Still COVID-19 Free

Another week where it's hard to say what I've done because I don't think I did anything. Hmm. I did read some books, and I shuttled people around, and I even went to the gym a few times. Go me!

Oh, I forgot to tell people that I made a list of all the Cybils finalists this year. So if you read kids books, check it out! Warning, it runs from board books to YA, so unless you are a VERY broad reader you aren't going to do all that well! Let me know if you beat my score :-) 

My older son got a pizza job while waiting to go back for more education; I'm pushing him to switch to working in the meal area of my mom's senior community. For one thing, he could hang out with his gramma after work, and for another it's be much closer to the bus depot so if I didn't feel like picking him up he could get home safely. 

My local library has a Romance Readers series where we read from different types of romance and talk about what makes them work or what they mean as a sub-genre. Last week we discussed Young Adult Romance -- what I really want from those is to avoid first person, but I think that's the opposite of what actual teens want. 

I finished an episode of Deep Space Nine and then jumped to watching Nailed It because I like watching people have fun trying to cook silly cakes. I managed to plan some dinners, and then baked bread to go with the tomato cream pasta dish. Then the resident cook got a COVID booster but I didn't notice he had fallen asleep until it was too late to pinch-cook for him. Crockpot meals are very handy but they make it hard to react quickly when they fall through!  

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

Of Curses and Kisses, Sandhya Menon. Need to read something for the KCLS Romance Reader Series, although I figure I'll mostly be relying on my backlist.

Straight, Dick Francis. A so-called friend is decluttering and offered me this hardback. Hmm, I've been meaning to replace paperbacks with hardbacks where feasible. I'll just glance at my favorite scenes...

Warcross, Marie Lu. For the Foolscap Book Club, our pick of a book that's a cliffhanger.

Audrey L and Audrey W: Best Friends-ish, Carter Higgins. Cybils finalist. 

Never Fall For Your Fiance, Virginia Heath. For next month's Romance Reader Series. The book lists are really great. February is Fake Relationship month. 

The Real Thing, Brenda Jackson. Another Fake Relationship. See, I put both on my hold list, and I meant to pause one but I accidentally accepted both because they came in at the same time, and...

Ice Planet Barbarians, Ruby Dixon. This is the most Vaginal Fantasy of all the Cloudy book club books I've seen since we had to go on without Felicia Day's show.

Smoke Bitten, Patricia Briggs. I was going to reread this last year, but never got around to it. It's been next to my bed for months. So I picked it up to return it to my shelves, and started reading it...

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...

Completed

Maze Runner, James Dashner. My Tuesday book club/Minecraft group read this. The concept of the maze was cool, but I found the characters really thin or incomprehensible. My brother felt the same. But the kids liked and like it -- we read it because one member wanted to read along with his kid, and she is going through the whole series. I'm happy because it inspired the very fun maze build. Now we are back to our usual Minecraft world, where everyone does amazing things and I stack blocks on top of each other and fall off them a lot.

Light From Uncommon Stars, Ryka Aoki. Sword and Laser January Pick. This was sweet; I found the experiences of the trans girl the best glimpse into a world outside my own, although I still liked the starship captain and her crew. The violin teacher and her housekeeper were delightful and fun but they felt the most alien (this is before the soul-buying demon showed up); it was like the musicians in Pern where it's all cool but I'm not convinced music really works like that. I look forward to talking about this book next month, although I hope I remember the details -- usually I finish the books the day before the meeting and suddenly I'm two weeks ahead!

Straight, Dick Francis. Turns out if you string my favorite scenes together, I read the whole book! I was interested in how long it took him to figure out all the little puzzles his brother left him; in my memory he was making many more small discoveries along the way. But he only really solves the big ones -- who stole the diamonds, who betrayed his brother, how to save the firm. I'm glad I have it in hardcover now; I bet I enjoy rereading it again in another few years.

Audrey L and Audrey W: Best Friends-ish, Carter Higgins. 2021 Cybils Early Chapter Book finalist. I'm counting this as a book rather than a picture book because that's how it feels. It has the shape of a book rather than a collection of anecdotes. And I found it very stressful -- Audrey L. is so anxious, so convinced that she's not the best at anything and that makes her unworthy, and her parents have no idea that anything is wrong and I'm terrified of what will happen in middle school. Meanwhile, I suspect the actual audience is enjoying the age appropriate worries and successes, and I'm clearly projecting all sorts of parental worries. But maybe I should read some of the sequels to reassure myself that Audrey is all right.

Smoke Bitten, Patricia Briggs. The reread gave me a greater appreciation of this book. I was able to concentrate on Mercy and what she is doing and thinking about rather than be distracted by all the problems she is facing. I am impressed at how well Briggs is juggling all the themes and characters in this very long series; there is a lot going on but the book stays focussed and provides a lot of action and the info dumps are done smoothly enough that even though I notice them I don't mind them (and I do need a lot of reminding, so I'm glad to have them). I'm looking forward to the next book which comes out in a few months.

 ----  And now for a book from my blogging hiatus! Someday I will mention them all! -----

Dear Justyce, Nic Stone. 2020 Cybils Young Adult Fiction finalist. This worked so well for me that the ending didn't work. Somehow I could believe all the bad stuff, which really worked in terms of establishing his characters and how he grew up twisted but also resisting the constant negative reinforcement, telling him that he was worthless and doomed and untrustworthy and dumb. I also bought the present timeline, as he waits in juvenile jail for years to see if he will be tried. But the ending felt almost like a fairy tale. Somehow I don't believe justice works. So great book, but I don't trust my country that much right now. Argh.

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:

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. I only read a few pages because the bad stuff in Straight is more physical than emotional so I can handle it better.

One Good Deed, David Baldacci. I started this, then it got buried other books. Now I've found it and I'd better finish it before I drop it in a puddle and have to pay for it.

Picture Books / Short Stories:

Comparrotives (A Grammar Zoo Book) by Coat, Janik. 2021 Cybils Board Book finalist. I had a lot of fun with this, and I think the babies I have known would too. It has simple pictures but lots of action and chances for laughter. And grammar is always fun. Probably more fun than quantum physics for babies!

Animals Go Vroom! by Cushman, Abi. 2021 Cybils Board Book finalist. I'm a little bit leery about the pages -- these are sturdy paper, not the stiff cardboard stuff I think of for picture books. And the peek-through bits might not last through excited fingers. But for the sophisticated toddler, the tricks with the animal sounds will appeal, and then there are the little stories around the pages (the crow family, the enterprising artist) for added appeal. This is almost a picture book, but it squeaks into the board book category.

Big Bear, Little Bear by Schneider, Marine. 2021 Cybils Board Book finalist. This is sweet and cosy, and all about the love and security in a family. Big Bear and Little Bear are together, and Big Bear is there to take Little Bear places, to hold Little Bear, to make sure there are things to eat and places to sleep. 

Caution! Road Signs Ahead by Buzzeo, Toni, illustrated by Birmingham, Chi. 2021 Cybils Board Book finalist. Hmm. I'm not sure my babies could actually see road signs until they moved into older child seats. But if they can see out, this would be a fun book to read before and then let them hold during car trips. Probably also for the older baby.

Turn Seek Find:Habitats Newman, Ben (Artist). 2021 Cybils Board Book finalist. On the cusp between an activity and a book, this entry is lovely and has vibrant illustrations that draw the reader in, and then there are knobs to spin and colors to match.

Circle Under Berry by Higgins, Carter. 2021 Cybils Board Book finalist. Although I like the spare white pages that concentrate attention on the shapes, I didn't feel the execution quite lived up to the presentation. The shapes into illustrations were a bit too complex, and the text seemed to concentrate on lecturing/leading rather than enthusiastic sharing. 

This Is Still Not A Book Jullien, Jean (Artist). 2021 Cybils Board Book finalist. Um, this is totally a book. The images are clear and simple, but not really to my taste. I do like how the book uses different orientations and perspectives. 

Sydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World, Jacqueline Davies. 2021 Cybils Early Chapter Book finalist. These two friends were charming and I enjoyed spending time with them. Their problems and solutions were the perfect blend of cosy but a little bit exciting, and they supported and encouraged each other just the perfect amount. The conversation about lunch was probably my favorite.

Kitty and Dragon, Meika Hashimoto. 2021 Cybils Early Chapter Book finalist. Another great couple! I liked the balance between Kitty as a stand-in for the child reader and Kitty as an actual cat, especially in the first chapter when she is rejecting all advice and sniffing at the noisiness of the world. Kitty as neat freak was a harder sell, but worth it for Dragon's response.

A Long Road on a Short Day, Gary D. Schmidt & Elizabeth Stickney. 2021 Cybils Early Chapter Book finalist. A really good kid accompanies his dad on an extended expedition to get the mom something she wants. I really liked it, but it's for a more contemplative kid. Rich language, evocative details, strong family connections. 

Give It a Try, Yasmin, Saadia Faruqi. 2021 Cybils Easy Reader & Early Chapter Book finalists. This contained 4 Yasmin stories, and two were Cybils finalists in slightly different categories. Well done! Yasmin is a fun kid with a lot of enthusiasm; she's maybe a bit too much of a teacher pleaser which made me very happy to see she had forgotten about the science project in Yasmin the Scientist. But then she delighted me by sending her dad out of the room while she worked on his suggestion of a baking soda volcano; I'm not sure I'd have left my kid unsupervised for that. And any book titled Yasmin the Librarian was going to make me happy (I'm not a librarian, but I like what they do).

 

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 will be charitable and assume that a lot of their blind spots is because we have more data from the last twenty years. Or that things have changed a lot. But their discussion of ESL seems based on headlines rather than actual data. 

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. I'm currently a few weeks behind.

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2021. Finished Easy Readers and Early Chapter books. I'm ahead of my schedule!
2. Early Cybils: Working on Guinevere Deception. 
3. Reading My Library. The library had a pipe break and is closed for repairs!
4. Where Am I Reading 2022. Five! California, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington! And one non-US country: Ecuador.
5. Libraries! I'm working on a Ten to Try and have checked off 5 Extreme Categories.

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: Ice Planet Barbarians. Next: Decrypted
• Library Book: One Good Deed. Next: Mexican Whiteboy
• Ebook I own:   Winter's Tale. Next: ???
• Library Ebook: Of Curses and Kisses.  Next: Never Fall For Your Fiancee
• Book Club Book: Ice Planet Barbarians Next: Mexican Whiteboy
• Tuesday Book Club Book: Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Review Book: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb  Next: Back Home
• Rereading: Forfeit
• Meal Companion: Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe
• Audio: None  Next: I ordered the audio of Empress of Salt and Fortune from the library. I read it recently so I think I'd enjoy the audio.