Another slow week of summer, where I make plans and then don't do them. I did read a few books!
The boys and I took Linda out to see Toy Story, which ended in a fairly fun place. I think the running joke about Buzz's conscience (the inner voice that tells you what to do -- Buzz uses his voice button to access his) is most of what I took from it. But we had fun as a family.
The weather gloomed over during the week (I am hoping to get in a zoo field trip but any hint of precipitation scares me off) but then rallied so much that I wandered out to do some yard work. So a few weeds bit the dust.
My currently reading has dipped back to 19. I limited myself to books on hand for my summer reading challenge, which lowered my score but helped me finish things. We'll see how that goes this week.
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, since I started one and finished two kids books.
Started:
Applewhites at Wit's End, Stephanie Tolan. From my unread bookcase.
Packing for Mars, Mary Roach. For my Friday friendly book club.
The Bride Test, Helan Huong. Because my awesome library had it.
A Natural History of Dragons, Marie Brennan. This was almost a book club pick, so I got it and now the library wants it back.
Completed:
Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults), Bryan Stevenson. YA Cybils nonfiction. Very powerful and moving, but not as good as the unadapted one that I read a year or so ago. Recommended if your reading levels are lagging, but otherwise go for the original. It's beautiful and heartbreaking and enraging.
Applewhites at Wit's End, Stephanie Tolan. A homeschooling book that skips the homeschooling because it's set during the summer, so we just have a bunch of smart kids being talented. A large bunch, since the premise is the Applewhites put on a summer camp to make money and lure in extra kids, so there's more potential for mayhem. It's a fun read, sort of an American Bagthorpe family, but with less bite. I thought it matched 8 points on my summer challenge, but two were denied (none of the three couples on the cover are looking at each other, so they don't count as couples).
After the Wedding, Courtney Milan. I rarely want more sex scenes, but in this case it would have been fun to see them together where I'm not vividly aware that he is thoughtlessly betraying her and it will break her heart. And the afterward now has me eager for the sister's book, but she's barely fifteen so it may take a while to match her up... The constraints of romance! I like this author for the plots and the characters, so sometimes the romance just slows things down.
Metal Wolf, Lauren Esker. Kindle read. And they lived happily ever after, IN SPACE. Fun, and it does what it says on the tin, but not really deep. I was amused by how much they disliked the freed prisoner tagging along at the end. I'm guessing he's there to hook up with somebody later, but I like him a lot more than the two lovebirds forced to share the smallish spaceship with him do.
Packing for Mars, Mary Roach. I finished this a little early (book club isn't for two weeks) but the library wants it back. Roach is still a fun read, although the picture on the back is nothing like how I pictured her. I think her stuff works better as an audio, where I hear bits of it to entertain me as I run errands. It's mostly a collection of trivia that she accumulates as she wanders about asking experts for the nitty gritty details on things, but there's no driving through line.
The Bride Test, Helan Huong. Same interesting characters. Well, new character, but the same solid basis for them, and one is on the autistic spectrum which I guess is the hook for this series. I enjoyed it a lot, although the last barrier was annoying -- they almost break up over mismatched vocabulary, which would be acceptable except they have an explicit conversation that should have defined everything but it didn't because the book wanted conflict. Oh, and the ONLY time she doesn't look up a word (her looking up definitions is one of her habits) is the word "autistic" so she can be clueless at the right moment. So a bit clumsy, but I forgave it for the laugh out loud conference call with Michael about how to please a woman.
Bookmarks Moved In:
Son of the Black Sword, Larry Correia. 49/? Baen's podcast serial. A nice long chunk, which is relaxing after a month or so of installments under ten minutes. And it finally got to the part that is in the overview for the podcast so I know how that guy knows these things.
Cyteen, C.J. Cherryh. Reread. Still creeping through my least favorite part of the reread.
Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Carol Rifka Brunt. Kids making trouble -- get off my lawn!
Envy of Angels, Matt Wallace. Perils of cooking with demons.
The Way Into Darkness, Harry Connolly. This is a reward for me. Unfortunately, I haven't done much I consider worth rewarding, but I'd like to get back to this so maybe I should start doing the things.
Stories of My Life, Katherine Paterson. 4-5/7 Discs. Library Quest audio that I'm enjoying.
The Last Unicorn, Peter Beagle. The June Sword and Laser pick. They've wrapped it up but I've been reading slowly. After all, my main memory of it is that is is beautiful and sad. Sad is scary. I just got to THAT part, you know, where the thing happens.
Picture Books and Short Stories:
"Bank Notes" by Courtney Milan. I chased after the short story about Theresa, who is probably too young to get her own book. I bet she shows up in her sister's though...
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. Parenting books are now an indulgence for me to feel smug over. My kids were apparently Highly Educated Preschoolers.
Cookie, Jacqueline Wilson.
Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.
Reading Challenges
- Cybils 2017. No progress
- Cybils 2018. Finished a YA nonfiction, and have piles of the rest of them lined up.
- Reading My Library. Enjoying Stories of My Life, which I think is the last audio CD. Haven't started the next print book.
- KCLS Ten to Try. Still need to read a poetry book and the librarian recommend.
- The Hunt Is On! Three books, and the top only met 6 tasks. Humph. I was robbed! On the other hand, they were all books already in my house
1 comment:
I can't wait to see Toy Story 4 with my five kiddos. We're planning to go to the theater on July 4th. We just re-watched the third one last week so we're now geared up for the newest one. I thought The Kiss Quotient was cute, so I'd like to read The Bride Test. I just have too many #MustReadin2019 titles on my list right now. But I look forward to it when I get caught up. I've not yet read any of the Applewhites books, but they come up enough that I feel like I need to add Surviving the Applewhites to my list. :) Have a great reading week, Beth!
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