Round Up to Phase Two

Well, I'm in Phase One and a half, which is like Phase Two but not as reassuring, as far as I can tell. We're still limiting ourselves to necessary travel. There's been some participation in protests by the younger folk, with masks and attempts at social distancing, but we pulled that back quickly because I made an appointment to give blood, so we need to stay healthy until Wednesday. 

We also opened up our bubble to my sons' half-sisters, and I hear they were delighted. The girls made them some extra signs to bring to the protests next week.

Paulos continues to cook, and he's getting better and better. I really enjoyed the Thai shrimp thing I made him cook, and also the green chile turkey burgers. The four vegetable side dishes I demanded he make on Friday may have been a bit excessive, but now I have a pile of tasty leftovers so I have no regrets.  

I stayed virtually social, having a double book club for Sword and Laser and Cloudy, so we discussed The Magician:Apprentice and The Duchess War. We also had a zoom family reunion on Sunday with family all over the country, and a zoom committee meeting for some volunteer work. And I had lunch (virtually) with some friends. 

In real life we had another Game Night with the family and I think everyone had fun. This time we played Exploding Kittens and then Telestrations. 

My currently reading is 17, three of which I probably won't touch this week so they won't appear on this blog. 

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

The Duchess War, Courtney Milan. For my Cloudy book club.

Frankie Sparks and the Class Pet, Megan Frazer Blakemore. Cybils 2019 book.

A Is For Elizabeth, Rachel Vail. Cybils 2019 book.

Orphan Band of Springdale, Anne Nesbit. Cybils 2018 book.

The Wind Gourd of La'amaomao, Moses Nakuima. From my shelves.

The Aeronaut's Windlass, Jim Butcher. Not so much started as returned to after a long hiatus. This time it's on audio.

Completed

Mangoes, Mischief and Tales of Friendship, Chita Soundar. Cybils 2019 Early Chapter book. Audio. As my library does not have this in ebook, I'll start this category in audio. I find it energetic and fun -- the two boys were clever and not annoyingly precocious. At nearly the end I realized that I had been listening at double speed, but the narrator was so good that it had all been clear. The cover makes me think that I missed some good illustrations, but I gained the Indian accent that gave a flavor to the words. 

The Duchess War, Courtney Milan. For my Cloudy book club. A reread for me, but long enough that I had forgotten all the plot so it was still fun. I think most people at the club enjoyed it, even the ones who don't normally read romance. We talked about the reason and some of the stereotypes of romance books, and I pushed back against the idea that it would be impossible for women to seek orgasisms in the 1800s. Now I want to reread more Milan and catch up on the new stuff she's written.

Witchmark, C.L. Polk. I was pleasantly surprised by this. I thought it would be fine and it exceeded that -- I really liked the shy protagonist and his loyalty to his sister despite everything, and the way the world's magic was used by both politics and the characters. And the love story underneath was sweet, with the power imbalance concerns but the slowly growing affection to match the attraction. I'll look out for the next one. Thanks for the book, Tor Book Club!

Frankie Sparks and the Class Pet, Megan Frazer Blakemore. Cybils 2019 Early Chapter book. This contemporary life story has the energetic Frankie, who doesn't find reading to be easy but is still confident enough to do her own research when she needs to. She also likes designing inventions to solve problems, just like her scientist aunt. There's a plot about friendship and how to mess it up and then rebuild it, but I liked the rodent and science stuff best. 

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan. 6/10 discs. I had to pick up a book from a local bookstore a few miles away, so I got some listening time. The time lines are getting complicated.

Uncompromising Honor, David Weber. Baen Free Radio Hour's serial, part 15. I do some podcast listening while doing housework now, so I guess I'll try to keep up.

13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher. I'm hoping this book convinces me that the tape-sender was not an incredibly cruel person. So far it has not done that.

The Ballad of Huck and Miguel, Tim DeRoche. My next RML book. Tom Sawyer is gone from the story, but Miguel has showed up.

Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton. For my Tuesday book club. We were told to read this slowly so some members could catch up, but I may have taken that advice to extremes.

Magic for Liars, Sarah Gailey. This is fun! And I felt smug when I saw the Locus award finalists, because this is one of them.

Picture Books / Short Stories:

  

"The Boat," Nam Le. I read the interactive webcomic of this story, not the eponymous anthology. It was suggested by @readwithcindy as a good book for her Asian readathon, and it was a really good blend of art and writing to give a strong reaction.  

"Children of the Dust," Catherine Asaro. I can't say why I like Asaro's prose, and I don't really know who I'd recommend it to, but I enjoy her Skolian Empire series and I'm glad she's still telling stories in that world.

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. Math! I tend to think you should feel bad if you can't do your elementary child's math. It's only proving that kids are right when they say they won't ever need to know this stuff.

Cookie, Jacqueline Wilson. 

Give All to Love, Patricia Veryan. There are secrets!

Wool, Hugh Howey. 

Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca. Textbooks -- what are they good for?

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils TBR Challenge: #CybilsReaddown: Count now at 22! 
2. Cybils 2017. Nothing. 
3. Cybils 2018. Started Orphan Band.
4. Cybils 2019.  Finished two, started another. 
5. Reading My Library. Reading The Ballad of Huck and Miguel. 
6. Ten to Try. At 9/10. I now have my KCLS staff recommendation on hold. And my musician book is lame. 
7. Where Am I Reading: 17/51 states. 14 Countries. India!
8. Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge. 19/24.  Mangoes is a retelling! Five left:  6 (play by PoC or queer author), 13 (food book about a new to me cuisine), 17 (sci-fi novella), 23 (literary magazine), and 24 (Indigenous author).