VioletBramble's 2019 Category Challenge

Hi! I'm Kelly. This will be my ninth year participating in the Category Challenge. Over the last year or so I've reduced my reading time in an attempt to get more sleep. I've also been trying to reduce my time on the computer and phone. I've managed to significantly reduce my stress and I'm getting a decent amount of sleep more often. As a born night owl who works days I feel some amount of night time insomnia will always be a problem for me.
In 2018 I read about half as many books as I normally manage. I expect the same for 2019. I had originally planned an Anglophilia themed 19 category challenge for this year. Looking at it now I feel it is way too ambitious for the amount of time I'll have this year. So for 2019 I'm going for mainly generic basic categories.

2019 goals:
Read 65 books
Read one book of poetry a month
Read a non-fiction work at least every other month
Participate in CATS as able.
Read primarily from my TBR pile (459 books!)

1) Eleanor Oliphant is completely Fine- Gail Honeyman
2) The Only Woman in the Room - Marie Benedict
3) The Nightingale- Kristin Hannah
4) Sing, Unburied, Sing - Jesmyn Ward
5) Snow & Rose - Emily Winfield Martin
6) Starworld -Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner
7) The Word for World is Forest- Ursula K Le Guin
8) Another Brooklyn- Jacqueline Woodson
9) There There - Tommy Orange
10) The Heart's Invisible Furies- John Boyne
11) Daisy Jones & the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid
12) The Goldfinch- Donna Tart
13) Mouthful of Birds- Samanta Schweblin
14) Starfish- Akemi Dawn Bowman
15) Spinning Silver- Naomi Novik
16) I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land- Connie Willis
17) Garden Spells- Sarah Addison Allen
18) Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore- Robin Sloan
19) This is How You Lose the Time War- Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
20) When the Moon Was Ours- Anna-Marie McLemore
21) The Mystwick School of Musicraft -Jessica Khoury
22) Scream All Night- Derek Milman
23) Meddling Kids- Edgar Cantero
24) The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster
25) Little, Big - John Crowley

1)The White Darkness: A Solitary Journey Across Antarctica - David Grann
2) When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi
3) Born to Dance: Celebrating the Wonder of Childhood- Jordan Matter
4) On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century - Timothy Synder
5) The End of Ice- Dahr Jamail

I'm separating my Series books from Fiction. I'll be participating in the Series CAT. I will be reading books from 11 series I've already started and 6 series that are new to me.

1) Warcross- Marie Lu
2) The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Liu
3) The Golden Tresses of the Dead- Alan Bradley
4) Before the Devil Breaks You - Libba Bray
5) Midnight Riot ( Rivers of London Book 1)- Ben Aaronovitch
6) Binti:Home- Nnedi Okorafor
7) A Dance With Dragons- George RR Martin
8) Binti: Night Masquerade- Nnedi Okorafor
9) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - JK Rowling
10) Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows - JM Bergen
11) Kingdom of Copper - S.A. Chakraborty
12) The Nature of the Beast - Louise Penny
13) Strange the Dreamer - Laini Taylor

1) Shame is an Ocean I Swim Across- Mary Lambert
2) The Back Chamber- Donald Hall
3) When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities- Chen Chen
4) Reel Verse: Poems About the Movies
5) Dancing With Joy: 99 Poems
6) A Hundred Million Years of Nectar Dances - Richard Jarrett
7) Hold - Bob Hicok
8) Mapmaking - Megan Harlan
9) Depression & Other Magic Tricks - Sabrina Benim
10) My Wicked, Wicked Ways- Sandra Cisneros
11) The Octopus Museum- Brenda Shaughnessy
12) Bright Dead Things - Ada Limon

This category is for fiction and non-fiction works that are lighter, easier, or quicker reads; graphic novels, pop culture books, photography books, etc.

1) Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down - Gina McIntyre
2) Dr Thirteenth
3) The Silence of Our Friends - Mark Long
4) Spell on Wheels - Kate Leth
5) The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina- Roberto Aguirre - Sacasa
6) The Umbrella Academy - Gerard Way
7) Little Gods
8) The Magicians: Alice's Story- Lev Grossman, Lilah Sturges
9) The Umbrella Academy: Dallas- Gerard Way
10) PumpkinHeads - Rainbow Rowell
11) Strange Planet- Nathan Pyle
12) Book Love - Debbie Tung
13) Holiday Greetings from Sugar and Booze - Ana Gasteyer and Maya Rudolph
14) Viva Durant and the Secret of the Silver Buttons - Ashil St.Armant

CATS- I plan to participate in the CalendarCAT, RandomCAT, SeriesCAT, TBRCAT, and the SFFFKit.

January:
CalendarCAT- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
SFFFKit - Warcross
SeriesCAT- The Three-Body Problem
RandomCAT - Little, Big - in progress

February:
SeriesCAT - The Golden Tresses of the Dead
RandomCAT- Sing, Unburied, Sing
TBRCAT - The Nightingale
CalendarCAT- Snow & Rose
SFFKit- The Word for World is Forest

March:
SeriesCAT: Before the Devil Breaks You
RandomCAT: ---
TBRCAT: Bridge of Clay (delayed)
CalendarCAT: When Breath Becomes Air
SFFFKit: Midnight Riot (Rivers of London Book 1)

April:
SeriesCAT:A Dance With Dragons, The Crimes of Grindelwald, Binti: Home
RandomCAT:There, There
TBRCAT: Spinning Silver (in Progress)

May:
TBRCAT: The Heart's Invisible Furies
RandomCAT: Dancing With Joy: 99 Poems
SeriesCAT: The Kingdom of Copper (in progress)

June:
TBRCAT: Sourdough
RandomCAT: Daisy Jones and the Six

1) The Word for World is Forest - Ursula K Le Guin
2) Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
3) Warcross
4) Shame is an Ocean I Swim Across
5) Little, Big
6) When Breath Becomes Air
7) A Dance With Dragons
8) Starworld
9) The Only Woman in the Room
10) The Golden Tresses of the Dead
11) My Wicked Wicked Ways
12) Before the Devil Breaks You
13) Midnight Riot (Rivers of London Book 1)
14) Sing, Unburied, Sing
15) The White Darkness
16) Mouthful of Birds- Samanta Schweblin
17) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
18) Snow & Rose
19) The Silence of Our Friends
20) When I Grow Up I Want To Be a List of Further Possibilities
21) Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down
22) The Three-Body Problem
23) Pumpkinheads
24) Nightingale
25) Reel Verse: Poems About the Movies

January possibilities:

SeriesCAT- Series in translation - The Three Body Problem
SFFFKit - book you should have read in 2018- Warcross
CalendarCAT- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Burns Night- set in Scotland)
RandomCAT- Little, Big (reread)
Poetry- Shame is an Ocean I Swim Across
NonFiction- The White Darkness: A Solitary Journey Across Antarctica
Fun- Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down

if time- Before the Devil Breaks You

I love how you mention reducing reading time in an attempt to get more sleep. It's so logical, though I know I couldn't force myself to do it!

Good luck with your reading in 2019!

Welcome back and have a great reading year! I'm glad to hear that you've been getting more decent sleep and are less stressed. Long may it continue :)

1) Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down: The Official Behind-the-Scenes Companion - Gina McIntyre
Pop culture, Horror, television
Pages: 224
Rating: :

Last winter, when I was experiencing reader's block, I spent much of my free time obsessively watching seasons 1 and 2 of Stranger Things. This companion book gives a closer look at the characters, the Upside Down, costumes, set design, music score, and all the primary and background props that make this world come to life. Those who viewed the Beyond Stranger Things series will find just a small amount of new content in this book. The book design is great - made to look like a used book in library binding, it contains many full page color photos, a map of Hawkins, and scattered clues (to season3?) in Morse code to decipher.
A fun read for fans of Stranger Things.

2) Shame is an Ocean I Swim Across- Mary Lambert
Poetry
Pages: 170
Ratings:

I had never heard of Mary Lambert before I picked up this book. Lambert is a singer, songwriter and poet known for a song she wrote with Macklemore (who I also know nothing about). This is a collection of poetry about body acceptance, sexual abuse and depression. Most of the poems were fine. To be honest I'm feeling a bit burned out on this type of poetry which seems to be the current female poet trend saturating the market right now. Lambert's poetry is superior to some of the collections I've read.

Language Barrier

I read that in Japanese there is a word
for the light that passes through the trees
I wish I had a word for the way you look at me
I could say your eyes are the sound
of wooden chimes in winter
or the dust of the thicket awakening from sunbeams
when the snow clears
I want to say something, some accurate alchemy,
Some kind of splendor
to mirror in syntax
the kind of ceremony in your eye patterns
when you study my face in bed,
like I am being understood from the ground up

What kind of magic are you

>10 whitewavedarling: Oh, my lack of sleep was increasing my stress and changing my behavior in noticeable ways. That was not cool with my boss. It was a change I had to make. It has definitely made a big difference.

>11 Tess_W: Thank you Tess. Good luck with your reading this year.

>12 rabbitprincess: Thank you. I'm hoping I continue to get better sleep as it has really made a positive difference in my work and personal life.

Welcome back!

>7 VioletBramble:
An adorable kitty!

A good nights sleep makes the next day go so much better, doesn't it?

Welcome back and happy reading!

Welcome back! Love that picture in the opener. I'm such a huge fan of sleep - mainly because I'm naturally geared to need at least 8 hours every night. Anything less and my brain tends to be a fuzzy the next day. Good luck with both your reading and sleeping!

Great to see you here for another Category Challenge year. I loved "Stranger Things" and I am hoping that there will be a season 3. Although they better hurry as those kids are probably growing up fast!

