Phase Two! So I'm More Isolated

Ring the Bells! We're in Phase 2, having graduated from Phase 1. What that means is that more kinds of businesses can open (pet grooming, for example) and restaurants can seat more people. 

I expect to change nothing. I'll venture out, but only to outdoor places. I'll see friends, but masked and preferably outside. I prefer pickup shopping. I am very interested in seeing how the library reacts -- the plan is for them to start trying Curbside Pickup in Phase 2, rolling it out in different locations. I am willing to go pretty far.

It was another good cooking week. Once again I sent Paulos into the farmer's market, where he managed to score some tasty local cheese as well as some veggies. So we had four-cheese pasta with kale and a tasty salad on the side on Wednesday. Friday they were heading out to spend the weekend with their dad and sisters, but I demanded my dinner anyway, so Paulos kindly prepared chicken enchiladas and did the prep work for Spanish rice and guacamole. So I served it to the rest of the family and tried to take all the credit. I mean, I had to put the pan in the oven! I pushed the button on the rice maker! That's where the real cook shines through.

Just to show I remember my way around the kitchen I threw together some blueberry muffins. They turned out OK but not great. Next time I'll make the lemon glaze for the top to hide any imperfections.

My busy social whirl continues as it has since the start of the pandemic. I had a Skype/Minecraft meeting on Tuesday. The other guys in Minecraft like to build stuff with redstone. I meanwhile devote myself to adding new rooms to my mansion/skyscraper that now towers over our home village. And I refuse to learn any shortcuts and barely remember how to not fall to my death. But we manage to have fun together, I think. 

It was last week of school so I showed up for the library goodbye. The kids each brought their favorite book and read a few pages, which was a lot of fun. I kept notes so they have the list for themselves. I signed up for two virtual bookclubs through the local library and then managed to put them both down on my calendar incorrectly so I missed them both. My only consolation was that I had accidentally scheduled Family Game Night against when I thought I had a bookclub, so I left dinner as everyone got ready to play Bards Dispense Profanity and then came right back down just in time to join in. And then I had a walk with a friend in the park on the weekend, some book ordering on Juneteenth, and a Family Zoom call with a few scattered relatives on Father's Day. 

My currently reading is 18, three of which I probably won't touch this week so they won't appear on this blog. One is for a book club that meets today and I probably won't get to much of it in time, but maybe I'll show up anyway. Six are audios, which I find to be a lot. 

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. My CYBIL reading and winner's luck make me eligible this week.

Started

Rabbit's Bad Habits, Julian Gough. Cybils finalist.

Harbor Me, Jacqueline Woodson. Cybils finalist. 

The Heiress Effect, Courtney Milan. Reread, because I reread the prior book.

Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer. For a book club that meets tonight. I do not think I will finish, since audios only go so fast.

Completed

The Ballad of Huck and Miguel, Tim DeRoche. My next RML book. The conceit of a retelling of Huckleberry Finn is a bold one, but DeRoche pulls it off. He ages Huck down a bit and gives him an impressive but imperfect vocabulary that could have been insipidly twee but manages to always stay on the right side of the line. Huck's dad resonates even louder, and the social commentary, updated to match today's sacred cows, looms nearer, but that may be because they are closer and not insulated by the past. Miguel is still seen through a child's eyes and so is not as distinct as Huck, but the story belongs to Huckleberry as in its predecessor. Tom Sawyer is not as much of a jerk either. This was definitely one of the prize discoveries of my library quest, a book I would not have found without it. 

The City of Brass, S.A. Chakraborty. A fun fantasy novel with a complex society, with deep characters ready to wrestle with it. There aren't clear lines between the good guys and the evil guys, but realistic people (well, maybe not people) trying to make a good life for themselves and their people while living a moral life. But different ideas on how to do this, mixed with prejudices, blind spots, and long standing grudges means things aren't simple and good intentions can result in horrific results. Nahri's voice is more interesting to me, but the author managed to make Ali sympathetic even in his youth and self-righteousness. I hope I manage to find and read the next one.

