture books:
The Inventors of Lego Toys, Erin Hagar. This Cybils NF finalist has a good balance between a biography of the people and a history of the company, with information given in compact bursts with engaging and appropriate illustrations.
Raybot and Weebot!, Adam F. Watkins. Thinly veiled parable of a pesky younger brother who really brings joy to the family is redeemed by energetic and appealing illustrations and the fun of living in a junkyard as a robot.
Inside This Book (are three books), Barney Saltzberg. As always I am a sucker for meta. The dwindling books show three different sibling personalities. The youngest has suspiciously good drawing skills but I will forgive a good dinosaur story much.
Leave Me Alone, Vera Brosgol. Grandma power with fun pictures and aliens. As a parent, I adore this story of an adult seeking peace, and children would go along for her repeated attempts to avoid helpful companions.
My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay, Cari Best. Blind kid runs in school race after overcoming difficulties. The friends don't actually have that big a role in the book. It's cute enough.
Floodwaters and Flames, Lois Huey. This Cybils NF finalist gives an interesting tale of the Dayton Ohio flood, with clear stories told from a variety of viewpoints and photos illustrating each point. Captions indicate the difference between the image and the story, with clear lines showing where the information is coming from. Most people were chosen to show what was happening in various sections of town, although the inclusion of Orville Wright was clearly for his celebrity.
Bookmarks moved in:
Alliance of Equals, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. Part 14-15. Stepmom up on the ship is getting warnings of trouble.
Harmful to Minors, Judith Levine. No one really knows what children experience sexually, so laws are based on what adults are comfortable admitting. This can cause problems when reality intrudes.
Merely a Marriage, Jo Beverley. Decent tall dudes are in short supply (ha ha -- see what I did there?). And the attraction to her True Love remains inconveniently strong.
The Way Into Chaos, Harry Connolly. OK, I did not see that coming. Good job, Connolly. And I like this Tyr.
The Seventh Bride, T. Kingfisher. I'm almost done -- it's the wedding scene.
The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown. Lots of detail on Joe's background, with some jumps forward to how that affects his rowing.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, Rodman Philbrick. I like the Quaker guy and his Underground Railroad station; I hope Homer can talk himself back into safety.
Indigo, a lot of people. OK, stuff is escalating.
Vinegar Girl, Anne Tyler. Tyler has not started to redeem Pyotr yet, so I hope this starts soon.
Captive Prince, C.S. Pacat. Our princes are not getting along.
The Murder of Mary Russell, Laurie R. King. Why love is a bad reason to do anything.
The Youngest Miss Ward, Joan Aiken. A snow storm gives Harriett a nice few days, which are probably the only bright spot for the next few years.
Unbound, Jim Hines. I don't really understand the puzzle, but I figure that's Isaac's job.
Hostage, Sherwood Smith and Rachel Manija Brown. A kidnapping does explain the title of the book.
Someplace to Be Fying, Charles de Lint. There's a murder mystery, and there's mythical bird creatures. The former is fine, but the latter is what grabs my interest.
Virtues of War, Bennett Coles. I'm still stuck on the war atrocities. There's also an annoying ambitious and unscrupulous officer, but the war atrocities seem a bigger deal.
Legend, Marie Lu. The meet-cute is about to explode.
Flame in the Mist, Renee Ahdieh. I am not reading this sibling relationship as healthy, and I think the sister is in over her head. Not her fault; she has a serious training deficit.
Three Parts Dead, Max Gladstone. Is this going to be grim-dark? I can only handle one book with war atrocities at a time. Luckily I'm not supposed to read this fast since it's for my Tuesday club.
These I'm barely reading; I use them as palate cleansers between books I'm actually reading.
Kenilworth, Sir Walter Scott. The queen resents it if you don't dress up for her visit, and a feeble excuse like being locked away from your clothes won't fly.
Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen, Wendelin Van Draanen.
The Emerald Atlas, John Stephens.
A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George.
The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox. I don't actually worry about the math. I remember learning it once and I trust past me'd understanding.
Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.
2017 Challenge Progress:
- Cybils 2016! 21/ 107-ish. I am working on the nonfiction picture books, but I seemed to have misplaced one. Which is impressive considering it's a giant picture book.
- Reading My Library: Finished Vanishing Time but haven't found Out of Range which is getting concerning. Could I have left it in the taxi?
- Where Am I Reading?: 29/51. Vanishing Time gave me South Carolina. Working on Maryland. The Figg book is still in Maine, but I'm only about 1/3 of the way through.
1 comment:
I hear you about teens! Mine are 36 and 32, but I remember those years! My son was like me when I was a teen and my daughter was a breeze. Both were interesting! You seem to get a lot of reading done! How do you manage? I can barely squeeze in 10 min a day! The Date with a Book link up really helps me! Thank you for sharing your reads!
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