Happy Birthday Youngest Sister

Well, it’s Friday and this was supposed to go out last Sunday, so I’m doing better every week! While reading these books I also celebrated my sister’s birthday, visited a few more libraries (Skyway, Greenbridge), and had some book groups.

I think I am currently reading 62 books, according to goodreads.

Books Completed Feb 14-21

Spirit Level, Richy Craven. Friday friends book club. This was an enjoyable read about some Irish men, one of whom dies early on. The other one can see him, but only after reaching a certain level of drunkenness. This was a bit of a problem for me as I’m very squeamish about drunk driving, and at one point the live guy has to overcome his anxiety about driving to get him and ghost guy somewhere. And I was not okay with that, but they get away with it. There are interesting side characters, some of which stay and some who stay small. There’s a good therapist who helps live guy deal with seeing visions of his dead friend, which would have worked if they were visions and not actually real ghost sightings.

The Golden Lord, Mary Jo Putney. This did exactly what I wanted and expected. Two adults doing a job, having emotions, and handling those emotions calmly and with respect for each other. To my delight they also had psychic powers.

Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor. Sword and Laser club pick. (Audio) I read this when it came out but the audio adds a lot. I liked the magical world and the way the kids get responsibilities right away. The money falling from the sky when you learn stuff was cool. I hope I remember to read the others.

Nightwoods, Charles Frazier. The writing was really good but the characters stayed distant to me. It didn’t seem to add up to a coherent story. The twins were fascinating but too perfect for the needs of the plot.

Rescue, Jennifer Nielsen. I associate Nielsen with hyper-competent kids always several steps ahead, and this protagonist switched between that and a more realistic fallible kid with improbable connections. But all WWII kidlit is my jam so I was happy reading it.

Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler. Ok, the previous one was eerie to read during the pandemic and this one is eerie to read during the executive power grab and incipient trade war and scapegoating of trans people and immigrants. It was also a sad story of irreplaceable loss, as Lauren loses her child and her brother is petty enough not to share when he finds her. So story of both the expansive possibilities of the human spirit and also the depths and paucity it is capable of. No easy realization only harsh perception of reality.

Robopocalypse, Daniel H. Wilson. This is very World War Z but with a different foe. I don’t know which came first. This one isn’t as good at characterization so it’s mostly an adventure story of the war to reclaim humanity’s top spot. A fast read.

Wild Seed, Octavia Butler. Butler liked to pose tough, sometimes impossible questions, and then pursue the answers even into uncomfortable places, and that is true on both the character and the thematic level. What are the ethics in a relationship with a bad person? Is death better than submitting and slightly ameliorating the harm? Is eugenics inherently evil or only in its practice? Book club struggled with these questions.

Notes From the Air, John Ashbery. Poetry. I never got it. None of these poems seemed to say much. I poked around on the web a bit to see if I could get help but nothing worked. I’m assuming there is more there than the trite understanding I had of what they were saying, and the games of spot-the-reference.

Books Started

Nightwoods, Charles Frazier. A book from the next shelf for my Renton Library Quest.

The Will of Many, James Islington. Sword and Laser book club pick.

Golden Hour, Niki Smith. A Book from the next shelf for my Renton Highlands Library Quest.

Wild Seed, Octavia Butler. For Scintillation book club.

All the Hidden Paths, Foz Meadows. I mostly liked the first one. 

The Rook, Daniel O’Malley. Very old Sword & Laser pick. (Audio)

To the Gorge, Emily Halnon. Picked up when I visited the Kent Library.

Bookmarks Moved

Ascendancy of a Bookworm: Short Story Collection Volume 2, Miya Kazuki.

Tinker, Wen Spencer. Audio.

The Shadow of the Gods, John Gwynne.

Airs Above the Ground, Mary Stewart. 

Lamplighters, D. M. Cornish.

The Year We Disappeared, Cylin Busby & John Busby. 

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell. 

Chernobyl, Serhii Plokhy.

Poems, R. Hawley Truax. 

Bookmarks Languished

I have not given up on these! Ignore all evidence.

 

                       Poppy and Marigold, Meg Welch Dendler. 

                       Serpent Rider, Yxavel Magno Diño.          

                   Wow, No Thank You, Samantha Irby.

               Into the Broken Lands, Tanya Huff

        Samantha Smee: A Pirate’s Life, M.C. Dingman. 

    Into the Vast Nothing, J. Bruno.

    Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossmann. 

    True Colors, Abby Cooper.

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan.

Picture Books and Short Stories  

Neil Armstrong: First Man on the Moon, James Buckley Jr. I hit the nonfiction section of the Renton Highlands J Graphic books area. This was very readable, with two guides joking around as the books passed through Armstrong’s life, emphasizing his hard work and dedication. 

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. Onto the kitchen.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Serafi, Shannon Chakraborty. Showdown!

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. The friend of a friend might make things awkward.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Mail bribe. Rilke. Poe.

