Jess (jayde1599) Attempt at 75

Hello - My name is Jess and I have been part of the 75 group for some years now. I do not post often, but I try to keep up with some threads.
I live in Maine with my husband and 2 kids: O - age 9 (part of the 2011 75ers baby boom) & A - age 5.
We also have a 12 year old Husky mix named Denali who loves snow, people, and to lounge around in bed.

2020 happened to be a great reading year for me - with remote learning/working from home - I had some extra time for books and hit over 100 for the first time ever since 2003, when I began recording my reading.

January
1. The Rosie Project~ Graeme Simsion. Reread. Library - 295 p.
2. The Rosie Result ~ Graeme Simsion - Library - 376 p.
3. Squire ~ Tamora Pierce - My shelves - 400 p.
4. Lady Knight ~ Tamora Pierce - My shelves - 416 p.
5. Duma Key ~ Stephen King TBR shelf. 611 p.
6. Still Life with Crows ~ Preston & Child. Library- 435 p.
7. The Reptile Room ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR ~ 192 p.

February
8. The Book of Lost Names ~ Kristen Harmel - Book Club - 384 p.
9. Brimstone ~ Preston & Child - Library- 752 p.
10. Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice ~ Nicki Grimes~ library ~ 40 p.
11. Atomic Habits ~ James Clear ~ library ~ 306 p.
12. Bomb ~ Steve Sheinkin ~ Library ~ 266 p.
13. Dance of Death ~ Preston & Child ~ Library ~ 451 p.
14. The Book of the Dead ~ Preston & Child ~ TBR ~ 454 p.
15. The Wide Window ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR ~ 214p.
16. The Wheel of Darkness ~ Preston & Child ~ TBR~ 388p.

March
17. The Day the World Went Nuclear: Dropping the Atom Bomb and the End of World War II in the Pacific ~ Bill O'Reilly ~ gifted 2020 ~ 320 p.
18. The Miserable Mill ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR ~ 195 p.
19. The Austere Academy ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR ~
20. The Ersatz Elevator ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR
21. The Midnight Library ~ Matt Haig ~ Book Club - borrowed ~ 288 p.
22. The Vile Village ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR ~ 256 p.
23. Hostile Hospital - Lemony Snickett
24. The Carnivorous Carnival - Lemony Snickett
25. Time After Crime - Kat Leyh - Lumberjanes #11.
26. Jackalope Springs Eternal - Shannon Watters - Lumberjanes #12
27. Indoor Recess - Kat Leyh - Lumberjanes #13
28. X Marks the Spot - Kat Leyh - Lumberjanes #14
29. Birthday Smarty - Kay Leyh - Lumberjanes #15
30 Mind Over Mettle - Shannon Watters - Lumberjanes #16
31. Smitten in the Stars - Shannon Watters - Lumberjanes #17
32. Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories - Jeff Kinney - Owen Book
33. Bear Walker - Joseph Bruchac - Owen Book
34. Mary's Monster - Lita Judge - Library

April
35. The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snickett - TBR shelf
36. Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng - book club - library
37. The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner - library
38. Concrete Rose - Angie Thomas - Library
39. The Grim Grotto - Lemony Snicket - TBR
40. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl - Owen Book
41. On the Come Up - Angie Thomas - Library
42. The Queen of Attolia- Megan Whalen Turner - library

May
43. Patron Saints of Nothing ~ Randy Ribay ~ library book club
44. The Penultimate Peril ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR
45. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline - Library
46. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - VE Schwab - library

June
47. The King of Attolia - Megan Whalen Turner - library
48. Displacement - Kiku Hughes - library
49. The End - Lemony Snickett - TBR
50. Lonely Planet's Southwest USA's Best Trips - library
51. A Complete Guide to the Grand Circle National Parks - Eric Henze - library

July
52. Healthier Without Wheat - Stephen Wangen
54. The Speed of Falling Objects - Nancy Richardson Fisher
55. Sorry for Your Loss - Jessie Ann Foley
56. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell - Robert Dugoni
57. Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
58. Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow - Jessica Townsend
59. Genesis Begins Again - Alicia D. Williams
60. The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country - Amanda Gorman
61. Ready Player Two Ernest Cline
62. All Systems Red - Martha Wells
63. Confessions of a Curious Bookseller - Elizabeth Green
64. I Would Leave if I Could - Halsey
65. The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett

August
66. Sunflower Sisters - Martha Hall Kelly
67. A Conspiracy of Kings - Megan Whalen Turner
68. Strange Candy - Laurell K. Hamilton
69. Trickster's Choice - Tamora Pierce - TBR
70. Good Enough - Jen Petro-Roy

September
71. Hollowpox- Jessica Towsend
72. Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread
73. Thick as Thieves - Megan Whalen Turner
74. Lumberjanes: Horticultural Horizons
75. Lumberjanes: A Summer to Remember

October
76. You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson
77. Artificial Condition - Martha Wells
78. Rogue Protocol - Martha Wells
79. Exit Strategy- Martha Wells
80. The Stonekeeper - Kazu Kibuishi
81. Furia - Yamile Saied Méndez
82. Subpar Parks - Amber Share

November
83. Return of the Thief-MTW
84. Trickster's Queen - Tamora Pierce (read in October)
85. Network Effect - Martha Wells
86. Fugitive Telemetry - Martha Wells
87. Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens - Marieke Nijkamp
88. Ghosts - Raina Telgemeir
89. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Little Women - Ray Terciero
90. Ginny Moon - Benjamin Ludwig

December
91. Paper Girls, Vol 1 - Brian K. Vaughn
92. Firekeeper's Daughter - Angeline Boulley
93. The Book of Gutsy Women - Hillary Rodham Clinton
94. The Guncle - Steven Rowley
95. Among the Hidden - Margaret P. Haddix
96. Lumber Janes End of Summer - Wattwrs, Leyh, Allen, Bosy, Bryant, & Laho
97. A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow

Picture Books Read - Ones that differ from the usual around here
*I will try to keep up with this, but past efforts have not been successful

1. Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice - Nikki Graimes
2. Tashi Met a Dragon - Anna Fienberg
3. The Undefeated - Kwame Alexander
4. Trouble with Grownups - Stan and Jan Berenstain
5. I See - Cepeda - Addie read
6. It is a Tree - Batori - Addie Read
7. Pig and Cat are Pals - Florian - Addie read
8. Maple - Lori Nichols
9. Maple and Willow Apart - Lori Nichols
10. Maple and Willow Together - Lori Nichols
11. Picklicious! a Dilly of a book - Myer
12. Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon - Kat Zhang
13. The Book With No Pictures - BJ Novak
14. What if You Had Animal Eyes - Sandra Markle
15. Grandpa Green - Lane Smith
16. The Sneetches - Dr. Seuss
17. Dr. Seuss's The Sleep Book - Dr Seuss
18. Vampirina in the Snow - Annemarie Pace
19. If I Ran the Zoo - Dr. Seuss
20. Berenstain Bears and the Green Eyed Monster - Jan & Stan Berenstain
21. Berenstain Bears and the In Crowd - Jan and Stan Berenstain
22. There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon - Jack Kent
23. All About Corduroy - Don Freman
24. Crankenstein - Samantha Berger

TBR Pile: I hope to chip away this more frequently in 2021.

The Book of the Dead Douglas Preston 2009-06-16
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln Doris Kearns Goodwin 2009-06-23
Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy 2009-06-28
The Wheel of Darkness (Special Agent Pendergast) Douglas Preston 2009-07-01
Duma Key Stephen King 2009-07-01
The Complete Wreck (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-13) Lemony Snicket 2009-08-31
The Dark Tower Boxed Set (Books 1-4) Stephen King 2009-08-31
Strange Candy Laurell K. Hamilton 2009-11-16
National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 5th Ed. National Geographic Society 2009-12-29
The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution (The Simon & Schuster America Collection) David O. Stewart 2009-12-29
The Element Encyclopedia of Birthdays (Element Encyclopedia Series) Theresa Cheung 2009-12-29
On Bullshit Harry G. Frankfurt 2009-12-29
The Civil War: The American Iliad As Told by Those Who Lived It Otto Eisenschiml 2009-12-30
The Judas Strain James Rollins 2010-01-23
King Arthur and the Knights of His Court Alfred W. Pollard 2010-01-23
Brethren: An Epic Adventure of the Knights Templar Robyn Young 2010-02-06
The Daring Book for Girls Andrea J. Buchanan 2010-02-07
The Dangerous Book for Boys Conn Iggulden 2010-02-07
Three Complete Novels: The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, and The Great Train Robbery Michael Crichton 2010-06-10
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Seth Grahame-Smith 2010-06-12
Your Backyard Herb Garden: A Gardener's Guide to Growing Over 50 Herbs Plus How to Use Them in Cooking, Crafts, Companion Planting and More Miranda Smith 2010-06-12
The Dwarves Markus Heitz 2010-06-30
The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time Elizabeth Rogers 2010-07-13
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America Timothy Egan 2010-08-13
Luncheon of the Boating Party Susan Vreeland 2010-11-28
The Whole World Over: A Novel Julia Glass 2010-11-28
Glory, Passion, and Principle: The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution Melissa Lukeman Bohrer 2010-11-28
True Compass: A Memoir Edward M. Kennedy 2010-11-28
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel David Wroblewski 2010-12-30
Cows of Our Planet: A Far Side Collection Gary Larson 2011-03-13
The Attack on Pearl Harbor: An Illustrated History Larry Kimmett 2011-03-13
Remembering Pearl Harbor: The Story of the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Michael Slackman 2011-03-13
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 2011-04-18
The Nature of the Judicial Process (The Storrs Lectures Series) Benjamin N. Cardozo 2011-04-18
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Thomas S. Kuhn 2011-04-18
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Washington Irving 2011-04-18
Bunnicula : A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery (Bunnicula Ser.) Deborah Howe 2011-04-18
The Cricket in Times Square George Selden 2011-04-18
Heartlight Marion Zimmer Bradley 2011-07-17
Anil's Ghost: A Novel Michael Ondaatje 2011-07-17
The Forest House (The Mists of Avalon: Prequel) Marion Zimmer Bradley 2011-07-17
The Book of Love (The Magdalene Line) Kathleen McGowan 2011-09-05
Total Eclipse of the Heart Zane 2011-09-05
The Swan Thieves: A Novel Elizabeth Kostova 2011-09-05
The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia Laura Miller 2011-09-05
Fables, Vol. 17: Inherit the Wind Bill Willingham 2013-01-21
Fables Vol. 10: The Good Prince Bill Willingham 2013-01-21
A Murderous Procession (Mistress of the Art of Death) Ariana Franklin 2013-01-21
Flirt (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 18) Laurell K. Hamilton 2013-05-24
Pirate Latitudes Michael Crichton 2013-05-24
The Coral Thief: A Novel Rebecca Stott 2013-05-24
The Red Wolf Conspiracy Robert V. S. Redick 2013-05-24
Walden (Fall River Press Edition) Hardcover by Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau 2013-06-03
The Lacuna (P.S.) Barbara Kingsolver 2013-06-26
The Return of Merlin Deepak Chopra 2013-07-17
The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel Helene Wecker 2013-08-02
Fifty Shades Freed: Book Three of the Fifty Shades Trilogy E L James 2013-08-13
Fifty Shades Darker: Book Two of the Fifty Shades Trilogy E. L. James 2013-08-13
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald Therese Anne Fowler 2013-11-09
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel Susanna Clarke 2013-11-09
Flying with the Eagle, Racing the Great Bear: Tales from Native North America Joseph Bruchac 2014-03-13
Jane Eyre (Penguin Drop Caps) Jane Eyre Charlotte/ Hische Bronte, Jessica (ILT) 2014-05-04
Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Drop Caps) Jane Austen 2014-05-04
A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present Howard Zinn 2014-05-26
Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass (Signet Classics) Lewis Carroll 2014-06-22
The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafón 2014-06-22
The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway 2014-06-22
Bleak House (Signet Classics) Charles Dickens 2014-06-22
The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic Allan Wolf 2014-08-07
Great Expectations (Penguin Drop Caps) Charles Dickens 2014-11-15
The Casual Vacancy J.K. Rowling 2014-11-15
The King's General Daphne du Maurier 2014-11-15
The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah's Book Club) Ken Follett 2014-11-15
National Geographic Complete National Parks of the United States Mel White 2014-12-26
Secrets of the National Parks: The Experts' Guide to the Best Experiences Beyond the Tourist Trail National Geographic 2014-12-26
The Sparrow: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) Mary Doria Russell 2015-01-17
Essential Oils for Beginners: The Guide to Get Started with Essential Oils and Aromatherapy Althea Press 2015-04-18
Dealing With Difficult Parents And With Parents in Difficult Situations Douglas Fiore 2015-04-18
The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition Jacob Grimm 2015-04-18
Middlemarch (Penguin Drop Caps) George Eliot 2015-04-18
11/22/63: A Novel Stephen King 2015-06-15
One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez 2015-06-23
The Wizard's Treasure (Dragon Nimbus #4 ) Irene Radford 2018-07-24
The Loneliest Magician (Dragon Nimbus) Irene Radford 2018-07-24
The Perfect Princess (Dragon Nimbus) Irene Radford 2018-07-24
The Dragon's Touchstone (Dragon Nimbus History) Irene Radford 2018-07-24
Clapton: The Autobiography Eric Clapton 2019-04-18
Frankenstein (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) Mary Shelley 2019-04-19
The Children's Book A. S. Byatt 2020-05-07
The Outlandish Companion Volume Two: The Companion to The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone, and Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander) Diana Gabaldon 2020-05-07
The Last Dickens: A Novel Matthew Pearl 2020-05-07
On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes Alexandra Horowitz 2020-05-07
Trickster's Choice (Trickster's Duet) Tamora Pierce 2020-11-08
Wild Magic (1) (The Immortals) Tamora Pierce 2020-11-08
Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary Martha Brockenbrough 2020-12-26
The Book of Lost Things - Kristin Harmel 2020-12-26
Emperor Mage (The Immortals, Book 3) Tamora Pierce 2021-01-22
The Realms of the Gods (The Immortals #4) Tamora Pierce 2021-01-22
My Side of the Mountain Jean Craighead George 2021-01-22
Avengers: Standoff Nick Spencer 2021-01-22
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle Leslie Connor 2021-01-22
Orphan Island Laurel Snyder 2021-01-22
Thunderstruck Erik Larson 2021-01-22
Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All M. T. Anderson 2021-01-22
The Day the World Went Nuclear: Dropping the Atom Bomb and the End of World War II in the Pacific Bill O'Reilly 2021-01-22
Blue Moon (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter) Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
Mistral's Kiss (Meredith Gentry, Book 5) Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
A Stroke of Midnight (Meredith Gentry, Book 4) Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
Micah (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 13) Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
Danse Macabre (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 14) Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
Seduced by Moonlight (Meredith Gentry, Book 3) Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
Incubus Dreams (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 12) Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
A Kiss of Shadows (Meredith Gentry, Book 1) Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
Cerulean Sins (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 11) Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
Blood Noir: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel, Book 16 Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
A Lick of Frost: A Novel (A Merry Gentry Novel Book 6) Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
The Harlequin: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel, Book 15 Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
Swallowing Darkness: A Novel Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
Narcissus in Chains: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel, Book 10 Laurell K. Hamilton 2021-01-22
Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark is Rising Sequence) by Susan Cooper (2000-11-01) 2021-01-22
Among the Hidden (Shadow Children #1) Margaret Peterson Haddix 2021-01-22
Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, 2) Jessica Townsend 2021-01-22

