Winter Bucket List Update #1

2020 has been such a strange year. Here’s hoping 2021 starts off better than the last year ended. I’m not going to make a big list as I know things are still very strange. Oooffff… I am not doing great with this season’s list. Better get on some of these.

Read 45 books (18/45)
Complete Two Jigsaw Puzzles
Movie Month February - prepping this right now
Weekly Game Day/Night
Have an Indoor Picnic
Make Ice Cream Sundaes
DIY Spa Night
Buy Fresh Flowers Biweekly
Take a Winter Hike
Read 50 Winter Picture Books (50/50) ✓
Make a Blanket and Pillow Fort
Use Food Coloring to Make Pictures in the Snow
Bake Cookies
Make a Snowglobe
Have a Board Game Night
Have a Craft Day
Make a Bird Feeder

Next up on the TBR pile:

January 2021 Wrap-up

January TBR Pile (20/26):

Book of the Month Club: One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London ✓
Girly Book Club: Exhalation by Ted Chiang ✓
Girly Book Club: Disappearing Earth by Julia Philips
Friend Book Club: Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam ✓
MMD RC: Still Life by Louise Penny
Nonfiction: The Ends of the World by Peter Brannen ✓
Nonfiction: Librarian Tales by William Ottens
Nonfiction: Underland by Robert Mcfarlane
Romance: Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt
Romance: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn ✓
Scifi: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Scifi: The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov ✓
Fantasy: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke ✓
Comics: Solution and Other Problems by Allie Brosh ✓
Comics: Wellington by Aaron Mahnke ✓
Added: How to Catch a Wild Viscount by Tessa Dare ✓
Added: His Defiant Princess by Kathleen O’Brien ✓
Added: His Christmas Princess by Kathleen O’Brien ✓
Added: Sanctum by Madeleine Roux ✓
Added: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham ✓
Added: The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn ✓
Added: An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn ✓
Added: Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn ✓
Added: Lock In by John Scalzi ✓
Kid Read Aloud: The Very Very Far North by Dan Bar-el ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Matilda by Roald Dahl ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6279 pages
Pages Remaining: 495,483 pages

Current Read - Underland by Robert Macfarlane; The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Books I Gave Up On (1)

Suicide Forest by Jeremy Bates - I read about 30% and had a feeling that things were not going to take a good turn. I ended up reading Goodreads review and was validated in my feeling. CW for suicide and rape.

Books bought/received (4)

Two BOTM the month selections for me this month. One was free as it was a finalist for Book of the Year.

Outlawed by Anna North
The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

I also picked up two romance paperbacks from Half Price Books. These are from Hoyt’s Maiden Lane series that I’m really enjoying reading. The library does not have either of these volumes right now, but does have later volumes.

Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt
Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt

UnRead Shelf Progress

Starting Number: 292
Books Read: 6
Books Acquired: 4
Books Unshelved: 9
Finishing Number: 281

February TBR Pile:

Book of the Month Club: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Girly Book Club: Excursion by Blake Crouch (reread for me)
Girly Book Club: Disappearing Earth by Julia Philips
Friend Book Club: The Widow by Fiona Barton
MMD RC: Still Life by Louise Penny
Nonfiction: Librarian Tales by William Ottens
Nonfiction: Underland by Robert Mcfarlane
Romance: Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt
Romance: Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt
Romance: Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt
Romance: To Sir Phillip With Love by Julia Quinn
Romance: It’s In His His by Julia Quinn
Romance: When He was Wicked by Julia Quinn
Romance: On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn
Scifi: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Scifi: Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Fantasy: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Fantasy: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Movies watched

The Last Blockbuster - Interesting little documentary
Fahrenheit 451 (2018) - Really enjoyed the first act or so, but the second half of the movie was very weak.

TV Shows watched

Below Deck: Sailing Yacht S1
Star Trek DS9 S1
Schitt’s Creek S2-6 - We burned through five seasons in like two weeks. Oh goodness! I was in tears at the end. So incredibly good.
The Watch S1 - J is super excited about this show based on The Watch novels from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.
Lupin S1 - That was such a good show, but darn it, what a cliffhanger!
The Bachelor - Ooofff, I’m not loving some of the women and their interactions on Matt James’s season.