>16 lkernagh: Hi Lori! Thanks

>17 hailelib: It sure does. I'm trying to make it happen more often.

>18 MissWatson: Thank you and Happy Reading to you too.

>19 LittleTaiko: Hi Stacey. Wow! The only time I can mange to get 8 hours of sleep is on vacations.

>20 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy! The third season of Stranger Things will be out on July 4th. Those kids are growing fast. Reportedly Finn Wolfhard (Mike) is now taller than everyone in the cast except David Harbor.

>21 VioletBramble: Now I know what I will be binge-watching in early July!

3) Dr. Thirteenth- Adam Hargreaves
Doctor Who, Children's literature
Pages: 32
Rating:

A cute children's book about the thirteenth Doctor and her companions throwing a birthday party for Yaz.

4) The White Darkness: A Solitary Journey Across Antarctica- David Grann
NonFiction, Arctic/Antarctic exploration
Pages: 146
Rating:

Henry Worsley grew up obsessed with Ernest Shackleton. One of Shackleton's crew men, Frank Worsley, was a relative. In 2008, in a team with two other men who were also descendents of former Shackleton crewmen, he successfully walked across the Antarctic. In 2015 he attempted a solo journey across the Antarctic.
Grann uses Worsley's journals and radio broadcasts, plus interviews with his family and crew mates to recreate both journeys.
Recommended.

>24 VioletBramble: - I just read that one too and found the story fascinating! The author came through in December for an Arts & Letters Live event and was quite entertaining to listen to as well.

Good luck with your plan to get more sleep and with your categories. As an insomniac I often read for most of the night but now that I'm retired it doesn't matter as much.

>26 VivienneR: I read very late too. I'm not an insomniac but I live with a snorer which equates to the same thing!

Congratulations on being able to get more sleep and reduce your stress! I'm also a natural night owl who has to work in the daytime. It can be difficult.

>24 VioletBramble: I've seen this so many times and passed over it without even noticing what it was about! This might be my bingo book bullet. :)

Great job getting more sleep - I've somehow managed to go from an average of 5-6 hours a night to 6-7 and it was hard, so congrats! My current target is 7 - part of the problem for me is a lot of international travel which wrecks havoc with trying to maintain a consistent sleep pattern.

I look forward to following along with your reading this year.

I am a big supporter of getting more sleep so YAY!

Sorry for the delayed responses- my home modem died and I didn't have internet for a bit.

>25 LittleTaiko: Hi Stacey. Did he speak about this book and Killers of the Flower Moon? I think I'l be reading that one later this year.

>26 VivienneR: Hi Vivienne. I can't wait to retire. I'll sleep from 6am to 2 pm as often as I can. Those are my best sleeping hours.

>28 madhatter22: Hi Shauna.I'm sure it would help if I could stay on a sleep schedule. I worked a 13 hour shift yesterday (Monday) after getting only 3 hours sleep. I got home at 9pm and then suddenly it was 2:30 am and I hadn't even noticed it was so late. Luckily I was off today and have forced myself to be awake and active all day in hopes of sleeping tonight.

>29 LisaMorr: Hi Lisa. Jet lag drags me down for an entire day if I'm going East. I can imagine having to travel frequently and the toll that takes on your sleep. Ugh!

>30 lkernagh: Hi Lori!

5)Warcross- Marie Lu
SciFi, Fiction, Series, Gaming
Pages: 353
Rating:

I can't remember why I bought this book about a video game - I'm not into gaming and actually I've never really played a video game. Maybe it was a book bullet here or at Litsy? Maybe because I really like the cover design? Whatever it was that made me buy this book I'm happy for that influence. I enjoyed this book; the action moves quickly, the characters, for the most part, act like normal people and the gaming sequences move quickly and aren't slowed down with tons of technical jargon.
Emika Chen, a teenage orphan and computer hacker makes a living as a bounty hunter. Or, at least she tries to make a living at bounty hunting. She's on the verge of being evicted from her apartment. The story is set in a future where most people spend their time in VR games or betting on VR games. Emika logs into the opening ceremony of the Warcross Championship games. She attempts a hack that will get her closer to the action. The hack glitches and she shows up in the stadium, visible to everyone. She is summoned to Tokyo to speak with Hideo Tanaka, billionaire and Warcross creator. He asks her to become a wild card player in the game to discover the identity of someone, probably an insider or player, that has been hacking into the game. She accepts his offer. Despite her history of experience dealing with those who deal on the Dark Web, Emika finds herself in more danger than she bargained for.

>31 VioletBramble: - He primarily spoke about The White Darkness and never mentioned Killers of the Flower Moon (which I loved!). He did briefly mention his other book The Lost City of Z and talking about the extremes of each book. One is dealing with the crazy cold weather and the other is about the Amazon. He actually went to the Amazon and talked about poisoned snakes, horrible bugs, people trying to kill you, etc...After hearing that I decided that given the choice, I'd choose Antarctica though neither is really appealing. :)

6) Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine- Gail Honeyman
Fiction, Scotland, RandomCAT, Child abuse, Mental health
Pages: 327
Rating:

Eleanor Oliphant is a 30 year old woman who works in an office. She is awkward, quirky, prickly and unsocial. Eleanor has a past filled with trauma - she was raised by a mentally ill mother, survived a fire and her only boyfriend was abusive. After attending a concert and seeing a man who she believes would be her perfect partner she decides to change her self and her life to be more attractive to him. She is pulled away from her self improvement plan when she and a new co-worker, Raymond, help an elderly man, Sammy, who had fallen in the street. Eleanor finds her life becoming more entwined with the lives of Raymond and Sammy. But Eleanor hasn't dealt with the traumas of her past and she'll need to do that to really change her life.
I enjoyed this book. The story was both funny and very sad. And to be totally honest, many parts were very familiar to me as a single person and a loner. Recommended.

7) The Three-Body Problem- Cixin Liu
SciFi, First contact, China, Aliens, SFFFKit
Pages: 415
Rating:

I bought this book after seeing it on a list of books recommended by President Obama. This is the first in a Chinese SciFi series; Remembrance of Earth's Past.
The book opens during the Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and moves forward in time to an approximate present time. Almost all of the main characters are scientists. In the 1960s the Chinese managed to contact an alien civilization through a SETI like program. The planet, Trisolaris, has three suns and extremes in climate.The Trisolarins have seen many of their past civilizations destroyed and have managed to make little progress into advanced civilization due to their extreme weather and their inability to predict how long they will be in either Orderly or Chaotic eras.They have managed to adapt to their environment in one way- unessential beings have learned to dehydrate their bodies during Chaotic eras. These bodies are rolled up and stored until an Orderly era arrives and they can be rehydrated. But the Trisolarins are tired of the unpredictability of their lives. Earth's solo solar system seems like a great place for them. They are on their way here - it will take them 400 years. The scientists on Earth who are aware of their approach are split into three groups -- The Adventists - who want mankind destroyed, The Redemptionists - who hope they will help bring peace to Earth and solve our problems, and the Survivors - willing to subjugate themselves and help kill others in return for a future for their offspring.
There is a lot of science in this book. Mainly quantum physics. Aspects of religion and post- Cultural revolution Chinese society play a big part in the story as well.
I'm giving this book only three stars because much of it was boring. The characters are one dimensional. The entire book was set up like this: boring passages, a character shares something amazing/frightening that happened to them with other scientists, more boring passages, another character shares something amazing/frightening that happened to them, etc. No one shares their information until they absolutely have to. It takes forever for the big picture to emerge. The most interesting parts were the video game/VR of The Three Body problem - an interactive "game" where the scientists (and the reader) learn about Trisolaris and it's three-body problem.

*****SPOILERS****
The part that bothers me the most - which might be explained in the 2nd or 3rd books - is that the Trisolarins want to leave their planet for Earth because their civilization hasn't been able to advance technologically/scientifically due to their environment. But they possess an advanced pico technology that allows them to place a giant mirror in space which they use to shut down all the particle accelerators on Earth. This ensures that scientific knowledge on Earth will never advance to a level that will allow humans to defend theirselves once the Trisolarins arrive.
***** END SPOILERS****

January Re-cap

Books read in 2019: 7
Books off the shelf 2019: 6
Fiction: 3
NonFiction: 2
Poetry: 1
Graphic novel, etc: 1
Female author: 4
Male author: 3
Pages read in 2019: 1667
Books bought in 2019: 13

I chose the bubble bath picture for January because according to the January Calendar CAT Jan.8th was Bubble Bath day. I decided to have a bubble bath that day -- my first bubble bath in my current apartment and my first since 1996. As I suspected my bathtub is not a good tub for baths. Also, I don't think I'm really a bath person. I might try again if I find myself in a nice hotel with a great tub.

Planned Reads for February:

RandomCAT- travel/trip --Sing, Unburied, Sing
TBR CAT - borrowed book- The Nightingale
Series CAY-- YA/Children - The Golden Tresses of the Dead
SFFFKit - colonization - The Word for World is Forest
Calendar CAT - tell a fairy tale day - Snow & Rose

Poetry: The Back Chamber
Graphic novel: The Silence of Our Friends

B&N book club - The Only Woman in the Room

Continue reading Little, Big for January RandomCAT

I'll take a BB on Warcross and I'm intrigued by Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. And your comments on The Three-body Problem will help me avoid that one!

>38 LisaMorr: Definitely read Eleanor - simply wonderful!

>34 VioletBramble: Have not heard a negative thing yet about E.O. And it's just sitting here ...

Attempting to post again...
I've been having problems with Library Thing for days. I even restarted my computer. LT is the only site giving me problems. I managed to add a touchstone in another post today so I will try for more...

It worked!! Took a few minutes.

>38 LisaMorr: Yay! on both counts.

>40 madhatter22: Read it! You won't regret it.

8) The Only Woman in the Room- Marie Benedict
Historical Fiction, WW II, Austria, Hollywood
Pages: 258
Rating:

I read this for the Barnes & Noble book club. It was sold to me on the premise that Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr was secretly a scientist who invented something that helped the Americans win WWII. Lamar did invent a sequencer for torpedoes that is in use today, but is more known for it's use in mobile phone technology. The government didn't buy her invention. When her patent ran out they started developing the technology. Most of the book covered her life in Austria as the young wife of a man who owned a munitions factory. Her marriage gave her access to powerful people and secret conversations about war movements and equipment. When her husband partnered with Hitler she escaped to the US.
The invention of the sequencer is the last section of the book. Lamar's other inventions are glossed over. I wish there was more science and invention in the book. There are many paragraphs about clothing and jewelry. If you like to read about clothing and jewelry of the 1930-40's you might enjoy this book.

9) The Golden Tresses of the Dead- Alan Bradley
Mystery, Series, Young adult, Chemistry
Pages: 327
Rating:

The newest book in the Flavia deLuce mystery series. Flavia and Dogger have their first case since opening their own investigative agency -- Arthur W. Dogger & Associates. The mystery involves herbal medicines and "trophies" taken from the famous, talented deceased. Of course, the heart of the story is the relationship between Flavia and Dogger, esp now that they are colleagues and she is learning from his extensive experience in the field.

>44 VioletBramble: Just about to start this one! :)

>44 VioletBramble: >45 rabbitprincess: I'm hoping to start soon, too -- I think I'm #2 in line at my library!

>45 rabbitprincess: ,>46 christina_reads: Enjoy!!

My home internet is down again for the third time since September. So frustrating- the modem and/or router keeps dying. I keep this cable company because I really like their local news show,but, after they fix it this time, if it goes down, I am going to another company. I've been with them for more than 28 years and all the problems have only been in the past 6 months but it's getting to be annoying.
I'm going to try to catch up on the wiki and on reviews as much as possible before the library closes.

10) The Back Chamber - Donald Hall
Poetry
Pages: 82
Rating:

Hall's last collection of poetry and my least favorite. These poems were just okay. I wouldn't recommend this collection unless you really love Hall.

11) The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah
Fiction, WWII, Sisters
Pages: 440
Rating:

My entire family and many co-workers insisted that I read this book. They all love the book. I resisted because it just didn't seem like my type of book. One of my co-workers brought her copy to work just for me to read. So I did. And I actually liked the book. It was similar to many other books I'd read that are set in WWII.
Set in France just before and during WWII the story is about two very different sisters and what they did in those years. One sister joins the resistance, sneaking Allied soldiers out of France. The other stays at home, where despite German officers being billeted in her house, she manages to rescue 19 Jewish children.
I liked it so much more than I thought that I would and the ending made me cry. Recommended.

12) Sing, Unburied, Sing- Jesmyn Ward
Fiction, Mississippi, Families, Ghosts, Racism, Road trip
Pages: 290
Rating:

Jojo lives with his grandparents, Pop (River) and Mam (Saltwater woman) on a small family farm in Mississippi. His mother, Leonie, a meth addict, sometimes lives there too. Jojo's toddler sister, Kayla, lives there as well. Their father, Michael, is in Parchmen, the state penitentiary. Pop does his best to raise Jojo right and teach him the ways of farming and being a man.Pop likes to tell Jojo the story of a young boy named Richie, who he knew during his own stint in Parchmen. Mam was once the area midwife and is an herbalist. Mam is dying from her third round with cancer. Jojo is Kayla's primary care giver. Leonie never had any maternal instincts and is more likely to beat her children than nurture them. Jojo is wary of his mother, thinking "Leonie kill things".
The book starts as the family celebrates Jojo's 13th birthday. Michael calls to tell the family he is being released from prison. Leonie decides that she will take the children with her- and her work friend, Misty- to get Michael when he is released. This road trip does not go well. On the way home they carry an extra passenger, known only to Jojo and Kayla - the ghost of Richie, who had been stuck at Parchmen, waiting to go home, and wanting to see River, the only father figure in his life. Once they reach home things go from bad to worse as all the story lines intertwine and some reach their conclusion.
There are many elements of magical realism in this story. Mam, Jojo, Leonie and Kayla all have some ability to read people, hear the thoughts of people and animals, and see and/or talk to the dead. The story is narrated in turns by Jojo, Leonie and Richie.
This is a story of family ties, ingrained racism, injustice, longing and wonder. It is sad and occasionally frightening. The prose is often beautiful. It's not an easy story to read but I'm glad to have read it and will definitely attempt to get others to read it as well. Recommended.

Great reviews! I so need to find time to read The Nightingale

>50 VioletBramble: I'm glad The Nightingale worked out well for you, even with lots of other people liking it! I tend to be wary of those kinds of widely praised books myself. Hope your internet is working normally again soon and that you don't have to switch cable companies.

>50 VioletBramble: I, too, have The Nightingale on my shelves and have been resisting reading it simply cause everyone says I should read it. I expect I will love it one I get to it.

>50 VioletBramble: The Nightingale is on my ereader, I will make a point to move it on up the list!

I do need to get to The Nightingale sooner rather than later, I guess! And I'll take a BB for Sing, Unburied, Sing.

13) Snow & Rose - Emily Winfield Martin
Illustrated by Emily Winfield Martin
Fairy tale, Fiction, Sisters, CalendarCAT
Pages: 224
Rating:

A re-telling of Snow White and Rose Red. Confession- I have never read the original Snow White and Rose Red. Disney's version of Snow White is all I'm familiar with. Having never read the original I can't speak to how this version may differ. And, to be completely honest, I bought this because the illustrations are lovely.
Snow and Rose are sisters who move, with their mother, into a cottage in the woods, after the presumed death of their father. As they explore the woods they discover a bear, a boy (Ivo) with mushrooms, an angry little man, a librarian who runs the strangest library, a hunter and a group of bandits and an underground house. When Ivo disappears as mysteriously as their father the sisters set out to discover the truth.
This would be a fun book for older children who enjoy adventures stories. I liked the library where there are no books; because the book doesn't tell you what a story is about, the reader tells you what a story is about.

14) Starworld- Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner
Fiction, Friendship, LGBTQ, Early Reviewers
Pages: 335
Rating:

Sam Jones is a high school senior, an introvert, an artist, and a lesbian. She lives with her mother after her parents divorce. She can't invite anyone to her house because her mother's OCD means that there are very rigid rules in their household. Sam has one friend, Will, who has his own friend group but doesn't mind hanging out alone with her, playing video games. Sam wants to be an aerospace engineer, like her father, who she never sees or speaks to since he left the country after the divorce. Sam spends most of her time in the school's art room, painting.
Zoe Miller is a high school senior, popular, dating one of the most popular school athletes, previously she spent time acting in school plays but now works in the scenery department. Zoe switched to scenery because she needs to spend more time at home; her mother's cancer has recurred and her special needs brother requires more supervision now that he is older, bigger and more violent. Zoe can't invite any one to her house because her brother scares her friends.
Zoe and Sam meet one day in the art room when Zoe asks to borrow one of Sam's paintings as scenery in the school play. They exchange contact information. When a text meant for Will accidentally gets sent to Zoe, the two girls start a conversation that leads to the invention of Starworld. Starworld is a fantasy world created by the girls in text messages. Star world becomes a refuge from the stress of their lives for both girls and allows them to open up to each other. At first they keep their friendship text only. Eventually they reveal their friendship to others and even meet each other's families. But Sam has a secret that may end their friendship.
I enjoyed this book. Sam and Zoe, as characters, were well fleshed out, as were their parents. Their friendship was believable and organic.
I received this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers Program.

15) The Silence of Our Friends - Mark Long, Jim DeMonaleos. Illustrated by Nate Powell
Graphic novel, Race relations, Civil rights, 1960s
Pages: 200
Rating:

This is Mark Long's memoir of one year of his childhood; 1968, when his family moved to Houston, Texas from SanAntonio. His father, Jack Long, was the race reporter for the local television station. The Long family is shocked at the racism in Houston after living in more liberal SanAntonio. When Jack Long covers protests on campus at the local college he befriends many of the leaders in the black community in hopes of understanding the issues and bringing about change.

16) The Word for World is Forest- Ursula K Le Guin
Science fiction, Colonization, SFFFKit
Pages: 189
Rating:

This book is part of Le Guin's Hainish cycle. I haven't read any of the other books in this series and I don't know where this book fits story-wise or timeline-wise in the cycle.
Altshea is a forested planet colonized by humans (Yumens in the book). The Altsheans are a human species, but small in stature and covered in green fur. The Yumens are in the process of building large military facilities on the planet. They use the Altsheans as slave labor and treat them like animals. Many Altsheans live in hidden communities in the forest.
This is a story of colonization and how the colonized go against their ingrained cultural values in order to survive.The story is told through three points of view. Selver, an Altshean who escaped his captivity and, with a small group, blew up part of one of the military installations. Selver is able to live in both world time and dream time. Captain Lyubov is a military leader and anthropologist who has befriended Selver and is learning about Altshean culture. Captain Davidson fancies himself a "world tamer" . He believes that humans are the supreme beings. It is Davidson's rape and murder of Selver's wife that sets off the events in this story.
Unfortunately the story starts with Captain Davidson's point of view. He is so over the top evil; racist, misogynist, and an overall macho asshole that I almost stopped reading the book. Thankfully the sections from Selver and Lyubov's points of view are intelligent and thoughtful and give us a glimpse of Altshean culture, the ways they communicate and how their culture values cooperation and non-violence (to the point that they are submissive to avoid violence). In his use of violence Selver has gone against his society's cultural codes but in doing so saves his people and becomes a hero.

I'm glad you liked The Nightingale. I'm currently reading it, but have not come very far yet. I also took a BB in Warcross, sounds exciting.

I'm looking forward to your next reviews. :)

17) Another Brooklyn -Jacqueline Woodson
Fiction, Coming of age, New York City
Pages: 175
Rating:

This is the story of August and her best friends; Sylvia, Gigi and Angela, growing up on the mean streets of 1970s Bushwick, Brooklyn. Each of the girls has family problems that they keep hidden from each other- for the most part. But when these four girls hang out together they know that they have each other's back and they know they are fierce and beautiful, and that all the boys want them - even if they're not sure how to feel about that just yet. Their friendship acts as a shield against the bad in the world, even if it's only for a little while. As they get older life starts to pull them apart - career dreams, religion, family tragedy and teen pregnancy.
Woodson always makes me feel nostalgic for my own childhood and teen years in 1970s NYC. This book is an ode to girlhood, to hanging out with your best friends, to roaming the neighborhood and the parks because it was still mostly safe, discovering boys, and the music that made the 70s.
Recommended.

Recap for February

Books read in 2019: 17
Books read in Feb: 10
Books off the shelf 2019: 13
Fiction: 11
NonFiction: 2
Poetry: 2
Graphic novels, etc: 2
Female author: 11
Male author: 6
Pages read in 2019: 4187 (2520 in Feb)
Books bought in 2019: 16

Planned reads for March:

TBRCAT - Bridge of Clay
SeriesCAT- Before the Devil Breaks You
SFFFKit: Midnight Riot
CalendarCAT: When Breath Becomes Air

Poetry: When I Grow Up I Want to be a List of Further Possibilities

Graphic novel: Spell on Wheels

Continuing with January RandomCAT read, Little, Big

if time - Why We Sleep

18) When I Grow Up I Want To Be A List of Further Possibilities- Chen Chen
Poetry, LGBTQ
Pages: 94
Rating:

Summer Was Forever
Chen Chen

Time dripped from the faucet like a magician's botched trick.
I did not want to applaud it. I stood to one side & thought,
What it's time for is a garden. Or a croissant factory. What kind
of work do I need to be doing? My parents said: Doctor,
married to lawyer. The faucet said: Drip,drop,
your life sucks. But sometimes no one said anything & I saw
him, the local paper boy on his route. His beanstalk frame
& fragile bicycle. & I knew: we would be so terribly
happy. Our work would be simple. Our kissing would rhyme
with cardiac arrest. Birds would overthrow the cathedral towers.
I would have a magicians hair, full of sleeves and saws,
unashamed to tell the whole town our first date was
in a leaky faucet factory. How we fell in love during jumps
on his tragic uncle's trampoline. We fell in love in midair.

19) Spell on Wheels - Kate Leth
Graphic novel, Witches
Pages: 136
Rating:

Three witches on a road trip to recover their stolen magical objects - crystals, an orb, a planchette, spices, and an invoking ritual. When they catch up with the culprit - an ex-boyfriend of one of the witches - they realize that the true object of desire is something that one of the witches brings with her.

20) When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi
Memory, Medical, Death
Pages: 256
Rating:

But if I did not know what I wanted, I had learned something, something not found in Hippocrates, Maimonides, or Osler: the physician's duty is not to stave off death or return patients to their old lives, but to take into our arms a patient and family whose lives have disintegrated and work until they can stand back up and face and make sense of, their own existence.

Paul Kalanithi was in his last year of neurosurgery residency when he was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. Before medical school Kalanithi had studied English literature and the History of Medicine in his attempt to discover 'what makes life meaningful". After his cancer diagnosis he also set out to understand death better. He explores both these ideas and the relationship between doctors and patients in this memoir. Kalanithi is a skilled writer, his prose is beautiful; it's obvious that he studied literature. As someone who has worked as part of a health care team in a large university research hospital for nearly 30 years I found many truths in Kalanithi's passages about the doctor-patient relationship and the bonds that are forged between all members of the patient care team. I particularly liked the above quote (from pg 166) and the passage on pg 81-82 that describes bonding between members of the care team who can be "clinging to the same raft, caught in the same tide".
Kalanithi died before he could finish the book. The epilogue is written by his wife, Lucy Kalanithi. (warning: you will need tissues handy when you read this part)
Recommended.

21) Midnight Riot- Ben Aaronovitch
Fiction, London, Police procedural, Urban fantasy, SFFFKit
Pages: 322
Rating:

The first book in the Rivers of London series.
Constable Peter Grant is freshly out of his probationary period. While securing a murder crime scene in Covent Garden, Grant is approached by an eyewitness to the murder. This eyewitness is a ghost. This incident brings Grant to the attention of Thomas Nightingale from the Supernatural Crimes Division. Grant becomes Nightingale's apprentice in magic and the supernatural.
I've been hearing about this series for years and thanks to the SFFFKIt I finally had an excuse to get and read this first book. I loved it. It was fast paced, quippy, and fun. I can't wait to continue in the series.
Recommended.

22) Before the Devil Breaks You- Libba Bray
Fiction, Supernatural, Series
Pages: 560
Rating:

The third book in The Diviners series
Evie O'Neil (object reader) and her Diviner friends are called to action when the citizens of New York City are plagued by ghosts. The mental health facility on Ward's Island in particular has been over run by a horde of unhappy, hungry ghosts who are angry at having been forgotten. The ghosts are in the thrall of The King of Crows. The Diviners need to find out who he is and how to defeat him.. They are also trying to find out more information on Project Buffalo, a government project created by Eugenicists that may point to the origins of the Diviners powers.
My least favorite in the series, this one felt too long. The ghost storyline ended too easily without any real answers about the King of Crows. However: the mystery of why Evie's parents would send Evie, a flapper wanna-be teenager with a drinking problem, to live with her very busy bachelor uncle in NYC has been answered.

March Re-cap

Books read in 2019: 22
Books read in March: 5
Books off the shelf 2019: 16
Fiction: 13
Non-fiction: 3
Poetry: 3
Graphic novels, etc: 3
Female author: 13
Male author: 9
Pages read in 2019: 5,555 (1368 in March)

Planned Reads for April:

TBRCAT: Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik

SeriesCAT: A Dance With Dragons -✔ George RR Martin // Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The crimes of Grindelwald- JK Rowling //Binti: Home ✔ and Binti: Night Masquerade✔- Nnedi Okorafor

RandomCAT - Rooster - There, There - Tommy Orange

Poetry: Reel Verse: Poems About the Movies ✔

Graphic novel: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ✔

Early Reviewers book: Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows

23) Binti: Home - Nnedi Okorafor
SciFi, Fantasy, Math, Series
Pages: 176
Rating:

Second in the series.
Binti returns to Earth after a year at Oomza University (the best in the galaxy). Her Meduse friend/partner, Okwu, travels with her. The Meduse are the sworn enemies of the Khoush, a people whose lands border that of Binti's tribe. Okwu is promised diplomatic safety while on Earth. As Binti is a Harmonizer she believes she may be able to bring peace to these two cultures. Binti's family is angry at her for leaving and forsaking her place as the next Harmonizer in her tribe (replacing her father, who is old and weary). They are shocked to see the physical changes in Binti, whose hair has been changed into blue okuoko (sensitive and reactive tentacle like appendages).
On her first night back home Binti looks out the window and sees The Night Masquerade - a sign normally given only to men that signals that great change is coming. Outside the window are also gathered some of the Desert People. (the Enyi Zinariya) They take her into the dessert to reveal her true birthright. While she is out in the dessert the Khoush arrive at her home and attack both her family and Okwu - but she does not know the outcome of this attack. She struggles to come to grips with her new powers and make it home in time.
I love this series. Recommended - esp. to those you enjoy math.

24) Reel Verse: Poems About the Movies -edited by Harold Schechter and Michael Waters
Poetry
Pages: 255
Rating:

Part of the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets series. A bit of a disappointment. I only liked 5 or 6 of these poems. Also, I will have to re-watch Blade Runner to see what it is that inspired so many poets to write poems about that movie.

After the Movie
Marie Howe

My friend Michael and I are walking home arguing about the movie.
He says that he believes a person can love someone and still be able to murder that person.
I say, No, that's not love. That's attachment.
Michael says, No, that's love. You can love someone, then come to a day
when you're forced to think "it's him or me"
think "me" and kill him.
I say, Then its not love anymore.
Michael says, It was love up to then though.
I say, Maybe we mean different things by the same word.
Michael says, Humans are complicated: love can exist even in the murderous heart.
I say that what he might mean by love is desire.
Love is not a feeling, I say. And Michael says, Then what is it?
We're walking along West 16th Street - a clear unclouded night -
and I hear my voice repeating what I used to say to my husband.
Love is action, I used to say to him.
Simone Weil says that when you really love you are able to look
at someone you want to eat and not eat them.
Janis Joplin says, take another little piece of my heart now baby.
Meister Eckhart says that as long as we love any image
we are doomed to live in purgatory.
Michael and I stand on the corner of 6th Avenue saying goodnight.
I can't drink enough of the tangerine spritzer I've just bought-
again and again I bring the cold can to my mouth and
suck the stuff from the hole the flip top made.
What are you doing tomorrow?, Michael says
But what I think he's saying is:
"You are too strict. You are a nun."
Then I think, Do I love Michael enough to allow him
to think these things of me even if he's not
thinking them?
Above Manhattan, the moon wanes, and the sky turns
clearer and colder.
Although the days, after the solstice, have started to lengthen,
we both know the winter has only begun.

25) A Dance With Dragons- George RR Martin
Fantasy, Series
Pages: 1152
Rating:

Fifth book in the Song of Ice and Fire Series.
I read the first four books in the series before the HBO series started. I started reading this book last year while the show's final season was in production. I hoped to finish before the last season airs and I made it with more than a week to spare. Yay! That said, it feels like a waste of my time to read storylines that are significantly changed from the books to the show. How relevant can these storylines be if those characters are shown in other places doing other things in the show. Of course, there have always been storylines in the series that felt like a waste of time --I'm looking at you Sandsnakes.
I've decided that should the last two volumes of this series actually make it to publication I will just skim them for chapters about the white walkers and Arya (my favorite character). Or maybe just read the synopsis on Wikipedia.
As always, George RR Martin could use a good editor.

>68 VioletBramble: Always good to see someone pick up this series and enjoy it.

26) Binti: Night Masquerade- Nnedi Okorafor
Series, SciFi, Africa, Space
Pages: 208
Rating:

Third and final book in the series.
I found this an unbelievable and somewhat disappointing ending to the series.

27) The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina- Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa
Graphic novel, Witches, Series
Pages: 160
Rating:

A new take on the Sabrina the teenage witch story from the Archie comics series. I read this after viewing the Netflix series which is based on this graphic novel. Well, about 50% of the content remains unchanged. The book is set in the 1960s- as in the original series- and contains Sabrina's dark baptism and trial and the history of Madame Satan. The book is a little darker than the show and the show is much darker than all the previous incarnations of Sabrina, which were more comedic in tone.

28) There There- Tommy Orange
Fiction, Native Americans, Poverty, Violence
Pages: 290
Rating:

This one was just so-so for me. I started reading it last September for the Orange ColorCAT. I kept putting it down because it wasn't holding my attention. My intermittent reading combined with the large number of characters and the large amount of short chapters made this book seem disjointed.
Set in a Native American community in Oakland, California There There tells the story of multiple Native American Indian characters and the issues that plague their community - alcoholism, violence, teen pregnancy, and broken homes. All the story lines converge at the annual Pow-wow where a plan by several of the characters to rob the Pow-wow brings the story to a violent conclusion.

29) Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows- JM Bergen
Fantasy, Series, YA, Early Reviewers
Pages: 352
Rating:

Thomas Wildus is 12 years old. He lives with his mother. When Thomas was 5 his father disappeared after telling Thomas that magic is real. Thomas likes hanging out with his best friend Enrique, practicing his Kung Fu and thinking about his crush, Peggy. He's also obsessed with finding books on "real magic". One day Thomas sees a new bookstore in town. It turns out that the owners of the bookstore, Huxley and Adelia, have been waiting for him. He is given The Book of Sorrows with a list of rules about how and when to read the book. Once the book is in his possession Thomas starts to notice that people on the streets are watching him and that two men in a van are following him. Each time Thomas reads the book the cover of the book comes alive and increasingly more detailed and vivid in color. Thomas finishes the book just in time; Arias, an evil magical person, is near to finding all the artifacts hidden by Thomas's family. Huxley, Adelia, and his father's friend Professor Reilly, must teach Thomas how to do magic quickly enough to save the world.
All the characters ring true. I liked Thomas, his mother and their friends. I thought the pacing was unbalanced - we spend a lot of time at the beginning just reading the book along with Thomas, then Bam!, the action picks up and Thomas has to learn magic in a very short amount of time. I thought the system of magic was too simple. I prefer a spell, wand movement or tutting. Also, when Enrique suddenly turned out to have magical ability as well, it seemed out of nowhere. Hopefully that will be explained more fully in the next book. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
I received a free copy of this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers and Elandrain Press. Thank you to JM Bergen for the personally autographed copy.

30) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald- JK Rowling
Fantasy, Series, Screenplay
Pages: 302
Rating:

This is the screenplay to the 2nd Fantastic Beasts movie. I had seen the movie before reading the screenplay. I found the movie underwhelming and full of filler scenes. But at least the movie had stunning visuals and a handful of interesting new "beasts". Grindelwald escapes from custody while being transported from the US to England. He has a gang of dangerous minions and is building a following by telling people what they want to hear. My favorite characters in the first movie were Queenie (a witch) and Jacob (a Muggle she falls in love with). In this movie/book Queenie falls under the spell of Grindelwald and joins him. I asked myself -- How can a character who reads minds fall for the lies of someone like Grindelwald? Answer: character assassination. They killed Queenie as I knew her in the first movie. This is the saddest part for me. I did feel more of a connection with the characters of Newt and Tina in this one - they were so bland and one dimensional in the first.
For now I'm still planning to continue watching/reading this series, mainly because I enjoy the performances of the actress who plays Queenie, Alison Sudol, and the actor who plays Jacob, Dan Fogler.

April Recap:

Books read in 2019: 30
Books off the shelf 2019: 21
Fiction: 19
NonFiction: 3
Graphic novels, etc: 4
Poetry: 4
Female author: 17
Male author: 13
Author of unknown gender: 1
Pages read in 2019: 8,450 (2895 in April)

Planned Reading for May:

SeriesCAT: The Kingdom of Copper
TBRCAT: The Heart's Invisible Furies
RandomCAT and Poetry: Dancing with Joy
NonFiction: Fascism
Graphic novel: The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite

still reading from April: Spinning Silver - I'm enjoying this but not feeling that motivated to pick it up to read at the moment.

>82 VioletBramble: - Nice May reading plans and I love that image!

31) The Umbrella Academy: Volume 1 - Gerard Way
Graphic novel
Pages: 184
Rating:

I've seen this graphic novel in the stores for a couple of years but always thought, No, not really my thing. Well, now I've become obsessed with the Netflix show, Umbrella Academy, so I had to get the first two volumes just to see how they compare. The basics are the same, eccentric billionaire alien adopts 7 children all born at the same time and all with super powers. I don't like the story anywhere near as much as I like the story in the show. The relationships in the show are more easily defined and make more sense. Also, I'm not really liking the graphics.

32) Dancing With Joy: 99 Poems - edited by Roger Housden
Poetry, RandomCAT
Pages: 208
Rating::

A collection of amazing poems about happiness. I was already familiar with 25% of these poems from other collections. Recommended.

33) The Heart's Invisible Furies - John Boyne
Fiction, TBRCAT, Ireland, LGBTQ, AIDS
Pages: 592
Rating:

Cyril Avery narrates the story of his life from the day his unmarried and pregnant 16 year old Irish mother is exiled from her church, family, and town to the day he's preparing to die as an elderly man. Cyril spends the early part of his life dealing with his unusual adoptive parents and hiding his homosexuality. He spends the middle part of his life dealing with the repercussions his lies have had on his most important relationships to date. Facing up to his lies and his hurtful actions allows Cyril to finally become part of a real, and very unusual, family. The story is set in Dublin, Amsterdam, and New York City. Topics covered include the role of the Catholic Church in Irish life, homosexuality, sex trafficking, the AIDS crisis, violence against homosexuals, Irish literature, adoption, and murder.
This book will make you feel sad, angry and happy - sometimes all at once. Recommended.

>86 VioletBramble: - I've had this one on my shelf for a couple of years now. Definitely need to move it up the list based on your review.

>86 VioletBramble: I have this on the shelf. I've enjoyed all I've read by John Boyne.

>88 VivienneR: This was only my second book by John Boyne. I'd previously read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

I just realized I haven't been here in a while and never updated for May. I'm in somewhat of a reading funk at the moment.

May Recap:

Books read in 2019: 33
Books read in May: 3
Books off the shelves 2019: 23
Fiction: 20
NonFiction: 3
Graphic novels, etc : 4
Poetry: 5
Female author: 18
Male author: 16
Author of unknown gender: 1
Pages read in 2019: 9,434. (984 in May)

Planned Reading for June:

Still reading from previous months:
Little, Big - January RandomCAT -- I'm enjoying reading this one slowly
Fascism: A Warning - May NonFiction read
Spinning Silver - April TBRCAT
The Kingdom of Copper - May SeriesCAT

June RandomCAT - Daisy Jones and the Six
Poetry - A Hundred Million Years of Nectar Dances

I'm doing a trial of Audible and I'm listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tart. I'm hoping to finish it before the movie comes out.

34) Born to Dance: Celebrating the Wonder of Childhood - Jordan Matter
Photography, Dance, NonFiction
Pages: 256
Rating:

A collection of photographs of young dancers similar to Matter's book Dancers Among Us.

>91 VioletBramble: Lovely painting!

>93 thornton37814: I grabbed it off of Pinterest. No artist name was attached so I'm unable to credit them. It is a really lovely painting.

35) Little Gods - Leda Zawacki
Graphic novel, Mythology
Pages: 87
Rating:

A graphic novel inspired by Native American Indian mythology of the Sky God. The story and the graphics were just so-so.

36) Daisy Jones & the Six- Taylor Jenkins Reid
Fiction, Music, 1970s
Pages: 355
Rating:

The story of the biggest American rock band in the late 1970s and how they imploded. The story is told in interview format. Interviewees include band members, managers, producers, and family members. The Six is the current Big Thing. Billy Dunne is the founder of The Six. Daisy Jones is the current LA "IT Girl" who also happens to sing and write songs. A producer has the big idea to put them together and they become massively popular. (think Fleetwood Mac in the 70s) Billy and Daisy make great music together. They may have even fallen in love. But eventually their massive egos and selfishness (which in Daisy's case is often presented as female empowerment) destroy the group dynamic.
This is a pretty quick read. Actually, it's a perfect beach read. It's not as good as I expected it to be considering all the hype.

