February 2024 Wrap-up

February TBR Pile (26/28):

Bookworms BC: That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert (reread)
Friend BC: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia
Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Guards! Guards! by Terry Prachett ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Tales from the Odyssey Part One by Mary Pope Osborne ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Tales from the Odyssey Part Two by Mary Pope Osborne ✓
Kid Read Aloud: The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith ✓
Fantasy: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman ✓
Fantasy: Malamander by Thomas Taylor ✓
Fantasy: Haunted Holiday by Kiersten White ✓
Fantasy: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft ✓
Fantasy: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire ✓
Science Fiction: Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells ✓
Science Fiction: System Collapse by Martha Wells ✓
Romance: Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert ✓
Romance: Untouchable by Talia Hibbert ✓
Romance: A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone ✓
Romance; Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband by Melissa Mayhue ✓
Romance: Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert ✓
Thriller/Mystery: The Last One by Will Dean ✓
Thriller/Mystery: The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas ✓
Thriller/Mystery: Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty ✓
Comics: Confetti Realms ✓
Horror: Dead Voices by Katherine Arden ✓
Horror: Mimi’s Tales of Terror by Junji Ito ✓
Nonfiction: Sellout by Dan Ozzi ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 7812 pages
Pages Remaining: 257,870 pages

Current Read - The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (6):

During a trip to Half Price Books, I grabbed a few clearance books off the shelves.

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

From BOTM, I grabbed The Mayer of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham.

And I put in a Thriftbooks order for some homeschool stuff, but also two books for me.

To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt
To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

UnRead Shelf Progress

Starting Number: 330
Books Read: 4
Books Acquired: 6
Books Unshelved: 7
Finishing Number: 325

March TBR Pile:

Bookworms BC: NONE
Friend BC: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia
Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Kid Read Aloud: The Witches by Roald Dahl
Kid Book Club: The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf
Fantasy: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland
Science Fiction: Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
Historical Fiction: Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig
Romance: Ruthless by Anne Stuart
Horror: The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
Horror: What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell
Nonfiction: The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart
Comics: Love Everlasting Vol. 1
Comics: Love Everlasting Vol. 2

Movies Watched - It’s another Nic Cage Quarterly for the month! We ended up watching 13 Nicolas Cage movies.

It Could Happen to You
Trapped in Paradise
Kiss of Death
Leaving Las Vegas
The Rock
Con Air
Face/Off
City of Angels
Snake Eyes
8MM
Bringing Out the Dead
The Family Man
Gone in 60 Seconds

And one non-Nic Cage Movie

Anyone But You

TV Shows Watched

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist S1
The Bachelorette S28
The Buccaneers
Below Deck

Comments - Another huge reading month for me! I managed almost a book a day throughout the month. This was helped by my early month reading weekend and some late nights. We also did a decent job at watching Nic Cage movies for our big year project.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty

Title: Chaos Terminal (The Midsolar Murders #2)

Author: Mur Lafferty

Publisher: Ace 2023

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 369

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Locked Room Mystery; Library Love

Mallory Viridian would rather not be an amateur detective, thank you very much. But no matter what she does, people persist in dying around her—and only she seems to be able to solve the crime. After fleeing to an alien space station in hopes that the lack of humans would stop the murders, a serial killer had the nerve to follow her to Station Eternity. (Mallory deduced who the true culprit was that time, too.)

Now the law enforcement agent who hounded Mallory on Earth has come to Station Eternity, along with her teenage crush and his sister, Mallory’s best friend from high school. Mallory doesn’t believe in coincidences, and so she’s not at all surprised when someone in the latest shuttle from Earth is murdered. It’s the story of her life, after all.

Only this time she has more than a killer to deal with. Between her fugitive friends, a new threat arising from the Sundry hivemind, and the alarmingly peculiar behavior of the sentient space station they all call home, even Mallory’s deductive abilities are strained. If she can’t find out what’s going on (and fast), a disaster of intergalactic proportions may occur.…

.Finally grabbed the second book in the Midsolar Murders series and enjoyed it. I must say that for a portion of this book, I was very annoyed by the lack of information. Mallory’s inability to understand what was happening around her was frustrating. But once the mystery really started unraveling, I understand and my annoyance faded. In this one, we get some familiar characters and the reintroduction of a few storylines teased in the first book. Thankfully the book focuses on the murder mystery and leaves the romance mostly out of the story. I was afraid that the book was going to shove Mallory and Xan together romantically. It does not. Instead, another character enters the scene. I loved the interactions between the residents on the space station. Those chapters were my favorite. Overall, I fun murder mystery on a space station.

