I hadn’t quite finished feeling sorry for myself about my dental work, so I did some more of that this week. I also had some book clubs, including our traditional “judge the judges” look at the Hugo short story finalists of the year. I also met with my elementary kids and showed up to the library, but that last one was short because the library club meets on the next Tuesday, not this one.

thinks I am currently reading 74 books, but I’m way behind on marking things done. The library thinks I have 48 books checked out. One is overdue, because I’ve lost it. Well, I thought I checked it in. The library and I may have to agree to disagree, but I’ll have to pay for it.

Books Completed January 9 - 15

First Comes Scandal, Julia Quinn. Tons of fun. The cats were great, the friendship was great, the butlers were great, and the medical stuff was great.

Coyote Dreams, C.E. Murphy. I finished it! It was fine; it did what it was trying to do well but some of that stuff uses tropes I don’t like. She has a crush on her grumpy boss despite the fact that he doesn’t treat her with respect, for example. And she borrows guilt from miles away without ever acknowledging that this is silly. But the magic is cool and I liked her struggles to accept it, especially when that paid off in this book.

Alex Wise Vs the Cosmic Shift, Terry J Benton-Walker. This is book two in the series. It has the same flaws as the first - too much Unresolved Crush Tension, which I have never outgrown disliking in my kidlit, and a slight tip towards focusing emotional growth over action. I like the therapy stuff to be shown, not thought through. But it’s also got interesting characters and events and a strong through line and I’ll probably go looking for the third book.

What To Read and Why, Francine Prose. A book by someone passionate about reading, which is always a delight for me, even when I tend to read different things.

Orbital, Samantha Harvey. I liked this literary book which is probably as close to SF as this club will ever get. Itks a study of the people on a space station over one day, as they both tend to their tasks and grapple with being in a unique vantage point. Not much happens, but we get to know the astronauts (and cosmonauts) very well. Some club members found it dull, and some were too distracted by the science to notice the character work.

Memory Thieves (Conjureverse #2), Dhonielle Clayton. The series is definitely a Harry Potter genre, but the kids are very much themselves and I like how the two different magical societies are trying to integrate and I find the reasons for conflict more thought out than in the original. I’ll keep picking these up as good kid school adventure. (I started this book over a year ago and finally got back to it.)

Attack of the Jack-o-Lanterns, R.L. Stine. Goosebumps book. I guess this will introduce kids to the concept of an unreliable narrator, and how authors can use and abuse this technique.

I Survived the Japanese Tsunami: Graphic Novel, Lauren Tarshis. This did a good job with the worthy source material.

Books Started

First Comes Scandal, Julia Quinn. Doctor romance.

What To Read and Why, Francine Prose. I like reading about reading.

I Survived the Japanese Tsunami: Graphic Novel, Lauren Tarshis. I Survived book.

Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, R.L. Stine. Goosebumps book.

Bookmarks Moved

Education For Empire, Clif Stratton

The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

Gold Dust, Catherine Asaro

The Martian, Andy Weir

Venetia, Georgette Heyer

The Mysterious Island, Jules Verne

The Morgaine Chronicles, C.J. Cherry

Fair Trade, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Blood at the Root, LaDarrion Williams

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell

Champion of Fate, Kendare Blake

Inventing the Renaissance, Ada Palmer

Danger on Peaks: Poems, Gary Snyder

The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

Ascendance of a Bookworm, Fanbook 7, Miya Kazuki

Ghosted, Amanda Quain

Bookmarks Languished

I have given up on a few of these, actually.

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

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

Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

The Library of Borrowed Hearts, Lucy Gilmore

3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years, John Scalzi

Lepunia: Kingdom of the Gallopers, Kevin Ford

One Jump Ahead, Mark L Von Name

The Martian, Andy Weir

The Book That Wouldnt Burn, Mark Lawrence

The Gilded Crown, Marianne Gordon

Picture Books, Poems, and Short Stories

I reread the Hugo short story finalists for the traditional Foolscap bookclub December meeting, which this year took place in January.

“Marginalia,” Mary Robinette Kowal. A fun idea executed well, fleshed out with rounded characters that each have their own small arc.

“Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K. Jones. Another cool idea, but with fewer personalities.

“Stitched to Skin Like Family Is” by Nghi Vo. A revenge story with nifty world building.

Books on Slow Mode

Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendleson. I read one section a day. On to ventilation and heating! Apparently 61 degrees Fahrenheit is a good temperature for healthy adults.

50 Great Poets, ed. Milton Crane. Mail bribe. Emily Dickinson is cool.

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. Good chapters about things to do after and while reading the books.