In early November I slowly started getting back into running, with not falling my highest priority. I hiked and walked as well. The numbness on my face has receded to mostly a small part of my lip which somehow I mostly notice while driving. Not while talking or eating really, just while driving.

So I guess I make a lot of funny faces and contorting my mouth as part of my driving process? No wonder I’m such an excellent driver!

thinks I am currently reading 61 books (I’m actually writing this on New Years Day). That’s accurate as I worked at cleaning up the list yesterday.

Books Completed November 7 - 13

What Stalks the Deep, T. Kingfisher. A reread that I was looking forward to; I like the sworn-soldier idea and its implementation. I had managed to forget how far into horror this got; the whole sequence with the horses shedding and stuff was very vivid.

Boy-Crazy Stacey, Ann M. Martin. I liked how the kids would talk to the babysitters and how they dealt with some fears that way. The TV adaption changed that to a crush on the babysitters. Humph.

I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871, Lauren Tarshis. Although the illustrations of the fire were great, I still prefer the written version because of the greater character development and period details.

Faye and the Dangerous Journey, Kim Sigafus. This one is good at period details, although once again the kid seems modern. Good history but duller stories.

Pokémon Sun and Moon 7, Hidenori Kusaka. I am definitely losing track of the sub plots, but I’m all in on the million dollar quest and also better pharmaceuticals.

At the Feet of the Sun, Victoria Goddard. I loved falling into this book and hanging out with the characters.

Hearts Still Beating, Brooke Archer. I’m too old for teen romance. Even with zombies. But I see why it was a Cybils finalist.

Books Started

What Stalks the Deep, T. Kingfisher. Cloudy pick.

Floating Hotel, Grace Curtis. Sword and Laser pick.

Faye and the Dangerous Journey, Kim Sigafus. A Girl Survives book.

Thirst, Mary Oliver. Next poetry book and I’m here for it.

Gold Dust, Catherine Asaro. More about Bhaaj and her Dust Knights.

Pokémon Sun and Moon 7, Hidenori Kusaka. Gotta get the whole series!

Semiotics, Sue Burke. Scintillation book club pick.

The Babysitters’ Summer Vacation, Ann M. Martin. It’s a super special! (That means all the girls get to narrate.)

Bookmarks Moved

The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

One Jump Ahead, Mark L Von Name

Lepunia: Kingdom of the Gallopers, Kevin Ford

Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

Arabella of Venus, David Levine

The Farwalker’s Quest, John Sensel

Some Sunny Day, Adam Baron

The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

This Tender Land, William Kent Kruger

Inventing the Renaissance, Ada Palmer

All the Beauty in the World, Patrick Brinkley.

The Library of Borrowed Hearts, Lucy Gilmore

North Woods, Daniel Mason

Bluebird, Ciel Pierrot

Heavenly Tyrants, Xiran Jay Zhao

Bookmarks Languished

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

True Colors, Abby Cooper.

South Riding, Winifred Holtby

Calypso, Oliver K Langmead

The Hunger and the Dusk, G. Willow Wilson

Speculative Whiteness, Jordan S. Carroll

Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum

Death in the Spires, K.J. Charles

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell

Read Dangerously, Azar Nifisi

The Last Witchfinder, James K. Morrow. Scintillation book club.

An Exchange of Hostages, Susan R. Matthews

So Let Them Burn, Kamilah Cole

Hello Stranger, Lisa Kleypas

I’m Nobody, Who Are You?, Emily Dickinson

Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy

Picture Books, Poems, and Short Stories

I’m Sorry You Got Mad, Kyle Lukoff. A shade too didactic, but I still enjoyed it. It’s a kid forced to rewrite an apology until it has the actual shape of an apology, with illustrations showing the context of the kid’s emotions and his relationship with the one he harmed as well as other classmates. I like it when picture books use illustrations and text separately to build a bigger story.

The Book That Kibo Wrote, Mariana Ruiz Johnson. Kind of funky illustrations but a neat idea of how a book affects different people. It’s the teacher saying of doors and windows, but shown in how each animals relates to Kibo’s book - as an exotic other world or as nostalgia or whatever.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. Shopping for towels.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane. Mail bribe.

The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, Dorothy U. Seyler. Mail bribe.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James. The ending moves back to the personal.

War Cross, Marie Lu. Mail bribe. My gaming is not on this level.

Teaching With Caldecott Books, Scholastic books. Mail bribe. I’m getting some good ideas for kid management.