The Prince and the Dressmaker, Jen Wang. Cybils 2018 YA Graphic novel finalist. I did not enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I found the two characters a bit unpleasant; the prince is spoiled and very unaware of how entitled he is -- his wealth and position is taken for granted, and when he decides to give up his pleasure for the good of the country his resolution lasts about two hours before he sets out to sabotage himself. The dressmaker is quick to take advantage of the opportunities the price offers, but the instant he hesitates to destroy his life for her, she abandons him. There's no attempt to find a middle ground, no concern for the danger he faces (which immediately becomes very real). And then the author makes everything better and everyone lives happily after in peace and harmony and rainbows. No one has to make a hard decision or give up something pleasant in pursuit of happiness. Which would be a fine in a light-hearted romp, but the book always wants to dabble in tough emotions, if only for a few pages, which broke the tone up for me.

Rabbit's Bad Habits, Julian Gough. Cybils 2019 Early Chapter book finalist. I missed chapters! Also, I went through an exhaustive discussion of the eating habits of rabbits, good and bad, when our preschool had pet ones, so a lot of the humor was a bit stale for me. But the pictures were fun, and Bear's goodness provided a path to redemption for rabbit which would be fun for kids. Too bad about wolf, though.

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine. Sword and Laser pick. Vast and ambitious. I was interested throughout, and really enjoyed the language and poetry stuff. I look forward to discussing this at the ZOOM meeting.

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 7/10 discs. I made it to disc seven!

Uncompromising Honor, David Weber. Baen Free Radio Hour's serial, part 17. I think there were two part 17s. Or two part 16s. I've already lost track. 

13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher. It took me so long to read this that when I saw the person who recommended it to me she disavowed it. Oops.

Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton. For my Tuesday book club. The beginning is about done -- we've set up all the siblings with problems. 

The Aeronaut's Windlass, Jim Butcher. (Audio) Chapter 30s. There have been some big fights, but this feels like the start of a story. Did the others get written?

Stamped From the Beginning, Ibram X Kendi. (Audio) For an online book club. I'm reading this slowly -- listening to a chapter, then going back and listening again while making notes to post as a readalong. Then we'll have a discussion somehow at the end.

So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo. (Audio). I got this right before the online friends started reading Stamped, so it's a bit of an overlap. Not so much in theme but it terms of the time I have for audio listening. 

Picture Books / Short Stories:

 

Calm Down Zebra, Lou Kuenzler. I won this book in a giveaway from Sloth Reads.  It's a fun book with colorful animals all over the page and it's fun to watch things go from staid and organized to wild and colorful. I found the text a bit wooden but then again I don't have a kid on my lap. The sibling dynamics were fun, with the older sister starting in instructional mode and then moving to just having fun. Which makes sense if you live with a bunch of crazy animals anyway!

"The Wolf and the Woodsman" was read aloud on a podcast this weekend. It's quite timely. I like Kingfisher's new twist on Little Red Riding Hood, with motivations for the grandma, the wolf, and the woodsman. And I appreciated little's Hood's baking attempts.

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. 

Give All to Love, Patricia Veryan. Lots of honor fighting about who loves whom. 

Wool, Hugh Howey. 

The Wind Gourd of La'amaomao, Moses Nakuima. 

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. 

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils TBR Challenge: I won the tote bag! I'm the luckiest Beth in the world!
2. Cybils 2017. Nothing. 
3. Cybils 2018. Finished Prince and the Dressmaker.  Another category down! Started Harbor Me. 
4. Cybils 2019.  Finished one: Rabbit's Bad Habits. That's the last in the Early Chapter Book category. 
5. Reading My Library. Finished The Ballad of Huck and Miguel. Of course, now I'm at a bit of a standstill since my library won't be open for another month or so. Apparently 
6. Ten to Try. At 9/10. I now have my KCLS staff recommendation on hold. 
7. Where Am I Reading: 18/51 states. 16 Countries. Hmm. Both my Africa countries are in fantasy universes, so it's a bit dodgy to say where they are. But I count fantasy Britain as Britain, so my count stays.  
8. Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge. 20/24.  Penric is a novella! Four left:  6 (play by PoC or queer author), 13 (food book about a new to me cuisine),  23 (literary magazine), and 24 (Indigenous author).