37) The Kingdom of Copper- S A Chakrabortty
Fantasy, Series, Magic
Pages: 617
Rating:

The second book of the Daevabad Trilogy. Nahri continues to hone her skills as Banu Nahida (healer) and dreams of rebuilding the hospital built by her people centuries earlier. She plans to open the hospital to the people of all the tribes of the city. In this way she hopes to end the continual mistrust and aggressions between the tribes. However; factions from some of the tribes, from inside and outside the city, have very different plans.
I love this series. This one ended with cliffhangers in multiple storylines. Ugh-- now the wait for the final book begins.

38) A Hundred Million Years of Nectar Dances- Richard Jarrette
Poetry
Pages: 127
Rating:

Fleeing Nebuchadnezzar

The deer with the split ear is listening
in three directions while foraging
under the oaks.

William Stafford once said to my ears,
Maybe some things happen because
we're paying attention.

A crow cocks one eye, then takes my picture
from the other side of his mind
and carries it off.

I climb golden Pine Mountain to greet
the dragons flying east at sunset
with their tails on fire.

Maybe if I just calm down
birds will land on my shoulders

and the one-eyed yellow cat will leap
into my arms and talk.

Recap for June:

Books read in 2019: 38
Books read in June: 5
Books off the shelf 2019: 24
Fiction: 22
Non Fiction: 4
Graphic novels, etc: 5
Poetry: 6
Female author: 21
Male author: 18
Author of unknown gender: 1
Pages read in 2019: 10,876 (1442 in June)

Potential July Reading:

SF/SFFKit: Space Opera-Catherynne M Valente
TBRCAT: The Nature of the Beast- Louise Penny
RandomCAT: Mouthful of Birds - Samanta Schweblin
Poetry: Hold - Bill Hicok

Continued reading from past months:
Fascism: A Warning
Spinning Silver
Little, Big
The Goldfinch- audiobook

>100 VioletBramble: That is a cool picture!

>91 VioletBramble: A quick google image search reveals it may well be by Summer1991 by Alexei and Sergei Tkachev
https://curiator.com/art/alexei-and-sergei-tkachev/summer
It is a lovely image.

I love the pictures you are using, especially the one at >91 VioletBramble:.

>101 MissWatson:, >103 VivienneR: Thanks. I found them on Pinterest under books & reading.

>102 Helenliz: Thank you. I was just reading about how to search the artist by dropping the photo into Google image search. I'll have to figure out how it works.

39) The Goldfinch - Donna Tart
Fiction, Audiobook, Art, Coming of Age, Trauma
Pages: 771 Audio Hours: 32hrs 24 min
Rating:

I listened to the audiobook version of this 771 page chunkster. I usually don't like audiobooks but I thought this was probably my best chance of finishing the book before the movie is released in September. I ended up loving this audiobook. The reader, David Pittu, was excellent. The many characters and their different accents were all easily distinguishable.
Thirteen year old Theo lives in NYC with his mother. His father has left them. Theo and his mother are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art when a terrorist bomb explodes. His mother is killed. Trapped in the museum after the bombing Theo speaks to a dying man, Welty. Welty tells him to hide the famous painting, The Goldfinch, which has fallen on the floor, in his backpack for safe keeping. Theo does. Theo eventually finds his way out of the museum. He never tells anyone that he has the painting.
As you can imagine a lot will happen to Theo in the 700+ pages after the bombing. Theo will deal with his trauma by abusing drugs and alcohol. He will spend years fearful that Interpol is watching him. The big take away of the book is that his mother was his anchor. Once he lost her he just drifted away. Even when he had good, caring, decent friends helping him out, he decides to take a darker path.
Ultimately this book left me feeling sad for almost every character.

40) The Nature of the Beast- Louise Penny
Mystery, Series, TBRCAT
Pages: 400
Rating:

The 11th book in the Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series. This time a nine year old boy is killed when he finds a Supergun hidden in the woods in Three Pines.
I won't say much about the plot. I will say that there was a point when I thought I might be done with this series. Near the end of the book the team sends the newest team member, Adam Cohen, to do something horrific. I expected a repeat of what happened to the last "newest team member", the violin player. I have still not forgiven Gamache and his team for what happened to him. I vowed to stop reading this series if Adam Cohen suffered the same fate.

41) On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century -Timothy Snyder
Politics, NonFiction, Tyranny
Pages: 128
Rating:

A short book with 20 important lessons on surviving while living under tyranny. Each chapter starts with a quote and then gives examples. The lessons include: Defend Institutions, Believe in Truth, Make eye contact and small talk, Be calm when the unthinkable arrives, and Be as courageous as you can. There is some excellent advice on these short 128 pages.

42) Mouthful of Birds: Stories- Samanta Schweblin
Short stories, RandomCAT
Pages: 240
Rating:

Twenty strange and quirky short stories from the author of Fever Dream. My favorites were; Mouthful of Birds, Olingiris, Heads Against Concrete, and Toward Happy Civilization. Much like Fever Dream these stories are strange and hard to put down.

43) Hold - Bob Hicok
Poetry
Pages: 88
Rating:

This is the first collection of poetry by Bob Hicok that I've read. I picked this book off the shelf because of the cover photo. The photo is from the interactive art installation The Event of a Thread by Ann Hamilton. I loved this art installation. And I loved this poetry collection. These poems are about racism, white privilege, income inequality, sexuality in marriage, and the current US political environment.

As a translator I'm a pretty good turtle

The rain sounds like a child taking a bath.

We're at a kitchen table translating Arash's poem from Farsi,
which I don't know, to English, which he hardly speaks.

So far what's clear is we both like tennis,
that there are too many English words for gun, that his daughter
needs to put a plastic turtle on my bald head
because we look related, and that I have to pretend
I know something about war or his poems will sound
like his daughter isn't missing an eye, like everyone lived.

So I ask him to draw what it felt like, the day the poem
was born, and he snaps a pencil doing so, which makes me wonder
if I have anything to offer as a friend, if a bucket,
dropped down the well of my mouth, would ever reach water.

We stop when the only line he asks his wife about
makes her leave the room, makes him follow, and when he comes back,
he touches his words and asks how we say......
then makes a fist and explodes it into an open hand
above his heart.

How do I say we've never known how to say that:

burn a dictionary in front of him, sharpen the pencil
and make it bleed while drawing a truer face
on my face, cut a hole in the roof and live there
under the rain, the touch of sky, ask him to beat me to death
and offer the same, beg him to carry me in his eyes
as far as he can look us away from this life?

I worry for him and his daughter and his wife,
for everyone when it's this easy to bring war
to a place of bread, but Arash wants his poem to live
in two languages, and this turtle will do his best
to give it that second mouth.

July Recap:

Books read in July: 5
Books read in 2019:43
Books off the shelf 2019: 28
Fiction: 25
NonFiction:5
Graphic novels, etc: 5
Poetry: 7
Female author: 24
Male author: 20
Author of unknown gender: 1
Pages read in 2019: 12,415 (1539 in July)

Planned reading for August:

Starfish - Akemi Dawn Bowman
Summer Bird Blue- Akemi Dawn Bowman
Spinning Silver- Naomi Novik
Mapmaking-Megan Harlan
The Magicians : Alice's Story - Lilah Sturges, Lev Grossman

if time: This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar

44) Starfish- Akemi Dawn Bowman
YA, Mental health, Art
Pages: 343
Rating: :

Kiko has just graduated from high school. She wants to go to art college but didn't get into her only choice. She's afraid she may have to stay at home and go to community college. The last thing Kiko wants is to stay at home. Her parents divorced years ago and her father has another family. She hardly ever sees him. Plus, she believes she is the reason her parents got divorced. The main reason she doesn't want to stay at home is her mother. Her mother is a narcissist that makes everything about her self. She is constantly cutting pictures of blonde haired blue eyed women out of magazines to give to Kiko as examples of how she (Kiko) could be beautiful. Since Kiko is half Japanese she knows she will never meet her mother's standard of beauty. Kiko rarely speaks to her brothers as all three of the siblings are so busy dealing with their mother's mental illness in their own ways that they have become distant. Plus, Kiko's uncle, who sexually assaulted her as a child, has just moved back into their house. Her mother never believed Kiko about the sexual assault and Kiko believes it is this issue that broke her parent's marriage. Thanks to her mother's behavior Kiko suffers from crippling anxiety and a lack of self worth.
At a graduation party Kiko runs into Jamie. Jamie had been her best friend in grade school before he moved to California. Jamie invites her to California to check out art schools. While attending an art show Kiko meets the artist, Hiroshi Matsumoto. He invites her to show him her portfolio and work with him in his studio. With Matsumoto's help Kiko is able to feel more confident in her art and to realize her self worth.
The descriptions of Kiko's paintings and drawings throughout the book made me wish there were illustrations in the book.
Trigger warnings for sexual assault and attempted suicide.

45) Mapmaking- Megan Harlan
Poetry
Pages: 65
Rating:

An overall underwhelming collection of poetry.

46) The Magicians: Alice's Story - Lev Grossman, Lilah Sturges
Illustrated by Pius Bak
Graphic novel, Magic
Pages: 208
Rating:

This is the graphic novelization of the first book in the Magicians trilogy. This version is told from Alice's point of view, starting from her childhood and ending when she becomes a niffin.
The illustrations by Pius Bak are pretty good . The color palette is appropriately dark except for their time in Antarctica which has a lighter, brighter palette.

I'm not that big on poetry, but I loved the poem in >98 VioletBramble: and also >109 VioletBramble:. I think I will have to get Hold. On Tyranny sounds like one I need also.

I've got The Goldfinch on my TBR and have been seeing the movie previews on TV, so I need to get to that as well!

47) Spinning Silver- Naomi Novik
Fiction, Fairy tale, Russia, Judaism
Pages: 480
Rating:

review in progress

48) I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land- Connie Willis
Novella, Books about books
Pages: 88
Rating:

Jim is a book blogger visiting NYC to see a publisher and do a few interviews. Jim believes that print books are the latest objects to become obsolete because people don't need them any more. After an interview Jim ducks into a bookstore to get out of a storm. Entranced by the strangeness of the store Jim follows a store employee down a back staircase. Jim finds himself many stories below ground amidst rows and rows of bookshelves containing copies of books rescued from various conditions. All the books on the shelves are books that are no longer being read by anyone. After becoming lost and panicking Jim is found and shown the way out. Afterwards Jim will spend days attempting to find the store again.

49) Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen
Fiction, Magical realism, Sisters, Magic
Pages: 320
Rating:

The Waverly women each have a special gift. Claire is a caterer who makes dishes with the magical herbs and flowers from her garden. With these dishes she is able to change the eaters mood or understanding of a situation. Sydney can give people the perfect, magical hair cut. Bay knows where people and things belong. Evanelle is compelled to give people random objects, which, inevitably, sooner or later, they will need for something important. The Waverly back yard contains an ancient and strange apple tree. Anyone who eats an apple from the tree is shown the biggest event in their life - good or bad.
The story was cute and it was a fast read. A perfect beach book.

50) Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore- Robin Sloan
Fiction, Mystery, Books about books
Pages: 304
Rating:

Clay is an out of work, twenty-something, web designer living in San Fransisco. While job hunting he wanders into Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. The ceilings, and therefore the bookshelves, are extremely high. They remind Clay of a forest. Mr. Penumbra is a very old man. Clay is hired for the late shift, 10pm - 6am. After awhile Clay notices that something is strange with the store. Most of the people that come in have membership cards with a special number and ask to borrow books that have no words, just symbols. Clay keeps track of all transactions in a log book. Clay eventually discovers that the strange customers are members of the fellowship of The Unbroken Spine. They borrow the books in an attempt to decipher a secret message left by their founder, Aldus Manutius. Of course Clay decides that he needs to crack the code and decipher the message. Clay and his network of techies, creatives and book lovers will use all the technology at their disposal - both ancient and contemporary- to make this happen. Unless the leader of The Unbroken Spine can stop them.
A fairly quick read, the action is kept at a steady pace and never drags. The mystery was interesting. I found most of the characters one- dimensional. While the story was good overall it's not a book that I would re-read.

>119 VioletBramble: bought this on an impulse (really not like me) and I've never seen a review much over 3- 31/2 stars. I'm hesitant about starting it!

>115 LisaMorr: Lisa, I hope you do seek out Hold. It's an amazing collection of poetry.

>120 Tess_W: Yes, it's solidly a 3-3.5 star book. It's good, not great. I don't regret reading it. It was interesting enough, but I would never re-read it.

51) Summer Bird Blue- Akemi Dawn Bowman
Fiction, Young adult, Grief, Hawaii
Pages: 373
Rating:

Rumi and Lea are teen aged sisters who write songs together. Rum plays piano and Lea plays guitar. One day they and their mother are in a car accident. Lea is killed. Unable to handle her grief Rumi's mother sends Rumi to stay with her aunt in Hawaii. Lost in grief and feeling abandoned by her mother, Rumi becomes angry and lashes out at those around her. She feels compelled to complete the last song that she and Lea were writing. Every time she tries to play music her grief comes flooding back and overwhelms her. Eventually Rumi makes friends in Hawaii and they are slowly able to help her reconnect to music, dare to make changes in her life and, start to come to terms with her asexuality.
Earlier in the month I read Bowman's first book, Starfish. In that book she ended each chapter with a one or two sentence quirky description of the art that the main character was drawing or painting. In this book she does the same with with the music that Rumi listens to with her neighbor.
It might not have been a good idea to read these two books so close together. I couldn't help comparing them. Both feature a teen girl dealing with her own mental health issues as well as the mental health issues of family members. Both girls get help from a male friend with their own very intense family issues. Both girls are away from home. I much preferred the story and characters in Starfish. I also thought that Summer Bird Blue dragged in the middle and could have been a shorter book.

August Recap

Books read in August: 8
Books read in 2019: 51
Books off the shelf 2019: 35
Fiction: 31
NonFiction: 5
Graphic novels, etc: 7
Poetry: 8
Female author: 30
Male author: 22
Author gender unknown: 1
Pages read in 2019: 14,596 (2181 in Aug)

I still need to review Spinning Silver. Hopefully it won't take as long as it took me to read the book.

Planned reading for September:

Legendary - Stephanie Garber
Wonder Woman: Warbringer- Leigh Bardugo (Bingo DOG)
When the Moon Was Ours- Anna-Marie McLenore (RandomCAT)
This is How You Lose the Time War- Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Depression & Other Magic Tricks - Sabrina Benaim (poetry)
The Umbrella Academy : Dallas

I also have the following Nonfiction books in progress. I may or may not pick any of them up this month.
Democracy in Chains
Fascism : A Warning
The End of Ice

Stopping by to get caught up. Fabulous reviews and I really love the various images you found with a reading and summer theme!

I'm back and I - at least for the moment - have working wifi. WiFi issues escalated until everyone in my building signed a petition. I'm still unsure if the issue was related to the physical building or the cable company's equipment. The company came, shut everything down and two days later we were up and running. So far I have not had to re-boot the system even once. I may even be able to update the OS on my computer if the wifi stays active over night.

I'm just going to do a quick catch up on my books read since the beginning of September.

52) Depression & Other Magic Tricks - Sabrina Benaim
Poetry, Depression
Pages: 96
Rating:

53) The Umbrella Academy: Dallas- Gerard Way
Graphic novel, Series, Apocalypse
Pages: 192
Rating:

54) This is How You Lose the Time War- Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
SciFi, Fiction, Time travel
Pages: 208
Rating:

Red and Blue are operatives on opposite sides of the Time War. They travel through time and space on threads sabotaging and un-doing each other's work. They are each the best operative on their side. Red works for The Agency, a giant machine. Blue works for The Garden, a vast consciousness embedded in all organic matter. After years of this competitive game between them they become obsessed with each other. They start leaving each other messages through time and space in unique and untraceable ways. If they were to get caught they would be killed by their people as unreliable and a traitor. Red becomes aware that there is a shadow presence stalking them through their missions. They devise even more clever ways to communicate and the game turns into the strangest love story ever.
This is a strange and lovely book. It takes a while to figure out what's happening but by the end all the pieces click into place. Recommended.

55) When the Moon was Ours- Anna-Marie McLemore
Young adult, Fantasy
Pages: 288
Rating:

56) The Mystwick School of Musicraft- Jessica Khoury
Audiobook, Music, school, magic
Pages: 368/ Time: 8hrs 18 mins
Rating:

Read by: Suzy Jackson

This story takes place in a world where music creates magic. The entire world has music magic but only the best musicians can do higher level magic. Amelia Jones has always wanted to go to the Mystwick School of Magic. Her late mother went to school there. Amelia does horribly at her audition. Surprisingly, she receives an invitation to attend. When she arrives at the school she realizes something is wrong. There was another Amelia Jones, who was an amazing musician and who died just as acceptances are sent out. That Amelia Jones' letter magically traveled to this Amelia Jones. The Deans of the school decide she can be admitted on a trial basis. Amelia does her best to reach the skill level of the other students and keep out of trouble. However; someone is sabotaging her work and waking her repeatedly throughout the night. Who is it - students who discovered her secret, the other Amelia's friends, or the ghost of Amelia Jones?
I listened to this on audiobook because it was free through Audible. The story was cute, the mystery was good - and scary- , but the best part was the music. The music is performed by members of the NJSO Youth Orchestras and includes well known and original compositions.

57) My Wicked Wicked Ways: Poems- Sandra Cisneros
Poetry
Paes: 128
Rating:

58) Pumpkin Heads - Faith Erin Hicks and Rainbow Rowell
Graphic novel
Pages: 219
Rating:

I really enjoyed this graphic novel about two friends, Josie and Deja, who work together every autumn at the Pumpkin Patch. This is the autumn of their senior year of High school. The story is set on the last night of the Pumpkin Patch and the last night they will work together. They decide to ditch heir responsibilities and visit all the sites and booths the Pumpkin Patch has to offer. And Deja is hoping to finally get Josie to talk to the girl who works the Fudge Shoppe - who he has had a crush on for years.

59) Scream All Night- Derek Milman
Fiction, Mental Health
Pages: 389
Rating:

Dario Heyward is a high school senior who lives in a group home. Dario has lived in the group home since he was 12 or 13 years old. His mother lives in a mental health facility. His father is a now 90 year old B- horror movie director and producer that was/is a negligent parent. Dario's brother Oren calls him to come home to attend their father's funeral. Their father isn't dead but he is planning a ceremony where he will be buried alive. He is dying of terminal cancer and wants to be the one who controls things. Returning home means returning to Moldavia Studios, the castle that serves as studio and home to all in the Moldavia family. Moldavia Studios is also the place of childhood trauma for Dario. Dario starred in his father's most famous movie. His father used horrible methods to get Dario to give the performance he wanted on film. After the burial Dario learns that his father has left the fate of the studio, and the people who make up the Moldavia family, in his hands. Dario has less than a year to come up with a plan to save the studio and home that he hates.
I loved this one.

60) Meddling Kids- Edgar Cantero
Fiction, Mystery, Satire
Pages: 322
Rating:

Lovecraft meets the Scooby Gang in this Scooby- Doo spoof.
In 1977 the Blyton Summer Detective Club solved the Sleepy Lake Monster case. In the 13 years that followed the members of the club each became a dysfunctional mess. Andy (Andrea) joined the Army and then did two stints in prison before escaping. Kerri got a degree in Biology but works as a bartender and has her own issues with alcohol. Nate is a patient in the Arkham Asylum. Peter commited suicide. Sean, the dog, died. In 1990 Andy breaks out of prison and finds Kerri. Her theory is that the members of the old club are a mess because they know that the official story of the Sleepy Lake Monster case is a lie. They all saw things during that case that were never explained or talked about. Things that give them nightmares and make them lose sleep. Andy and Kerri, and the new dog, Tim (Sean's great grandson), break Nate out of the Arkham Asylum. They tell him the plan - to return to Blyton Hills, Oregon, located in the Zoinx River Valley, and solve the real supernatural mystery happening at the lake. BTW, Nate is psychotic and his main hallucination is the ghost of the last member of the club, Peter. So, the gang returns to Blyton Hills and discovers the truth about the Lovecraftian horror that has lived under the lake for eons. Can they save the town and themselves?
This one was a campy kind of fun that makes more sense if you've seen the Scooby-Doo cartoons and movies. The text went back and forth from narrative text to Script text. The action sequences were often too long. The mystery was good though. I liked every one of the characters, even the villain.

Recap for October:

Books read in 2019: 60
Books off the shelf 2019: 39
Fiction: 36
NonFiction: 5
Graphic novel, etc: 9
Poetry: 10
Female author: 36
Male author: 26
Author of unknown gender: 1
Pages read in 2019: 16, 806

Planned books for November and December:

Most of these books are already in progress, some from many months ago. I'm just going to try to get them completed by the end of the year.

Democracy in Chains- started this one last year
Fascism : A Warning - started earlier this year
Little, Big - January RandomCAT book which I'm re-reading slowly because I'm enjoying it
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Life is too short squirrel -- super boring, forcing myself to finish
Strange the Dreamer- LOVING this one
The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster - newest Early Reviewers book -- really good so far

not yet started:
The Octopus Museum - poetry for Nov
Earth My Likeness- poetry for Dec
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl & the Great Lakes Avengers

I'll probably try to squeeze in an audiobook:
Gideon the Ninth

61) The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster- Cary Fagan
Fiction, Children's Literature, Early Reviewers, Family Dynamics, Art
Pages: 174
Rating:

Hartley Staples is an eighth grader. His older brother, Jackson, ran away from home months ago. Because of this his only friend, Zach, is no longer allowed to hang out with him. As eighth grade, and middle school, are about to come to an end, Hartley is given his final assignment. The big one - "the final project". Hartley has no idea what topic he'll pick and he's quietly freaking out. Hartley begins to find handmade art postcards in various places around town. Instead of working on his project topic he becomes obsessed with finding new postcards and the artist.
The artist is Gretchen Oyster. Gretchen lives with her father during the week. Her father works at home and is wheelchair bound. She stays with her mother during weekends. Gretchen doesn't have any friends and is being bullied by a trio of girls at school. Her refuge is art.
Hartley and Gretchen eventually meet. Gretchen gives him the one postcard that he is missing..and..that's about it. Jackson returns home and Hartley shows him the postcards
The story felt unfinished. I enjoyed the story but I expected more to happen when Hartley and Gretchen finally met.

62) Strange the Dreamer- Laini Taylor
Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 544
Rating:

Lazlo Strange is an orphan and a library clerk. His propensity for daydreaming has earned him the nickname Strange the Dreamer. As a child he was playing out in an orchard, pretending to be a Tizerkane warrior from the Lost City. At that moment the name of that city was stolen from the minds of everyone in the world. It would forever more be called Weep. When he got older and became a library clerk in the abbey of the Kingdom of Zosma, Strange hunted out and read every book he could find about Weep. One day an envoy arrived from Weep. They were looking for experts with a variety of skills and knowledge that would be willing to travel to Weep to help save the city. Lazlo, having taught himself the language of Weep through his reading, is invited to make the journey as a secretary to the leader, Eril-Fane, the Godslayer.
Upon their arrival at Weep the visitors can not help but see that which the people of Weep refer to as "the shadow of our dark time". Floating horizontally in the air above the city of Weep is a gigantic statue made of molten metal in the shape of a man with wings spread. The Citadel of the Mesarthim. Home to the Gods that showed up one day and stole the light from Weep. These Gods treated the people of Weep as servants and breeders. They destroyed all the knowledge the people of Weep had obtained through their history. They stole the name of the city from the world. Eril-Fane slew these Gods. But the Citadel remains, unmovable. The people of Weep are hoping their visitors can solve their problem. What the people of Weep don't know is that the Citadel isn't empty. Four children survived the slaughter. These now teenaged half human, half God children each have their own power. One of them is Sarai, the Muse of Nightmares. She visits the dreams of the people of Weep nightly, and turns them into nightmares.
When Strange the Dreamer and Sarai, the Muse of Nightmares realize that they can communicate with each other in his dreams things become very complicated.
I loved this book. I hated to put it down and I picked it up whenever I had the opportunity. This is a quick read for a 544 page book. The writing pulled me in immediately. The characters are all distinct and interesting. The world building is pretty good -- it's not extensive but gives you enough to want to know more and hopefully more will be coming in the sequel. Recommended.

Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America- Nancy MacLean
Politics
Pages: 334
Rating: Did Not Finish

I've been reading this book for a year and have only managed to get to page 83. While I really would like to know what the filthy rich radical right is up to in their think tanks and their plans to change our Constitution I just can't finish this. The writing is dense and boring. Bailing.

>140 VioletBramble: LOL I have a book that I can't force myself to read about how the radical left wants to dismantled the constitution!

>141 Tess_W: LOL. I'm trying to stay informed but it gets so overwhelming and unpleasant. I just need to turn off the political chatter some times.

63) Book Love- Debbie Tung
Comics, Books
Pages: 144
Rating:



64) Strange Planet- Nathan W Pyle
Comics, Aliens
Pages: 144
Rating:

Two quick, fun comic books.

65) The Octopus Museum- Brenda Shaughnessy
Poetry
Pages: 68
Rating:

A collection of poems about how humans are surviving on Earth as exhibits in an Octopus Museum since cephalopods took over the planet. They were mad at humans about pollution,, violence and hatred. They learned our languages and managed to take over computer systems in no time at all due to their intelligence, numerous arms and ability to adapt.
This is a strange but overall very good collection.
The book cover is the prettiest of all the books I've read this year.

66) The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption- Dahr Jamail
Journalism, Climate change, Audiobook
Pages: 272 Audio: 7 hr 58 min
Rating:

Jamail travels to various locales - the top of glaciers, the Great Barrier Reef, forests and coastal villages- to assess the effect of global warming on glaciers, trees, sea life, animals, and humans. His findings and those of the scientists he interviews indicate that the sixth extinction is well underway. And humans will be one of the species that is lost - and soon.
Eye opening and frightening.

November Recap

Books read in 2019: 66
Books off the shelf 2019: 41
Fiction: 38
NonFiction: 6
Poetry: 11
Graphic novels, etc: 11
Female author: 39
Male author: 29
Author of unknown gender: 1
Pages read in 2019: 18,022 (1216 in Nov)

>146 VioletBramble: - I love the "reading by the campfire" image!

>146 VioletBramble: As I was scrolling down and saw the top half of the picture, I thought to myself, "I am reading whatever book has such a gorgeous cover." And it wasn't a book cover at all! :(

>148 JayneCM: - Sorry to disappoint. The artist is Leone Verbrugge but I couldn't find ant information on her.

last books of 2019:

Two quick Audible originals:
67) Viva Durant and the Secret of the Silver Buttons- Ashil S. Armant
Cute story about a mystery surrounding the origins of the Miss Mary Mack song. Set in New Orleans.

68) Holiday Greetings from Sugar and Booze- Ana Gasteyer and Maya Rudolph
Originally a podcast. Story of two college friends and their friendships and holiday celebrations throughout the years.

69) Bright Dead Things- Ada Limoncellos
Very good collection of poetry about identity.

70) Little, Big- John Crowley.
My fourth reading of this book. This was the January RandomCAT for a book with your name in it. Violet Bramble is a character in this book. I have finally updated the wiki. It was really a pleasure to read this slowly moving, dreamy book throughout the year.

Final Recap 2019:

Books read in 2019: 70
Books of the shelf 2019: 42
Fiction: 41
NonFiction: 6
Female author: 42
Male author: 30
Author unk. gender: 1
Pages read in 2019: 18,788

Little, Big sounds simply fabulous. What category would you call this book? It sounds like magic realism?

>151 JayneCM: It's part of the Fantasy Master Works series. It's about a family that can, in some way, communicate with the realm of faerie. Their land and their house function as portals. The family themselves play a part in the "story of the story" and use a special deck of tarot cards to try to tell the future or their parts in the story. It is a very slow and sprawling story. It's also kinda confusing because the faeries are playing tricks and the humans don't always know what's happening.Reading it slowly this time really was very nice.

>152 VioletBramble: Sounds perfect! A BB for me.