Comments - Starting off the year strong! I read 18 books for myself and 2 kid read alouds. I managed to keep my library numbers down and read a decent number of unread shelf books. We managed to finish a few seasons of tv and almost an entire series. February is going to be our traditional new-to-us movie month, so very little television series will be watched. Can’t wait!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lock In by John Scalzi

Title: Lock In (Lock In #1)

Author: John Scalzi

Publisher: Tor 2014

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 337

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what's now known as "Haden's syndrome," rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an "integrator" - someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time. If the Integrator was carrying a Haden client, then naming the suspect for the murder becomes that much more complicated.

But "complicated" doesn't begin to describe it. As Shane and Vann began to unravel the threads of the murder, it becomes clear that the real mystery - and the real crime - is bigger than anyone could have imagined. The world of the locked in is changing, and with the change comes opportunities that the ambitious will seize at any cost. The investigation that began as a murder case takes Shane and Vann from the halls of corporate power to the virtual spaces of the locked in, and to the very heart of an emerging, surprising new human culture. It's nothing you could have expected.

This book had me remembering the fun detective parts of Asimov’s Robot books featuring Baley and Daneel. I loved the interplay of detectives attempting to unravel the mysterious murders. But then throw in a robot (of sorts) and lots of politics and you get one enjoyable novel. Right away, I was all in with Agents Shane and Vann and the intrigue around a murder (or was it?) in the nation’s capitol. From there, we get to learn more about our characters and the world after Haden’s. I’m very interested in reading the next book and furthering the adventures.

Lock In:

#1 Lock In
#2 Head On

star-rating-remains-the-most-important-part-of-a-review-cad0047.cad0047.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Title: Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgerton #4)

Author: Julia Quinn

Publisher: Avon

Genre: Romance

Pages: 418

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Romance; UnRead Shelf

Everyone knows that Colin Bridgerton is the most charming man in London . . .

Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for . . . well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret . . . and fears she doesn't know him at all.

Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought of as nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can't seem to publish an edition without mentioning him. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad, he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same—especially Penelope Featherington! The girl who was always simply there is suddenly the girl haunting his dreams. When he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide . . . is she his biggest threat— or his promise of a happy ending?

This one was a bit of a let down. I have absolutely loved Colin every time that he appears in the books so far. He’s such a delightful character! I wanted to absolutely love his story with Penelope. As for her, I did enjoy the glimpses that we got of Penelope in the previous books. I did want to know more about her. So I was excited that we finally got their story. It just wasn’t that exciting or romantic at all. Colin was a bit of a wet blanket and Penelope wasn’t that interesting. Their chemistry was practically non-existent. I just didn’t feel the sexual tension between these two characters like the previous books. Here’s hoping the next book is better.

Bridgerton

#1 The Duke and I
#2 The Viscount Who Loved Me
#3 An Offer from a Gentleman
#4 Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
#5 To Sir Philip, With Love
#6 When He was Wicked
#7 It’s in His Kiss
#8 On the Way to the Wedding
Happily Ever After (2nd Epilogues and Violet’s Story)

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Great start to 2021’s reading! Here’s hoping that I can keep it up.
So sad that we’re almost finished with Schitt’s Creek. it’s been such a good series.
We’ve had over a foot of snow this week. I’m not loving shoveling our large driveway, but at least we don’t have to go anywhere this week.
Need to make a few deserts this coming week to catch up.

Next up on the TBR pile:

An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

Title: An Offer from a Gentleman (Bridgerton #3)

Author: Julia Quinn

Publisher: Avon 2015

Genre: Romance

Pages: 390

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Romance; UnRead Shelf

Sophie Beckett never dreamed she'd be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball—or that "Prince Charming" would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.

Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other—except, perhaps, this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid's garb whom he feels compelled to rescue from a most disagreeable situation. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. Yet, if he offers her his heart, will Benedict sacrifice his only chance for a fairy tale love?

Another lovely romance! I loved the set-up with this one. A Cinderella-esque story was just what I needed this week. It starts out so predictable, but them we really get to know Benedict and Sophie and things get more interesting. I loved their romance so very very much. I couldn’t wait to see how they would navigate the seemingly impossible connection. I loved that we get more interactions with the Bridgerton family, especially Violet. It was even nice to see what happened the Sophie’s stepsister Posy in the end. But most, I loved the romance getting to know Benedict so much more. (He might just be my favorite Bridgerton.)

