Somehow I am finding it hard to get things done. My new year is a mess of half-started projects but nothing I see through to completion. I keep breaking things into smaller pieces but it's backfiring because I keep not finishing these smaller pieces. Sort of a Zeno's paradox of executive function.
So I've started more books than I finished, and I'm celebrating anything I can declare a completed project. For example, I finished off my pint of ice cream! Go me!
The book club of local friends always does a movie for January, and we usually try for something vaguely literary. For example, Dune was a bit made-from-a-book movie this year, so we chose Tremors as our home movie version. Very good choice for watching with friends after eating a delicious lunch prepared by the gourmet husband of our hostess.
I also finished season 2 of The Witcher, because Alexander watched it with me and he doesn't mess around. I did do some laundry, which means I also saw an episode of Untamed and suddenly noticed that I had skipped a season 2 episode of Deep Space 9, so I went back to start that. Netflix keeps messing up where I am in a series; I suspect that I am so much slower than any other TV watcher that I've baffled their tracking computer.
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" and I'm going to go sign up. Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers.
Started
Harbinger, Wen Spencer (ARC). The long-awaited Elfhome book! Baen lets you pay for access to their arc's, and I have money in my credit card.
The Guinevere Deception, Kiersten White. 2020 Cybils YA Speculative Fiction finalist. I like to read Cybils books while doing laundry. It helps if I actually do the laundry...
Light From Uncommon Stars, Ryka Aoki. Sword and Laser January Pick.
Completed
Harbinger, Wen Spencer (ARC). Wow, Spencer is juggling a lot of balls, and she doesn't drop any of them. I'm not sure that's the best call -- with so many balls it's hard to pay attention to any of them -- there are so many viewpoint characters. But I like them all, and never had a feeling of "oh no, not these guys again." Warning -- this had better not be the end of the series, since it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.
Wish, Barbara O'Connor. I read this for the Talbot Hill Book Club, and I and the kids liked it. There's a genre of kidlit that is kids from broken families, and they usually end up in a better place, and this one does that. The kids liked the different kinds of wishes, and liked guessing what her wish was, and whether her wish was granted -- does it count if she got what she needed but not in the way she thought she wanted? We also liked the dog, and her stubbornness in getting Wishbone and teaching him to love her.
---- And now for a book from my blogging hiatus! Someday I will mention them all! -----
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists, Mikki Kendall. I appreciated the history bits of this more than the framing device. There's a lot of history that I don't know, and the experiences and achievements of female political leaders are often told less loudly than their peers, so I know even less. So the overview of politically powerful women was appreciated, as well as the nods to what was happening to the less famous masses. But the framing story of kids from the future on a learning field trip was more distracting than useful or interesting to me. They didn't really have personalities, and were just there to ask the occasional leading question.
Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:
Ok, I'm only going to put a book in here when I actually try to read it. This week I made some progress in:
Maze Runner, James Dashner. My Tuesday book club/Minecraft group is reading this. I'm way behind, but it's a reread so I'm lax about it. And one guy made us a Maze! Big central area, and a giant maze around it that moves at night. Very cool.
Decrypted, Lindsay Buroker. I'm at an embarrassing cringe moment so I only read a smidge at a time.
Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emyrs. I'm reading this in Apple Books, which is where the Harbinger ARC was, so I went straight back into this.
Forfeit, Dick Francis. The one where he loves his paralyzed wife but also cheats on her.
Red Hood, Elana K. Arnold. I was doing quite well until a cat puked all over it. Looks like I'm buying this library book! And that's why I'm skipping over it to read the library-due-date one.
Picture Books / Short Stories:
Geraldine Pu and her Lunch Box, Too!, Maggie P. Chang. 2021 Cybils Easy Readers finalist. I like the enthusiastic embrace of the comic format, complete with instructions in the front for how to read it. The story itself was also engaging -- Geraldine's lunch elicits teasing from her classmates, and she takes out her frustration on her beloved lunch box. Friendship is magic so things work out, and the graphics do a great job of realistically anthropomorphizing the lunch box.
Fox at Night, Corey R. Tabor. 2021 Cybils Easy Readers finalist. Another fun and simple book. I like how Fox and her (his? I have no idea) fears are affirmed both by the reassurances from the other characters and the ending. I also like the reviews on goodreads that spoke approvingly of how kids will learn about nocturnal animals, which, OK, yes, but I see a few problems with kids learning about zoology from this.
Chicken Little and the Big Bad Wolf, Sam Wedelich. 2021 Cybils Easy Readers finalist. Nice, but somehow fell on the wrong side of fantasy/animals are actually things that exist line for me, probably also because it felt a bit preachy. This is probably a me problem, not a kid problem. But I left the book thinking about whether the vegetarian wolf was really getting all the vitamins necessary, not feeling cozy about the lovely found family the characters built.
Palate Cleansers
These books I'm barely reading; lately I use them as bribes to get me to deal with the mail. Hmm. I should get back to that.
The Educated Child, William Bennett. I'm almost at the end here! These guys have some huge blind spots.
Wool, Hugh Howey.
Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho.
Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others.
Reading and Learning to Read, Jo Anne Vaca.
Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. I listen while dealing with the post.
Reading Challenges
- Cybils 2021. Reading Easy Readers and Early Chapter books.
- Early Cybils: Working on Guinevere Deception
- Reading My Library. The library had a pipe break and is closed for repairs!
- Where Am I Reading 2022. Started!
Future Plans
I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.I am reading:
- Book I own: So many partially read books! I have no idea.
- Library Book: Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe.
- Ebook I own: Winter's Tale. Next: ???
- Library Ebook: Maze Runner. Next: ??
- Book Club Book: Light From Uncommon Stars
- Tuesday Book Club Book: Maze Runner
- Review Book: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb Next: Back Home
- Rereading: Forfeit
- Meal Companion:
- Audio: None Next: I have a book on CD I'll start listening to if I ever catch up on my podcasts.
4 comments:
Your Zeno's paradox reference is perfect—are we even moving forward if it's just a bunch of infinitely smaller steps? But seriously, starting any projects at all is still impressive—and finishing that pint of ice cream is absolutely a successful self-care project! I've heard great things about Wish, and you make it sound really compelling. And I actually have a copy of Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists, since I had read most of Kendall's Hood Feminism and found it really compelling—but I definitely get what you mean about the framing device. Geraldine Pu and Her Lunch Box, Too! sounds really fun as well. Thanks so much for the wonderful post, Beth!
I was never a huge Maze Runner fan, and I'm not replacing multiple copies when they fall apart. It's looks like you are getting a lot of reading done, even if you feel like you aren't accomplishing as much as you should. Just getting to work and getting through the day is a challenge for a lot of us right now, so GO YOU!!!
Yes, GO YOU!! You are amazing. (From your sister)
I agree with Ms Yingling,
"Just getting to work and getting through the day is a challenge for a lot of us right now, so GO YOU!!!"
I was in one of those feeling like I wasn't accomplishing anything funks late last fall. I was actually getting a fair chunk of reading accomplished (like you are here) but there was no real joy in it. I found that reading picture books helped. I also started work on quilting/sewing/knitting projects while listening to audiobooks. It's expected that these will take forever so it doesn't matter how much progress gets made. I also spent part of my reading life rereading series I had loved.
Hope this passes soon.
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