tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87442935041349405602024-03-18T20:18:33.167-07:00Library ChickenBethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.comBlogger1537125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-27876410349036391512024-03-18T20:18:00.000-07:002024-03-18T20:18:00.153-07:00Happy St Patrick's Day<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Last week was my birthday! I took the family out to eat at <i>The Whistle Stop Cafe </i>because they were celebrating their 25 anniversary by bringing back my favorite dish. (Chicken gorgonzola pasta, if you were wondering). Afterward I drove to a booze store to pick up some whiskey -- <i>Writer's Tears. </i></div><div><br /></div><div>My sister and her family gave me many great presents, including a Murderbot T-shirt, pencils, and bookmarks. My kids were super nice all day. Also they saved me the last slice of my cake. </div><div><br /></div><div>It was also the one-year anniversary of my mom's death. We went out to a new restaurant in her honor, and then came home to drink my new whiskey. I was glad my brother came out to spend the evening with us. I miss my mom, but I'm glad to have the family she left behind. With all these emotions, good and bad, I never really settled down to read. I started some books but didn't make progress in anything. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Lots of book clubs, most of which I hadn't read the books for. But I'm in better shape for next week's clubs. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm back up to 37 physical books checked out, including music CDs. And it doesn't count the digital books. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will be posting at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2024/03/18/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-412/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading</a> headquarters as well as the kidlit version at <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27518">Unleashing Readers</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="乙嫁語り 14 [Otoyomegatari 14] (A Bride's Story, #14)" id="cover_review_6072047732" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666846254l/62236426._SX50_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. It's finally over! This is not to disparage a book -- listening to a few minutes a week on the weekly <i>Baen </i>podcast means any book will take about a year. But it's an odd feeling not knowing how many pages or percentage is left in a book, especially as this one was modular; each section had an arc and when it finished I'd expect the book to end. Although this is apparently the start of a trilogy, which made me even more off. Oh well, the next book is <i>Tinker, </i>which I know really well so that should be fun. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><i>Bride's Story, Vol 14, </i>Kaoru Mori. I read this because I wanted to finish something! Lots of lovely pictures, and a fun story of a courtship done as literally as a horse race. I think I'm caught up with the the library for this manga, so I'll have to wait a while. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="A River of Golden Bones (The Golden Court, #1)" id="cover_review_6329675561" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1681790985l/123239368._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="What's Your Grief?: Lists to Help You Through Any Loss" id="cover_review_6258129519" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1650921506l/60883552._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Knight Moves" id="cover_review_6336689956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1287992454l/1343091._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston" id="cover_review_6327728113" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645503427l/60323939._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Mad Honey" id="cover_review_6338774811" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642705453l/59912428._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="乙嫁語り 14 [Otoyomegatari 14] (A Bride's Story, #14)" id="cover_review_6072047732" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666846254l/62236426._SX50_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is actually a lot of books to start during a low-reading week. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>A River of Golden Bones, </i>A.K. Mulford. Cloudy pick for February. I didn't finish this in time for book club, but I made enough progress that I guessed how things would go. We agreed that it was a book that stuck fairly closely to genre expectations, but that kids reading these things for the first time would have a good time. Also we liked some of the choices made around how to resolve the not-like-other-girls thing. I picked it up on <i>Chirp</i> as an ebook so I'll finish it while doing the dishes. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>What's Your Grief, </i>Eleanor Haley. A book of lists around the topic of grief. I love lists, and this was the year anniversary of my mom's death, so this seems perfect for me. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Knight Moves, </i>Walter Jon Williams. For Scintillation book club. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Sir Callie and the Knights of Helston, </i>Esme Symes-Smith. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Mad Honey, </i>Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan. For my River Runs Under It Renton Library book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Bride's Story 14, </i>Kaoru Mori. I really like this exquisitely drawn manga. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books & Short Stories</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I picked up some children's Graphic Novels on a library run, but I'm not sure if I'll count them as picture books or short kidlit. Hmm.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 8" id="cover_review_6218166342" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1701071356l/200584628._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #1)" id="cover_review_6325253369" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610375894l/52694527._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Devil's Cub" id="cover_review_6237803307" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1216228821l/1961301._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="No Place Like Home" id="cover_review_6291707870" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1669047453l/61484954._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Bad Luck and Trouble (Jack Reacher, #11)" id="cover_review_6320217343" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441133915l/108942._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3)" id="cover_review_6248266893" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643298298l/58662507._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Outskirter's Secret (The Steerswoman, #2)" id="cover_review_4749137431" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674102588l/991724._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. I'll get back to it, don't worry!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5 Volume 8, </i>Miya Kazuki. I've slowed back down to one tiny section a day. There's a long final chapter so we can see all the battles.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Shadow of the Gods, </i>John Gwynne. This is the Sword & Laser pick, which I ended up not finishing. But I got far enough to take part in the discussion. It wasn't really our cup of tea, but this was a good chance to dip into something outside our usual fare. The librarian member was glad to get a peek into a different reading community, and the Norse stuff was fun. One person is planning to read on so they promised to tell us what happens. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Devil's Cub, </i>Georgette Heyer. For Torches and Pitchforks club, free topic: Red Flags in Relationships. I cheated and read all the best bits for Red Flags so I could have something to discuss. </div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>No Place Like Home, </i>James Bird. Cybils finalist. This is kinda grim! Homeless, and a wild big brother. But the hope and gumption of the boy and his mom are really powerful. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Bad Luck and Trouble, </i>Lee Child. This is the one Season 2 of the Amazon series is based on. I'm really enjoying seeing the differences between the screen and page version. (The book is on the West Coast, while the show took place on the East Coast, for example.)</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Nona the Ninth, </i>Tamsyn Muir. I turned in the overdue paper version and got out the ebook. But then I saw the paper version at the library and grabbed it. I'm liking it but not seeking out excuses to read it.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Outskirter's Secret, </i>Rosemary Kirstein. Didn't touch it. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture).</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). More poetry. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. Now looking at how fanfiction and other transformative works allow people to insert their own images into media.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Well, I'm in March. </div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li>Cybils 2023: Working on middle grade fiction. Didn't finish anything.</li><li>Early Cy<a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">bils</a>: Nothing. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. I got a new one from Renton; working on music and children's graphic novels at Renton Highlands. </li><li>Looking at Tacoma's Monster challenge for this year. </li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure. Actually, I've started listing all the bookclubs I'm in, so I hope some actually happens. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>Into the Broken Lands</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i><b> </b>Nona the Ninth</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Bad Luck and Trouble</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>(Spear -- I've read this!)</i></li><li><b>Cloudy Book:</b> <i>Last Tale of the Flower Bride</i></li><li><b>Foolscap Book Club Book: </b><i>Mr Penumbra's Bookstore</i></li><li><b>Renton Book Club Book: </b><i>Mad Honey </i></li><li><b>Scintillation Book Club Book: </b><i>Always Coming Home</i></li><li><b>Sword and Laser Club Book: </b><i>(Iron Widow -- I've read this!)</i></li><li><b>Torch and Pitchfork Book: </b><i> Trust the Plan</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Snow Child</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Outskirter's Secret</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>River of Golden Bones</i><br /></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-47413605460177953672024-03-11T23:43:00.000-07:002024-03-11T23:43:48.664-07:00Good Vacations Make Things Better<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So, last week I was schedule to cat sit for some friends as they made a trip to Arizona for Spring Training. This is a lovely time for me as they have a beautiful house in Seaside Oregon which is cozy in the winter no matter how bad the weather gets.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, one of my friend's health meant the trip was no longer possible. And they asked if I'd like to replace him on the trip instead of catsitting! So I got to spend almost a week in sunny Phoenix, going to baseball games and eating delicious food, lounging in the comfortable house they had rented, and hanging out with a good friend. Wow, what a boon, especially as the weather back home included snow, hail, and misery. I mean, holing up in a lovely house with adorable house and exploring the joys of DoorDash would have been fine, but this was spectacular!</div><div><br /></div><div>Right before we left I had gone on a tour of the Seattle Chocolate Factory, where they mentioned that they had an arrangement with Alaskan airlines so there was always a supply of chocolate on the planes. On the flight to Arizona I was told that these goodies were only for Fancy People up front, but on the ride home a friendly flight attendant checked the back and gave me a delicious JCoco bar. What a great treat!</div><div><br /></div><div>We got home and after a bit of excitement on the way home (we were rear ended on the freeway, but there we no injuries thanks to some excellent driving) I was ready to settle in to my pre-birthday celebration. My kids made me a cake, I went to my triple book club where we all gave the founders a wedding present (they met at the first meeting), and I celebrated my trip around the sun with a dinner at a nice restaurant, some amazing gifts from friends near and far (a Funco! a bookmark! a t-shirt!). And some whiskey, but I bought that for myself. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sorry, no pictures. Not that much reading either (I didn't finish the book club books) but I have no regrets!</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm down to 25 physical books checked out, although I don't have many picture books left so that's not as good as it looks. And it doesn't count the digital books. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will be posting at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2024/03/11/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-411/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading</a> headquarters as well as the kidlit version at <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27518">Unleashing Readers</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="The Lathe of Heaven" id="cover_review_6239800868" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433084322l/59924._SX50_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Hild (The Hild Sequence, #1)" id="cover_review_788253397" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375931640l/17332243._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot, #1)" id="cover_review_4610591573" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441052184l/26030734._SX50_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)" id="cover_review_1255029803" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1474154022l/3._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Bigfoot Crossing (Orca Currents)" id="cover_review_6300330104" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672849776l/75572020._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spires, #2)" id="cover_review_3559768462" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1685085160l/26860699._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Affair (Jack Reacher, #16)" id="cover_review_3218285944" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347585318l/12015122._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Final Acts" id="cover_review_6315107458" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651831598l/61041897._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="After Atlas (Planetfall, #2)" id="cover_review_6328898193" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456689269l/28361265._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation" id="cover_review_6218369631" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611376522l/53121662._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>The Lathe of Heaven, </i>Ursula Le Guin. </b>Audio. For Scintillation book club. This was a really interesting reread. All I remembered from reading this as a young adult was the emotional sense of being trapped and seeing doom circling around, which I once again experienced. We talked about the roles of the scientist and the protagonist as different aspects of relating to reality, the taoist principles behind the themes, how gender roles and race relations have aged and changed, and what we think happened in the edge cases. I really like this thoughtful book club even if I can't always keep up with the books. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Hild, </i>Nicola Griffith. </b>Foolscap pick. Another great discussion of a deep and powerful book. We looked at how it works as genre vs history, and compared it a bit to <i>Spear</i>, and talked about the deep connection to nature and the sense and how this we weaved into the power of the protagonist, and also how it's an amazing depiction of a super smart character. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>The Wild Robot, </i>Peter Brown. </b>For elementary book club - 4th grade. A fun pick, and apparently well timed, as a I just saw a preview for a movie. We talked about robots we have now and how far Roz is from them, we talked about family and loss, and about robotic gender. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, </i>J.K. Rowling. </b>Elementary book club - 5th grade. This was fun because of the different levels of familiarity -- we had a few kids who hadn't finished the book, others who had seem the movie, some who had finished their first round, and other kids who had practically memorized the text. So we talked about what made it fun, and then I challenged them to think about the book from other points of view, and they decided that the first chapter example of abandoning Harry on the doorstep was perhaps child endangerment. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Bigfoot Crossing, </i>Gail Anderson-Dargatz.</b> I liked the relationship between the older brother and his preschool sister, and how that was reflected in the Bigfoots they encounter, and how the kids realize the danger of adults finding out their secrets. A fun adventure. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">-----</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>The Olympian Affair, </i>Jim Butcher. </b>For my Tuesday gaming book club. Smoother than his son's writing, but more predictable.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>The Affair, </i>Lee Child. </b>For my Tuesday gaming book club. Reacher is very competent. Perhaps not a stickler for the law. Like, he definitely considers himself above it; who really needs a judicial branch when Reacher is there to do it all?</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Final Acts, </i>ed by Martin Edwards. </b>Moving through the E's in the Renton Library fiction section. I liked the old-timey detective stories bound together by some connection to a stage performance. I would have hated to live in that time of servants and dressing for dinner but I do enjoy watching detectives navigate the upper reaches of society there. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>After Atlas, </i>Emma Newman. </b>This was a good book to have read, although I didn't enjoy it for big stretches. Newman makes demands of the reader that sometimes I whine about, and her idea of a happy ending is definitely a case of "it could have been worse." But we had a good discussion and looked at the picture of future humanity and how it worked with the detective plot and the childhood stuff intersecting. I'm glad I have such different book clubs to entertain me. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Jesus and John Wayne</i>, Kristin Kobes DuMez.</b> I'm not sure the Christ I've heard about in church and read about in the Bible really believed in "hitting them first and really hard" as a philosophy, but apparently many evangelicals disagree with me there. This book taught me alot about where the religious right in America is coming from and explains a lot that confused me about their theology and assumptions. I feel like maybe we need different names for these branches of Christianity because they have drifted rather far apart. And also as a woman I'm very nervous about their plans for my social and political rights and responsiblities. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="No Place Like Home" id="cover_review_6291707870" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1669047453l/61484954._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot, #1)" id="cover_review_4610591573" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441052184l/26030734._SX50_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)" id="cover_review_1255029803" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1474154022l/3._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Bigfoot Crossing (Orca Currents)" id="cover_review_6300330104" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672849776l/75572020._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Affair (Jack Reacher, #16)" id="cover_review_3218285944" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347585318l/12015122._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="After Atlas (Planetfall, #2)" id="cover_review_6328898193" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456689269l/28361265._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Final Acts" id="cover_review_6315107458" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651831598l/61041897._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Bad Luck and Trouble (Jack Reacher, #11)" id="cover_review_6320217343" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441133915l/108942._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #1)" id="cover_review_6325253369" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610375894l/52694527._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Definitely a normal amount (two weeks worth). </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>No Place Like Home, </i>James Bird. Cybils finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><i>The Wild Robot, </i>Peter Brown. Elementary school book club pick. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, </i>J.K. Rowling. Elementary school book club pick.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Bigfoot Crossing, </i>Gail Anderson-Dargatz. Cybils nominee. </div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The Affair, </i>Lee Child. For Tuesday book club, following on <i>The Olympian AFFAIR</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>After Atlas, </i>Emma Newman. For Book Club. </div><div><br /></div><div>---- </div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Final Acts, </i>ed by Martin Edwards. My next Reading My Library Quest book, downtown Renton Library edition. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Bad Luck and Trouble, </i>Lee Child. More Reacher! This is the one Season 2 of the Amazon series is based on. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Shadow of the Gods, </i>John Gwynne. This is the Sword & Laser pick, which I was meant to be reading during my quiet vacation of cat-sitting. Oops!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books & Short Stories</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Rubia and the Three Osos" id="cover_review_151610835" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360569256l/8553037._SX50_.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Rubio and the Three Osos, </i>Susan Middleton Elya. I'm proud to say that my Spanish was up to the task! Also, there's a glossary in the back and there's only one or two Spanish words per page. I appreciated Goldilocks' redemption arc.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 8" id="cover_review_6218166342" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1701071356l/200584628._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Outskirter's Secret (The Steerswoman, #2)" id="cover_review_4749137431" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674102588l/991724._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3)" id="cover_review_6248266893" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643298298l/58662507._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Devil's Cub" id="cover_review_6237803307" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1216228821l/1961301._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. I'll get back to it, don't worry!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5 Volume 8, </i>Miya Kazuki. I'm trying to savor this but it's a perfect vacation book. Myne is my hero.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. I keep thinking it's done, but then there's another spurt. I'm on the last episode! </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Outskirter's Secret, </i>Rosemary Kirstein. Learning the Outskirter culture with Rowan is delightful. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Nona the Ninth, </i>Tamsyn Muir. So far I like it! I think I always felt that portraying Harrow as a super-mastermind didn't work for me, so having her be rather simple is more fun and believable. I managed to read a bit of this in Arizona.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Devil's Cub, </i>Georgette Heyer. For Torches and Pitchforks club, free topic: Red Flags in Relationships. This is actually a fun way to see how the romantic ideas of "he's terrible to everyone but he'll be good for ME" and "only I know how to manage this dangerous man-child" make for good books but would be terrible in real life. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brien. Didn't touch it. </div><div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture).</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). More poetry. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. On to the Hermione issue, which starts with some look at fandom's race issues and the author's use of fiction in fanfiction. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. I fell behind during my vacation.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li>Cybils 2023: Working on middle grade fiction. </li><li>Early Cy<a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">bils</a>: Nothing. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. I got a new one from Renton; working on music at Renton Highlands. </li><li>Looking at Tacoma's Monster challenge for this year. </li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure. Actually, I've started listing all the bookclubs I'm in, so I hope some actually happens. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>Into the Broken Lands</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i><b> </b>The Bride's Story</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Bad Luck and Trouble</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>(Spear -- I've read this!)</i></li><li><b>Cloudy Book:</b> <i>Last Tale of the Flower Bride</i></li><li><b>Foolscap Book Club Book: </b><i>Mr Penumbra's Bookstore</i></li><li><b>Renton Book Club Book: </b><i>Mad Honey </i></li><li><b>Scintillation Book Club Book: </b><i>Knight Moves </i></li><li><b>Sword and Laser Club Book: </b><i>(Iron Widow -- I've read this!)</i></li><li><b>Torch and Pitchfork Book: </b><i> Trust the Plan</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>The Affair, Snow Child</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Outskirter's Secret</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>River of Golden Bones</i><br /></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-18054429443602990592024-02-26T00:47:00.000-08:002024-02-26T00:47:57.706-08:00Set the Goal Low and Miss It!<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not sure what I was doing last weekend when I meant to update this blog. Probably sleeping. I seem to be doing a lot of that, just not in the night time. Hmm.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, we celebrated my sister's birthday with lasagna and cake! And prezzies! Now we are twins for several weeks, until I age up again. Also I went to several book clubs and had a very nice time -- the local library group discussed <i>In Five Years </i>(almost everyone disliked it, but I was in the corner that thought it was fine), and two groups organized through SF conventions discussed <i>Hild </i>and <i>The Lathe of Heaven</i>, respectively. Lots of interesting thoughts on those!</div><div><br /></div><div>Um, I think I planned stuff and it got cooked? Oh yeah, that delicious lasagna! Also some steak and goat cheese quesadillas, and probably other stuff. Very few trips to the gym, although my excuses muscles are getting quite a workout! </div><div><br /></div><div>Next week I'm off on vacation, so I'll probably skip again. Maybe I'll take a picture of something!</div><div><br /></div><div><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://www.cybils.com/2024/02/announcing-the-2023-cybils-awards-winners.html">Winners are out!</a> I approve. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm down to 36 physical books checked out which includes some picture books and then there are (mumble) some ebooks. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will be posting at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2024/02/26/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-409/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading</a> headquarters as well as the kidlit version at <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27415">Unleashing Readers</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 7" id="cover_review_6218166271" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1694027795l/198188327._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Winter's Orbit" id="cover_review_2947010857" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639424622l/57693520._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Farther Than the Moon" id="cover_review_6203173222" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677554940l/63005217._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Greenwild: The World Behind the Door (Greenwild, #1)" id="cover_review_6248266540" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674503060l/62711576._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="In Five Years" id="cover_review_6224382110" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586399012l/50093704._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America" id="cover_review_6063502286" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388468362l/352136._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Simon Sort of Says" id="cover_review_6259077037" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1653605376l/61030596._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="One in Vermillion (Liz Danger #3)" id="cover_review_5888129568" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1691023888l/175578969._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Windswept (Windswept, #1)" id="cover_review_1592250757" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439204961l/23995395._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="What Happened to Rachel Riley?" id="cover_review_6281552505" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660589587l/60833948._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div><b><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5, Vol 7, </i>Miya Kazuki.</b> OK, the path to a romantic endgame is clear, except for the mortal peril of the dude, and Rosemyne is getting to be ruthless as she organizes the rescue. Let's see what happens! And if it involves any new books...</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Winter's Orbit, </i>Everina Maxwell.</b> Reading this while comparing it to the original was interesting. Turns out a lot of the differences were really just having to read it slowly, as the chapters dropped. I see how the SF worldbuilding went through some discussions. </div></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Farther Than the Moon, </i>Lindsay Lackey. </b>2023 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction finalist. I was distracted from the character growth by the incredibly awesome space camp, and later by the mom not getting lost in Houston after having been away for over a decade. Maybe the south bit hasn't changed as much? Anyway, great family stuff, fun kids-at-camp stuff, and I enjoyed seeing how families cope with differences, even rather severe disabilities. Or don't cope, in some cases. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Greenwild: The World Behind the Door, </i>Pari Thomson. </b>Nominated for Cybils. I really enjoyed the protagonist, her introduction to the portal world, and the friendships she makes and the mysteries they wrinkle out together. The other adults were just clueless enough that they were supportive but left the main work to be done by the kids. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh.</b> This was fun and I enjoyed watching the young lord adjust to new maturity and Bren try to catch up with what the heck is going on, but it also felt like a lot of set-up that I expect to pay off very pleasingly in the next one, which I hope to read soon. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>In Five Years, </i>Rebecca Serle. </b>Renton River book club pick. It was interesting how little most of the members liked this one, because it defied their expectations. To be fair, it fooled the library -- it's clearly marked ROM but it's definitely not a romance; in fact the main romance arc is how to figure out when a relationship isn't working. But as a book about friendship and about understanding what we can control it works better.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Bold Spirit, </i>Linda Laurence Hunt.</b> This is both an interesting story of a woman's experience and an overview of the expectations and constraints on women in the late 1800s in America. It is also an examination of what kind of freedom wealth can provide and what are the costs of poverty. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Simon Sort of Says, </i>Erin Bow. 2023 Cybils finalists (and winner!). </b>Really good! Simon and his family move to a town without internet in the hope of dodging the notoriety that came with being the survivor of a traumatic incident, which is not helping with the recovery from the trauma. There are lots of quirky bits -- the mom is a funeral director, the dad a deacon at an oversized local Catholic church, and the friends he makes have their own stuff going on. And Simon even before the incident tended to just go with the flow, never really saying yes or no, and his development is integral to his character as well as shaped by trauma. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>One in Vermillion</i>, Jennifer Crusie & Bob Meyer</b>. What a great way to stick the landing. I was super pleased with how all the character arcs resolved and with the journey to get there. The action plot was a bit weaker, but still worked and the ways it tied in the character arcs strengthened both. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Windswept, </i>Adam Rakunas. </b>I see why my brother liked it -- lots of competence from both the goodies and the baddies. I felt the plot circled around a few too many times, and Padma had a bit too much "everything is my responsibility" but I'm glad I came back and finished this. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>What Happened to Rachel Riley?, </i>Claire Swinarski.</b> 2023 Cybils finalist. A much more interior book, looking at how teen social dynamics are shaped by the adults around them, even when the adults have no idea what is going on. Also a good example of how even with adults parrating all the right things about feminism and freedom, kids are very aware of the real constraints and expectations society is showing them. And yet it's also about missing an old neighborhood and a grandmother and learning to stay friends with an older sister and how to make friends without giving away the pieces of yourself you value. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 8" id="cover_review_6218166342" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1701071356l/200584628._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Simon Sort of Says" id="cover_review_6259077037" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1653605376l/61030596._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="One in Vermillion (Liz Danger #3)" id="cover_review_5888129568" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1691023888l/175578969._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="What Happened to Rachel Riley?" id="cover_review_6281552505" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660589587l/60833948._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Definitely a normal amount. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5 Volume 8, </i>Miya Kazuki. Ah, there it was, waiting for me. Obviously I've preordered volume 9. Now to make this last...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Simon Sort of Says, </i>Erin Bow. 2023 Cybils finalist. Cybils winner!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>One in Vermillion</i>, Jennifer Crusie & Bob Meyer. I hope this lives up to the first two!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>What Happened to Rachel Riley?, </i>Claire Swinarski. 2023 Cybils finalist.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books & Short Stories</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Kevin Goes to the Hospital (The on My Way Books)" id="cover_review_6263222487" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1185478522l/1583044._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Skull" id="cover_review_6265524704" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1671459705l/60539545._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Stormy: A Story about Finding a Forever Home" id="cover_review_6154126107" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549431970l/43861612._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Snowman" id="cover_review_6154110442" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1355497688l/489972._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Only Child" id="cover_review_6154124850" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435547303l/23528363._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Doggo and Pupper Search for Cozy (Doggo and Pupper, 3)" id="cover_review_6289569258" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1652107349l/60316891._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Why?" id="cover_review_6154061703" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1172236751l/151774._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Kevin Goes to the Hospital, </i>Liesbet Slegers. A very education-oriented story to demonstrate how hospitals are fun places to go, and also that playing in the backyard is likely to cause concussion. Parents should squint at their children to decide which lesson they will pick up on before launching into the story.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Skull, </i>Jon Klassen. A lovely retelling of a folk tale that improves greatly on the original. Lots of humor and heroism from the girl and the skull.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Stormy, </i>Guojing. I ordered up all the Guojing I could find and they are all wordless and lovely. Highly recommended for reading with kids who like to talk.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Snowman, </i>Raymond Briggs. Another wordless picture book; I recognize this one as a book John Scalzi blogged about as breaking his suspension of disbelief when the snowman flew into the sky. Fair enough. I got it from the podcast <i>Even the Trunchbull</i> so it was a fun case of different worlds colliding. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Only Child, </i>Guojing. I do not recommend this one to Scalzi; the stag flies. This was lovely and luminous and would be terrifying to read as a parent. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Doggo and Pupper Search For Cosy, </i>Katherine Applegate. I got this because "doggo" and "pupper" are great to say, but it turns out it was a Cybils Finalist this year! Woot! Whenever I finish making my tracking post I'll be able to mark another one done. Also, I really appreciated the page on the cat's preferred sleeping place: people's feet: too hard. People's middle: too soft. People's heads: just right!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Why?, </i>Nikolai Popov. Well kids, people are terrible and that's why we can't have nice things. We don't need words to express that!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Hild (The Hild Sequence, #1)" id="cover_review_788253397" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375931640l/17332243._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation" id="cover_review_6218369631" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611376522l/53121662._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Outskirter's Secret (The Steerswoman, #2)" id="cover_review_4749137431" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674102588l/991724._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Devil's Cub" id="cover_review_6237803307" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1216228821l/1961301._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spires, #2)" id="cover_review_3559768462" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1685085160l/26860699._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Lathe of Heaven" id="cover_review_6239800868" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433084322l/59924._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3)" id="cover_review_6248266893" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643298298l/58662507._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. I'll get back to it, don't worry!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. I keep thinking it's done, but then there's another spurt. Into another action scene!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Hild, </i>Nicola Griffith. Foolscap pick. Time to stop savoring and start sprinting through this. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Jesus and John Wayne</i>, Kristin Kobes DuMez. I'm not sure Christ really believed in "hitting them first and really hard" as a philosophy. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Outskirter's Secret, </i>Rosemary Kirstein. So many details!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Devil's Cub, </i>Georgette Heyer. For Torches and Pitchforks club, free topic: Red Flags in Relationships. Well, he's leaving a rather large body count in his wake, what with the bandits and the dueling. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>The Olympian Affair, </i>Jim Butcher. For my Tuesday gaming book club. Smoother than his son's writing, but more predictable. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Lathe of Heaven, </i>Ursula Le Guin. Audio. For Scintillation book club. I remember none of the characters or the events, but the mood is very familiar. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Nona the Ninth, </i>Tamsyn Muir. So far I like it!</div></div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brien. Don't let my brother see that I haven't finished this yet.</div><div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture).</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. Instant best-buddies with a dragon! Chance to see some dragon olympics!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. One thing I notice reading <i>Lathe of Heaven </i>is how old-fashioned the gender roles are, but they are the same here. I should check the date. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. On to Hermione! I was actually very interested in her account of using Virginia Hamilton's magical realism stories as the myths of her Angelina at Hogworts, and how she got tripped up by what was acceptable borrowing in fanfiction, which I agree with her is a more complicated question than people assume. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. I'm caught up!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li>Cybils 2023: Working on middle grade fiction. </li><li>Early Cy<a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">bils</a>: Nothing. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Music CDs have been displaced by <i>Lathe of Heaven</i> CD. </li><li>Looking at Tacoma's Monster challenge for this year. </li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure. Actually, I've started listing all the bookclubs I'm in, so I hope some actually happens. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>Into the Broken Lands</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i><b> </b>Final Acts</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>After Atlas</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>After Atlas</i></li><li><b>Cloudy Book:</b> <i>River of Golden Bones, Last Tale of the Flower Bride</i></li><li><b>Foolscap Book Club Book: </b><i>Mr Penumbra's Bookstore</i></li><li><b>Renton Book Club Book: </b><i>Mad Honey </i></li><li><b>Scintillation Book Club Book: </b><i>Knight Moves </i></li><li><b>Sword and Laser Club Book: </b><i>Shadows of the Gods</i></li><li><b>Torch and Pitchfork Book: </b><i>Devil's Cub, Trust the Plan</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Olympian Affair, The Affair, Being Mortal</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Outskirter's Secret</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Olympian Affair</i><br /></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-65700635746727884282024-02-13T00:41:00.000-08:002024-02-13T00:41:46.269-08:00Living Up to My Low Expectations<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>So, last week I made a meal plan and then we completely ignored it, once because we didn't notice that the meal involved several hours in a crock pot until ten minutes before dinner (oops) and once because it was book club night and that means PIZZA. But it all worked out because we made the forgotten meal on the weekend and lasagna makes great leftovers and the other meal could just roll over. Low expectations for the win!</div><div><br /></div><div>I made it to the gym a few times, and ran part of the distance suggested by my running program. And then I made it to the park with my friend and we greatly exceeded our (low) expectations. Go me!</div><div><br /></div><div>I read some books, and started some other books, and showed up at most of my bookclubs with most of the books read. I'm in a lot of book clubs, OK?</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, Alexander and I went to see Argylle, which we enjoyed a lot. It lived up to the previews and had a few twists we didn't expect and a few we did, so we were both entertained and flattered. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://www.cybils.com/">Winners on Valentines Day! Finalists out now</a>!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm up to 41 physical books checked out which includes some picture books and then there are (mumble) some ebooks. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will be posting at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2024/02/05/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-406/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters as well as the kidlit version at <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27467">Unleashing Readers</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="The Shining Girls" id="cover_review_6215287636" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1352227705l/16131077._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism" id="cover_review_6193642737" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603741877l/55338982._SX50_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Fox Point's Own Gemma Hopper" id="cover_review_6226504256" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668970158l/56923273._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Spear" id="cover_review_4603713259" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620929093l/57693308._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Gone Wolf" id="cover_review_6225907349" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1673264779l/63005180._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans (Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans, 1)" id="cover_review_6218288420" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1683575583l/75302290._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>The Shining Girls, </i>Lauren Beukes. </b>This did some interesting things with time loops and unreliable narrators, which made for an interesting discussion. We kept challenging each other about what had happened and what it meant. Why were the girls shining? I argued that nobody was shining -- the killer just liked killing people and they were shining because he had killed them. And that all girls have the potential to grow up to be amazing women, and in fact almost all of them do that. Was the house sentient? </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br />But in the end it didn't really feel like a science fiction story. No one was interested in "why," and the protagonists didn't figure out what was going on, they just got lucky. It's definitely horror though. And we agreed that the romance was kinda creepy. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><i><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><b>Cultish, </b></i><b>Amanda Montell. </b>This was a fun and interesting look at the languages used by cults and near-cult organizations, with a discussion about when they cross the line from building community to dangerous isolation. Groups tend to build their own languages, with catch phrases showing membership and a connection to each other, but when some of the phrases are used to shut down independent thinking and questioning, that's a big red flag. Montell looks at a range of organizations, from clear examples of dangerous cults (Scientology) to pyramid schemes like Amway and the frantic enthusiasm of fitness centers. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Fox Point's Own Gemma Hopper, </i>Brie Spangler.</b> I enjoyed this middle grade graphic novel. Gemma had a good mix of problems -- at home, at school, with her brother, with her friend group, with her body. I liked how she navigated her height and how she and her brother would clash but also had each other's back, and how they worked out a common solution, which matched how Gemma reached an understanding with her friend even as they had different social ambitions at school. It dealt with the specifics it set up, but also addressed deeper issues of family loyalty and wounds, social anxiety, and the way sports can warp athleticism. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Spear, </i>Nicola Griffiths. </b>I got this on audio from the library because I thought I had lent my copy to a friend. (Which I had, but he returned it.) Griffiths does a great job reading it, and also she knows how to pronounce all her character's names. I really liked how she played with the legend, taking some bits, upending other bits, making something fresh and new. At the book club we discussed things from who decides for a society, I mentioned how ironic it was to see a horny Percival who was still seen as innocent (a beardless boy -- forever!), what it means that without an heir the coalition is doomed, the mix of the two legends and how they worked together, and other bits. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Gone Wolf, </i>Amber McBride.</b> This had strong bits among other parts that didn't really click for me. I'm a bit adverse to free verse, and the main character drops into it a lot. She also keeps apologizing for using similes like "the leaves were a blanket on the ground," carefully explaining that she knows they aren't a blanket, but that's what it feels like, which just made me mad at her caretakers for squashing her imagination while trying to help her with her delusions. Also, that's not a simile. The other problem was that the fantasy part turned out to be the story the girl is telling, which makes the heavy social commentary even more rocklike and also means we never hear the end of that story. So I was cranky. But it's got a great dog character, so if anyone is looking for a Black girl/sad dog story I can recommend this one. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans, </i>Isi Hendrix. </b>This was great! I loved the protagonist and her common sense and also terror of her own uncontrolled powers. The goddess was unpredictable and often socially clueless and really fun, the friendships were varied and let Adia work out what was important to her and what lines she couldn't cross. The ending was satisfactory and yet there's room for more, something I am delighted about. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism" id="cover_review_6193642737" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603741877l/55338982._SX50_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large; text-align: center;" /><img alt="The Shining Girls" id="cover_review_6215287636" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1352227705l/16131077._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Spear" id="cover_review_4603713259" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620929093l/57693308._SY75_.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Devil's Cub" id="cover_review_6237803307" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1216228821l/1961301._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spires, #2)" id="cover_review_3559768462" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1685085160l/26860699._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Lathe of Heaven" id="cover_review_6239800868" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433084322l/59924._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #3)" id="cover_review_6248266893" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643298298l/58662507._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Greenwild: The World Behind the Door (Greenwild, #1)" id="cover_review_6248266540" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674503060l/62711576._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Is this a lot? Seems like a lot. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Cultish, </i>Amanda Montell. Torch and Pitchfork book, kicking our our Red Flag year. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Shining Girls, </i>Lauren Beukes. Sword and Laser book club. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Spear, </i>Nicola Griffiths. Audio. For Scintillation book club. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Devil's Cub, </i>Georgette Heyer. For Torches and Pitchforks club, free topic: Red Flags in Relationships.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Olympian Affair, </i>Jim Butcher. For my Tuesday gaming book club. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Lathe of Heaven, </i>Ursula Le Guin. Audio. For Scintillation book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Nona the Ninth, </i>Tamsyn Muir. This series should be something I love. But I hated the first two. I'm trying one more time. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Greenwild: The World Behind the Door, </i>Pari Thomson. Nominated for Cybls.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. The library took this back before I was done, so I have rechecked it out. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books & Short Stories</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dinosaur vs. Santa (A Dinosaur vs. Book, 4)" id="cover_review_6229820839" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1339559544l/13624195._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="A Terrible Thing Happened: A Story for Children Who Have Witnessed Violence or Trauma" id="cover_review_6236654025" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348532854l/1095833._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Papillon Goes to the Vet (Papillon, #2)" id="cover_review_6252275480" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498885842l/33785187._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Dinosaur Vs Santa, </i>Bob Shea. </b>Reading My Library Quest: Renton Highlands Library, Children Holiday. This was fun and exciting and I would have been delighted to read it to my kids when they were small.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>A Terrible Thing Happened, </i>Margaret M. Holmes. </b>An earnest example of bibliotherapy, which I am of the firm if untested belief works best if the initial application comes before the problem it is meant to treat. From that perspective, this also works as a general story, if a bit dull, and would work well followed by discussions of how sometimes people acting up are coming from a place of pain, and compassion towards others as well as towards ourselves is never misapplied. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Papillon Goes to the Vet, </i>A.N. Kang. </b>Not primarily an attempt at bibliotherapy, this is definitely a fun book about a puffy cat who is puffy. I do not recommend this as an example of what happens at a doctor visit, but if a kid has read this before an medical emergency it might help them draw their own comparisons. And the puffy cat is very cute. And puffy. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 7" id="cover_review_6218166271" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1694027795l/198188327._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Hild (The Hild Sequence, #1)" id="cover_review_788253397" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375931640l/17332243._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Farther Than the Moon" id="cover_review_6203173222" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677554940l/63005217._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation" id="cover_review_6218369631" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611376522l/53121662._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="In Five Years" id="cover_review_6224382110" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586399012l/50093704._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Outskirter's Secret (The Steerswoman, #2)" id="cover_review_4749137431" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674102588l/991724._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Winter's Orbit" id="cover_review_2947010857" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639424622l/57693520._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America" id="cover_review_6063502286" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388468362l/352136._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. I'll get back to it, don't worry!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5, Vol 7, </i>Miya Kazuki. Well, the excitement is high and I'm ready to see Rosemyne kick butt in Vol 8!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Still at part 58. Audio books with book club deadlines have been eating into my podcast time. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Hild, </i>Nicola Griffith. Foolscap pick. Reading this at the same time as <i>Spear </i>was interesting. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Farther Than the Moon, </i>Lindsay Lackey. 2023 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction finalist. Lots of Houston nostalgia. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Jesus and John Wayne</i>, Kristin Kobes DuMez. This is not helping me have a compassionate attitude towards evangelical Christians. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>In Five Years, </i>Rebecca Serle. Renton River book club pick. Maybe I will recommend this to my very successful friend. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Outskirter's Secret, </i>Rosemary Kirstein. Into the Outskirts!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Winter's Orbit, </i>Everina Maxwell. Huh. I did not clearly remember what was in the AO3 version and what was new. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Bold Spirit, </i>Linda Laurence Hunt. I have ordered up the kidlit version to read when I finish. They are currently in Idaho. </div><div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Windswept (Windswept, #1)" id="cover_review_1592250757" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439204961l/23995395._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture).</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. I liked the mentions of <i>Monty Python. </i>Well played, Mr Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Windswept, </i>Adam Rakunas. In audio I tend to forget people's names, but then the plot clues me in. But there are sure a lot of people mad at Padma. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. Why Bonnie rarely got a boyfriend, and why no one was surprised by her sacrifice. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Just a wee bit behind. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li>Cybils 2023: Working on middle grade fiction. </li><li>Early Cy<a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">bils</a>: Nothing. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Music CDs have been displaced by <i>Lathe of Heaven</i> CD. </li><li>Looking at Tacoma's Monster challenge for this year. </li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure. Actually, I've started listing all the bookclubs I'm in, so I hope some actually happens. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>Into the Broken Lands</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i><b> </b>Final Acts</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>One in Vermillion</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>After Atlas</i></li><li><b>Cloudy Book:</b> <i>River of Golden Bones, Last Tale of the Flower Bride</i></li><li><b>Foolscap Book Club Book: </b><i>Hild, Mr Penumbra's Bookstore</i></li><li><b>Renton Book Club Book: </b><i>In Five Years, </i></li><li><b>Scintillation Book Club Book: </b><i>Lathe of Heaven</i></li><li><b>Sword and Laser Club Book: </b><i>Shadows of the Gods</i></li><li><b>Torch and Pitchfork Book: </b><i>Devil's Cub, Trust the Plan</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Olympian Affair, The Affair</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Outskirter's Secret</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Lathe of Heaven</i><br /></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-53540251726774681692024-02-05T23:17:00.000-08:002024-02-05T23:17:04.066-08:00Low Expectations Month<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Last week I managed to do a couple of runs, and went to some nice bookclubs. The next month is going to be a lot of sad anniversaries (Mom went into the hospital, mom went back to the hospital, mom opts for hospice) and a few happier ones (I won a goat in my video game), so I'm just going to set the bar really low for myself. I hope to keep up with the kitchen and maybe close a few rings on my fitness watch, but no promises. </div><div><br /></div><div>February is short anyway! Well, not as short as usual this year, but still pretty short!</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://www.cybils.com/">Winners on Valentines Day! Finalists out now</a>!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm down to (only?) 38 physical books checked out which includes some picture books and then there are couple of ebooks. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will be posting at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2024/02/05/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-406/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters as well as the kidlit version at <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27467">Unleashing Readers</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="All the Dead Shall Weep (Gunnie Rose, #5)" id="cover_review_5785076071" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687105240l/101160975._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" id="cover_review_5823477205" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670270388l/61237167._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Burning Girls and Other Stories" id="cover_review_6210768009" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589907537l/53205891._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Dead Man's Hand (The Unorthodox Chronicles, #1)" id="cover_review_6175025919" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648218624l/60097440._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Run: Book One" id="cover_review_2954198302" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642286873l/57600413._SX50_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Rest in Pink (Liz Danger #2)" id="cover_review_5888129545" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1691023820l/175578431._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Ghost Book" id="cover_review_6222841975" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661863697l/61317665._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries, #7)" id="cover_review_5303235682" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674575978l/65211701._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>All the Dead Shall Weep, </i>Charlaine Harris. </b>This was an interesting structure and definitely not a place to enter this series. It's mostly about the sisters hanging out and getting to know each other and learn how they see others and how others see them, with a little discussion of relationships on the side. But mostly just sisters be sisters. There is a bit of plot, mostly driven by the ambitions of people off stage, and mostly by people who should have learned to avoid these sisters.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Borderland, </i>Anna Reid.</b> Ha! I finished this. I started this probably back during the Cybils and finally spent some time reading it so now I have some background knowledge of the history of the Ukraine and also some of the modern stuff up to the first year of the war (Reid wrote the book twenty years ago and then updated it). Congress should just fund their defense already.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. </b>Ha! Another book I started and gave up on last year and now went back to. I enjoyed the author's style, the man interest is not that believable but only so the author can make him worthy of the awesome protagonist, who is large and passionate and worthy of all sorts of perfect men.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Burning Girls and Other Stories, </i>Veronica Schanoes.</b> Foolscap book club pick, which we chose rather blindly off a list of possibly Jewish stories, and that I found amazing. The stories used fairy tales to great effect, both classic ones and modern stories of Emma Goldman and unionists. There were some stories that were all sensation and some that challenged society and some that broke my heart. Good discussion.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Dead Man's Hand, </i>James J Butcher. </b>For my Tuesday book club. The consensus was that it was decent. I found it hard to enjoy all the whining the main character did -- maybe it's realistic that most people would rather not face murderous creatures all day long but then that's why we don't get books about them! But the writing wasn't clumsy and some of the ideas were cool, so we all made it through. Next up -- a book by another Butcher!</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Run, Book 1, </i>John Lewis. </b>This next stage of Lewis's life manages to show the conflicts inside the movement -- is violence necessary? Is integration of the movement necessary? Is taking a stand on the Vietnam War necessary? These questions tear at the Civil Rights organizations even while white society is literally taking pot shots at them, and it's interesting to see how Lewis remembers it and what stands he tooks and who he thought was making good choices. I'm not sure there will be more, since Lewis passed away just as this one was being completed.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Rest in Pink, </i>Jennifer Crusie & Bob Meyer. </b>Second story about Liz Danger and her dour policeman who may be in a relationship lasting more than a night. Since they've had dozens of nights in a row. Meanwhile the town of Burney seems to be burning down around them. I liked the balance of danger and personal stress, with little and big questions around all these things and the side characters off having their own lives as well as cheering on the mains.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Ghost Book, </i>Remy Lai.</b> Fun graphic novel about a forgettable kid and her first friend, and almost-dead boy who might get better. Or not. I liked the story, the art, and the friendship but felt it didn't really tackle any of the tough stuff it stirred up -- like addressing the aftermath of the dad doing the forgetting spell.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>System Collapse, </i>Martha Wells. </b>Well, I got the audio in case my road trip companions last month had read all the recent ones, but they hadn't so I got to this on my own. It was interesting listening to Murderbot's voice as it keeps trying to avoid thinking about REDACTED; it's a different feel to read it. And the bit at the end with the constructed story was much tenser for me as an audio than as a read.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Burning Girls and Other Stories" id="cover_review_6210768009" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589907537l/53205891._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Run: Book One" id="cover_review_2954198302" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642286873l/57600413._SX50_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Rest in Pink (Liz Danger #2)" id="cover_review_5888129545" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1691023820l/175578431._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Ghost Book" id="cover_review_6222841975" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661863697l/61317665._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Outskirter's Secret (The Steerswoman, #2)" id="cover_review_4749137431" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674102588l/991724._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Winter's Orbit" id="cover_review_2947010857" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639424622l/57693520._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Hild (The Hild Sequence, #1)" id="cover_review_788253397" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375931640l/17332243._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Gone Wolf" id="cover_review_6225907349" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1673264779l/63005180._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fox Point's Own Gemma Hopper" id="cover_review_6226504256" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668970158l/56923273._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="In Five Years" id="cover_review_6224382110" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586399012l/50093704._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans (Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans, 1)" id="cover_review_6218288420" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1683575583l/75302290._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation" id="cover_review_6218369631" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611376522l/53121662._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Champion of Fate (Heromaker, #1)" id="cover_review_6214981294" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1678739588l/75302241._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America" id="cover_review_6063502286" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388468362l/352136._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Is this a lot? It kinda looks like a lot. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Burning Girls and Other Stories, </i>Veronica Schanoes. Foolscap book club book. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Run, Book 1, </i>John Lewis. Because I read the <i>March </i>books. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Rest in Pink, </i>Jennifer Crusie & Bob Meyer. Because I liked the first one.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ghost Book, </i>Remy Lai. Saw in a library.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Outskirter's Secret, </i>Rosemary Kirstein. Missed Scintillation book club but want to reread anyway.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Winter's Orbit, </i>Everina Maxwell. Reread.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Hild, </i>Nicola Griffith. Foolscap pick -- do we reread when the new book drops?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Gone Wolf, </i>Amber McBride. Cybils nominee I didn't get to. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Fox Point's Own Gemma Hopper, </i>Brie Spangler. Saw in a library. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>In Five Years, </i>Rebecca Serle. Renton River book club pick. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans, </i>Isi Hendrix. Cybils nominee I didn't get to.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Jesus and John Wayne</i>, Kristin Kobes DuMez. Lying around on my Kindle. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Champion of Fate, </i>Kendara Blake. Cloudy pick. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Bold Spirit, </i>Linda Laurence Hunt. Recommended by Renton River book club president. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(OK, some of these I started before this week, but I'm only now getting back to them. So lots of the books I optimistically started this winter will hopefully show up here and then move up to COMPLETED!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books & Short Stories</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">None. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 7" id="cover_review_6218166271" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1694027795l/198188327._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Farther Than the Moon" id="cover_review_6203173222" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677554940l/63005217._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. I'll get back to it, don't worry!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5, Vol 7, </i>Miya Kazuki. I'm in the epilogues at the end, which is fun because we get different PoV. And volume 8 is waiting for me!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. I'm up to part 58!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Farther Than the Moon, </i>Lindsay Lackey. 2023 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction finalist. It's *almost* science fiction.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Windswept (Windswept, #1)" id="cover_review_1592250757" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439204961l/23995395._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture).</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. For once I'm not annoyed by the prince. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). Walter Mitty!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Windswept, </i>Adam Rakunas.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. How the world handled a black Bonnie in Vampire Diaries.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Caught up again!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li>Cybils 2023: Working on middle grade fiction. </li><li>Early Cy<a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">bils</a>: I might have finished 2007?. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Finished Children's Audio books, now on music CDS. </li><li>Looking at Tacoma's Monster challenge for this year. </li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure. Actually, I've started listing all the bookclubs I'm in, so I hope some actually happens. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>Bold Spirit, </i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i><b> </b>Fox Point's Own Gemma Hopper</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Resurgence</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: finished!</b></li><li><b>Cloudy Book:</b> <i>River of Golden Bones, Last Tale of the Flower Bride</i></li><li><b>Foolscap Book Club Book: </b><i>Hild, Mr Penumbra's Bookstore</i></li><li><b>Renton Book Club Book: </b><i>In Five Years, </i></li><li><b>Scintillation Book Club Book: </b><i>Lathe of Heaven</i></li><li><b>Sword and Laser Club Book: </b><i>Shadows of the Gods</i></li><li><b>Torch and Pitchfork Book: </b><i>Devil's Cub, Trust the Plan</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Olympian Affair, The Affair</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Outskirter's Secret</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Lathe of Heaven</i><br /></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-7587652210049871022024-01-29T22:38:00.000-08:002024-01-29T22:38:38.032-08:00Starting Over, A New Year Tradition!<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, this happens every year when I try to be a Cybils judge -- I fall behind on my blog. Which is a bit ironic, because the main criteria to be a Cybils judge is that you talk about books on the internet, which I do mostly on this blog. Oops. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have several drafts where I try to catch up, and then I get overwhelmed. My goal here is to be short but exist. It will be dull.</div><div><br /></div><div>January is going well.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://www.cybils.com/">Winners in two weeks! Finalists out now</a>!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm down to 48 physical books checked out which includes some picture books and then there are a pile of ebooks. </div><div><br /></div><div>This post is very dull so I'm not posting at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/10/16/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-392/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters as well as the kidlit version at <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27191">Unleashing Readers</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Hands" id="cover_review_6177005434" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651624423l/61021920._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Finch House" id="cover_review_6193159865" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676324164l/101139779._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Eugene Returns!" id="cover_review_6012495432" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1422215638l/15033772._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Demon Daughter (Penric & Desdemona, #12)" id="cover_review_6196166009" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1704742604l/205048105._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn" id="cover_review_6189365529" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675642685l/63017290._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="" class="gr-mediaFlexbox__media" data-reactid=".1p2775g95n6.1.0.3.0.3.0.0:0:$35519101.0.0" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506001607i/35519101._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Refugee" id="cover_review_3029528365" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487620933l/33118312._SY75_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /><img alt="Bad Kitty Meets the Baby (Bad Kitty Chapter Book, #4)" id="cover_review_6208815502" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438894324l/9371003._SX50_.jpg" style="font-size: xxx-large;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Hands, </i>Torrey Maldonado. </b> 2023 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction finalist. I liked how this is a book about a boy making a decision. Not much happens (although when it happens it is tightly and vividly described), but we get a good sense of everything he is using to help: his friends, his self image, his family, many members of his community, his memories, his ideals and dreams, his teachers, and his fears. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Finch House, </i>Ciera Birch.</b> Cybils nominee. I liked the main character and the creepy house, but I wanted more of the grandfather's point of view. Maybe I'm old! But mostly I wanted more detail on the greataunt.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Eugene Returns, </i>AIO Team. </b>Reading My Library Quest: Renton Highlands Library, J Audio. Wow did I interrupt a long-running conversation! I think this is a church-approved serial, with alternations of the crazy life of well meaning people to whom Eugene has returned and standalone inspirational stories of kids learning to do the right thing or bible stories retold (Samson in verse -- full marks!). Not for me but not a bad listen, so thank you to the one year old in the library whom I invited to pick this shelf's selection. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Demon Daughter, </i>Lois McMaster Bujold. </b>New Penric! Hooray! This one interrogates what it means to be a parent, and what it means to be innocent, and who is worthy of protection. Also who benefits from having a younger spouse.</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn, </i>Sally J. Pla. </b>2023 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction finalist. The bad mom was pretty awful but I really liked the surfing bits and how Maudie found a place where autism was just part of who she was and not an excuse to belittle her. The perfect school at the end was a bow on the top, but the whole scene at the surfing contest was powerful. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Rogue Protocol, </i>Martha Wells. </b>A few weeks ago I took a road trip to Oregon with friends, and I grabbed some Murderbot audios from the library since I wasn't sure how far down the series they were. Not that far, but since I had it on my phone I've been enjoying listening while doing my dishes. I like watching SecUnit figure out what it wants. Or at least where it wants to go while it figures that out. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Refugee, Alan Gratz. </b>Really powerful triad of stories about kids trying to escape bad situations, chosen by my elementary book club. They all liked it, but no one had spotted the links between the stories, so I impressed them. That doesn't always happen. Hey, this was a Cybils finalist!</div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><b><i>Bad Kitty Meets the Baby, </i>Nick Bruel. </b>I couldn't remember which specific Bad Kitty the 4th graders had picked (I thought we were meeting in December so I wanted a very short book) so I read a bunch of the picture books and this one. They enjoyed listening to the audio of the original picture book and then we talked about cats and about books with a reliable pattern and why that might be a good idea. </div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries, #7)" id="cover_review_5303235682" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674575978l/65211701._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="All the Dead Shall Weep (Gunnie Rose, #5)" id="cover_review_5785076071" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687105240l/101160975._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dead Man's Hand (The Unorthodox Chronicles, #1)" id="cover_review_6175025919" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648218624l/60097440._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Farther Than the Moon" id="cover_review_6203173222" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677554940l/63005217._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>System Collapse, </i>Martha Wells. Well, I got the audio in case they had read all the older ones. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>All the Dead Shall Weep, </i>Charlaine Harris. I'm a Gunnie Rose fan. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Dead Man's Hand, </i>James J Butcher. For my Tuesday book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Farther Than the Moon, </i>Lindsay Lackey. 2023 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction finalist. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books & Short Stories</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Sometimes" id="cover_review_6189941775" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328821491l/12075300._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Mysteries" id="cover_review_6202186014" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675608423l/100698795._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Just Because by Rebecca Elliott 1st (first) Edition (2010)" id="cover_review_6208790147" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1696560820l/131730312._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Bad Kitty" id="cover_review_6208806506" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403422027l/690955._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Bad Kitty Does Not Like Video Games" id="cover_review_6208825702" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460908459l/27414487._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Poor Puppy (Bad Kitty)" id="cover_review_6208822401" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1437538348l/1125714._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Sometimes, </i>Rebecca Elliott.</b> Another book about the two siblings and how much fun they have together (I read the first one a few days later). This one shows more of the hospital where the big sister spends a lot of her time, but it's a story of the siblings together, not an afterschool special. Still really cute kids in the illustrations. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Mysteries, </i>Bill Watterson & John Kascht. </b>Lovely, dark and deeply depressing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Just Because, </i>Rebecca Elliott. </b>The introduction to two siblings who love each other a lot, because that's what siblings do. Which is a good refresher to most humorous picture books that have siblings at each other's throats nonstop, I think. Anyway, these specific siblings include one in a wheelchair who does a lot of things differently, which we see in the illustrations and descriptions but the young narrator doesn't see anything unusual, that's just how this awesome big sister is. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Bad Kitty, Bad Kitty Does Not Like Video Games, Poor Puppy, </i>Nick Bruel. </b>More book club fodder. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 7" id="cover_review_6218166271" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1694027795l/198188327._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" id="cover_review_5823477205" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670270388l/61237167._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. I'll get back to it, don't worry!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5, Vol 7, </i>Miya Kazuki. I'm in the epilogues at the end, which is fun because we get different PoV. And volume 8 is waiting for me!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. I'm up to part 58!</div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. Ha! I let this slide last year and I just got it back from the library.</div><div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Borderland, </i>Anna Reid. Another book I am pulling back to finish now! </div></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Windswept (Windswept, #1)" id="cover_review_1592250757" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439204961l/23995395._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture).</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). Walter Mitty!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Windswept, </i>Adam Rakunas.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. How the world handled a black, Bonnie in Vampire Diaries.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. I'm a little bit behind but hanging in there. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li>Cybils 2023: Started middle grade fiction. </li><li>Early Cy<a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">bils</a>: I might have finished 2007?. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Need a new audio. Reading some longer books of fables and legends. </li><li>Libraries: Finished the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book. Looking at Tacoma's Monster challenge for this year. </li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> Currently undecided. Hmm. </li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Run</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Rest in Pink</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>Cultish</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Dead Man’s Hand</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Outskirter's Secret</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Spear<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-69581621268772149122023-10-31T01:09:00.000-07:002023-10-31T01:09:04.052-07:00Sleep, That Lost Land<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>My reading this week was hindered by my habit of going to bed, playing silly games until very late, and then oversleeping. Or just wandering around like a zombie until it was time to repeat. I finally forced myself into bed at a reasonable time and I hope it sticks. This meant that exercise was mostly a no-go, and anyway it got cold! I'm a wimp! I'm a wimp currently using street parking, and ice is forming on my car. I have suddenly become much more interested in clearing out my garage (full of stuff since we had to empty my mom's apartment and move all my stuff around early this year). </div><div><br /></div><div>Although, looking at the time as I finish this blog, maybe not. How does everyone else get their reading reported on time? </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, it was a week full of book clubs, of which I only finished the books for the elementary book clubs I am hosting. Once a month I head up to the local elementary school with some treats and talk books with first the fourth graders and then the fifth graders. This week the fourth graders were so excited about the book that I forgot to hand out the cookies. Oops. Double rations next time!</div><div><br /></div><div>My emergency training class went well -- we discussed the psychology of trauma and how to look out for ourselves and the people we are trying to help, and then went over terrorism scenarios. Also we had a pot luck dinner during the lecture, which really helped me maintain my attention throughout the lecture-heavy class. More food for the last Thursday class, and then it is time for our final exam!</div><div><br /></div><div>My resident chef delivered a delicious Brie pasta and feta/spinach sandwiches for his turns at dinner, and was much applauded. I forgot to make bread for the pasta dish but managed some nice focaccia rolls for the sandwiches, and demanded some applause of my own.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>I'm only a bit behind. Read. Read. Read. ------</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm up to 54 physical books checked out which includes some picture books and then there are a pile of ebooks. There are 10 books waiting for me on the hold shelf and 10 more en route. Gotta read faster!</div><div><br /></div><div>This post is very late so I'm not posting at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/10/16/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-392/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters as well as the kidlit version at <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27191">Unleashing Readers</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Just A Pinch of Magic" id="cover_review_5918294581" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1673376678l/57972351._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Cursed Moon" id="cover_review_5917500244" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1683903185l/129164287._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Alice's Shooting Star" id="cover_review_5919976281" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347972800l/7099329._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas" id="cover_review_5880978768" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388183687l/2095182._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Clackity (Blight Harbor)" id="cover_review_5845214496" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654100019l/59365597._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy (Nic Blake and the Remarkables #1)" id="cover_review_5922354805" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661872909l/62194599._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ghost Dog Secrets" id="cover_review_2773273858" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436123679l/7823514._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Worst Broommate Ever! (Middle School and Other Disasters Book 1)" id="cover_review_5932605967" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677904568l/74892615._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Coraline" id="cover_review_1657106533" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621336504l/474073._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Great Texas Dragon Race" id="cover_review_5924570113" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674495346l/63247358._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><div><span><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>Just a Pinch of Magic, </i>Alechia Dow. </b>Cybils nominee. A friendship book with two kids making magic in a town cursed by a supposedly wicked witch. The friendship of the two kids is sweetly done (heh heh, that's a joke because they do a lot of cooking together), although the pace does seem dictated by plot a lot when they decide to share things or keep secrets. It's also interesting to watch their dad's dancing around each other; one girl is all for the match but the other is a bit leery about losing more of his attention. There are complications afoot -- the curse and the wicked witch are both more complicated than they appear, and of course our protagonists are caught in the middle. Cooking and magic are a natural fit, and I liked seeing how the kids matched up together.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Cursed Moon, </i>Angela Cervantes.</b> Cybils nominee.This is a great example of a fantasy where the fantasy works to explore the themes in the mundane story. The kids have some problems -- they live with their grandparents, and their mom is about to come back from prison and wants to try again. One kid is ready, but the other has been burned too often by failed promises. But when they accidentally awaken the devil of the cursed moon, they have to confront what happens when scary stories come true, and how to regain control of the story of their own life. The author doesn't draw attention to this; the kids are just set in their world before the curse hits, and return to it after the defeat. Cool.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Alice's Shooting Star, </i>Tim Kennemore. </b>2009 Cybils Short Chapter book finalist. I really liked this family book, with Alice as the middle child who observes a lot even as she tends to get overlooked. I felt a bit bad for the older brother, but really appreciated how Alice looked out for and also admired her whirlwind of a little sister. Wild enough to be fun but not quite fantasy. Glad I made the effort to ILL it, and glad I have an awesome library that makes this possible.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Who Was First, </i>Russell Freedman. </b>2007 Cybils Middle Grade and YA finalist. Interesting review of the various immigrations to America, including some that are possible (such as the theory that a Chinese fleet made it across). The Chinese story was new to me, as were some of the details of Viking landings, and the summary of various evidence for which waves came over thousands of years ago was also full of some surprises, although I should check whether that's because the theories have been updated in the past decade and half. Good illustrations as well.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Clackity, </i>Lora Senf. </b>2022 Cybils Elementary Middle Grade Speculative Fiction finalist. I really liked the resonances of the various houses the protagonist must win through to rescue her parent, although the adults really didn't seem to be much help in this battle. I liked how her anxiety was acknowledged and handled; it was something she carried with her and had to account for. The dual villains were both very spooky and creepy in different ways, and it was good to see how the girl outwitted them. I like it when kids in kidlit handle their climaxes using their own powers. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>Nic Blake and the Remarkables, </i>Angie Thomas.</b> Cybils nominee. I think expectations matter a lot. I was expecting this one to follow the standard "raised on Harry Potter" playbook -- secret world of magic, unusual special child, two sidekicks (bookish and loyal). But then it started playing a lot of differences on that -- I really liked the relationship between the brother and the best friend, and how insecure that made Nic. I liked how the dad had a very dark secret, but the mom also trusted the wrong people. I liked the connections to history (underground railroad) and I was amused by the author of the popular kid books. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Ghost Dog Secrets, </i>Peg Kehret.</b> For Talbot Hill Elementary book club. I had fun arguing with the kids about whether this counted as a fantasy or realistic fiction (to decide what our next book should be -- we wanted a contrast). We also talked about brothers and sisters, good apologies, what to do if you see a mistreated dog, and who got a good ending (everyone but the bully). </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Worst Broommate Ever!, </i>Wanda Coven. </b>Cybils nominee. This was a sweet story, just shy of being a graphic novel (lots of illustrations and font changes). It's the start of a series of a middle schooler starting at a magic boarding school, and how she handles being away from home, navigating new friendships, and making peace with her roommate who is also her local nemesis. It's more like what elementary school kids think middle school will be like than a realistic portrayal, but with the added pleasure of magic and a boarding school. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Coraline, </i>Neil Gaiman. </b>For Talbot Hill Elementary book club. This was a lively discussion! Kids divided between the movie and the book, with a few kids knowing about both (I haven't seen the movie). We talked a bit about why things would be different -- how visual mediums need different ways to engage imagination and interest. We talked about what was the scariest part of both/either, and whether Coraline was making good decisions, and how to trust a cat.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Great Texas Dragon Race, </i>Kacy Ritter.</b> Cybils nominee. Yee haw! This was a great title and the book lived up to it. Our heroine was a true Texican, ready to brag you out of the campfire, but also willing to stand up for her friends (even the human ones) and her principles. There's a lot of implausibility, but it's all part of the fun. Evil oil companies, desperate family ranches, famous dead mom, all add up to a true adventure.</div></span></div></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy (Nic Blake and the Remarkables #1)" id="cover_review_5922354805" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661872909l/62194599._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Mirrorwood" id="cover_review_5924147149" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1647447886l/58437821._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Great Texas Dragon Race" id="cover_review_5924570113" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674495346l/63247358._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ghost Dog Secrets" id="cover_review_2773273858" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436123679l/7823514._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled (Mrs. Pollifax, #14)" id="cover_review_1037675460" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388266451l/149344._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Coraline" id="cover_review_1657106533" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621336504l/474073._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Worst Broommate Ever! (Middle School and Other Disasters Book 1)" id="cover_review_5932605967" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677904568l/74892615._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Nic Blake and the Remarkables, </i>Angie Thomas. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Mirrorwood, </i>Diva Fagin. Cybils finalist from previous year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Great Texas Dragon Race, </i>Kacy Ritter. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ghost Dog Secrets, </i>Peg Kehret. For Talbot Hill Elementary book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Mrs Pollifax, Unveiled, </i>Dorothy Gilman. I think this is on a bookclub list, but really I just wanted to listen to Mrs Pollifax kick some butt.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Coraline, </i>Neil Gaiman. For Talbot Hill Elementary book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Worst Broommate Ever!, </i>Wanda Coven. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books & Short Stories</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Book from Far Away" id="cover_review_5922515980" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684788494l/125078296._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Book From Far Away, </i>Bruce Handy. Another lovely wordless picture book, where a boy sees strangers and trades books with a fellow bibliophile. I like the way it merges imagination and reality, leaving the reader to decide where the line falls. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 6" id="cover_review_5862336950" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688686256l/184354085._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack (Sammy Keyes, #15)" id="cover_review_282498252" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388717775l/12940305._SY75_.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="A Shadow in Summer (Long Price Quartet, #1)" id="cover_review_157527873" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442890371l/208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" id="cover_review_5823477205" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670270388l/61237167._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Going Postal (Discworld, #33; Moist von Lipwig, #1)" id="cover_review_5854564328" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388236899l/64222._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Allegiance: A Novel" id="cover_review_5877734372" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1664540788l/62829772._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Marie Curie (Giants of Science)" id="cover_review_5861134634" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348947615l/2030572._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Playing with Fire (Magical Romantic Comedies, #1)" id="cover_review_5547045262" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553232610l/44566922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Lavender's Blue (Liz Danger #1)" id="cover_review_5783902259" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688484218l/175578165._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Angel of the Crows" id="cover_review_3214417017" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577250958l/52378874._SX50_SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>While still ridiculous, this is not much worse than last week. Slow regression!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. I'll get back to it, don't worry!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5, Vol 6, </i>Miya Kazuki. Correspondence with Ferdinand is a special blessing. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. It's next on my queue!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack, </i>Wendelin Van Draanen. Reading My Library Quest book, Renton Highlands J Audio. I'm making excellent progress.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. No progress.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>Lori Gottlieb. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>A Shadow in Summer, </i>Daniel Abraham. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>Borderland, </i>Anna Reid.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Going Postal, </i>Terry Pratchett. For my Tuesday book club (they've all finished it). Enjoying the tiny pieces I manage.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Allegiance, </i>Kermit Roosevelt. For <i>Torchers and Pitchforks. </i>I did not finish in time for the meeting, and now it has fallen down the priorities list. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Marie Curie, </i>Kathleen Krull. Cybils finalist. Made progress. In World War I heroics now.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Playing With Fire, </i>R.J. Blain. For my Friday book club. Didn't finish in time.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Lavender's Blue, </i>Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer. For Romance Book club (mystery theme). Didn't finish in time.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Angel of the Crows, </i>Katherine Addison. Didn't finish in time.</div></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Milton. Andrew Marvell.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Enjoying starting my day with a song. And dealing with my mail in a timely way.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on middle grade SF. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Working on some nonfiction. Also an Early Chapter book.</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Enjoying an audio. </li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure. Also, really I'm just reading Cybils so I'll be lucky to get 20 pages a day of these other books. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>Into the Broken Lands</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Lavender's Blue</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Borderland</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>Dinners With Ruth</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Going Postal</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Chalet School books</i></li><li><b>Audio:</b> <i>Mrs Pollifax Unveiled</i><i><br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-8011470769210349142023-10-26T02:02:00.001-07:002023-10-26T02:02:07.330-07:00Get Cracking!<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Wow, I'm getting this diary out late. Hmm, what happened last week? My son came home from his European Vacation, and apparently did not bring bed bugs back from Paris, as my brother has been worrying about (it was a cousin's trip, so all my siblings are in on the worry about out kids). He had a great time.</div><div><br /></div><div>I went to my Romance book club, my River Runs Under It book club, my regular Tuesday weekly club, and Foolscap's book club. I did not manage to finish the books for any of these meetings.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the gym I have been exploring the different buttons on the treadmills and had one extremely leisurely workout and two good ones. With the energy from that I met a friend for a 5K up in the mountains, where we managed to get lost but with the help of friendly dog walkers found our way back to the finish line. Also we won some socks in the post-race raffle. </div><div><br /></div><div>I had a good lunch with a friend in a French restaurant where they served me a tasty quiche. Maybe I'll bring my son back to see if that elicits more stories of his time in Paris.</div><div><br /></div><div>CERT class had a fascinating lesson on some tough first aide skills, including a practical where they let us practice on some fake legs with lots of spurting blood. I'm ready for anything! Well, I'd better order a tourniquet first...</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Expendables4 </i>was a truly terrible movie. My son and I just looked at each other and our conversation on the way home was "did they really?" or "so, the plan was x --". I mean, good guys aren't really supposed to murder people just because the good guy lost a bet to them, right?</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>I'm only a bit behind. Read. Read. Read.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I've entered Cybils season. I'm up to 50 physical books checked out which includes some picture books and then there are a pile of ebooks.</div><div><br /></div><div>This post is very late so I'm not posting at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/10/16/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-392/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters as well as the kidlit version at <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27191">Unleashing Readers</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Just A Pinch of Magic" id="cover_review_5918294581" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1673376678l/57972351._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Playing with Fire (Magical Romantic Comedies, #1)" id="cover_review_5547045262" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553232610l/44566922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Secret of the Dragon Gems" id="cover_review_5910954952" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1685105876l/164061360._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Falling Out of Time (Running Out of Time, 2)" id="cover_review_5916452352" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1665694271l/62310719._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Lavender's Blue (Liz Danger #1)" id="cover_review_5783902259" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688484218l/175578165._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Cursed Moon" id="cover_review_5917500244" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1683903185l/129164287._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Complete Periodic Table: More Elements with Style" id="cover_review_5917781415" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485668126l/34040547._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Alice's Shooting Star" id="cover_review_5919976281" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347972800l/7099329._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Angel of the Crows" id="cover_review_3214417017" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577250958l/52378874._SX50_SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Just a Pinch of Magic, </i>Alechia Dow. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Playing With Fire, </i>R.J. Blain. For my Friday book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Secret of the Dragon Gems, </i>Rajanni LaRocca & Chris Baron. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Falling Out of Time, </i>Margaret Peterson Haddix. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Lavender's Blue, </i>Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer. For Romance Book club (mystery theme).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Cursed Moon, </i>Angela Cervantes. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Complete Periodic Table, </i>Simon Basher. Previous Cybils finalist.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Alice's Shooting Star, </i>Tim Kennemore. Previous Cybils finalist.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Angel of the Crows, </i>Katherine Addison. I am not going to finish this in time for book club. Awkward, since I suggested it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Encore in Death" id="cover_review_5668862648" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660602930l/61884849._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Pride of Chanur (Chanur, #1)" id="cover_review_5914116385" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316468938l/1197129._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Nightmare House" id="cover_review_5902355989" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1663128955l/61418407._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Secret of the Dragon Gems" id="cover_review_5910954952" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1685105876l/164061360._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Freddie vs. the Family Curse" id="cover_review_5896506388" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1623983944l/58311982._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Outside Nowhere" id="cover_review_5896593995" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645389517l/60323409._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Complete Periodic Table: More Elements with Style" id="cover_review_5917781415" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485668126l/34040547._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Falling Out of Time (Running Out of Time, 2)" id="cover_review_5916452352" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1665694271l/62310719._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Smart-opedia: The Amazing Book About Everything" id="cover_review_5887985855" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328696109l/2973237._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Encore in Death, </i>J.D. Robb. </b>This was a pretty good one. Not too gory or horrific, and I felt clever because I called whodunnit. Based only on my familiarity with the series, not on any clues, but hey, I don't have to prove anything. I didn't really buy the motive or anything, but it gave us some good scenes in the theater district.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Pride of Chanur, </i>C. J. Cherryh.</b> Scintillation book club. There was a nice discussion -- some people pointed out some things about the Compact society that I had missed, and only a few people didn't like it. We talked about what makes people like Cherryh's books and what the similarities were and how the Chanur books stood out. We talked about how it illustrated the value of community, how it showed the multiplicity of motives for everyone, and how it worked with gender roles in interesting ways.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>The Nightmare House, </i>Sarah Allen. </b>Cybils nominee. Wow, this was a really moving book. The girl's anxiety came across really well. I was actually a little worried about how well the magical problem manifested as an actual mental problem. I'm not a huge fan of poetry, and it was a bit annoying when it switched from being a reflection of her mood to an actual part of the plot because it made things a bit harder to follow. I liked the homeschooled friend although he was a bit too perfect; he didn't really have his own personality beyond what was needed for her quest. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Secret of the Dragon Gems, </i>Rajanni LaRocca & Chris Baron.</b> Cybils nominee. Two kids meet on the last day of camp and start exchanging letters, then email, and then video chats and discord, which they consider more secure than email. Hmm. They spend part of the time discussing their transition to middle school, part of the time swapping ethnic stories (he's Jewish, she's Indian), and part of the time realizing that the rocks they picked up are actually aliens that need to go home. And that the camp owner may be trying to kidnap these sentient stones. <br /><br />All the social media gets a bit name twisted, which was a bit amusing to me, and the Diversity was a bit heavy, and the fantasy elements get a bit squashed when the book is trying to be Sciency. But the adventure was fun and I like epistolary books.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Freddie Vs the Family Curse, </i>Tracy Badua.</b> Cybils finalist (from last year). This was a great book, full of adventure and heart. Freddie has learned never to try, since his bad luck always sabotages him. But finally he'll get a chance to remove the curse, although the risks are high. The balance between his real life problems (school, peers, parents) and the magical ones is done really well, with both interlocking in ways that enhance rather than diminish each other. It is also a great example of the kind of diversity I love in books -- Freddie's family Filipino heritage is an important part of his life, from his grandmother's superstitious to his diet to his Catholic school, but there's never a sense of delivering a message. The plans and risks are firmly rooted in real kid ability, as are the dangers and pitfalls. His parents aren't always right, but they are always loving. Good work last year's Cybils team -- I hope to live up to your standards!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>Outside Nowhere, </i>Adam Borba. Cybils nominee.</b> Most of the kids in these books are junior high or younger, but I think this guy was a bit older? Old enough to have a summer job or to travel on a train for over 24 hours on his own. I liked the tone and the boy a lot in this book; I thought his prankster personality and how that was holding him back was depicted really well and sympathetically, and the way the work on the farm taught him lessons about himself and friendship was depicted without any lecturing. But I had some issues with the way the text and the other characters made no different between problems he caused and problems he had no responsibility for -- ignorance and carelessness were treated as equally deficient, even when he explicitly asked for instructions. The slow reveal of the magic worked really well, but at the end I also thought it was unfair to the kids in a deep way. There's a whole bible thing about not binding the mouths of working cows that seems very applicable here. So good book but I have some issues.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Complete Periodic Table: Elements with Style, </i>Simon Basher. Or maybe Adrian Dingle. </b>2007 Cybils Middle Grade and YA Nonfiction finalist. This was a fun listing of all the elements with enough detail and style to make them easy to remember. I wanted more of an explanation of how the rows and columns were determined but that would have increased the scope considerably. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Falling Out of Time, </i>Margaret Peterson Haddix. </b>Cybils nominee. There was a lot of nostalgia in my enjoyment of this story; every few years I read the previous book with my elementary book club and it's always a fun meeting. This one had an even thinner reason for the evil corporation to do its evil stuff and a threadbare reason that the mom had to send her kid to the rescue, but hey, it's a kid book so the kids get to do all the stuff. I really enjoyed watching the kids navigate the world using a summary of the previous book as the guide, and the imagination behind the whole World of the Future was enjoyable. Not plausible, but enjoyable.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Smart-opedia, </i>Eve Drobot.</b> 2007 Cybils Middle Grade and YA Nonfiction finalist. This doesn't have much narration (it's leaning into the -opedia) but presenting a variety of information in an interesting way. My memory of it is mostly the last page, which described some of the new technology opening up -- internet, pocket music, and oh my has time gone by fast. I liked the newspaper summaries after each topic as well, especially the puns on the masthead.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books & Short Stores</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="See the Ghost: Three Stories About Things You Cannot See" id="cover_review_5911841846" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666876787l/62967983._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>See the Ghost, </i>David LaRochelle.</b> Another fun early reader book, with a lot of humor and emotion conveyed in very few words and some simple illustrations. I especially liked when the wind blew all the words off the page and then found itself without a story. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"The Kingdom of Darkness," Katherine Addison. This was a rather grim alternate version of the New England witch trials, where witches are real but mass hysteria and poor decision making continue to dominate their trials. There aren't a lot of happy endings for the characters, but I was kept closely watching to see if they would manage a path out of the darkest possibilities.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 6" id="cover_review_5862336950" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688686256l/184354085._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack (Sammy Keyes, #15)" id="cover_review_282498252" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388717775l/12940305._SY75_.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="A Shadow in Summer (Long Price Quartet, #1)" id="cover_review_157527873" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442890371l/208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" id="cover_review_5823477205" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670270388l/61237167._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Clackity (Blight Harbor)" id="cover_review_5845214496" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654100019l/59365597._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Going Postal (Discworld, #33; Moist von Lipwig, #1)" id="cover_review_5854564328" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388236899l/64222._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Allegiance: A Novel" id="cover_review_5877734372" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1664540788l/62829772._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Marie Curie (Giants of Science)" id="cover_review_5861134634" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348947615l/2030572._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas" id="cover_review_5880978768" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388183687l/2095182._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>While still ridiculous, this is no worse than last week. Lack of Regression!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. I'll get back to it, don't worry!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5, Vol 6, </i>Miya Kazuki. I don't care how many times Myne realizes that she has fundamentally misunderstood something or is widely considered a weirdo, I am here for it!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. Huh, somehow I haven't been getting to the Baen podcast. OK, I have one in my queue now. Maybe next week?</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack, </i>Wendelin Van Draanen. Reading My Library Quest book, Renton Highlands J Audio. Did I really start this last week? I'm making excellent progress.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. No progress.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>Lori Gottlieb. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>A Shadow in Summer, </i>Daniel Abraham. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>Borderland, </i>Anna Reid. Got through another chapter. </div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Clackity, </i>Lora Senf. Cybils finalist. Not due yet, so pushed back for emergency reading.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Going Postal, </i>Terry Pratchett. For my Tuesday book club. Enjoying the tiny pieces I manage.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Allegiance, </i>Kermit Roosevelt. For <i>Torchers and Pitchforks. </i>I did not finish in time for the meeting, and now it has fallen down the priorities list. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Marie Curie, </i>Kathleen Krull. Cybils finalist. Library due dates have forced a drastic rethink of my reading order here. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Who Was First, </i>Russell Freedman. Cybils finalist. Also bumped by a library due date on a different book. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Milton.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). Onto a new chapter!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. I hope my fanfiction knowledge of <i>Merlin </i>carries me through. So far so good.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. A couple of bobbles where I forgot, but I straightened them out. Really enjoying the music and the introductions to the music.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on middle grade SF. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Working on some nonfiction. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Enjoying an audio. </li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure. Also, really I'm just reading Cybils so I'll be lucky to get 20 pages a day of these other books. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>Into the Broken Lands</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Going Postal</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Borderland</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>Dinners With Ruth</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> </li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Chalet School books</i></li><li><b>Audio:</b> <i>Mrs Pollifax Unveiled</i><i><br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-86055996819525353732023-10-17T01:19:00.003-07:002023-10-17T01:19:21.755-07:00I'm Trusting You<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I missed meeting up with my friend for our weekly run, so we ran separately and I got confused and accidentally ended up going almost twice as far as I meant to -- almost 5 miles! Which for people in decent shape is nothing much but that is not me. So I'm very proud but need to keep going.</div><div><br /></div><div>My son was happy to get his shifts changed so he could start making our weekly family dinner, so when it was CANCELED the first night he was off we made the effort to go meet my brother and his wife for dinner anyway. I like my family. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and I made a trip to Vashon Island to see the King Troll! Um, there should be a picture but I can't find it. <a href="https://www.seattleschild.com/vashons-new-giant-troll-by-thomas-dambo/#:~:text=Sail%20over%20to%20Vashon%20to%20meet%20this%20new%20neighbor&text=This%20has%20been%20the%20summer,of%20the%20Bird%20King%E2%80%9D%20exhibition.">You can see it here</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>CERT training continues to be interesting; we practiced rescuing people trapped under debris and how to organize groups of variable sizes and experience. I think it's more medical stuff next week. </div><div><br /></div><div>I spent the week with very disorderly reading, because I'm trying to finish off any book club ones I have a chance at and then bow out for a few months. But I mostly just spun my wheels. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">Official Plug For Cybils: </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>It's time for <a href="https://www.cybils.com/">CYBILS NOMINATIONS</a> if you are an author or a publisher. So if you've written a great children's book in the past year -- go nominate it! Especially if it's a middle grade speculative fiction book. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">--- End Official Plug ---</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I've entered Cybils season. I'm steady at 48 physical books checked out which includes some picture books and then there are a pile of ebooks.</div><div><br /></div><div>This post is not that late so I'm posting at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/10/16/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-392/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters as well as the kidlit version at <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27191">Unleashing Readers</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack (Sammy Keyes, #15)" id="cover_review_282498252" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388717775l/12940305._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Nightmare Island" id="cover_review_5892094207" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1663341210l/61779980._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Outside Nowhere" id="cover_review_5896593995" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645389517l/60323409._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Freddie vs. the Family Curse" id="cover_review_5896506388" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1623983944l/58311982._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Nightmare House" id="cover_review_5902355989" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1663128955l/61418407._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Pride of Chanur (Chanur, #1)" id="cover_review_5914116385" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316468938l/1197129._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack, </i>Wendelin Van Draanen. Reading My Library Quest book, Renton Highlands J Audio. A reread, but that's how I prefer my audios.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Nightmare Island, </i>Shakirah Bourne. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Outside Nowhere, </i>Adam Borba. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Freddie Vs the Family Curse, </i>Tracy Badua. Cybils finalist (from last year). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Nightmare House, </i>Sarah Allen. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Pride of Chanur, </i>C. J. Cherryh. Scintillation book club. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Demon Sword Asperides" id="cover_review_5889353519" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1681113699l/63251938._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Nightmare Island" id="cover_review_5892094207" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1663341210l/61779980._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><b><i>The Demon Sword Asperides, </i>Sarah Jean Horowitz</b>. Cybils nominee. I had a blast with this. I felt it was nicely balanced between the three main characters, with the two guys getting the most character growth but they started with the most to learn. Although the necromance had a good run as well. I liked how it played with tropes of Knighthood, both in terms of might vs right and with the ones who adhere to the more selfish parts of the "bro code" coming off the worst. I especially liked how much Horowitz worked with the idea of redemption, which was one of the themes of the book. </div><div><br /></div><div>I also enjoyed the humor and how it came from several different directions -- sometimes we were laughing at a situation, sometimes smiling at a misunderstanding, sometimes watching the fall of a baddie. And I liked saying the word Asperides. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Nightmare Island, </i>Shakirah Bourne. </b>Cybils nominee. Cybils nominee. Another strong book. I really liked the bond between the sister and brother, despite their different personalities and parental interactions. The situation where the family is loving but one child is baffling while the other "fits" was emotionally very true, and it set the foundation for all the creepy stuff on the island. I thought the plot was a bit overwrought, with several layers of baddies and then about three different fighting climaxes; this is probably a me problem but I got a bit lost. </div><div><br /></div><div>I also really liked that it wasn't set in America, but the characters just lived their life in their island nation and never thought about it.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Isabel and her Colores Go to School (English and Spanish Edition)" id="cover_review_5892246438" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617217957l/56633279._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?" id="cover_review_5888221395" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657517915l/61420118._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Isabel and Her Colores Go to School </i>Alexander Alessandri. </b>I like bilingual books, and in this case the words and illustrations show the difference between the comfortable language Isabel understands and the harsh sounds of the one she doesn't. But a friendship can reach across words and school is not ultimately and unmitigated horror for Isabel.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?</i>, Junauda Petrus</b>. This story is a poem for community, with children who make mischief being brought back into the community by people who love them and expect better from them, and who see lashing out as a problem to be solved (by love, by food, by healthy work) rather than as a sign of inherent evil. Discouraging in the distance between the picture book and the reality, but inspirational as an idea. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 6" id="cover_review_5862336950" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688686256l/184354085._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Shadow in Summer (Long Price Quartet, #1)" id="cover_review_157527873" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442890371l/208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" id="cover_review_5823477205" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670270388l/61237167._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Clackity (Blight Harbor)" id="cover_review_5845214496" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654100019l/59365597._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Going Postal (Discworld, #33; Moist von Lipwig, #1)" id="cover_review_5854564328" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388236899l/64222._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Allegiance: A Novel" id="cover_review_5877734372" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1664540788l/62829772._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Marie Curie (Giants of Science)" id="cover_review_5861134634" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348947615l/2030572._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas" id="cover_review_5880978768" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388183687l/2095182._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Encore in Death" id="cover_review_5668862648" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660602930l/61884849._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Smart-opedia: The Amazing Book About Everything" id="cover_review_5887985855" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328696109l/2973237._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>While still ridiculous, this is slightly less so than last week. Progress!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. I'll get back to it, don't worry!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5, Vol 6, </i>Miya Kazuki. Ahh, research on better paper. This is content I am here for. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. Huh, somehow I haven't been getting to the Baen podcast. OK, I have one in my queue now. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Made progress. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. Bookmark moved.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. Good intentions, no follow through. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. I need more time in my day.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>Lori Gottlieb. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>A Shadow in Summer, </i>Daniel Abraham. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>Borderland, </i>Anna Reid. Got through another chapter. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Clackity, </i>Lora Senf. Cybils finalist. I sorta ignored laundry for a week, and laundry is when I read old Cybils finalists. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Going Postal, </i>Terry Pratchett. For my Tuesday book club. I found it! Didn't finish it though. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Allegiance, </i>Kermit Roosevelt. For <i>Torchers and Pitchforks. </i>I did not finish in time for the meeting, and now it has fallen down the priorities list. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Marie Curie, </i>Kathleen Krull. Cybils finalist. Library due dates have forced a drastic rethink of my reading order here. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Who Was First, </i>Russell Freedman. Cybils finalist. Also bumped by a library due date on a different book. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Encore in Death, </i>J.D. Robb. It's a paperback, and I'm reading it only because I like it. And it's easy because it's devoted to its pattern.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Smart-opedia, </i>Eve Drobot. Cybils finalist. Even inter-library loan books go under overdue books in precedence. </div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). The student example was pretty lame.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. I hope my fanfiction knowledge of <i>Merlin </i>carries me through. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Still caught up, thanks to a beautiful 20 minute Bach piece.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on middle grade SF. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Working on some nonfiction. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Finished an audio and started the next. </li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure. Also, really I'm just reading Cybils so I'll be lucky to get 20 pages a day of these other books. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>Into the Broken Lands</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Going Postal</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Borderland</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Flight Attendant</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Falling Out of Time</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Chalet School books</i></li><li><b>Audio:</b> <i>Angel of the Crows</i><i><br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-11171433668673170742023-10-12T02:33:00.006-07:002023-10-12T02:33:48.670-07:00Cybils Cybils Cybils!<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Got my autumn vaccinations in -- went in for my flu shot and got my covid shot as well. That gave me the excuse to call out for pizza for dinner. I managed to make my weekly walk the next morning, but that was about all I got done. I was fine the next day, though. I think I have one more vision appointment and then my medical chores are done for a few months.</div><div><br /></div><div>CERT training continues to be good, and it reminds me to get to the gym so I can do all the cool stuff I'm learning. I need to get more books on audio so I can listen as I run along.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I need to get those books done because CYBILS has started so I should be pounding down a book a day. And I sorta am but I'm starting more than I finish because apparently that's how I roll as a reader.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">Official Plug For Cybils: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: left;">It's time for </span><a href="https://www.cybils.com/" style="text-align: left;">CYBILS NOMINATIONS</a><span style="text-align: left;">. You will have a chance to nominate the picture books, middle grade books, YA books, fiction and nonfiction and poetry books for kids that came out in the past year and that were great to read and great to recommend! I need you to look over middle grade speculative fiction and find me the best of the best from the past year!</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">--- End Official Plug ---</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I've entered Cybils season. I'm at 48 physical books checked out which includes some picture books and then there are a pile of ebooks.</div><div><br /></div><div>This post is late so I'm not posting at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/10/02/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-390/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters. But I'll check out what everyone else is reading in the kitlit version of that at <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27175">Unleashing Readers</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Allegiance: A Novel" id="cover_review_5877734372" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1664540788l/62829772._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas" id="cover_review_5880978768" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388183687l/2095182._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ellie Engle Saves Herself" id="cover_review_5887889429" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660877509l/57397858._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Speculation" id="cover_review_5887889897" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666365505l/39884438._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Demon Sword Asperides" id="cover_review_5889353519" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1681113699l/63251938._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Encore in Death" id="cover_review_5668862648" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660602930l/61884849._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Smart-opedia: The Amazing Book About Everything" id="cover_review_5887985855" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328696109l/2973237._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Allegiance, </i>Kermit Roosevelt. For <i>Torchers and Pitchforks. </i>I may have put this off too late. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Who Was First, </i>Russell Freedman. Cybils finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ellie Engle Saves Herself,</i> Leah Johnson. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Speculation, </i>Nisi Shawl. Cybils nominee.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Demon Sword Asperides, </i>Sarah Jean Horowitz. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Encore in Death, </i>J.D. Robb. Nobody cares if I read this book. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Smart-opedia, </i>Eve Drobot. Cybils finalist.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Witch's Heart" id="cover_review_5867427535" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593104643l/53438195._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4)" id="cover_review_1724215166" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463500254l/23922381._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Hunt for the Hollower" id="cover_review_5858480849" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684547240l/62919161._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ellie Engle Saves Herself" id="cover_review_5887889429" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660877509l/57397858._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Speculation" id="cover_review_5887889897" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666365505l/39884438._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><b><i>The Witch's Heart, </i>Genevieve Gornichec. </b><i>Cloudy </i>pick this month. I was the only one who both showed up and read it, but I enjoyed it. I liked that it was lower on the steamy level -- more a novel than a romance novel, and that it was a retelling of the Norse myths but from the point of view of Angboda. So we see Loki both as someone she might fall for and as someone who she eventually rejects. And in the meantime there are other interesting takes on immortality and the slippery nature of time and rebirth, and what it means to be a parent, and who takes priority in our lives -- ourselves, our images of ourselves, our family, or what?</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Creeping Shadow, </i>Jonathan Stroud. </b>The next audio in my Reading My Library quest. This really came together in an exciting way! I really like the situation (ghosts that can only be fought by young teens) and the way the team works together. I disliked the whole "everyone thinks Lucy is jealous of Holly" plotline, both the parts in which Lucy is jealous of Holly and also how everyone assumes Lucy's motivations are based there, but luckily that gets tidied away in this book so we can go back to fighting ghosts and corrupt adults. Also I remembered that there's a TV show so I'll watch a bit of that. On to the next shelf!</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Hunt for the Hollower, </i>Callie Miller.</b> Warm-up for Cybils. First of all, Merlynda is a great name. Also, I really liked how this treated the relationship between the sister and brother, who were loyal to each other despite one being a magical prodigy and the other being a hopeless magical screw-up. I also enjoyed the best friend's knightly quest, and how she never noticed it was supposed to be a card game. Moving the point of view around also gave us the chance to see into the lost bard's motivations, both when he was messing up all opportunities to communicate and later when he was managing to be friendly for minutes at a time. I liked the various problems, I liked the inevitable confrontation and what the author did to put her own spin on the predicted reveal (probably not as predicted by fresher readers), and I liked the mix of justice and compassion and how that was a theme throughout the book. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Ellie Engle Saves Herself,</i> Leah Johnson.</b> Cybils nominee. This had a good mix of exaggeration and realism. The internet star and the media frenzy worked for exaggeration, but the friendship shifting and worries about crushes at the start of middle school seemed emotionally spot-on. I'm not sure that these elements, plus the developing super powers, really worked together, but most of them worked at the time. Emotionally, tying puberty and super powers together really works for me, especially as Ellie worries about hiding her abilities, learns that she can't take without giving (well, sometimes), and thinks she's the only person ever to have these problems. I do have some refrigerator thoughts -- the cost of her powers seems inconsistent (who paid for the beta fish?), I'm worried that her best friend's gymnastics team is too pressured, and who would write a contract that didn't pay off if the miracle wasn't successful? Did the mom not involve a lawyer there?</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Speculation, </i>Nisi Shawl.</b> Cybils nominee. This had a great sense of agency for the main character -- she had a mostly loving family (looking at you, cousin Benny! and I guess the dad was out of the picture) but she expected to solve her problems by herself and to be a support for her little sister. The magic in the glasses was cool, as were the call-outs to older books about magic that she uses for guidance. HowWinna approached "twinning" was nifty, and the only magic that Benny did sure raised the stakes.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did feel the sense of history wasn't really strong; occasionally we'd get a reminder that things were in the past but 1962 is a while ago and I sorta expected more. I guess they couldn't look things up on the internet much. And I wanted more direct action from Winna for the final solution; it seemed that luck played a rather large part in that. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="How to Count to ONE: And Don't Even Think About Bigger Numbers!" id="cover_review_5861121449" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680095876l/62587774._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Little Red Hen: An Old Fable" id="cover_review_5867927345" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348769525l/736365._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 6" id="cover_review_5862336950" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688686256l/184354085._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Shadow in Summer (Long Price Quartet, #1)" id="cover_review_157527873" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442890371l/208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" id="cover_review_5823477205" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670270388l/61237167._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Clackity (Blight Harbor)" id="cover_review_5845214496" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654100019l/59365597._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Going Postal (Discworld, #33; Moist von Lipwig, #1)" id="cover_review_5854564328" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388236899l/64222._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Marie Curie (Giants of Science)" id="cover_review_5861134634" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348947615l/2030572._SY75_.jpg" /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>While still ridiculous, this is slightly less so than last week. Progress!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. I'll get back to it, don't worry!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5, Vol 6, </i>Miya Kazuki. I am slowly savoring this. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. Huh, somehow I haven't been getting to the Baen podcast. OK, I have one in my queue now. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Made progress. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. Bookmark moved.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. Good intentions, no follow through. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. I need more time in my day.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>Lori Gottlieb. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>A Shadow in Summer, </i>Daniel Abraham. <i>Scintillation </i>book club pick. Missed the book club.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>Borderland, </i>Anna Reid. Got through another chapter. </div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Clackity, </i>Lora Senf. Cybils finalist. I sorta ignored laundry for a week, and laundry is when I read old Cybils finalists. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Going Postal, </i>Terry Pratchett. For my Tuesday book club. I'm behind. And now I've misplaced my copy. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Marie Curie, </i>Kathleen Krull. Cybils finalist. Library due dates have forced a drastic rethink of my reading order here. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. If lost in a magic market, ask the dogs for directions. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). More personal essays. I liked the bicycling in New Hampshire one.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. I hope my fanfiction knowledge of <i>Merlin </i>carries me through. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Whew, caught up. Also caught up with my mail. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on middle grade SF. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Working on some nonfiction. Unfortunately they all showed up at once.</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on an audio. Picked up some Easy fairy tales at Renton Highlands.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure. Also, really I'm just reading Cybils so I'll be lucky to get 20 pages a day of these other books. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>Into the Broken Lands</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Going Postal</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Borderland</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Flight Attendant</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Falling Out of Time</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Chalet School books</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b>considering my next one. Many options. <i><br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-73645023203649692222023-10-03T01:03:00.001-07:002023-10-03T01:03:15.050-07:00All the Appointments<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Lots of adulting this week, both in fun and dreary ways. On the dreary side, this was a week of maintenance appointments. Got my car serviced. Got my eyes checked (I needed a new prescription). Got my teeth checked (no cavities!). </div><div><br /></div><div>But on the fun side, my son had a birthday! I missed his birthday dinner because I was off PUTTING OUT FIRES but I made him a cake. And got him a present and arranged for his uncle to come out to dinner with him and his aunt's family. So I think that was OK. </div><div><br /></div><div>And two days later my brother had his birthday. He had been reminiscing about the games nights we used to have on New Years, so we threw him one. First he came down and helped me clean out my garage a little and move some furniture around (he likes it!) and then we played <i>Chupacabra</i> and <i>Simon's Cat </i>and <i>Chronology</i> and <i>Apples to Apples </i>and had wine and beer and whiskey. Probably some other games as well, but what with all the wine whiskey I don't remember them. At the end we estimated that the Birthday Man had won the most games so he was awarded the traditional Ugly Christmas Ornament. I have to say, it's more of a challenge to find one of those in September than it is in early January!</div><div><br /></div><div>My CERT class this weeks was on fire safety, and we got to play with extinguishers and put out fires. Woot!</div><div><br /></div><div><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">Official Plug For Cybils: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: left;">It's time for </span><a href="https://www.cybils.com/" style="text-align: left;">CYBILS NOMINATIONS</a><span style="text-align: left;">. You will have a chance to nominate the picture books, middle grade books, YA books, fiction and nonfiction and poetry books for kids that came out in the past year and that were great to read and great to recommend! I need you to look over middle grade speculative fiction and find me the best of the best from the past year!</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">--- End Official Plug ---</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm at 28 physical books checked out which includes some picture books and then there are a pile of ebooks. And we're about to enter Cybils season. Oops. I mean really, oops. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/10/02/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-390/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>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 <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/">Unleashing Readers</a>. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Marie Curie (Giants of Science)" id="cover_review_5861134634" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348947615l/2030572._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 6" id="cover_review_5862336950" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688686256l/184354085._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Elf Dog and Owl Head" id="cover_review_5865551985" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1662726041l/62341474._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Witch's Heart" id="cover_review_5867427535" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593104643l/53438195._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="黒執事 XXVIII [Kuroshitsuji XXVIII] (Black Butler, #28)" id="cover_review_5668876747" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551061739l/40670799._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Hometown Christmas (Hometown Alaska Men, #3.5)" id="cover_review_5876136784" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480801385l/33234655._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Marie Curie, </i>Kathleen Krull. Cybils finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5, Vol 6, </i>Miya Kazuki. Yay! The new one is out! Let's see how long I can make this one last. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Elf Dog and Owl Head, </i>M.T. Anderson. Warm up for Cybils.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Witch's Heart, </i>Genevieve Gornichec. <i>Cloudy </i>pick this month. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Black Butler 28, </i>Yana Toboso. Continuing the series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Hometown Christmas, </i>Joleen James. I think I got this for free from the author?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Smek for President! (Smek, #2)" id="cover_review_5722908682" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392892561l/20706799._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose, #4)" id="cover_review_4187175812" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643996397l/54679851._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Planetfall (Planetfall, #1)" id="cover_review_5739951074" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445790024l/24612005._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Elf Dog and Owl Head" id="cover_review_5865551985" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1662726041l/62341474._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="China Mountain Zhang" id="cover_review_247646976" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346669090l/836964._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="黒執事 XXVIII [Kuroshitsuji XXVIII] (Black Butler, #28)" id="cover_review_5668876747" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551061739l/40670799._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Hometown Christmas (Hometown Alaska Men, #3.5)" id="cover_review_5876136784" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480801385l/33234655._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><b><i>Smek For President, </i>Adam Rex. </b>The great thing about Rex's books is how well he balances humor and heart. There are lots of laugh-out-loud moments, there are great comedic scenes, the whole tone is light-hearted, and yet there these are real characters who really grow and sometimes hurt. Also their weapons are cool. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress.</b> I can always count on Kress to have real people with adult reactions and emotions doing real work. I like her science. This was a nifty thriller with a mosquito plague. And of course, having just lived through a pandemic, it was interesting to see how people reacted in this fictional setting.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Serpent in Heaven, </i>Charlaine Harris.</b> I liked the voice a lot, and seeing how Harris's fascinating alternate history works with this character is a pleasure. I really enjoyed the audio reread, and now that it's done I need to find another way to entice myself into cleaning the kitchen. Hmm. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Planetfall, </i>Emma Newman. </b><i>Sword & Laser </i>pick a while ago. I think Newman did what she wanted very well, but it wasn't quite what I wanted. It was a very interesting perspective on a mental disorder, with a well grounded onset and emotionally logical progression, but I was here for the alien colonization. Also, none of the characters were particularly endearing, and they almost all ended badly. Apparently the second in the series goes off in a very different direction and again does what it means to do very well, so I might try that one. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Elf Dog and Owl Head, </i>M.T. Anderson.</b> This had great bits and some missteps. I really liked the world the boy found and how the dog was both utterly a dog but also a magical being. I liked how the family had to deal with the magic run offs, although sometimes it veered too far into slapstick, which undercut the emotional realism. I found the sisters more stereotypes rather than real characters, which fed into the unpleasantness of the family's relationships. I guess that's why Amos Owl Head was a better friend than any of the humans. The setting and story was great, but the mix of fantasy and the real world was a bit clumsy and pulled me out a few times.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>China Mountain Zhang, </i>Maureen McHugh. </b><i>Sword and Laser's </i>September pick. This was described to me as a mosaic novel that was more than the sum of its parts (by Jo Walton) and that's right. I really liked how the different threads sometimes barely intersected but gave a wide overview of the society and made things feel really solid. I liked watching the rather hapless young adult grow into himself and eventually realize it and appreciate himself. I liked the couple on Mars and their struggles and am very concerned for the pretty girl. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Black Butler 28, </i>Yana Toboso.</b> More twin shenanigans, with old characters (who I had mostly forgotten coming back to crow over their plot. But it does throw our characters into a fun situation, so that makes me look forward to the next book. I continue to be mostly baffled by action scenes, which is all on me and does not mean the author isn't doing a great job for everybody else. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Hometown Christmas, </i>Joleen James</b>. This is a novella in the middle of a romance series, I think, but because it is so short it reads more as a thriller than a romance. The protagonist uses the opportunity of the hostage situation she finds herself in to think about her relationship, but the story is about how she and her sisters deal with the attackers. Which made it easier for me to jump in and enjoy it without having to keep the family straight. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith.</b> This is a strongly realized world, and this book is just a step in the history. I still need the next book! Luckily I have it.</div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="How to Count to ONE: And Don't Even Think About Bigger Numbers!" id="cover_review_5861121449" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680095876l/62587774._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Little Red Hen: An Old Fable" id="cover_review_5867927345" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348769525l/736365._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>How to Count to 1: And Don't Even THINK About Bigger Numbers, </i>Caspar Salmon. </b>Thanks for recommending this, Blogger that I checked out! It was a lot of fun. I like both number books and books where the kid gets to be smarter than the text, and this works for both. The way that the illustrations echoes a counting book -- three whales, one of them balances a sausage on its blowhole -- Count the Sausage! This would be a fun family read. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Little Red Hen: An Old Fable, </i>Heather Forest. </b>Renton Highlands Library Reading My Library Quest book. The 398 fairy tales get their own section, and I pulled this one off. It has an odd mix between the picture tone and the text tone sometimes, and also tended to fall out of rhymes unexpectedly. But it covers the bases of the fable, and the reluctant animals shape up by the end. Oh, I always heard the hen making bread, but here she bakes a cake. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4)" id="cover_review_1724215166" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463500254l/23922381._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Shadow in Summer (Long Price Quartet, #1)" id="cover_review_157527873" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442890371l/208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" id="cover_review_5823477205" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670270388l/61237167._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Clackity (Blight Harbor)" id="cover_review_5845214496" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654100019l/59365597._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Going Postal (Discworld, #33; Moist von Lipwig, #1)" id="cover_review_5854564328" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388236899l/64222._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Hunt for the Hollower" id="cover_review_5858480849" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684547240l/62919161._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>While still ridiculous, this is slightly less so than last week. Progress!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Abandoning my reread of Part 3 now since the new one just dropped. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. Huh, somehow I haven't been getting to the Baen podcast. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Made progress. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. Good intentions, no follow through. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. I need more time in my day.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Creeping Shadow, </i>Jonathan Stroud. The next audio in my Reading My Library quest. I am seeking reasons to drive my car so I can listen. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>Lori Gottlieb. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>A Shadow in Summer, </i>Daniel Abraham. <i>Scintillation </i>book club pick. Missed the book club.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>Borderland, </i>Anna Reid. Got through another chapter. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Clackity, </i>Lora Senf. Cybils finalist. I sorta ignored laundry for a week, and laundry is when I read old Cybils finalists. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Going Postal, </i>Terry Pratchett. For my Tuesday book club. Not sure if I'm behind or ahead. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Hunt for the Hollower, </i>Callie Miller. Warm-up for Cybils. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. Cats and dogs and marketplaces.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture). More personal essays. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. Finished <i>Hunger Games </i>and Rue, moving on to Gwen in <i>Merlin. </i></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Whew, caught up. Also caught up with my mail. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on middle grade SF. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Working on some nonfiction<i>. </i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on an audio. Picked up some Easy fairy tales at Renton Highlands.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>Into the Broken Lands</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Allegiance</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Borderland</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Flight Attendant</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Going Postal</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Chalet School books</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b>considering my next one. Many options. <i><br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-31205447568970111392023-09-25T22:41:00.002-07:002023-09-25T22:41:31.237-07:00I'm A Judge!<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Whoo hoo! I'm a Middle Grade Speculative Fiction First Round Cybils Judge! I get to read all the fun books! I'm trying to actually finish some of the books I'm reading this month so that in October I can go crazy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Fun book clubs this week -- <i>River Runs Under It </i>discussed Isabel Allende's <i>The Long Petal of the Sea </i>which was a great book and a great discussion, and the <i>Romance Reader's </i>group looked at historical romances, which is a great deal of fun although we talked about how to recognize when history was actually involved and when it was not. <br /><br />My son went off on his Grand European Adventure with his two cousins; they are all about the same age and planned a great itinerary from Portugal to Spain, France and Italy. Things got off to a rocky start when the two Seattle cousins missed their connection and ended up flying to London (missed another connection) then to Frankfort (yet another missed connection) and finally, over 24 hours late, made it to their first official destination. Luckily my son's phone worked for several more days before the international plan he signed up for hiccoughed and locked him off the information superhighway on his way back from the airport where his luggage had finally caught up to him. Sure hope he gets that worked out! I tried to push from my end but finally gave up and handed control of our family phone plan to him so he could pester them directly. Good luck! </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm signed up for a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) class, so I'll spend Thursdays learning how to do fun things like put out small fires, mobilize for catastrophes (volcanoes, tidal waves, terrorism, etc.) and get a cool helmet. Should be fun! The first class involved free chocolate bars, so clearly I'm going to enjoy myself. </div><div><br /></div><div>The rain came down and reminded me that my garage is still full of boxes from clearing out my mom's apartment. So I've started working on that again, because I definitely want my car under shelter when it gets colder!</div><div><br /></div><div><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">Official Plug For Cybils: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div>OK world, one week left before it's time for <a href="https://www.cybils.com/">CYBILS NOMINATIONS</a>. You will have a chance to nominate the picture books, middle grade books, YA books, fiction and nonfiction and poetry books for kids that came out in the past year and that were great to read and great to recommend! I need you to look over middle grade speculative fiction and find me the best of the best from the past year!</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">--- End Official Plug ---</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm still at 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm at 32 physical books checked out which includes some picture books and then there are a pile of ebooks. And we're about to enter Cybils season. Oops. I mean really, oops. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/09/25/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-389/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>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 <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/27124">Unleashing Readers</a>. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion" id="cover_review_5844396895" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646647401l/59406559._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="The Clackity (Blight Harbor)" id="cover_review_5845214496" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654100019l/59365597._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Long Petal of the Sea" id="cover_review_5852006824" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565211383l/46042377._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry" id="cover_review_5710409536" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1686091498l/61446350._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Going Postal (Discworld, #33; Moist von Lipwig, #1)" id="cover_review_5854564328" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388236899l/64222._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Noble Smuggler (Georgian Gentlemen #1)" id="cover_review_5854564153" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574726269l/48979477._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Hunt for the Hollower" id="cover_review_5858480849" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684547240l/62919161._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ruby Finley Vs the Interstellar Invasion, </i>K. Tempest Bradford. I've read good essays by this author. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Clackity, </i>Lora Senf. Cybils finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>A Long Petal of the Sea, </i>Isabel Allende. Renton Library's <i>River Runs Under It </i>book club pick. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry, </i>Chad Morris and Shelly Brown. The library tempted me. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Going Postal, </i>Terry Pratchett. For my Tuesday book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Noble Smuggler, </i>Sian Ann Bessey. For Romance Readers Club: Historical.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Hunt for the Hollower, </i>Callie Miller. Warm-up for Cybils. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion" id="cover_review_5844396895" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646647401l/59406559._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Shattered (Closer to the Sun, #1)" id="cover_review_5836144401" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1693561172l/198246384._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry" id="cover_review_5710409536" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1686091498l/61446350._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Long Petal of the Sea" id="cover_review_5852006824" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565211383l/46042377._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Noble Smuggler (Georgian Gentlemen #1)" id="cover_review_5854564153" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574726269l/48979477._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><b><i>Ruby Finley Vs the Interstellar Invasion, </i>K. Tempest Bradford. </b>I really enjoyed this book about Ruby. She was smart, compassionate, independent and respectful. She got in trouble sometimes but didn't whine about it; she knew her parents wouldn't believe some stuff (like about the alien) so she and her friends aimed not so much to deal with the invasion on their own but to figure out a way to make the adults they trusted understand the problem. Of course, by the time the grown-ups caught up the kids had managed to save the day. I liked Ruby's fascination with science and how she and her parents pushed back against the lousy teacher's attempts to squash her enthusiasm. The balance of real-life problems and alien problems worked and both illuminated the same truths of Ruby's character.</div><div><i><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><b>Shattered, </b></i><b>Lisa J. Morgan.</b> This is a steamy paranormal romance featuring a Secret Organization of psychically powered people who save the day. There's a meet-cute where the precog-vision-having protagonist meets the empath who will help her go undercover to figure out where exactly the terrorist attack she's predicting will take place, and as she walks into the room she gets a vision of having really hot sex with her soon-to-be-partner. They immediately get into a huge spat that they refuse to explain and their boss sends them off to save lives! Once he figures out she isn't deliberately sending pornographic feelings his way he lightens up, but unfortunately his idea of "lightening up" skates a bit close to sexual harrassment, as he keeps trying to generate more visions and then grill her about the details, taunting her with "lie!" as she grimly tries to hang onto a professional relationship. But once they start moving on their mission their strengths come to the fore -- both are dedicated hero types with multiple moments of awesome! And they are really hot for each other and get along great so maybe they will find something to do when they are forced to hide out together in a small safe house... There's an annoying emotional final twist at the end (dumb genre conventions) but the plot is fast and smart so I forgive it. Good job by a new author and I'll keep an eye out for the next one. </div><div><br />I received a copy of this book for review, and I read it on time, which is actually a really good sign since I'm so far behind on finishing almost everything (see below). </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry, </i>Chad Morris and Shelly Brown. </b>I briefly homeschooled my kids and it was great. We had to stop because my ex was much worse at it than me and that made him cross, but it makes me curious about other books about homeschooling. This is an extreme example -- Juniper's family have eschewed all the trappings of civilization, not just schools, and when they are forced back due to a medical emergency she's baffled by electricity, elevators, and embarrassment. Specifically why her peers want to waste time being mean to each other instead of exploring the world. It's a wild journey, and does not end in the depressing way more ex-homeschooling books do, with the kid deciding middle school is better after all. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>A Long Petal of the Sea, </i>Isabel Allende. </b>I loved this. I loved the language and the characters and their mistakes (hello, doctor who doesn't know about birth control!) and their triumphs, I loved the history, I loved how everything eventually came back, I loved the story of the marriage and the family and the language. I should definitely read more Allende. I had to leave the book club early but I think most people liked it, although the vivid war scenes gave some people some bad nights. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Noble Smuggler, </i>Sian Ann Bessey.</b> The cover calls it a Historical Romance. I did learn some history -- I may remember more about Pitt reducing the tea tax and raising revenue while curbing smuggling in one legislative triumph. Maybe it's good to have one big fact that I might remember than a lot of smaller ones that I'll quickly forget. The romance part had the problem that the problem between the characters was completely external, so solving it (or having it solved for them, really) did not require any emotional growth. That's a rather static thread for a main engine of a romance book.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Gibberish" id="cover_review_5856949649" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629118238l/58739418._SX50_.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Gibberish, </i>Young Vo.</b> Thank you to whichever kidlit blogger recommended this, because I also enjoyed it a lot. I thought the crazy font was an excellent way to depict the emotions of being surrounded by an incomprehensible language, as was the black and white aliens speaking the unknown tongue. As Dat slowly picks up more words color seeps back into his world and the aliens reveal themselves as possibly friendly people. Just as I hope the world feels for all kids facing a new school and a new language.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4)" id="cover_review_1724215166" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463500254l/23922381._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose, #4)" id="cover_review_4187175812" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643996397l/54679851._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Planetfall (Planetfall, #1)" id="cover_review_5739951074" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445790024l/24612005._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="China Mountain Zhang" id="cover_review_247646976" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346669090l/836964._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Shadow in Summer (Long Price Quartet, #1)" id="cover_review_157527873" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442890371l/208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Smek for President! (Smek, #2)" id="cover_review_5722908682" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392892561l/20706799._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" id="cover_review_5823477205" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670270388l/61237167._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>Yes, this is getting ridiculous. I'm definitely going to finish some of these. Any day now!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. The new one dropped! I'm making myself finish out the chapter. She's bonding with Ferdinand over tricking Sylvester.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. Huh, somehow I haven't been getting to the Baen podcast. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Made progress. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. The June <i>Sword and Laser </i>book club pick.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. Into the danger lands!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Creeping Shadow, </i>Jonathan Stroud. The next audio in my Reading My Library quest. Lots of action here, and much less girl-on-girl dislike. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Serpent in Heaven, </i>Charlaine Harris. The teen protagonist is very a teenager, in a good way.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>Lori Gottlieb. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Planetfall, </i>Emma Newman. <i>Sword & Laser </i>pick a while ago. Wow, this is getting depressing. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>China Mountain Zhang, </i>Maureen McHugh. <i>Sword and Laser's </i>September pick.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>A Shadow in Summer, </i>Daniel Abraham. <i>Scintillation </i>book club pick. Missed the book club.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Smek For President, </i>Adam Rex. I like how the things the girl is avoiding slowly circle back, like that black assassin does.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Borderland, </i>Anna Reid. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. </div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. Some people take the danger more seriously than others. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Okay, I've almost caught up, both with my mail and the Music of the Day.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on middle grade SF. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Working on some nonfiction<i>. </i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on an audio. Picked up some Easy fairy tales at Renton Highlands.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>China Mountain Zhang</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Allegiance</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Borderland</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Witch's Heart</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Going Postal</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>Chalet School books</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b>considering my next one. Many options. <i><br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-45340043769804884412023-09-18T22:54:00.001-07:002023-09-18T22:54:07.102-07:00New Restaurants<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>OK, I'm moving into fall. I'm scheduling all the school stuff (workout sessions, school book clubs, etc.), and finding a few pieces of my mom's estate to clean up. And we had a nice time going out to celebrate New Restaurants Day. My mom had enjoyed going out to restaurants with her friends, so we started doing that in Renton with the intention of inviting more people to join, but we only had the first meeting (yum) before she got sick. So now I am keeping on, although so far just with the family.</div><div><br /></div><div>Where did we go this month? <i>The Big Chicken</i>, which is Shaq O'Neil's chicken chain that recently opened a branch in Renton. My mom would have hated this place! But we enjoyed it, despite them being out of the Gramma's Banana Pudding ice cream sandwiches (guess I'll have to go back). Let me highly recommend the sweet potato waffle fries. </div><div><br /></div><div>At home we had more gourmet food, as I snuck Fish Tacos onto the menu. Then two adults said they couldn't make dinner so it would be just me and my son. He and I secretly prefer to eat around ten at night, so he waited until then and then made them -- spices for the fish, radish and cabbage slaw, avocado sauce. Yum! He did skip the sides I had suggested because my sister dislikes fish. I guess we could make them this week. </div><div><br /></div><div>I barely exercised at all. Even though the weekend weather was perfect for it! But I did sign up for a CERT class to get training on emergency procedures. Hopefully that will remind me why I wanted to get fit. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">Official Plug For Cybils: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div>OK world, it's time to line up all the new kidlit that you enjoyed this year, because we are gearing up for <a href="https://www.cybils.com/">CYBILS NOMINATIONS</a>. No, not quite yet, (hint, it's in October) but soon you will have a chance to nominate the picture books, middle grade books, YA books, fiction and nonfiction and poetry books for kids that came out in the past year and that were great to read and great to recommend!</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">--- End Official Plug ---</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm back up to 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm at 30 physical books checked out which includes some picture books plus five ebooks. And we're about to enter Cybils season. Oops. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/09/18/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-388/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>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 <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/26808">Unleashing Readers</a>. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Faceoff" id="cover_review_5836143857" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407137953l/18775278._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="The Talk" id="cover_review_5839123095" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1671530405l/61796675._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Shattered (Closer to the Sun, #1)" id="cover_review_5836144401" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1693561172l/198246384._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>FaceOff, </i>ed by David Baldacci. Reading My Library Quest, Renton Library, Fiction. I picked this off the first F shelf. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Talk, </i>Darrin Bell. Grabbed impulsively from a Seattle library branch. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Shattered, </i>Lisa J. Morgan. From author, for review.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Starship Repo" id="cover_review_5824648534" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537650846l/41555955._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Walls around Opportunity: The Failure of Colorblind Policy for Higher Education (Our Compelling Interests, 5)" id="cover_review_5739155648" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636977831l/59149234._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Faceoff" id="cover_review_5836143857" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407137953l/18775278._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="The Talk" id="cover_review_5839123095" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1671530405l/61796675._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Marvellers (Conjureverse, #1)" id="cover_review_5806013867" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620716941l/56896065._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><b><i>Starship Repo, </i>Patrick S. Tomlinson.</b> For my Friday book club. This was a light-hearted heist novel, with a lot of interesting aliens and dubious finances and a young human with a talent for electronic theft, here turned to a (mostly) legal use. There were some implausible bits I was completely willing to swallow and some I had to choke down, as well as modern Easter Eggs scattered about, some subtle, some I probably missed, and some glaring (yes, I'm talking about the statue in the casino). We tend to read these fun books in the summer, although I don't think our next picks are getting more challenging. But still fun to talk about!</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Walls Around Opportunity, </i>Gary Orfield.</b> The premise of this book is that our society is set up so that Hispanic and Black children are specifically disadvantaged, and that color-blind policies will fail to accurately target the people who need them, since the needs are to a great extent determined by past or present racism in our country. For example, poverty for White or Asian people tends to be a short-term situation (students, recent break-ups, sudden job loss) while for many PoCs it's a long term, sometimes generational issue. School and school districts are carefully set up to segregate people by color, which often also means segregating by income, and then those feed on each other. Colleges who are denied the ability to seek out and support students of color will continue the American habit of separating the best elementary and secondary education by race, then pretending innocence when color-blind "merit" selection sends mostly White and Asian kids on to college from their well funded and institutionally favored schools. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>FaceOff, </i>ed by David Baldacci. </b>I enjoyed this anthology even though I'm not a big thriller reader. The gimmick was to have famous thriller writers team up to have their series regulars (if they had series) meet and deal with a problem, usually on the same side. (I had assumed they would be facing off against each other, but mostly they cooperated directly and occasionally indirectly.) Baldacci wrote intros for each story, which was handy since I didn't know most of the characters (or authors), but the stories worked for me anyway. And in the few cases where I recognized people (Hi Jack Reacher!) it was a bonus. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Talk, </i>Darrin Bell. </b>This graphic novel memoir starts when Bell is frightened first by a growling dog and later by a police officer, both inspiring long nightmares. The fear of police is actually fairly rational for a young black boy, as explained by his White mom. His brother and father don't want to admit to this; the brother insisting that they are targeted for being poor, his father refusing to speak about it at all. Bell tells of his life through college and beyond, constantly having to ask himself if he's seeing patterns or imagining them. And at the end, he has to contemplate giving "The Talk" to his own children, seeing how things have changed and yet not changed, and how he's going to handle the issue with his own children, given the examples he has encountered throughout his life. Powerful story and amazing I think I rarely had to figure out who was who!</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Marvellers, </i>Dhonielle Clayton. </b>2022 Cybils MG Spec Fic finalist. A strong entry in the "kid goes to magic school" genre, which I am glad to see is still going strong. This one has an international school that isn't sure it wants to accept "conjurors" such as our heroine and her family, and she and her friends have to grapple with prejudice as well as normal boarding school issues. I like the idea of different kinds of magic and how institutions that think they have categorized everything are uneasy with power that doesn't quite fit their guidelines. As an adult, I thought her stated reasons for avoiding adult help a bit bogus (her aunt was <i>right there</i>) but I suspect kids would wonder why she needed a reason at all; kids solve problems in kid books. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> None</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4)" id="cover_review_1724215166" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463500254l/23922381._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose, #4)" id="cover_review_4187175812" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643996397l/54679851._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Planetfall (Planetfall, #1)" id="cover_review_5739951074" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445790024l/24612005._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="China Mountain Zhang" id="cover_review_247646976" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346669090l/836964._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Shadow in Summer (Long Price Quartet, #1)" id="cover_review_157527873" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442890371l/208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Smek for President! (Smek, #2)" id="cover_review_5722908682" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392892561l/20706799._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" id="cover_review_5823477205" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670270388l/61237167._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>Yes, this is getting ridiculous. I'm definitely going to finish some of these. Any day now!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Continuing my reread of Part 3 while I await the next book. We are just meeting Sylvester's evil sister!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. Huh, somehow I haven't been getting to the Baen podcast. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Made it a few pages. I really going to remember to schedule that service for my car!</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. The June <i>Sword and Laser </i>book club pick.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. Into the danger lands!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Creeping Shadow, </i>Jonathan Stroud. The next audio in my Reading My Library quest. I'm on disc 7, so I hope I finish before the library calls it home. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Serpent in Heaven, </i>Charlaine Harris. I'm enjoying the accent of the narrator. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>Lori Gottlieb. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Planetfall, </i>Emma Newman. <i>Sword & Laser </i>pick a while ago. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. Continuing the series.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>China Mountain Zhang, </i>Maureen McHugh. <i>Sword and Laser's </i>September pick. I do not trust this author not to break my heart so I keep losing my nerve when we switch narrators. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>A Shadow in Summer, </i>Daniel Abraham. <i>Scintillation </i>book club pick. I have about a week and a half to finish this and the next three books. Oops. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Smek For President, </i>Adam Rex. Boovs are great, especially J.Lo. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Borderland, </i>Anna Reid. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. </div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. I'm hoping some of these women get character roles. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. How Rue is used for Katniss's growth in <i>Hunger Games. </i></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. I am falling behind on my email!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on middle grade SF. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Working on some nonfiction<i>. </i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on an audio. Picked up some Easy fairy tales at Renton Highlands.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>China Mountain Zhang</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><span><i>The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry</i></span></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Forty-Love</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>A Long Petal of the Sea</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Going Postal</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Serpent in Heaven<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-84242270966649457692023-09-14T00:59:00.002-07:002023-09-14T00:59:49.050-07:00Reading and Writing and Reading<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This was a week with a lot of talking about books but not as much reading of books. Sometimes it be like that. </div><div><br /></div><div><img alt="BrickCon 2023!" class="avatar-img" height="184" src="https://brickcon.org/img/brickcon_logo.png" title="From BrickCon.org" width="200" />I had my monthly Friends Bookclub on Friday, where we went out for Thai food and discussed a fun space heist book called <i>Starship Repo </i>and also how we are doing. Instead of pizza at my house I arrange for this to be at a Thai restaurant a block or so from the Seattle <i><a href="https://brickcon.org/">BrickCon</a>, </i>where cool Lego people display all their cool Lego constructions, especially the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CxJEfY2N4b3/" target="_blank">Great Ball Contraptions</a> that my brother helped develop. (If you have a spare minute that link is well worth your time, although it ends just before you get to my brother's creations). A very successful evening! We walked over after dinner and were amazed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sunday was my monthly Triple Book Club, and I managed to read all three books! I also got to hear about the excitement at last month's meeting, and see the new baby produced by one of our members. We had fun discussing <i>Ninth House</i>, then <i>Daughter of the Moon Goddess, </i>and then an assortment of books about recent Supreme Court decisions and why we approve or disapprove of the way the country is going. Lots of fun and also a chance for Greek food, sandwiches, or dumplings, depending on your mood. </div><div><br /></div><div>Um, I helped my nephew check out some possible job situations to see where he should be aiming his applications. I made it to the gym a few times, and then managed to destroy my sleep schedule which in turn destroyed my exercise mojo. My new fitness goal is to go to bed on time. Anything else is a pleasant surprise until I re-master that. </div><div><br /></div><div><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">Official Plug For Cybils: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div>OK world, it's time to line up all the new kidlit that you enjoyed this year, because we are gearing up for <a href="https://www.cybils.com/">CYBILS NOMINATIONS</a>. No, not quite yet, but soon you will have a chance to nominate the picture books, middle grade books, YA books, fiction and nonfiction and poetry books for kids that came out in the past year and that were great to read and great to recommend!</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">--- End Official Plug ---</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm back up to 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm at 30 physical books checked out which includes some picture books plus five ebooks. And we're about to enter Cybils season. Oops. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/09/11/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-387/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>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 <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/26962">Unleashing Readers</a>. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Smek for President! (Smek, #2)" id="cover_review_5722908682" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392892561l/20706799._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" id="cover_review_5823477205" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670270388l/61237167._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Starship Repo" id="cover_review_5824648534" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537650846l/41555955._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Smek For President, </i>Adam Rex. Because I remember enjoying the first one.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Borderland, </i>Anna Reid. Ukraine seems like someplace I should know about. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Starship Repo, </i>Patrick S. Tomlinson. For my Friday book club. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 5" id="cover_review_5593946855" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684789088l/151743187._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color" id="cover_review_5631112578" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655646960l/61273437._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)" id="cover_review_5802519251" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553102141l/43263680._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm 5.5, </i>Miya Kazuki. </b>Another very satisfying installment. The royal family continues to delight with the cluelessness and the scheming of their attendants. The final story in fact highlights their myopic understanding of the world. Rosemyne finds more ways to be unique, but she is determined not to lose her chance at a library, even if she's forced to wed a prince. Also, she seems very comfortable with the idea of sex for someone in a different body that is now approaching maturity. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>New Suns 2, </i>ed. Nisi Shawl. </b>This is a great collection of short stories -- I read the first one and grabbed the second and was not disappointed. Fantasy, science fiction, even some horror. Of course, I sent it back to the library and have forgotten all the titles of my favorites, but none were clunkers so I just recommend everything. I wonder if there will be a third collection?</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Ninth House, </i>Leigh Bardugo.</b> <i>Sword and Laser </i>August pick. I finished all three in time for my Triple Book Club! (My local <i>Sword and Laser </i>club meets before the <i>Cloudy </i>club, which meets before <i>Torches and Pitchforks.) </i>This book is about how evil Ivy League schools are, and how easily the students who attend them accept that evil as their due, because by being special enough to attend a school like that they deserve to rise above petty ideas of humanity or a social contract. Well, except the contract that gives them the right to all the money and power. Our hero is an outsider, and realizing that an outsider might actually be a person causes her mentor a bit of a system shock, but then he falls into a demon trap and we get distracted by the murder mystery and the evil person exploiting this evil system for her own gain. Gotta stop that! So the evil system can continue... Anyway, lots to discuss!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Because Claudette" id="cover_review_5824675801" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1628532076l/57866004._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Nelson Mandela" id="cover_review_5824693940" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1355993785l/13623917._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Because Claudette, </i>Tracey Baptist.</b> Reading My Library Quest: Renton Highlands, Easy Biography. I give this fairly low marks as a biography of Claudette Colvin, but higher marks as a book about how the rebellion against racist bus laws galvanized the Civil Rights movement. It shows how one step followed another, and how relationships were built between Colvin, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr and others. The illustrations were serious and realistic, although true to from I couldn't tell people apart. (This is a me thing.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Nelson Mandela, </i>Kadir Nelson. </b>Reading My Library Quest: Renton Highlands, Easy Biography. That cover is awesome -- a huge face inviting you into the book to learn about the man. I liked the text and the illustrations, charting his life from boyhood through professional career to activism and prison, and then out triumphantly. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4)" id="cover_review_1724215166" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463500254l/23922381._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose, #4)" id="cover_review_4187175812" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643996397l/54679851._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Planetfall (Planetfall, #1)" id="cover_review_5739951074" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445790024l/24612005._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Walls around Opportunity: The Failure of Colorblind Policy for Higher Education (Our Compelling Interests, 5)" id="cover_review_5739155648" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636977831l/59149234._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Marvellers (Conjureverse, #1)" id="cover_review_5806013867" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620716941l/56896065._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="China Mountain Zhang" id="cover_review_247646976" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346669090l/836964._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Shadow in Summer (Long Price Quartet, #1)" id="cover_review_157527873" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442890371l/208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>Yes, this is getting ridiculous. I'm definitely going to finish some of these. This week for SURE-ZIES!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Continuing my reread of Part 3 while I await the next book.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. Huh, somehow I haven't been getting to the Baen podcast. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Made it a few pages. I really going to remember to schedule that service for my car!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. The June <i>Sword and Laser </i>book club pick. The protagonist sometimes reminds me of Edward in the fifth <i>Twilight </i>book. Often wrong but never uncertain. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. Into the danger lands!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Creeping Shadow, </i>Jonathan Stroud. The next audio in my Reading My Library quest. Poor Whispering Skull!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Serpent in Heaven, </i>Charlaine Harris. I'm enjoying the accent of the narrator. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>Lori Gottlieb. My original plan was to read this just before turning off my light for sleep, in the hopes that it would make me think about my life. But this doesn't work to well because half of it is memoir rather than therapy stuff, and also sometimes I read a different book until my eyes fail me. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Planetfall, </i>Emma Newman. <i>Sword & Laser </i>pick from month's ago. I like this but I keep trying to read the books for the book clubs that haven't happened yet...</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. Continuing the series.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Walls Around Opportunity, </i>Gary Orfield. For <i>Torches and Pitchforks </i>book club. When I was young I could read small print books with footnotes without blinking. Now I need to sit in a quiet area and concentrate. I'm out of practice!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Marvellers, </i>Dhonielle Clayton. Cybils finalist. Very Harry Potter in setting (magic school, outsider protagonist) but different feel and themes. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>China Mountain Zhang, </i>Maureen McHugh. <i>Sword and Laser's </i>September pick. I do not trust this author not to break my heart. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>A Shadow in Summer, </i>Daniel Abraham. <i>Scintillation </i>book club pick. I have about a week and a half to finish this and the next three books. Oops. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith.<b> </b></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). More smart poems. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. This seems awfully guy-ish. Like women are seen as an alien species. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. How Rue is used for Katniss's growth in <i>Hunger Games. </i></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. So far I'm enjoying these and staying on top of my mail!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on middle grade SF. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Nope<i>. </i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on an audio. Finished Easy Biography at Renton Highlands.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>China Mountain Zhang</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Faceoff</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Forty-Love</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>A Long Petal of the Sea</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Going Postal</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Serpent in Heaven<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-58398477143852609222023-09-04T22:22:00.003-07:002023-09-04T22:22:42.114-07:00Good Golly<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My son and his age-mate cousins are deep in the planning for their shared trip to Europe later this month. To prepare for this, my niece quit her job as a law clerk. Why is this the lead story in my little diary-blog? Because my gym membership lets me bring a guest for free, and she wants to get some workouts in before the trip. So I've been to the gym a LOT this week, and even explored some of the weight-machines since I'm there anyway and there is only so much running my knees can take. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope all my readers are considering <a href="https://www.cybils.com/">throwing in their hats as a Cybils judge </a>(I know some of you has talked about it already, either positively or why it can't happen this year). I just noticed that I'm way behind on reading last year's books! Oh well, my motto has always been "Do a little every day, and gradually the task will overwhelm you." I will keep reading along.</div><div><br /></div><div>School has started for my nephew and my brother-in-law (the teacher) so it's time for me to see if I can organize my elementary school book club again. I waited too long last year, but that turned out to be a blessing because things were crazy and I would have had to skip so many of the sessions. But this year should be more normal.</div><div><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" style="text-align: center;" width="200" /><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">Official Plug For Cybils: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div>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 <a href="http://www.cybils.com">Cybils </a>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.</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">--- End Official Plug ---</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm back up to 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm at 24 physical books checked out which includes some picture books plus five ebooks. I TURNED IN THE LOST picture book, so I acknowledge the librarian who told me to just hope it turns up as a genius. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/09/04/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-386/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>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 <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/26906">Unleashing Readers</a>. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg, #2)" id="cover_review_5794468716" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589836238l/53438773._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="China Mountain Zhang" id="cover_review_247646976" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346669090l/836964._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Empire Star" id="cover_review_5799030830" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1213573357l/1150390._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)" id="cover_review_5802519251" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553102141l/43263680._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Shadow in Summer (Long Price Quartet, #1)" id="cover_review_157527873" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442890371l/208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Marvellers (Conjureverse, #1)" id="cover_review_5806013867" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620716941l/56896065._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Walls around Opportunity: The Failure of Colorblind Policy for Higher Education (Our Compelling Interests, 5)" id="cover_review_5739155648" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636977831l/59149234._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>40-Love, </i>Olivia Dade. I was supposed to read this for last month's Romance Reading Group (Summer Romances) but I didn't.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>China Mountain Zhang, </i>Maureen McHugh. <i>Sword and Laser's </i>September pick. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Empire Star, </i>Samuel R. Delany. <i>Scintillation </i>book club pick.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ninth House, </i>Leigh Barduga. <i>Sword and Laser </i>August pick. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>A Shadow in Summer, </i>Daniel Abraham. <i>Scintillation </i>book club pick.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Marvellers, </i>Dhonielle Clayton. Cybils finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Walls Around Opportunity, </i>Gary Orfield. For <i>Torches and Pitchforks </i>book club. This is my book about a topic address by a recent US Supreme Court decision.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Empire Star" id="cover_review_5799030830" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1213573357l/1150390._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage" id="cover_review_5791743516" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601478204l/55115150._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 5" id="cover_review_5068344349" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680289139l/58736096._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Eden's Everdark" id="cover_review_5783399251" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648489779l/56650918._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology, #1)" id="cover_review_5783964534" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627686439l/57789637._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Empire Star, </i>Samuel R. Delany. </b><i>Scintillation </i>book club pick. Lucky for me this one is short -- I got the wrong book first and only got the right one the day before the meeting. But I love this book club -- everyone takes a love of reading seriously and we talk both about surface things and deeper things, about craft and theme, and I always learn a lot about the particular book and about how to make reading even more pleasurable. In this case we talked about the time travel aspect, about how the small cast reflected back on the themes, about slavery and how it quietly formed the foundations of the story even as shenanigans and puns distracted the reader until they felt the force, how the plot sometimes got too cute for itself and tripped up, what we thought the author meant to do and what was done and where those differered and where they didn't at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next book for this club is a quartet, so I'd better get cracking!</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Dusk, Night, Dawn, </i>Anne Lamott.</b> Just what I expected -- very competent essays on being ethical and good in a troubling world. Lamott writes from her particular situation (now dry alcoholic, Christian, parent) but writes to everyone, sharing her failures but continued efforts to live up to impossible ideals -- the effort is the point, because only God can love everyone, but we can all try. And remember that everyone includes ourselves, often the toughest nut to crack, love-wise. I've heard her say this stuff before in other books (starting with <i>Operating Instructions</i>) but I like getting a booster shot occasionally.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, V5, </i>Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù.</b> Completing a series, although I'm still in the middle of the Netflix show. The slow burn has definitely ignited, as the boys figured out they liked each other by the end of the previous book. Well kinda, but by the beginning of this one they had definitely reached an understanding. Also they mostly figured out how to defeat the big bad, and may have realized that this other guy manipulated them into doing it, but that's not such a bad thing, right? Anyway, there's room left in this volume for a lot of after stories, many of which feature rather uncomfortable sounding sex that was fascinating to me in terms of guessing what was translation quirks and what were tropes from a different culture of fanfiction type writing and what was unique to this book. Although I have to say I am more comfortable with that analysis when it's applied to dialogue and humor rather than dominance and submission sex games with vivid detail. I knew things would get tough when one story was the boys wandering together into each other's dreams...</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Eden's Everdark, </i>Karen Strong. </b>2023 Cybils Middle Grade SF finalist. I recently had a discussion with people lamenting that the kind of children's books they loved don't get written much anymore: complex stories with rich vocabulary starring kids with agency. Well, here is another one; I don't think the genre is as lost as they suppose. Eden is grappling with losing her mom, but doing it in a nuanced way, and she relies on her dad but also does her own thing. And when she crosses into the Everdark, the danger is real. There are good kids and bad kids, and she has to grapple with a much more powerful opponent. I did want more agency on her part for the conclusion; that is something that the best of the old books did (probably because I remember the ones that had the kids doing something that addressed the problem, rather than being solution-adjacent.). I wanted Eden to be part of the final magic, not just the carrier of it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Daughter of the Moon Goddess, </i>Sue Lynn Tan. </b>Cloudy book club pick for August. I'm sorry to say that I just didn't enjoy this one. It's in first person and I found that annoying. The main character is a Young Adult, and I'm old and cranky and find their intense feelings tedious. This girl had the lamentable habit of judging other women first by whether they were rivals for her various boyfriends, and that's a bit red flag for me. She also was incredibly selfish and refused to believe that the job of Prince came with any obligations to subsume his private life for the good of the country -- the idea that he might have a political marriage that might override their adolescent crush on each other was appalling to her and she behaved very badly about it for several hundred pages. It made her rather unsympathetic, especially when she resented saving the life of the princess involved. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Footprints Across the Planet" id="cover_review_5803518399" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670915452l/61916364._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The 1619 Project: Born on the Water" id="cover_review_5808945869" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618328647l/57569796._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready!" id="cover_review_5811291483" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675887674l/61327499._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Footprints Across the Planet, </i>Jennifer Swanson.</b> 2022 Cybils nominee. This is the book that I thought was lost; I must have picked it up while my mom was in the hospital because I found it in a bag with some things I had been using then. Wow. It's a good science picture book with striking photos and an invitation to the reader to think further, especially with the last pages talking about carbon and media footprints.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, </i>Nikole Hannah-Jones. </b>2022 Cybils Poetry Finalist. I like this as a picture book more than as a poetry (or nonfiction) book. Mostly because I have problems telling where a picture book stops and poetry begins -- all picture books should have beautiful language that is exactly what it needs to be. I wish the frame was thinner -- the book isn't really an answer to why someone might not know their great-grandparents, but it is a powerful message about the historical background of Black people in America. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready</i>, Raphael Warnock. </b>Reading My Library Quest: Renton Highlands Library, Easy Biography. I hadn't noticed the author when I started so it was a great revelation when the boy learning not only to start the day on time but also to prepare himself for the work of that particular day was now lacing up his senator shoes. Um, polishing up? Anyway I enjoyed this story of learning to do different things and facing them bravely.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 5" id="cover_review_5593946855" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684789088l/151743187._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color" id="cover_review_5631112578" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655646960l/61273437._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4)" id="cover_review_1724215166" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463500254l/23922381._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose, #4)" id="cover_review_4187175812" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643996397l/54679851._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Planetfall (Planetfall, #1)" id="cover_review_5739951074" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445790024l/24612005._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>Yes, this is getting ridiculous. I'm definitely going to finish some of these. Real soon now! </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm 5.5, </i>Miya Kazuki. I have slowed my reading to a glacier pace and still cannot make it last. Oh well, I have my reread to console me. I like the stories at the beginning and end from other points of view.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. Huh, somehow I haven't been getting to the Baen podcast. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Made it a few pages. I'm getting my car serviced next week so that will be a good chance to actually read my emergency car book!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>New Suns 2, </i>ed. Nisi Shawl. I'm almost done -- I need to find this collection in time for Hugo nominations.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. The June <i>Sword and Laser </i>book club pick. Boy is she distractingly horny. And when dragons get it on, it's like a McCaffrey book!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. The scribes are here so we can see how smart the weapon is.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Creeping Shadow, </i>Jonathan Stroud. The next audio in my Reading My Library quest. I'm still liking the world and the suspense parts, but cringe whenever the narrator's jealousy comes up. Bleh. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Serpent in Heaven, </i>Charlaine Harris. I like how realistic the first person writing sounds. Sometimes reasonable, sometimes highly emotional, and sometimes she can tell which is which.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>Lori Gottlieb. Recommended by a friend. I sure hope I wasn't that moody about my husband leaving me as she is about her boyfriend. Please don't tell me!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Planetfall, </i>Emma Newman. <i>Sword & Laser </i>pick. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. Continuing the series. I like this but I'm not reading on my ipad much this week.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. </div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Herbert and Herrick. A nice interlude. It's fun to recognize book titles in the lines. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Ready for September!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on middle grade SF. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Nope<i>. </i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on an audio. On Easy Biography at Renton Highlands.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>China Mountain Zhang</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Faceoff</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Forty-Love</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>Ninth House</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> a Pratchett, to be determined</li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Serpent in Heaven<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-36150656667589956192023-08-28T18:04:00.002-07:002023-08-28T18:04:41.095-07:00New School Year! New Foolscap<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>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, <i>Station Eleven </i>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>My Friday book club met as well and we had our Summer Special: Picture Books! I gather all the <a href="https://www.cybils.com/cybils-books/2022-cybils-finalists">Cybils finalists </a>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, <a href="https://www.cybils.com/">it's time to submit applications to be a Cybils judge</a>. I'm a book blogger -- I could be one of the professionals!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image" height="200" loading="lazy" src="http://www.cybils.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CybilsNewLogo_200px_Web_RGB.jpg" width="200" /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Hmm, what else happened? I had signed up for <i>Run Like a Viking </i>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/08/28/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-385/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>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 <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2023/08/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-08282023.html">Teach Mentor Texts </a>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!)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Eden's Everdark" id="cover_review_5783399251" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648489779l/56650918._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Daughter of the Moon Goddess (The Celestial Kingdom Duology, #1)" id="cover_review_5783964534" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627686439l/57789637._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Big Mike, Little Mike" id="cover_review_5786432864" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1469984065l/31303372._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 5" id="cover_review_5068344349" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680289139l/58736096._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage" id="cover_review_5791743516" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601478204l/55115150._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Resurgence (Foreigner, #20)" id="cover_review_3110532394" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571550761l/45733471._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Eden's Everdark, </i>Karen Strong. Cybils finalist.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Daughter of the Moon Goddess, </i>Sue Lynn Tan. Cloudy book club pick.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Big Mike, Little Mike, </i>Lauren Marie. Freebie from author. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, V5, </i>Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù. Completing a series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Dusk, Night, Dawn, </i>Anne Lamott. I like this author. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Resurgence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. Continuing the series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Station Eleven" id="cover_review_1246644427" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680459872l/20170404._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Big Mike, Little Mike" id="cover_review_5786432864" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1469984065l/31303372._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Policing the Open Road: How Cars Transformed American Freedom" id="cover_review_5698441260" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541263779l/42449469._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Brightly Burning (Valdemar #8)" id="cover_review_5753927067" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1172444580l/176827._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>Station Eleven, </i>Emily St John Mandel. </b>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. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Big Mike, Little Mike, </i>Lauren Marie.</b> 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. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Policing the Open Road, </i>Sarah Seo.</b> 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!</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Brightly Burning, </i>Mercedes Lackey.</b><i> </i>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.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Finding Fire" id="cover_review_5793940250" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648591441l/60716975._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="How to Party Like a Snail" id="cover_review_5793946253" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1647890856l/60667702._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Apple and Magnolia" id="cover_review_4582209430" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1628801121l/58757420._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Out of a Jar" id="cover_review_4624782412" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1625598869l/58082224._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Nigel and the Moon" id="cover_review_5796532190" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624494256l/55301384._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Farmhouse" id="cover_review_5586936633" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1641777365l/58783430._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Knight Owl (Caldecott Honor Book)" id="cover_review_5530404447" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1626717278l/57007688._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Finding Fire, </i>Logan S. Kline. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>How to Party Like a Snail, </i>Naseem Hrab. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Apple and Magnolia, </i>Laura Gehl. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Out of a Jar, </i>Deborah Marcelo. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Nigel and the Moon, </i>Antwan Eady. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Farmhouse, </i>Sophie Blackall. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Knight Owl, </i>Christopher Denise. 2022 Cybils Picture book finalist. And winner. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">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 <i>Finding Fire </i>and <i>How to Party Like a Snail</i>, but <i>Knight Owl </i>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 <i>Apple and Magnolia</i> and our introduction to the <span style="color: white;">dragon</span>(spoiler) in <i>Knight Owl. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 5" id="cover_review_5593946855" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684789088l/151743187._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color" id="cover_review_5631112578" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655646960l/61273437._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4)" id="cover_review_1724215166" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463500254l/23922381._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose, #4)" id="cover_review_4187175812" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643996397l/54679851._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Planetfall (Planetfall, #1)" id="cover_review_5739951074" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445790024l/24612005._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>Yes, this is getting ridiculous. I'm definitely going to finish some of these. Real soon now! </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm 5.5, </i>Miya Kazuki. I'm almost done and the next one isn't out until the end of September -- woe is me!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. My bookmark moved! I haven't forgotten all the characters!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>New Suns 2, </i>ed. Nisi Shawl. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. The June <i>Sword and Laser </i>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. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. Yeah, we're moving into adventure land! Killer plants have already threatened our heros!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Creeping Shadow, </i>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.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Serpent in Heaven, </i>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.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>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.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Planetfall, </i>Emma Newman. <i>Sword & Laser </i>pick. Wow, I'm falling seriously behind her. Better finish some of these.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. </div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Herbert and Herrick. A nice interlude. It's fun to recognize book titles in the lines. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. I caught up. Some great stuff -- surprises with Zappa but also known beauty from Bach. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Finished Picture Books. Working on middle grade SF. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Nope<i>. </i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on an audio. Need more picture books from Renton Highlands.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>China Mountain Zhang</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivate V5</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Wine Dark Sea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Forty-Love</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Daughter of the Moon Goddess</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> a Pratchett, to be determined</li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Serpent in Paradise<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-79332767158661466432023-08-22T00:37:00.001-07:002023-08-22T00:37:05.799-07:00Miss You Mom<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>August so far was a bit of a tough month. The weather was really hot here on the West Coast. I dodged a lot of my runs in response. We gathered in California to a memorial service for my mom, with relatives and some close friends. I drove down with my brother and sons; the rest of the family also made it out by plane or car or a combination of the two. We were in a lovely inn (Back Bay Inn) on the coast where they put all us siblings in rooms together; most of the niblings were left with our upties (aunts and uncles). </div><div><br /></div><div>On Saturday my mom's siblings, children, grandchildren, their spouses and a few cousins and friends spent a few hours telling stories and remembering what we valued about my mom. Then most of us headed over to The Madonna Inn where we had celebrated other major events (especially my grandmother's 90th birthday) and ate and danced and remembered why we liked our family and tried to make it an event that Mom would have loved. The next day we buried her near her mother. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and I introduced my SIL to Zombies Run and I think they have a new fan.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then we drove back up on a really really hot pair of days -- 109 F at one rest stop in Oregon! That's like 43C! </div><div><br /></div><div>At that point it was time to get serious about the literary convention Foolscap that I'm involved with. I didn't do as much as I should have, but I was missing my mom a lot. I had a great time at the convention though, so thanks all the rest of you who did pull your weight!</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Hmm, what else has happened during these three weeks? My reading got very disordered, so I have far to many books on the go. Oh well. And the library scolded me because somehow I skipped checking out my holds one week -- apparently I just grabbed them and wandered out? Oops. I definitely remember checking them out, but it's conceivable I just substituted the a memory from all the other weeks I went from the hold shelf to the check out machines. So I made sure to check the out when I brought them back to return.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm back up to 3 pages of currently-reading on goodreads. I'm at 33 physical books checked out which includes some picture books plus five ebooks. I think I've only lost one picture book, but the librarian told me to just hope it turns up. That hope is looking pretty cold now. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/08/21/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-384/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>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<a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/26814"> Unleashing Readers</a>. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" id="cover_review_5746788978" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547189796l/37570546._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Children of the Quicksands" id="cover_review_5731643969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656211725l/58719209._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Planetfall (Planetfall, #1)" id="cover_review_5739951074" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1445790024l/24612005._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Theodore Boone: The Fugitive" id="cover_review_5738673643" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1428184520l/24371988._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Accomplice (Theodore Boone #7)" id="cover_review_5741427151" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550779959l/44083563._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Tsalmoth (Vlad Taltos, #16)" id="cover_review_5492677903" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1650084874l/60820532._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Brightly Burning (Valdemar #8)" id="cover_review_5753927067" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1172444580l/176827._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega, #2)" id="cover_review_1889052869" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375461295l/5292853._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="My Man Jeeves (Jeeves, #1)" id="cover_review_3114855632" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348915558l/200572._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Have Space Suit—Will Travel" id="cover_review_943994900" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425593094l/20417._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Station Eleven" id="cover_review_1246644427" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1680459872l/20170404._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, </i>Lori Gottlieb. Recommended by a friend.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Children of the Quicksands, </i>Efua Traore. Cybils finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Planetfall, </i>Emma Newman. <i>Sword & Laser </i>pick. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Theodore Boone: Fugitive, </i>John Grisham. I was curious how the series went on.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Theodore Boone: The Accomplice, </i>John Grisham. This is number 7. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Tsalmoth, </i>Steven Brust. Continuing a series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Brightly Burning, </i>Mercedes Lackey.<i> </i>Tuesday night book club pick.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Hunting Ground, </i>Patricia Briggs. Car entertainment. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>My Man Jeeves, </i>P.G. Wodehouse. Car entertainment. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Have Space Suit, Will Travel, </i>Robert Heinlein. Car entertainment. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Station Eleven, </i>Emily St John Mandel. For Foolscap Book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Shelter" id="cover_review_5724470783" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312068927l/768120._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fairy Tale" id="cover_review_5674100148" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1647789287l/60177373._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches" id="cover_review_5722806317" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643062993l/60018635._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Girl Forgotten" id="cover_review_5688082018" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658819416l/61398911._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Accomplice (Theodore Boone #7)" id="cover_review_5741427151" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550779959l/44083563._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Theodore Boone: The Fugitive" id="cover_review_5738673643" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1428184520l/24371988._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Tsalmoth (Vlad Taltos, #16)" id="cover_review_5492677903" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1650084874l/60820532._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega, #2)" id="cover_review_1889052869" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375461295l/5292853._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="My Man Jeeves (Jeeves, #1)" id="cover_review_3114855632" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348915558l/200572._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Have Space Suit—Will Travel" id="cover_review_943994900" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1425593094l/20417._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Children of the Quicksands" id="cover_review_5731643969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656211725l/58719209._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>Shelter, </i>Susan Palwick.</b> For Scintillation book club. This was a tough but rewarding read. In the near future, questions over the citizenship of various forms of AI create opportunities for brutalism, while society continues to choose easy, cruel solutions to complex problems that should provoke compassion. There's an AI called House that is easy to love and a flawed rich woman who is easy to despise and a struggling orphan who tries to do the right thing even when it results in personal loss. And there's a heartbreaking child with real problems who runs afoul of the easy, cruel solutions. And it asks a lot of the reader and left me with a lot of questions for myself, and the book club was great in that it showed me a lot of other questions and angles I also need to ponder. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Fairy Tale, </i>Stephen King.</b> For Tuesday game & book club. This was a fun 200 page story trapped in a 600 page book. Each page was easy to read, but then you look up after fifty pages to realize that nothing has happened and it's hard to pick the book up again. But I managed to finish it!</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><i>The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, </i>Sangu Mandanna.</b> For August Cloudy book club, although I'll miss the meeting. This was a fun romance with a light urban fantasy flair and some cute kids who don't quite take over the story. A good pick, although I'm not sure what the club will talk about.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Girl, Forgotten, </i>April Henry. </b>Although the previous two Henry books I read really appealed, this one was a bit of a slog. I found the extra drama around her mom distracting from rather than adding to the main story, and the main story itself was hard to take seriously. I pushed through and I'll go back for more from this author, but I don't recommend this one.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><b><i>Theodore Boone: The Accomplice, </i>John Grisham.</b> The problem with a series starting a lawyer is that most of the problems are for the clients, not the main character. When the "lawyer" is an eighth grader, his connection to his "client" is even more distant. That makes the book less engaging, since the reader is farther from the conflicts. Grisham does his best by making Theo implausibly deal with the bondsman but it still reads more as a lecture about the injustice of our juvenile criminal procedures and a bail-based system. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Theodore Boone: Fugitive, </i>John Grisham.</b> It was so hard to suspend my disbelief in this one that I had to pause it and read the other Boone book. I was OK when Theo manages to spot the fugitive while on a field trip; when the FBI flew him back to help him with their search I started backing away. It's not like this kid is Alex Rider or anything! And I'm still bothered by the corruption in an earlier book, where the guy who becomes the fugitive is being tried on fairly flimsy evidence, and he's clearly going to walk, but Theo uncovers some better evidence, so the judge calls for a mistrial so the state can try again. Isn't that sorta the definition of double jeopardy? I though the government wasn't supposed to be able to keep putting people on trial until it finally gets a guilty plea? Humph. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><b><i>Tsalmoth, </i>Steven Brust. </b>I liked this, and thought the frame of wedding planning worked, but I no longer hold all the history of the characters in an accessible way. My son helped me a bit, but I hope to have time for a final reread when he finishes.</div><div><b><br /></b></div></div><div><div><b><i>Hunting Ground, </i>Patricia Briggs. </b>This worked well for entertainment on our drive to California. Perhaps a little too well, as I missed a turn that cost us about 30 minutes. I did catch a reference to all the small salt lakes scattered about the city of Seattle; if anyone finds one of those please let me know?</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>My Man Jeeves, </i>P.G. Wodehouse. </b>Another good audio for the car. This is short stories (and not all about Jeeves) so it was a good choice to finish the drive south and start the drive back north a few days later.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>Have Space Suit, Will Travel, </i>Robert Heinlein. </b>A nostalgia listen for my brother and me, although probably a first for my son. We particularly enjoyed the trial at the end. </div></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div><b><i>Children of the Quicksands, </i>Efua Traore.</b> 2022 Cybils Middle Grade SF finalist. This was immediately interesting because it's not set in America and the characters aren't American. Instead we see a Nigerian city girl going back to her grandmother and discovering some of the local magic and having to step up to understand and help deal with it. I was a little disappointed that the final climax left our heroine mostly passive, but for most of the book she was making things happen. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="This Is My State (Cloverleaf Books ™ ― Where I Live)" id="cover_review_5727780411" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461533940l/29056336._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="B is for Baller: The Ultimate Basketball Alphabet (ABC to MVP Book 1)" id="cover_review_5738580110" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1542346902l/42839372._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis" id="cover_review_5744530742" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455502453l/28588346._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont" id="cover_review_5746806433" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1307892994l/11689243._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain" id="cover_review_5774362456" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327894221l/1303414._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="At the Pond" id="cover_review_5774367000" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627898466l/58495677._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines" id="cover_review_3274093837" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490938673l/28362008._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Case of the Missing Eyebrow (Inspector Brunswick)" id="cover_review_5774369176" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499344641l/34227568._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Zoobilations!: Animal Poems and Paintings" id="cover_review_5774373663" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646255795l/58437725._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Marshmallow Clouds: Two Poets at Play Among Figures of Speech" id="cover_review_5774377405" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1628874039l/58761958._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Older Than the Stars" id="cover_review_151610901" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389589612l/6860562._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>This Is My State, </i>Lisa Bullard.</b> Reading My Library Quest -- Renton Highlands Easy Nonfiction. This instructional book follows two kids driving from one state into another while collecting those state quarters as a car game. It's an interesting take on this topic, and reads more as a story than as a fact-giving book, but manages to convey some information while being entertaining. I remember doing the state quarters thing with my kids over a decade ago; it's probably more challenging now. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>B Is For Baller, </i>James Littlejohn. </b>Reading My Library Quest -- Renton Highlands Easy Nonfiction. This is a lovely book with great art and words, but I really needed a back section giving sports novice me some background on all the famous people mentioned. I guess it would work to read to a kid who already knows everything. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Preaching to the Chickens, </i>Jabari Asim.</b> Reading My Library Quest -- Renton Highlands Easy Nonfiction. I liked this biography, which told of John Lewis's childhood habit of talking to his chickens, and linking his sermons to his adult convictions. I thought the art and text worked really well together. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont, </i>Victoria Grifford. </b>Reading My Library Quest -- Renton Highlands Easy Nonfiction. Wow, I will never again refer to the Wright brothers as the first airplane flyers. Santos-Dumont's plane took off on its own without gizmos to assist. And he was super cool -- he had a personal blimp he flew around Paris, and his friend Cartier invented the wristwatch so he wouldn't lose track of time while zooming around. Great stuff.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Wall, </i>Peter Sis. </b>2007 Cybils finalist. Artist picture book biographies are usually great -- I love how they express their experiences so emotionally through the illustrations. I liked getting the feelings of both young Peter and how writer Peter thinks about his memories. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>At the Pond, </i>David Elliott. </b>2022 Cybils Poetry finalist. Lovely illustrations, vivid poems. My kids would have reluctantly indulged me I think.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Maya Lin: Architect of Light and Lines, </i>Jeanne Walker Harvey.</b> Someone recommended this (a fellow kidlit blogger?) and when I got it from the library it looked familiar -- I had read it a few years ago. But I really liked it this time, so much that I bumped it up a star on goodreads. I liked the clear line from her childhood to her famous Vietnam memorial through her later works. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Case of the Missing Eyebrow, </i>Chris Lam Sam</b>. This was reviewed on the <i>Even the Trunchbull </i>podcast so I ordered it up. I enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes twist detecting and the art analysis solution. It's fun and works on several levels. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Zoobilations!, </i>Douglas Florian. </b>2022 Cybils Poetry finalist. OK, the illustrations were fun and goofy, but the poems were goofy but not always scientifically accurate. I wanted both. So I was cranky.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Marshmallow Clouds, </i>Ted Kooser & Connie Wanek. </b>2022 Cybils Poetry finalist. These were lovely -- quick glimpses of moments across the year. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Older Than the Stars, </i>Karen C. Fox.</b> I liked the mix of language and science here. The pages build like a house-that-Jack-built, but it's all the current physics of creation as we understand it, as expanded upon in the extra text boxes. Meanwhile the illustrations both illuminate and inspire -- they are lovely but also explanatory. Thanks for recommending this!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 5" id="cover_review_5593946855" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684789088l/151743187._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color" id="cover_review_5631112578" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655646960l/61273437._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Policing the Open Road: How Cars Transformed American Freedom" id="cover_review_5698441260" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541263779l/42449469._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4)" id="cover_review_1724215166" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463500254l/23922381._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose, #4)" id="cover_review_4187175812" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643996397l/54679851._SX50_.jpg" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm 5.5, </i>Miya Kazuki. I let myself read extra bits during the weekend of my mom's memorial so this one won't last all the way to the next volume. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. Johnny isn't very good at politics. Or logic.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Exciting action scene!</div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. My bookmark moved!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. I managed to read a few chapters! I like this book.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>New Suns 2, </i>ed. Nisi Shawl. So far they range from good to great.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. The June <i>Sword and Laser </i>book club pick. Some more people have died to show us how grim the school is. But they were jerks so maybe it's a sign that dragons prefer non-jerky people? Strange how the school and teachers haven't picked up on that trend.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. Young love must find a way!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Policing the Open Road, </i>Sarah Seo. For Torches and Pitchforks book club. The meeting ended up being on the weekend of my mom's memorial so I got lazy about finishing. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. I like this author. I'm finding this one slow to grab me. I don't mind picking it up, but I'm not dragged along once I do.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Creeping Shadow, </i>Jonathan Stroud. The next audio in my Reading My Library quest. I hope I finish it before the library calls it home -- I only have CD capability in the car.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Serpent in Heaven, </i>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!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. Last chapter!</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Donne goes really well with classical music, except when I try to get lost in both at the same time.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. An interesting twist on the whale as island trope. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. Some more good essays. I still get a little thrill from skipping the assignments at the end of the chapters, although sometimes I do them in my head.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. I'm not sure I'm going to find these guys entertaining.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. The problem with describing an overall trend with individual examples is that any one of them can be explained away. But Thomas is convincing me with the cross references and broader discussions.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. I lost some days during my travels but I'm doubling up some days to catch up. Mozart is amazing. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Got through some poetry and a middle grade fantasy. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Finished <i>The Wall. </i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on an audio and some picture books from Renton Highlands.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>China Mountain Zhang</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Planetfall</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Forty-Love</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Daughter of the Moon Goddess</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Brightly Burning</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Serpent in Paradise<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-30007281859076492592023-08-01T23:28:00.211-07:002023-08-01T23:28:00.155-07:00Keyboards Are Essential<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Gosh, it's been a while. My excuses are excellent. Here's my super-fast diary for the past three weeks: </div><div><br /></div><div>I gave blood! Go me! I had to reschedule it because I got sick but they found me a new spot very quickly. Alexander and I went out for a fortifying breakfast and then raced through the donation. I won, but I get a big head start since he lets me go back with the lab guys first. I don't always win even with that lead -- he's a very fast bleeder.</div><div><br /></div><div>A distant library came up with a new event that I attended -- a Summer Book Tasting. They had five or six tables for different genres and had a great selection of books from that genre on the table, complete with a menu describing the books. And they also had a lovely dessert table and some neat drinks to offer while you were browsing. Every fifteen minutes they'd ring a bell and people were encouraged to move to a new table. I was super impressed at the variety at each table, both genres I was familiar with and ones I rarely visit. Well done Federal Way Librarians! </div><div><br /></div><div>My Aunt Betty's funeral was held in Massachusetts, and I was the only one of my siblings able to attend (although my brother watched on zoom). It was a lovely event and I had a nice time catching up with that side of the family afterwards. Flying home was a bit annoying because they took my teeny tiny suitcase away to check, and also my plane was late. Air travel isn't fun in this post-covid world -- I still wear my mask in airports as much as possible. I missed a bookclub on the trip but texted in a few comments during a layover since it was being held at my house. </div><div><br /></div><div>Hmm, I went to the July River Runs Under It Book Club, and I helped my brother-in-law celebrate his birthday with our family (he's now as old as me!), I managed to get a few runs and many walks in, and we worked some on planning my mom's memorial. </div><div> </div><div>I planned to write up this blog while traveling to Massachusetts, but then I didn't. This made me so far behind that I didn't finish the next week either, so this time I'm just declaring victory so I'm caught up. Who needs coherence anyway?</div><div><br /></div></div><div>I'm still safely on only two pages of currently-reading on Goodreads. I'm at 32 physical books checked out which includes some picture books plus five ebooks. I think I've only lost one picture book, but the librarian told me to just hope it turns up. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/07/31/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-381/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>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 <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2023/07/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-07312023.html">Teach Mentor Texts</a> and Unleashing Readers. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="School Trip (New Kid, #3)" id="cover_review_5676209512" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658861587l/61419629._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Emergence (Foreigner, #19)" id="cover_review_2641425823" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504858569l/35664108._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Girl Forgotten" id="cover_review_5688082018" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658819416l/61398911._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" id="cover_review_5689086162" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409991155l/21531896._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Last House Guest" id="cover_review_5690880539" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560053233l/42201386._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Policing the Open Road: How Cars Transformed American Freedom" id="cover_review_5698441260" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541263779l/42449469._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Into the Broken Lands" id="cover_review_4970498081" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636611875l/59590403._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Blue Hawk" id="cover_review_5697442972" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1427756718l/25252863._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Daughter of the Empire (The Empire Trilogy, #1)" id="cover_review_5710278462" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672516954l/589979._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4)" id="cover_review_1724215166" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463500254l/23922381._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Serpent in Heaven (Gunnie Rose, #4)" id="cover_review_4187175812" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643996397l/54679851._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Smolder (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #29)" id="cover_review_5719931213" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657630190l/60738079._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches" id="cover_review_5722806317" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643062993l/60018635._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Shelter" id="cover_review_5724470783" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312068927l/768120._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 5" id="cover_review_5593946855" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684789088l/151743187._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>School Trip, </i>Jerry Craft. Continuing the series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Emergence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. Continuing the series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Girl, Forgotten, </i>April Henry. I like this author.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, </i>Rachel Cohn & David Levithan. Cybils finalist.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Last House Guest, </i>Megan Miranda. For KCLS River Runs Under It bookclub. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(week two)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Policing the Open Road, </i>Sarah Seo. For Torches and Pitchforks bookclub.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Into the Broken Lands, </i>Tanya Huff. I like this author.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Blue Hawk, </i>Peter Dickinson. For Scintillation bookclub.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Daughter of the Empire, </i>Raymond Feist & Janny Wurts. For Foolscap bookclub.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Creeping Shadow, </i>Jonathan Stroud. The next audio in my Reading My Library quest.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(week three)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Serpent in Heaven, </i>Charlaine Harris. I'm finishing up my audio reread of the Lizbeth Rose stories, although this one is the regular narration, not a full audio thing. It's good because the new one comes out in September.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Smolder, </i>Laurell K. Hamilton. I was feeling like I wasn't getting any real reading done, so I grabbed this book which was guaranteed to be simplistic and exactly what I expected.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, </i>Sangu Mandanna. For August Cloudy book club, although I'll miss the meeting.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Shelter, </i>Susan Palwick. For Scintillation book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm 5.5, </i>Miya Kazuki. Yay! This one dropped just as I finished the previous one.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Can't Spell Treason Without Tea (Tomes & Tea Cozy Fantasies, #1)" id="cover_review_5648692238" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660715872l/61753288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="School Trip (New Kid, #3)" id="cover_review_5676209512" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658861587l/61419629._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Room to Dream (Front Desk, #3)" id="cover_review_4224603068" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612316656l/55977848._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 2 Volume 6" id="cover_review_5490418168" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660710998l/62001261._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Feed" id="cover_review_5673868140" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327891005l/169756._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Only Bad Options (Galactic Bonds, #1)" id="cover_review_5547042133" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654553374l/61115978._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat" id="cover_review_5643490842" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1454256674l/27206506._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet" id="cover_review_5661006106" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1637602568l/58783800._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Emergence (Foreigner, #19)" id="cover_review_2641425823" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504858569l/35664108._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Blue Hawk" id="cover_review_5697442972" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1427756718l/25252863._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Last House Guest" id="cover_review_5690880539" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560053233l/42201386._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" id="cover_review_5689086162" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409991155l/21531896._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Daughter of the Empire (The Empire Trilogy, #1)" id="cover_review_5710278462" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672516954l/589979._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Smolder (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #29)" id="cover_review_5719931213" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657630190l/60738079._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 4" id="cover_review_5593946702" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679770746l/123298150._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><b><i>Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, </i>Rebecca Thorne. </b>For July's <i>Cloudy </i>book club. I missed the meeting! Humph. I didn't get the chance to complain about the economics of their business plan, which I found highly dubious. The romance also seemed rather dull, so that didn't paper over my concerns. Basically, if you haven't heard about the invention of the printing press, your plan for a small town book shop catering to drop-ins from the working class doesn't seem well thought out. Even the tea shop in the corner won't help. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>School Trip, </i>Jerry Craft. </b>The rich kids go to Paris! Along with the scholarship kids. And the clueless teachers. That part was a bit unbelievable (a prank scrambled the chaperones but no one noticed until the departure day), but the malfunctioning school credit cards seemed reasonable. Craft does a great job balancing emotion and humor throughout. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Room to Dream, </i>Kelly Yang.</b> I was interesting to see how much was autobiographical -- the author really did write a column for young Chinese English learners, and she really did stumble over the ethics of mining her friendships for material. The tension of economic success between the family shows up in her family's visit to China, and her parents are much better sports about Mia's tactlessness that she had any right to expect. And while it's fun to see her little hotel triumph over the evil big corporations, it seemed a bit far-fetched. But maybe that was true as well! These are fun to read and I think there's another one.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm Manga, Part 2 Vol 6, </i>Miya Kazuki. </b>Tragically this is currently the last translated volume of the manga. However, while checking that I discovered that there are new episodes of the anime out. Time to resubscribe to Crunchyroll! My love of this series is never ending. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Feed, </i>M.T. Anderson. </b>Not quite what I expected. There was more complexity and of course a lot more distance to the idea that social media feeds would become ubiquitous, although thankfully so far everything remains external. I guess glasses and watches are the step towards brain ports. I enjoyed the protagonist leaning away from the girl, even as he did so in an unpleasant way. He was right, if not diplomatic about it. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>Only Bad Options, </i>Jennifer Estep.</b> This is when I noticed that I was supposed to attend a funeral on the East Coast on Saturday and I hadn't made any arrangements yet. So I did not make the Friday bookclub for this book, but it was a fun science fiction story about two people trapped in a soul bond who are actually good for each other, especially since most of the rest of their interstellar society are out to get them. Fun characters, fast moving plot, disappointing missed chance to do something really cool with the soul bond plot at the end.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat, </i>Gary Paulsen. </b>The problem with getting this for my Reading My Library Quest (Renton Highlands) is that the first disc was the book read aloud, and the second disc was the screenplay of the book read aloud. I hoped that it would be an actual performance, but it was just the same narrator reading the lines and the stage directions, which made it basically a repeat of the book and a bit boring. But by golly I listened to it! It's a decent short story about middle school guys being emotionally considerate of each other. </div><div><br /></div><div>------ New week</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Great Stewardess Rebellion, </i>Nell McShane Wulfhart.</b> Boy would I have loved to have my mom alive to talk to me about this book! She was a stewardess in the late 1960's when the women in this book worked to organize and fight back against the sexism keeping them from making the job into a career. And finishing it while I was on an airplane gave me the chance to see the gains they made -- men working as flight attendants but not trying to boss the women about, female flight attendants over the age of thirty (men never had age limits), comfortable shoes for female flight attendants, and I hope decent benefits as well although obviously I can see those from my seat. Go unions! And go women setting up their own unions when the men running the national one refused to take their issues seriously!</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Emergence, </i>C.J. Cherryh</b>. It's great to see Cajeri maturing and starting to understand all the politics happening around him, and also to make his own contributions. He's also old enough to see when he has a problem but not always able to come up with a solution on his own.His new, older, bodyguards give him a chance to stretch a bit. Meanwhile Bren gets to go back to humanity and be weird, and also astonished when he discovers some teens who had adopted his style of weird as a fashion. I think I'll grab the next, although I have a lot of book club books to deal with...</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Blue Hawk, </i>Peter Dickinson.</b> I loved this book as a child and I rarely find anyone else who has heard of it, so it was great that Scintillation had it for their book club. Unfortunately I spent that hour in an airport waiting area so could not participate in the discussion, but I could listen! (And apparently leave my airpods behind afterward, dang you girl pockets!) I really like the approach to a religion (or maybe an alien!) and I wish I could have engaged with some of the colonialism discussion, but it was fun to revisit an old friend.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Last House Guest, </i>Megan Miranda. </b>For KCLS River Runs Under It bookclub. This didn't quite work for me. The set up was interesting, with the rich summer visitors contrasted with the working class permanent residents, and our viewpoint character who was spiraling into disaster when her friendship with the girl who dies to kick off the mystery nudged her in a new direction. We find lots of secrets held by all the characters, and it's fairly fast paced. But somehow I felt like the plot pushed the characters, that the secrets didn't reflect backwards in the characters that revealed them. If what we find out was true, they should have been acting differently in the scenes before we knew. But it made for a fun discussion!</div><div><br /></div><div>--- new week </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, </i>Rachel Cohn & David Levithan. </b>2006 Cybils YA finalist. I can see why this is so great for kids, even though I found it a bit of a slog. These kids are so young! And they are so intense! It's exhausting to remember when I processed things that way. And fell in love so hard and so easily. Wow. She was so sure of her jaded existence even as she did the most immature things (good for her dad for saving her college admission); he was so devastated about his crush leaving him; both of them so sure the world is staring at them all the time.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>Daughter of the Empire, </i>Raymond Feist & Janny Wurts. </b>For Foolscap bookclub. I finished in time! We had a small turnout. But I liked talking about what I liked (the warrior characters, the non-warrior protagonist, the politics) and what I didn't like (dated attitudes towards female friendships, a tendency to hang plot climaxes on physical conflict which left our non-combatant protagonist a passive bystander), and how we thought writer teams worked together. We looked at different types of partnerships and how and why they might be attempted.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Smolder, </i>Laurell K. Hamilton.</b> I stalled out on reading for a few days, so I grabbed this as a known quantity to complete. I finished it in bits over a day or so, stopping only to laugh at Anita's furrowed-brow attempts to understand the people around her, usually pausing in the midst of an actual physical crisis to ask about irrelevant details of their feeling towards herself, someone else in the room, or other people they may have known in the past. Occasionally she manages to keep the questions to herself, and she's very consciously proud of herself then. It's very adorable, especially as they are apparently in a war with the Worst Vampire Ever and every second counts. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Vol 5 Part 4, </i>Miya Kazuki. </b>I finished the same day as Part 5 dropped -- victory! Myne's fiance is being a bit of a prat, which could interfere with her plans to become a librarian. If he's a complete loser, they'll want her to be duke! Sadness! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="B Is for Bananas" id="cover_review_5689115122" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658242723l/61612873._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Wombats Are Pretty Weird: A (Not So) Serious Guide" id="cover_review_5710355887" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666363026l/62191006._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="My Name Is Jason. Mine Too.: Our Story. Our Way." id="cover_review_5710349941" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348758082l/6186136._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Soccer" id="cover_review_5715412267" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660199417l/61933186._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Great Explorers (DK Readers L2)" id="cover_review_5725672455" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677832495l/35755219._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>B Is For Bananas, </i>Carrie Tillotson. </b>Although this is my first meeting with the Banana, I enjoyed watching it fully engage with bedtime. It's a worthy addition to alphabets and bedtime book lists.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Wombats Are Pretty Weird, </i>Abi Cushman.</b> Although I'm not sure we needed the cute snake (wombats are pretty cute on their own) I enjoyed learning a few facts about wombats, especially since Cushman covered the all-important square poo topic. I also learned about the different kinds of wombats and nose fur. Not bad. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>My Name Is Jason. Mine Too: Our Story, Our Way, </i>Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffon.</b> 2022 Cybils Poetry Finalist. I'm not sure what this is -- it's a collage, it's a joint autobiography of their youthful attempts to make it in New York City, it's a group of poems. It's a story of a friendship. I'm left baffled but mostly pleased.</div><div style="text-align: left;">'</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Soccer, </i>Tessa Kenen. </b>Reading My Library Quest book -- Renton Highlands Easy Nonfiction. Very easy reading book that does what it says on the tin with cute pictures. Maybe a sentence per layout -- low text. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Great Explorers, </i>James Buckley Jr. </b>Reading My Library Quest book -- Renton Highlands Easy Nonfiction. Much denser -- several paragraphs per page. I definitely now notice how it's written from a European perspective -- explorers go from Europe to exotic places on other continents. We don't hear about explorers going to Europe. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color" id="cover_review_5631112578" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655646960l/61273437._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fairy Tale" id="cover_review_5674100148" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1647789287l/60177373._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Last Night at the Telegraph Club" id="cover_review_4040079844" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.</div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 51. Johnny isn't very good at politics. Or logic.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Still my car book, so I'm making slow progress.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. It's still on my bedside table.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. I managed to read a few chapters! I like this book.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>New Suns 2, </i>ed. Nisi Shawl. So far they range from good to great.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. The June <i>Sword and Laser </i>book club pick. I missed the meeting, and I'm still struggling to get traction on this. At least I have a text copy instead of an audio now.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fairy Tale, </i>Stephen King. For Tuesday game & book club. Wow, this is long. Everyone else either finished or gave up, so I'm supposed to finish it this week.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Last Night at the Telegraph Club, </i>Malinda Lo. Cybils finalist. Young love must find a way!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. Last chapter!</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). The only problem with Donne is I get through less mail because I like to reread his stuff several times.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. I like the switches between medical mystery and FBI mystery, and how each feeds into each other.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. A princess and her boy companion may squabble over who gets to lead.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture) </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. I'm not sure I'm going to find these guys entertaining.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. She raises interesting points but I don't always agree with all her conclusions. We're analyzing <i>The Hunger Games </i>right now.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Two long (and beautiful) Bach works have me caught up with the mail. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Started poetry. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Finished <i>Nick and Norah. </i>Read a bit of <i>Telegraph. </i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Finished an audio and some picture books from Renton Highlands.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>China Mountain Zhang</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><i>Girl Forgotten</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b>none</li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Forty-Love</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Secret Society of Irregular Witches</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Brightly Burning</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Serpent in Paradise<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-8854760129358451132023-07-10T22:42:00.001-07:002023-07-10T22:42:43.247-07:00Happy Boom Boom Days!<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, I had good intentions on making my summer healthier. I relogged into Pokemon Go and started doing a daily walk as soon as I woke up, figuring I'd add that in to my run program. Everything went well for a few days, and then I got sick. It used to be that I would just ignore any cold of flu, but apparently now I'm the worse than a sitcom dad. I had a sore throat, slight fever, and body aches, and objectively it wasn't even as bad as the vaccine last week, but I was a huge baby and just wanted to lie in bed and have people bring me soothing beverages. But it wasn't COVID and I got better after a few days.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before I succumbed Alexander and I went out to the new Indiana Jones, which was fun and silly. There's a scene where they talk a bit of Greek and both of snapped upright and tried to listen. (I'm doing DuoLingo Greek and he's a classics major). I got some of it!</div><div><br /></div><div>Fourth of July came and we pretty much ignored it. Our town had canceled the usual fireworks because the park is under construction, my cats aren't bothered by bangs, and my sister is out of town. Some people ignored the restriction (private fireworks are banned here) so I heard some bangs but couldn't see anything.<br /><br /></div><div>The biggest excitement was the day after, when I was on a walk and a driver pulled over to ask for directions. One of our fire stations was having an amnesty where you could turn in fireworks, no questions asked, and he had been given this address that would match three places in my little community (they reused a lot of street names for some odd reason). So I told him to give me the bag of contraband and I'd figure out where it should go. But when I looked up the station, he had the street name slight wrong and it wasn't in my neighborhood but a short drive away.</div><div><br /></div><div>So on Thursday I was going to take my son out to get new climbing shoes but he was running late so I said I'd go drop off my booty. And then I got lost coming back, so it was fifteen minutes there but an hour back, oops, so he didn't have time for climbing after the shoe run. And we spent the ride joking about how I keep accumulating contraband -- first all the drugs back when my mom was sick and now incendiaries.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then I got sick! So nothing on the weekend -- I missed book clubs and Foolscap meetings and who knows what else.</div><div><br /></div><div>By the weekend I was mostly back to normal, although I skipped the run portion of my usual talk and walk followed by a run. </div><div><br /></div></div><div>I'm still safely on only two pages of currently-reading on Goodreads. I'm at 31 physical books checked out which includes some picture books plus five ebooks. I think I've only lost one picture book.. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/07/10/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-378/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>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 <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/26524">Unleashing Readers</a>. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice" id="cover_review_5657673408" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684578475l/60165401._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors" id="cover_review_5669606105" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552885037l/39074550._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet" id="cover_review_5661006106" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1637602568l/58783800._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 2 Volume 6" id="cover_review_5490418168" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660710998l/62001261._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="黒執事 XXVII [Kuroshitsuji XXVII] (Black Butler, #27)" id="cover_review_5544847329" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530299977l/36882208._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Room to Dream (Front Desk, #3)" id="cover_review_4224603068" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612316656l/55977848._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Feed" id="cover_review_5673868140" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327891005l/169756._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Only Bad Options (Galactic Bonds, #1)" id="cover_review_5547042133" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654553374l/61115978._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fairy Tale" id="cover_review_5674100148" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1647789287l/60177373._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Victory, Stand!, </i>Tommie Smith. Cybils finalist.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Humble Pi, </i>Matt Parker. My Maine friends gave me this. Or maybe they want it back?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Great Stewardess Rebellion, </i>Nell McShane Wulfhart. My mom was a stewardess back in the mid-1960s, and my aunt for even longer than that. So I grabbed this from the library temptation display. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ascension of a Bookworm Manga, Part 2 Vol 6, </i>Miya Kazuki.<b> </b>Tragically this is currently the last translated volume of the manga.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Black Butler 27, </i>Yana Toboso. Working through this series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Room to Dream, </i>Kelly Yang. Continuing a series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Feed, </i>M.T. Anderson. Been on my to-read list for years and years.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Only Bad Options, </i>Jennifer Estep. For a book club next week.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Fairy Tale, </i>Stephen King. For Tuesday game & book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 2 Volume 5" id="cover_review_5490418085" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1650837771l/60874862._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Greatest Thing" id="cover_review_5638792903" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1625600880l/56978114._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Mere Christianity" id="cover_review_5631113265" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531409863l/40792344._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Shuddering City" id="cover_review_5597266809" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657220989l/61407069._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Make Me (Broke and Beautiful, #3)" id="cover_review_5624086347" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1682690675l/143730267._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Flood Circle (Twenty Palaces #5)" id="cover_review_5096432498" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667280108l/63184351._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="黒執事 XXVII [Kuroshitsuji XXVII] (Black Butler, #27)" id="cover_review_5544847329" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530299977l/36882208._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors" id="cover_review_5669606105" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552885037l/39074550._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" id="cover_review_5624182043" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642777183l/54829360._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice" id="cover_review_5657673408" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684578475l/60165401._SX50_.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><b><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm Manga, Part 2 Vol 5, </i>Miya Kazuki.</b> I'm still enjoying rereading this series as a manga rather than a light novel. I like the emotion shots, which I guess are standard in manga but I don't see very often. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>The Greatest Thing, </i>Sarah Winifred Searle.</b> 2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. I liked the complexities of this memoir. There's a lot going on and it crosses over a lot. The protagonist worries about making friends, worries about having crushes, wants to be an artist, and has other problems that she often misidentifies. Her friends also have a lot going on and sometimes they can support each other and sometimes there's a gap. It's written with honesty but also compassion, showing how one kid navigates a time that is complicated for everyone. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Mere Christianity, </i>C.S. Lewis.</b> I like reading about religion from a guy who is obviously passionate about it but who isn't mean with it. It's also interesting reading the style -- he's utterly convinced that he can talk to people and be heard by his words, with no conception that this is actually a really rare occurrence. It's like he's never even heard of dog whistles, but he's also convinced that this is something available to everyone even as his examples using women, non-straight people, and other races is evidence that is is not. I enjoyed reading it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Shuddering City, </i>Sharon Shinn. </b>The ending had a bit of magic solution but I enjoyed it. I didn't see the big twist until it was revealed, but then I liked how it worked with the mythology created. I don't think you can press too hard on the science worldbuilding, but I'm here for the characters. I liked how there were older protagonists (some of whom get love stories!) and they don't have to be amazing super heroes.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Make Me, </i>Tessa Bailey. </b>I think I have to concede that I'm not on the Tessa Bailey page. I like her plots, but she spends a lot of time on the sex and for me the two don't integrate well at all, leaving me skimming through pages hoping to get back to the plot. I also wasn't impressed with either character's arc in this; it seems unlikely that they will be able to maintain their happiness. Well, maybe they won't notice since there will be so much sex going on.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Flood Circle, </i>Harry Connolly. </b>Wow, these last two books by Connolly have been awesome. Talk about raising the stakes in a coherent way. I definitely want more by him. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Black Butler 27, </i>Yana Toboso. </b>OK, it's kind of ironic to me that when I have such problems distinguishing people in graphic novels (even wildly divergent people) this book introduces IDENTICAL TWINS. I hope I was not expected to know which was which. There were also lots of action scenes, which I am terrible at deciphering. But I think I get what happened. This book was a flashback, so now I'll get number 28 to see what is happening in the main timeline.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Humble Pi, </i>Matt Parker.</b> I had fun wandering with a math nerd through some of the problems caused by poor maths (he's English, so it's plural). Mostly computer stuff but also some basic math stuff -- I still trip myself up with fence post errors sometimes. The page numbers are a good example of his humor -- they number down from 314, with a surprise at the index.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, </i>Silvia Moreno-Garcia. </b>I liked the start and the characters, but I felt the ending didn't really land. It left open so many questions about the relationships between all the children of Dr Moreau and how the daughter will continue her life. But I love Moreno-Garcia's writing and it's interesting to see how this books is in conversation with and also not in conversation with various tropes of literature and of genre books. And hey, it got a Hugo nomination!</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Victory, Stand!, </i>Tommie Smith.</b> 2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. I really liked this. It took something I knew a little about (the athletes giving the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics) and gave me the rest of the story. It put it in context with the Civil Rights struggles (reading books about the Black Panthers last year also helped with that) and gave me the personality behind the runner, from his childhood to his encounters with racism to his dedication to education and civil rights and his awareness of the cost of his choice and why he felt it important to make anyway. I'm glad we have people like him in our society.</div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Deep-Sea Dive (The Magic School Bus: Rides Again: Scholastic Reader, Level 2)" id="cover_review_5665435253" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530140338l/39983579._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Zee Grows a Tree" id="cover_review_5665427759" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597017552l/54615400._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Saving Stella: A Dog's Dramatic Escape From War" id="cover_review_5681495134" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589265487l/49127639._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Easter Hunt: Over 800 Egg-citing Objects! (Look & Find)" id="cover_review_5676390031" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1592892269l/53916632._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Deep Sea Dive, </i>Samantha Brooke. </b>Reading My Library Quest book from the Easy Nonfiction section, Renton Highlands library. There was an extra flavor in this book about the Magic School Bus turning into a deep water submarine, since we just had the big news storm over the lost Titanic explorer. But Ms Frizzle does better maintenance so these kids were OK.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Zee Grows a Tree, </i>Elizabeth Rusch.</b> Reading My Library Quest book from the Easy Nonfiction section, Renton Highlands library. Definitely reads as a story book that has some facts scattered on the page, which is what I'd want for a bedtime story. I like the conceit of the family planting a tree for their baby, and then we watch them grow together, while the life of the Christmas Tree farm goes on around them to give chances for wider facts about trees and farming.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Saving Stella, </i>Bassel Abou Fakher. </b>Reading My Library Quest book from the Easy Nonfiction section, Renton Highlands library. This is a insight into the refugee situation when a man gets asylum in Belgium and then manages to also get his dog out, and it's really a good story that kids will appreciate. Stella is awesome.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Easter Hunt, </i>Clever Publishing. </b>Reading My Library Quest book from the Easy Nonfiction section, Renton Highlands library. This book needed a kid to make it at all interesting -- it had bright but not interesting illustrations and ideas for searching on the page. A cheerful two year old would make it a fun game -- its pages of similar items with suggestions to find the ones that match or that meet criteris. One interesting thing is that goodreads has the cover down for the next edition, not the current one.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 4" id="cover_review_5593946702" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679770746l/123298150._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color" id="cover_review_5631112578" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655646960l/61273437._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat" id="cover_review_5643490842" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1454256674l/27206506._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Can't Spell Treason Without Tea (Tomes & Tea Cozy Fantasies, #1)" id="cover_review_5648692238" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660715872l/61753288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Vol 5 Part 4, </i>Miya Kazuki. Still inching my way through. Myne gets a chance to mentor her little brother, which always makes her puff out her chest.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.</div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 50. Didn't get to this.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Still my car book, so I'm making slow progress.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. It's still on my bedside table.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. I bet I would like all of these. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>New Suns 2, </i>ed. Nisi Shawl. Great story from John Chu, with the title hinting at all the resonances. "Equal Forces Opposed in Esquisite Tension"</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat, </i>Gary Paulsen. The next audio from the next shelf in Renton Highlands Library for my Reading My Library Quest. I'm on Disc 2 (the final disc).</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. The June <i>Sword and Laser </i>book club pick. I'm struggling to get into this, partially because I only had the audio (my hardback copy just arrived) and partly because it seems to be written in present tense, which I associate with books for kids, so the character sounds very young (immature) to me.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, </i>Rebecca Thorne. For next week's <i>Cloudy </i>book club. I have some questions about the world building...</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. Almost done!</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Donne is much better reading.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture) </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. So far I'm liking the July picks.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Finished YA Graphic Novels. Acquiring poetry. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Ready to read <i>Nick and Norah</i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Picked up <i>Faceoff, </i>ed by Baldacci. Short stories from many authors.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>China Mountain Zhang</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><i><b> </b>The Great Stewardess Rebellion</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Blue Hawk</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Only Bad Options</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>Daughter of the Empire</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Fairy Tale</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>The Blue Hawk</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Fourth Wing<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-15263632592480091202023-07-04T01:22:00.001-07:002023-07-04T01:22:07.239-07:00Hooray For Modern Medicine, I Guess<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, I procrastinated on my runs for two days, and then I had a routine doctor appointment that ended up in a giant pity party. First the doctor noticed that I could start my shingles vaccine. OK. And then she noticed that I was due for a cholesterol test. OK. So we finish and I get dressed and a nice nurse comes in and stabs me with the vaccine and I have to pretend to be brave (I am not). No lollipop or nothing. </div><div><br /></div><div>And then I toddle over to the lab section and get another needle stuck in me so they can pull out some blood, and again I do my best impression of an Actual Adult. Still no lollipop. And then I head back to my car plotting to award myself extra dessert (I'm ignoring what the doctor said about healthy diet and exercise habits, because they just stabbed me with NEEDLES) and just as I'm about to drive off I glance at my arm and I've soaked through the measly bandage in my elbow and am dripping blood all over my pants. So I head back into the building looking for some better bandaids to the consternation of the front desk people and the lab gives me the wrap treatment along with some pointed questions about blood thinners or something. And there is blood all over my pants. Humph I think.<br /><br />So I go home and make the family take me out to dinner because that was a rotten afternoon and also my arm hurts from the shot and my elbow looks all bruised. So that was really nice. And then I went home and fell asleep, expecting my personal pity party to end, but it had only begun. I kept waking up because my arm hurt, and the next day I was FATIGUED. I would have taken a COVID test except they were downstairs and that was way too far to travel. I tried to read and moving my eyeballs was exhausting and required a two hour nap after each chapter. I never ate all day, because 1) the food was all the way downstairs and 2) eating seemed a lot of effort. I could have texted my son for help (he apparently assumed I had gone somewhere when he didn't see me around the house) except I forgot about the existence of voice-to-text and couldn't summon the energy to twiddle my fingers. The doctor had warned me about the second shingles shot, which I'm due for in a few months, but didn't expect this one to be a big deal. Well, wow. I am not looking forward to the next one.</div><div><br /></div><div>By the weekend I was mostly back to normal, although I skipped the run portion of my usual talk and walk followed by a run. </div><div><br /></div></div><div>I'm still safely on only two pages of currently-reading on Goodreads. I'm at 31 books checked out which includes some picture books. Most of which I haven't lost. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/07/03/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-377/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters. And since I read the <i>Harry Potter </i>play, I'll also sign up at the Children's Book central version, held at both <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2023/07/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-07032023.html">Teach Mentor Texts</a> and Unleashing Readers. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Binti (Binti, #1)" id="cover_review_2078144413" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433804020l/25667918._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Can't Spell Treason Without Tea (Tomes & Tea Cozy Fantasies, #1)" id="cover_review_5648692238" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660715872l/61753288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)" id="cover_review_5652513862" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666994927l/61431922._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat" id="cover_review_5643490842" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1454256674l/27206506._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Binti, </i>Nnedi Okorafor. The Foolscap Bookclub was doing AfroFuturism, or AfricanFuturism, so I reread this. There was a wait for the ebook so I got the audio.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, </i>Rebecca Thorne. For next week's <i>Cloudy </i>book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Fourth Wing</i>, Rebecca Yarros. The June <i>Sword and Laser </i>book club pick.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat, </i>Gary Paulsen. The next audio from the next shelf in Renton Highlands Library for my Reading My Library Quest.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Binti (Binti, #1)" id="cover_review_2078144413" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433804020l/25667918._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Blood Vow (Black Dagger Legacy, #2)" id="cover_review_5623669182" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461428631l/29496208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Purple Hearts" id="cover_review_5594577974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491126508l/30753721._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Convergence (Foreigner, #18)" id="cover_review_1955480378" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486023714l/31522448._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><b><i>Binti, </i>Nnedi Okorafor. </b>The narrator made this book even better -- I liked it the first time but thought the prose was a bit off. But with the accent changed from my Texan/Seattle to what I assume is more authentic for a Himba woman, suddenly her sentences took flight. I enjoyed the discussion and how the author moved between SF depictions of alien interactions and communication and more mundane issues of defying parental expectations and cultural limits.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Blood Vow, </i>J.R. Ward. </b>Because I tend to giggle at the premise, I don't read these very often, but they are a fun occasional snack. The males especially like to experience every emotion at 10X volume -- they aren't just worried parents, they are questioning the limits of a universe that would allow their precious child, the only reason for existence, the creation of every happiness, to experience any worry? (Of course, the kid doesn't just need a shot, she needs a drastic operation on every bone in her body or something). And then when their adoption hits a glitch, the wallowing is deep and depressing, which makes the resolution even more hilarious (the guy with a distant connection shows up, sees that the kid has a stable family going on, and signs off on it, and then gets adopted in himself. No worries! Everyone is happy! Cars for everyone!). The love story goes similarly. But poor Axe never gets an H in his nickname.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Purple Hearts, </i>Tess Wakefield. </b>Huh. I was actually rooting for her other relationship, despite the foolishness of picking up a new boyfriend days after entering a fake marriage. But we did see their friendship growing even if we have to ignore a lot of stuff.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Convergence, </i>C.J. Cherryh.</b> I'm enjoying these a lot and wanting to catch up. I think there's one more trilogy just waiting for me, so here I come. I liked the balance between Bren going back home and being weird among humans for going all atevi on them, and Cajeri going to his traditional uncle and being the liberal human-loving kid among atevi.</div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Gorillas (New & Updated Edition)" id="cover_review_5646063348" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610436247l/55122593._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Gorillas, </i>Gail Gibbons. </b>Reading My Library Quest book from the Easy Nonfiction section, Renton Highlands library. I like nonfiction books that work as picture books like this. Good color and composition, good thruline for the information -- not quite a story but not a random walk either. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 4" id="cover_review_5593946702" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679770746l/123298150._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Flood Circle (Twenty Palaces #5)" id="cover_review_5096432498" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667280108l/63184351._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Shuddering City" id="cover_review_5597266809" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657220989l/61407069._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Mere Christianity" id="cover_review_5631113265" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531409863l/40792344._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 2 Volume 5" id="cover_review_5490418085" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1650837771l/60874862._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" id="cover_review_5624182043" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642777183l/54829360._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color" id="cover_review_5631112578" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655646960l/61273437._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Greatest Thing" id="cover_review_5638792903" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1625600880l/56978114._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Make Me (Broke and Beautiful, #3)" id="cover_review_5624086347" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1682690675l/143730267._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Vol 5 Part 4, </i>Miya Kazuki. Still inching my way through. Ferdinand's absence is keenly felt by all. </div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.</div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 50. Didn't get to this.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Still my car book, so I'm making slow progress.</div><div><div><div><b><br /></b></div></div></div><div><div><i>Flood Circle, </i>Harry Connolly. I am very worried about Ray. And also now the planet.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. It's still on my bedside table.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. No chance to read.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Shuddering City, </i>Sharon Shinn. I'm enjoying this. I like her characterization, how her characters like being competent but aren't omni-powerful.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Mere Christianity, </i>C.S. Lewis. From my shelves. Well, technically I have now misplaced my copy so I've checked it out of the library.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm Manga, Part 2 Vol 5, </i>Miya Kazuki. I am limiting myself to a few pages a day in this one as well.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, </i>Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I keep moving on to books with less stress. I'm a very stress-adverse person these days.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>New Suns 2, </i>ed. Nisi Shawl. Still going strong. Some are personal, some universal in scope.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Greatest Thing, </i>Sarah Winifred Searle. Cybils finalist. High school drama story. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Make Me, </i>Tessa Bailey. My Romance Reading Group did a deep dive on Tessa Bailey last week but I didn't finish this in time.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. Almost done!</b></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />I'm slowly marching through these books.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). OK, I found Ben Johnson a bit of a slog, but now I'm into Donne. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture) </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Hmm. I like how I don't know how long each piece will be. Some days I toss a few pieces of junk while some days I deal with real stuff.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on YA Graphic Novels. </li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Not done. Have on waiting on the pile</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Picked up <i>Faceoff, </i>ed by Baldacci. Short stories from many authors.</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own:</b> <i>China Mountain Zhang</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b><b><i style="font-weight: 400;">The Daughter of Doctor Moreau</i></b></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>Can't Spell Treason Without Tea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Only Bad Options</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Fourth Wing</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Fairy Tale</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Fourth Wing<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-25016181119830824122023-06-27T01:28:00.002-07:002023-06-27T01:31:23.674-07:00Back to Reality -- HUMPH<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>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!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>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 <i>Searching for Sylvie Lee, </i>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then there were more book clubs -- Tuesday night gaming/reading club wrapped up <i>Network Effect </i>(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 <i>Boyfriend Material</i>, and Sunday I piped into Foolscap's discussion of <i>Binti </i>and Afrofuturism until my phone ran out of power. </div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div></div><div>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. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/06/26/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-376/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters. And since I read the <i>Harry Potter </i>play, I'll also sign up at the Children's Book central version, held at both Teach Mentor Texts and <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/26431">Unleashing Readers</a>. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 2 Volume 5" id="cover_review_5490418085" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1650837771l/60874862._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Searching for Sylvie Lee" id="cover_review_5624520961" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1540310255l/41716679._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" id="cover_review_5624182043" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642777183l/54829360._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Make Me (Broke and Beautiful, #3)" id="cover_review_5624086347" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1682690675l/143730267._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Risking it All (Crossing the Line, #1)" id="cover_review_5625983527" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417512119l/22313677._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Mere Christianity" id="cover_review_5631113265" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531409863l/40792344._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="New Suns 2: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color" id="cover_review_5631112578" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655646960l/61273437._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)" id="cover_review_2358387433" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513032116l/37433980._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Greatest Thing" id="cover_review_5638792903" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1625600880l/56978114._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm Manga, Part 2 Vol 5, </i>Miya Kazuki. Of course I want to read the manga too!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Searching For Sylvie Lee, </i>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.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, </i>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.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Make Me, </i>Tessa Bailey. My Romance Reading Group is doing a deep dive on Tessa Bailey this month.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Risking It All, </i>Tessa Bailey. See above. I got this one in paper.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Mere Christianity, </i>C.S. Lewis. From my shelves.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>New Suns 2, </i>ed. Nisi Shawl. The first one was amazing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>All Systems Red, </i>Martha Wells. I gave a suggestion to a friend's kid because she needed an SF book for school.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Greatest Thing, </i>Sarah Winifred Searle. Cybils finalist</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="A Half-Built Garden" id="cover_review_4779311131" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632240228l/41637112._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Searching for Sylvie Lee" id="cover_review_5624520961" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1540310255l/41716679._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="The Russian Cage (Gunnie Rose, #3)" id="cover_review_3825445540" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612105095l/54303131._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Risking it All (Crossing the Line, #1)" id="cover_review_5625983527" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417512119l/22313677._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)" id="cover_review_2358387433" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513032116l/37433980._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting" id="cover_review_5603942047" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645390513l/56903806._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div><div><b><i>A Half-Built Garden, </i>Ruthanna Emrys.</b> 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!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><i>Searching For Sylvie Lee, </i>Jean Kwok</b>. 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.</div><div><b><i><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />The Russian Cage, </i>Charlaine Harris.</b> 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.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Risking It All, </i>Tessa Bailey. </b>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. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>All Systems Red, </i>Martha Wells. </b>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 <i>Network Effect. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b><i>Numb to This, </i>Kindra Neely. </b>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. </div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Something Happened in Our Park: Standing Together After Gun Violence" id="cover_review_5623623546" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618851314l/54887445._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Follow the Yarn: A Book of Colors" id="cover_review_5639393604" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460473298l/29877895._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Honey Badgers (Blastoff Readers. Level 1) (Animal Safari)" id="cover_review_5639396825" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375674889l/17591791._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Something Bad Happened in Our Park: Standing Together After Gun Violence, </i>Ann Hazzard.</b> 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. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Follow the Yarn, </i>Emily Sper.</b> 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?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Honey Badgers, </i>Margo Gates. </b>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. <i> </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 4" id="cover_review_5593946702" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679770746l/123298150._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Flood Circle (Twenty Palaces #5)" id="cover_review_5096432498" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667280108l/63184351._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Purple Hearts" id="cover_review_5594577974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491126508l/30753721._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="The Shuddering City" id="cover_review_5597266809" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657220989l/61407069._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Blood Vow (Black Dagger Legacy, #2)" id="cover_review_5623669182" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461428631l/29496208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Convergence (Foreigner, #18)" id="cover_review_1955480378" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486023714l/31522448._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Vol 5 Part 4, </i>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.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.</div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 50. Johnny is suspicious when things seem very pat.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Still my car book, so I'm making slow progress.</div><div><div><div><b><br /></b></div></div></div><div><div><i>Flood Circle, </i>Harry Connolly. Displaced by library books.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. It's still on my bedside table.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. No chance to read.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Purple Hearts, </i>Tess Wakefield. I was expecting more time in service from Luke.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Shuddering City, </i>Sharon Shinn. I'm enjoying this. I like her characterization.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Blood Vow, </i>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!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Convergence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. Continuing the series.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. Almost done!</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />These are at home, where I am not. No progress!</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). Many short pieces by Shakespeare, some pulled from the plays. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture) </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Hmm. Back to dealing with my mail through music!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on YA Graphic Novels. Finished one and started another.</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Not done. Have on waiting on the pile</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Finished <i>Half-Built Garden</i>. Time to go back for more!</li><li>Libraries: Working on the <a href="https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/list/share/216801955_librarychicken/2308548399_ten_to_try_2023">10 to Try</a> for 2023. Need an artist and a summer book.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own: </b><i>Convergence</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b> <i>The Shuddering City</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>Can't Spell Treason Without Tea</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Mere Christianity</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Fourth Wing</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> </li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Fourth Wing<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-36451602940624347032023-06-19T13:41:00.003-07:002023-06-19T13:41:33.991-07:00Coastal Joys<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, I don't get to the East Coast that often anymore, so I grabbed the chance to visit a friend. After congratulating the grad one more time and wishing her luck in loading up the car for her drive home with her dad, the west coast branch broke apart. First we all drove from Dartmouth to Boston and ditched the sister and her fam along with the expensive minivan rental, and then my little brother (he's barely 50) and I drove to Maine. It's actually faster to go this way because you get the good highways. I dropped him off with an old college friend (who I like; she made me cookies once) and drove up to see a childhood friend.<br /><br />Her kids have over doubled in age since I last saw them (wow) and it was great to see the young people they have turned into. I also enjoyed the giant dogs and hanging out in a house devoted to good food and good books. Thanks for hosting me!<br /><br /></div><div>And then I drove back to Boston, flew home, and drove out to Oregon for an arduous task of catsitting. Two lovely fluffly girls in a beautiful house with a view of the sea. The weather was delightfully chilly, and would have been perfect for running except every time I dressed out it rained. So instead I moved from window to window and occasionally went out to recommended restaurants. Ah. Lovely. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I might be back up to a third page of currently-reading on Goodreads. I'm at 33 books checked out but a few of those are ebooks I checked out so I wouldn't bring too many paper books on my travelers. No word on the picture book I seem to have misplaced, oops.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/06/19/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-375/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters. And since I read the <i>Harry Potter </i>play, I'll also sign up at the Children's Book central version, held at both <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2023/06/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-06192023.html">Teach Mentor Texts</a> and Unleashing Readers. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5)" id="cover_review_3307740479" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640597293l/52381770._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="I’m Glad My Mom Died" id="cover_review_5612496037" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649228846l/59366244._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two" id="cover_review_5618589293" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493154846l/34964436._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Convergence (Foreigner, #18)" id="cover_review_1955480378" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486023714l/31522448._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Blood Vow (Black Dagger Legacy, #2)" id="cover_review_5623669182" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461428631l/29496208._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Russian Cage (Gunnie Rose, #3)" id="cover_review_3825445540" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612105095l/54303131._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Network Effect, </i>Martha Stewart. I got my Tuesday book club to read it. Mainly because I'd be busy and I've already read it and rereading it would be fast.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I'm Glad My Mom Died, </i>Jennette McCurdy. A librarian recommended this to me (I'm doing the KCLS 10 to Try).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, </i>John Tiffany, Jack Thorne, J.K. Rowling. My friend has a great set of bookcases overflowing with books.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Convergence, </i>C.J. Cherryh. Continuing the series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Blood Vow, </i>J.R. Ward. From my shelves. I find this serious hilarious. Hhilarious?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Russian Cage, </i>Charlaine Harris. The full cast audios make for great car ride listens.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Your Perfect Year" id="cover_review_5330911692" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561693776l/51247073._SX50_SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="I’m Glad My Mom Died" id="cover_review_5612496037" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649228846l/59366244._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two" id="cover_review_5618589293" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493154846l/34964436._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5)" id="cover_review_3307740479" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640597293l/52381770._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="A Longer Fall (Gunnie Rose, #2)" id="cover_review_2990836680" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612374796l/56938587._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><b><i>Your Perfect Year, </i>Charlotte Lucas.</b> Remember when everyone loved <i>A Man Called Ove?</i> (I recently watched the movie with my son.) I thought it was really depressing; I didn't laugh at any of the suicidal mishaps. I think I had some of the same problem with this book. I couldn't just dismiss the tragedy because the woman's tears were so overwrought. So I liked it in bits and pieces, but I never wanted to read it for more than a few chapters. On the other hand, getting a calendar like that sounds amazing.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>I'm Glad My Mom Died, </i>Jennette McCurdy. </b>OK, I mostly brought this along on my trip because I wanted spotlight the elephant in our reunion (our mom did a few months ago), but it was a great book and several of us had heard of it so it made for some good discussions. It's also tainted what pleasure I got out of <i>iCarly</i> as a TV show; watching it now feels like watching high school football -- children risking their lives for my viewing pleasure. McCurdy has a great balance of humor and emotion as she remembers her childhood as a reluctant actor but a dedicated mom-pleaser, with a mom devoted to achieving her missed aspirations through her kids whether it's becoming a star or being sufficiently thin. Yikes.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, </i>John Tiffany, Jack Thorne, J.K. Rowling. </b>I bet this works better as a play, because you can see Harry being a bit off with his son; in the text I mostly just see Albus being a jerk, which makes it harder to sympathize with him being an idiot. But by the second part, where everyone is trying to deal with the results of the mistakes instead of just making the mistakes, I was swept up and enjoying it. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Network Effect, </i>Martha Stewart.</b> I got my Tuesday book club to read it. I'm still a huge Murderbot fan. This time I was watching how its relationship with ART worked. ART is really scary. It makes them a good match.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>A Longer Fall, </i>Charlaine Harris.</b> I like the Audio Dramatizations. I got tired of podcasts while driving from Maine to Boston and then from Renton to Seaside, so I switched over to a Movie In My Mind. I am endlessly amused by Lizbeth grumbling about having to wear skirts and heels in Dixie, and I find Felix more amusing on audio than in text.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">None</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 4" id="cover_review_5593946702" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679770746l/123298150._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Flood Circle (Twenty Palaces #5)" id="cover_review_5096432498" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667280108l/63184351._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="A Half-Built Garden" id="cover_review_4779311131" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632240228l/41637112._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Purple Hearts" id="cover_review_5594577974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491126508l/30753721._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="The Shuddering City" id="cover_review_5597266809" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657220989l/61407069._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting" id="cover_review_5603942047" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645390513l/56903806._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Vol 5 Part 4, </i>Miya Kazuki. Deep politics are afoot back home, and Myne needs to figure out a way to pursue her goal of librarianship. This means dodging the people who want to crown her.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 48-49. Johnny doesn't like the idea of making more soldiers like him.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Left at home. </div><div><div><div><br /></div></div></div><div><div><i>Flood Circle, </i>Harry Connolly. No chance to read.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. Left at home.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. No chance to read.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>A Half-Built Garden, </i>Ruthanna Emyrs. For my Reading My Library Quest. This is very nuanced and thoughtful. Humph.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Purple Hearts, </i>Tess Wakefield. I think the topic was books made into movies? This doesn't seem like the kind of movie I'd like. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Shuddering City, </i>Sharon Shinn. I lugged this around on my trip but didn't get a chance to read it much.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Numb to This, </i>Kindra Neely. Cybils finalist. Left it at home.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. Almost done!</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />These are at home, where I am not. No progress!</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture) </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Hmm. I am falling behind during my vacation.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on YA Graphic Novels. Well, hardly working this week :-)</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Not done.</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on <i>Half-Built Garden</i>. </li><li>Libraries: Working on the 10 to Try for 2023. Read the Staff Recommend.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own: </b><i>Blood Vow</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b> <i>The Shuddering City</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>Flood Circle</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Purple Hearts</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Fourth Wing</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> </li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b><i>A Russian Cage</i></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>Fourth Wing<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-86213233322410407652023-06-12T21:28:00.003-07:002023-06-12T21:28:32.888-07:00So Proud!<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This was a week to be proud of my niblings -- first my nephew's team at his work study place finished up a big project and presented the results to upper management. He got dressed up in suit and tie to make the best impression and really knocked it out of the park. </div><div><br /></div><div>And then there was a gathering of the clan in New Hampshire to cheer on my niece as she graduated from Dartmouth College. Woot! We started with an early dawn flight that was slowly delayed until late morning (I weep for my lost snoozes!), but Alaska Airline felt really bad about it and gave us a lot of treats and some compensation, and we managed to have a good time even though I couldn't accept the free beers as I was driving from Boston to Hanover after we landed. My brother had found a great house to share and I enjoyed seeing Vermont with my brothers and sisters and also a few extra niblings as we celebrated the graduate. </div><div><br /></div></div><div>Before we left my son and I went to see the new <i>Spiderverse</i> movie and enjoyed it a lot. The artwork is amazing and the story really strong. But it's Part I so be prepared to wait for the resolution! </div><div><br /></div><div>I finished a lot of books and only started a handful, so I can now view my currently reading on two pages in GoodReads. I'm up to 36 books checked out but a lot of those are ebooks I checked out so I wouldn't bring too many paper books on my trip to the East Coast. More worryingly that missing picture book hasn't surfaced yet.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/06/12/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-374/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters. And since I read some graphic novels and a picture book, I'll also sign up at the Children's Book central version, held at both Teach Mentor Texts and <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/26467">Unleashing Readers</a>. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Purple Hearts" id="cover_review_5594577974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1491126508l/30753721._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 4" id="cover_review_5593946702" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1679770746l/123298150._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Across a Field of Starlight" id="cover_review_5596810731" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632496131l/43864953._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Shuddering City" id="cover_review_5597266809" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657220989l/61407069._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Magic Tides (Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years, #1; Kate Daniels, #10.5)" id="cover_review_5601391262" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1673650879l/77263096._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting" id="cover_review_5603942047" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645390513l/56903806._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Purple Hearts, </i>Tess Wakefield. If I had been able to go to the Romance Book Club back in January, this is the book I would have read. I don't even remember the topic.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Vol 5 Part 4, </i>Miya Kazuki. The new one is out! Let's see if I can stretch it out through the end of July, when Part 5 arrives.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Across a Field of Starlight, </i>Blue Delliquanti. Cybils finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Shuddering City, </i>Sharon Shinn. I like this author.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Magic Tides, </i>Ilona Andrews. I like this author. And this series.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Numb to This, </i>Kindra Neely. Cybils finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Red Scholar's Wake" id="cover_review_5567774177" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661940777l/60811024._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Royal Escape" id="cover_review_1693484153" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1217522120l/2373510._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse (The Thorne Chronicles, #1)" id="cover_review_5557946035" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563666512l/43671778._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="M Is for Monster" id="cover_review_5580352075" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643464456l/58667527._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Magic Tides (Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years, #1; Kate Daniels, #10.5)" id="cover_review_5601391262" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1673650879l/77263096._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 2 Volume 4" id="cover_review_5490417679" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645120141l/60437011._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Murder While You Work" id="cover_review_5576254980" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658207990l/61610518._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Across a Field of Starlight" id="cover_review_5596810731" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632496131l/43864953._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Axiom's End (Noumena, #1)" id="cover_review_5581760589" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579072263l/51171377._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Children of the Stone City" id="cover_review_5491899193" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646324838l/60091379._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Alto Wore Tweed (The Liturgical Mystery #1)" id="cover_review_5576977004" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331512143l/803673._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><i>The Red Scholar's Wake, </i>Aliette de Bodard.</b> For <i>Cloudy </i>book club. This did not work for me on many several levels. The characters never felt real, mainly because of their their rapid transit from kidnap victim and their captor to deeply committed loving spouses. That kept me at enough of a remove to find the vivid images of the mix of virtual and physical realities vaguely interesting rather than engrossing. The politics also seemed rather naive, and the ending appeared to involve basically a deus machina, or rather a NICE BUREAUCRAT machina. The book club was small but mostly felt the same way.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><i>Royal Escape, </i>Georgette Heyer.</b> Once you realize that the packaging and back matter is a lie, and there is NO ROMANCE at all in this book, it's quite fun. You see the young King Charles II running around hiding from the people who want to cut off his head, and the many royalists who want to help him, from farmers to lords, and the many other people who want to cash in the reward. And it's all coated in the warm feeling of actual history so now I feel smarter. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse, </i>K. Eason.</b> Library Quest book. This was a lucky pull from the shelves -- fun fairy tales motifs on a space faring story, with a narrator jumping in to comment every now again. I liked the kid as she grew up and had to start making her own way; there was some good twists to make her more independent while still making her believably young and miss some important points. I think there's a sequel so I'll look out for that. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>M Is For Monster, </i>Talia Dutton. </b>2022 Cybils YA Graphic Novel finalist. I liked the homage to Frankenstein and the blinked view of the scientist that so scares the creation. The other side characters were also good (the husband, the dressmaker), but my usual face blindness had me getting confused among the characters (don't ask me how).</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Magic Tides, </i>Ilona Andrews.</b> I got what I expected and I was happy. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga), Part 2 Volume 4, </i>Miya Kazuki. </b>Seeing Myne's reactions are almost as much fun as reading about them. I am as happy as a clam. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Murder While You Work, </i>Susan Scarlett (Noel Streatfeild). </b>This is just up my alley. I like WWII stories, especially with competent career girls. I like mysteries. I like lonely old houses. The romance is a bit thin but the friendship is good fun.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><b><i>Across a Field of Starlight, </i>Blue Delliquanti. </b>2022 Cybils YA Graphic Novel finalist. This is a cool space story with two kids on different sides of a triangular conflict. They become friends in defiance of the rules and end up helping each other in various ways as the readers learns all about their situation and their issues. I struggled a bit because I am so bad at reading pictures; the characters looked nothing alike and I still couldn't tell them apart. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Axiom's End, </i>Lindsay Ellis.</b> For my Reading My Library Quest. This was an interesting read -- a great alien, and a main character I started out disliking a bit but who impressed me with her strength over the course of the book. I liked the things it had to say about government secrets and power, the likely effects of meeting aliens, and how cool technology would work. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Children of the Stone City, </i>Beverley Naidoo. </b>For my Reading My Library Quest (Renton Highlands edition). This is a great and touching portrayal of the barriers faced by kids in a system stacked against them, very clearly based on the lives of Palestinian kids in an Israeli city. It's also a very discouraging example of how little each side understand of each other; the only history the kids know is highly slanted and guaranteed to produce no dialogue. And the people they meet in the book conform to this stereotype. </div></span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><div><br /></div></div><div><b><i>The Alto Wore Tweed, </i>Mark Schweitzer. </b>This is a fun and lighthearted book with a slight mystery but mostly there to enjoy the main character, who gets to be right a lot and be smugly modest about it. An easy and uncomplicated read.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Good Little Book" id="cover_review_5558998053" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1423101336l/23602710._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>The Good Little Book, </i>Kyo Maclear. </b>I saw this recommended on a blog and grabbed it. It's a great representation of how books work with people, along with fun illustrations at the action point, especially when the boy loses the books. It's a great story to show both the boy moving on to experience different parts of what he loved with this book in many different books, and also to see the book making a difference in a whole swath of different lives. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Longer Fall (Gunnie Rose, #2)" id="cover_review_2990836680" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612374796l/56938587._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Flood Circle (Twenty Palaces #5)" id="cover_review_5096432498" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667280108l/63184351._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Your Perfect Year" id="cover_review_5330911692" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561693776l/51247073._SX50_SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Half-Built Garden" id="cover_review_4779311131" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632240228l/41637112._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. Pausing my reread of Part 3 while I read the new book.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. Part 48. Johnny is in higher management now, so he has different problems.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>A Longer Fall, </i>Charlaine Harris. I like the Audio Dramatizations. I should volunteer to clean my friend's kitchen so I can keep listening. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Not using my car much this week, so not making progress on the book I keep in my car.</div><div><div><div><br /></div></div></div><div><div><i>Flood Circle, </i>Harry Connolly. Made it to this one! (I reward myself with this after I read enough of the library books I've checked out)</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Your Perfect Year, </i>Charlotte Lucas. Time for the last minute obstacle!</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. I think we can expect to see this here for a while.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. Not gonna finish this week.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>A Half-Built Garden, </i>Ruthanna Emyrs. For my Reading My Library Quest. I like that I accidentally grabbed two different (very different!) first-contact stories from two adjacent shelves.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. OK, some characters are in not quite as much peril as they were a while ago.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />These books I'm barely reading; lately I use them as bribes to get me to deal with the mail. I've been ignoring my mail.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture) This chapter was on the personal essay as an art form, so I had the fun of reading a bunch of personal essays.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. I will have to up my nerd credentials as I don't know all her examples!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. Hmm. I am falling behind during my vacation.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Working on YA Graphic Novels. Finished two, working on another<i>. </i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Not done.</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on fiction from main library: Finished <i>How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse </i>and <i>Axiom's End. </i>Working on <i>Half-Built Garden</i>. Finished audio from backup library. </li><li>Libraries: Working on the 10 to Try for 2023. Went to a library (I do a different one each year) and got a staff member to recommend something.</li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own: </b><i>Blood Vow</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b> <i>I'm Glad My Mom Died</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>Flood Circle</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Purple Hearts</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Fourth Wing</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Network Effect</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>A Longer Fall<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-19943148356879856282023-06-05T15:14:00.000-07:002023-06-05T15:14:18.631-07:00The Perils Of Aging<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, school is still in session and the season doesn't officially change until later this month, but according to the weather it's definitely summer! Shorts weather, bright early mornings, long cool evenings. I need to figure out a new sleep and exercise pattern, because it's not too hot to want to go outside. (OK, there is a narrow band in which I actually WANT to go outside, although once I drag myself out there's a much wider band in which I enjoy being outside). But definitely a lovely season to sit in a window and read.<br /><br />I'm on a five year schedule for the dreaded rite of adulthood -- the colonoscopy, and my timer was up. When my primary provider admitted they were backed up for months, I was ready to wait, but they pushed me to go out of network to some fiercely efficient people who had a spot only a few days away. So I got to do the day of fasting and chugging gateraid, contemplating renovations to my various bathrooms, and then getting my kindly sister to drive me. Everyone was really nice and now I get another five years off and a sheet extorting me to exercise and eat fiber.<br /><br />Oh, one of the many people handing me things to sign was named Adam Dalgleish. I was all "Wow, like the " and he said, "Yes, like the P.D. James character" so I said "I"m sorry, you must get that all the time" but he laughed and said only a few times a year. </div><div><br /></div><div>On Saturday I got to go to a superspecial behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo, courtesy of a friend who is a big donor. It was themed Zoo Babies, so we got to see the toddler gorillas and hear about the many factors that go into proposed parent lines, some determined by zookeepers and some by the animals, and what specific problems the zoo had faced and overcome. Gorillas are cool. And then we saw a bunch of other animals with babies -- bears, ducklings, actually lots of birds either nesting or brooding, and all sorts of stuff. Oh, and we saw a tiger and my brother asked about tiger whiskers as an assassination tool, and they had never heard of it. I'm sure I read a short story where chopped up tiger whiskers were snuck into food. But apparently this is not covered in zoo school</div><div><br /></div></div><div>No movie this week because of the medical stuff. And I know it shows I started more than I finished, but I'm only at 42 currently reading now because I was really close to finishing them. And I finished the really long one, which surely gives extra credit. I'm down to 32 books checked out, and only 1 has gone missing, although I'm starting to get worried about that one. I wonder if my roomba put it somewhere?</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/06/05/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-373/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters. And since I read a lot of kidlit, I'll also sign up at the Children's Book central version, held at both <a href="http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2023/06/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-06052023.html">Teach Mentor Texts </a>and Unleashing Readers. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 2 Volume 4" id="cover_review_5490417679" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645120141l/60437011._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Murder While You Work" id="cover_review_5576254980" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658207990l/61610518._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Alto Wore Tweed (The Liturgical Mystery #1)" id="cover_review_5576977004" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331512143l/803673._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Axiom's End (Noumena, #1)" id="cover_review_5581760589" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579072263l/51171377._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="M Is for Monster" id="cover_review_5580352075" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643464456l/58667527._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Half-Built Garden" id="cover_review_4779311131" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1632240228l/41637112._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm (manga), Part 2 Volume 4, </i>Miya Kazuki. Seeing Myne's reactions are almost as much fun as reading about them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Murder While You Work, </i>Susan Scarlett (Noel Streatfeild). Hey, a favorite author of mine wrote some adult books! And the new Libby features told me about them, so cool.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Alto Wore Tweed, </i>Mark Schweitzer. From my shelves. I have no idea where I got it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Axiom's End, </i>Lindsay Ellis. For my Reading My Library Quest. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>M Is For Monster, </i>Talia Dutton. Cybils finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>A Half-Built Garden, </i>Ruthanna Emyrs. For my Reading My Library Quest. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American" id="cover_review_5572578774" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631506766l/55867756._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Engagement: America's Quarter Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage" id="cover_review_5539542843" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1613421958l/48822628._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Bea Wolf" id="cover_review_5563828792" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658830586l/60316971._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Tastes Like War" id="cover_review_5561221220" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610054196l/56047271._SX50_.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><i>Messy Roots, </i>Laura Gao. </b>2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. This was an honest memoir, showing both how her family roots in Wuhan are eternal and also how much growing up in Texas changed how she approaches the world. Gao is conflicted about her Chinese heritage and the passage in college where she learns to accept herself and to stop rejected various Asian identities but also not to feel forced to conform to anything that doesn't feel authentic. She can accept herself even while she is still figuring things out.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Engagement, </i>Sasha Issenberg.</b> For <i>Torches and Pitchforks. </i>Book club is this Friday. I made it! But it was a small gathering; there were tragedies and unexpected relatives and sudden illnesses that took out most of the group. I found the attitude towards the Supreme Court interesting in contrast to the other books I read; lawyers felt that precedent and laws influenced judgments rather than just what the justices wanted to say. Hmm. It was interesting to remember how passionately people shouted that letting some people marry the ones they loved would cause all other marriages to fail and society itself to crumble while leaving all children scarred and damaged. I wish Issenberg had looked a little bit into why people felt that way; I didn't understand it then and I don't understand it now. </div></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div></blockquote></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><b><i>Bea Wolf, </i>Zach Weinersmith. </b>A gift from my lovely brother and his lovely wife. And it's a lovely book. I loved the way the meter and sound echoed the original, and how seriously the author took his subjects and how the illustrations caught the tone so well. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Tastes Like War, </i>Grace M. Cho. </b>Earlier this year I reread <i>H Is For Hawk, </i>a memoir about a woman whose father died. It made me cranky. This book that the library slipped onto my ereader is a memoir by a woman whose mother died, and I really appreciated it. Cho's mom and mine had very little in common, but they both had daughters who loved them and were loved by them, for better and for worse, not in spite of their flaws but sometimes because of them. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Beavers (Blastoff! Readers: Backyard Wildlife)" id="cover_review_5578700912" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1340830361l/14526690._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="Du Iz Tak?" id="cover_review_5582026564" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485375302l/28250952._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Farmhouse" id="cover_review_5586936633" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1641777365l/58783430._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One book from my Reading My Library Quest, Renton Highlands division, Easy Nonfiction shelves, a pick from the <i><a href="https://eventhetrunchbull.podbean.com/">Even the Trunchbull</a> </i>podcast, which I am working my way through, and a Cybils finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Beavers, </i>Emily K. Green.</b> I've made it to individual mammals. This book does what it says on the tin. Good photos, clear text, good for young independent naturalists or as a read-aloud.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Du Iz Tak, </i>Carson Ellis.</b> This book is written in a bug language, and the reader figures all the meanings from the context, and it's well worth the effort. I liked seeing the sequence and the sudden terror of the spider, and then the seasons rolling on again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Farmhouse, </i>Sophie Blackall. </b>2022 Cybils Picture Book Finalist. We see the life of a large boisterous family in the house they lived and worked from as the children grew up and eventually moved out, leaving the house to shelter wild animals until it crumbled. Lots of neat illustration techniques (which the afterward explains included a lot of materials salvaged from the house that inspired the story) as well as a delicate and pleasant metered prose that celebrates each point in the family's life. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Children of the Stone City" id="cover_review_5491899193" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646324838l/60091379._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Longer Fall (Gunnie Rose, #2)" id="cover_review_2990836680" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612374796l/56938587._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Red Scholar's Wake" id="cover_review_5567774177" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661940777l/60811024._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Royal Escape" id="cover_review_1693484153" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1217522120l/2373510._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Flood Circle (Twenty Palaces #5)" id="cover_review_5096432498" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667280108l/63184351._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Your Perfect Year" id="cover_review_5330911692" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561693776l/51247073._SX50_SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse (The Thorne Chronicles, #1)" id="cover_review_5557946035" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563666512l/43671778._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. I'm endlessly rereading this while waiting for the next version. The bookworm's universe is my happy place. I'm rereading Part III, where Myne is dealing with nobles.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. I think I'm listening to February's bits. I'd like to get caught up enough to hear the month's ebook specials.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Children of the Stone City, </i>Beverley Naidoo. Disc 4. Police should not torture children into confessing things. Also, I feel parents with a lawyer should let the lawyer talk to their kid before turning him over to the police. I hope Disc 5 saves the kid. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>A Longer Fall, </i>Charlaine Harris. I like the Audio Dramatizations. My kitchen is really messy right now, which is a shame because I like this and would enjoy hearing more! Just not enough to do all those dishes...</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Red Scholar's Wake, </i>Aliette de Bodard. For <i>Cloudy </i>book club. Wow, this is tough going. Usually I like this author. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. Secrets cause angst among the team mates. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Royal Escape, </i>Georgette Heyer. I might actually remember some bits of the English Civil War after reading this book.</div></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>Flood Circle, </i>Harry Connolly. Barely touched it.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Your Perfect Year, </i>Charlotte Lucas. OK, we are drawing to the happy conclusion. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. I think we can expect to see this here for a while.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. Not gonna finish this week.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>How Rory Thorn Destroyed the Multiverse, </i>K. Eason. Library Quest book. I like the mix of the impulsive teen protagonist and her respected older advisors, who also sometimes have to act quickly. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. There are quite a few characters, and almost all of them are in very distinct sets of dire circumstances.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />These books I'm barely reading; lately I use them as bribes to get me to deal with the mail. I've been ignoring my mail.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. Danger threatens the kingdom! The the princess's aunt's love life!</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture) I'm really enjoying reading the essays and not doing the exercises. Reading a writing textbook is like sitting on the couch and watching an exercise program -- pure relaxation. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. .</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. There's a strong statement that almost all antagonists, especially in fantasy, are representations of other races. I'll be interested to see how she supports this.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. I like dealing with my mail for the duration of this day's songs. It's about my attention span. Sometimes two minutes, sometimes twenty. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Moving onto YA Graphic Novels. Finished <i>Messy Waters. </i></li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Not done.</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on audio and Easy Nonfiction from backup library. Started <i>Axiom's End </i>and <i>Half-Built Garden </i>from main. Good overlap in themes.</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2022/01/where-am-i-reading-2022.html">Where Am I Reading 2022</a>. Never finished updating this. Not sure I'll do it in 2023.</li><li>Libraries: Started the 10 to Try for 2023. </li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own: </b><i>The Alto Wore Tweed</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b> <i>Axiom's End</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>The Perfect Year</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Murder On the Job</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>The Fourth Wing</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> <i>Network Effect</i></li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>A Longer Fall<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8744293504134940560.post-22392925619827486492023-05-29T12:02:00.001-07:002023-05-29T12:02:10.420-07:00Don't Miss That Heat Wave!<div class="separator"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="604" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi1FgMtSSxuL2wD9aQH3DfNI210TZAJ2f15eirkv8UQ7ATQ16S-zih_FhlwPctYN3EFpmtQdD1G9ZpOsaXSfdWH-K6ZGCc8QSynrEv7HteCMS-D_jujlSPm0OFzeakqpCHQko4uD9f4Ibo2aW4ycz1MgYSOB-YBxdJRDro8INbFZr6OCe8p_ZD329Rvg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I am continuing to read and to inflict the list of my reading on the poor internet. I do actually go back sometimes to see what I was reading and for how long, so I like having the record.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a good week -- the weather got cooler so it was pleasant, I got some stuff done around the house, especially with all the paperwork I misplaced around dealing with my mom's estate, and I was gentle with myself when I tended to mope after dealing with said paperwork. Memorial Weekend meant grilling in my sister's backyard and celebrating my niece's birthday which was fun and delicious and then I sobered up in time to get my son from work (lucky for me they ran over by almost an hour). </div><div><br /></div><div>We are getting this ready for the two big family events this summer -- my niece's graduation from Dartmouth and then a memorial for my mom in California (where her siblings live). Somehow I have been delegated as the one to make a lot of arrangements, which is a poor decision on the family's part since I have staked out a position as the sibling most likely to forget to do paperwork, but we'll see how it goes. We always enjoy getting together so hopefully a few minor details like me booking the rental house in the wrong town will be overlooked.</div><div><br /></div><div>My son went off to visit his sisters in the city so I went to the movies by myself and saw <i>Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret, </i>which was as nostalgic and lovely as I hoped. I also remember feeling so glad I wasn't as into my period as the people in the book, and now that I'm done with all that I second my emotion. </div><div><br /></div><div>OK, here's a secret. I'm tracking my books from Friday to Friday, which gives me a chance to put this page in order by Monday. So numbers of currently reading books will not always match if you do the math. But I definitely finished more than I started and am making progress on the books I claim to be reading. I've got 37 books out of the library and I know where 36 of them are. I'm listed as reading 44 books on goodreads and I'm serious about at least 35 of them. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm off to check out the other books at <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/">The Bookdate</a>'s <a href="https://thebookdate.wordpress.com/2023/05/29/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-372/">It's Monday, What Are You Reading </a>headquarters. And since I read a lot of kidlit, I'll also sign up at the Children's Book central version, held at both Teach Mentor Texts or <a href="https://www.unleashingreaders.com/26395">Unleashing Readers</a>. And then I will dive around to see what everyone else has been reading.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Started</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Tastes Like War" id="cover_review_5561221220" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610054196l/56047271._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="A Longer Fall (Gunnie Rose, #2)" id="cover_review_2990836680" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612374796l/56938587._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Bea Wolf" id="cover_review_5563828792" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658830586l/60316971._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Red Scholar's Wake" id="cover_review_5567774177" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661940777l/60811024._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (Theodore Boone, #1)" id="cover_review_5567801032" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1275094812l/7824997._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American" id="cover_review_5572578774" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631506766l/55867756._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Tastes Like War, </i>Grace M. Cho. Just as I was congratulation myself on getting my library check-outs under control, the Libby app lured me with a no-wait check out. I'm the victim here!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>A Longer Fall, </i>Charlaine Harris. I like the Audio Dramatizations. A movie for my ears!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Bea Wolf, </i>Zach Weinersmith. A gift from my lovely brother and his lovely wife.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Red Scholar's Wake, </i>Aliette de Bodard. For <i>Cloudy </i>book club.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, </i>John Grisham. My Tuesday book club explores another children's mystery. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Messy Roots, </i>Laura Gao. 2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
<div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Completed</span></div></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Spare Man" id="cover_review_4998769404" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1653273934l/55077659._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Rocking the Babies" id="cover_review_1713712533" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1177694496l/726392._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Little Monarchs" id="cover_review_5561139298" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642985945l/58845991._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><div><br /></div></div><div><b><i>Spare Man, </i>Mary Robinette Kowal</b>. This is a very contemporary book for all that it's set in the "near" future where we have awesome cruise spaceships prowling the route between Earth and Mars. By that I mean that it reflects a lot of current trends, some pushed forward a bit but others just what we see now. People can don "courtesy masks" which are available all over, either for concealment or because of concerns about germs (their own or others). Introductions include preferred pronounces, often partially declined (why the standard for announcing one's pronouns includes declension I have no idea and I actually am really hoping the future fixes that), gendered insults are frowned upon but still the staple of reactionary antagonists, and lawyers are a rich person's best friend. It's also a delightful pastiche of <i>The Thin Man, </i>complete with cute dog, and has Kowal's delicate touch with complete characters with complex lives and successes and failures. I enjoyed it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Rocking the Babies, </i>Linda Raymond.</b> I loved the way this book stuck the landing. It was definitely a constant build -- from setting the scene to delving into the reasons the characters are where they are, to stories from their past both internally and then as part of a storytelling that builds a community, to the final passage where the next generation picks up the storytelling to show that the community will continue. There's tragedy and love and struggle and it's a beautiful portrayal of how women just keep going on. And I do mean women -- I noticed at the end of rarely men affect the plot.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Little Monarchs, </i>Jonathan Case.</b> 2022 Cybils Graphic Novel finalist. At first I had to adjust from bad expectations -- for some reason I had misread the cover and assumed this was about surfing in Hawaii. (Why Hawaii? Because that's where I almost took surfing lessons, I guess.) But then I started really appreciated the post-apocalyptic tale. I liked the relationship of respect and authority between the adult and the kid, the way that science was approached, the homeschooling aspect (I mean, there's no home but also no more schools). I also like that tough things happened but sometimes hard work succeeded, and that most people are good but some bad apples will sure make thing hard. I tried to hand this to other people but no one around here listens to me; I need to get back to volunteering in the school.</div><div><br /></div></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 2 Volume 3" id="cover_review_5490417591" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1633122149l/59127429._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (Theodore Boone, #1)" id="cover_review_5567801032" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1275094812l/7824997._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 3" id="cover_review_5473983040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674866095l/88563329._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></span></div></blockquote></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Ascendance of A Bookworm Manga, </i>Vol 2 Part 3.</b> I can never overexpose myself to this series. As soon as I finish volume two of the manga I'm off to re-subscribe to crunchyroll to see if they have the anime. Here we see Myne assuming her role as Orphanage Director and accepting child labor as an acceptable factory input (this makes since she herself is seven years old and holding down several jobs). The manga is easy to read (for me, this is saying a lot) and I really like seeing how the artists drew different characters and their reactions. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, </i>John Grisham.</b> OK, I have nothing to say about Theo's detecting skills because there is no mystery for him to detect with. Instead there is a lawyerly ethical problem and a lot of infodumping about how our legal system works. Also, this kid plays golf for fun and likes grapefruit juice. So he's obviously an alien. I'll see if anyone in the Tuesday club knows about double jeopardy so they can explain if we saw a crime being committed. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 5 Vol 3, </i>Miya Kazuki. </b>Even limiting myself to a few pages a day could not make this book last forever. The next one won't be out until the end of the month! Her fiance is getting suspicious, her best friend's fiance is humiliatingly awful, and the royal family needs to be propped up but don't know how shaky a limb Myne really is. It's all part of her goal to get all the books onto all the shelves! Go for it, Myne! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut Universe #1)" id="cover_review_2436586370" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1653935257l/36238876._SY75_.jpg" /><img alt="Flash of Fire (Firehawks #4)" id="cover_review_5553624277" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455505387l/28628204._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Bronze Skies (Major Bhaajan, #2)" id="cover_review_2000524734" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492481041l/32919683._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>The Calculating Stars, </i>Mary Robinette Kowal. </b>SPOILERS! Foolscap is reading this for our Alternate Timelines month. It's a reread for me, and I actually liked it better because Kowal drops me so deep into her stories that I tend to panic when things get tense. And they get tense a lot in this book. First of all, there's the whole "the world is going to end" stuff. And then there's the protagonist's actual panic attacks. And a smarmy head astronaut/pilot who bears a grudge against said protagonist because she threw a wrench in his habit of raping women pilots delivering his fighter planes during WWII. Kowal did a lot of research for this book, and sometimes it shows, but mostly it's just what our matheticial pilot career woman is doing. I also like how Kowal handles the protagonist being a jerk sometimes. Often she's aware of it and trying to talk herself into being better, sometimes she's oblivious, and sometimes she's beating herself up for the wrong things. Relatable. The book club was also positive, with most people planning to continue on. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Flash of Fire, </i>M.L. Buchman. </b>This was a fun book about hot helicopter pilots who put out literal fires. Get it? The romance was fairly low key -- they were both instantly attracted to each other and happily started a work fling, but then fell into feelings while working and holidaying together. The only conflict was that she had never seen herself as the kind of person to settle down, so once he got over his shock at hearing this he just had to wait for her to reevaluate things in light of their obvious soulmate status. This left lots of room for cool fire fighting stuff, first on the West Coast, then up to a SUPER FIRE in Canada, then on a SECRET MISSION to North Korea. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><i>The Bronze Skies, </i>Catherine Asaro</b>. More fun for me! I still like Bhaaj's limited social skills, awe at the highfalutin people she works for now, especially as this gets worse. And I like her stubborn loyalty to the culture she grew up in even as the people aren't entirely sure she's still one of them. The virtual stuff worked pretty well for me, especially as I am very willing to just go with it on these books. The reverse sexist attitudes are also amusing, especially as they aren't highlighted as much in this one, just quietly in the background setting. I'll take a break before going on but I'm definitely still enjoying these even on a reread.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Picture Books</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs" id="cover_review_5565358648" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518849963l/38371226._SX50_.jpg" /><img alt="I See Sea Food: Sea Creatures That Look Like Food" id="cover_review_5567104124" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554486491l/42422524._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="A Place for Turtles (A Place for..., 6)" id="cover_review_5578445458" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363773353l/17267938._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Three books from my Reading My Library Quest, Renton Highlands division, Easy Nonfiction shelves. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers, </i>Melissa Stewart. A fun animal book celebrating some oddballs. I have to quibble about the tone -- in what universe does being odd or stinky make an animal feel underappreciated by the picture book crowd? They are the stars!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I See Sea Food, </i>Jenna Grodzicki. This was a fun concept -- sea animals that resemble people food (besides sushi). I have a nephew who spent several years fascinated with underwater creatures, especially invertebrates, and he would have loved this.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>A Place For Turtles, </i>Melissa Stewart. Huh, I guess Stewart does a lot of animal books! This one earnestly shows a lot of turtles and describes what people could do to make their lives safer (or more often, could stop doing to save them from extinction). A bit grim. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bookmarks Moved (Or Languished) In:</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 3 Volume 1" id="cover_review_4895817423" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591805246l/53937732._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Cobra (Cobra, #1)" id="cover_review_4737797892" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388819519l/529647._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Children of the Stone City" id="cover_review_5491899193" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1646324838l/60091379._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Warcross (Warcross, #1)" id="cover_review_4493581969" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533058119l/41014903._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Engagement: America's Quarter Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage" id="cover_review_5539542843" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1613421958l/48822628._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Royal Escape" id="cover_review_1693484153" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1217522120l/2373510._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Flood Circle (Twenty Palaces #5)" id="cover_review_5096432498" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667280108l/63184351._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Your Perfect Year" id="cover_review_5330911692" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561693776l/51247073._SX50_SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)" id="cover_review_5431091821" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527807139l/40275288._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Wine-Dark Sea (Aubrey & Maturin, #16)" id="cover_review_3616533040" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565969963l/938791._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse (The Thorne Chronicles, #1)" id="cover_review_5557946035" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563666512l/43671778._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div><img alt="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" height="57" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg/320px-Antigua_sailing_ship.jpg" style="background-color: #e6e6e6; display: block; margin: auto; text-align: center; transition: background-color 300ms ease 0s; user-select: none;" title="Antigua Sailing Ship" width="75" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i>Ascendance of a Bookworm, </i>Miya Kazuki. I'm endlessly rereading this while waiting for the next version. The bookworm's universe is my happy place. Currently I'm on Part III. </div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Cobra, </i>Timothy Zahn. I am so far behind.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Children of the Stone City, </i>Beverley Naidoo. The twelve year old has been arrested, but we know he is innocent. And also that twelve year olds should not have black bags pulled over their heads. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Warcross, </i>Marie Lu. My knowledge of computers is just enough to make me a little leery of the online stuff.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>The Engagement, </i>Sasha Issenberg. For <i>Torches and Pitchforks. </i>Book club is this Friday. I think I'll make it. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Royal Escape, </i>Georgette Heyer. Young King Charles 2 is brave in the face of danger, especially when there are pretty girls to distract him.</div></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div><i>Flood Circle, </i>Harry Connolly. Too many library books this week. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Your Perfect Year, </i>Charlotte Lucas. See library book issue. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Priory of the Orange Tree, </i>Samantha Shannon. I think we can expect to see this here for a while.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Wine-Dark Sea, </i>Patrick O'Brian. Not gonna finish this week.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>How Rory Thorn Destroyed the Multiverse, </i>K. Eason. Library Quest book. This is fun!</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Ship Without Sails, </i>Sherwood Smith. Smith's magic system is complex and yet comprehensible. I love how her characters accept and approach it.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Palate Cleansers</span></div><br />These books I'm barely reading; lately I use them as bribes to get me to deal with the mail. I've been ignoring my mail.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Stinger" id="cover_review_2502260974" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312042907l/493125._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="Dragon's Breath (The Tales of the Frog Princess, #2)" id="cover_review_1691361700" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388983049l/65093._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Road To Mars" id="cover_review_1691483391" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356442012l/483646._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Postmillennial Pop, 13)" id="cover_review_2829272322" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1676677644l/42129087._SY75_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /><img alt="YEAR OF WONDER: Classical Music for Every Day" id="cover_review_3971379956" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529275386l/36355166._SX50_.jpg" style="text-align: left;" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><i>50 Great Poets, </i>ed. Milton Crane (no picture). </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Stinger, </i>Nancy Kress. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Dragon's Breath, </i>E.D. Baker. The responsibility of royalty to their countries is an interesting question.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Writer's Stance: Reading and Writing in the Disciplines, </i>Dorothy U. Seyler. (no picture) </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Road to Mars, </i>Eric Idle. .</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Dark Fantastic, </i>Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. Lots of sweeping statements in the first chapter that are interesting but I want to see how they are supported. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Year of Wonder, </i>Clemency Burton-Hill. I am very excited that I've gone for a whole month without missing a day. Which means my mail bin is almost up to date!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-large;">Reading Challenges</span></div><ol><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-cybils-finalists-reading-challenge.html">Cybils 202</a>2: Moving onto YA Graphic Novels.</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/2009-cybils-finalists.html">Early Cybils</a>: Not done.</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2016/02/reading-my-library.html">Reading My Library</a>. Working on audio and Easy Nonfiction from backup library. Started <i>Rory Thorne</i> from main.</li><li><a href="http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2022/01/where-am-i-reading-2022.html">Where Am I Reading 2022</a>. Never finished updating this. Not sure I'll do it in 2023.</li><li>Libraries: Started the 10 to Try for 2023. </li></ol><h1 style="text-align: center;">Future Plans</h1>I'm putting this at the end because I suspect it's complete fiction, but I feel I should attempt some structure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I am reading: </div><div><ul><li><b>Book I own: </b><i>Royal Escape</i></li><li><b>Library Book:</b> <i>How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse</i></li><li><b>Ebook I own: </b><i>Year of Wonder</i></li><li><b>Library Ebook:</b> <i>Tastes Like War</i></li><li><b>Book Club Book: </b><i>Red Scholar's Wake</i></li><li><b>Tuesday Book Club Book:</b> (I'm ahead!)</li><li><b>Review Book: </b><i>Back Home </i></li><li><b>Rereading: </b></li><li><b>Audio: </b><i>A Longer Fall<br /></i></li></ul></div></div></div>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18005286623073064886noreply@blogger.com3