Still Here!

My second week posting in a row!  I'm clearly (sortof) back.

I'm going to try to do a lot of reading this week, since I have seven books from the library that cannot be renewed, as well as four challenges that still need spots filled. Luckily there is a least a little overlap between those categories, so I only need to read ten books or in the next six days. We'll see next week how successful I am...

What have I read this week? I'll go sign in at Book Journey's round-up of what people have read, are reading, and will read. And since most of my reading this week was YA or younger, I'll also check in with Teach Mentor Texts, which specializes in books for the non-voting crowd.

• Page By Paige, Laura Lee Gulledge. Cybils graphic novel. 
• Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland, Sally Walker. Did you notice the MARYLAND in the title?
• The Red Pyramid, Rick Riordan. Pre-reading for family book club.
• The Throne of Fire, Rick Riordan. Family book club book!
• Unspoken, Sarah Rees Brennan. Smart and funny YA fantasy.
• The Murder of Tutankhamen, Bob Brier. Gave added insight to the Tut exhibit at the museum.
• All Seeing Eye, Rob Thurman. Fun paranormal but not a romance.
• The Voyage of the Frog, Gary Paulsen. Hemingway for the elementary school crowd.
• Close Range, Annie Proulx. Wyoming!

What am I currently reading? I started four books yesterday after noticing that the library would call them home soon. I have three others that I'll attack if I do well with those four, and then there are the other books I was reading anyway:

• The Vision of Stephen, Lolah Burford. One of the books recommended in Noel Perrin's A Child's Delight, a book of book recommendations. Due at the library VERY SOON.
• Rock Bottom, Erin Brockovich & C. J. Lyons.  Takes place in WEST VIRGINIA, and due soon.
• The Rat-Catcher's Daughter, Laurence Housman. Another rec from Perrin, who thinks that the poet's brother is a bit neglected. Due at the library.
• Hot Water, Erin Brockovich & C. J. Lyons. Takes place in SOUTH CAROLINA, and due soon.
• The Geometry of Sisters, Luanne Rice. (NOOK) Takes place in RHODE ISLAND, but is apparently not a fluffy romance.
• Super Human, Michael Carroll. My son recommends this Best of the Best title. So far I agree that it is fun.
• Frost, Marianna Baer. (NOOK). Waiting for the library to give it to me again.
• The Hum and the Shiver, Alex Bledsoe. I'm liking this. I like the girl soldier.
• The Revenge of the Forty-Seven Samurai, Erik Haugaard.  Interesting setting in Japan around 1700.
• The Curse of the Wendigo, Richard Yancy. (audio) The grossness continues, although with some very strange female characters.
• Phoenix In Flight, Sherwood Smith & Dave Trowbridge. (NOOK).  I'm not reading this that quickly.
• Elfhome, Wen Spencer. (NOOK, reread) Knock 'em out, Oilcan!
• The Borrowers Afield, Mary Norton. Dipper. Intruder alert! 
• War With the News, Karel Capek. Dipper. Not really starting yet.
• The Catholic Church in the Modern World, E.E.Y. Hales. Dipper. 
• Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid, Megan McDonald. They garborated the class newt!
• Smart But Scattered, Peggy Dawson. Good stuff. The "planning" chapter hit home.
• Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey. Paused.

I'll keep the remaining list of the books started but unfinished over summer vacation here for my reference, as I do plan to finish them, hopefully before next summer:

• The Tunnel of Hugsy Goode, Eleanor Estes. Was getting dull.
• Ecstasia, Francesca Lia Block. I find her mythic stories harder going than her Weezie Bat books.
• Bob, Son of Battle, Alfred Ollivant. I'm not liking the dialect, and I think the guy I hate is supposed to be the hero. Oops.
• Tricksters, Margaret Mahy. I have no excuse for not finishing this yet.
• Tessie, Jesse Jackson. The author makes me giggle.
• Puddleby Adventures, Hugh Lofting. I had too many Dolittle books back-to-back.
• The Avion My Uncle Flew, Cyrus Fisher. I lost this while reading it, but now I know where it is.
• The Eye of the Warlock, P.W. Catanese. Mixed-up fairy tale.
• Redskin and Cowboy, G. A. Henty. Waiting for the boy to run away from home.