Here are the Pulitzer's I have read -- not many, so this is a good reference

1918 HIS FAMILY - Ernest Poole
1919 THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS - Booth Tarkington
1921 THE AGE OF INNOCENCE - Edith Wharton
1922 ALICE ADAMS - Booth Tarkington
1923 ONE OF OURS - Willa Cather
1924 THE ABLE MCLAUGHLINS - Margaret Wilson
1925 SO BIG - Edna Ferber
1926 ARROWSMITH - Sinclair Lewis
1927 EARLY AUTUMN - Louis Bromfield
1928 THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY - Thornton Wilder
1929 SCARLET SISTER MARY - Julia Peterkin
1930 LAUGHING BOY - Oliver Lafarge
1931 YEARS OF GRACE - Margaret Ayer Barnes
1932 THE GOOD EARTH - Pearl Buck
1933 THE STORE - Thomas Sigismund Stribling
1934 LAMB IN HIS BOSOM - Caroline Miller
1935 NOW IN NOVEMBER - Josephine Winslow Johnson
1936 HONEY IN THE HORN - Harold L Davis
1937 GONE WITH THE WIND - Margaret Mitchell
1938 THE LATE GEORGE APLEY - John Phillips Marquand
1939 THE YEARLING - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1940 THE GRAPES OF WRATH - John Steinbeck
1942 IN THIS OUR LIFE - Ellen Glasgow
1943 DRAGON'S TEETH - Upton Sinclair
1944 JOURNEY IN THE DARK - Martin Flavin
1945 A BELL FOR ADANO - John Hersey
1947 ALL THE KING'S MEN - Robert Penn Warren
1948 TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC - James Michener
1949 GUARD OF HONOR - James Gould Cozzens
1950 THE WAY WEST - A.B. Guthrie
1951 THE TOWN - Conrad Richter
1952 THE CAINE MUTINY - Herman Wouk
1953 THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA - Ernest Hemingway
1955 A FABLE - William Faulkner
1956 ANDERSONVILLE - McKinlay Kantor
1958 A DEATH IN THE FAMILY - James Agee
1959 THE TRAVELS OF JAIMIE McPHEETERS - Robert Lewis Taylor
1960 ADVISE AND CONSENT - Allen Drury
1961 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD - Harper Lee
1962 THE EDGE OF SADNESS - Edwin O'Connor
1963 THE REIVERS - William Faulkner
1965 THE KEEPERS OF THE HOUSE - Shirley Ann Grau
1966 THE COLLECTED STORIES OF KATHERINE ANNE PORTER - Katherine Anne Porter
1967 THE FIXER - Bernard Malamud
1968 THE CONFESSIONS OF NAT TURNER - William Styron
1969 HOUSE MADE OF DAWN - N Scott Momaday
1970 THE COLLECTED STORIES OF JEAN STAFFORD - Jean Stafford
1972 ANGLE OF REPOSE - Wallace Stegner *
1973 THE OPTIMIST'S DAUGHTER - Eudora Welty
1975 THE KILLER ANGELS - Michael Shaara
1976 HUMBOLDT'S GIFT - Saul Bellow
1978 ELBOW ROOM - James Alan McPherson
1979 THE STORIES OF JOHN CHEEVER - John Cheever
1980 THE EXECUTIONER'S SONG - Norman Mailer
1981 A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES - John Kennedy Toole
1982 RABBIT IS RICH - John Updike
1983 THE COLOR PURPLE - Alice Walker
1984 IRONWEED - William Kennedy
1985 FOREIGN AFFAIRS - Alison Lurie
1986 LONESOME DOVE - Larry McMurtry
1987 A SUMMONS TO MEMPHIS - Peter Taylor
1988 BELOVED - Toni Morrison
1989 BREATHING LESSONS - Anne Tyler
1990 THE MAMBO KINGS PLAY SONGS OF LOVE - Oscar Hijuelos
1991 RABBIT AT REST - John Updike
1992 A THOUSAND ACRES - Jane Smiley
1993 A GOOD SCENT FROM A STRANGE MOUNTAIN - Robert Olen Butler
1994 THE SHIPPING NEWS - E Annie Proulx
1995 THE STONE DIARIES - Carol Shields
1996 INDEPENDENCE DAY - Richard Ford
1997 MARTIN DRESSLER - Steven Millhauser
1998 AMERICAN PASTORAL - Philip Roth
1999 THE HOURS - Michael Cunningham
2000 INTERPRETER OF MALADIES - Jumpha Lahiri
2001 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY - Michael Chabon
2002 EMPIRE FALLS - Richard Russo
2003 MIDDLESEX - Jeffrey Eugenides
2004 THE KNOWN WORLD - Edward P. Jones
2005 GILEAD- Marilynne Robinson
2006 MARCH - Geraldine Brooks
2007 THE ROAD - Cormac McCarthy
2008 THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO - Junot Diaz
2009 OLIVE KITTERIDGE - Elizabeth Strout
2010 TINKERS - Paul Harding
2011 A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD - Jennifer Egan
2013 ORPHAN MASTER'S SON - Adam Johnson
2014 THE GOLDFINCH - Donna Tartt
2015 ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE - Anthony Doerr
2016 THE SYMPATHIZER - Viet Thanh Nguyen
2017 THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD - Colson Whitehead
2018 LESS - Andrew Sean Greer
2019 THE OVERSTORY - Richard Powers
2020 THE NICKEL BOYS - Colson Whitehead

Welcome back!

Welcome back Jess.

Hope you have a great year of reading!

Wishing you a happy and successful reading year!

Best wishes for a better 2021!

>6 drneutron:, >7 PaulCranswick:, >8 thornton37814:, >9 mstrust:, >10 DianaNL: Thank you Jim, Paul, Lori, Jennifer, and Diana! I hope 2021 is as good as a reading year as 2020 and better a year for our global health!
I hope to get around the threads today or tomorrow.

Happy reading in 2021, Jess!

And keep up with my friends here, Jess. Have a great 2021.

>12 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita! I hope the year brings some good books too!

>13 PaulCranswick: I love that meme, Paul. Such great goals!

Today was a good day. DH took the kids skiing so I was able to get the the groceries, a little cleaning , a little reading and built the Lego that Santa brought me.

Last night the kids wanted to stay up until midnight and they probably would have made it, being night owls. But skiing requires an early wake up so we compromised and they went to bed at normal bedtimes. I woke them up at 11:45 and back to bed at 12:15.
Normal bed allowed me to squeeze in one last read for 2020 - Page by Tamora Pierce. It is the second in the Protector of the Small series and I am really enjoying it. However today I started a re-read for me: The Rosie Project for a new book club. It has been about 6 years since I read it so I needed a little refresher.

Dropping off my and wishing you the best of new years in 2021!

I enjoyed The Rosie Project quite a lot. Have you read the sequels as well? Denali is such a cute pup!

Happy New Reading Year!

>16 ronincats: Thanks, Roni!

>17 PersephonesLibrary: I have read the first 2 books in the Rosie Project series. I have the third out from the library after I finish the re-read if the first one. I am really enjoying it for a second time and can’t wait until I get to the new one.
Denali is a sweet girl - she can be super stubborn though and shows it through her eyes when she does not want to do something!!

Book 1: The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion

This is a reread for me, but an enjoyable one. My new, neighborhood book club picked this for January’s read. I don’t usually reread books, but I had forgotten a lot of the little details.

I have the third one up next. I have already read The Rosie Effect and recall I didn’t like it as much as the first so I will not reread it. But I am looking forward to The Rosie Result.

Happy New Year, Jess. I hope 2021 is a stellar year for you.

Hello, Jess! The topper photo is adorable. You have her complete attention - Denali is a beauty.

You are reminding me that I have The Rosie Project in the stacks.

>20 BLBera: Thank you, Beth. I hope so too. 2020 was not too bad despite the pandemic. The positive side is that I got to spend more time with my family which was nice.

>21 Crazymamie: Hello Mamie! Denali’s eyes get me every time. They can be incredibly expressive

Phew, that is one stacked TBR list you've got there! The Dragon Nimbus books... I swear I've read them (10+ years past) but I don't remember a thing about them EXCEPT that I get a Very Good Feeling when reading the titles. Which means I must have loved them if they left that impression. Fingers crossed you feel the same!

>23 dk_phoenix: I need to get the first book to begin so I have not started yet. I think I picked up the lot at a library sale and it came with Dragon Nimbus history #1 which I didn’t catch until I went to read them.

Happy New Year Jess! I love the photo of your three cats!

Here's to a great 2021 of reading!

>25 Whisper1: Thank you Linda!

Back to work today. Remote learning this week - which is challenging for my students. Also challenging for me trying to juggle teaching duties and parent duties. My kindergartner needs a good deal of support to focus on remote learning. Luckily my 3rd grader is self sufficient!
My free time Reading will probably decrease this week with the lesson planning and sped paperwork I have due :(

Happy New Year and happy new thread Jess!

