Graduations For Everyone!

This week I watched my son race around crossing all the t's and dotting all the i's so he would graduate on time. He had put off a lot of the final paperwork until the last minute, so it was a bit hectic as he dug up all the forms for his required community service hours (thank goodness those hadn't been invented back when I was a kid) and then a last minute form that had to be signed by a dozen people scattered all over the building. I guess it was one last practice for adulthood. But he got it all done and on Friday we watched him and his classmates graduate.

And I extended the weekend through Monday, because on that day we did it again for my niece. It was fun seeing the differences in the two ceremonies -- Garfield's was more informal, while Renton's aimed as much as the photographs as the moment. Two years ago Garfield students held a mini-revolution and overthrew the gender-based color scheme, so now both boys and girls can choose between wearing maroon or white (almost everyone chooses the purple, because who wants a white robe?) and they walk in together. Renton High students still separate out into male lines of red and white lines of women, who walk in on opposite sides of the hall. Both groups had a photographer up near the stage, but Renton High students stopped at two spots to pose while Garfield kids had to be caught in action. And Renton kids sat through several mature speeches while Garfield's principal dragged up the school cheerleader to make everyone bark like a dog when he felt they weren't showing enough energy.

But in both cases friends and family gathered to be proud of our kids. Paulos had a family dinner before and an all-night party with friends (DnD & video games) after, and Amanda had a celebratory lunch with her closest friends and family afterward.

Oh, I also went to the local library's Romance Book Club meeting. Amanda Quick's The Other Lady Vanishes didn't give us as much to talk about, but we did manage to veer into what makes a good romance, what suspense is for, and why so many authors have surprise spies show up, for heaven's sake.

My currently reading has ballooned to 26. Oops.

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.

Started: 




Instead of Three Wishes, Megan Whalen Turner. Pulled from my TBR pile for my summer challenge.

Stories of My Life, Katherine Paterson. Next audio for my Reading My Library Quest.

The Last Unicorn, Peter Beagle. The June Sword and Laser pick.

The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang. Just for fun.

After the Wedding, Courtney Milan. Because it was available at the library.

Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults), Bryan Stevenson. YA Cybils nonfiction.


Completed:



Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion. Audio Reading My Library. I loved this and found it deeply moving. It really captures how some people (me!) handle deep grief, with a sense of observing oneself to get distance from the pain, but still fully inhabiting it. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it, and the audio was very well done.

The Agony House, Cherie Priest. A light horror book, which is about the only kind of horror I can handle. There was a good mix of supernatural problems (ghosts!) and real world problems both personal and systemic as the family wrestles with a disaster of a fix-up project. And the interleaved comics and story worked well together.

Instead of Three Wishes, Megan Whalen Turner. These were fun little stories, nothing that blew my head off but each had quickly realized characters and and a good dose of fantasy. They ranged from a boy dealing with a nightmare to a girl who saves the elven king and is frustratingly hard to reward. I think this would be a fun read-aloud, although some stories are a bit long for a single sitting.

Bookmarks Moved In:






Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 47/? Baen's podcast serial. I'd really like some of these viewpoint characters to meet up again.

Cyteen, C.J. Cherryh. Reread. Grant is rushing into big trouble. I can't watch.

Metal Wolf, Lauren Esker. Kindle read. Uh oh, the feds are here. They seem as lacking in ethics as S.H.I.E.L.D.

Becoming, Michelle Obama. And they are off to the White House. I like her descriptions of trying to hold her family together on the campaign trail, and how it took a while for her to be taken seriously as a campaigner.

Autonomous, Annalee Newitz. I don't think I actually read any farther this week, but I'm not sure if I was supposed to finish it.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Carol Rifka Brunt. I don't read many pages when kids remind me of my awkward younger self.

Envy of Angels, Matt Wallace. Following directions is hard.

The Way Into Darkness, Harry Connolly. It's fun having the two main characters together after spending a book apart. They've both grown a lot in the meantime, and watching them learn that about each other is very entertaining.

A Prince on Paper, Alyssa Cole. I'm cheating and not getting to the last page so I can use it in my challenge if I need to.

Picture Books:



Red, Jed Alexander. A wordless picture book that I found deeply satisfying. Black and white illustrations use a pop of read to direct readers' eyes to the story, which involves a gentle twist on the Little Red Riding Hood tale. Small details such as the red on the edges of the page make for a sense of real art.

The Prince and the Porker, Peter Bently. A fun read with light, unobtrusive rhymes and a silly story with matching illustrations. Would have made a fun bedtime story.

This Book Is Out of Control, Richard Byrne. Meta for the very young (book that talks about being a book, and acknowledges the fourth wall), with a few chances for interaction and some challenges to recognize letters and help the characters.

These Colors Are Bananas, Tamara Shopsin. Board book. I'm not sure this works as a board book, which I think of as for very young toddlers/babies. It's a bit cerebral without much action in the pictures. It would work better as a picture book.

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. Sadly, there is nobody in this book I'd want to spend time with. Everyone is a jerk.

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

Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Alan Burgess.

The Educated Child, William Bennett.

Cookie, Jacqueline Wilson.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. Some examples of how teachers run writing "workshops" in their classes on a daily basis.

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2017.  No progress
2. Cybils 2018. Got through most of the first YA nonfiction.
3. Reading My Library. Finished Year of Magical Thinking, started the next one, which is either the last or the next-to-last audio. Haven't started the next print book.
4. KCLS Ten to Try. Still need to read a poetry book and the librarian recommend.
5. The Hunt Is On! Only three books for the second week, so 49+4+1=54 points. I'm getting better!