Challenges:

1. Cybils: 69/73. Final four; I'm about to start Words in the Dust. 
2. Global Reading Challenge: 17/21. About to start a South American book.
3. Where Am I Reading?:  38/50.  Got Wyoming and Maryland. Two months, twelve books left. I'm currently reading books in Tennessee, West Virginia, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. Still need Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and North Dakota.
4. Science Book Challenge: 3.1415/3.14159. Done, but I'd like more.
5. Reading My Library:  Chugging along.
6. Eclectic Challenge: 11/12. Still need a classic.
7. Best of the Best: 31/25. No change, but one has entered my reading bag.
8. Summer Reading Goal: All over but the cleanup. My bare shelf is filled up again, but two boxes have disappeared from my living room.

What About the Parents?

This kid may need parents.

The burning question for children's books (including YA) is what to do about the parents. Books are much more interesting if the protagonists run things, but for most kids, that's rather unrealistic. So adventure style books tend to have a large proportion of orphans, so that mom or dad aren't intervening to prevent the action from happening. The three middle grade books I read this week take drastically different approaches -- Pinky Pye is a cosy family story, where everything that happens is at a small scale that the parents approve and participate in. Magic Below Stairs has a true orphan, raised in an orphanage and without any connection to family. Finally, The Red Pyramid puts the kids in the driver's seat -- their father has been kidnapped so that he not only cannot prevent the jeopardy, his situation motivates them to dive further into it.

I admit to liking all three kinds of story, although usually they appeal to different moods.

Fast Responses:

Pinky Pye, Eleanore Estes.  I'm glad I'm finally getting through some of the leftover summer books, which had a disastrous final month (I kept starting a book a day, but was left with over twenty unfinished stories). I find Estes' voice cosy and warm, although I can see how it might read as coy or cloying if your inner voice runs that way. But for me, the summer with the Pye family and their pets was a gentle delight, especially when Rachel moves to the front.

Magic Below Stairs, Caroline Stevermer. I grabbed this book because I've enjoyed Stevermer's other works, which are mainly YA or even general fantasy.  This one is aimed at a younger crowd, but seems to be set in the same world as the YA letter books that introduced me to her. It's a solid engaging fantasy but without the depth of her older books. For fans, it gives a fun glimpse at Kate and Thomas from underneath. I gave it to X; if he likes it I'll hand on some of her other books.

The Red Pyramid, Rick Riordan. No fair thinking about this one until after book club meeting!

Picture Books

This Kid Likes Picture Books

I've been looking for picture books to tempt N into doing some reading with me, which actually is mostly an excuse to read picture books again. Picture books cry out to be read aloud, which for me is easier if I'm reading with someone else. P often indulges me, but N is actually in the right demographic. He also has very definitely interests, so I try to accommodate him.

This renewed interest in picture books makes me examine what I really look for in one. An excellent picture book relies on its illustrations as much as its text, so that the words alone don't convey the whole story. In my favorite books, the illustrations often run counter to the text, contradicting or undermining the words on the page. This requires a bit of sophistication on the audience's part; tiny toddlers might wrestle with this but in our house the boys loved this for as far back as I can remember.

Looking at the picture books of the week, this tension between words and pictures clearly runs in my favorite stories. The Klassen does it to perfection, and the Piggy Wiggy uses the illustrations as punchlines for the text. And on the opposite side, the Pharos book has pictures that reflect the words, illustrating a scene straight from the text but without adding surprises, and that's probably why it felt a bit flat to me.

This Is Not My Hat, J. Klassen.  Universally popular, from the early-reading nine year old through the sophisticated eighth grader, and including me and my sister. I read it today with N, and he adored the contrast between the text and the pictures, burying his head in excitement as the great fish arrowed down on the little guy. I think this would be an excellent way to introduce "point of view" discussions in elementary (or even junior high) writing classes.