Denali looks like one smart dog. That's an unusual name; how did you choose it? Like you, my reading went up last year and I enjoyed time with the family. Fortunately for me, my kids are older so they didn't need much support with on-line learning. I think everyone is happy to be back at full time school, here, though. They do have a couple more weeks of holiday and I'm sure I'll hear some grumbling before they go back.

>18 jayde1599: I have only read the first book and just haven't had the time to continue... I'll make a note - maybe this is the year to read them. And Denali is super-sweet. I know - dogs can make very, very clear what they want. :)

>27 humouress: - When we adopted her, she had the name "Lady."
We love the US National Parks and since she is part husky, we went with Denali for the park in Alaska.

>28 PersephonesLibrary: I did not care for the 2nd book The Rosie Effect as much as I did The Rosie Project. Right now, I am about halfway through number 3 and I am enjoying it.

I will try to post another photo of Denali. This spring/summer as a quarantine project we built a Morning Glory Teepee. I thought the kids would like it - they did not. But the dog did! She dug a hole on the inside of the teepee and that is where she went to hangout.

However, uploading photos is not working right now for me. So I will have to wait until I get to my desktop.

Jess, I keep forgetting to ask where you live in Maine. My partner and I loved Maine.

>31 Whisper1: Hi Linda - we are just south of Portland. Maine is a beautiful state. My husband and I are both transplants from out of state; who met here in college and decided to stay. We have lived in the mountains (Sugarloaf), the lakes region, Portland (the big city), and now just outside the city. It has everything from the ocean, lakes, mountains within a 40 minute drive.
This summer the only travel we felt comfortable with was camping in the state parks in Maine. We went to most of the state parks plus Acadia National Park. It was a lot of fun and something we are looking forward to doing again!

>29 jayde1599: I can see why she would have been called ‘Lady’; it suits her. But ‘Denali’ (which also suits her) is so much nicer.

>23 dk_phoenix: >24 jayde1599: Just dropping by to let you know that Irene Radford has a book on offer from Early Reviewers, if you’re interested.

>32 jayde1599: Will and I vacationed with friends who rented a cabin every year in Princeton, ME. It is very near Canada. We had such great fun exploring the small towns, Machias was one of them. We rented a cabin next to our friends. They had a boat. I remember an incredible sunset when I was on the lake in the boat with our friends and Will was on the shore. I wrote in my journal feeling that this is God's splendor.

We were tempted to purchased a small home in Princeton where we would live every summer. But, we heard that many of the summer cottages were robbed in the winter.

We took a schooner from East Port. Our friends were such great company, and we laughed the entire journey. The cost of the trip included dinner. We were glad there were blankets as well. It was August and very cold in the evening.

>33 humouress: Thanks for the heads up, Nina! I have not looked at Early Reviewers recently because I have had a streak of winning books but never receiving them. The Radford book looks like an E-book though, so maybe that will be better.

>34 Whisper1: Hi Linda. Your trip to Maine sounds like it was a wonderful time. That area of Maine is beautiful with the rocky coast. We camped at Cobscook Bay state park, near Eastport. The sites are right on the ocean with amazing sun rises (it is near the eastern most point in the US).

Happy New Year! Denali is a gorgeous dog. I love those eyes!

I listened to the audio of The Rosie Project a few years ago. The reader did a great job with it! I intend to read the sequels at some point. Just haven't gotten around to it yet!

>36 cbl_tn: It was the eyes that prompted us to adopt her in the first place! She is very sweet too.
The first and third books are great. I am not sure what happened with the second one, but I did not like the characters as much.

Book 2: The Rosie Result -Graeme Simsion

The third book in the Don Tillman trilogy was just as funny and engrossing as the first. Rosie and Don’s 11 year old son, Hudson is having some difficulty in a new school so Don leaves his job to be there for Hudson. Great book!

I've only been to Maine once, but it is a beautiful state. My cousin lives in Yarmouth, so there is a chance I will visit again in the future.

>39 BLBera: Yarmouth is a nice area. We looked for houses there but the commute would have been too long for me. But they are home of the Yarmouth Clam Festival - which is pretty awesome.

I am stalling on the reading front. I have picked up Squire because I was really looking forward to getting back into the Tortall Universe with Kel - but I have been distracted by life events. And someone gave me a Diamond Paint set for Christmas and while it is an enjoyable self-care craft - it is sucking away a lot of my free time!

Sounds like they gave you the perfect gift if it's something that's been sucking up your time. Must be fun!

>41 jayde1599: Coincidentally, last week my SIL sent me the two Alanna books (including the first one) that I'm missing for my shelves so I can finally start re-reading the series.

Ah, diamond painting; it is a time-sucker but very relaxing. I got two mini diamond dot kits for my kids a couple of years ago. My younger son finished his and then asked for a large one (which takes up almost the whole of their old play-table) so that's been sitting there half-done ever since. He's got another week of holidays so it's his assigned project, to complete it. My oldest son finally finished his mini-kit last night so that's one thing I can clear out of their room.

>42 mstrust: It is actually fun and has been a neat project to take my mind off of work stress. We were remote this week so I worked on a little sections during my lunch break. Back to school next week, so any free time will be severely limited.

>43 humouress: Hi Nina
I am liking the Protector of the Small series better than The Lioness series. I had picked up a whole Tamora Pierce lot from a Buy Nothing Project group. The books were not in the best of shape so I didn’t keep Alanna but I may need to purchase the quartets for my kids’ shelves.

My son (9) is going through a Diary of the Wimpy Kid phase and gobbling those books up. I am trying to slyly broaden his reading selections but unfortunately suggestions from mom are “not cool”! (Sigh)

>45 jayde1599: My eldest went through that phase at around that age, too. (My retaliation was to make sure to give the kids a nice big kiss in view of their friends. He's grown out of it now and my youngest never went through it. Or not yet.)

Did I suggest the Geronimo Stilton books to you already? My youngest, especially, read those voraciously. They've got a (vaguely) similar idea to the Wimpy Kid books using different fonts and colours for the text.

ETA: I don't think I ever read the Protector of the Small series.

>46 humouress: I believe my nephew gave my son a copy of a Geronimo Stilton book. I will have to see if he has read it yet. Yes - Onis becoming quite embarrassed by his parents lately.
Protector of the Small is part of the Tortall universe. I am really liking it and wish that I had read these books when I was younger

Ugh back to school tomorrow. Cases are surging and are worse than in the spring yet they are trying to keep us open.
Right now they are scrambling to make sure we have the enough staff coverage this week due to a few staff members needing to quarantine.
Crossing my fingers for a safe and not too stressful week!

I'm sorry you have to go back to in-class teaching right now. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Stay safe!

>48 jayde1599: I hope your first day back went smoothly and that in-class learning wasn't too much of a strain. If they keep schools open (or at least want to), do you get masks? Enough material to protect yourself and the kids? Take care!

>49 scaifea:. Thanks Amber! Today was not so bad. The children were happy to be back. And so was I, despite the many uncertainties. I found out someone I work with tested negative but their family members tested positive. And they all live in the same house. So they are in quarantine this week.

>50 PersephonesLibrary: hi Kathy. I am quite lucky and my district was very generous in the amount of PPE they purchased for us. Since I teach a fairly intensive special needs population we got masks (many varieties), face shields, gowns, plexiglass barriers, gloves, goggles, and a heavy duty air purifier. We can wear jeans or scrubs instead of the normal dress code. And choose how much PPE we feel comfortable wearing in addition to the mandatory masks. And all of my students are tolerating either masks or face shields, frequent hand sanitizer and hand washing! They have done a great job with that and have exceeded my expectations!

Book 3:Squire - Tamora Pierce

This is the 3rd book of The Protector of the Small series set in the Tortall Universe (Alanna/Lioness quartet). This series follows Keladry of Midelan who is the first female page/squire following Alanna. I do like this series a little bit more than the Lioness. However, it does have some flaws seen in both: For example: both series have an antagonist male who teases and tries to make life awful for the female squires. The tension builds across multiple books and then they both just disappear without much conflict resolution. In Squire, Joran - Keladry's foe just dies off "stage" and she is informed by his parents. After 3 books of conflict, it was anticlimactic.
Despite the flaws, I wish I had read these series earlier in life. I think I would have appreciated the strong female protagonist and medieval fantasy setting more in my younger years than mid-life.

>51 jayde1599: That sounds great (in regard to the circumstances)! Teachers here can only dream of that. Happy Wednesday!

I am neglecting my thread. It has been a relaxing 3 day weekend. Mainly because I am procrastinating the paperwork that I need to do for school. I have a few big meetings and IEPs due this week, so after a family hike I will be glued to my laptop.

>53 PersephonesLibrary: Yes they really did go all out with the PPE and anything we have needed for this pandemic. The remote learning piece is difficult for my students but we are trying our best!

>55 jayde1599: My sons just went back to school this week after their long break. Apparently my youngest wants to go back to home learning - I suspect he's been on holidays for too long. My older boy, surprisingly because he doesn't usually have a happy relationship with school, seems quite comfortable with going back.

>56 humouress: both my kids prefer in person learning. The youngest because she is 5 and developmentally she is in the social/play stage. My oldest would probably be fine with full remote but his best friend is in his class and cohort and they are the only two boys, so he does not want to leave him. And they both only had one day of in-person learning this week due to the holiday on Monday!

Book 4: Lady Knight - Tamora Pierce

The conclusion to the Protector of the Small quartet brought some action and adventure. This is a good middle grade - intro to fantasy series.

Now I am delving back into Duma Key by Stephen King. I had begun about 9 years ago and stalled at about 250 pages. I had to go back and skim but it has picked back up. I can do supernatural scary - but I am not going to lie - I needed to keep the lights on a bit after reading last night.

>59 jayde1599: Sounds like a recommendation. :-) Happy reading weekend, Jess!

>60 PersephonesLibrary: Thank you! Definitely looking forward to the weekend. More so to catch up in paperwork that I did not do the past two days while I have been home with my daughter. I have spent that time finishing Duma Key!

Book 5: Duma Key - Stephen King

A big chunkster off my TBR shelves! I had started this book 9 years ago when O was a baby and my new mom brain couldn’t get through it.
I am actually glad that I picked it back up as part of my ROOT in order of sitting on the shelves the longest.
While there are definitely some spooky parts, the overall character and plot development kept me hooked.

It has been a lazy few days here. I have been home with the youngest who’s Nature School has been in quarantine. I had the option to work from home but opted to take a family day instead. It has been a bit hectic at school so it was nice to unplug for a day or two.
Next up: Still Life With Crows - Preston and Child
I had bought a few of these books years ago not realizing they should be read in order. So catching up to get to the ones in my shelf. They are next in line for the oldest TBR.

>59 jayde1599: Mmm - not for me, then, thanks. :0)

>64 humouress: Yup I find you can either read Stephen King or not. I have come to the conclusion that there are some of his works that I will absolutely not pick up - Pet Semetary and The Shining come to mind. I do have 11/22/63 and the Gunslinger series in my shelves. I think I will be able to get through 11/22/63 but I am not sure about the Gunslinger books.

I just bought Duma Key... Oh, Der Anschlag/ 11/22/63 ist brilliant - I loved to read that! This and Needful Things are some of my favourites. The Shining I liked better than the movie because it had more horror elements in it. Is there a particular reason why don't you want to read that?

>66 PersephonesLibrary: I think I am shying away from The Shining because I will be too scared! I have only seen pieces of the movie. It does seem like it is more in line with Duma Key than It or Pet Semetary.
Is The Shining more a supernatural thriller than horror? And is it really scary?

Your posting numbers are nicely up this year, Jess, and it is great to see!

>68 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. I don’t always have much to say but I have enjoyed being a bit more active this year.

>67 jayde1599: I'd say the book and the movie are different. The movie looks more at the psychological aspect. The book is more on the horror side with spooky parts... One of my favourite scenes hasn't even made it into the movie and it's so atmospheric!! ( When the tree animals in the labyrinth start moving.)
So, yes, as you say it's more in line with IT and PET Semetary.

Book 6: Still Life With Crows - Preston and Child

This is the 4th book in the Pendergast series. While I enjoy the history, mythology, and suspense of these books - this one was a little too gory for my taste. The ending felt rushed , but the concept of the killer was interesting. I think I will continue on at least through the ones on my TBR shelves

>70 PersephonesLibrary: Hmmm. Maybe I will not totally disregard The Shining - I will just have to be in the right space to read/watch it.

Even the Preston and Child book I just read had a bit too much gore/death in it. I do enjoy the intellectual aspect to their murder mysteries though.

I have been neglecting my thread. It has been a LONG week at work. The kids are fantastic and I really enjoy working with them. However, the paperwork, administration, guiding stressed out parents, meetings, and politics of the job is encompassing my time/mental capabilities right now. I luckily have an amazing team of paraprofessionals that work with me who have managed the classroom but it is also the time of year that people are getting ill. So trying to manage the room with limited subs who do not know programs has also been a challenge! Thankful today is Saturday!

Going by my oldest TBR book list it should be Team of Rivals. I just do not think I have the mental energy for that right now. So onto the complete Series of Unfortunate Events (on the shelf since 2009!) and The Book of Lost Names for book club.

I see you've been reading a few horror stories. Not my genre (and if it was too gory for you, I ain't goin' near it). My 12 year old seems to be heading in that direction, though. He's up to date with the Skulduggery Pleasant series and is now into Five Nights at Freddy's, based on a computer game where animatronics come to life. I hope he doesn't discover Stephen King et al. :0)

>74 humouress: The horror/supernatural books have been on my TBR for some time. I had high hopes of reading through Stephen King's bibliography about a decade ago. That has changed somewhat now.
I am familiar with Five Nights at Freddy's but not Skulduggery Pleasant. I am not sure if my son will lean towards horror. Right now - he says no way - too scary. I used to LOVE RL Stine when I was a tween. I still have some of them.

>75 jayde1599: Well, I did pick up the first Skullduggery Pleasant although it's been stuttering along because I haven't devoted the time to it and so I keep losing the thread of the story. I don't think I want to try any of the Five Nights at Freddy's, thank you :0)

>76 humouress:: I probably would have enjoyed Skullduggery Pleasant as a pre-teen. I had suggested some fantasy read aloud to my 9yo and he declined. He chose instead Bearwalker by Joseph Bruchac for our read aloud book together. It was nice to have him opt for reading aloud a chapter!

My kids loved the Tashi books and my 12 year old still requests it for bedtime reading even though he read them himself years ago. I'm not sure if you could find it easily, though, since it's by an Australian author - but it is very popular DownUndah.

Yes, we still do bedtime reading although it's a bit hit and miss; I don't manage it every night and sometimes the gaps between reading are so large that I can't remember the story line. My 17 year old opts out, unfortunately, but I'm trying to read classics to them. Peter Pan and Treasure Island went down quite well - although it's a bit hard on my vocal cords, I don't necessarily remember my accents from night to night and my audience tends to fall asleep on me (which is sort of the intent, I suppose).

I don't do horror at all. I read all the Tamora Pierce books long after my childhood, understandably since the first was publishes when I was in my mid-30s. But I enjoyed them for what they were, and donated the three quartets (your two plus the Immortals one) and the Beka Cooper trilogy to the neighborhood middle school library a few years ago when I craved some more room on my shelves. I did keep the Trickster duo. I had left the Circle of Magic quartet at my elementary school when I retired.

I'm so glad your school is providing all the PPE. My sister is a special ed para and they have to provide their own masks and coverings, although the school provided plexiglass dividers and hand sanitizer. As a retired school psychologist, I am more than familiar with all the paperwork load!

>78 humouress: Oh my library has the Tashi books. I will have to reserve them to check out! Thanks for the new title!

>79 ronincats: I received Tamora Pierce’s bibliography from my local Buy Nothing group. The Alanna books were not in great condition so I passed them along. I still need to read the Immortals and Trickster books. I would like to share these stories with my daughter when she is older.

Since you understand the sped paperwork for a normal year - imagine all of the triennials (3) that were due at the end of last year being pushed up to this year in addition to the tris that were due this year (2 already). COVID has tripled the paperwork in sped!! And we are moving towards a school based day treatment program - so there is that too. I will be lucky if I see my students this month!

This has been taking some time since Christmas break. Sorry for the sideways photo:

>81 jayde1599: Amazing!

>82 PersephonesLibrary:: Thanks Kathe! It took some time to finish, but it was a nice stress relief.

Book 7: The Book of Lost Names. - Kristin Harmel

I read this for book club this month and my initial thought was "Oh man, another WWII book with a female lead and heart wrenching plot."
I was wrong.

This book was set in 1942 France. Eva Traube is a Jewish woman living in Paris with her parents. She manages to escape to the country side with her mother and puts her artistic skills to the test, becoming a forger for the Resistance. She finds meaning for her life and loss helping young children gain new identities while keeping a secret record of their original names. While there is sorrow, love, and heroism in this story, it seemed different from the slew of popular historical fiction set in the same time period that I have read recently. Yes - there were parts that made me groan - when characters make not smart choices or say unexpected things, but I was able to look that in this book.

Harmel is a new author to me and I am going to seek out her other works.

>81 jayde1599: Nice piece.

>82 PersephonesLibrary: I've heard great things about that one.

>81 jayde1599: That looks great!

>84 jayde1599: I won't read every word of your review, as I'm reading it with my book club later this year, but I'm glad to see it was a really good book for you. There does seem to be a glut of WW2 books lately, and I'm getting pickier about them (I think).

>80 jayde1599: Ooh, I seem to be spreading BBs all over the place today. I hope you enjoy the Tashi books as much as we do. We have The Great Big Enormous Book of Tashi which includes wonderful illustrations.

>81 jayde1599: Nice!

>81 jayde1599: Ooooh, that's lovely! Well done, you!

>35 jayde1599: Jess, Eastport is near where Will and I and friends spent many Maine vacations. Our friends went to Maine every year, and asked us to join them. We loved that area of Maine. The sunsets were breathtaking!

>85 thornton37814:, >86 bell7:, >87 humouress:, >88 scaifea:. Thank you Lori, Mary, Nina, and Amber. It was actually fun to do and a great stress reliever after work. Before kids, I used to do a whole lot more crafting. I think it is time to get back into it.

>87 humouress: I will keep you posted on the Tashi books when we do our library pick up. It may be a few weeks because we just had a pick up Saturday.

>88 scaifea: Linda, Eastport is a beautiful area. We stumbled upon the Pirate Featival when we were there where nearby Lubec “invades” Eastport. It was quite fun!

> still working on the Pendergast series - up to Brimstone.
Baking super bowl cupcakes with the little and making Butternut squash soup.

Dropping by to wish you a lovely weekend, Jess.

Thanks for making a stop, Paul. Hope your weekend turned around!

DH took both kids skiing today! Usually, oldest goes Saturday and youngest goes Sunday. I enjoyed some solo time - finishing The Queen’s Gambit, and a “quick” Target run to pick up Valentine’s Day treats.
Now some reading before putting the snacks together for Super Bowl:
Ribs for DH
Spinach squares for me
Buffalo Cauliflower
Mozzarella sticks
Corn dogs for the littles
And dips: onion, veggie, apple
It is quite the smorgasbord for just 4 of us, but the kids wanted a snack spread!

>95 jayde1599: Sounds delicious! For which team did you root?

>96 PersephonesLibrary: We were a divided household on the Super Bowl. DH and my daughter wanted The buccaneers to win. My son and I were for the Chiefs. I may be an anomaly, being Massachusetts born and not being a Tom Brady fan!

>97 jayde1599: The perk of a diveded household is that someone is always winning. :)

>98 PersephonesLibrary: That is a great way to look at it. My daughter enjoyed rubbing her “win” in to her older brother - even though she is 5 and does not understand, nor watch football.

Book 8 Brimstone ~Preston and Child

This is book 5 in the Pendergast series that I am trying to catch up to the ones I have on my TBR shelf (I believe 8 & 9).
Brimstone is less macabre than earlier books in the series and more remnant to an Agatha Christie book. Although there are still graphic descriptions that make me cringe. It was slower to build and ends on a cliff hanger. I have book 6 out from the library but will need a short break from Pendergast, I think. I will get to the books on my shelf this year though!!

>99 jayde1599: Of course in a British household our football prevails - soccer as you call it over there - and it is pretty tribal but local too. If you hail from Pontefract, Wakefield, Leeds, Dewsbury, Harrogate and Wetherby then you are pretty much expected to passionately follow the local team which is Leeds United. Anyone going out of the locality to support Sheffield Wednesday, Liverpool or God forbid Manchester United has some serious explaining to do.

If it was say a World Cup and England had bitten the dust early (as per normal) families would happily divide and support opposite teams for the heck of it.

Up now is Atomic Habits by James Clear - a book bullet from Faith’s thread. I have read the intro - which totally hooked me on and have begun chapter 1

>102 jayde1599: Oh, I am looking forward what you think of "Atomic Habits". It looks like I could put that in good use!

>101 PaulCranswick: My husband is a lifetime Man U supporter but my youngest supports Man City. My eldest supports Chelsea, which means I'm not allowed to support any London clubs so I've been given Liverpool (since I'm just interested in following England).

I didn't really care but this past year there's been a lot of football watching live (which means middle of the night for us) especially with my husband working from home 2 weeks out of 4 and Liverpool started out leading the league. So there's a lot of rubbing each other's noses in it at the dinner table.

>104 humouress: It can be a bit like that can't it? For some reason Hani decided that she would support Arsenal after we got married and that resurfaced last night as they beat us 4-2.

>101 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - I think you snuck in on me when I was posting 102 up there and I did not notice your post! Sorry!
I do not know much about world-wide football (soccer). My brother-in-law is from Brazil so he is really into it and I have watched a few World Cup games with him. As with American football on the TV, it becomes more background noise for me as I putter around doing other things.
Now baseball I can follow and am a diehard Red Sox fan.

>104 humouress: On a regular year my son is an Eagles fan and the husband a Patriots fan. They watch a few games throughout the season but we are a more united baseball family. We all love the Red Sox!

>103 PersephonesLibrary: Hi Käthe - so far Atomic Habits is really enjoyable. I hope to finish it today depending on how long we are at the sledding hill with the kids. Yesterday I was able to read on the hour drive to the ski mountain.
The book is giving me some helpful solutions to become more present with my family. With job and life stress this past year, I find myself “relaxing” into my phone and I really want to break that habit.

I changed the suet in our bird feeder and the Eastern Bluebirds have really loved the change. There have been up to 5 birds on/around it at one time that I have counted. Sorry that you have to twist your neck to see this photo of 3 birds:

But it's a clear pic! Nice to be able to bring the birds to your house.

>110 mstrust: Hi Jennifer. It sure is nice to have the birds come visit. We live in a wooded area but this winter we have really seen a variety of birds. We have an owl that has made a few appearances and the bluebirds. There is a woodpecker who also loves this feeder, in addition to the common bluejays, cardinals, and chickadees.

>105 PaulCranswick: Well, if I absolutely had to choose for myself, I was thinking of Arsenal because I liked their kit (last year’s I think) and that their original base was in Greenwich (the Royal Arsenal) but, of course, they’re a London club.

>107 jayde1599: I know about the Red Sox! My BIL used to live in Boston. He even gave us a board book on them, when my eldest was a baby.

>109 jayde1599: That’s a nice photo of your birds. So many LTers seem to have feeders, I’m wondering if we should put one up, too. Then I remember that we’ve had a lot of ‘wildlife’ around the house this past year. The bats seem to have moved on again (although one flew straight through the downstairs last week) but these past few weeks we’ve seen a lot of dragonflies indoors; about one or two a week over the past several weeks. I quite like dragonflies - to look at - but this is unusual.

Hi Jess, Found your thread and starred it.

>97 jayde1599: Nah, I'm in Massachusetts (born and bred) but I'm a Giants fan and I was going for KC mostly to rile my Patriots fans friends who were going for Tom Brady.

>113 connie53: Hi Connie

>114 bell7: I don’t know why but TB just seems to get on my nerves. I honestly do not have a favorite football team but usually root for the underdog

Book 9 Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice ~ Nicki Grimes

I do not usually list the picture books that we read here - but I borrowed this one for myself, and if my children would like to listen to it, then great!
There are two stories intertwined: a mother is telling the story of a strong woman to her daughter Eve. The strong woman happens to be Kamala Harris.
For a picture book aimed at the 4-8 year old range - the story is a bit dense. My 5 year old daughter knows who Kamala Harris is, but we have not shared this as a read aloud yet. I enjoyed it, but I am not sure if the intended audience will.

Book 10 Atomic Habits ~ James Clear

This is a book bullet from Faith's thread. It is easy to read with interesting anecdotes. James Clear breaks down the steps to understand why humans form habits and to increase positive habits and decrease negative habits.
This is a book that I borrowed from the library, but will probably want to purchase to reference throughout my habit changing adventures.
Recommended.

I realized that I forgot to review a book from January!!

Book 11 The Reptile Room ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR shelf

I have the box set of The Series of Unfortunate Events - that has been sitting on the TBR shelf for about 10 years. I am attempting to get my 9 yo to try one because he has a dry sense of humor that he would appreciate in these books.
Also - I want to finish watching the Netflix series, which I have started, so I have some catching up to do!
While I appreciate the dry humor and sarcasm in the series - I also want to beat my head against the door with what Count Olaf is able to get away with in these books. I do not think I would have liked them as a child.

Book 12 Bomb - the Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon - Steve Shienkin

This was recommended by Linda on her thread. It was very engaging. While I have read a great deal on WWII, I have limited knowledge of the atomic bomb and how it came to be. I was not aware of how behind Germany was, and how much spies gave the Soviet Union. This was a good book!

Next up is Dance of Death in the Pendergast series by Preston & Child. This is the last one I needed to borrow from the library before I can read the two oldest books on my TBR shelves: The Book of the Dead and Wheel of Darkness, added in 2009.

After I get through these 3 books, I am going to take a Pendergast break. While I enjoy the series, I have been saturated in it for the the past few months. I would like to get on with The Series of Unfortunate Events that have also been sitting on my shelves since 2010!

Book 13 Dance of Death ~ Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

This is the 6th book in the Pendergast mystery series, and the second in the Diogenes trilogy. Diogenes is Pendergast's younger brother and seems to be the superior antagonist, always one step ahead of Pendergast and his partner D'Agosta. The book ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger - not a real exciting one, but a lot of unfinished business.

>116 jayde1599: I think Atomic Habits could be useful for me... :) Have a lovely reading weekend, Jess!

>121 PersephonesLibrary: Thanks Käthe! I am tying to use some of the strategies in the book to limit time spent in social media and/or my phone. I can remember the days when my phone was not smart and I did not spend hours in it!!

Vacation is almost over and I am a bit sad about that. It is a long stretch until April break and this year is just exhausting.

I have been working with my kindergartener on her reading remote work and I am finding that she is relying on sight words and her visual memory too much and not using her phonics skills. Being in special education, I have some strategies but she is less willing to try with mom than her teacher. And our district uses the readers workshop model - which is heavily focused on sight words and less so on phonics. I like a good mix of both modalities.

>123 jayde1599: I remember my aunt telling me about teaching one of my cousins to read. He would read to her and know where to turn the page - so she didn't realise for a long time that he had actually memorised the book and wasn't reading. I think it was when they accidentally turned two pages together that she finally realised that he hadn't learned to read yet.

>124 humouress: My daughter’s kindergarten teacher recommended working on some sight words - so we did but now that is her go-to strategy. Time to make some CVC/phonics type work for a bit.
I have always found the The whole language Vs phonics debate interesting. I have found a good mixture between the two is what young students seem to do beat with. However our school is a whole language model. Interesting story: when I was in the younger grades reading was taught through phonics. My younger sister by 6 years got a whole language approach - same school different method. She hates reading and struggled with it growing up. I love to read. Who knows if that made a difference or not?

Book 14 The Book of the Dead - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

This is the 7th book in the Pendergast series and the wrap-up of the Diogenes trilogy within the series. It was a solid book with the antagonist already known - but how Pendergast will save the day and how he is affected by what his brother had done is the big mystery.

My big dilemma now is what I read next:

- The Wheel of Darkness - the next Pendergast and the last one I have left on my TBR shelf. Also the next in line being the next oldest (minus some chunksters that I am not in the right headspace right now).

- The Day the World went Nuclear - Bill Reilly -- this is a follow up book to Bomb that was recently given to me. And it would be interesting to read close to Bomb.

- A Series of Unfortunate Events box set -- next in line after WoD on my TBR pile

- Plug away at The Book of Gutsy Women -- I have been reading one woman per night, but I could choose to just focus on this.

My type A personality is leaning towards this order to tidy things up a bit on the TBR pile. I also will have my March Book Club read, An Early Reviewer book, and any library holds that happen to come in.
And now I am back to school - so reading needs to be more of an escape than a chore.

>125 jayde1599: I don't understand the 'whole language' model. I'm sure that, as adults, that's what we use now but kids have to have the building blocks first. I learned using phonics and I taught my kids to read before they learned at school - so it wasn't an issue for them and I don't even know what method their kindergarten espoused.

But I did run into it with maths. Growing up, we memorised our multiplication tables but apparently kids these days are too delicate for that ;0) and whenever I ask my younger son a question he'll start step-counting from zero. Yes, it's a strategy if you're stuck but knowing 5x12 off the top of your head is much easier than 5, 10, 15 ... I mean, really.

I started some phonics lessons with my daughter - she is a young 5 and her attention span is limited but she has surprised me with how much she has picked up at school - and even going in-person only 2 days per week! Children are such sponges at this age!

Oooh - math was not my subject in school. They now teach the "new" math way - but essentially it is just base-10. So for 5X12, my son would find 5X10 plus 10. He seems to have caught on to the strategies pretty easily - he just has difficulty showing how he came up with the answers.
He is able to do some higher addition problems faster than I can using base 10 versus my "old-fashioned" way of vertically adding. :)

>128 jayde1599: Well, maybe it does work then. But I feel that my kids have some weak areas in their maths because of it. I think they'd have done better if they had been taught the 'old fashioned way' first and then strategies to short-cut afterwards. I'll just stick with my old-fashioned.

Care to share?

Hi Jess. I've been MIA lately. I'm trying to get back to posting on threads. February was quite a month! I hope March brings sun and NO snow. 30 plus inches followed by another eight a few days later was stressful. Owning a home on my own can be challenging. Thank God for my wonderful neighbors who were an incredible help.

>129 humouress: There is something to be said for memorization of facts. I think the only reason I still remember all the prepositions is because we had to memorize them in a song (tune of Yankee Doodle), and I still remember how to conjugate verbs in Spanish - although I have lost much of my ability to converse in the language! And of course the multiplication table.

>That looks like an interesting drink - what is it? And it is probably something obvious but I am in my phone after a crazy day!

>131 Whisper1: Hi Linda! I tend to disappear as work/school becomes more busy. I think you received more snow in PA than we have in Maine! It has been a fairly mild snow season. And this year we did not even have to worry about snow days because of the ability of remote learning! We have only had 2 storms and 1 official snow day! It sounds like you live in a wonderful neighborhood!

So life is about to become more busy! The school district is about to cave to parent demands for more in person instruction. So they are looking at starting a 3/2 week rotation. We are currently hybrid: general Ed students attend 2 days in person and 2 days remote. Wednesday’s are scheduled for the school to be deep cleaned and teacher prep/meetings, some remote lessons. Now students in cohort A will go Mon-Wed one week and Cohort B will go Wed-Fri the next week. It looks like my special Ed class will be in person 5 days now. It is going to be a scheduling nightmare for staff with children who have been home on Wednesdays, in addition to losing prep and planning time. I guess I will see how it all plays out. My motto of this school year is to just go with the flow!

And after watching the school board meeting where this was discussed, I discovered that I accidentally washed 3 checks that were in my pocket to take to the bank! It was a day!

Book 15 The Wide Window - Lemony Snicket

Book 3 in the Unfortunate Events series. I jumped ahead to this to have a lighter read at the beginning of the week. The Beaudelaire children get shipped to their Aunt Josephine’s house on the lake and try to elude Count Olaf disguised as Captain Sham. It is a witty series that I am hoping my son will try out some day. He has that sense of humor

Sunday is skiing day. Now I’m tired and just plan to read the afternoon.

We stopped for take out pizza that was Amazing! Authentic New Haven style pizza in Maine! It is a rare find for tasty pizza here.

>136 jayde1599: Sounds like a great Sunday - and simliar to mine: Pizza, books and nature. Just no skiing. :) Have a relaxing time!

>132 jayde1599: >130 humouress: That's an old-fashioned. No idea what goes into it except that it starts with whisky.

Good luck with school.

>135 jayde1599: I need to try that series. I think I have read the first one.

>137 PersephonesLibrary: Thank you - it was a fairy relaxing day. It can be difficult to get up early to go skiing (the mountain is a little over one hour away). But, it is great exercise and being outside in nature is really nice. The ride up the chairlift can be super peaceful.

>138 humouress: Hmm, I will need to look into what is in an old-fashioned. My husband recently began trying out different brands of whisky. I think he usually drinks it on the rocks. I can not get past the burning sensation!

I am reading the series for a couple of reasons - 1. it has been on my TBR shelf for about ten years and 2. I began watching the Netflix series with Neil Patrick Harris and it is good! But I want to read the books first (although I cheated a little and have watched four episodes). The series does a nice job of staying loyal to the books and NPH does a great Count Olaf. Reading the books, I get frustrated by the dry humor, but I think my son will like it.

Book 16 The Wheel of Darkness - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

This is the 8th book of the series and it had a different format than the others. Pendergast and Constance travel to Tibet to get over the horrors from the last book. There they learn that an ancient artifact has been stolen from the monks who had been protecting it and the the world from its evil. They follow the leads to an ocean liner - where most of the action takes place. This is still a page turner. It is the last P& C book I had on my shelf, so I am not sure when I will continue on with the series.

>140 jayde1599: So apparently an old-fashioned has sugar, bitters, water and whisky/ brandy and garnished with a slice of orange.

By rocks, I assume you mean ice? Some purists don't like the melt water adulterating their drink so folks have invented things like a cube of granite which you keep in the freezer and drop in your glass when you need it to be cold. Next birthday/ Christmas present :0) (Please forward commission fees to my account.)

>142 humouress: I have seen those ice things. They are definitely a great concept. I will need to try an Old Fashioned some time. Although a glass of wine is more my style.

It has been a difficult week here at work.
The district is getting a lot of pressure from parents to have more in-person learning days. The superintendent proposed a 3/2 hybrid split - one cohort goes 3 days/week then the other cohort goes 3 days/week the next week. However, no one consulted the teachers on ow this will be possible. The school board meeting was fairly heated. Parents are emotional right now - I get it. I know it is not easy - I have a kindergartener. Nothing was decided yet - back to a meeting next week.
There have also been difficult situations that I have had to try to figure out solutions for with not a lot of support.
I am usually fairly good about not taking work home with me emotionally - but this week it definitely is impacting my home life.
I read somewhere to focus on Progress - Not Perfection and that is my motto for the rest of the school year :)

>144 jayde1599: Difficult times aren't they, Jess? Belle my youngest has just gotten used to virtual classrooms and I don't think she is in any hurry to adjust back.

Keep your chin up as things eventually return to normalcy.

I'm sorry this week was so stressful for you, Jess. *hugs*

My kids have been back at school (with precautionary measures) since July last year so I haven't been under the pressure of having them underfoot all the time. They were split on going back to campus after about a term and a half of online learning - one wanted to get back to his friends but the other enjoyed not being under his teachers' eyes for most of the week.

>145 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. Here is hoping to a better week ahead.

I think most teachers here are ready to go back to more in-person instruction, but would like it to be a thoughtful transition, not something hastily done at the demands of parents.

>146 scaifea: Thank you, Amber. Thinking positive thoughts for the week to come.

>147 humouress: Hi Nina! Both my kids opted for in-person hybrid model. March can be a tough month in the Northeast for educators and students - the seasons are changing, snow melting but still cold, no holiday breaks, and academic demands increasing. We will get through it though and summer will be here shortly!

17. The Day the World Went Nuclear: Dropping the Atom Bomb and the End of World War II in the Pacific ~ Bill O'Reilly ~ gifted 2020 ~ 320 p.
A BB from Linda. I read this in conjunction with Bomb. While it gave a more overview of the Atomic Bomb and what led up to it, the book was not as focused.

18. The Miserable Mill ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR ~ 195 p.
Book four in A Series of Unfortunate Events has the Beaudelaire's working in a Lumbermill and trying to avoid Count Olaf.

Real life is a little busy lately so I will hopefully get to posting books read soon.

19. The Austere Academy ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR ~
20. The Ersatz Elevator ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR
22. The Vile Village ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR ~ 256 p.

I am reviewing the Unfortunate Events books out of order - just because I feel like lumping them all together. The plot structure is the same for all of the books, which is great for middle grade readers, not so much for adults. I probably may have liked these when I was younger, but the vocal lectures are starting to get to me. I do want to finish the series, so I will stick it out for the next 5 books. I think I am preferring the Netflix show to the books at this point.

21. The Midnight Library ~ Matt Haig ~ Book Club - borrowed ~ 288 p.

I really had to sit and digest The Midnight Library which was this month's book club read. I really love the premise of the book - having the opportunity to live other lives in your multiverse - while your root life is not alive and not dead. The ending got me a bit - I really wanted a happier ending, but not all books can wrap up nicely. I think it was the perfect ending for the protagonist though.
I am glad I read this when I did.

23. Hostile Hospital - Lemony Snickett
SOUA - Book number 8. The Beaudelaires find themselves in the hospital trying to save Violet from a lobotomy, while dealing with the crazy adults, and finding more information on the mysterious club their parents belonged to.

24. The Carnivorous Carnival - Lemony Snickett
Book # 9: After the Beaudelaires sneak into Count Olaf's trunk and head to Madame Lulu's carnival where they hope to get more answers but come to find more people perish and more flames ruin their luck.

Taking a break away from the depressing life of the Beaudelaires while my life is a little chaotic. Instead I polished off books 11-17 of the Lumberjanes. Much better for the soul in trying times!

25. Time After Crime - Kat Leyh
Lumberjanes #11.

26. Jackalope Springs Eternal - Shannon Watters
Lumberjanes #12

27. Indoor Recess - Kat Leyh
Lumberjanes #13

28. X Marks the Spot - Kat Leyh
Lumberjanes #14

29. Birthday Smarty - Kay Leyh
Lumberjanes #15

30 Mind Over Mettle - Shannon Watters
Lumberjanes #16

31. Smitten in the Stars - Shannon Watters
Lumberjanes #17

DH special ordered these from the local comic book sho when I asked him just to pick up one or two. It was a nice surprise - and great brain candy for a busy time!

Real life has been a little hectic and busy. We are moving ahead to the 3/2 but staff has been bare bones due to absences. 4 teachers tested positive and 50 close contacts in my school. And while this is considered outbreak status - only the affected classrooms need to quarantine because the cases were community spread and not school spread. It just makes for exhausting days.

I was able to get shot #1 on Friday. My arm was a little sore and a mild headache but that is about it. I have already been super tired lately - so I do not want to blame that on the vaccine. Unfortunately shot #2 is scheduled on the first day of spring break - and I hear that one is more difficult. Not how I want to start my break, but oh well.

I have been lurking on threads, but not much energy to post!

Almost forgot - my 9 year old has asked me to read some books with him.

32. Bearwalker - Joseph Bruchac
I usually enjoy Bruchac's books - this one appealed to my son, but we did need to have a discussion on mental illness after reading it. I guess that is the important part about still sharing stories with him.

33. Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories - Jeff Kinney
From the author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid - one probably needs to be in the elementary age bracket to enjoy these - but he was excited to share it with me, so I brought out the excitement.

Sorry to hear how hectic things are right now. But at least you've been able to get a shot, so that's something.
Can I say that I really like to Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies? They're pretty funny and the Rowley character is prominent in them.
I hope you feel more energetic soon!

>156 jayde1599: It sounds like your mood may have affected your reading enjoyment. I just re-read Mister Monday and I’d give it 3.5 stars but last time I gave it 4.5 stars. I think I’m in the mood for light and easy.

Book 34: Mary's Monster - Lita Judge

I picked this up at the library and found it a great biography graphic novel of Mary Shelley. I can't say that I knew much about her life before reading this.

>157 mstrust: Oooh I do like the Wimpy Kid movies - I think I have only seen Long Haul - the one with Jennifer Garner as the mother. It was funny!

>158 humouress:: Hi Nina - yes my mood has definitely impacted my reading. I have only really had the attention for graphic novels. Light and easy is what I want, but I keep picking up grim books to try to cross off titles from my lists. My April book club read is Everything I Never Told You and while I know nothing about it - the title does not convey "light and fluffy".

If you get a chance, the three earlier Wimpy Kid movies are really good. It's an entirely different cast than the later one, as the kids aged out of their roles. The parents were played by Steve Zahn and Rachel Harris.

>161 mstrust: I will have to check them out. I don’t believe I have seen those ones!

So I have gone to the doctor to try to figure out why I have been so exhausted lately. It turns out I have significant anemia. Time to get some iron supplements.
I am hoping with relief from exhaustion that I have more energy to keep up with everything.
I took out Th Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing from the library because it has been on my wishlist forever. But I don’t think I am in the right headspace for this book right now. Even though the Unfortunate Events books are dreary - they are witty enough to not be too depressing. My plan is to finish that series. And then find some something light and fluffy.

>161 mstrust: I hadn't realised there were any Wimpy Kid films although, really, the series isn't on my radar. My kids liked them, though.

>163 jayde1599: Nah - do light and fluffy first ;0) as a pick-me-up.

>163 jayde1599: I hope you're feeling better soon!
>164 humouress: Yes, so I believe there are four altogether. All funny enough to keep an adult (or maybe just me) entertained. Lots of recognizable faces.

>164 humouress: That is good advice, Nina. I am not sure I have a nice light read in the shelves. I think we are going to visit my parents tomorrow for Easter so I can borrow one from my mom. Do you have any recommendations of anything you have read lately?

Hmm; well if you're in the mood for sci fi/ fantasy, I found The Innkeeper Chronicles very amusing. I really liked The Switch which has a touch of romance but I thought was more about family. Stormbreaker, the first of the Alex Rider books was action packed (aimed at tween-age boys, I suspect). And The Thursday Murder Club was fun, though it's a murder mystery, because the detectives are all retirees with a very different outlook on life.

Hi Jess,

>155 jayde1599: Wow, that is really scary! I hope you stay safe and fine.

Oh, my! The situation in your school sounds scary! I am glad to hear you got a vacc shot, at least. And it's good that you went to the doctor - anemia can be handled if known. And it makes such a difference when you are not tired all the time.

You have managed a lot of books despite all the busy circumstances! Stay safe and take care, Jess!

>165 mstrust: thank you! I am feeling better and have a little more energy this week! And thanks for the Easter greetings!

>167 humouress: Thank you for the titles. I will I’ve to check the library to see what is there.
My mom gave me a Nora Roberts - so rethink about witches and Ireland. I have never read this author even though my mom has just about all of her titles. I also need to find a copy of my April book club read. Luckily spring break is in about 2 weeks so I will have some reading time

>168 connie53: Thank you Connie! While the numbers are high and scary - so far things have been safe in my room. Which I find really positive since the population of students I work with require close 1:1 supervision and support!
Almost all of the cases have been contracted in the community or from family members - no school based transmissions. Which says something about the safety measures we have put into place.

>169 PersephonesLibrary: Thank you Käthe. Now that I have increased iron in my diet - I am noticing my energy back in the evenings. I felt bad that I was not able to give my own children the attention they were seeking!

>172 jayde1599: Here most infections take place inside families. And almost non with outdoor events.

Book 35 The Slippery Slope - Lemony Snickett

Book number 10 in the SoUE. The orphans again find themselves up against the villains yet again and manage to outsmart them but still lose out on solving the mysteries that surround their lives by a matter of moments. The repetitiveness is getting a little dull but it just means that there are only 3 more books left!

Book 36 Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng
Book Club book. Boy the family drama in this book! When 16 year old Lydia is found dead, the Lee family examines their relationships with each other. The book is set in the 1970's with a mix-racial family, which is a big part of the story. Lydia's mother Marilyn gave up her dreams of being a doctor to raise three children. Her dad has struggled finding his identity as a Chinese American throughout his life. Nath, her older brother was her rock until he was accepted into Harvard. And youngest sister Hannah is mostly invisible to the family. There is an interesting dynamic among this family that I could not identify with their motivations.
I did like this book better than Little Fires Everywhere.

Spring Vacation begins today!! I started the day with some grocery shopping and shot #2! I am hoping that the side effects do not hit me hard. I have been trying to stay hydrated today.
I am looking forward to a relaxing week. But why did a Nor'Easter have to hit today?!

Book 37 The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

This is the first time I have read this Newbery Honor book and I enjoyed it!

Book 38 Concrete Rose - Angie Thomas
This is the prequel to The Hate U Give and it is just as good. This story follows Starr's father Maverick as he is becoming an adult and trying to get away from the gang.

>177 jayde1599: *bounces* Oooh, I hope you decide to go on with The Queen's Thief series - it just gets better with every entry!

Also, I need to get round to Concrete Rose because I loved the first one so much.

>178 scaifea: Hi Amber - I believe that I became intrigued with The Queen's Thief series from your thread. I have book 2 out from the library now. I enjoyed the first book so I am glad it keeps getting better!

I hope you get around to Concrete Rose soon. I enjoyed it just as much as the first one. It is funny to think that I am the same age as Maverick. Many of the pop culture references in Concrete Rose brought me back to high school. I want to reread The Hate U Give, as many of the characters are in CR - albeit 18 years younger. I also have her book On the Come Up out from the library.

Book 39 The Grim Grotto - Lemony Snickett

I am sneaking in book 11 from ASOUE in between some better written books. I think this is my least favorite in the series yet. The over explaining and rehashing their experiences is getting old. Same with the defining vocab terms. I am sooo close to finishing the series so I can binge the Netflix show. 2 more books to go!

>179 jayde1599: I *still* haven't read On the Come Up yet - I'm so far behind!

Book 40 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

I read this classic with my 9 y.o. son and he has become a Dahl fan! I always enjoyed Dahl's books as a child. This was my original book from the Scholastic book fair when I was probably his age. We have also read The BFG together and he read The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me at school.
I have been eyeing the Dahl box set on Amazon as a birthday gift for him as the books in our library branch are really beat up.

Book 41 On the Come Up - Angie Thomas
I have quickly become a Thomas fan! This book takes place in the Garden, about a year after The Hate U Give. It's focus in on Bri Jackson a 16 year old with big dreams to be a rapper but frustrated by the prejudice of her life. Definitely a good read.

>182 jayde1599: Oh yay for Dahl!! Charlie and I have read them all together and he's a huge fan. Go for the boxed set!!

>182 jayde1599: My 12 year old has been given Boy (the first part of Dahl's biography) to read for his class's English book. I'll let you know if he likes it.

I can't believe how long I have neglected my thread! Sorry for being MIA.
I have just been exhausted lately between work and home - a lot to do.

>184 scaifea: It is in the Amazon cart, Amber. We have enjoyed the Dahl's we have read together.

>185 humouress: Thanks Nina - I am not sure if O will like that one yet. Although he does surprise me with what he chooses to read. I read Boy last year and liked it! What did your son think?

42. The Queen of Attolia- Megan Whalen Turner - library
I must say that MWT is the "queen" of plot twists and surprises. This one dragged a little bit for me in the beginning - but I really liked the ending! I have the next book out from the library.

May
43. Patron Saints of Nothing ~ Randy Ribay ~ library book club
- I was excited when the children's librarians at my local branch invited me to their YA book club! This was May's read. A Filipino High Schooler, Jay travels back to the Phillipines to find out more about his cousin Jun's sudden death. The cousins were pen pals growing up, who drifted as they got older. Jay does not believe that Jun died from drugs and tries to piece together his final days.

44. The Penultimate Peril ~ Lemony Snickett ~ TBR
Book 12 - Almost done!!

45. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline - Library
Loved this one! Born in the early 80's - I am just a sliver too young to really appreciate many of the throwbacks. But I understood enough of the games and movies to have a good time with this read. I am still thinking about it!

>187 jayde1599: #42: Yes!! So good. The next in the series is my favorite, I think.

#45 Again I say yes!! I am absolutely a child of the 80s (born in 1975) and I loved every second of this book. I recently read RP2 and can definitely recommend it, too.

>188 scaifea: My problem is now I have 3 books out I really want to get to and do not know which one to start with!
- The King of Attolia
- The Murmur of Bees - this is May’s adult book club pick
- The Invisible Life of Addie Larue

All of the holds came at once and at the crazy crunch of the “end of school” madness time.

book 46The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - VE Schwab

I went with this one as there is a hold list on it at the library. It is a slow read, but a decent one. The back and forth between Addie and Darkness is well done. I am just not sure that I am in the right head space for this type of read right now.

Book 47 The King of Attolia - Megan Whalen Turner

The action picked up in this third book. I enjoyed that it was told from the view point of someone other than Gen. I liked this much better than The Queen of Attolia.

Book 48 displacement - Kiku Hughes

My RL book club read George Takei's They Called Us Enemy and the librarian recommended Displacement to accompany it. I am glad she did!
A girl visits San Francisco with her mother to try to find the home her grandmother grew up in before she was displaced in the 1942 Japanese internment.
The home was bulldozed away but the girl time travels to experience the camp as her grandmother did.
This was a great graphic novel that covers a difficult time period.

Book 49 The End - Lemony Snickett

I have finally finished this series!! And can now cross it off the TBR list. This final book did not wrap things up - which I expected would be the case.
Now to finish watching the series - which I am enjoying better than the books.

It is the first day of summer vacation! And it is such a busy week!
But I am spending the day prepping for a procedure tomorrow to hopefully figure out why I am severely anemic.
Wednesday = procedure
Thursday = iron infusions
Friday = daughter's dance recital
Saturday = Grand Canyon and Utah National Parks road trip! Luckily I am 99% packed, knowing that this was going to be a crazy, busy week.

I have been MIA for some time - so hopefully this covers it!

Yay for summer vacation!

Good luck with your procedure - I hope it brings helpful and easy answers.

I too wish you good luck with the procedures, and a fun vacation!

Good luck for the procedure and the results.

>195 scaifea:, >196 mstrust:, >197 humouress:. Thank you for the good wishes!

So I have results -- I have Celiac disease. No more gluten for me. Luckily there are many options and this is a great excuse to begin to eat cleaner.

Vacation to the Grand Circle of National Parks was amazing. We began with the Grand Canyon, went up to Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands. We also hit up smaller national monuments such as Pipe Spring, Montezuma Castle, Sunset Crater Volcano, and Tuzigoot.

People were very respectful and happy to be outdoors. We wore our masks inside and on crowded trails, but it overall felt safe.

I did not get much reading done though. Listening to The Speed of Falling Objects and trying to read Sorry for Your Loss for YA Book Club.

My husband can't eat gluten either, but on the bright side, he says he's never felt better since he stopped! Good luck with the diet adjustment - you're right that there are now tons of options out there.

>198 jayde1599: That’s not an easy one but, as you say, there are lots of options. I’m glad you have answers now.

Hi Jess, Sorry to have neglected your thread for a long time. And now I read you have been having health problems. Glad to hear you now what's going on and if you keep to your diet it will be manageable.

>199 scaifea: I think I remember you saying that on your thread, Amber. How do you manage to cook both "regular" and GF dishes?

>200 humouress: Thanks, Nina. There are many GF options out there. Even after just finding out the diagnosis and then going on vacation - we did not have too much trouble. One food truck even put a cheeseburger on a lettuce wrap for me and made sure that there was not cross contamination.

>201 connie53: No problem about the thread neglect, Connie - I tend to disappear from my own thread depending on how busy real life gets to be.

Book review catch up:

50. Lonely Planet's Southwest USA's Best Trips - Lonely Planet
51. A Complete Guide to the Grand Circle National Parks - Eric Henze
* I feel a little silly counting these towards my book count this year, but I did read them cover to cover! I liked the Lonely Planet because it gave great road trip ideas and also included driving times. The southwest is a big place and we did have some long 5 hour drives!
The Henze book was great because that is pretty much the circle that we did, with a few modifications. He also included family anecdotes which lightened the mood and broke up the info dump about the National Parks.
* I am also some what of a travel book nerd and really enjoy flipping through them. There were a few others that I borrowed or bought for this trip but deemed unworthy of counting, either because I did not really read them or they just stunk/were outdated.

July
52. Healthier Without Wheat - Stephen Wangen
In addition to being a travel book nerd, I am also a health book nerd. With recent health changes, I checked out a few books from the library. This one was published in 2009, so a bit outdated but the information was still good.

54. The Speed of Falling Objects - Nancy Richardson Fisher - Audio
I am not sure if it was the narrator, or the book but this one was just a meh for me.
I listened to most of it on our flight out west. Dani was in an accident when she was younger and lost one of her eyes. Around the same time, her dad moved away and became a big adventure star. She longs for a relationship, so when he invites her to join a trek in the Amazon, she jumps at the chance despite her mother's hesitation. The plane crashes and the group needs to survive and find help. The narrator's voice was kind of jarring - but I am not sure that I liked the story either. It is deemed YA, but I would not really say that other than the protagonist is 17 and there is a bit of a "coming of age" feel about it. Not my cuppa, I guess.

55. Sorry for Your Loss - Jessie Ann Foley - book club
This one is YA and FANTASTIC! Also emotionally sad too, but not in a "put the book down" way.
Pup is the youngest of 8 kids with a 27 year age gap between him and the oldest. He does not really have much direction in where he wants to go after high school graduation. His family is still recovering from the grief of losing sibling, Patrick. Pup unexpectedly finds a way to wade through that grief through his fine arts project. Recommended

>202 jayde1599: Well, it's a juggling game, really, involving some fairly serious menu planning each week. If I want to make something that Tomm can't have, I first have to make a gf meal the day before that will result in leftovers that he can have the next day. It felt a little overwhelming at first, but I've gotten the hang of it now.

>204 scaifea: that is not a bad idea. I have to up my menu planning game. I usually have a weekly menu planned but it has been flexible depending on who is cooking and how we are feeling on that day.
So far everyone has embraced the GF changes with a few exceptions to snacks for the kids - I did buy them their requested cheez-it’s. Which is fine with me because I have never liked them! LOL

55. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell - Robert Dugoni

This is for my grown up book club. And it was impressive. I wasn’t sure if I would like it but it won me over.
Sam Hill is born with red eyes. His mother is devout to the Blessed Mother and his father is a hard working pharmacist. They teach him whatever happens is god’s will.
The book has conflict and I have read reviews that things wrap up too lively. But that is what I liked about it. I needed happy ending books lately. 4 stars

>205 jayde1599: Ha! I'm with you on the Cheez-its. They taste like burnt tomatoes to me. Ew.

Book review catch up:

56. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell - Robert Dugoni
Read for Grown Up book club. Sam Hill is born with red eyes. His mother insists on a catholic education and Sam overcomes adversity. Great book

57. Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
Library browsing impulse pick up. Kristin Hannah is hit or miss with me and this one did not grab me like her other books. The book spans the life of Kate and Tully from when they become friends in middle school to grown up. The girls rely on each other but are both flawed, which at times impacts their friendship. Not my cup of tea.

58. Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow - Jessica Townsend
Off the TBR shelf: Book 2 of the Nevermoor series finds Morrigan trying to figure out who she is. Good Middle Grade book

59. Genesis Begins Again - Alicia D. Williams
For YA book club - Genesis finds her family put out of their house. Her dad is an alcoholic trying to pay rent, her mother works a lot and tries to justify her marriage to her own mother. As with many middle schoolers, Genesis does not like her body, especially her dark skin. She wants to be lighter like her mother and thinks that will solve her problems. Genesis finally finds a group of friends at her new school and begins to see herself for who she is. Good book for middle age - however, it can also be tough to experience Genesis through her POV. Maybe my age is a factor?

60. The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country - Amanda Gorman
Loved the inauguration poem - impulse pick up from the library.

>207 scaifea: Interesting flavor - burnt tomatoes. Ew is correct. I do not taste tomatoes but they have always reminded me of burnt cheese which is also very Eww. I do not see the appeal.

Real life has been busy again. I have been shuttling kids back and forth to their various camps this week. "Real camp" for the oldest and dance camp for the youngest.
It was the oldest's birthday on Monday and he turned 10! How is that even possible?!
We celebrated with my parents and nephew/niece on the beach.

I am enjoying summer vacation - working in the garden, reading, and honestly - not doing much! I have been going through and organizing (ie: getting rid of) kid clothes/toys. I have a bunch of bags to take to the resale shop hopefully this week. Both kids got fresh paint on their bedrooms walls and new decor. Oldest picked a camping theme and youngest picked a mermaid theme.

I picked up a bunch of books from the library yesteday - on deck:
Ready Player Two Ernest Cline
All Systems Red - Martha Wells
Confessions of a Curious Bookseller - Elizabeth Green
I Would Leave if I Could - Halsey
Sunflower Sisters - Martha Hall Kelly
The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett

>209 jayde1599: I know! My eldest is 17 and in his last year of school and it's like ... but wait, we haven't done ... and what about ... but ...but how?

>210 humouress:: Time really flies way too fast! His last year of school?!
That is similar to me in that the class of kindergarten students in my first year teaching public school will now be seniors in high school this year. How have I been in the same position for that long? And teaching five years before that in a private school?! I feel very old - especially when I said I only wanted to teach 5-10 years max🤦‍♀️

>211 jayde1599: Jess, I can relate to feeling old (er) when looking back at students from a long time ago. Some would be in the hall outside my office, and would peak inside, asking "Do you remember me?" God, how I hated that question because with 36 years of students, it was near impossible. I could remember the very bad, and the very good. Those in the middle, sadly slipped by memory.

>212 Whisper1: Linda -- it is so true - I remember the really bad or the really good students!! So much for the mediocre. Being a special education teacher - my caseload is between 5-8 students and I have most of them for 3 years so I don't get to really know many students. I get to know the extremes (behavior whether positive or negative) when my students are in their general education rooms. I was also on the RTI (response to intervention) team so I became really familiar with those students whose behaviors impacted others.

Monthly Catch up time!!
July books finished:
61. Ready Player Two Ernest Cline - library
This book is just as memorable as the first, especially with the pop culture references. However, Parzival really got on my nerves in this one.

62. All Systems Red - Martha Wells
Jumping on the Murderbot train - this was a great first book. The next few my library only has on CloudLibrary as audio books - I have a more difficult time with audio than with print so I am hoping that I enjoy them as much as ASR.

63. Confessions of a Curious Bookseller - Elizabeth Green
This was an impulse browsing pick from the library that sounded much better than it was, although I did not hate it as much as many reviewers! It is epistolary - the protagonist often writes emails, letters, and blogs. She is an out-of-touch, full of herself used bookseller who is feeling the competition of a new bookstore in her neighborhood. Many of the negative reviews came from her being unlikeable - but I think that is the author's point. She does redeem herself in her own ways, and I was able to overlook much of what others did not like.

64. I Would Leave if I Could - Halsey
I have liked Haley's music so -another impulse library read - a book of her poetry. It is raw and a more ardent poetry reader might have qualms with it, but I liked it.

65. The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett
And another impulse library pick up - this one has made the rounds on my friends' Goodread Lists so when it was on the New shelf at the library, I snagged it.
The book spans the life of light colored twins who go separate ways but unexpectedly become intertwined years later. It was a good read as well - but I found Stella to be unlikeable. But then again, I could also understand why she did what she did - in a way.

Trying to get through Sunflower Sisters now for real life book club. It kept me awake until 12:30 last night with some cliff hanger chapters. And I had to skim ahead to. make sure things turned out okay.... but now I am having difficulty picking it up to read the middle of the book!

Real life catch up:

I have been enjoying summer break and taking time for myself - which is unusual for me!

But August 1st signals "Back to School Brain."
I am itching to go in and begin to prep for the upcoming year. However the next 2 weeks are busy with camping and my son's birthday party that I am not sure how much I will get to do until the end of August.

>212 Whisper1: >213 jayde1599: Fair enough; I don't remember all my teachers and I had fewer of them than you've had students.

>214 jayde1599: That reminds me, I should pick up Ready Player One again. I got halfway through reading it before we saw the film but I think enough time has passed that I've forgotten the details. I do remember that my ideas and take on some things were different from the outcome in the film.

Ooh, Murderbot. I read the first one and I keep seeing everyone on LT reading the new instalments as they come out but I'm waiting until it comes out in an affordable format (MMPB) to buy it for my physical bookshelves.

>216 humouress: Hi Nina!
Ready Player One changed enough in the movie to really bother me. But I watched it shortly after I finished the book so I was able to really see the differences. And I understand that it is probably difficult to squeeze in everything from the book, but changed character actions - which I really dislike!

We just got back from camping up in Lilly Bay on Moosehead Lake in Maine. It is such a beautiful area! The weather was great and the kids had fun. Back home, Oldest had a birthday party with a few close friends today. We rented a video game truck (all wore masks inside) and they had a nerf battle outside. It was good to be able to have fun - although his real birthday was a month ago! Youngest turns 6 next month and we are probably looking to do something small. She is asking to go to a zoo or a water park. We will have to see what the covid numbers look like.

Finished some books while camping:
66. Sunflower Sisters - Martha Hall Kelly (library and RL book club)
Well, this one was finished before camping. It was ok but not sure I was really in the mood for a Civil War book right now. Although the last in the trilogy, it could be read as a stand alone. I really enjoyed Jemma's story - growing up as a slave on a Maryland tobacco plantation. Georgy Woolsey's story was ok - she is the tie-in character for Lilac Girls. I really despised Anne-May's character, and I guess that is the point with her being the mistress of the plantation. The book was long - well over 500 pages and probably could have been trimmed down a bit while still maintaining the story.

67. A Conspiracy of Kings - Megan Whalen Turner (library)
Book 4 in the Queen's Thief saga. This has probably been my favorite in the series so far. I enjoyed reading Sophos story line. And Gen is fantastic in this book as well.

68. Strange Candy - Laurell K. Hamilton (TBR pile)
I have had this one on the shelves for years and brought it camping. This book really showcases the broad spectrum of Hamilton's writing. I am mostly familiar with her Anita Blake series - which grows tiring after reading multiple in a row. However, here she includes short stories that include characters in some of her more kingdom-based fantasy, a story on Cupids, and a soft sci-fi tale that showed the creepiness of empaths. Glad I finally got to this one.

Hi, Jess!

I think A Conspiracy of Kings is still my favorite in the series, too, although I love them all.

>219 scaifea: That's good to know, Amber. I have read mixed reviews for books 5 & 6.

Book 69 Trickster's Choice - Tamora Pierce

This book is part of the Tortall universe and focuses on Alanna's daughter - Ali. Ali is more like her father, George and longs to be a spy. She is kidnapped by pirates and sent to the Copper Isles. Ali is just as cunning as her mother and father.
Definitely enjoyed this book!

Trying to soak up the last few days of summer. I have a PD day tomorrow and then assessment days next week. School begins 9/1 for students.
I am down 3 support staff so hopefully we can make things work.

Last weekend was camping in Rangely, ME. Beach last night and maybe today after I work on some student schedules

One last camping trip Labor Day weekend and then into the full swing of things.

I expect you'll see the first signs of Autumn in a few weeks!

>223 mstrust: we saw a few leaves changing up in the mountains. I love autumn here in New England!
I did have to stop myself from a pumpkin latte because it is August and 90°!

Good to hear you had such a nice trip >218 jayde1599:

>225 connie53: Thanks, Connie. It was nice to get away before the whirlwind of September!

Back to the grind! School has begun nicely despite being short staff - it just means I get more steps in a day and lose a little family time in the evenings for now. It will hopefully settle down once I get schedules and programming completed.
The kids’ fall sports started up too - flag football for O and soccer & dance for A.
Despite the crazies, life is good.

Yikes! I have some catching up to do. September is a hard month to keep up with my thread and reading!

70. Good Enough- Jen Petro-Roy
This is a middle grade book that deals with anorexia and eating disorders. Read for our YA book club. While I had some difficulty being stuck in Riley’s head - I think the book was well written for the targeted age group - and about a subject that some may relate. Interesting fact: I went to HS with the author. Although I did it really know her as she was in a grade below. It is difficult to think back and realize that she was going through a similar experience as her lead character.

September Reads - keeping it easy.
71. Hollowpox~ Jessica Towsend
Eh. This one did not hold my attention as much as the other two books. I really want there to be more action! This series has great potential.

72. Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread
My husband has been into comics and he picked this up for me

73. Thick as Thieves- Megan Whalen Turner
Book 5 - things are getting interesting and as always Gen proves he is cunning!

74. Lumberjanes: Horticultural Horizons
75. Lumberjanes: A Summer to Remember

These are great feel good graphic novels. Just what is needed for back to school reading

Congrats on hitting the goal!

>227 jayde1599: Congratulations on reaching 75, Jess!

>228 drneutron: Thank you, Jim

>229 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita

It kind of feels like cheating with it being a graphic novel at #75 but September is a difficult reading month for me with the craziness of going back to school full time!

Congratulations on 75!

I haven't been by in a while, but that's good timing ;0) I might look for Good Enough

Hi Nina!
No worries about stopping by - while I lurk to keep up reading others’ threads, I often neglect my own.
I think Good Enough has an important message for that middle grade age group. JPR has some other YA books I mean to check out.

Book 76 You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson

This was read for real life YA book club. It was a great feel-good, diverse read.

I have been working through the Murderbot series

77. Artificial Condition - Martha Wells
78. Rogue Protocol - Martha Wells

There is something to love about this rogue Sec Unit!

Very belated congratulations on passing 75, Jess. With losing my mum recently I have not been as good at getting around the threads.

>234 jayde1599: Ooh, nice.

Yup, Good Enough was a book bullet. I've read and reviewed it; thanks for the recommendation.

>235 PaulCranswick: Thanks for stopping by, Paul. That is a very understandable reason to not be getting around the threads. My excuse is that I mostly lurk in my phone and rarely post because it can be tedious to do so on the phone.

>236 humouress: Glad you liked it. I will have to check out your review. I have been slacking lately on posting!

October round up:
79. Exit Strategy- Martha Wells
Another great murderbot installment. Though this one was slow going for me.

80. The Stonekeeper - Kazu Kibuishi
First book in the Amulet graphic novel series - reading with my son

81. Furia - Yamile Saied Méndez
Real life YA bookclub - set in Argentina and follows a teenage soccer (futbolera) as she navigates female rights in the country.

82. Subpar Parks - Amber Share
Inspired by 1 star reviews of National parks the author combines her artwork with the review and park details. Meh. The artwork was fantastic but it was more of a travel guide than an exploration of the one star reviews.

Not trying to catch up, Jess, just hoping to keep better track of you from here on out. Happy Sunday!!

83. Return of the Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

Nice conclusion to the Thief series. Although I found the beginning slow, it really picked up with the battle. Gen is amazing as always.

Ok I am off by one book between my lists on Good Reads and LT. Off to figure it out.

>240 alcottacre: Hi Stasia - thanks for stopping by! I have lurked over on your thread, but don't post much because I am usually on my phone and that can be cumbersome.

84. Trickster's Queen - Tamora Pierce

I figured out the missing book! Maybe I forgot it because it was a bit of a slog. Aly is not as likable - probably because she has everything all figured out. And the constant mention of her "pack" was irritating. The twist was good but predictable. This book was not as good as the first, IMO.

I can’t figure out how to add a photo from my phone. But we had a great weekend celebrating my birthday with a hike along the coast and then dinner out at Bandaloop. The restaurant had some great gluten free options!

85. Network Effect - Martha Wells

I don’t know I it my ADHD kicking in lately or what but I found the full length novel more less enjoyable than the novellas. Maybe it was the increased technical jargon, or less Murderbot time but up until the last few pages my mind was wandering.
I still really enjoy this series though!

86. Fugitive Telemetry - Martha Wells

I think I am a fan of the novellas more than the novel. Murderbot is back and solving a mystery on the Preservation station.

A Thanksgiving to Friends (Lighting the Way)

In difficult times
a friend is there to light the way
to lighten the load,
to show the path,
to smooth the road

At the darkest hour
a friend, with a word of truth
points to light
and the encroaching dawn
is in the plainest sight.

Jess, to a friend in books and more this Thanksgiving

>248 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul!

Thanksgiving was nice. We travelled to family in MA and CT. It makes for a long weekend, but it was nice to see everyone this year.

November Recap:

87. Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens - Marieke Nijkamp
A book of short stories that were hit or miss.

88. Ghosts - Raina Telgemeir
A cute children's graphic novel about two sisters who move up the coast of CA to improve the health of the younger sister.

89. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Little Women - Ray Terciero
An interesting retell of the classic.

90. Ginny Moon - Benjamin Ludwig
Thank you to Linda for this book bullet! I stayed up well past midnight to finish it. The book follows Ginny, a 14 year old autistic girl who has been adopted. Her Forever mom's upcoming birth has triggered behaviors in Ginny that are out of character. She insists she needs to go save her Baby Doll from her birth mother's apartment. This book has all the feels - sad, heartwarming, funny. Definitely one of my favorite reads this year.

So glad to see you enjoyed the wrap-up to the Thief series! It's one of my all-time favorites, and a regular reread.

Have a lovely holiday, Jess.

>252 ronincats:: Thank You, Roni! -- I hope you do as well.

>253 PaulCranswick:: Thank You, Paul - I love the image, it is how I spent most of my snowy Christmas yesterday!

Reading Round Up/ Catch Up:

91. Paper Girls, Vol 1 - Brian K. Vaughn
- I picked this up at Bull Moose (a cool Maine music/book/video game store) after reading the positive reviews in this group. This was definitely a fun read for me and I asked for the following volumes for Christmas.

92. Firekeeper's Daughter- Angeline Boulley
This was our November's YA book club read and it did not disappoint. I can see why this one is up there on the GoodReads lists.

93. The Book of Gutsy Women - Hillary Rodham Clinton
My mom gave this to me as a birthday present - LAST YEAR (2020). I began it in January of this year and read a little bit throughout the year. While I love the premise and Hillary & Chelsea picked some interesting women - it read like a text book, which was not really my jam this year.

94. The Guncle - Steven Rowley
This one caught my eye at the library and it was a heartwarming read for right before the Holidays.

I am trying to finish Among the Hidden before the year ends. I don't think I will make it to 100 books this year, but 95 is suitable.
I asked for (and received) some graphic novels for Christmas:
~ Paper Girls The Complete Story - Yay!
~ Lumberjanes Vol 20 - Husband surprised me with this one!
~ Stray Dogs - Husband has been into comic book trading more than usual this year and he thought I would like this one. I will give it a shot.

For my birthday in November, I also received Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone and I hope to start that for the New Year! And also make a dent on my TBR shelves.....

Real Life Round Up:

The end of the year has been busy but nice. One of my students tested positive, so I am a close contact. No symptoms other than congestion, but to play it safe we kept it to just the 4 of us.

Christmas was low key and snowy here in Maine. I enjoyed coffee by the twinkling tree before anyone else got up. When the kids woke up, they took charge of handing out gifts. It is usually my job, but I threw out my back vacuuming Christmas Eve and could not really move.
Then it was relax and play time. I read a little bit, we watched Elf, and I worked on the Lego Set (Nintendo) that I got for Christmas. Husband made a Roast Beast, bacon Green Beans, and mashed potatoes for dinner. The nightcap was a Peanut butter Whiskey that Husband received in his stocking. I am not usually a whiskey drinker, but it was tasty! Then we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas by the twinkling lights. I had to catch up on Christmas movies because I have been too tired to watch movies

Today is supposed to be ice skating at LL Bean and drive through the Light display at the Botanical Gardens. I am not sure I will skate because my back is still a little off but child #2 is really looking forward to it. Other than that - not many plans this break. I am hoping for some PJ and chill days.

Happy Holdiays!

95. Among the Hidden - Margaret Petersen Haddix

This had been on a list for some time and picked it up at a bargain bookstore. I enjoyed it and look forward to finding the rest of the series.

96. The Lumberjanes: End Of Summer
I really liked this finale.

Lots of YA and GN this year. We shall see what next year brings!

>246 jayde1599: I am working my way through the Murderbot series. It will be interesting to see what I think of the full length novels as opposed to the novellas, which I love.

Happy New Year, Jess!

You've been reading a lot of GNs this year. I tried some and I should really continue with some of the series. Have you read The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl? It's a lot of fun. I hope you're feeling better and can enjoy the rest of the holidays.

I would like to wish you and your family the very best of the season and good health and happiness for 2022.

97. A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow ~ Laura Taylor Namey

Finishing off the year with a book club book. This one is ok. I found Lila the main character unlikeable. The love story is sweet but it just was not my cuppa.

Last book of the year! See you in 2022!

Forget your stresses and strains
As the old year wanes;
All that now remains
Is to bring you good cheer
With wine, liquor or beer
And wish you a special new year.

Happy New Year, Jess.