September 2018 Wrap-up

September's TBR Pile (14/17):

TBR Pile: An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
Reading Assignment: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde ✓
Book of the Month Club (carry-over): The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle DNF
Book of the Month Club (carry-over): Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik ✓
Book of the Month Club: The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
Book Club: Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen ✓
Series Pick: Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan ✓
Comics Pick: Rat Queens Vol. 4 ✓
Romance Pick: Flirting with Forever by Gwyn Cready ✓
Nonfiction Pick: Pox Americana by Elizabeth A. Fenn ✓
Classics Pick: Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston ✓
Young Adult Pick: Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan ✓
Added: Black Magick Vol. 1 ✓
Added: Cocktails Across America by Diane Lapis and Anne Peck-Davis ✓
Added: I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel ✓
Added: Artemis by Andy Weir ✓
Added: Masked Ball at Broxley Manor by Rhys Bowen ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 3968 pages
Pages Remaining: 652,922 pages

Current Read - What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by Jodi Taylor; A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (0)

October's TBR Pile: It’s going to be a weird month. We’re in Indiana right now and hope to be in our new Nebraska house within the next week. As such, my TBR pile is a bit nebulous right now. I did grab some books from the library here in Indiana to tide me over.

TBR Pile: A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
TBR Pile: An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
Reading Assignment: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Book of the Month Club: The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
Series Pick: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by Jodi Taylor
Historical Fiction Pick: The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian
Historical Fiction Pick: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Nonfiction Pick: Spinning Straw into Gold by Joan Gould
Spooky Pick: Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield
Retelling Pick: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
Mystery Pick: A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen
Mystery Pick: A Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen
Mystery Pick: A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair
Mystery Pick: Larceny in Lace by Annette Blair
Short Stories: Florida by Lauren Groff

Movies watched

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom -- Super silly. A beat-for-beat remake of the first movie but without the heart. Oh well. I still root for the dinosaurs and Blue is awesome!
Solo: A Star Wars Story — This was a lot better than I was expecting. I really only watched it for Donald Glover’s Lando. And he was glorious! The rest was pretty good.

TV Shows watched

Comments - I knocked out a decent amount of books before we packed up the house and travelled to Indiana. We’re still in a weird limbo area while visiting family in Indiana before we get into our new house in Nebraska. Hoping to get back into reading my own books soon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Title: The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next #1)

Author: Jasper Fforde

Publisher: Penguin 2003

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 373

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual; Reading Assignment; Seasonal Series - Eating Apple Pie

Fans of Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse will love visiting Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, when time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously: it’s a bibliophile’s dream. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career. Fforde's ingenious fantasy—enhanced by a Web site that re-creates the world of the novel—unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix.

This book was such a delight! I immediately fell for Thursday Next and her motley crew of LiteraTecs, friends, enemies, and family. The characters are all such delights helping the plot to be even more entertaining. The overall world is way too much fun! I love the idea of literature being held to such high regard that people name themselves after various authors and characters. And then you add in the ability to jump into books. Holy moly! I am loving it so much! Way too much fun. I sped through this volume needing to know Hades’s next move and Next’s counter move. I loved visiting Thornfield and meeting Mr. Rochester. Can’t wait to read the next in the series!

Thursday Next

#1 The Eyre Affair
#2 Lost in a Good Book
#3 The Well of Lost Plots
#4 Something Rotten
#5 First Among Sequels
#6 One of Our Thursdays is Missing
#7 The Woman Who Died a Lot

Next up on the TBR pile:

Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Unmade (The Lynburn Legacy #3)

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Publisher: Random House

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 370

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: I Love Libraries; Seasonal Series - Orange on Cover

Kami is linked to two boys. One through a strong magical bond, and the other through unforgettable love. With Jared missing for months and presumed dead, Kami must rely on her link with Ash for the strength to face the evil spreading through her town. Working with her friends, Kami uncovers a secret that might be the key to saving the town. But with knowledge comes responsibility—and a painful choice. A choice that will risk not only Kami’s life, but also the lives of those she loves most.

Lynburn Legacy

#0.2 The Spring Before I Met You
#0.5 The Summer Before I Met You
#1 Unspoken
#1.5 The Night After I Lost You
#2 Untold
#3 Unmade

Next up on the TBR pile:

Quentin: 24 Months / 2 Years

Happy Birthday to my Quentin Deckard! It’s fitting that we’re starting our new adventure in a new state on your birthday. Here’s to many more great years watching you grow!

Likes: Arthur, playing, running, jumping, “reading” books, singing and music, dogs, trains

Dislikes: Naps, being told “no”, not being able to just go

Sleeping: I think he is getting his last molars as sleeping has been spotty lately. And he’s been waking every morning around 6 or 6:30am.

Eating: Less picky than Arthur, but he still is fairly picky. We went and got Indian food last week and he loved the chutneys, rice, naan, and mango lassi. Not too excited about the curry we got.

Playing: Most days he loves playing with Arthur. Their current favorite game is pretending to be jaguars or cheetahs. He also really enjoys driving his cars and trains around the house.

Milestones: Starting to talk more and more. He seems to have skipped the bit between single words and complex sentences. He doesn’t talk that often, but when he does it’s a 5 or 6 word grammatically correct sentence. The other day he said “I want to ride the train” while at the zoo. I call that progress.

Out and About: We tried to hit up most of our favorite California places before we moved. His favorite is definitely the beach. He loves digging in the sand and running from the waves.

Next up on the TBR Pile:

It's Moving Day!

The day is here! Goodbye sunny moderate California, hello blustery and chilly Nebraska! The boys and I are on a plane leaving the west coast for a quick trip to Indiana before driving over to Nebraska and settling into our new home. I'll share photos of the new house once we get in.

Masked Ball at Broxley Manor by Rhys Bowen

Title: Masked Ball at Broxley Manor (Royal Spyness #0.5)

Author: Rhys Bowen

Publisher: Berkley 2012

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 41

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

At the end of her first unsuccessful season out in society, Lady Georgiana has all but given up on attracting a suitable man—until she receives an invitation to a masked Halloween ball at Broxley Manor. Georgie is uncertain why she was invited, until she learns that the royal family intends to marry her off to a foreign prince, one reputed to be mad.

When the prince, dressed as the devil, rescues her from an embarrassing situation at the ball, Georgie is surprised to find her unwanted suitor to be a dashing, charming man—especially when he pulls her aside and gives her the kiss of a lifetime. But as the time comes for the unmasking, Georgie’s rescuer vanishes and the party is thrown into chaos, making it clear that everything at Broxley Manor is not as it appears…

A quick little prequel to Her Royal Spyness. I loved seeing Georgie’s first meeting with Darcy and the hijinks involved. I can’t wait to read more from this series!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - LSD "Thunderclouds"

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I love this collaboration so much. This song is one of my newest favorites.

Life Right Now #30

As I look outside my window: It’s dark as another day closes…

Right now I am: Relaxing for a bit before heading off to read and then bed. it’s been a long day.

On my bedside table: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

On my tv this week: J and I caught up on It’s Always Sunny and Elementary. We also also finished The Day the World Changed (documentary from the 1980s). We have one more episode!

Listening to: Lots of Nothing More and Black Veil Brides in the car. And catching up on some podcasts at home (NPR Politics, Pod Save America, What Should I Read Next, The Wilderness, Reading Glass, Snark Squad).

On the menu for this week:

Monday - ??? Food is being brought for us later today.
Tuesday - Probably fast food as it’s plane day!
Wednesday - Sunday - Whatever my mom and I decide as I will be at her house.

On my to do list: Finish packing for a Tuesday moving day! Obviously this is a big one. After Tuesday, I want to start laying out our plan for October.

Happening this week:

Monday - Final full day in California. Finishing packing and lots of cleaning.
Tuesday - Travel day!
Wednesday - Quentin’s 2nd birthday! We’re going to hit up the Fort Wayne Zoo.
Thursday -Sunday - No idea yet…

What I am creating: I finished up a few cards before everything got packed. I’m taking my Memory Planner to Indiana and hope to finish September while I’m there.

Looking around the house: It’s very bare around here…

From the camera: Last play day with friends.

Fall Bucket List Update #1

Another season, another bucket list. This one will be a bit weird as we are moving to a different state at the end of September. There is a short list of things we want to hit before leaving California and a list of things for Indiana and Nebraska. It's going to be a mixed bag.

California:

Visit Rocket Fizz - We went after a park playdate. Arthur picked out some gummis. That’s my kid! ✓
Take a Ferry Ride to San Francisco ✓
Have a Beach Day ✓
Enjoy my Retreat Weekend! ✓
Celebrate Arthur and Quentin's Birthdays! ✓
Visit Children's Fairyland ✓
Visit Children's Creativity Museum - scrapped this due to fussy kids
Eat at Black Bear
Buy pie in Guerneville ✓
Have one more pool party ✓

Midwest:

Visit Fort Wayne Zoo
Visit Science Central
Visit Omaha Zoo
Visit Omaha Children's Museum
Get a new library card
Find a good park
Go see a movie in the theater
Go to Vala's Pumpkin Festival
Eat at Coney Island
Travel to OBM Sparkle Party in Iowa City
Find a good indie bookstore
Visit the comic books store
Find a good brunch place (Wheatfields?)
Have dinner with a friend alone
Join a new parent group
Join a book club
Get my crafty business started
Go to Fort Wayne for Thanksgiving
Create a fall signature cocktail

Next up on the TBR pile:

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2)

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Publisher: Random House

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 370

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: I Love Libraries; Seasonal Series - Set in Fall

On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy little town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission by killing human sacrifices for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers around. The town must make a decision: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love whomever she chooses. But who should that be?

This picked up right where the first book left off and overall I enjoyed it. I really like Kami, Rusty, Holly, and Angela in this volume. The Lynburns are more of background characters to me. And don’t get me started on everyone’s parents. So clueless! I loved where the story went and the revelations contained in the pages. But I do think this one could have been condensed a bit. Not sure this series needs to be a trilogy. I think it could have been a duology. There’s just so much filler in some of the chapters. But I will continue on and finish this series.

Lynburn Legacy

#0.2 The Spring Before I Met You
#0.5 The Summer Before I Met You
#1 Unspoken
#1.5 The Night After I Lost You
#2 Untold
#3 Unmade

Next up on the TBR pile:

I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel

Title: I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life

Author: Anne Bogel

Publisher: Baker Books 2018

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 160

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Share-a-Tea

For so many people, reading isn't just a hobby or a way to pass the time--it's a lifestyle. Our books shape us, define us, enchant us, and even sometimes infuriate us. Our books are a part of who we are as people, and we can't imagine life without them.

I'd Rather Be Reading is the perfect literary companion for everyone who feels that way. In this collection of charming and relatable reflections on the reading life, beloved blogger and author Anne Bogel leads readers to remember the book that first hooked them, the place where they first fell in love with reading, and all of the moments afterward that helped make them the reader they are today. Known as a reading tastemaker through her popular podcast What Should I Read Next?, Bogel invites book lovers into a community of like-minded people to discover new ways to approach literature, learn fascinating new things about books and publishing, and reflect on the role reading plays in their lives.

A delightful slim volume full of celebrations about reading. Many of the sentiments included in these short essays have been expressed on Anne Bogel’s podcast in the past, but it was nice to read them in a prose form. I think my favorite essay was about Anne’s reflection on living next door to a library for many years. Oh my dream! I would definitely be a frequent patron of the library. I savored this book a few pages at a time. It may be short, but it is packed with great stories and insight.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

How do we still have so much to pack? I really hate packing kitchens…
Last weekend’s retreat was just what I needed #coconutballs
Getting excited about fall festivals in Nebraska. We’ll be able to catch some of them in mid-October.
We still have a pile of food from the pantry to attempt to consume before next week. I might just need to do a drop off at the nearest food pantry.
Kinda bored with my current read. I might need to DNF it.
I might need to make a horror book pile for October. I’m really drawn to the dark reads right now.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall TBR

Let's see how I did with my Summer TBR (3/10): Not the best showing for this past season…

College Girls by Lynn Peril ✓
Stealing Fire by Jo Graham
An Object of Beautify by Steve Martin
Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield
Daisy Miller by Henry James ✓
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
How to Fall in Loe with a Man Who Lives in a Bush by Emmy Abrahamson ✓
What Could Possible Go Wrong by Jodi Taylor

Fall TBR: I’m going to carry over a few books as I really do want to read them soon.

Stealing Fire by Jo Graham
An Object of Beautify by Steve Martin
Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Strange Weather by Joe Hill
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
One more comic!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Artemis by Andy Weir

Title: Artemis

Author: Andy Weir

Publisher: Broadway Books 2017

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Another Planet; I Love Libraries

Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich.

Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity’s first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt she’s owed for a long time.

So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can’t say no. Sure, it requires her to graduate from small-time smuggler to full-on criminal mastermind. And it calls for a particular combination of cunning, technical skills, and large explosions—not to mention sheer brazen swagger. But Jazz has never run into a challenge her intellect can’t handle, and she figures she’s got the ‘swagger’ part down.

The trouble is, engineering the perfect crime is just the start of Jazz’s problems. Because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Instead of a survival story, we get a space adventure combined with a heist and corporate intrigue. I immediately fell for Jazz and her general lifestyle. Very fun to read about! She is definitely one of those anti-heroes. Perfect for this kind of book. From there, Weir fills Artemis with other interesting characters to be accomplices or foils for Jazz. The author toned down the science talk from The Martian, but it’s still there. I learned a lot about how you could create and sustain a colony on the moon. I sped through this book over my weekend away and it was definitely an entertaining read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Andra Day "Burn"

I adore this version of "Burn" and I'm so excited that they released a music video.

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

Title: Her Royal Spyness (Royal Spyness #1)

Author: Rhys Bowen

Publisher: Berkley 2007

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 324

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: I Love Libraries; Seasonal Series - Free Space

London, 1932. Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, 34th in line for the English throne, is flat broke. She's bolted Scotland, her greedy brother, and her fish-faced betrothed. London is a place where she'll experience freedom, learn life lessons aplenty, do a bit of spying for HRH—oh, and find a dead Frenchman in her tub. Now her new job is to clear her long family name...

Our book club selection for September. Unfortunately due to moving, I won't be able to attend the meeting, but I did pick up the book and dove in. This a cute fun mystery series set in the 1930s. I immediately fell for Georgie and her cast of friends and relatives. I figured out who-dun-it fairly early on, but still loved reading the progression of the mystery and ultimate reveal. Plus we get the makings of an interesting series and a possible love interest. I will definitely have to continue this series.

Royal Spyness

#0.5 Masked Ball at Broxley Manor
#1 Her Royal Spyness
#2 A Royal Pain
#3 Royal Flush
#4 Royal Blood
#5 Naughty in Nice
#6 The Twelve Clues of Christmas
#7 Heirs and Graces
#8 Queen of Hearts
#9 Malice at the Palace
#10 Crowned and Dangerous
#11 On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service
#12 Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding

Next up on the TBR pile:

Flirting with Forever by Gwyn Cready

Title: Flirting with Forever

Author: Gwyn Cready

Publisher: Pocket Books 2010

Genre: Romance

Pages: 415

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Seasonal Series - Contemporary series

A door to the past
Ambitious art historian Campbell Stratford is about to make a name for herself with her scandalously sexy biographies of famous seventeenth-century artists. Suddenly she is catapulted back in time and comes face-to-face with one of her subjects: bad-boy painter Peter Lely, portraitist to the king.

Creates chaos of classic proportions
Peter is entranced by his mysterious visitor, and Cam can't resist becoming one of the lovely ladies to pose on his modeling chaise. But Sir Peter knows a lot more than he's telling about time travel in general and art historians in particular. What he doesn't know is that Cam is the one responsible for the very project he's about to sabotage. And when Cam finds she's been tricked, she exacts her revenge on paper...

Overall a pretty boring romance. I usually love fun romance novels and really wanted to love the time travel aspect of this one. But I found the characters pretty boring. I just couldn't really get behind Peter and Cam as love interests. The time travel aspect made the story confusing as opposed to enhancing it. Based off of my reaction to this one, I'm not even going to start to the companion novel.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Liking Some Videos

It's the Say Yes to the Dress that I actually want to watch...

I can't wait!!!

Haha! Love John Oliver!

Call me intrigued. This looks haunting...

I need to catch up on the this series. Looks season looks bonkers

Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Title: Their Eyes were Watching God

Author: Zora Neale Hurston

Publisher: 1937

Genre: Classics

Pages: 219

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: TBR Pile; Popsugar - Different Ethnicity; MMD - Different Ethnicity

One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.

A very powerful story featuring a fascinating female protagonist. I really fell into reading about Janie's struggles and triumphs. At times I had to put the book down because it was so intense. But that intensity is what made the book so amazing. Hurston's book was ahead of its time. I could see this book being published today. It feels so current and modern. This book is not a light fun read, but was definitely enjoyable.

Next up on the TBR pile: