November 2021
Nonfiction:
The $100 Startup- Chris Guillebeau
Fiction:
Conceal, Don't Feel- Jen Calonita
Cookbooks:
Rebel Homemaker- Drew Barrymore
December 2021
Poetry:
Some Things I Still Can't Tell You- Misha Collins
Fiction:
Valor's Choice- Tanya Huff
My Neighbor Totoro- Miyazaki & Kubo
Non-fiction:
John Quincy Adams- Robert V. Remini
And so we close out the year. Finally!
Next up: The Queenies!
It's been a long while coming, but here is the list you've been waiting for:
October 2021
Fiction:
Briarheart- Mercedes Lackey
Peeps- Scott Westerfeld
Humans Wanted- Vivian Caethe
Humans Are Weird (I Have the Data)- Betty Adams
Non-Fiction:
How Rich People Think- Steve Siebold
Eat That Frog- Brian Tracy
Everything is Figureoutable- Marie Forleo
Graphic Novel:
Legacy of the Fire Nation (Avatar )- Joshua Pruett
Legacy (Avatar)- Michael Teitelbaum
Fake Blood- Whitney Gardner
That's October 2021, in the bag. I'll finish out the year with the next post. And then we can kick 2021 in the tail and move on. (In a lot of ways, 2021 was worse than 2020. I'm glad it's gone and I'll be happy to forget about it...)
That's not a good 'wow'. Have I really not posted anything since October? I'm so sorry....
I knew I'd been away- there's been a lot to deal with lately- but I had no idea it had been that long...
Allow me to explain what I've been up to. [This is not an excuse for my absence, just a list of all the stuff I've had going on. It's still totally my bad for not posting. Since October(!). Sorry.]
It started with the job shopping. I hated my job. It was the worst and every day that I had to get out of bed to go there was worse than the day before. So, a lot of that time was spent looking for something- anything- else. And I was starting to give up all hope, too.
Fortunately, I found a lovely new job, working with great people, doing my small bit to help people get the help they need. It's a much better situation. But it was stressful getting adjusted, learning the new job and all its little rules and regulations. (I'm still trying to get that part down, I think. I almost had it- then they added a lot of new stuff, and now I feel like I'm starting over from the beginning again. Stressful, but I'll get there. Maybe faster this time?)
Then Christmas happened. Nothing gets done during Christmas. Except some cookies. And a tiny bit of candy. And the mandatory Christmas shopping.
Then I'm not sure exactly what happened, honestly. I blinked and it was birthday season*. With Easter thrown right in the middle of it.
A bad case of spring fever and (mostly) minor health issues for several of us brings me... here. Realizing I haven't updated the blog since October...
I didn't stop reading. It slowed down in spots, but it never stopped. So, I'm back and I'll be playing catch-up for the next week or two. We'll finish off the year's lists and hopefully award the long-overdue Queenies before springing into the new year and playing catch-up there.
I'll have my first catch-up post sometime tomorrow. Pinky promise.
*Birthday season officially runs from March through the end of April. Except this year. This year it will stretch on into May (at least) because I am still running behind on everything.
So, this is the first book I've managed to read in October. (I know. It's a terrible thing. The lack of reading, that is. The book is wonderful.) It came last weekend. I picked it up from the post office around noon, came home and started reading.
I didn't put it down until the end.
The end came way too soon. I'm hopeful, based solely on one scene in the book with information that as yet has gone nowhere, that there is at least one sequel planned. I would rather have a whole series.
I forced urged my older daughter to read it as soon as I finished it. A couple of days later, she started it around bedtime. (Can't just immediately do anything Mom says, right? I think it's against the pre-teen laws or something.) Pretty sure she stayed up most of the night reading it, because she was finished with it the next afternoon.
This is very much a fairy tale. It has many of the standard fairy tale trappings: princes (well, one), a princess, fairies and goblins, a dragon, knights... The whole shebang. It's very reminiscent of her 100 Kingdoms books, if you've read any of those. Fairy tales with a twist. And I can't get enough of those stories. Never could. My favorite part of the book is what's missing. This particular fairy tale has absolutely no romance. Doesn't need it. Don't miss it.
The book begins with a reasonably standard Sleeping Beauty set-up. But, Aurora is only a baby. For the entire book. This isn't actually her story. It's the story of her older sister, Miriam. And you should read it.
(I'm trying so very hard not to include any spoilers here. Which means I have to leave out so much!)
Miriam absolutely adores her new baby sister. And when the baby is threatened by an evil fairy, Miri steps in and vows to protect her sister. No matter what.
I better stop before I say too much. Just go read it. Right now. We'll talk about how great it is when you've finished it. Deal?
I spent a large portion of last month skimming cookbooks (and a few other books) without really reading them properly. There were only two that I really read enough to count. I did manage to finish two of the history books I've been in the middle of, though. I guess that counts for something... Right?
So, without further ado, I give you my very short September list:
September 2021
Fiction:
The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith
The Martian by Andy Weir (again. Seriously, any book that starts out with those first three sentences is a winner in my book.)
Comics/Graphic Novels:
Archie 1000 Page Comics Delight
History:
Bad Days in History
More Bad Days in History both by Michael Farquhar
Cookbooks:
Firefly: Big Damn Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel
The Geeky Chef Cookbook by Cassandra Reeder
That's a grand total of only seven finished books. For the whole month! I think I'm very disappointed in myself. But I'm already several days in to the new month without a single finished book, so I'm obviously not so disappointed that I've managed to focus and get things finished.
There's still time.
It's Banned Books Week! And I actually remembered to mention it before it was (completely) over! Yay me.
Which banned books are you reading to celebrate?
Confession: I haven't been reading any banned books this week at all. Isn't that sad? I'm still trying to get through my list of half finished books that I started all at once. I did finish two of them yesterday, so at least I've accomplished some tiny little thing this week.
It's all about looking on the bright side, right? Now if I can just get through my library books before they're due...
Since I did manage to remember it was happening, even if I didn't actually get as far as reading any for myself, I took a few minutes to look up a few banned books. (See? I was totally planning to read one... Ah, well. The best laid plans, you know...) Here's a short sample of some of my favorite banned books.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Go the F*ck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
and many more, it turns out.
Here's a link to one of the articles I found.
I'm a little surprised at some of the titles on these lists I've looked at. For a lot of the books on the list, it's easy to figure out why some obnoxious people decided to whine about them. Anything that deals with sex education is apparently challenged/banned instantly. Heaven forbid kids learn any basic human biology, right? Any reference to LBGT themes, sex of any kind, or anything someone deems profane is also an instant tantrum.
But I cannot figure out what line of reasoning people used on some of these books. If any. Take the aforementioned Drama. One list I found claims it to be sexually explicit. Obviously, I need to reread this book. I think I missed something the first time. I don't remember any sex happening anywhere.
I'm also seriously amused by the fact that anyone actually thought Go the F*ck to Sleep was a picture book meant for kids. I can't think of any other reason anyone would complain about that book. It's very obvious to me that whoever filed that complaint cannot possibly be a parent. Parents of small children feel that book deep in their souls and it was very clearly intended for that specific audience. Some people really do not have any sense of humor at all. Or the need to know that others have experienced that very specific torture only toddlers and preschoolers can dole out. (Infants can also be very talented in that area, as well, actually.)
I have to go cram some kids into their beds, so goodbye for now. Happy reading!
Hello again from the school pickup line! (Seriously, these people need hobbies...) I'm gonna be here for a while. I've put a loaf of dough to rise for the girls' sandwiches for the rest of the week. It should be ready to mess with when I finally get home. Thankfully, it won't need too much work. (That's why I adore this recipe.) Work has about finished me off. If only I knew what I was feeding them for supper...
Anyway...
As promised, I've got my very short little list for August with me. I have really got to make some progress on these half finished books! September's finished list is only one (!) book long so far- one of my daughter's books that she made me read. (It was good. I liked it. But still...)
August 2021
Graphic novels/comics:
The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars
The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire
Fiction:
All Systems Red
Artificial Condition
Rogue Protocol
Exit Strategy
"Home"
Network Effect
Fugitive Telemetry all by Martha Wells
So, there you go. That's all for August.
