Vacation!

This week was a big holiday for me! Of course, I still fit in my usual movie with Linda. We grabbed my son Alexander, who came home from college on Monday, and went to see Pikachu Detective. The plot was silly but the creatures and people were cute. We made a nice group, because Alexander is a Pokemon expert (although he pointed out that new ones arrived after he stopped playing, and he is not talking about that fake-reality phone game), I was Pokemon adjacent because my kids played and watched the shows and so I'd seen a lot, and Linda was tabula rasa. We all had fun.

Then my mom came into town and we prepared for our belated 80th Birthday celebration. So far we dragged her out to observe her grandson at his pizza work place, then picked up my older brother from the airport. We drove up the coast, pretended to miss a ferry but really arranged for her to meet old friends at a surprise dinner. Then we actually caught the ferry and went to Victoria BC in Canada (a foreign country for me). The two younger siblings were waiting there so we investigated the local aquarium, which was charming, informative and fun. Maybe they knew I was coming -- they had a Math Scavenger Hunt going on. Then home to a lovely house my sister had found that was convenient to the delicious Italian restaurant Pagliocis. 

Next day was Butchard garden, along with a spontaneous detour through a vibrant forest that might not traditionally be considered "on the way." But we got there eventually and enjoyed the lovely flowers. I found a serene hut at the start of the Japanese garden and meditated there while the other four looped through, and then took a picture of a few specs in the sky (one was a bald eagle!).

Monday was whale watching. The weather was surprisingly pleasant -- cloudy and a few drizzles but not the continuous rain that was forecast. The whales had not got the update because they stayed safely down underwater but we still enjoyed seeing three bald eagles (I spotted one!), many seals of various species, and a sea otter, the only one in the area. The Orca Spirits crew were delightful and informative and let Kevin test out all his dubiously acquired marine facts so now he is confident which of his internet facts are solid. And on our return we found out that we can come back anytime for a free trip because they felt sad that we hadn't seen any actual whales. (Salmon stocks have plummeted so the local orca groups aren't easy to find any more.)

Now I'm heading home, although I'll probably sneak off to see the supertall totem in the park adjacent to the rental house.

My currently reading has still at one page -- 20. That's five books I have a bookmark in but which really are gathering dust, five books I'm deliberately reading glacially, five print books I'm actively reading (book club pick, library book, unread book I own, reread that I own, middle grade book), and five situational books (my car audio, my podcast serial, my KINDLE app book, my NOOK app book, my IBOOK app book). At this rate, by the end of the year I will only be reading 15 or so books at once.

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 so I'll sign up over there as the only thing I finished was Middle Grade lit.

Started: 



The Stupendous Adventures of Mighty Marty Hayes, Lora L. Hyler. Middle grade SF/fantasy.

The Journal of Angela Ashby, Liana Gardner. Middle grade fantasy.

Completed:



The Stupendous Adventures of Mighty Marty Hayes, Lora L. Hyler. This felt like a first book, in that the author was trying to do everything at once. So Marty has magic powers inherited through his family, and his science class is designing new mosquitoes using CRISPR, and an evil drone-using spy group has recruited the local bully in an attempt to steal information from a beloved spy museum. Each bit is fun but the pieces didn't all work together. I expect kids would enjoy it all though.

Bookmarks Moved In:






Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 43/? Baen's podcast serial. The bad guys are really committed to their role.

Cyteen, C.J. Cherryh. Reread. Grant and Justin are about to refuse all adult help and make a bad situation even worse.

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, Alexie Sherman. 9-10/10 discs. My RML audio pick. I like how he shows how we re-interpret and understand our families and our lives.

Metal Wolf, Lauren Esker. Kindle read. A new character has shown up!

Becoming, Michelle Obama. Marriage, kids, and complications.

Walkaway, Cory Doctorow. For my Tuesday book club. Not really on track to finish by this Tuesday either.

The Way Into Magic, Harry Connolly. The sea is scary.

Pines, Blake Crouch. My Reading My Library book. This have definitely taken a turn for the surreal. Also (unfortunately) into the super violent.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Carol Rifka Brunt. It's hard for me to read about a kid this selfish because that's pretty much what I was like and it hurts to remember.


Picture Books:

Didn't get to the library this week.

Palate Cleansers

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



A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George.

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

Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Alan Burgess.

The Educated Child, William Bennett. The list is making me feel very smug about how educated my kids were as three year olds.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2017 No progress.
2. Cybils 2018. No progress.
3. Reading My Library. No progress. Well, I'm working on this one.
4. KCLS Ten to Try. I think the Alexie book will count as a book about family, so I guess I've moved a bookmark along.