Voyage to the Pharos, by Sarah Gauch, illus Roger Roth.  Egyptian, ancient wonder of world Alexandria lighthouse. Cosy, fresh pictures, slightly androgynous boy.  Not enough pyramids, really.

The Return of the Library Dragon, Carmen Agra Deedy. (no kids yet). Ah, my beloved genre of books about books! I think this is a sequel to a book I read ages ago, although this time the librarian confronts a paper-hating ebook revolutionary. The message is a bit muddled, but kids might not mind since the illustrations of the dragon erupting from the librarian's shadow and soul are entertaining enough.

Ten Little Mummies, Philip Yates. Enjoyed by N, the pyramid-loving nine year old, but not really ground breaking. A cute little counting book, not irritating but not outstanding.

Around the World, Piggy Wiggy, Christyan Fox. I checked this out for the pyramid page, but in general it's a refreshing and joyful pop-out book, with each page unfolding into a giant picture of a famous location, but done in an innovative way. So the rocket page unfolds only vertically, while the pyramid goes in all directions and reveals a surprise with the last crease. I also appreciated how the text is repeated on each section, so you don't lose the story as you unveil the picture. Well done. N wants to renew it, so it succeeds with the target as well.

Back in Spirit

Well, no one can notice, but I've actually started creating blog posts in drafts. So I'm almost back to my blog. I have a New Idea! I'll put short reactions to different kinds of books into the same essay, and that would give me a chance to be more reflective. So I could post on Picture Books, Kidlit, YA, Genre, Nonfiction, and Other stuff, and if I don't read any of those books in a week, I just skip. So far I've started some drafts, and if any of those escape to the wild I'll see how it works.

I seemed to have missed a week again, but here's my round up of what I've been reading for the past little while. Some of it is kids books, so I'll check in both with Book Journey's weekly round-up of what everyone has done and on Teach Mentor Texts. Nothing is reviewed yet, so again this is a very boring list, but I'm happy enough.

• The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, Alexander McCall Smith 
• Angelmaker, Nick Harkaway
• Oracle's Moon, Thea Harrison
• Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express, Megan McDonald
• Betrayer, C.J. Cherryh
• Her Royal Spyness, Rhys Bowen
• Hollywood Vampire, Keith Topping
• Pinky Pye, Eleanor Estes
• Magic Below Stairs, Carolyn Stevermer

Picture Books (it's great having an emerging reader as an excuse to get these):

• This Is Not My Hat, Jon Klassen. (2nd week in a row) Lovely.
• Pyramid, Dana Meachen Rau (it got N reading!)
• The Return of the Library Dragon, Carmen Agra Deedy.
• Around the World Piggy Wiggy, Christyan Fox

What am I currently reading? Fewer than thirty books!

• The Murder of Tutankamen, Bob Brier. I lost this and now I've found it again.
• The Red Pyramid, Rick Riordan. For my family book club of October -- I'm late.
• Super Human, Michael Carroll. My son recommends this Best of the Best title.
• Frost, Marianna Baer. (NOOK). Cybils choice, but it just expired -- I have it on hold again.
• The Hum and the Shiver, Alex Bledsoe. I got this at Foolscap, and I just noticed it's set in TENNESSEE.
• The Voyage of the Frog, Gary Paulsen. From my shelves.
• The Revenge of the Forty-Seven Samurai, Erik Haugaard. Again from my shelves.
• The Curse of the Wendigo, Richard Yancy. (audio) We've decided that the grossness makes this a perfect book for dieters. Ew.
• Written in Bone, Sally Walker. (NOOK) Excavations of colonial graves in MARYLAND.
• Phoenix In Flight, Sherwood Smith & Dave Trowbridge. (NOOK).  I'm not reading this that quickly.
• Elfhome, Wen Spencer. (NOOK, reread) Knock 'em out, Oilcan!
• Close Range, Annie Proulx. Dipping book. Wyoming does not seem full of happy people.
• The Borrowers Afield, Mary Norton. Another dipping book. The plot is about to start.
• War With the News, Karel Capek. Dipper. Does this count as a classic?
• The Catholic Church in the Modern World, E.E.Y. Hales. Dipper. Now to read about the heresy of Modernism.
• Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid, Megan McDonald. Dipper. 
• Smart But Scattered, Peggy Dawson. Good stuff. I'll get around to the "initiating tasks" chapter one of these days.
• Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey. Paused.

I've knocked off one of the leftover summer books; I'll keep the remaining list here for my reference:

• The Tunnel of Hugsy Goode, Eleanor Estes. Was getting dull.
• Ecstasia, Francesca Lia Block. I find her mythic stories harder going than her Weezie Bat books.
• Bob, Son of Battle, Alfred Ollivant. I'm not liking the dialect, and I think the guy I hate is supposed to be the hero. Oops.
• Tricksters, Margaret Mahy. I have no excuse for not finishing this yet.
• Tessie, Jesse Jackson. The author makes me giggle.
• Puddleby Adventures, Hugh Lofting. I had too many Dolittle books back-to-back.
• The Avion My Uncle Flew, Cyrus Fisher. I lost this while reading it, but now I know where it is.
• The Eye of the Warlock, P.W. Catanese. Mixed-up fairy tale.
• Redskin and Cowboy, G. A. Henty. Waiting for the boy to run away from home.

Challenges:

1. Cybils: 68/73. No change, although I have most of the books in hand.
2. Global Reading Challenge: 17/21. No change. I need 2 South America, one North America, and one Oceania.
3. Where Am I Reading?:  37/50.  Two months, thirteen books. I'm currently reading books set in Maryland, Tennessee and Wyoming, and need to read Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico,  North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and West Virginia. Luckily Book Club gave me some good recommendations.
4. Science Book Challenge: 3.1415/3.14159. Officially done, but I'd like to get a few more.
5. Reading My Library: Another shelf done.
6. Eclectic Challenge: 11/12. Need a classic.
7. Best of the Best: 31/25. No change, currently listening to one and reading one.
8. Summer Reading Goal: All over but the cleanup (see above)

Long Pause

Well, I've been avoiding my blog for the past month, but I'm coming back! Probably. Maybe. Anyway, I'm still reading.

I'll jump back in with my weekly report on what I've been reading, am reading, and will read, although I'll also include everything I've read through most of October, and then I'll go check in with Book Journey's weekly round-up of what everyone has done. I'll also check in on Teach Mentor Texts since I do read a lot of kidlit. Nothing is reviewed yet, so this is a very boring list, but small steps lead to long trips, or else to a path to the couch, one of the other.

• Unveiled, Courtney Milan
• Chihuahua of the Baskervilles, Esri Allbritten
• Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris, R.L. LaFevers
• Gunmetal Magic, Ilona Andrews
• Foiled, Jane Yolen
• Zita the Spacegirl, Ben Hatke
• Starfields, Carolyn Marsden
• Eternal Pleasure, Nina Bangs
• Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai
• The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon
• Charles and Emma: The Darwin's Leap of Faith
• Casket of Souls, Lynn Flewelling
• Honored Enemy, Raymond E. Feist
• Carousel of Hearts, Mary Jo Putney
• Tales From Silver Lands, Charles J. Finger
• The Birthday Ball, Lois Lowry
• Level Up, Gene Luen Yang
• 11 Birthdays, Wendy Mass
• Team Human, Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan

Picture Books (it's great having an emerging reader as an excuse to get these):

• This Is Not My Hat, Jon Klassen. Lovely.
• Ten Little Mummies, Philip Yates
• Pyramid, Dana Meachen Rau (it got N reading!)
• I Want My Mom, Tony Ross
• Rat and Roach, David Covell
• Make a Wish, Bear, Greg Foley
• Why the Chicken Crossed the Road, David Macauley
• What To Do If an Elephant Steps On Your Foot, Michelle Robinson
• I'm Not, Pam Smallcomb

This week I read: 

• On the Island, by Tracey Graves
• Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh
• The Girl Giant, Kristen Den Hartog
• When Fairies Go Bad, Ursula Vernon
• Fire, Kristen Cashore

What am I currently reading? I left some in-progress books at home during my gallivanting, and I cherry picked from my options to things I thought I'd enjoy.

