Well, I milked my little wound from the minor surgery as long as I could, but even I have to admit that I'm all healed up. Also my brother had a similar thing on his nose and my mom has one on her back this week, so I'm not that special. But as long as I was whining, I also made an appointment with the dentist and actually went.

See, ever since I stopped making my kid's dentists appointments I sorta stopped making mine as well. And they took over their schedules around middle school. The younger one will be legal to drink in America in a few weeks. So it's been some time. I was sure they'd tell me that all my teeth were about to fall out but instead they were like "looks good! See you in 6 months." Yay!

The March Romance Reading Series was a fun one: Cowpoke vs. Highlander. Although I didn't like one of the books I read for it, I can't blame the librarian -- I found my own book. Actually since the club suggests books for the list I wouldn't blame her anyway. We compared our reads and then talked about how this genre is marketed and why it would appeal. I like how this group both acknowledges the pure joy of reading but also looks at how genre conventions are constructed and how different authors and different time periods affect the writing. It's a fun meeting.

Now I have to get ready for the Foolscap Convention this weekend (March 25-27). It's virtual again, because we don't trust trends! They'll be authors talking about their writing, artists and creators talking their work, experts talking about their skills (some learned during the Great Lockdowns), games, discussions, and all. Check it out!

I also have to get ready for my Wednesday Book Present, where my friend and family all share a book with me. I'm reading a Transformers Web Comic with my nephew, a history of the Chernobyl disaster with my BIL, Warprize with my sister, and I think I've convinced my sons to add Grave Reservations and Strange Love to the list. We are supposed to meet for a bit book talk this Wednesday, but maybe I should ask for one more week.

I'm finished season 3 of Deep Space 9, and am trying to move faster through Season 4. But I'm not good at watching TV.

I am still second on my list of all the Cybils finalists. But I'm still working on the categories (as you see, middle grade SF is showing up), so I have hopes of regaining the top spot. Look out, Shaye! I only need like ~~thirty~~ thirty-five more books to catch up!

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 think I'm in time this week! Ditto for the children's lit version at either Teach Mentor Texts or Unleashing Readers.

Started

When a Scot Ties the Knot (Castles Ever After, #3)

The Scotsman Who Swept Me Away (Seven Brides for Seven Scotsmen, #3)

Warprize (Chronicles of the Warlands, #1)

Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe

Three Keys, Kelly Yang. From my shelves. Sequel to Front Desk.

This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, Ann Patchett. From my TBR list. I've promised myself to turn off screens and read this at bedtime.

His Unexpected Amish Twins, Rachel J. Goode. Because I read the second book in the series, and I was hoping for more camels.

When a Scot Ties the Knot, Tessa Dare. For the Romance Reading Series: Cowpoke vs Scot!

The Scotsman Swept Me Away, Hannah Howell. I tried to be tricky; this one is a Scotsman from a family who immigrated and are homesteading or something. I thought he'd be a cowboy Scotsman, but he wasn't really.

Warprize, Elizabeth Vaughan. Friday book club pick; also my shared read with my sister.

Medicus, Ruth Downie. Book to keep at the table so I can read while eating.

Pandora's Star, Peter F. Hamilton. March Sword & Laser pick. They did warn us to start reading it a few months ago, as is is close to a thousand pages long. Oops.

Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Disaster, Serhii Plokhy. My shared read with my brother-in-law.

Completed

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe (Sal and Gabi, #1)

When a Scot Ties the Knot, Tessa Dare. A fun choice for my Scotsman entry. Tessa Dare does not even pretend to be trying to write a historical novel; she's writing romances for modern people. So while stuff that may have actually happened influence our characters (English landlords displacing tenants for sheep, returning soldiers finding their lives have disappeared while they were off getting shot at), the people themselves are completely familiar, if a bit quirky. She plays well with her silly premise, letting the hero and heroine both learn some emotional truths on their way to compatibility, with entertaining scenes involving lobsters, amnesiac friends, possibly deadly mires, and local villagers galore.

His Unexpected Amish Twins, Rachel J. Goode. I got this just because I was hoping for more camels, but unfortunately it all takes place just before the camels show up. Two Amish people fall in love and manage to tell each other about it. Apparently most Amish romance books are written by people with only a glancing acquaintance with the religion, so I think of these as Christian with costume books. The author's webpage says she grew up near actual Amish people, so I'm hoping that at least the costumes are right, even if I don't think I'm getting a real peak inside the world. It does just what it promises on the cover, and it's not too long for what it does.

