Sick!

Most of this week I felt fairly poorly, so I started off by reading a lot and then things dwindled.

My currently reading remains at 24. That's not too bad, really.

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 so I'll sign up there. There's also a version that is kidlit focussed at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers and as I read another Cybils YA Finalist I'll sign up there.

This Week I started:





Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Alan Burgess. Pulled this off my "fiction shelf" to glacially consume.

Makoons, Louise Erdrich. It appears to be set in the Dakotas.

Honor Among Thieves, James A. Corey. My next Reading My Library book.

Spill Zone, Scott Westerfeld. Cybils YA.

Vanguard, Jack Campbell. Because the next one is out.

The Eye of Truth, Lindsay Buroker. She published this free over the summer, but I noticed too late so I bought it. I guess now I'm reading an official book!

I finished:




Queer, There and Everywhere, Sarah Prager. Cybils nonfiction. A collection of biographies of people who would probably be considered queer in today's vocabulary. The language is informal and optimistic, casually assuming tolerance from its readers while explaining different cultural concepts and vocabulary. The idea is to show that people have had a variety of sexual orientations and genders since the dawn of history -- it's not a new invention. A valuable if not outstanding book.

The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox. The most unhappy period of my life was studying physics. I couldn't read more than a few paragraphs before being tossed back into horrible memories. Also the clock metaphor became more and more strained.

Sparrow Hill Road, Seanan McGuire. This collection of short stories also worked as a novel. The format meant there was a bit of repetition, but since I was reading other things at the same time I didn't mind. The conceit of Rose as a hitchhiking ghost worked well, and I like the strong moral code McGuire installs in her characters.

Spill Zone, Scott Westerfeld. Cybils YA. I always enjoy a graphic novel when I can tell all the characters apart, and this one also had fascinating visuals and a strong plot.

On Basilisk Station, David Weber. Wow did I manage to forget almost everything about this book. Some of the interactions with her crew sounded familiar, but my most vivid memory turns out not to even be in the book -- it must be in one of the sequels. Looking back, it's a bit of an uneven start to the series, with most of the time spent on bits that will be dropped. Or maybe not -- my memory is clearly not to be trusted!

Bookmarks moved in:




The Compleat Gentleman, Brad Minor. My audio RML book. 6/7. The narrator sounds smug. It's all very sexist -- it keeps talking about the importance of chivalry in being a decent person, and then remembers it's only for men, but doesn't notice the difference because who cares about women? They did come up in the short consideration of the impossibility of having women in combat, because they can get pregnant.

Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 5-6/? Baen's podcast serial. Our hero appears to be a chosen one, but he's not sure he likes the people doing the choosing. Also, he's a badass in a flashback.

Jade City, Fonda Lee. THIS MONTH's Sword and Laser pick. I am still struggling with this because I don't like any of the characters -- they are all mobsters and crooks. That's not how I like my books.

Stinger, Nancy Kress. Kress is the next Foolscap GoH. Once again I like the mix of adult protagonists and interesting science. This book is all about the science.

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



A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George. The multiple last names just indicate a life lived in stages.

Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception, Wendelin Van Draanen.

Change of Heart, Norah McClintock. The best friend must confront her brattiness.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. Vocabulary boosters.

2018 Challenge Progress:

1. Cybils 2017! 45/104-ish. Finished Queer, There and Everywhere and Spill Zone.
2. Reading My Library: Started a James Corey book.
3. Where Am I Reading 2018?: 37/51. Stinger is set in Maryland. And Makoons was choosen for its Dakota location.