School is back in, and the junior is glum about it. At least he got a small break when the construction crew set the roof to smoking and the kids home for an early weekend.
I'm declared my summer reading project over, so now I'll insist on finishing two books before I let myself start another one. Currently Reading is down to 32 books already, and I'm actively working on most of them.
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. After all, I started 3 kid or YA books and finished one.
This week I started:
Vanishing Time, Katharine Britton. My next book in my Reading My Library Quest.
Flame in the Mist, Renee Ahdieh. Recommended by a reading group.
Furiously Happy, Jenny Lawson. My book club picked her first book, but I wanted something new.
Dragon Steel, Laurence Yep. From my shelves from long ago.
Three Parts Dead, Max Gladstone. For my Tuesday book club.
Only five books started. Sanity is slowly descending.
I finished:
The Sunbird, Elizabeth Wein. Stayed strong to the end, with Telemakos suffering a lot, and reacting to that in a believable way. He's determined to be brave, but he's still a child.
The Goldfish Boy, Lisa Thompson. Happy endings all around, except for the child-snatching couple, who will probably get probation. The resolution was a bit pat for the OCD boy, but I was glad enough to see him start toward recovery that I am not arguing.
Black Butler 9, Yana Toboso. Now we see why the cover of the next book features a different butler. I don't believe it, though. It must be a trick! I've ordered 10, so at least it kept me reading.
Furiously Happy, Jenny Lawson. I enjoyed this as much as Let's Pretend This Never Happened, and my book club was also pleased. Some read only the first, others read both, so we all had fun talking about it and celebrating a member's birthday.
Labyrinth Lost, Zoraida Cordova. Cybils finalist. I think having my kids in their late teens makes me more impatient with YA books starring protagonists between 16-20. My little snowflakes are not so foolish. The love triangle was resolved satisfactorily, and the bad boy shown the door even when he tried to make restitution.
Under the Egg, Laura Marx Fitzgerald. The mystery and the child characters were fun, although as an adult I am appalled at the mother's neglect. Even the grandfather must have heard about wills and insurance! But kids books are better with independent kids, so hurrah for this householding teen.
Black Tide Rising, ed. John Ringo & someone else. Ringo's second story was basically an extended OH JOHN RINGO, NO!, so that was satisfying. I also liked how Williamson's story was a blatant wish-fulfillment -- you'll be sorry you laughed at my hoarding guns when the ZOMBIES ARRIVE. As stories, I liked Mike Massa's "Battle of the BERTs," Eric Flint's "Up on the Roof" and Sarah Hoyt's "Do No Harm." Kacy Ezell and John Scalzi/Dave Klecha also had enjoyable entries.
The Valiant, Lesley Livingston. The main character fits the stereotype for a bullying jock. She attacks as a first plan, grabs at any cute boy see meets, and drinks to excess whenever it would be inconvenient. Luckily the author likes her so she wins in the end.
I started 5 and finished 8. By next summer I should have this reading pile under control!
Picture books:
T-Veg: The Story of a Carrot-Crunching Dinosaur, Smriti Prasadam-Halls. Fun colors and lively rhyming text. The story was fun and I can see reading it aloud. I was a bit distracted by ridiculous scientific scruples since not all carnivores can safely eat vegetarian diets, particularly cats and dogs but since we don't know if that is true for t. Rex I don't even know why this occurred to me.
Finding Monkey Moon, Elizabeth Pulford. Lovely and sweet. Calm pictures to balance the rising tension and then a good resolution. Looks like a great bedtime book.
Masters of Disguise, Rebecca Johnson. Cybils nonfiction with lots of fun pictures and interesting facts.
Will's Words, Jane Sutcliffe. I liked reading the descriptions of the theater and the explanations of words Shakespeare helped put into English, but I'm not sure if non-Shakespeare fans would pick this up.
Bookmarks moved in:
Alliance of Equals, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. Part 14. Poor Padi, her trade did well but the bad guys ruin everything.
Harmful to Minors, Judith Levine. Actually, pretending only deviant children notice their genitals can have profoundly bad results, especially when social services gets involved.
Merely a Marriage, Jo Beverley. Our heroine continues her man-quest; only tall dudes may apply.
The Way Into Chaos, Harry Connolly. Bad stuff continues to happen, even when the party splits.
The Seventh Bride, T. Kingfisher. We know see where the title of the book comes from, and the evil quests begin.
The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown. I like the build up -- we see the backgrounds of what will be the main players, and also a peek into the arena in Germany.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, Rodman Philbrick. Boy that boy likes to grow a whopper.
Indigo, a lot of people. Things get bloody. And confusing. Memories seem patchy.
Vinegar Girl, Anne Tyler. Beatrice does not seem prickly enough. What's with this crush at the preschool?
Captive Prince, C.S. Pacat. The society is sure decadent.
The Murder of Mary Russell, Laurie R. King. Lots of backstory of Clarissa Hudson, who apparently was a bit of a sharpie in her youth.
The Youngest Miss Ward, Joan Aiken. OK, the youngest Miss Ward will grow up to be Fanny's aunt, so I'm clear on the genealogy. So far she seems a good girl.
Unbound, Jim Hines. Having an idea should be different from executing that idea, particularly if it's a very bad idea. This concept has not yet made it through our hero's mind.
Hostage, Sherwood Smith and Rachel Manija Brown. I think we've re-established the characters and where they are emotionally, so time to start the action!
Someplace to Be Fying, Charles de Lint. Luckily I remember what's going on, even after a years hiatus.
Virtues of War, Bennett Coles. OK, the war atrocities have put me off. If she's the main character there will be redeeming to be done.
Legend, Marie Lu. So far I'm enjoying the perspective from both protagonists.
These I'm barely reading; I use them as palate cleansers between books I'm actually reading.
The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox. Tell me about Planc's constant.
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:
- Cybils 2016! 19 / a lot. I finished Labyrinth Lost and started on the picture books the library sent me.
- Reading My Library: Finished Out of Range and then promptly lost it. Oops. I've started Vanishing Time.
- Where Am I Reading?: 28/51. Working on Maryland and South Carolina. The Figg book is starting in Maine, so now I'm hoping it stays there.
3 comments:
I enjoyed Furiously Happy a lot, but it exhausted me reading it.
Exactly! Lawson would be a hard friend to have. Rewarding, but exhausting.
About your son majoring in Latin: Oh, no. NONONONONONONONO! I majored in Latin and minored in Ancient Greek 35 years ago and there were no jobs then. It is unconscionable that a school would allow this. Majoring in Latin caused YEARS of unemployment for me. Is it exaggerating to say it ruined my life? Perhapsbut a good 20 years of it. Get your son to switch to an employable medical field immediately. Majoring in Classics leads to nothing but heartbreak.
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