The Scotsman Swept Me Away, Hannah Howell. This did not work for me. The first thing the titular Scotsman did was head for Maine instead of going further west to become a cowboy (See Romance Series Topic: Cowpoke Vs Scot). So I was cranky enough to really notice the author's tics, such as repeating things a lot. A character would think something in one paragraph and then it would be said in the next paragraph. And I never figured out the sexual mores of this society -- the two characters start sleeping together almost immediately, but they occasionally try to hide this from her kid brother, then grab a single bedroom when they go to visit his family, and then she suddenly wonders if that was perhaps a bad move, socially. And the title should be I Swept The Scotsman Away because he shows up at her hotel, falls in lust and then love, and becomes the first of his many brothers to ditch their Ozark new home and move in with a lady (instead of the other way around). She's happy with her coastal town and nearby family, so he moves in and figures he'll find a way to make himself useful.

Wool, Hugh Howey. I liked the conceit of the separate bunkers and the question about how best to keep them safe, although I wish that had been more explored in the action. The action was cool and I appreciated the attention to detail for the electronics and all the stuff Juliette was messing with (OK, I'm lazy and didn't even try to picture most of it). It was a gift from a friend I don't see anymore, so I'm glad I finally finished it.

Warprize, Elizabeth Vaughan. I read this about 15 years ago, but I was surprised how much I remembered. It's got a lot of fun world building and plays a lot with cultural differences; he's explained a lot to her brother, but said brother has always been jealous of her so lied about it. She thinks she's tribute; he thinks he's courting her. Shenanigans! Lots of horses and healing arts and barbarians (both think the other's people are barbarians). Anyway, lots of fun and now I see the author kept writing this series. Hmm...

-- Book from the blogging gap --

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, Carlos Hernandez. I had read and liked this, so I suggested it for our traditional kidlit read for December for the Friday book club that is a group of old friends. I'm still always nervous when I propose a book, because what if everyone hates it? And then they would decide that they hate me and I'll be kicked out of book club and left to wander lonely through the world. Yes, these are my good friends (including my sister!) but tell that to my anxiety. But as you see, I'm still in the club -- everyone who read it thought it was fun and enjoyable and just what the holiday stress needed. I hope to see more stuff from Hernandez.

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:

Sweep of the Heart (Innkeeper Chronicles, #5)

The Girl From the Sea, Molly Knox Ostertag. Cybils finalist. I care a lot about these characters, because Ostertag is that good a writer, but boy do they frustrate me. Lots of growing up happening.

Kiki Killira Breaks a Kingdom, Sangu Mandanna. Cybils finalist. This is what I mostly read while folding laundry. Which I'm behind on.

Red Hood, Elana K. Arnold. Cybils finalist. Still struggling with the narrative in second person. You know how much that bugs me!

Persuader, Lee Child. Tuesday book club. I may be Reacher'ed out for a while. This one is not going as fast as it could be, although it's in first person, which is a nice change of pace.

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 made it into January! I'm on the last January episode! I would have caught up more, but Apple podcasts keeps deleting episodes while I'm in the middle of them, and I have to go home and download it all over again.

Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emrys. When I'm not playing Spaceward Ho! on my ipad, I'm reading this.

Ancestral Night, Elizabeth Bear. I'm listening while I clean the kitchen at night. So ten minutes a night, except when I'm slacking off.

Sweep of the Heart, Ilona Andrews. Another Innkeeper story! I'm on chapter 9.

Forging a Nightmare, Patricia A. Jackson.

Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy. Oops. The library took it back.

Terra Nullius, Clare G. Colman.

Forfeit, Dick Francis.

Picture Books / Short Stories:

Singing Away the Dark, Caroline Woodward. A quiet and charming book that shows a old fashioned girl, back from when we had to walk to school uphill in the snow (both ways), overcoming her fears of dark woods and scary cows.

The Not So Quiet Library, Zachariah O'Hora. The librarian saves the day! I'm all in.

Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian, Jacob Sager Weinstein. Another heroic librarian, this one with a lot of secret skills as well as excellent book recommending chops.

"So Your Grandmother Is a Starship Now: A Quick Guide for the Bewildered," Marissa Lingen. It's cool because she's a now in interstellar vessel, but this guide always wants you to realize that's she's always been her own person.

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: A Parents Guide from Preschool Through Eighth Grade

YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day

The Educated Child, William Bennett.

Dates From Hell, Kim Harrison & others.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane.

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. OK, I'm doing the day's song, and then jumping back to where I fell behind.

Reading Challenges

Cybils 2021: Didn't finish anything, but I started on the Middle Grade SF.
Early Cybils: Working on Red Hood again. I'm not liking it much, so I also have Heat on hand.
Reading My Library. The library had a pipe break and is closed for repairs! But I have a back-up library...
Where Am I Reading 2022. Well, my attempt to read a cowboy romance gave me Maine.
Libraries: 24/55 for the Tacoma Extreme Challenge.