Wimps Get It Done

Well, the facial lesion stayed all lesiony, so I went back to the dermatologist and she sliced it off and sent it away to be analyzed. I managed to fake calmness even though this process involved needles and who knows what else. There was blood. I'll probably have to get a more thorough removal done in a few weeks.

And then just to show how tough I am, I gave blood on the weekend. Then I came home and whined a lot, and my son was nice to me. I mean, he's always nice to me, but he was loud about it so I would appreciate it.

I made it to two movies -- we went to see 355 and my mom tagged along to be companionable. Sadly it was violent and not all that much fun -- I was hoping for a lighthearted girl-spies thing, but it took itself a bit too seriously and went too hard on the bloodshed. Ew. So the next day Xan and I went back and saw Moonfall, which was utterly silly and didn't care. I mean, that's not how gravity works, or distance, or, well anything, but pretty people! Lovely skies! Off screen deaths! I hope to take Linda to see it. 

We also had two birthdays -- my nephew and my grandmother share a birthday. We let the young man have the day, and he invited some of his friends from his work training program out for dinner and bowling. I got to go along and also provide some driving. It was a lot of fun! Then on the weekend during the Superb Owl (thanks for the mistake, Siri!) we took my mom out for a birthday dinner at her favorite local restaurant. My brother attended even though he's less comfortable going out to eat, but it was a special occasion. 

Oh, I also had my Friday pizza book club, which was fun even though I hadn't read the book. And my Sunday theme book club -- we talked about SF books that were romance free. The lame version of that is books were the author doesn't notice that women are actually people (mostly older books), in which case it's better to skip the romance altogether rather than award the girl to the guy as a prize. But sometimes there's just too much action for the character to have time for romance, and that is a better way to do it. For example, the Hunger Games books.  

Dinner was falafel (I made my pitas) and then pizza for book club. I've been cooking the pitas in a cast iron skillet instead of in the oven, and it's working well. Well, it works best when I make my sons take over, because I set the timer to know when to flip them and they do this mysterious thing where they look at the bottom and flip it before it burns. Which somehow works out better.  

I retain my top score on my list of all the Cybils finalists. Ha! The winners come out today  just came out, so maybe I should make a list of just the winners. Hmm.

Deep Space 9 has fixed the past, so I'm on to the next. But I keep forgetting to fold laundry, so my TV viewing is limited.

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'm going to go sign up. Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers.

Started

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky. My Tuesday book club wanted to see if Mazerunner was typical of YA. So we're reading this YA that I heard a lot about back in the day.

Chunky, Yehudi Mercado. Cybils finalist. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Miya Kazuki. From a review by James Nicoll. Except I think he was reviewing the light novel, and this is the manga. 

Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy. For my Friday night book club. Unfortunately it starts with an awkward scene so I didn't actually officially start until after the book club ended. (I don't count a book as started until page 25.)

Completed

Never Fall For Your Fiance, Virginia Heath. I waded through the Dumb Misunderstanding, but I found their angst over lying to people they like very relatable and stressful. The resolution reminding me again that this is not set in historical Earth but an alternate reality with some similarities in dress fashions and such. But it's a solid entry for Fake Relationships! I'm ready for Wednesday!

Child of Fire, Harry Connolly. I'm a huge Connolly fan, so I was eager to suggest this as the tentpole of the Foolscap February theme of NO ROMANCE. Building a romantic relationship is not at the top of the list for anyone involved in this book, although Ray Lily does acknowledge that prison has put a severe crimp in his sex life which makes him a bit more vulnerable to certain temptations. But the huge danger to many children in his vicinity means that his priorities are definitely in a different direction. I really like how we start in the middle of a life; Connolly did eventually go back and write the prequel but I didn't need it the first time I read this and I don't need it now. We see him making decisions based on past experience, which includes a tough childhood as well as a later encounter with a spellbook, and how the theme of accidentally hurting his friends and what that means for loyalty operates in the present. 

Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo. Sword and Laser February pick. I reread on audio. I enjoyed it a bit more this time; the beginning was slow, but I usually listen to audio at 1.5 or so speed, so it moved along. I was having some problems hearing the audio, because the narrator's voice was right at a pitch to disappear into engine noise, so I kept decreasing the speed, but the story picks up as it goes along, so I was always happy. It was fun seeing the clues placed along the way after knowing the end; there's a refrain of "Do you understand?" and I was nodding along well ahead of the viewpoint character. The frame is a neat way to tell the story.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky.  Not for me. I've had this on my TBR list for about ten years, and I think the older I get the less this is to my taste. My Tuesday book club read this after Maze Runner to see if we were out of touch from YA books, and it looks like my answer is "Yes." The protagonist is described many times as uniquely brilliant, a beautiful writer, etc. Yet the book is supposed to be letters he writes, so hmm. Also, he really liked the book Catcher In the Rye! The odds I am going to root for him are very low. And there is a final bit revelation that struck me as very poorly handled. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Miya Kazuki. I was completely hooked by the premise and willing to forgive all. The main character is someone killed underneath her pile of books wakes up in a different world (apparently this is a staple of the genre) but in the body of a small child, a small illiterate child in a world where books are rare and reserved for the elite. So her most important consideration is of course getting her hands on something to read, and she figures the easiest route involves re-invented papyrus based on vague memories and her toddler skills. Delightful!

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

Duke Actually, Jenny Holiday. I read this on my vacation to attend DisConIII, and it was just what I wanted. A frothy romance involving a fake European country and a fake New York University, and how the Duke and the professor fall in love. Very well done fake aristocracy, with just enough emotional connection to reality to keep me turning pages. 

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Ok, I'm only going to put a book in here when I actually try to read it. Or at least actually pick it up and think about reading it. This week I made some progress in:

Mexican Whiteboy, Matt de los Pena. All my teenaged-boy angst appetite was taken up with by Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Forging a Nightmare, Patricia A. Jackson. I received this as a gift from the author at DisconIII, so I'm ready to like it.

Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emyrs. Again, I pick up my ipad to read and I play Spaceward Ho!

Chaos Reigning, Jessie Mihalik. I wanted to get back to the space romance.

Sweep of the Heart, Ilona Andrews. Another Innkeeper story! They are serializing it.

Forfeit, Dick Francis. Hmm, maybe I should read another Francis while I get up the nerve to read the hard part.

Live Free or Die, John Ringo. This is The Baen Free Radio Podcast serial, so every week they read a few pages to me. I'm so far behind that my phone keeps trying to remove the downloads and then I can't listen while driving. Humph.

Picture Books / Short Stories:

None.

Palate Cleansers

These books I'm barely reading; lately I use them as bribes to get me to deal with the mail. I've been ignoring my mail.

The Educated Child, William Bennett.

Wool, Hugh Howey.  

Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho. 

 

Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane. 

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. Heading into the end of December. Maybe I should just skip February altogether.. 

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2021: Started a graphic novel!
2. Early Cybils: Nope.
3. Reading My Library. The library had a pipe break and is closed for repairs!
4. Where Am I Reading 2022. Nothing new. Another annoyance of Perks is that it ostentatiously refuses to specify the setting.
5. Libraries: Forgot to check.

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: Forging a Nightmare Next: Running the Books
• Library Book: Mexican Whiteboy. Next: Ghost
• Ebook I own:   Winter's Tale. Next: ???
• Library Ebook: Chaos Reigning.  Next: Coyote Dreaming
• Book Club Book: Ghost Next: Mexican Whiteboy
• Tuesday Book Club Book: 
• Review Book: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb  Next: Back Home
• Rereading: Forfeit
• Meal Companion: I should pick one.
• Audio:  Probably just podcasts