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

The Road to Mars, Eric Idle. Mail bribe. 

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. Mail bribe. 

War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. I’m getting too curmudgeonly for YA.

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. 

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. Mail bribe.

Future Plans

This is for the actual future, so a week beyond the books in this post.

I am reading: 

• Book I own: An Immense World
• Library Book: All the Hidden Paths
• Ebook I own: Airs Above the Ground
• Foolscap Book Club Book:  Movie Month! 
• Sword and Laser Club Book: The Will of the Many, The City and the City
• Scintillation Book Club: Nova, South Riding
• Cloudy Book Club: Ocean’s Godori, Lore of the Wilds
• Torches and Pitchfork Book Club:  The Fall of Roe
• River Runs Under It Book Club: The Fire-maker’s Daughter 
• Talbot Hill Book: Fudge-a-mania and Thirteenth Fairy
• Friday Book Club: Freshly Brewed Murder
• Romance Book Club: Anywhere but Earth romance

Happy Birthday Youngest Nephew!

Well, it’s Saturday and this was supposed to go out last Sunday, so I’m doing better! While reading these books I also celebrated my nephew’s birthday, saw the movies Dogman and Love Hurts, and gave blood.

I think I am currently reading 65 books, according to goodreads.

Books Completed Feb 7-13

The Stonekeeper: Amulet 1, Kazu Kibuishi. Talbot book club. Attendance was low for this club (it was the first nice day after a week of lost recesses) but we appreciated the rich illustrations and talked about whether graphic novels were more like books or movies in terms of scariness for young kids. I also noticed that my reading skills for graphic novels has increased since I first read this as I’m better at differentiating characters and following action scenes; I’m probably at almost a third grade level!

The Truth About Stacey (Babysitters Club 3), Ann M. Martin. Talbot book club. A good introduction to this series for me! I was surprised it was a chapter book as I thought these were all graphic novels but now I understand the history. It felt very 80s in the treatment of divorce and the acceptance of young babysitters and more independent kids in general. I liked the diabetes stuff and how the club handled it given Stacey’s anxiety. My book club was huge and we talked about how realistic these were and what were the worst things that could happen on babysitting jobs and how mature babysitters should be (one kid suggested a minimum age of 30).

Down Deep, Catherine Asaro. I enjoy these stories with future societies and mental powers and a language represented by monosyllabic words, and having gotten to talk with the author at the last world con I appreciated seeing some of the aspects she talked about. I like how the characters move realistically between competent and emotionally clueless. The pandemic scenes were harrowing.

Babysitters Club Graphic Novel: Mary Anne’s Bad Luck Mystery, Cynthia Yuan Cheng. Ok, I liked the art and the writing, but the premise was hard to swallow. These kids are really changing their behavior in any way based in a chain letter curse? I don’t buy it. Humph.

A Scatter of Light, Malinda Lo. The thoughtful discussions with the Scintillation crowd are good for bringing out themes and structure bits that I might miss, as well as an appreciation of language. And it was interesting to see the different reactions to the protagonist’s decision to go after a woman in a committed relationship, which ranged from “well, she’s young” to “I couldn’t get over how much I disliked her.” 

Babysitters Club Little Sister Graphic Novel: Karen’s Sleepover, Katy Farina. Wow, this blended family worked out better than the Brady Bunch! Karen now accepts shared custody as an unmitigated positive. The sleepover drama seemed forced, and I was glad nobody took the kids’ emotional storms seriously. It’s interesting that this series looks at babysitting from both sides.

Babysitters Club Graphic Novel: Claudia and the Bad Joke, Arley Nopra. My first takeaway is shock that Claudia owed dues from her time in the hospital with an injury incurred on a club sponsored babysitting job. Workers rights education needed! Also I completely sympathized with Claudia’s reluctance to go back to babysitting and I found the tone more focused on the irrational nature of that fear rather than its absolute fitness as a trauma response. That said, Claudia was so awesome in her handling of the accident that I will admire her forever. And possible read the text version of this story.

Babysitters Club: Kristy’s Great Idea, Ann M. Martin. Hey look, I read the first in the series! It’s fun to see Kristy’s reluctance to get to know her mom’s boyfriend’s family, and how little said boyfriend’s vast wealth impresses her. And the stuff with Stacey was hilarious. This is a case where I think slipping around makes things even more fun than reading sequentially.

Amulet 4:The Last Council, Kazu Kibuishi. So, many of the people we want to trust aren’t actually trustworthy, moms don’t always know best, and prejudice is wrong. Also, I’m definitely better are reading graphic novels, or at least at rereading them.

Amulet 8: Supernova, Kazu Kibuishi. So, the problem is bigger than the planet, Emily may have been subsumed by the evil entity, but if everyone does their best and has faith in each other things might work out! Also, motorcycles are cool. I’m ready to go get the last one!