• The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, Alexander McCall Smith. Extra Africa book.
• Oracle's Moon, Thea Harrison. From Felicia Day's book club some months ago.
• Hollywood Vampire, Keith Topping. Collection of Angel summaries, which has caught X's eye.
• The Murder of Tutankamen, Bob Brier. Borrowed from my BIL after we saw the Tut exhibit.
• Angelmaker, Nick Harkaway. (NOOK). Slow to grab me, but it's starting to work.
• The Curse of the Wendigo, Richard Yancy. (audio) OK, we had some action and things got creepy. And gross. P has dropped out of the listening.
• Phoenix In Flight, Sherwood Smith & Dave Trowbridge. (NOOK).  I'm pretty sure we are out of the opening setup acts now.
• Elfhome, Wen Spencer. (NOOK, reread) Time to uncover the conspiracy.
• Close Range, Annie Proulx. Dipping book. I'm finding the stories very depressing.
• The Borrowers Afield, Mary Norton. Another dipping book. The plot is about to start.
• The Catholic Church in the Modern World, E.E.Y. Hales. Dipper. Now to read about the heresy of Modernism.
• Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid, Megan McDonald. Dipper. 
• Smart But Scattered, Peggy Dawson. Good stuff.
• Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey. Paused.

I've also got a pile of unfinished summer reading books, which I'll probably work through in the next few months:

• Pinky Pye, Eleanor Estes. I bought a bunch of Estes at one time. I'm not sure I've read this one before.
• The Tunnel of Hugsy Goode, Eleanor Estes. See above.
• Ecstasia, Francesca Lia Block. I find her mythic stories harder going than her Weezie Bat books.
• Bob, Son of Battle, Alfred Ollivant. I'm not liking the dialect, and I think the guy I hate is supposed to be the hero. Oops.
• Tricksters, Margaret Mahy. I have no excuse for not finishing this yet.
• Tessie, Jesse Jackson. The author makes me giggle.
• Puddleby Adventures, Hugh Lofting. I had too many Dolittle books back-to-back.
• The Avion My Uncle Flew, Cyrus Fisher. I lost this while reading it, but now I know where it is.
• The Eye of the Warlock, P.W. Catanese. Mixed-up fairy tale.
• Redskin and Cowboy, G. A. Henty. Waiting for the boy to run away from home.

Challenges:

1. Cybils: 68/73. Final five -- YA, middle grade, and one last GN.
2. Global Reading Challenge: 17/21. This moved! Still very short on South America.
3. Where Am I Reading?:  36/50.  Three months, fourteen books. I tried to read three books for this this week, and they were all mistakes. But good books, so I win anyway.
4. Science Book Challenge: 3.1415/3.14159. The code book is science!
5. Reading My Library:  Chugging along. 11 Birthdays went to my niece, which is AWESOME.
6. Eclectic Challenge: 11/12. I was all about real books this week.
7. Best of the Best: 31/25. No change, but one has entered my reading bag.
8. Summer Reading Goal: All over but the cleanup. My bare shelf is filled up again, but two boxes have disappeared from my living room.

Reading Story

I've continued reading my plethora of books, although I let myself stick with anything I'm enjoying until I want to move on. The big reading event for me was attending FOOLSCAP, my favorite conventions, since it's about books. Well, books, art, and fancy hats.

Technically I don't read much during Foolscap, but I do talk a lot about reading and also pick up a bunch of books as well as a bunch of titles that I'd like to read. This time I even got to host my own panel, which was a little scary but also fun (Breaking the Rules -- what books break the rules of fiction/genre, and more important, which of these books are wonderful?). And I was on a panel about polite disagreement, during which I terrified the room by pretending not to believe in vaccination (as an example of someone holding a belief not supported by science, but I thought it was too crazy for people to take me seriously).

I'll go check in with Book Journey's weekly round-up of what everyone has read, is reading, and will read, and then, since most of my selections are children's books, I'll also check in with the kidlit version at Teach Mentor Texts. I still haven't got back into the swing of reviewing these books, so I'm afraid I'm a rather dull entry to both these lists, but I'm trying to jump back on the horse. In a mixed-metaphor kind of way, of course.

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• Dark Destiny, M.J. Putney (YA)
• Unclaimed, Courtney Milan (Romance, NOOK)
• The Azalea Assault, Alyse Carlson (Mystery)
• The Far West, Patricia C. Wrede (YA)

What am I currently reading?

• The Curse of the Wendigo, Richard Yancy. (audio) Argh, at least they are traveling towards some action now.
• Team Human, Sarah Rees Brennan & Justine Larbalestier. Rats in the school! Ick! My copy.
• Tales From Silver Lands, Charles Finger. Kids helping each other stories. Summer leftover.
• Phoenix In Flight, Sherwood Smith & Dave Trowbridge. (NOOK). The space battles continue. My copy.
• Unveiled, Courtney Milan. (NOOK) The first in the trilogy; I've read them in reverse order. Library book.
• Elfhome, Wen Spencer. (NOOK, reread) Kidnapped!
• Fire, Kristen Cashore. (reread) Fire is enjoying the capital.
• Foiled, Jane Yolen. From my TBR list. I like the graphics.
• Eternal Pleasures, Nina Bangs. For Felicia Day's book club.
• Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai. Book in verse.
• Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith, Deborah Heiligman. Interesting biography.
• Close Range, Annie Proulx. Dipping book. I'm tense with expecting things to end badly.
• The Borrowers Afield, Mary Norton. Another dipping book. The plot is about to start.
• The Catholic Church in the Modern World, E.E.Y. Hales. Interesting to read about America from outside.
• Honored Enemy, Raymond Feist. The girl helps fight off the bad guys.
• Smart But Scattered, Peggy Dawson. Currently on building emotional regulation. Good stuff.
• Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey. Paused.

Challenges:

1. Cybils: 66/73. No change. Nominees for next year's books start soon.
2. Global Reading Challenge: 15/21. At least Tales From Silver Lands is set in South America. 
3. Where Am I Reading?:  35/50. I bought a Tennessee book this weekend.
4. Science Book Challenge: 3.1415/3.14159. 
5. Reading My Library:  Have on in my bag.
6. Eclectic Challenge: 10/12. No change.
7. Best of the Best: 31/25. No change.

What Am I Reading?

Ah, it's nice to be settling back into a routine of reading a bag full of books at once, letting myself either move from one to another at intervals or zooming ahead with one if it's particularly gripping. In a few weeks the library list will come tumbling down on me, but in the meantime I'm enjoying the calm that a brief spell of sanity at the end of the summer granted me.

So, I'm reading a book to satisfy my book challenges, a book from my shelves, a book I grabbed for fun from the library, a reread, and a leftover book from this summer's reading fun. Oh, on my NOOK I'm reading one book from my library, a reread, and a new one that I bought. And there's an audio book in the car for the rare occasions that we're all in there together.

I'll go check in with Book Journey's weekly round-up of what everyone has read, is reading, and will read, and then, since most of my selections are children's books, I'll also check in with the kidlit version at Teach Mentor Texts. I haven't really gotten back in the swing of reviewing these books, so I'm afraid I'm a rather dull entry to both these lists, but I'm trying to jump back on the horse. In a mixed-metaphor kind of way, of course.

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• Ghost Dog Secrets, Peg Kehret. For the elementary book club.
• Dragon Ship, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. I really enjoy their books.
• Chronicles of the Red King: The Secret Kingdom, Jenny Nimmo. For the elementary book club.
• Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, Sarah MacLean. Fun in spots, but too inconsistent to really enjoy.
• Batman, The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller. A classic of the comic book world.
• Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters, Lenore Look. For Reading My Library, and because I like Alvin.
• Two-Minute Drill (Comeback Kids), Mike Lupica. For the elementary book club.
• Masters of Disaster, Gary Paulsen. Last book for the book club!
• Rufus M., Eleanor Estes. Catch-up for the summer book club. Lots of fun.
• The Code Book, Simon Singh. For my evening book club. 
• I Am Not a Serial Killer, Dan Wells. I read it as a companion to I Hunt Killers, and it was interesting in a very different way.

What am I currently reading? I left some in-progress books at home during my gallivanting, and I cherry picked from my options to things I thought I'd enjoy.

• The Azalea Assault, Alyse Carlson. For my Where Am I Reading challenge. I find the motivations occasionally baffling; it feels almost like a mid-series book.
• The Curse of the Wendigo, Richard Yancy. (audio) We think the action will start any minute now.
• Dark Destiny, M.J. Putney. Fun book about time-traveling psychic teens who find true love while fighting to save Britain.
• Team Human, Sarah Rees Brennan & Justine Larbalestier. Rats in the school! Ick!
• Tales From Silver Lands, Charles Finger. Leftover from this summer.
• Phoenix In Flight, Sherwood Smith & Dave Trowbridge. (NOOK) . At page 100, and I think I've got most of the characters sorted. It helped that a lot of them just died.
• Unclaimed, Courtney Milan. (NOOK) The male virgin romance that helped me discover Milan.
• Elfhome, Wen Spencer. (NOOK, reread) Time to uncover the conspiracy.
• Fire, Kristen Cashore. (reread) Archer is the jealous type.
• Close Range, Annie Proulx. Dipping book. I'm finding the stories very depressing.
• The Borrowers Afield, Mary Norton. Another dipping book. The plot is about to start.
• The Catholic Church in the Modern World, E.E.Y. Hales. Now to read about the heresy of Modernism.
• Honored Enemy, Raymond Feist. Yes, the badder guys just showed up, in time to save the alliance of good guys and bad guys.
• Smart But Scattered, Peggy Dawson. Currently on building emotional regulation. Good stuff.
• Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey. Paused.

I abandoned one book, Knight of a Trillion Stars by Dara Joy. When a romance book has a sex scene, it should not include the line "If you touch me it will be rape" before the characters get it on. That's a bit too Alpha male for me. It didn't help that she was still upset about the brain surgery he had forced on her after she declined it.

I've also got a pile of unfinished summer reading books, which I'll probably work through in the next few months:

• Pinky Pye, Eleanor Estes. I bought a bunch of Estes at one time. I'm not sure I've read this one before.
• The Tunnel of Hugsy Goode, Eleanor Estes. See above.
• Ecstasia, Francesca Lia Block. I find her mythic stories harder going than her Weezie Bat books.
• Bob, Son of Battle, Alfred Ollivant. I'm not liking the dialect, and I think the guy I hate is supposed to be the hero. Oops.
• Tricksters, Margaret Mahy. I have no excuse for not finishing this yet.
• Tessie, Jesse Jackson. The author makes me giggle.
• Puddleby Adventures, Hugh Lofting. I had too many Dolittle books back-to-back.
• The Avion My Uncle Flew, Cyrus Fisher. I lost this while reading it, but now I know where it is.
• The Eye of the Warlock, P.W. Catanese. Mixed-up fairy tale.
• Redskin and Cowboy, G. A. Henty. Waiting for the boy to run away from home.

Challenges:

1. Cybils: 66/73. No change. I've got two graphic novels waiting for me.
2. Global Reading Challenge: 15/21. At least Tales From Silver Lands is set in South America. Where would I count a book in Puerto Rico?
3. Where Am I Reading?:  34/50.  Still reading a Virginia book.
4. Science Book Challenge: 3.1415/3.14159. The code book is science!
5. Reading My Library:  Another one down, and the next batch stacked up at home.
6. Eclectic Challenge: 10/12. I think it would be cheating to count Bat Man as a classic.
7. Best of the Best: 31/25. No change.
8. Summer Reading Goal: All over but the cleanup. My bare shelf is filled up again, but two boxes have disappeared from my living room.