We Need a Little Christmas

Well, my son paid for sneaking down to me last weekend to hang with his brother by having to spend this weekend with his dad and sisters. He doesn't mind that, but I miss him. Luckily my nephew stepped up by having his wisdom teeth out and needing some supervision. We played Minecraft a lot (he loves to watch me get eaten by various monsters) and also watched some movies, including one that involved me hooking up the old VCR and showing off technology he had no memory of. Aladdin is fun to watch even on a small screen.

I also did a bit of Christmas shopping. It's officially a no-presents year, but obviously the stockings have to be filled. Maybe I should stock up on coal?

On Tuesday I hosted the elementary book club with No Talking, which the kids and I both enjoyed. It did not inspire me to clam up, though. I took the nephew and Linda out to see Coco which I liked much more than I expected, and I also discovered the joys of the movie snack pack, where for a little more money I can get far less food, which is what I actually want. Perfect!

I didn't read very effectively this week, although I'm starting to wish I had finished more Cybils books. Currently Reading is creeping back up 24, but that includes some slow moving graphic novels and poetry that I don't really count.

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 that I'm going to sign up for. There's also a version that is kidlit focussed that I usually qualify for.  I'll go look to see what everyone else was reading at either Teach Mentor Text or UnLeashing Readers.

This Week I started:



No Talking, Andrew Clements. This is for my elementary school book club.

A Promise of Fire, Amanda Bouchet. Another ancient Vaginal Fantasy book. The library is calling it home.

Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys. My next Cybils YA book. I have 30 days to read about 35 of them, although some are middle-grade.

Bright Candles, Nathaniel Benchley. I needed something set outside the US that was fast.

Dawn, Octavia Butler. For my Tuesday Book/Minecraft club.

Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson. A late read for my controversy book club -- I didn't finish in time.

I finished:


No Talking, Andrew Clements. I found the balance of tension and humor, adult and kid characters, and action vs reflection spot on, and most of the kids in the book club liked it as well. We talked about whether it was written for kids or adults, whether taking ideas from books was a good idea, and whether it would work in real life in the general and specific sense.

Bright Candles, Nathaniel Benchley. I remember liking this as a kid, and I still do. It seems to give a good sense of what the Danes were thinking and doing during the German occupation, from the ones determined to get along to the ones dedicated to fighting back. Some survive, some don't. There are a few women characters, but the focus is on the young man who narrates his involvement with the resistance.

Bitter Spirits, Jenn Bennett. A Vaginal Fantasy book. This was fine; I grew to enjoy the fast POVs where you see how each character viewed events, mostly colored through their various insecurities. The time period was solid, although the characters themselves seemed lightly placed in it; they could easily have slid into the modern world despite the 100 years lag. The magic seemed an odd addition mainly there to help the author over a few plot points or maybe to reach a paranormal audience; I think it might have been better off as a straight historical.

First Impressions, Nora Roberts. My audio Reading my Library Quest book. I have to say, if you find out that the person you fell in love with has a secret, and that secret is that rather than being penniless and unemployed, they are a rich owner of a business, that is not a reason to break up with them, especially if they haven't actually lied, just let you draw your own incorrect conclusions. So the last few tracks were more risible than suspenseful, but it was still a fun listen.

Make Me Stay, Jaci Burton. My current Reading My Library book stayed in Oklahoma, and gave a smooth story about two modern people who have great sex, fall in love, and adjust their careers and family expectations to marry. It was cosy enough.

I started 6 and finished 5. That's better than I thought I was doing. My currently-reading list is getting longer because I'm including some short fiction and poetry that I'm reading slowly even though they are basically picture books.

Picture Books



Mighty Jack, Ben Hatke. I'm definitely in the blurry line between picture book and book with this graphic novel, but I read it in one gulp so picture book it is. It's a Cybils middle grade graphic novel, and it's utterly delightful. Jack is struggling to live up to the responsibility of caring for his younger sister, but as unpaid bills in the background show us, his single mom is desperately trying to keep their house. The garden she plants is a bit challenging since the plants are magical, aggressive, and unexplained, but the girl down the street brings her Ren-faire swords to help out. It's funny, poignant, and I want the sequel.

Bookmarks moved in:



Alliance of Equals, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. Episode 26. Crazy AI still fears death. Also, Daav worries about the new clone bodies his deeply creepy frenemy has provided him with.

Great Pumpkin Suite, Melanie Hill. I only read a paragraph or so at a time, so no one has felt the power saw yet.

Rebel, Sherwood Smith & Rachel Manija Brown. I need to read at least far enough to know who or why there is a rebel.

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



Kenilworth, Sir Walter Scott.

A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George.

The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.

2017 Challenge Progress:

1. Cybils 2016!  54/107-ish. Finished Mighty Jack. Working on Salt to the Sea and several poetry books.
2. Reading My Library: Finished First Impressions for my next audio, and set up Whose Body. Completed Make Me Stay and pulled up The Last Neanderthal.
3. Where Am I Reading?: 38/51. I think that's right. And my Oklahoma book is definitely in Oklahoma now, as opposed to just probably set there.