Bridgerton

#1 The Duke and I
#2 The Viscount Who Loved Me
#3 An Offer from a Gentleman
#4 Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
#5 To Sir Philip, With Love
#6 When He was Wicked
#7 It’s in His Kiss
#8 On the Way to the Wedding
Happily Ever After (2nd Epilogues and Violet’s Story)

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

Title: The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgerton #2)

Author: Julia Quinn

Publisher: Avon 2015

Genre: Romance

Pages: 398

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Romance

1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, This Author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry. And in all truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better... --Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814

But this time the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry--he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield--the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate's the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...

Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands--and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate's determined to protect her sister--but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...

I really loved the first book in the series, but somehow I loved this one even more. Anthony and Kate are such amazing characters! We get two very strong-willed people attempting to do what’s right and failing to see the happily ever after right in front of their faces. These two were very frustrating but in such a good way. I was rooting for them the entire time. I love how we get to really see two adults find romance and understanding within the strict bounds of Regency society. I can’t wait to read about Benedict’s story!

Bridgerton

#1 The Duke and I
#2 The Viscount Who Loved Me
#3 An Offer from a Gentleman
#4 Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
#5 To Sir Philip, With Love
#6 When He was Wicked
#7 It’s in His Kiss
#8 On the Way to the Wedding
Happily Ever After (2nd Epilogues and Violet’s Story)

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Title: The Day of the Trifids

Author: John Wyndham

Publisher: 1951

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 272

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Currently Reading - Lost in my TBR

Triffids are odd, interesting little plants that grow in everyone’s garden. Triffids are no more than mere curiosities—until an event occurs that alters human life forever.

What seems to be a spectacular meteor shower turns into a bizarre, green inferno that blinds everyone and renders humankind helpless. What follows is even stranger: spores from the inferno cause the triffids to suddenly take on a life of their own. They become large, crawling vegetation, with the ability to uproot and roam about the country, attacking humans and inflicting pain and agony.

William Masen somehow managed to escape being blinded in the inferno, and now after leaving the hospital, he is one of the few survivors who can see. And he may be the only one who can save his species from chaos and eventual extinction . . .

CW: Sexual assault

I had been meaning to read this one ever since I saw the original 1962 film. Unfortunately, the book was not a winner. The plot was a bit slow (surprisingly) with too much random narration instead of showing what happened. There were too many action sequences (seems contradictory to my previous statement, but they are both true!), and twists to the storyline. I appreciate how the movie streamlined a lot of the narrative to focus on a few groups of characters. Lastly, I was not here for all the sexual assault and misogyny. Not surprising for a science fiction book written in the 1950s, but I didn’t need to read it. Pretty disappointing.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W20: We Visited the Puffins!

What We Studied

Literature and Poetry

Basically same thing I said last week: “Our literature selection for this month is Matilda by Roald Dahl. Arthur, J, and I attended a performance of the musical version (lyrics by Tim Minchin!), back in 2019. It was nice to start with a book that I have read before and that Arthur is mostly familiar with. After we finish (in two weeks), we are going to watch the movie with Mara Wilson and Danny Devito. Beyond our literature selection, I’ve been having Arthur read a book aloud to me a few times this week. We will be continuing this into the rest of the semester. He even picked out a few Level 2 readers to challenge his reading for next week. We also started a few winter-themed picture books literature studies. I found a couple of great resources online to go with 30 different books. We’ll be sprinkling these in through the month. And we grabbed a few winter themed poetry books.”

Matilda by Roald Dahl
Winter Song by William Shakespeare
Winter Friends by Mary Quattlebaum
The Snowman and the Snowdog by Raymond Briggs (Arthur read)
Duck Duck Dinosaur: Snowy Surprise by Kallie George (Arthur read)
Thomas the Tank Engine: Treasure on the Tracks (Arthur read)
The Mitten by Jan Brett (literature study)
Snow by Cynthia Rylant (literature Study)
The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett (Literature study)
Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle (Quentin literature study)

Math

We wrapped up our Ruby book and did some more activities involving aspects of computer science. Arthur really loved creating his own game.

Mission Addition by Loreen Leedy
Subtraction Action by Loreen Leedy
Kids Get Coding

Social Studies

Because of other events, our social studies was shortened this week. We covered the Andes Mountain Civilizations, specifically the Nazca. We’'ll cover Mesoamerica next week. We did sneak in two mini units about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Presidential Innauguration.

Martin Luther King Jr: A Peaceful Leader by Sarah Albee
Eyewitness: Aztec, Inca, and Maya

Science

We reached the last week in our anatomy study. We covered the reproductive system and life cycle before doing a bit review of the body. We also watched two Magic School Bus Rides Again episodes that went along with our unit. We watched one about the nervous system and one about eyes. Always entertaining!

Eyewitness: Human Body
My Amazing Body Machine
Who Has What? All About Girls’ Bodies and Boys’ Bodies by Robie H. Harris

For the second half the week, we started Blossom and Root’s The Mitten Bookseed. We talked about the book and started diving into the STEAM activities. Quentin loved doing the ordinal numbers activities.

The Mitten by Alvin Tressalt

Art

Nothing formal

Music

Our composer was George Gerswhin. I had forgotten how much I love his music! Arthur enjoyed it and even seemed to really get into learning about Rhapsody in Blue.

The Music in George’s Head by Suzanna Slade
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue by Anna Harwell Celenza

Unit Theme

Our big theme was Polar Bears, continuing the cold weather theme for January. We learned a lot about the animals along with reading a ton of great picture books featuring polar bears.

Polar Bear by Dee Phillips
Polar Bear’s Underwear by Tupera Tupera
What If? Then We? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Sea Bear by Lindsay Moore
Caspian Finds a Friend by Jaqueline Veissid
A Baby Polar Bear Story by Martha E.H. Rustad
Polar Bear Postman by Seigo Kijima
The Snow Bear by Sean Taylor
Do You Really Want to Meet a Polar Bear? by Marcie Aboff
One Very Big Bear by Alice Biere-Haquet
The Bear Report by Thyra Heder
Love Matters Most by Mij Kelly and Gerry Turley
Something’s Fishy by Jean Gourounas
The Polar Bear by Jenni Desmond
Nanuk the Ice Bear by Jeannette Winter
Lost and Found by JiWon Beck
Snowy Bear by Tony Mitton
If Polar Bears Disappeared by Lily Williams

Misc. - Random picture books read

A Perfect Day by Carin Berger
The Little Snowplow by Lora Koehler
First Snow by Bernette Ford
The Abominable Snow Teacher by Lisa Passen
First Snow by Nancy Viau
One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo
No Yeti Yet by Mary Ann Fraser
Mimi and Bear in the Snow by Janee Trasler
Snow Sisters by Kerri Kokias and Teagan White
Coming Home by Michael Morpurgo
The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen
When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan

Highs

We took a break on Thursday from our curriculum and visited the zoo. We haven’t been there in about 4 months. It was nice to walk around without many people and spend time with some of our favorite animals. Quentin requested to see the elephants (love them myself!) and Arthur wanted to visit the swamp in Kingdoms of the Night (an alligator splashing scared me this time). I think we will be going again this week to do a mini study of the penguins. Our zoo has three species, so it’ll be great to compare and contrast them. And I’m hoping we get to see the sea lions. they are at the opposite end of the zoo from the elephants and it’s quite a walk in the cold and not being able to use the shortcut through the gorilla house (closed for construction).

Lows

Between the zoo and grocery shopping, two of our days were cut down drastically. We need to find a better balance.

Next Week

Out unit theme will be penguins to go along with cold weather. We will be catching up in history with three topics: Mesoamerican Civilizations, Kushites and Aksumites, and North America Geography. For literature, we should finish Matilda on Tuesday, so we’ll be starting a new book on Wednesday! And we hope to get to the zoo on Thursday or Friday specifically for the penguins.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Silverstein "Infinite"

For the first two months of the year, I decided to do Emo Winter! I’m been really loving The Emo Project channel on Sirius XM Radio. I picked all my selections directly from the channel.

Another newer song that I can’t get out of my head.

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Title: The Duke and I (Bridgerton #1)

Author: Julia Quinn

Publisher: Avon 2015

Genre: Romance

Pages: 433

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Romance; Winter TBR

Can there be any greater challenge to London's Ambitious Mamas than an unmarried duke?—Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1813

By all accounts, Simon Basset is on the verge of proposing to his best friend's sister—the lovely and almost-on-the-shelf—Daphne Bridgerton. But the two of them know the truth—it's all an elaborate ruse to keep Simon free from marriage-minded society mothers. And as for Daphne, surely she will attract some worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable.

But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, it's hard to remember that their courtship is a sham. Maybe it's his devilish smile, certainly it's the way his eyes seem to burn every time he looks at her . . . but somehow Daphne is falling for the dashing duke . . . for real! And now she must do the impossible and convince the handsome rogue that their clever little scheme deserves a slight alteration, and that nothing makes quite as much sense as falling in love.

CW: Rape

I finally, finally, started the Bridgerton series this past week. And overall, I am completely addicted to this one. I have to read all these books detailing the romance pursuits of all the Bridgerton children. Daphne is a delight and Simon is a lovely male lead. I loved reading their romance progress from a mutually beneficial arrangement to real romance. So good. Beyond Daphne and Simon, I loved following the rest of the Bridgerton family. I can’t wait to see which sibling gets their happily ever after next. My one quibble is obviously that scene. Seriously. I read an interview with Quinn that talked about how the scene played at the time of writing and when it was set, but it really doesn’t go over well now.

Bridgerton

#1 The Duke and I
#2 The Viscount Who Loved Me
#3 An Offer from a Gentleman
#4 Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
#5 To Sir Philip, With Love
#6 When He was Wicked
#7 It’s in His Kiss
#8 On the Way to the Wedding
Happily Ever After (2nd Epilogues and Violet’s Story)

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Ends of the World by Peter Brannen

Title: The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions

Author: Peter Brannen

Publisher: Ecco 2018

Genre: Nonfiction - Science

Pages: 336

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

Our world has ended five times: it has been broiled, frozen, poison-gassed, smothered, and pelted by asteroids. In The Ends of the World, Peter Brannen dives into deep time, exploring Earth’s past dead ends, and in the process, offers us a glimpse of our possible future.

Many scientists now believe that the climate shifts of the twenty-first century have analogs in these five extinctions. Using the visible clues these devastations have left behind in the fossil record, The Ends of the World takes us inside “scenes of the crime,” from South Africa to the New York Palisades, to tell the story of each extinction. Brannen examines the fossil record—which is rife with creatures like dragonflies the size of sea gulls and guillotine-mouthed fish—and introduces us to the researchers on the front lines who, using the forensic tools of modern science, are piecing together what really happened at the crime scenes of the Earth’s biggest whodunits.

Part road trip, part history, and part cautionary tale, The Ends of the World takes us on a tour of the ways that our planet has clawed itself back from the grave, and casts our future in a completely new light.

Caveat: This is not a bad good even with my star rating, it just wasn’t the book for me personally. I find that many of these more general history books are fairly boring to me as I know a little too much about history. In this case, I have read so many history and specifically pre-history and extinction event books that this one was a lot of repetitive information. I enjoyed the book, but end up skimming a ton of the chapters. Good info, just not for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Sanctum by Madeleine Roux

Title: Sanctum (Asylum #2)

Author: Madeleine Roux

Publisher: HarperCollins 2015

Genre: YA Horror

Pages: 368

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Unread Shelf Project Reading Challenge - Backlist title; Winter TBR

Dan, Abby, and Jordan remain traumatized by the summer they shared in the Brookline asylum. Much as they'd love to move on, many questions remain, and someone is determined to keep the terror alive, sending the teens photos of an old-timey carnival, with no note and no name. Forsaking their plan never to go back, the teens return to New Hampshire College under the guise of a weekend for prospective students, and there they realize that the carnival from the photos is not only real, it's here on campus, apparently for the first time in many years.

Sneaking away from sample classes and college parties, Dan and his friends lead a tour of their own—one through the abandoned houses and hidden places of a surrounding town. Camford is hiding a terrible past, and the truth behind Dan's connection to the asylum's evil warden is more terrifying than Dan ever imagined.

And with this book, I am officially DNFing the rest of the Asylum series. The first book I enjoyed. It was a YA Horror book with an intriguing setting, plotline, and characters. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Well it turns out, almost the exact same things. Our three friends show back up at Brookline after receiving vaguely sinister messages in the mail. Instead of talking about things and attempting to get ahead of the mystery, Abby and Jordan spend half the book not believing Dan (seeing ghosts, hearing voices, etc) and Dan spends most of the book trying to figure out if his friends are actually his friends. that’s what we did in the first book. At this point in the series, I wanted to see a lot more character growth. The lack of growth and unity among the friends distracted me enough that I couldn’t really get into the actual mystery. By the end of the book, I realized that I have no desire to find out what happens to the characters. Three books taken off my UnRead Shelf.