The Secret Garden on 81st Street: A Modern Retelling of The Secret Garden, Ivy Noelle Weir. I loved the original so I’m checking out the graphic novel retelling. It’s also part of my Quest to read a book from every shelf at the Renton Highlands Library. Sadly I did not like this retelling. Mary was far too nice. She had a couple moments of being grouchy while jet-lagged and that was it. Colin also went from being a pill to having anxiety. Even the surly gardener is now an helpful bodega owner with a gardening section. Also, all the woo-woo nature magic stuff is gone. So my favorite parts (people who aren’t all sweet and nice and bonkers magical religiosity) are gone. As a stand alone story it’s probably fine, but for me it’s a disappointment as a retelling, a fix-it that breaks it.

Books Started

The Year We Disappeared, Cylin Busby & John Busby. Cybils finalist.

Babysitters Club Graphic Novel: Mary Anne’s Bad Luck Mystery, Cynthia Yuan Cheng. I’m enjoying these babysitters club books for the kids book club.

Robopocalypse, Daniel H. Wilson. For Torches and Pitchforks club, Apocalypse Year.

Babysitters Club Little Sister Graphic Novel: Karen’s Sleepover, Katy Farina.

Babysitters Club Graphic Novel: Claudia and the Bad Joke, Arley Nopra. 

Babysitters Club: Kristy’s Great Idea, Ann M. Martin.

Amulet 4:The Last Council, Kazu Kibuishi. Catching up in steps so I can read the last one.

Amulet 8: Supernova, Kazu Kibuishi. 

The Golden Lord, Mary Jo Putney. I like this author. 

Bookmarks Moved

Ascendancy of a Bookworm: Short Story Collection Volume 2, Miya Kazuki.

Lamplighters, D. M. Cornish.

Rescue, Jennifer Nielsen. 

The Shadow of the Gods, John Gwynne.

Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor. Sword and Laser club pick. (Audio)

Notes From the Air, John Ashbery. Poetry. 

Airs Above the Ground, Mary Stewart. 

Spirit Level, Richy Craven. Friday friends book club.

Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler.

Tinker, Wen Spencer. Audio.

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan.

Bookmarks Languished

I have not given up on these! Ignore all evidence.

 

                   Poppy and Marigold, Meg Welch Dendler. 

                   Serpent Rider, Yxavel Magno Diño.          

               Wow, No Thank You, Samantha Irby.

           Into the Broken Lands, Tanya Huff

        Poems, R. Hawley Truax. I’m back to the library poems.

    Samantha Smee: A Pirate’s Life, M.C. Dingman.

    The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell. 

Into the Vast Nothing, J. Bruno.

Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossmann. 

True Colors, Abby Cooper.

Picture Books and Short Stories  

“Legend Has It”, Azusa Noir. I liked the picture of the community and the idea of the friend returning but didn’t get much beyond that.

“Parthenogenesis,” by Stephen Graham Jones. A spooky campfire tale. It kind of seemed to warn about making up stories which is always fun in a horror story.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. This week I learned that my mom was right about wine.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Serafi, Shannon Chakraborty. She’s back!

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. The friend of a friend might make things awkward.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Mail bribe. 

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

The Road to Mars, Eric Idle. Mail bribe. 

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. Mail bribe. 

War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. I’m getting too curmudgeonly for YA.

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. 

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. Mail bribe.

Future Plans

This is for the actual future, so two weeks from the books in this post.

I am reading: 

• Book I own: TheFinal Reflection
• Library Book: To The Gorge
• Ebook I own: Airs Above the Ground
• Foolscap Book Club Book:  extended universe books, esp Star Trek
• Sword and Laser Club Book: The Will of the Many
• Scintillation Book Club: South Riding
• Cloudy Book Club: Ocean’s Godori 
• Torches and Pitchfork Book Club:  (The Fall of Roe)
• River Runs Under It Book Club: The Fire-maker’s Daughter 
• Talbot Hill Book: Fudge-a-mania and 
• Friday Book Club: Freshly Brewed Murder
• Romance Book Club: Anywhere but Earth romance

Birthday Season Begins

Time for the slow match of the birthday cakes! My sister, me, and my son mean a cake a month for the next season. I have two niblings in there as well, but they don’t like cake so what’s even the point of having a birthday?

I made a web page for my library visits but now I have to start over and take pictures,

This post should have gone out last Monday, so if I work hard I could have tomorrow post out by Wednesday and then be caught up with my diary! I think I am currently reading 65 books, according to goodreads.

Books Completed Jan 31 - Feb 6th

The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley. I enjoyed this book but I’m not sure I got what the author intended. My take was definitely different than the goodreads consensus. I thought it was a meditation on colonialism and assimilation, how the attitude that the world belongs rightfully to the colonizer poisons relationships with the people being exploited (this means I did not see the sexual pairing as romantic) and also a meditation on how generational trauma and tribalism complicates the act of assimilating into an adopted culture even with the best of intentions. Also that a race to the bottom has rotten prizes even for the winners. I enjoyed the book club discussion!

The Emperor and the Endless Palace, Justinian Huang. Cloudy book club. I enjoyed the journey but found the ending unsatisfying. The different timelines did not manage to come together in a thematic or even an intellectually believable way. Apparently there are going to be sequels but that doesn’t help me now; it’s not so much I need more as I need the current pieces to fit together better. I’d read  more from this author because the pieces were all well made.

The Marine’s E-Mail Order Bride, Cora Seton. This was deeply silly, but I think that’s part of the genre? The setup for the romance was completely bonkers, which meant that any emotional beats tied to it did not land very hard. But cowboys are fun and the book was short, and I think it delivered on its promises, including characters who keep their personalities on a shelf until the plot calls for them. I do wonder if the online forum for finding other people forced to marry to receive their inheritance is on Craigslist or Reddit or what. But I would not say this is a successful implementation of the romance trope “marry to sastify a will.”

Deal With the Devil, Kit Rocha. Another book I started ages ago for a book club but never finished, this is an entertaining post-apocalyptic romance between two leaders of super competent overpowered teams struggling to make it in Georgia after a general societal collapse. They have some super powers that I stayed vague on but also have their steely determination and iron loyalty to their found families (and maybe some of their blood family). If that sounds fun, then this book does it well. I forget why I wasn’t in the mood back when I was supposed to read it.

In Limbo, Deb J.J. Lee. Cybils finalist. A good memoir of her teen age years and her difficult relationship with her mother but although I thought it captures her emotions really well I felt it was vague about details so that I never felt fully grounded. Or maybe I’m just not sensitive enough.

Trail of the Lost, Andrea Langford. For River Runs Under It Book club. Interesting account of searching for disappeared hikers on the Pacific Trail, especially since so few of them (or their bodies) are ever found. Although most hikers are fun, when people do get lost in the wilderness it can be very hard to find them, especially if no one knows where to start looking. And shaping the story of fruitless searches is an editorial challenge that I appreciated seeing the author grapple with.

Pizzasaurus Rex, Justin Wagner. Reading My Library Quest, Renton Highlands version. This didn’t work for me. I didn’t feel sympathy for the scientist dude, was repelled by the arc of his female sidekick/prize, and even the radical dinosaur being all cool and all didn’t elevate the feel. Oh well, can’t win them all.

Ishmael, Barbara Hambly. Foolscap book club. Theme is extended universe books. Spock in Seattle! Yet another method of time travel that they never use again! This was fun.

Books Started

The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley. Pretty sure I started this sword and laser pick last week.

Ascendancy of a Bookworm: Short Story Collection Volume 2, Miya Kazuki. I will read this as slowly as I can to savor every moment with these friends or enemies of Myne.

Trail of the Lost, Andrea Langford. For River Runs Under It Book club.

Ishmael, Barbara Hambly. Foolscap book club. Theme is extended universe books.

A Scatter of Light, Malinda Lo. Scintillation book club.

The Stonekeeper: Amulet 1, Kazu Kibuishi. Talbot book club.

Truth About Stacey (Babysitters Club 3), Ann M. Martin. Talbot book club.

Spirit Level, Richy Craven. Friday friends book club.

The Secret Garden on 81st Street: A Modern Retelling of The Secret Garden, Ivy Noelle Weir. I loved the original so I’m checking out the graphic novel retelling.

Bookmarks Moved

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan.

Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor. Sword and Laser club pick. (Audio)

Rescue, Jennifer Nielsen. 

Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler.

Notes From the Air, John Ashbery. Poetry.

Down Deep, Catherine Asaro.

Tinker, Wen Spencer. Audio.

Into the Vast Nothing, J. Bruno.

Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossmann. 

True Colors, Abby Cooper.

Lamplighters, D. M. Cornish.

The Shadow of the Gods, John Gwynne.

Bookmarks Languished

I have not given up on these! Ignore all evidence.

 

               Poppy and Marigold, Meg Welch Dendler. 

               Serpent Rider, Yxavel Magno Diño.          

           Wow, No Thank You, Samantha Irby.

       Into the Broken Lands, Tanya Huff

    Poems, R. Hawley Truax. I’m back to the library poems.

Samantha Smee: A Pirate’s Life, M.C. Dingman.

Airs Above the Ground, Mary Stewart. 

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell. For Scintillation book club. 

Picture Books and Short Stories  

“What I Saw Before the War,” Alaya Dawn Johnson. Eh, it was ok.

I’m the Best Artist in the Ocean, Kevin Sherry. The artist does good squid work. Fun and cheerful.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. Booze! Cocktails! Apparently my liquor cabinet is woefully inadequate.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Serafi, Shannon Chakraborty. All is lost!

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. Friendship is magic.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Mail bribe. 

The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). Mail bribe. Since this is a textbook there are assignments after each essay which it gives me exquisite pleasure to skip.

The Road to Mars, Eric Idle. Mail bribe. 

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. Mail bribe. 

War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. I’m getting too curmudgeonly for YA.

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. 

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. Mail bribe. Music is a good tool for calmness.

Future Plans

This is for the actual future, so two weeks from the books in this post.

I am reading: 

• Book I own: Long Live Evil
• Library Book: Rescue
• Ebook I own: Airs Above the Ground
• Foolscap Book Club Book:  extended universe books, esp Star Trek
• Sword and Laser Club Book: The Will of the Many
• Scintillation Book Club: Wild Seed
• Cloudy Book Club: Ocean’s Godori 
• Torches and Pitchfork Book Club: Robopocalypse
• River Runs Under It Book Club: (done)
• Talbot Hill Book: Fudge-a-mania and 
• Friday Book Club: Freshly Brewed Murder
• Romance Book Club: will trope

King County Library System Is Awesome! Let's See it All

 

Gotta Visit Them All

Algona-Pacific 

A small, cosy library with a convenient atrium, an enclosed children’s section, and compact nooks for Teens and computer users.

Auburn

The statue of a hungry crow outside the library is a great start, and the library inside is a winner. A safe children’s area, stacks and cosy nooks for YA and reading, and some lovely quilt like plaques over the wall with the holds. There’s a lot of grassy area around the park and a playground visible from the windows, so it’s a fun family destination.

Bellevue

Bellevue library is a masterpiece. It’s beautiful and peaceful and energizing. It has underground parking, a park outside, a busy make space, a children’s section on its own floor. There are meeting rooms in various sizes, study rooms, study corrals, reading nooks, life plants, comfy chairs with charging outlets in their arms, and both square work tables and bar stool work spaces overlooking greenery or sidewalks, depending on your preferences. Art work sneaks up on you in many places, from the stunning hut depicting Japanese American homes before their incarceration to 23 Windows with small sculptures nestled in window boxes. The librarians were friendly and proud of their bookish home.

Black Diamond

Bothell

A cosy library with a nice meeting room near the children’s section where I’ve seen performances, and a large nonfiction children’s section adjacent, although that does make it easier for kids to escape. I also liked the small enclosed patio if patrons want to read outside on nice days. There were several cool statues in various reading nooks. 

Boulevard Park (below)

This is a small, somewhat old fashioned library. The neighborhood seemed to know it well; they’ve been growing together for ages. It’s low on windows, but cosy with a small, contained children’s area and a teen section that gets all the light.

Burian

Carnation

Covington

Crossroads

This tiny library is tucked into a mall. It’s got a fun spiral ramp into the kids section, good lighting and lots of patron computers. It also is right by the delicious food court where I got some very good Indian food.

Des Moines

Duvall

Enumclaw

Fairwood

Fairwood was my first King County Library, before Renton joined the county system. When the kids were young we would have a library day to visit all three systems (Renton, King County, Seattle) and the playgrounds we associated with each. Visiting it without four small children is more peaceful; it has the most inviting reading space I’ve seen so far. Its tall windows and ceilings give a sense of space and limitless time. 

Fall City

Compact and cosy, Fall City is especially proud of the vibrant plants that bring the shelves to green life. There’s a nook for Teens, a meeting room and a study room, and a small but well stocked children’s area. The high ceilings mean lots of light even among the many shelves, and the plants are eating it up.

Federal Way 320th

Although this must be the worst name for a library, the building itself looks good. I liked the colors and dimensions of the outside. Inside there’s a feeling of space with some lovely art on the wall across from the entrance. People were studying or working at many of the tables behind the fiction and nonfiction shelves. The children’s area was nice but rather open — I watched a happy toddler sneak out and make a break for the Friends Book Sale. Luckily her giggling made her fail her stealth check.

Federal Way

Absolutely gorgeous. Amazing windows, with the teen section getting the sectioned one. There were many people enjoying the comfortable and functional seating by the back window, but it wasn’t crowded at all. I think that has a view of the rain garden but it was a beautiful day so I’m not sure. The maker’s space was big and inviting, and the expanded children’s area was bright but enclosed, with lots of places for shared reading.

Greenbridge

This was the first time I told an unknown librarian about my quest, and she was very enthusiastic. She also showed me around the small library and talked about how they had to curate the shelves and how quickly books turned over. I liked how kids came in to play and read and how welcoming it felt. My sister came along and took the picture with me and the librarian.

Issaquah

I thought I’d been here before but it seemed new to me. There’s a nice children’s section although containing a crowd would be a bit tricky. They cram a lot of study tables, corrals and desks in various nooks and I saw a lot of students and a few collaborations. The high ceilings and natural lighting keeps it warm and cosy. Another good library! 

Kennmore 

Kent 

 A big box of a room with a sense of abundance and space. There are desks and computers to the right and magazines and sitting areas on the left, including the teen corner. The children’s area is squared off by low shelving, which I would have appreciated when I showed up with four young kids. There are several nooks with chairs or tables for quiet work and a couple of meeting rooms for large and small gatherings. Not too bad.

Kent Panther Lake

This is an older building but manages to hit cosy. It’s small but carves out a nice children’s section and several good reading areas. I liked the art showing the lake the library is names after.

I arrived a little before it opened because I had scheduled extra time for proctoring a high school exam so I took advantage of its proximity to a small open shopping mall and walked over to a Vietnamese restaurant and had a delicious lunch before returning and exploring the library.

Kingsgate

Kirkland

Lake Forest Park

Lake Hills

I’ve driven by Lake Hills many times, but always on my way to appointments so I never stopped. They said they were particularly proud of their frog collection, so I took this photo and met some great crafters who rotate around local libraries for their meetings. So once again this quest gives me the excuse to stop and gather some roses.

Maple Valley

Mercer Island

Another lovely building, with a great children’s area, good places for reading or studying, and options for either study rooms or seats with pleasant views of trees and parks. There is both a small and large meeting space and a well stocked Friends of the Library section.

Muckleshoot

Newcastle

I was lucky enough to find an art display ongoing at Newcastle, so I examine the art from local students carefully and cast my ballot. Their children’s section is off to the side and almost contained, with a rich selection and some terminals available. Their comfy chairs scattered by the windows are indeed comfortable, and the blossoms on the tree out side were lovely.

 Newport Way 

Newport Way is a very cosy and comfortable library. It is fairly small but uses its space efficiently and there are many small details to delight in, from the enclosed children’s area to the windowed reading annex to the sculptures outside and the many small details on the brick walls inside. You can find small animals, letters, fossils, and even a would-be-visitor.

(Normandy Park Lockers?)

North Bend

North Bend is another gem. It’s halfway up the mountain (Snonomish, not THE mountain, which is Ranier), and there’s a feeling of green wilderness nearby. The tall ceiling gives the room a feeling of space, and the meeting room and study rooms add some interesting nooks. The square shape makes it hard to block off the kids area, but they use the shelves to make the picture book area a corral and bigger kids can handle themselves. The artwork is by local people and depicts characters from favorite books. 

Redmond

Redmond Ridge Library Express?

Renton

This is our local branch where the kids and I have been going since I moved to Washington. It is built over a river and has glass walls so you can look up or downstream to see the water flow, the birds fly and paddle about, and the salmon swim. It’s as cool as it sounds. It got a major renovation a few years ago and we almost had to move it (wet lands are hard to construct on, and rivers are by definition wet) but the community ponied up the extra money so it stayed. I liked the kids section better before the renovations but I don’t have kids any more so fine. There’s a nice big meeting room, several study rooms, lots of computers and nice librarians. I approve.

A couple of big trees blew over a few months ago and you can see them in the river behind the library. The window facing us has a lot of chairs set up so you can read and look out at the water flowing away and the birds and the fish (the salmon swim up this river in the fall). The children’s area is on the right so the kids get the view.

Renton Highlands

My other local library (we moved here before Renton libraries joined with KCLS) has a new building located what looks like an awesome park for kids. You can see the giant climbing structure in the right background. It also has quiet study rooms, good tables with chargers, a nice meeting room next to the children’s area which is open but has good sight lines. 

Richmond Beach

Sammamish

Service Center

I found the Service Center and they were very happy to be included in my count. Their lobby waiting chairs were clearly designed for readers so they definitely are eligible. It was fun learning about all the stuff they plan and work on here, and also appreciating the art and statues. 

All the art in the libraries is a definite bonus for me as I search out each building. I’m really glad the libraries work so hard to make the spaces welcoming along so many dimensions.

Shoreline

Skykomish

This far flung branch required some planning. My weekly walk buddy and I decided to make it an expedition as it required driving over an hour to get there. But it’s in a lovely town with great hikes, a free train ride, and some wonderful lunch options so we had a great time. The library is small but cleverly laid out with a children’s corner by the adult shelves so tiny kids and parents can both browse. And they are celebrating their 75 birthday so we made a Pom Pom to add to their string.

Skyway

This is an old friend, located near my sons’ junior high school (which is admittedly not all that close to our home). It’s fairly small but I like its steep angles as it fits itself into the oddly shaped lot where the streets meet but not orthogonally. And I really like the topologically donut shaped sculpture outside, so I tried to take the picture through it.

Snoqualmie

This is a small library that relies on its lovely views to give a sense of roominess. This art chandelier thing hangs over the Teen area, and there also a small and cosy children’s section. The chairs were comfortable although they didn’t seem to have the cool charging areas I see in more modernized buildings, so remember to bring standard plugs!

South Center

Tukwilla

The more libraries I visit the more impressed I am with KCLS. This is another compact but powerful place, with the children’s area conveniently in one corner and a high airy ceiling that gives room to breath, as well as a generous number of comfortable chairs and study areas. The meeting room currently held two reading buddy dogs, one a new recruit still learning to temper her enthusiasm so I got to help by walking into the room repeatedly until she could greet me politely. 

Valley View

Vashon

Many librarians cited Vashon as a hard one to add to my list, but I have family on the island so I’m there periodically. It’s a bright and inviting building with windows onto greenery from all sides, including a nice view of a playground from the children’s section. I always appreciate that.

White Center

Woodinville

Woodmont

Resolutions

I jinxed the weather. February brings the snow. 

I’m enjoying all my book clubs, but they are making my resolution to read from my shelves harder. Also I need to start tracking my library visits because I’m forgetting where I’ve been.

One book club has switched to watching *The Good Place* so that’s helping with my time management as well as being a fun group watch. 

 

Books Completed Jan 24 - 30

Prince For Sale, Caroline Gibson. Reread. This is a romance book that started as Marvel fanfic and had the serial numbers rubbed off. I like the fanfic and enjoyed seeing how she rewrote some things to make it her own. 

A Field Guide to the Apocalypse, Athena Aktipis. For Torches and Pitchforks book club. This was a fun book, and it has me inspired to get back to some prepped things that require maintenance, like my go bags. But as the book club decided, it’s not so much the boom to grab in the apocalypse but the book to remind you to get a book to grab for the apocalypse. Or perhaps several different books to be prepared for different kinds of problems. Like a robot takeover of the world!

The Prince’s Fate, Caroline Gibson. This follows on directly from the first. . I don’t like it as much as I find the idea of zygotes with personalities kinda creepy. I don’t actually want people inside me to have memories of their parasitic stage. But the evil parents stuff is fun, and then the forest ranger is obviously a chance for more porn.

Devil’s Cub, Georgette Heyer. I got bogged down doing a rereads for book club (Red Flag themed) because I’m embarrassed during the scene where she pretends to be her sister. But as soon as you push past that to him kidnapping her it gets much better. They start to be hilarious together. Like he’s kidnapping her onto his sexy yacht as he flees to France, and as they cast off he saunters into the cabin to have his wicked way, and she has forgotten the gun she smuggled aboard because she is very sea sick, which comes as a shock to him and definitely interrupts his wicked-waying. 

Books Started

The Prince’s Fate, Caroline Gibson. Reread.

Pizzasaurus Rex, Justin Wagner. Reading My Library Quest, Renton Highlands version.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace, Justinian Huang. Cloudy book club.

The Marine’s E-Mail Order Bride, Cora Seton. Romance book club: Wills trope.

Bookmarks Moved

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell. For Scintillation book club. 

Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor. Sword and Laser club pick. (Audio)

Lamplighters, D. M. Cornish.

In Limbo, Deb J.J. Lee.

Notes From the Air, John Ashbery. Poetry.

Deal With the Devil, Kit Rocha.

Rescue, Jennifer Nielsen. 

Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler.

Samantha Smee: A Pirate’s Life, M.C. Dingman.

Airs Above the Ground, Mary Stewart. 

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan.

Bookmarks Languished

I have not given up on these! Ignore all evidence.

 

           Poppy and Marigold, Meg Welch Dendler. 

           Serpent Rider, Yxavel Magno Diño. 

          True Colors, Abby Cooper.

       Wow, No Thank You, Samantha Irby.

   Into the Broken Lands, Tanya Huff

Poems, R. Hawley Truax. I’m back to the library poems.

Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossmann. For Romance Book Club (fairy tale retelling).

Picture Books and Short Stories  

None that I noticed.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. Tea stuff.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Serafi, Shannon Chakraborty. Shenanigans!

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. This guy had a real concussion, not a TV head bonk.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Mail bribe. 

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

The Road to Mars, Eric Idle. Mail bribe. 

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. Mail bribe. 

War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. I’m getting too curmudgeonly for YA.

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. Neither of my kids learned to read with these methods, but it would have helped them understand story structure.

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. Mail bribe. I’m so far behind that I might catch up to myself.

Future Plans

This is for the actual future, so two weeks from the books in this post.

I am reading: 

• Book I own: Long Live Evil
• Library Book: Rescue
• Ebook I own: Airs Above the Ground
• Foolscap Book Club Book:  extended universe books, esp Star Trek
• Sword and Laser Club Book: The Will of the Many
• Scintillation Book Club: A Scatter of Light 
• Cloudy Book Club: Ocean’s Godori 
• Torches and Pitchfork Book Club: Robopocalypse
• River Runs Under It Book Club: (done)
• Talbot Hill Book Clubs: Babysitters Club and Amulet books
• Friday Book Club: Spirit Level
• Romance Book Club: will trope

Not the Beginning of the End But the End of the Beginning

We opened up the storage unit that’s been full since we emptied out mom and Linda’s apartments and took took out two car loads worth. One went straight to goodwill, the other to enhance our various lives. There’s some big furniture there, so one weekend soon we’ll rent a truck and really deal with it.

I miss my mom.

 

Books Completed Jan 10-17

The Wednesday Wars, Gary D. Schmidt. I couldn’t actually listen to the book club but I followed along with some of the text chatter. This is one of Schmidt’s best, capturing both the feel of the era and the sense of growing into adult understanding and possibility while still being a kid.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds Vol 6-7 , Hayao Miyazaki. Very powerful ending, with many Campbellian echoes and also paths and morally gray choices made. I am very much looking forward to the movie.

Heroes of Havensong: the Last Ice Phoenix, Megan Reyes. I definitely felt the disconnect from skipping the first books; it would have helped me sympathize with the kid who joined up with the evil wizard more. I mean, okay, he has a nice goal, but going from “this is I think I want to do” to signing up with the guy you’ve just seen murder and torture strangers and friends because bad guy says “I have thought of a really sketchy way to vaguely move in that direction” is not really the stuff of decency. And apparently he’s one of the four Heroes in the series title. Hmmmm…. Blue is cool though.

The House In The Pines, Ana Reyes. This billed itself as a psychological suspense thriller, but I thought the thriller part detracted from what could have been a more interesting book about memory and how trauma can warp it. The stuff with the bad guy with the dubious methods was kind of silly, but her questioning her memories of her friend’s death, her addiction to the medicine she was proscribed because her mom questioned her memories of her friend’s death, her translation of her father’s book giving her actual memories of him, those all kept trying to build to something before getting distracted by the implausible bad guy stuff.

Renegade Love, Ann Aguirre. Another satisfying conclusion, with found family, literal found family (she found her mom), true love, and strangely hot alien sex.

Midnight Riot, Ben Aaronovitch. Audio. This was a very fun audio, with a variety of British accents and a good modulation of voice among the different characters. The story also had a good sense of pacing and tone, with true horror moments but also light comedy.

Books Started

The House In The Pines, Ana Reyes. River Runs Under It Book Club.

Midnight Riot, Ben Aaronovitch. Audio. For Foolscap book club (great audio books).

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds Vol 7, Hayao Miyazaki. Foolscap book club.

Marry Me By Midnight, Felicia Grossmann. For Romance Book Club (fairy tale retelling).

Prince For Sale, Caroline Gibson. Reread. 

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell. For Scintillation book club. 

A Field Guide to the Apocalypse, Athena Aktipis. For Torches and Pitchforks book club.

Rescue, Jennifer Nielsen. I like the author and WWII kidlit.

The Marine’s E-mail Order Bride, Cora Seton. Romance book club (wills).

Bookmarks Moved

Poems, R. Hawley Truax. 

Notes From the Air, John Ashbery. Poetry.

Devil’s Cub, Georgette Heyer.

Deal With the Devil, Kit Rocha.

Airs Above the Ground, Mary Stewart. 

Bookmarks Languished

Since several of these books are the ones I tend to read while doing laundry or cleaning the kitchen, the lack of progress is concerning.

 

       Poppy and Marigold, Meg Welch Dendler. 

        Serpent Rider, Yxavel Magno Diño. Cybils nominee.

        True Colors, Abby Cooper. Cybils nominee.

    Wow, No Thank You, Samantha Irby. The library called it home.

    Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor. Sword and Laser club pick. (Audio)

Lamplighters, D. M. Cornish.

Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler.

Long Live Evil, Sarah Rees Brennan. From my shelves.

Samantha Smee: A Pirate’s Life, M.C. Dingman.

Into the Broken Lands, Tanya Huff

Picture Books and Short Stories  

“The Desecrator,” Steven Brust. An interlude with Vlad’s Hawk friend.

“Halcyon Afternoon,” Michael Swanwick. These are fun.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. More coffee stuff.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Serafi, Shannon Chakraborty. Promoted to morning read.

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. The protagonist is on the move!

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Mail bribe. 

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

The Road to Mars, Eric Idle. Mail bribe. 

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon. Mail bribe. 

War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. 

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. Neither of my kids learned to read with these methods, but it would have helped the, understand story structure.

Year of Wonder, Clemency Burton-Hill. Mail bribe. I’m so far behind that I might catch up to myself.

Future Plans

This is for the actual future, so two weeks from the books in this post.

I am reading: 

• Book I own: Long Live Evil
• Library Book: Rescue
• Ebook I own: The Down Deep
• Foolscap Book Club Book: Ismael
• Sword and Laser Club Book: The Will of the Mant
• Scintillation Book Club: A Scatter of Light (Not sure if I’ll attempt this)
• Cloudy Book Club: 
• River Runs Under It Book Club: Trail of the Lost
• Talbot Hill Book Clubs: Babysitters Club and Amulet
• Friday Book Club: Spirit Level
• Romance Book Club: (done)