The Midsolar Murders

#1 Station Eternity
#2 Chaos Terminal

Next up on the TBR pile:

Mimi's Tales of Terror by Junji Ito

Title: Mimi’s Tales of Terror

Author: Junji Ito

Publisher: VIZ Media 2023

Genre: Horror Manga

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

University student Mimi and her boyfriend Naoto encounter one chilling mystery after another. There’s the enigmatic neighbor woman dressed in black from head to toe—but if she’s so odd, why does it seems like there are many others like her? Then, whose eyes track Mimi’s movements from the cemetery next door? And why does a bizarre red circle drawn on a basement wall change with each passing day?

Nine scary stories that really happened, drawn from the famed collecton of urban legends Shin Mimibukuro (New Earmuffs), and adapted into manga by horror genius Junji Ito!

I randomly found this horror comic collection on a list from my local library. I dove int and it was exactly what I wanted. We get some truly horrifying stories that mostly have no ends or explanations. I really loved the shorts; they were just long enough to hold my attention with a big punchline! Loved them. The black and while drawings added to the horror. Do not pick this one up if you at all squeamish.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #4

Reading: I finally got the second Midsolar Murders book, Chaos Terminal, by Mur Lafferty. I’m really digging these murders in space books.

Watching: We’re deep into another Nic Cage Quarterly. We’ve finally made it past 2000!

Listening: I took a break from audiobooks and jumped back into some of my podcasts.

Making: Book club is tonight and I’m making spinach artichoke dip. I love it so much, but definitely cannot eat an entire crockpot’s worth. Thankfully friends will be over to share in the wealth.

Feeling: I’m not sure why, but I’m feeling a bit at sea this week. I decided that we might need a bit of a break next week from school. We’ll think of it as our spring break.

Planning: Working on spring and summer plans and schedules. We’re changing things up for the coop during this summer and I’m rethinking our schedules and timelines. We’ll see how it goes.

Loving: Per the aforementioned plans and schedules, I’m really excited about a few changes with respect to the coop. The changes calmed and then excited me. This bodes well for the next six months.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W22: Two Great Weeks of School and Activities

What We Studied

This post actually covers a Flex Week and a regular week. Right now, we are actually ahead of schedule for some of our curriculum and it’s really giving me life. I don’t want to push too hard, but I love having some wriggle room for more activities, games, and documentaries.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished a complete read aloud during Flex Week, covered another during the regular week, and even started a third. We are on a roll. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills. We continued the first Reading Explorer book which focuses on reading comprehension. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
My America poem collection
Reading Explorer 1
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Ramayana: Divine Loophole by Sanjay Patel

Quentin finished a collection of stories from the Odyssey, completed a short read aloud, and started another in his favorite series. We are pushing our Blossom and Root lessons out another week. He also worked on some basic grammar.

Sing a Song of Seasons
Tales from the Odyssey Part Two by Mary Pope Osborne
Ramayana: Divine Loophole by Sanjay Patel
Zoey and Sassafras: Grumplets and Pests by Asia Citro
365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental

Math

Arthur continued with a unit on Decimals. Most of it was review, but it was a good review for him. We’re flying through the lessons. We also dove into the Grade 4 Financial Literacy book and covered a few units.

Singapore Common Core 5B
Orbiting with Logic
Evan Moor Financial Literacy G4

Quentin continued Singapore 2A with a big review of numbers to 1000. We also continued our logic book.

Lollipop Logic Book 3
Singapore Common Core 2A
Addition on the Menu by Kirsty Holmes
Place Value Prize by Kirsty Holmes
Groups in the Garden by Kirsty Holmes

Social Studies

Arthur covered the 1920s from Boom to Bust and into the Great Depression. We covered all the high points. We even found a way to include a few documentaries.

