Last weekend was our first in-person Foolscap convention since the pandemic. We had a convention in February of 2020 (I remember because I proposed a panel on pandemic stories and no one was interested-- Cherie Priest was telling stories about her appearance on Captain Kangaroo). And two weeks later we went home for two years or so.
We were hesitant to come back -- lots of us have vulnerabilities and also issues around sharing the virus with people with vulnerabilities. But we tried a one-day event and filled it with as much talking about the things we love as possible, which for me of course means books. Good books, engaging books with terrible world building, cosy horror and what that contradiction in terms means, Station Eleven and what it means to be a Speculative Fiction book, and lots of other stuff, including films, cookies, bubbles, and music. And coffee but I didn't try that. It was great to hang out with people again, new friends and old.
My Friday book club met as well and we had our Summer Special: Picture Books! I gather all the Cybils finalists of the year and we read them and decide if the judges got it right. We each get to make our own decisions though -- we don't wrestle ourselves into a group decision. Leave that for the professionals! (Wait, it's time to submit applications to be a Cybils judge. I'm a book blogger -- I could be one of the professionals!
If anyone reading this talks about children's books on the internet (blog, goodreads, instagram, whatever form of twitter you use, etc), I highly encourage you to consider being a Cybils judge. It's a great chance to read a bunch of books and talk about what makes them great with other interesting people with the same passion. They have categories from picture books through nonfiction all the way up to young adult, so you can pick your favorite kind of reading.
Hmm, what else happened? I had signed up for Run Like a Viking and I managed to do a 5k with my running app on so I have a time. Woot! No walking, just running and jogging. My most amazing athletic skill is how slowly I can jog without falling over too often.
Oh, I went to a Drake concert! I mean, technically I drove to a Drake concert to let out my niece and her friend and then I drove home, but still, that was pretty exciting for me. I'm so cool.
I'm back up to 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm at 31 physical books checked out which includes some picture books plus five ebooks. I FOUND THE LOST picture book, so I acknowledge the librarian who told me to just hope it turns up as a genius. And I'd like to thank my brother who encouraged me to collapse the giant tower of cardboard boxes for the recycling balanced by the door to my garage and uncover the bag containing the book. Which had that picture book as well as things I was using when staying overnight with my mom in the hospital last spring, when I had apparently stopped at the library to pick up the hold on my way home to nap. I guess I was so tired I just tossed this bag carelessly to the side of the garage door.
I'm off to check out the other books at The Bookdate's It's Monday, What Are You Reading headquarters. And since I'm reading picture books as well as Cybils and other kidlit, 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. (Since I think I'm actually finishing this post on Monday I may actually have time to do that!)
Started
Eden's Everdark, Karen Strong. Cybils finalist.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Sue Lynn Tan. Cloudy book club pick.
Big Mike, Little Mike, Lauren Marie. Freebie from author.
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, V5, Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù. Completing a series.
Dusk, Night, Dawn, Anne Lamott. I like this author.
Resurgence, C.J. Cherryh. Continuing the series.
Completed
Station Eleven, Emily St John Mandel. For Foolscap Book club. Also for my Tuesday book club, which kindly picked this when they found out I was reading it. I read this before the pandemic, but it hits rather differently now. It was a good pick for both clubs -- lots to talk about. The book itself is well written, and the way it deals with science fiction and genre tropes is interesting. We talked about the characters and the situations and how they different from other post-plague books. I posed the question: Is it SF? and we had fun looking at how our reactions as well as how our answers shaped our reading. By the way, I found it resonated more with fantasy books than with SF books in terms of how characters reacted to the world around them. None of the characters viewed technology as something they could learn to replicate; it was the magic that had vanished from the world.
Big Mike, Little Mike, Lauren Marie. I was unreasonably disappointed with this fluffy little romance about a guy on his way home after an extended tour in the army and a widow running a farm with her two sons. The title led me to think the man would establish a bond with one of the sons, but not really. The complexity of his having to make peace with his parents over joining the army meant that the couple spent even less time together. And they smoked! Yuck. Don't start this author here.
Policing the Open Road, Sarah Seo. For Torches and Pitchforks book club. This was an interesting read that also confirmed that my brain is getting lazy and I should read more nonfiction. It talks about the links between the need for drastically increased policing once automobiles made communities less insular -- people could move around quickly and also widen their range, meaning a local beat cop wouldn't know everyone they met. So people were meeting strange police officers, and the officers didn't know who were the good (rich) people and who were people they could abuse with impunity. From a civil liberty standpoint, it would be a good idea to completely separate traffic controllers from police, and also accept that giving police complete discretion means mostly erasing the fourth amendment. I'm really sad to have missed this meeting!
Brightly Burning, Mercedes Lackey. Tuesday night book club pick. Lots of teens having extreme emotions, lots of foreshadowing that there would not be a happy-ever-after, lots of sniggering from me over the healer girl's crush and how seriously her parents took it. Did just what I expected! It was fun to see this as a villain origin story, which in a different world it could have been. Teenage victims of bullying who have an unexpected psychic ability to start big fires when they are upset can easily go wrong.
Picture Books
Finding Fire, Logan S. Kline. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist.
How to Party Like a Snail, Naseem Hrab. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist.
Apple and Magnolia, Laura Gehl. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist.
Out of a Jar, Deborah Marcelo. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist.
Nigel and the Moon, Antwan Eady. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist.
Farmhouse, Sophie Blackall. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist.
Knight Owl, Christopher Denise. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist. And winner.
My book club and I read all of these, and then I dragged them out again at family dinner and encouraged brothers and brothers-in-law (well, one of each) to sample them as well. It was a good assortment. There were several votes for Finding Fire and How to Party Like a Snail, but Knight Owl was also a crowd favorite and up near the top for everyone. This was a good crop of books -- a lot of variety, some funny, some poignant, some thoughtful, even a wordless option. My favorite images were of the little girl's hair in Apple and Magnolia and our introduction to the dragon(spoiler) in Knight Owl.
Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:
Yes, this is getting ridiculous. I'm definitely going to finish some of these. Real soon now!
Ascendance of a Bookworm, Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.
Ascendance of a Bookworm 5.5, Miya Kazuki. I'm almost done and the next one isn't out until the end of September -- woe is me!
Cobra, Timothy Zahn. Part 51.
Warcross, Marie Lu.
Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon. My bookmark moved! I haven't forgotten all the characters!
The Wine-Dark Sea, Patrick O'Brian.
New Suns 2, ed. Nisi Shawl.
Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros. The June Sword and Laser book club pick. Again, I'm finding the popular belief that the dragons like serial killers (of people and dragons) best worrisome, although the few dragons we meet do not support the idea. I'm also bored by how horny our protagonist is all the time.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist.
Into the Broken Lands, Tanya Huff. Yeah, we're moving into adventure land! Killer plants have already threatened our heros!
The Creeping Shadow, Jonathan Stroud. The next audio in my Reading My Library quest. I like the world and the suspense parts, but I hate with a passion the bizarre tension between our hero and the other female character. Like, do I really have to deal with stupid jealousy? Mean girl stuff? Ugh.
The Serpent in Heaven, Charlaine Harris. For the sake of my kitchen (which I clean while listening to this audio), I hope I finish in time for the new release in September! I'm enjoying the sister's point of view.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb. Recommended by a friend. I'm reading a little bit at night before sleep to make myself feel like a normally adjusted person.
Planetfall, Emma Newman. Sword & Laser pick. Wow, I'm falling seriously behind her. Better finish some of these.
Ship Without Sails, Sherwood Smith.
Palate Cleansers
I'm slowly marching through these books.
50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Herbert and Herrick. A nice interlude. It's fun to recognize book titles in the lines.
Stinger, Nancy Kress.
Dragon's Breath, E.D. Baker.
The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler.
The Road to Mars, Eric Idle.
The Dark Fantastic, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas.
Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. I caught up. Some great stuff -- surprises with Zappa but also known beauty from Bach.
Reading Challenges
- Cybils 2022: Finished Picture Books. Working on middle grade SF.
- Early Cybils: Nope.
- Reading My Library. Working on an audio. Need more picture books from Renton Highlands.
- 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: China Mountain Zhang
- Library Book: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivate V5
- Ebook I own: The Wine Dark Sea
- Library Ebook: Forty-Love
- Book Club Book: The Daughter of the Moon Goddess
- Tuesday Book Club Book: a Pratchett, to be determined
- Review Book: Back Home
- Rereading:
- Audio: Serpent in Paradise
3 comments:
I may consider signing up to be a Cybils judge again. It always seems like a huge commitment but also always fun.
I have been a judge several times but my time is taken by the bookstore where I volunteer so I cannot commit this year. You read much more than I so I bet you would be terrific, K.A. I loved Station Eleven & just recommended it yesterday to a customer. And, I've read the picture books you shared, all wonderful! Thanks for sharing so much!
Sorry I got your name incorrect, Beth. I realized it as soon as I hit 'send'. Going too fast! Happy weekend!
Post a Comment