Back to Reality -- HUMPH

Well, Monday was lovely and relaxing -- I was still catsitting in a lovely house on the Oregon coast. I spent some time playing with the kitties, then my friends came home, we had delicious Thai for dinner, and then the humans read companionably while looking up to a beautiful view of a sunset while the cats prowled back and forth between their people to make sure they were both really back. But alas it was then time to return to my regular life. Also, I had finished all my book club books so I wanted to show up to the meetings. But I shall return! Look out, Beautiful Oregon Friends!

Tuesday was my local library's River Runs Under It book club. Isn't that a great name? I probably say this every month. We discussed Searching for Sylvie Lee, and I was interested in the varied perspectives of the club, which got me to think of different things and reevaluate some of my opinions, and I recommend the book even more. I think I talk too much at this club so I am trying to slow down and let other people have their say.

And then there were more book clubs -- Tuesday night gaming/reading club wrapped up Network Effect (and ran around in The Swamp of Sorrows), Wednesday night Romance Reading Group discussed a bunch of Tessa Bailey books, Friday night book club discussed Boyfriend Material, and Sunday I piped into Foolscap's discussion of Binti and Afrofuturism until my phone ran out of power. 

I had burned through my phone's weak battery while marching in the Seattle Pride March with my nephew and his family. My sister's company hosts a truck, so we waved our flags and shared out swag. MossAdams gives out Pride fans and small tote bags, both of which were very popular among the audience -- the bags to hold their swag from other floats, and the fan because it was a hot day! This year we were clever and took the train up to the event, so it was easier to get there and then return home. 

I managed two runs and two movies this week. I'm always glad when my nephew's trainer declares a park day, because then I run in circles while they do whatever they do. And I met my friend at a new park for our Saturday walk, talk, and runs. We are hanging in on this fitness plan, not excelling but not falling off either. 

It was my nephew's last day of school on Thursday, so Friday we celebrated with a movie. I meant to make the early showing, but my appointment with the COVID study I'm in ran a bit late so we made it to the afternoon (still matinee) TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS. He's not quite so avid a Transformer collector as in his prime, but he still was able to fill in some details for me when I got confused about who was who. A fun flick. And on Sunday evening I picked my son up for work and on the spur of the moment we dashed off to see the new FLASH movie, which I found really good fun. You know the movie isn't taking itself too seriously when the introductory scene has the hero saving a gurney full of babies falling out of a hospital window, and then a cute service dog also needs rescuing. Super hero movies are goofy by definition, so it's good when they are aware of this. 

I might be back up to a third page of currently-reading on Goodreads. I'm at 34 books checked out which includes some picture books. Most of which I haven't lost. 

I'm off to check out the other books at The Bookdate's It's Monday, What Are You Reading headquarters. And since I read the Harry Potter play, I'll also sign up at the Children's Book central version, held at both Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.

Started

Ascendance of a Bookworm Manga, Part 2 Vol 5, Miya Kazuki. Of course I want to read the manga too!

Searching For Sylvie Lee, Jean Kwok. For my local library's River Runs Under It book club. (Because the Renton Library has a river running under it. It's lovely.)

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I got this for a book team but I'm reading it too late. But it's a good book so I'm reading it anyway.

Make Me, Tessa Bailey. My Romance Reading Group is doing a deep dive on Tessa Bailey this month.

Risking It All, Tessa Bailey. See above. I got this one in paper.

Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis. From my shelves.

New Suns 2, ed. Nisi Shawl. The first one was amazing. 

All Systems Red, Martha Wells. I gave a suggestion to a friend's kid because she needed an SF book for school.

The Greatest Thing, Sarah Winifred Searle. Cybils finalist

Completed

A Half-Built Garden, Ruthanna Emrys. For my Reading My Library Quest. I am deeply jealous of the software for their decision making, although also a bit dubious of its possibility. Of course it was a target of sabotage! This was a tense read for me, because the narrator has anxiety and Emrys is really skilled at portraying it. I liked seeing how the families were messily learning to grow together, and how earnestly people tried to be kind but were still people who lash out sometimes. I don't think I'd like to be in that family, but it was interesting and emotionally believable to read. I'm enjoying the spate of first contact books I've been reading, and how differently they are portrayed. My library is sure good at having enjoyable books on every shelf!

Searching For Sylvie Lee, Jean Kwok. I like being in book clubs that push me to read books I'd normally flee from. I enjoyed both the book and the discussion. We talked about the different ways in which people (including Sylvie) searched, about how authors can deal with death and suicide and what messages it sends to readers, how language intersects with immigration -- in this book, each characters voice comes through a different language (English, Dutch, Chinese) and this made understanding them complex for readers. We also looked at the complex timeline, and how the reader is in position to understand all the secrets ahead of the characters.

The Russian Cage, Charlaine Harris. Wow, Lizbeth is willing to do a lot of stuff to save her man. She kills people because it's more likely than not that it'll help, and doesn't look back. It was interesting to watch her evolution, and I like to see the reactions of other characters when the differences in their morality become plain. Lizbeth's attitude is closer to that of the baddies, which gives her an edge in guessing both their motives and their plans. I enjoyed this dramatized retelling, and I just noticed that the next one is due out at the end of the summer, so I'm glad I'm getting this reread in.

Risking It All, Tessa Bailey. This didn't really work for me. There was a lot of aggressive erotica, with both characters feeling super horny and like they had to get it on right then, they were gonna burn up, etc. Which is fine if you are in the mood for it, but there was also a fairly complicated situation where she was a former nurse turned cop on an unauthorized undercover mission to seek vengeance for her murdered brother (also a cop), and he was, well, also in a complicated situation, and I was actually interested in how that went down and so when they wandered off to have sexy times I kept waiting impatiently for them to finish so we could go on with the story. Which is not a way to get into the mood. There was also no relationship growth -- they fell in love (and lust) instantly; in fact he was all in the moment he saw her picture, with no real explanation other than magical soul bonds for why they suddenly both had this unprecedented feeling for each other. So, I see potential in this author but can't recommend this book. 

All Systems Red, Martha Wells. After starting the audio to see if the kid liked it, I drove away and found myself finishing it off. Oops. I particularly like the ending of this one as it's the best framing for where the narrative is coming from. And knowing how private Murderbot likes to be, it's also a reminder of how strong its feelings are for Dr Mensah, which plays into her family's jealousy in Network Effect. 

Numb to This, Kindra Neely. 2022 Cybils YA Graphic Novel finalist. This memoir by a college shooting survivor gives a sensitive depiction of the long lasting effects of the terror and vulnerability felt by everyone trapped in a building while a gunman murders people nearby. There's the survivor guilt, the frustration with how the media tries to own and shape the story, the frequent shocks when another similar incident grabs the headlines, the creeping anxiety and depression that springs endlessly back up. 

Picture Books

Something Bad Happened in Our Park: Standing Together After Gun Violence, Ann Hazzard. This is a picture book with a lot of support for parents in the back. It's a story of a child frightened when a household member is wounded by gunfire at a local park, and how the family helps the child deal with the feelings and impulses afterwards in a healing and loving way, from encouraging drawing and communication to working towards programs to make the neighborhood safer. The material in the back gives ideas for how to handle likely questions and and to start conversations around the issues and feelings in ways that acknowledge both the complexity of the issues and also the needs of children. 

Follow the Yarn, Emily Sper. 2016 Cybils Board Book finalist. I finished another Cybils challenge! This would be a fun book to read with a little one, tracing the color lines and admiring the cat. I do with I could find the black yarn on the black page, maybe with some texture or something?

Honey Badgers, Margo Gates. Reading My Library Quest book, Renton Highlands library. Good picture book about honey badgers except that it never tells you where they are from. Grasslands. Probably Africa since there is a picture with a lion.  

Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Vol 5 Part 4, Miya Kazuki. Still inching my way through. The Temple remains controversial especially among the older nobility, but Myne regards it as a haven for book lovers.

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.

Cobra, Timothy Zahn. Part 50. Johnny is suspicious when things seem very pat.

Warcross, Marie Lu. Still my car book, so I'm making slow progress.

Flood Circle, Harry Connolly. Displaced by library books.

Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon. It's still on my bedside table.

The Wine-Dark Sea, Patrick O'Brian. No chance to read.

Purple Hearts, Tess Wakefield. I was expecting more time in service from Luke.

The Shuddering City, Sharon Shinn. I'm enjoying this. I like her characterization.

Blood Vow, J.R. Ward. From my shelves. I find this serious hilarious. Hhilarious? I'm disappointed that Axe doesn't use his full name; no wonder no one respects him, there is no "h" in his nickname!

Convergence, C.J. Cherryh. Continuing the series.

Ship Without Sails, Sherwood Smith. Almost done!

Palate Cleansers

These are at home, where I am not. No progress!

 

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Many short pieces by Shakespeare, some pulled from the plays. 

Stinger, Nancy Kress. 

Dragon's Breath, E.D. Baker. 

The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler.  (no picture) 

The Road to Mars, Eric Idle. 

The Dark Fantastic, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. 

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. Hmm. Back to dealing with my mail through music!

Reading Challenges

1. Cybils 2022: Working on YA Graphic Novels. Finished one and started another.
2. Early Cybils:  Not done. Have on waiting on the pile
3. Reading My Library. Finished Half-Built Garden. Time to go back for more!
4. Libraries: Working on the 10 to Try for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.

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: Convergence
• Library Book: The Shuddering City
• Ebook I own: Can't Spell Treason Without Tea
• Library Ebook: Mere Christianity
• Book Club Book: The Fourth Wing
• Tuesday Book Club Book: 
• Review Book: Back Home 
• Rereading: 
• Audio: Fourth Wing