DK American History
We were There Too! Young People in US History
Words that Build a Nation
Heart and Soul
Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
A Different Mirror for Young People
This is Our Land: A History of American Immigration
DK Timelines of Everything
DK History
Cobblestone: Hollywood and the Rise of Motion Pictures
The Roaring Twenties by Marcia Amidon Lusted
Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman
Dorothea's Eyes by Barb Rosenstock
Thanks to Frances Perkins: Fighter for Workers' Rights by Deborah Hopkinson
The Only Woman in the Photo: Frances Perkins and Her New Deal for America by Kathleen Krull

Quentin finished the chapters on Ancient Greece and then moved onto the chapters on Ancient India. We found a good balance of videos, textbooks, and small readings.

History Quest Early Times
DK When on Earth?
Human Wold
DK History
DK Timelines of Everything
DK A Child Through Time
A History of Western Art
DK Science Year by Year
DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories
Find the Journeys Around the World by David Long
Blast Back! Ancient Greece by Nancy Ohlin Pg. 1-31
Ancient Worlds
Ancient Greece by Sandra Newman
DK Eyewitness Ancient Greece
Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece by Danielle Smith-Llera
A Child's Introduction to Greek Mythology Heather Alexander
Ancient Greek Art by Susie Hodge
A Journey Through Art by Aaron Rosen

Science

We were back at Chemistry class two weeks. I taught them all about liquids and density and we even attempted to make oobleck. This past week was a chemistry flex week, so we had a little break. But we made sure to read another couple of chapters in our Story of Science book.

RSO Chemistry
DK Super Simple Chemistry
Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim
DK The Elements

Quentin got back into the RSO Life curriculum moving into the unit on Human Anatomy. We covered the circulatory and respiratory systems.

RSO Life
DK Oversimple Biology
DK Human Body
Know and Glow Human Body
DK Eyewitness: Human Body
iDiscover The Body by Carolyn Scrace
The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers: A Tour of Your Useless Parts, Flaws and Other Weird Bits by Rachel Poliquin
Click: The Inner You
Parts of a Heart by Kirsty Holmes
Lay Out the Lungs by Kirsty Holmes

STEAM Coop

Arthur covered geometry and art with two lessons featuring perspective and line drawing He got to play with compasses and rulers. Quentin’s class was all about magnets. He really got into the lessons these two weeks which just makes my heart happy.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We covered a bit of art and music and managed to watch a few documentaries. Arthur got on an aviation history kick watching one about the Wright Brothers, one about the Red Baron, and one about the Great Air Race of 1924. He also chose a Modern Marvels episode about the building the Panama Canal. Quentin watched a documentary about Archimedes of Ancient Greece..

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
DK Art and How It Works
Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw
13 American Artists Children Should Know
A Child's Introduction to Art
Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky
Iconic Composers by Nicholas Csicsko & Emi Ferguson
13 Art Movements Children Should Know
13 Artists Children Should Know
13 Modern Artists Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge

Field Trip

We didn’t have any field trips these week. But we did accomplish two nature hikes and two park playdates with friends. The weather was beautiful this past week and we took advantage of it!

High

We finally bought a membership and made it down to the Luminarium, the new local hands-on science museum. We spent a few hour after coop exploring with some friends. Even being there for a few hours, we didn’t actually get to see everything! We will definitely be back soon.

Low

Nothing. We had a great two weeks!

Next Week

Continuing our current read alouds
Hopefully starting and finishing the coop book club selection
Moving through the 1930s for history, focusing on the Dust Bowl
Continuing our math units
Exploring some new concepts about the periodic table
Diving into Ancient Rome for science
Hopefully heading outside for a nature walk

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Alkaline Trio "Versions of You"

Another band back together and making new music. Love it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #6

As I look outside my window: Bright and clear with just a bit of cool temps.

Right now I am: Going to pick up my current read and enjoy a few pages.

Thinking and pondering: How can I make the retreat meals smoother? Randomly this is what popped into my head this morning.

On my bedside table: The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland; The Worst Best Man by Lucy Score

On my tv this week: We dove back into Nic Cage Quarterly and covered a few more of his movies. We’ve made it out of the 1990s.

Listening to: After my big audiobook binge, I managed to pivot back to my podcasts. I got through another couple of episodes of Hello from the Magic Tavern.

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Out (book club)
Tuesday - Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Wednesday - Peanut Butter Chicken and Broccoli Rice Bowls
Thursday - Apple Cheddar Grilled Cheese
Friday - Pizza Night
Saturday - Coffee Rubbed Pork Loin
Sunday - Buffalo Chicken Nachos

On my to do list: I need to finish my questions for Tuesday’s book club meeting that I’m hosting. I also need to post a few reminders in the coop group. And I should try and update my retreat documentation.

Happening this week:

Monday - Chemistry Class; Book Club
Tuesday - Errands; Book Club
Wednesday - Home Day
Thursday - Coop
Friday - Nature Hike
Saturday - Friend's Baby Shower
Sunday - Coop Book Club

What I am creating: I want to get my January Memory Planner pages finished soon…

My simple pleasures: Cinnamon spice tea, cooler (but not cold) temperatures, nature walks with friends.

Looking around the house: I need to tidy and vacuum the living room, but the kitchen is looking good right now.

From the camera: We had to stop at the neighborhood photo spot before they change it.

Sellout by Dan Ozzi

Title: Sellout: The Major Label Feeding Frenzy that Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore 1994-2007

Author: Sarah Hollowell

Publisher: Dey Street Books 2021

Genre: Nonfiction - Music

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Reader

Punk rock found itself at a crossroads in the mid-90’s. After indie favorite Nirvana catapulted into the mainstream with its unexpected phenomenon, Nevermind, rebellion was suddenly en vogue. Looking to replicate the band’s success, major record labels set their sights on the underground, and began courting punk’s rising stars. But the DIY punk scene, which had long prided itself on its trademark authenticity and anti-establishment ethos, wasn’t quite ready to let their homegrown acts go without a fight. The result was a schism: those who accepted the cash flow of the majors, and those who defiantly clung to their indie cred.

In Sellout, seasoned music writer Dan Ozzi chronicles this embattled era in punk. Focusing on eleven prominent bands who made the jump from indie to major, Sellout charts the twists and turns of the last “gold rush” of the music industry, where some groups “sold out” and rose to surprise super stardom, while others buckled under mounting pressures. Sellout is both a gripping history of the music industry’s evolution, and a punk rock lover’s guide to the chaotic darlings of the post-grunge era, featuring original interviews and personal stories from members of modern punk’s most (in)famous bands.

I ran across this book as a recommendation on interesting nonfiction from the last few years. I was intrigued by the topic as I’m a huge fan of punk and emo. This book breaks down the history of eleven bands. Some of the chapters are more engaging than the others. Hands down my favorite chapter was the first one about Green Day. Their story was absolutely fascinating! At times, Ozzi gets a little too in the weeds with the profusion of name drops and technical aspects of the music industry. But overall I enjoyed this journey through music history. As a bonus, it inspired me to download a few key albums from my past.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert

Title: Midnight Ruin (Dark Olympus #6)

Author: Katee Robert

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; She Reads Romance - Spicy

Spice Rating: 8

Eurydice Dimitriou has always been the innocent sister, but she's finally ready to step out of the long shadow cast by her powerful family…and the ex who shattered her heart. Perhaps rough hands on soft skin are exactly what she needs to forget her heartbreak once and for all?

Charon Ariti has been Hades's right-hand man for years. He's given everything to the lower city, but now he's ready to take something for himself. He's only too happy to give Eurydice a special kind of education…but is her heart really free enough to be claimed?

Orpheus Makos will do whatever it takes to make things right. Once the golden boy of the upper city, he's now a shadow of his former self. He'll do anything to get Eurydice back…even if it means she's not coming into his arms alone. Three hearts. Three futures. Countless ways to get it wrong.

But with enemies slipping through Olympus's faltering barrier to lay siege on the lower city, a trio of broken hearts will be the least of these would-be lovers' worries…

Oh this one was intense! We get a very dramatic and yet beautiful romance story wrapped around the larger political and fantastical storyline affecting Olympus. We move our action to the Lower City and find Eurydice attempting to find her new balance after the events in the first book in the series. I was very much into following her journey. At times, she is much too immature for my personal tastes. Enter Charon, the stabilizing force in her life. I have been wanting his story since the very first book. I was so very excited to see how he connected with Eurydice. As a bonus, we get to see how Orpehus fits into Eurydice and Charon’s relationship. And it was very spicy! I was so very into their relationship evolution. Even more, I’m very into the larger storyline featuring all the characters in the Dark Olympus series.

Dark Olympus

#0.5 Stone Heart
#1 Neon Gods
#1.5 Hades and Hades
#2 Electric Idol
#2.5 Zeus and Hera
#3 Wicked Beauty
#4 Radiant Sun
#5 Cruel Seduction
#6 Midnight Ruin
#7 Dark Restraint

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

My reading has slowed down a bit… probably for the best.
The fake spring is lulling me into false sense of security.
Nic Cage Quarterly is moving slowly. We’ve hit a string of very serious movies and just cannot watch them back to back.
We really need to head to the library and grocery this afternoon.
I’m doing much better with reading my own books along with the library selections.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

Title: A Fragile Enchantment

Author: Allison Saft

Publisher: Wednesday Books 2024

Genre: YA Romantasy

Pages: 373

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: She Reads Romance - New Adult Romance; Library Love

Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.

But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous gossip columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible..

I’m not exactly sure why I picked this one up to read. I had previously read another of Saft’s books and was pretty disappointed in it. In fact, my biggest complaint was that “We get a YA fantasy set in a fictional world but with parallels to the religious divides in our own world. All through the book I was confused as to why were were coding the different groups with fictionalized words and practices instead of just making a direct comparison.” This one isn’t about religious divides but instead nationalistic divides. Niamh is clearly from British controlled Ireland with Kit being of the British royal family. Infanta Rosa is clearly from Spain and a rival power to England. Instead of setting this in an alternate Europe, Saft “creates” a fictional magical world. But why? I was very disappointed in the unnecessary complications. Further more, I really disliked the romance. I wasn’t swoon, it was downright cringy. Everyone claims that Kit hates everyone but Niamh, but in my mind, he still really dislikes Niamh. We don’t ever really see a probably softer side of Kit. I wanted more for Niamh, but she is completely enamored with his terrible attitude and behavior. I really need to put Saft on my “no” list.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

Title: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known(Wayward Children #9)

Author: Seanan McGuire

Publisher: Tordotcom 2024

Genre: Fantasy

Pages:146

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - No People on the Cover; Library Love

Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.

When the school’s (literally irresistible) mean girl realizes that Antsy's talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, Antsy is forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.

Along the way, they will travel from a world which hides painful memories that cut as sharply as its beauty, to a land that time wasn’t yet old enough to forget―and more than one student's life will change forever.

“People who’ve been hurt often think they have some sort of right tot go around hurting other people,” said Sumi. “They think trauma’s a toy to keep handing down forever. Bu the fact that someone hurt you and tied you up in knots doesn’t give you the right to it to anybody else.” Pg. 94

That quote right there sums up the entire series and literally had me in tears. Beautiful story about a collection of characters struggling to find their places in the world (or multiple worlds). This volume is most definitely directly continues the story in the previous volume. We get a concise story of Antsy finding her way back and helping other characters on the way. I felt something akin to catharsis when I reached the final page. One of the best feelings.

Wayward Children

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Green Day "One Eyed Bastard"

So excited that Green Day is back making music. Still love them 30 years after discovering them.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #5

Right now I am: Taking a break from a very busy day.

Thinking and pondering: How do I word a few things? Working on documentation for coop…

On my bedside table: Sellout by Dan Ozzi; Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty

On my tv this week: We’re continuing our Nic Cage Quarterly this month. So far, we’ve watched 8 movies this month getting us to the late 1990s.

Listening to: I finished my audiobook and decided to take a break. I moved back to music especially various punk bands mentioned in Sellout.

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Tacos
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Sloppy Joes
Thursday - Peanut Sauce Chicken and Broccoli Bowls
Friday - Coffee Rubbed Pork Loin
Saturday - Cajun Stuffed Chicken
Sunday - Maafe

On my to do list: Probably a ton of things, but right now I’m working on a few tasks for coop. Doing a brain dump for big ideas and narrowing down some details.

Happening this week:

Monday - Home Day
Tuesday - Nature Hike
Wednesday - Chalco Park Playdate
Thursday - Coop
Friday - Nature Hike
Saturday - Home Day
Sunday - Nerdy Bookish Friends Meeting

What I am creating: I finished my 2023 December Daily, so I’ve moved onto my 2024 Memory Planner.

My simple pleasures: Chats with my big kids, going to the library, making decisions that give me calm

Looking around the house: Meh. It’s good, not great, but good. Seems to be where I live.

From the camera Finally made it to the Luminarium and I did this fun tracing. We are going to have so much fun exploring that space.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Dawn of the Dreadfuls #1)

Author: Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Publisher: Quirk Books 2009

Genre: Classics; Horror

Pages: 359

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is an audacious retelling of English literature's most enduring novel. This expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem begins when a mysterious plague falls upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. It's the perfect read for literature lovers, zombie fans, and anyone who loves a reanimated Austen.

Technically this is a reread for me, but it was chosen as a Nerdy Bookish Friends selection. After we picked it, we realized that there are two different versions: the original and a reissue with 30% more zombies. Apparently I read the original, but own the new deluxe edition. So this was basically a new read for me. To be clear, this is not high literature. Sure it’s Jane Austen’s writing for 90%. But then we thrown in random zombie phrases and scenes. It create a mishmash of genres. But I enjoyed every page of it. I love Austen and zombies, and this was the perfect read for me. I suspect that this won’t be a favorite amongst my Nerdy Bookish Friends, but I still really loved it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Hunt on Dark Water by Katee Robert

Title: Hunt on Dark Waters (Crimson Sails #1)

Author: Katee Robert

Publisher: Berkley 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 320

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: She Reads Romance - Witch Romance; Library Love

Evelyn is a witch with a perfect storm of impulses: terrible taste in bed partners, sticky fingers, and a lust for danger. After she steals from her vampire ex and falls through a portal to another realm, she’s fished out of the waters by a band of seafarers and their telekinetic captain. She’s immediately given a choice—join their ship’s crew or die.

Bowen has no memory of his life before he became one of the Cŵn Annwn. He and his band of pirates are bound by vow to patrol through Threshold, the magical sea in between realms, keeping the portals to other worlds safe. When he rescues Evelyn, he doesn’t expect to be attracted to the unflappably brassy pickpocket. The longer he spends in her presence, the more he begins to question if his heart is the next thing she’ll steal.

But as tension heats up between Bowen and Evelyn, the danger at sea escalates as well. Because Evelyn has no intention of keeping her vows to the Cŵn Annwn, and if she betrays the crew, both she and Bowen will pay the ultimate price....

I finally picked up another one of Katee Robert’s series. And it wasn’t quite as good as the Dark Olympus series, but I did enjoy it. We get a portal jumping witch who finds herself involved in the Wild Hunt. But things are not quite as they seem and she becomes an agent of change as well as finding romance. Bowen and Evelyn aren’t my favorite couple but they grew on me as the book progressed. I was very intrigued by all the other characters and the background storyline. I do enjoy Robert’s storytelling and romance, so I imagine that I will be reading the rest of this series.

Crimson Sails

#1 Hunt on Dark Waters
#2 Blood on the Tide
#3 Pirates

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Butcher's Masquerade by Matt Dinniman

Title: The Butcher’s Masquerade (Dungeon Crawler Carl #5)

Author: Matt Dinniman

Publisher: Dandy House 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 726

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Apostrophe in the Title

Attention. Attention. The gates are down. The hunters are loose.
Run, Run, Run.

A lush jungle teeming with danger. Savage dinosaurs seeking blood. A fallen princess intent on vengeance. A mysterious, end-of-floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed “The Butcher’s Masquerade.”

The sixth floor. The Hunting Grounds.

As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, a new, terrible threat looms. Outside tourists are finally allowed to enter the game, and they are here and ready to hunt. Among them is Vrah, a famed and veteran hunter, intent on collecting the biggest trophy of her career.

But their prey is far from harmless, and this season they are fighting back.

I finally made it through this giant chunker of a book. And holy cow was it a ride! I cannot believe every thing that happened in these pages. Carl and Donut are put in more impossible situations that they then have to concoct ridiculous plans to get out of. I don’t want to spoil the events, but I will say that there are some real emotional moments in this one. I am going to take a short break before diving into the next book. As much as I love Carl and Donut, I need to process this one for awhile.

Dungeon Crawler Carl

Next up on the TBR pile:

Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband by Melissa Maybe

Title: Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband (Daughters of the Glen #1)

Author: Melissa Mayhue

Publisher: Pocket Books 2007

Genre: Romance

Pages: 356

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Books - Hybrid Genre

Scotland, 1272. Connor MacKiernan, a descendant of the Fae Prince, is a warrior who lives only for honor and duty. Though he’s vowed never to marry, that’s exactly what he must do to save his sister. Enter a little Faerie magic, and the search for a bride is on.

Denver, 2007. Caitlyn Coryell is having a really bad day—she just discovered that her fiancé is cheating on her, marrying her only for her family’s money and influence. Imagine her surprise when she puts on an antique pendant and Connor suddenly appears in her bedroom, begging for her help. He offers an outrageous adventure: travel to his time, marry him for a short time, and return home.

But nothing goes as planned. Cate’s trapped in the 13th century, the wedding’s delayed, and someone’s trying to kill her. And in the middle of all this, she realizes that she’s falling in love with a man who can only be her husband for thirty nights. It will take more than the magic of the Fae to help them now. It will require the most powerful magic of all—the magic of true love.

This book has been sitting on my Unread Shelf for years so I finally picked it up. The book should probably have been left on the shelf. This is a poor imitation of Outlander with a weird time travel bent to the romance. I didn’t quite buy the whole time travel and Fey angle to the story. It' seemed a little too hooky. The romance itself was also pretty lackluster. I didn’t love Cate and Connor and didn’t really buy their relationship. My biggest complaint has to do with the gender dynamics. Connor plays the alpha crap and Cate decides that the way tot play the relationship is to use her feminine wiles. It’s cliched and super annoying. Not a fan. I perused the rest of the series and it looks like we are going to get the same types of relationships. I think I will not be continuing to read this series.

Daughters of the Glen

#1 Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband
#2 Highland Guardian
#3 Soul of a Highlander
#4 A Highlander of Her Own
#5 A Highlander’s Destiny
#6 A Highlander’s Homecoming
#7 Healing the Highlander
#8 Highlander’s Curse

Next up on the TBR pile:

Malamander by Thomas Taylor

Title: Malamander (Legends of Eerie-on-Sea #1)

Author: Thomas Taylor

Publisher: Walker Books 2019

Genre: MG Horror

Pages: 304

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; 52 Book Club - Features an Ocean

It’s winter in the town of Eerie-on-Sea, where the mist is thick and the salt spray is rattling the windows of the Grand Nautilus Hotel. Inside, young Herbert Lemon, Lost and Founder for the hotel, has an unexpected visitor. It seems that Violet Parma, a fearless girl around his age, lost her parents at the hotel when she was a baby, and she’s sure that the nervous Herbert is the only person who can help her find them. The trouble is, Violet is being pursued at that moment by a strange hook-handed man. And the town legend of the Malamander — a part-fish, part-human monster whose egg is said to make dreams come true — is rearing its scaly head. As various townspeople, some good-hearted, some nefarious, reveal themselves to be monster hunters on the sly, can Herbert and Violet elude them and discover what happened to Violet’s kin? This lighthearted, fantastical mystery, featuring black-and-white spot illustrations, kicks off a trilogy of fantasies set in the seaside town.

Oh this was utterly delightful! I love a good setting and this series set in Eerie-on-the-Sea is perfect. We get some fun spooky town in winter full of wonderfully quirky characters. From there we are flung into a mystery of the Malamander and Violet’s parentage. Herbert is the perfect narrator for the story. We get to see the town through his encounters and rambles. I especially loved Mrs. Fossil and her shop of oddities. Once the action begins, it truly doesn’t stop until the end. It was perfect and so much fun. I will have to read the rest of the series.

Legends of Eerie-on-Sea

#1 Malamander
#2 Gargantis
#3 Shadowghast
#4 Festergrimm
#5 Mermedusa

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #3

Reading: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft. I picked up this fantasy Regency-inspired young adult novel. I’m only a few chapters in, but it is entertaining so far.

Watching: We’re back into another month of Nic Cage Quarterly. In fact, we’ve made it to the late 1990s and peak Nic Cage action movies.

Listening: I’m still making my way through the fifth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. So close to finishing this volume… And then I will one more volume that’s been published.

Making: I’m really into baking this week. I’ve made some ham and cheddar scones and blackberry coffee cake. Tomorrow or Thursday I’m going to make some banana bread (maybe chocolate chip or coconut banana bread) and maybe an orange breakfast cake.

Feeling: I have been exhausted all week. Testing negative for COVID. Just completely exhausted I guess.

Planning: We have one big weekend trip on the calendar for late April. It’s in connection with a coop field trip, but of course I added on some activities. I really want to nail down our accommodations, but need to get some more information from other families. A few of us might go in on a larger AirBNB.

Loving: I’ve really been craving quiet time lately.

Next up on the TBR pile: