Dip a Toe In the World -- Nope, Too Cold

Well, I'm in Stage One, and my county apparently isn't likely to qualify for Stage Two for a while, but we are gently opening up a little bit even in our Stage Oneness. So I've been living a wild life! La vida loca!

I drove my son to a dentist appointment (it was the first day dentists could re-open, and he was lucky enough to have scheduled his appointment for then). I waited in a parking lot until he was done. Wow! I know, you are all envious. He said they took his temperature on the way in, and the dentist wore a facemask as well as a face shield. And a beard. 

As if that wasn't enough excitement, I had my regular mammogram on Thursday. No lines, I'm happy to say. And I got the elevator all to myself going up and down again. Oh, and parking was free! This pandemic just saved me $2. And the next day, I took my car in to be serviced. I decided to go for a walk instead of waiting in the lounge, and the mechanic told me about a nature trail only a few blocks away. I've been going there for about ten years and never thought of going to the park, which as I found out this week is lovely and has many birds along the river.

I also had a fun weekend. A science fiction convention called Balticon (because it's in Baltimore) went online, so I signed up and spent a lot of the weekend listening to fun panels on books and science and writing techniques, with occasional ventures into concerts and other spectator things. That was fun and a good rehearsal for World Con this summer.

And of course, I had my group Minecraft game/book club Tuesday night, and then a Family Chat on Sunday where we checked in with people in California, Utah, and Texas.

My currently reading is 17, which is low for me. It includes four books I'm not really actively reading but plan to get back to, five books that I read a few pages in each week, and two audio books that are going equally slowly, one because I can only listen in the car and the other because it's a serial that comes in bits each Friday. That leaves only six books that I'm really concentrating on, which is not as crazy as you think. One is an audio on my phone, one is for my Tuesday book club, two are ebooks (one library, one mine), one is a library paper book, and one is from my unread shelves. 

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. Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers.

Started

HiLo 6: All the Pieces Fit, Judd Winick. After reading 1-5 last summer, it's time to see how this ends!

The Fantastic Mr Fox, Roald Dahl. For my elementary school book club, which is going to ZOOM!

13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher. This was an emergency book on my TBR list that I keep in my bag. Thank goodness, because I somehow managed to leave my NOOK behind when I had my car serviced.

The Ballad of Huck and Miguel, Tim DeRoche. My next RML book. 

Completed

Hero Code, Lindsay Buroker. Back home, the characters have to work to fit back into society. Well, to escape prison, really. Cosmir and the pirate have to work together, and everyone gets to fight giant robots. It's a lot of fun and I want the rest.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke. Well, I finished! And I'm glad I read it. I didn't always enjoy reading it -- I felt it was very long for what it did, and the print in my book was very tiny. I suspect if I had read this when I first got it this would not have been such an issue for me; as it was I listened to most of it on audio which makes me cranky. The ending was great as it pulled all the pieces together and then backed away again. The final scene between Strange and his wife was perfection. If Clarke ever writes another book I will read it electronically so I can make the print big.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Carol Rifka Brunt. This was a pitch perfect book of a young teen girl, who makes bad decisions with absolute sincerity, always aware that she is probably a figure of mockery to all around her, which may be occasionally true but usually is masking a deeper fear of the real truth -- no one notices her at all. It also brings back the hysteria and cruelty that the early years of the AIDS crisis brought. I was given this book on an airplane by a seatmate who finished it and highly recommended it, and I see why. Too bad I'm not likely to go on a plane sometime soon so I can also pass it on.

On a Sunbeam, Tillie Walden. Cybils 2018 YA Graphic Novel finalist. This was rather wasted on me. I did like the illustrations; there were surreal planets and spaceships, but the plot didn't really work on a science fiction level and my old problem with face recognition came back. This is ridiculous because the cast is diverse, but I couldn't tell anyone apart in many of the scenes. Or worse, in the flashbacks I can objectively say that the characters were clearly drawn younger, but while reading it I couldn't tell; I would have to stop and pull myself out to carefully examine chin lines or something. So it wasn't fun. However, anyone with basic competence in reading comics would almost certainly not have these problems and could enjoy the story.

The Fantastic Mr Fox, Roald Dahl. We're going to try the elementary book club in remote ZOOM format on Tuesday. I don't know if anyone will show up, but my son is making cookies (which I guess I'll eat in front of the kids) and I read the book. It's a quick read with the ugly baddies and our oppressed but successful goodies. I'll ask the kids if it worked, if they saw the movie, and which farmer was the WORST. And if they are into it, I'll ask if they could retell the story so the farmers were the good guys. 

Rediscover Catholicism, Matthew Kelly. This book really expresses how deep a love of Catholicism can be and how the Church can help someone live a good and moral life. It doesn't address belief at all, and also doesn't address some of the issues I have with the Church, or how different the more vocal people are from the reverence Kelly exemplifies. But it does make me more interested in maybe looking in my local church more to see if there is something there for me. The timing is awkward of course; our churches haven't reopened yet. That's a good sign, actually -- it means that they don't think Pro-Life only applies to fetuses. 

Winter Sisters, Robin Oliveira. This is a historical book about family; good families are defined by love, and the family members will move mountains for each other. But there is also the dark version of that; if someone treats family as a power game, where family means the people they have absolute control over with no sense of responsibility, then the bonds are broken. It's very woman-centered; the book is very aware of the injustice of the social system and how easily men accept that since it benefits them. But each character, male and female, is treated as an individual. I'm sad that our book club never met (this was supposed to be March's choice) but I'm glad I read this. Now I guess I'll hope to read June's book, but I think July is more likely. If we are lucky.

HiLo 6: All the Pieces Fit, Judd Winick. I raced through the first five last summer while visiting friends, and was very miffed to find the last one not available. But now I forgive my nibling because I found it on my own. There was sacrifice and redemption; I love how Winick has his young characters be forgiving and empathic; that echos how kids really are in my experience. There was loss and tears, but also love and friendship. The mom reacted very well and I liked how the community came together to save the planet. And I'm delighted that there will be more books about these characters.

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:



Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 6/10 discs. I finished a disc!

Tropic of Serpents, Marie Brennan. I got the audio back! No one believed me but I still considered this an active read. 

Uncompromising Honor, David Weber. Baen Free Radio Hour's serial, parts 13-14. Things got blown up!

Witchmark, C.L. Polk. For my Tuesday book club. Except it turns out that this was from Tor.com (they give away a free book every month) right before everyone else joined in the download fun. So I'm still reading it, but more on a backburner as we've moved to Jo Walton's Tooth and Claw.

Magician: Apprentice, Raymond Feist. Sword and Laser pick. This is definitely old-school -- I can clearly see the heavy reliance on Tolkien and also the lack of thought about stereotypes and worldbuilding. The female characters suffer as a result, but in general there is a heavy reliance on tropes for side characters. Of course, I think this is one of the books that established those tropes, so perhaps it seemed fresher when it came out.

Picture Books / Short Stories:

The Poky Little Puppy, Janette Sebring Lowrey. I found this under a bookcase. It's a bit late for my boys (in college now) but it was cute to revisit and when I can I'll donate it so more kids can enjoy it. I remember enjoying the didactic nature of the ending, which is tremendous fun while reading aloud.

  

Palate Cleansers

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




The Educated Child, William Bennett. 

Cookie, Jacqueline Wilson. They are setting up a new life.

Give All to Love, Patricia Veryan. 

Wool, Hugh Howey. Conflict in the tower.

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. Finished up basal readers.

Reading Challenges

1. May Asian Heritage Month: Three books, and calendar is almost full.
2. Cybils TBR Challenge: #CybilsReaddown: Count now at 15! 
3. Cybils 2017. Nothing. 
4. Cybils 2018. Finished On a Sunbeam. 
5. Cybils 2019.  I requested the early chapter books from the library.
6. Reading My Library. I started The Ballad of Huck and Miguel. But I'm in no hurry because I can't get the next book until the libraries reopen.
7. Ten to Try. At 9/10. I now have my KCLS staff recommendation on hold. And my musician book is lame. 
8. Where Am I Reading: 17/51 states. 13 Countries. Nothing new. 
9. Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge. 17/24. Six left:  #2 (retelling by PoC author), 6 (play by PoC or queer author), 13 (food book about a new to me cuisine), 15 (climate change), 17 (sci-fi novella), 23 (literary magazine), and 24 (Indigenous author).