Asylum:

#0.5 Escape from Asylum
#1 Asylum
#1.5 The Scarlets
#2 Sanctum
#2.5 The Bone Artists
#3 Catacomb
#3.5 The Warden

Next Up on the TBR Pile:

His Christmas Princess by Kathleen O'Brien

Title: His Christmas Princess (Princess Brides #2)

Author: Kathleen O’Brien

Publisher: Tule 2017

Genre: Romance

Pages: 181

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Willow Arden adores her life as the coronation planner in the Vicenza palace. The tiny island kingdom is the perfect place to raise her baby daughter. But when Emory, the sexy heir to the throne and her almost lover, comes home after a year-long hiatus, her perfect life is shaken to its core.

Emory's spent his whole life putting Vicenza's interests over his own. After taking a year off to live the kind of life he always wanted, he's returned and he's committed to the throne.

But when Willow and Emory meet again, the attraction between them ignites, as white-hot and hopeless as ever. Emory can't betray his commitments, and Willow must protect her heart at all costs. One way or another, one of them will lose everything.

The sequel to His Defiant Princess was so much better. I immediately fell for both Emory and Willow in the first story and couldn’t wait to read their romance in the second. These two are much more interesting and multi-dimensional adults with real problems and obstacles. Brenna and Ronan got in their own ways toward romance. Willow and Emory have to deal with actual obstacles and responsibilities. I loved it! I was rooting for them throughout the book, but really wanted them to have those tough conversations being moving forward. Thankfully we get some of those. A delightful little read for this week.

Princess Brides

#1 His Defiant Princess
#2 His Christmas Princess

Next up on the TBR pile:

His Defiant Princess by Kathleen O'Brien

Title: His Defiant Princess (Princess Brides #1)

Author: Kathleen O’Brien

Publisher: Tule 2015

Genre: Romance

Pages: 166

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Brenna Tinley has decided to move to the Unified Isles of Cornetta, a fairy-tale kingdom just south of France in the Bay of Biscay to escape the recent tragedies in her personal life. The happiest summer she can remember was spent there, in the arms of a handsome, tender rascal who disappeared without a goodbye when Autumn came…

As fate would have it, the Royal House of Vicenza has engaged Brenna Tinley to clear up a public relations mess. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for this small-town American girl, but there’s only one problem. Her new employer, HRH Prince Ronan, aka her mystery summer lover of long ago, seems determined to pick up where they left off. Can Brenna work in the royal palace and not end up with a brand new broken heart?

Short and sweet novella. I really enjoyed the romance between Brenna and Ronan, but I almost wish we could have gotten more of their backstory. I would have read another 100 pages fleshing out their summer years back. As it is, we get a quick rekindling of the romance in a fictional monarchy off the coast of France. Cute little story for an afternoon’s reading.

Princess Brides

#1 His Defiant Princess
#2 His Christmas Princess

Next up on the TBR pile:

How to Catch a Wild Viscount by Tessa Dare

Title: How to Catch a Wild Viscount

Author: Tessa Dare

Publisher: 2014

Genre: Romance

Pages: 105

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

She's on the hunt for a hero...

Luke Trenton, Viscount Merritt, returned from war a changed man. Battle stripped away his civility and brought out his inner beast. There is no charm or tenderness in him now; only dark passions and a hardened soul. He has nothing to offer the starry-eyed, innocent girl who pledged her heart to him four years ago.

But Cecily Hale isn't a girl any longer. She's grown into a woman--one who won't be pushed away. She and Luke are guests at a house party when a local legend captures their friends' imaginations. While the others plunge into the forest on a wild goose...er, stag chase, Cecily's on the hunt for a man. She has only a few moonlit nights to reach the real Luke...the wounded heart she knows still beats inside the war-ravaged body...or she could lose him to the darkness forever.

This short story was one of those free Kindle deals that I had picked up some time ago. I wanted a cute little romance to get me back on track after some heavier books. It’s a cute little story wrapped up in just about 100 pages. We get enough backstory about Luke and Cecily that the story makes sense. We get a fun gothic myth to push the two characters together. It was fun, although I really would have liked to see more from the side characters.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Blustery Videos

Entertaining little bit…

Very excited for season 2, even if the second book dragged a bit in places.

The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov

Title: The Robots of Dawn

Author: Isaac Asimov

Publisher: 1983

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 433

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Scifi; Winter TBR

A millennium into the future two advances have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov's Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together.

Detective Elijah Baiey is called to the Spacer world Aurora to solve a bizarre case of roboticide. The prime suspect is a gifted roboticist who had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to commit the crime. There's only one catch: Baley and his positronic partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, must prove the man innocent. For in a case of political intrigue and love between woman and robot gone tragically wrong, there's more at stake than simple justice. This time Baley's career, his life, and Earth's right to pioneer the Galaxy lie in the delicate balance.

CW: Rape

The last book in the Elijah Baley detective novel series from Asimov. Overall, I really do enjoy these books. I like the detective elements to the novels as we follow Baley in determining who was the killer. I liked the interplay between Baley and Daneel (and now Giskard). I find the philosophical conversations to be intriguing. I really want to know more about what life is like for the robots. And I can’t wait to see how the events of this book impact the future colonization of uninhabited planets and the currently inhabited Earth and Spacer Worlds. My one issue with this novel is the scene between Gladia and Baley. We are given a rape scene that was really came out of nowhere and was completely unnecessary for the storyline and characters. I was very disappointed when I got to that scene as I had begun to think more of Asimov’s treatment of women and gender relations in this book. I was wrong. A re-writing of that scene removing the rape could have bumped this book up to 5 stars for me.

Next up on the TBR Pile:

Currently #1

Reading: I finally started Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series with The Duke and I . I’m about 75% of the way through it and loving every page (except for that one bedroom scene, so many problems). I’m hoping to read at least the next three books before starting the TV series.

Watching: J convinced me to start watching Lupin S1 and I’m really digging it. It’s a lovely action, spy-style show with quite a bit of mystery and humor. As it’s in French, we have to read the subtitled version which is fine except for when I have a nasty headache. Consequently, we aren’t burning through the series like we usually do. We’ve only watched the first three episodes so far.

Listening: Still loving Currently Reading. I joined their Patreon in December, so I had a ton of back podcasts to listen to from the members only section. And they are putting out a ton of great new content on the main podcast feed. I’m all about Meredith and Kaytee (and Mindy and Mary) right now!

Making: Our 2021 Food Project of 52 Weeks of Desserts and Snacks is off to a great start. After two dessert recipes, I’m turning to more breakfast style baked goods for the rest of January. I made Earl Grey Tea Bread earlier this week and hope to make Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal later this week.

Feeling: Being stuck in our house all day every day with no real hope of outside activities is really getting to me. I’m so grateful to have a home with some space, but we are all still here together for the foreseeable future. I’m really mourning the days when we could do activities outside of our home.

Planning: As to the previous point, I think I’m going to try and schedule a zoo day this week. The zoo is usually very sparsely attended during a normal January. I’m hoping that there will be even less people so we enjoy the Jungle Building, Desert Dome, Aquarium, and maybe even the giraffes and elephants. Also wondering if we can get to the sea lion exhibit without walking the long way around outside (must inquire at the check-in…). I’m thinking maybe Thursday before or after the library.

Loving: I’m all about a hot cup of coffee in the morning and a hot cup of tea in the afternoon (during reading time) or in the evening (during TV with J time).

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W19: Back to Our Usual Routine

What We Studied

It has been so nice to get back to our usual routine. We all needed a break over Christmas, but the fact that we couldn’t really leave the house made the break seem more like cabin fever after awhile. Judging by the increasing attitude from the kids, they need to be out and about or at least have a home routine. The attitude has receded as we got back into the regular week. Phew!

Literature and Poetry

Our literature selection for this month is Matilda by Roald Dahl. Arthur, J, and I attended a performance of the musical version (lyrics by Tim Minchin!), back in 2019. It was nice to start with a book that I have read before and that Arthur is mostly familiar with. After we finish (in two weeks), we are going to watch the movie with Mara Wilson and Danny Devito. Beyond our literature selection, I’ve been having Arthur read a book aloud to me a few times this week. We will be continuing this into the rest of the semester. He even picked out a few Level 2 readers to challenge his reading for next week. We also started a few winter-themed picture books literature studies. I found a couple of great resources online to go with 30 different books. We’ll be sprinkling these in through the month. And we grabbed a few winter themed poetry books.

Matilda by Roald Dahl
Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston
Winter Lights by Anna Grossnickle Hines
Snow by Marion Dane Bauer (Arthur read)
Fox Versus Winter by Corey R. Tabor (Arthur read)
Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright (literature study)
The Snow Globe Family by Jane O’Connor (literature study)

Math

We’re finishing out our Ruby book this week and next. Arthur has really gotten into the various exercises from the book. We’ll be moving into using Codespark sometime next week. We are also continuing to supplement with Khan Academy’s math courses and various worksheets. We should be starting Singapore 2A in two weeks.

If You were a Circle by Molly Blaisdell

Social Studies

This week was all about geography! We covered both Antarctica and South America for our continent studies. Antarctica because we are studying cold weather right now for our unit theme. And South America because we will be studying ancient Andes Mountain and Mesoamerican Cultures. We also learned about a few specific polar region and South American explorers from our Explorers books. (See Unit Theme for book list related to the cold)

Science

We covered the Endocrine System and Immune System for Anatomy this week. Next week will be our last week for anatomy before moving on to other science topics. I’m surprised at how much Arthur really got into this study.

Eyewitness: Human Body
My Amazing Body Machine

Art

Nothing formal

Music

Our composer was Leonard Bernstein. Arthur was not a huge fan except for West Side Story, which is one of my least favorite musicals. But at least he listened! He did like watching Kristin Chenoweth perform a selection from Candide.

Unit Theme

Our big theme was the cold weather regions and accompanying subjects. We covered the geography and weather of the Arctic and Antarctic, polar exploration, native groups of the Arctic, general weather, plants of the cold, animals of the cold, and animal adaptations. Plus we read a ton of winter themed picture books.

The Coldest Places on Earth by Jennifer M. Besel
Winter by Cynthia Amoroso and Robert B. Noyed
Wonderful Winter by Bruce Goldstone
Explore Antarctica by Bobbie Kalman
Antarctic Tundra by Vicky Franchino
Antarctica by Mel Friedman
Eyewitness: Polar Exploration
Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow by Sharon Gibson Palermo
Grandmother Winter by Phyllis Root
The Snow Dancer by Addie Boswell
My Winter City by James Gladstone
The Inuit by Kevin Cunningham and Peter Benoit
Igloos and Inuit Life by Louise Spilsbury
Ituko: An Inuit Child
Winter Dance by Marion Dane Bauer
Caribou Song by Atihko Nikamon
Big Snow by Jonathan Bean
Snow Bear by Jean Craighead George
Today is Snowy by Martha E.H. Rustad
Whiteout by Rick Thomas
Plants in Winter by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst
Weather in Winter by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst
It’s Winter by Linda Glaser
When the Snow Falls by Linda Booth Sweeney
Red Sled by Lita Judge (Quentin’s favorite!)
Mama, Do You Love Me by Barbara M. Joosse
Sugar White Snow and Evergreen by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky
Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk
Ocean Anatomy
Reindeer by Dee Phillips
Harp Seal by Dee Phillips
Walrus Tusk Tusk by Stephen Person
In Arctic Waters by Laura Crawford
Immi’s Gift by Karin Littlewood
Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell
The Stolen Sun by Amanda Hall
Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle by Laura Prudie Salas
Winter Sleep by Sean Taylor and Alex Morss
A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson
Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit by Sung Na
Do Polar Bears Snooze in Hollow Trees by Laura Purdie Salas
Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins and G. Brian Karas
Chaucer’s First Winter by Stephen Krensky
Winter Trees by Leslie Evans
Snowman’s Story by Will Hillenbrand
Snow is Falling by Franklyn M. Branley
The Little Snowplow Wishes for Snow by Lora Koehler
One Snowy Day by Diana Murray

Misc. - Random picture books read

Thomas the Tank Engine: Easter Engines (Arthur read)
If Picasso Painted a Snowman by Amy and Greg Newbold

Highs

The routine is so nice! The attitudes have really turned around this week.
On Wednesday, we stopped into the library for our usual. We also stopped at Half Price Books so I could sell some books. The boys each picked out a new book (Quentin picked a dinosaur book, big surprise, and Arthur picked a Captain Underpants book) and I grabbed a new Ravensburger dinosaur puzzle for us to put together next week.

Lows

The melting snow made it impossible to go outside and play for most of the week. The slush makes parts of our year a mud pit.

Next Week

So many things on tap for next week!

Finishing Ruby book
Finishing Anatomy unit
Covering Polar Bears
Continuing Matilda, poetry, and literature studies
Listening to George Gershwin
Learning about the Nazca, Olmec, Toltec, and Zapotec cultures
Possible visit to the zoo

Next up on the TBR pile: