The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

Title: The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth #2)

Author: N.K. Jemisin

Publisher: Orbit 2016

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 448

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Alphabet Soup - J; Dancing with Scifi and Fantasy - Under 500 Pages; Seasonal Series - Trilogy

This is the way the world ends, for the last time.

The season of endings grows darker, as civilization fades into the long cold night.

Essun -- once Damaya, once Syenite, now avenger -- has found shelter, but not her daughter. Instead there is Alabaster Tenring, destroyer of the world, with a request. But if Essun does what he asks, it would seal the fate of the Stillness forever.

Far away, her daughter Nassun is growing in power - and her choices will break the world.

What a ride! I was drawn back in on page one and was upset that I got to page 448 and there wasn’t anymore in this volume. Of course we get to learn more about what happens to our main characters, but more importantly, the world more fully revealed itself. I was amazed at the story of the stone eaters. Hoa is one of my favorite now! And we get more information about how orogeny works and what other secrets lay deep in the earth just waiting to be revealed. While I’m not a fan of Schaffa (not that any read is supposed to be a fan), this volume led me to a better understanding of his motivations and actions. Plus we get great narration from Nassun’s point of view. And I finally figured out who was talking in the interludes. Duh! Can’t believe I didn’t see that one in the last book. Can’t wait to finish the trilogy, though it’s going to have to wait until March so I can focus on my UnRead Shelf.

The Broken Earth:

#1 The Fifth Season
#2 The Obelisk Gate
#3 The Stone Sky

Next up on the TBR pile:

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Title: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (TATBILB #1)

Author: Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2014

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 Days of YA; Women Authors; Seasonal Series - Movie Adaptation

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

I’ve heard so many people say great things about this book (and by extension, this series), I eventually picked it up. Such a cute story! I immediately loved Lara Jean and her relationship with her sisters. I loved her relationship with the boy next door. I enjoyed the progression of the story into something different than Lara Jean was expecting. I didn’t mind the slightly cliffhanger ending (I’ll borrow the next book in March). I was not a huge fan of the narration style, but I know first person diary like narration is very popular in young adult novels. It’s not my favorite style, but I will forgive it because this book is written for the teen crowd. Cute, if a little immature for my 36 year old self.

Movie Review

Obviously the movie makers made changes to the story, but they kept the core of Lara Jean’s story and I appreciated that. I loved all the actors (with the exception of who played Gen who seemed very stiff in a lot of scenes). Extra fun recognizing Anna Carhart who played Kitty from my kiddos watching Odd Squad. The look and feel of the movie was great. Interested to see if a sequel happens.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Gerard Way feat. Ray Toro "Hazy Shade of Winter"

I’ve always loved this song and the cover is great! Can’t wait to watch Umbrella Academy.

Winter Bucket List Update #2

Christmas is over! Time to jump into the bleak season of winter here in the Midwest. This list was a bit of a struggle to create due to the weather constraints, but I think I’ve come up with some goodies.

Read 45 books (in progress) — I’m up to 34 books so far this year.
Eat at 5 new-to-me restaurants (in progress 1/5) — We got takeout sushi at a place very close to us. Pretty good!
Go sledding
Attend a hockey game
Attend two theater performances
Bake some bread ✓
Make winter crafts ✓ — Arthur and I grabbed some cute kits from Michael’s and went to town!
Create a table centerpiece ✓
Get our fireplace working
Movie Month January ✓ — We ended up watching 25 movies in January. Decent showing!
Weekly Game Day/Night with Arthur (in progress) — Arthur got a few card games for Christmas. We’re currently enjoying Go Fish.
Make Valentine’s
Try 3 new hot chocolate recipes/mixes
Visit two new-to-the-boys museums
Have an indoor picnic.
Swim at the gym 5 times
Host a tea party!
Make a snow globe
Make a seasonal door hanger/wreath
Complete a jigsaw puzzle ✓
Find a great coffee shop for me!
Spend an afternoon at a local bookstore
Buy some new cozy pajamas
Explore an area of Omaha
Travel to Indiana for Nick and Alex’s 16th Birthday!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas

Title: The Hollow of Fear (Lady Sherlock #3)

Author: Sherry Thomas

Publisher: Berkley 2018

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 335

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Popsugar- Amateur Detective; Cloak and Dagger

Under the cover of "Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective," Charlotte Holmes puts her extraordinary powers of deduction to good use. Aided by the capable Mrs. Watson, Charlotte draws those in need to her and makes it her business to know what other people don't.

Moriarty's shadow looms large. First, Charlotte's half brother disappears. Then, Lady Ingram, the estranged wife of Charlotte's close friend Lord Ingram, turns up dead on his estate. And all signs point to Lord Ingram as the murderer.

With Scotland Yard closing in, Charlotte goes under disguise to seek out the truth. But uncovering the truth could mean getting too close to Lord Ingram--and a number of malevolent forces...

This volume was such a thrill ride! The prologue sucked me in with the reveal of who Charlotte met in the carriage. And then Lady Ingram’s misfortune was revealed and the story picked up speed. I loved more story from Livia and Lord Ingram’s points of view. A nice change of pace from just Charlotte. And we get more insight into the inner works of the agents of the Crown and those of Moriarty’s crew. The resolution to the mystery was very satisfying, but I must say I was disappointed in Lord Ingram and Charlotte. The tension between those two could set fires roaring without any kindling.

Lady Sherlock

Next up on the TBR pile:

Craven Manor by Darcy Coates

Title: Craven Manor

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Black Owl Books 2017

Genre: Horror

Pages: 300

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; Popsugar - Ghost Story; Horror

Daniel is desperate for a job. When someone slides a note under his door offering him the groundskeeper’s position at an old estate, it seems too good to be true.

Alarm bells start ringing when he arrives at Craven Manor. The mansion’s front door hangs open, and leaves and cobwebs coat the marble foyer. It’s clear no one has lived there in a long time.

But an envelope waits for him inside the doorway. It contains money, and promises more.

Daniel is desperate. Against his better judgement, he moves into the groundskeeper’s cottage behind the crypt. He’s determined to ignore the strange occurrences that plague the estate.

But when a candle flickers to life in the abandoned tower window, Daniel realises Craven Manor is hiding a terrible secret… one that threatens to bury him with it.

This one had a lot of promise. I loved the set-up and the initial time at the manor. Once Daniel met Bran, I felt like the suspense started to go out of the story. I wasn’t as intrigued or scared. I feel like the story lost a lot of steam at the end and the final conflict wasn’t as fraught as I would have liked. But I will say that the scene where Daniel first encounters Annaliese is amazing.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Videos and Hearts

Super excited about Key and Peele being in this one…

Oh my. I got goosebumps!

Haha!!! So good!

So hoping this is good…

Another one I hope is good.

Those two. The movie may be overhyped, but I love them together.

This is hilarious!

Hell yes! The only reason I watched The Fate of the Furious was for these two. And we get Idris Elba playing a villain. So here for this!

Knew most of this, but still interesting.

These are always so incredibly funny!

Hmmm… I’m intrigued. And I do like Dev Patel.

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

Title: In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4)

Author: Seanan McGuire

Publisher: Tor 2019

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 208

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Women Author; Seasonal Series - Dark Cover

This is the story of a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.

When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

Finally! We get to hear Lundy’s story. She is just an interesting side character in the series and I had been intrigued by her background. In this volume, we get her entire story up until moving to the Home for Wayward Children. In the overall scheme of books, I seriously loved this story and am going to give it 5 stars. Within the context of the series, I think this is my least favorite so far. It didn’t have as much weirdness as the others. But I really did love visiting the Goblin Market and meeting Moon and The Archivist.

Wayward Children

Next up on the TBR pile:

Visualizing the Beatles by John Pring and Rob Thomas

Title: Visualizing the Beatles

Author: John Pring and Rob Thomas

Publisher: Dey Street 2018

Genre: Nonfiction - Music

Pages: 288

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

Filled with stunning full-color infographics, a unique, album-by-album visual history of the evolution of the Beatles that examines how their style, their sound, their instruments, their songs, their tours, and the world they inhabited transformed over the course of a decade.

Combining data, colorful artwork, interactive charts, graphs, and timelines, Visualizing the Beatlesis a fresh and imaginative look at the world’s most popular band. Meticulously examining the songs on every Beatles’ album from Please Please Me to Let It Be, UK-based graphic artists John Pring and Rob Thomas deconstruct:

lyrical content
songwriting credits
inspiration for the songs
instruments used
cover designs
chart position
and more . . . .

Random library shelf pick. I couldn’t resist the fun images and bright colors. I spent an afternoon flipping through and reading about various facts about The Beatles. I especially loved the graphics dealing with fashion and songwriting. A few of the spreads were a bit too text heavy, but overall, I really enjoyed this.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #2

Reading: The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas. Loving the third book in the Lady Sherlock series.

Watching: Slowing working my way through Riverdale S2.

Listening: I dove into the Last Seen Podcast this past week. Fascinating account of the Gardner Museum heist and the ongoing investigation.

Making: I tried to make gluten free wacky cake again. Last time, the results were disastrous. This time, much better although I still think the cake is a bit dry.

Feeling: My stomach has been a bit off for the last few days.

Planning: Still working on Quentin’s Project Life spreads for 2017. I’m up to November, so my goal to finish that year during this month is definitely doable. Hopefully I can dive into 2018 spreads later this week.

Loving: A few weeks back I bought a log of cranberry goat cheese from Aldis and loved it! This week, I grabbed another log for last night’s book club and another of Blueberry Vanilla to enjoy at home.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Palaye Royale "You'll Be Fine"

Seriously love this band so much!

February 2019 Life Goals

Let’s check in on January's goals and my progress.

Get a Nebraska Driver’s License — Fail. I seriously need to block out an entire day to accomplish this.
Find Eye Doctors, Dentist, and GPs — Another fail. I hate dealing with health insurance.
Start Kindergarten Registration — Success! We got the process started and some of the forms uploaded. Next step is to schedule a physical after Feb. 12th.
Discuss Spring Break Plans — Ongoing. The twins are deciding on their party plans. I need to nail down dates of travel, but it’s tentatively on the schedule.
Read 4000 pages and 15 books — Success! I blew this one out of the water! 29 books and almost 8000 pages read!
Check in with BFC about Exchanges — Success! We are currently in the middle of our Q1 exchange. Going well so far.
Schedule January RnR Classes and Activities — Success! I scheduled things and then a few winter storms disrupted the schedule.
Complete 1/2 of January’s Self-care List — Fail. My completion rate is more like 1/4 of the list, but that’s okay.

February's Goals:

Secure hotel for April’s Stampin’ Up! convention — Rooming with a friend, but don’t want to pay for the extra charge to be next door to the convention center.
Nail down travel plans for March — Self-explanatory
Nail down travel plans for April — For the convention
Driver’s license — Ugh, still
Make dentist appointments — Another task that keeps getting put off
Find a babysitter for monthly date nights — It would be nice to get out once in awhile.
Library ban for rest of February — No more checkouts. No more holds (none currently there anyway). I need to work through the giant stack I already have and my owned books.
Get rid of two boxes in the kitchen — I have two random kitchen boxes still sitting around. One is full of party supplies and the other full of random things. I could probably get rid of like half of the stuff, but some will still need homes.

Next up on the TBR list:

Life Right Now #3

On my bedside table: The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas; Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

On my TV: Catching up with The Magicians, Letterkenny, and The Good Place.

Listening to: I dove into the podcast Last Seen about the art heist at the Gardner Museum in Boston.

On the menu:

Monday - Grilled Cheese
Tuesday - Monterrey Chicken Skillet
Wednesday - Caribbean Salmon Bowl
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Cajun Chicken and Sausage Alfredo
Saturday - Smothered Pork Chops
Sunday - Ranch Cheddar Chicken

On my to do list: Still need to get to the DMV. And I want to make a few appointments this coming month.

Happening this week: I have book club on Monday. We will be discussing Code Girls by Liza Mundy. We have our usual classes and activities. And I am hoping to host crop day on Saturday.

What I am creating: I finished a few cards last week and have turned to catching up Quentin’s Project Life album. I was stuck way back in February 2017. I dove back in this weekend and have caught up to August 2017.

My simple pleasures: Loving the minutes here and there that I find to read.

What I’m planning: Hopefully adding a few more craft classes to this month’s schedule.

Looking around the house: There are two random boxes in the kitchen that I want to empty and get rid of.

Looking forward to: Book club on Monday! Wine and time away from the kiddos sounds great to me.

From the camera: Painting at the Omaha Children’s Museum

Lumberjanes Vol. 1

Title: Lumberjanes Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy

Author: Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke A. Allen

Publisher: BOOM! 2015

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 128

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

What's to Love: Lumberjanes is the hit series from the BOOM! Box imprint that features five rad ladies who fight monster baddies with the power of friendship! Written by Noelle Stevenson (Nimona, Adventure Time) and newcomer Grace Ellis, and illustrated by Brooke Allen (A Home for Mr. Easter), this new series has taken comics by storm and placed on many Best-of-the-Year lists, including Comics Alliance, Entertainment Weekly, and Comic Book Resources.What It Is: At Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams! Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together...and they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here. Presented as the Lumberjanes Field Manual featuring a cover gallery and early character designs by Noelle Stevenson and Brooke Allen. Collects issues #1-4.

I am an idiot for waiting this long to start this series. Such a delight! I immediately fell for each and every one of the Lumberjanes. And the overall deepening mystery of what’s going on at camp is just delightful. Must continue reading!

Next up on the TBR pile:

January Movie Month Update #3

A few years back, we used to celebrate the new year by watching a month of movies. We decided to resurrect the idea for 2019. I went through a huge list of movies and made a slightly shorter list for us to pull from every night. There’s a little bit of everything on the list. Let’s see what we watched:

#20 Plan 9 from Outer Space — I always forget just how bad this movie is! We watched with RiffTrax.

#21 Looper — Decent scifi movie, but don’t think about the ending too much.

#22 Chappie — Another decent scifi movie. Wasn’t a fan of the main actors, but liked it overall.

#23 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel — Very cute little feel-good kind of movie. We decided to continue our Dev Patel string of movies… May need to watch the sequel.

#24 Bicentennial Man — One of those movies that J couldn’t believe that I had never seen. Interesting adaptation of an Asimov story, although I can see how people didn’t love it.

#25 The Fate of the Furious — Don’t care about Vin Diesel. I just watched this for Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Seriously, all I cared about!

And with that, January movie month has concluded. With a few events and some early nights, I’m excited that we ended up watching 25 movies throughout the movie. Now to play catch-up on a few shows.

Next up in the TBR Pile:

January 2019 Wrap-up

January TBR Pile (29/34):

Book of the Month Club: The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton ✓
BOTM: In the Hurricane’s Eye by Nathaniel Philbrick
Girly Book Club: The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen ✓
West O Book Club: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (reread) ✓
Random TBR Pick: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin ✓
Series Pick: Lord Carew’s Bride by Mary Balogh
Series Pick: And the Rest is History by Jodi Taylor ✓
Alphabet Soup: Zorro by Isabel Allende ✓
Alphabet Soup: Dark Angel by Mary Balogh
Monthly Keyword (Jewel): A Precious Jewel by Mary Balogh ✓
Monthly Motif (New-to-Me Author): Guidebook to Murder by Lynn Cahoon ✓
Comic: The Walked Dead Vol. 30 ✓
Comic: Rat Queens Vol. 5 ✓
Comic: Saga Vol. 9 ✓
Comic: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 7 ✓
Comic: The Exile by Diana Gabaladon ✓
Comic: The Autumnlands Vol. 1 ✓
Comic: Low Vol. 2 ✓
Comic: Low Vol. 3 ✓
Comic: Low Vol. 4 ✓
Romance: The Ideal Wife by Mary Balogh ✓
Science Fiction: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Nonfiction: Coffee Talk by Morton Satin ✓
Young Adult: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Carry-Over: Open House by Elizabeth Berg ✓
Added: Desiccated Water by Jodi Taylor ✓
Added: Markham and the Anal Probing by Jodi Taylor ✓
Added: A Perfect Storm by Jodi Taylor ✓
Added: Christmas Past by Jodi Taylor ✓
Added: Winter Storms by Elin Hilderbrand ✓
Added: Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand ✓
Added: Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon ✓
Added: Code Girls by Liza Mundy ✓
Added: Skirting the Grave by Annette Blair ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 7118 pages
Pages Remaining: 633,054 pages

Current Read - In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire; Craven Manor by Darcy Coates

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books bought/received (2)

Swamplandia by Karen Russell - Half Price Books clearance find
Craft a Life You Love by Amy Tangerine - Been eyeing this one for awhile. I finally pulled the trigger and bought it.

February's TBR Pile:

Book of the Month Club: In the Hurricane’s Eye by Nathaniel Philbrick
Girly Book Club: American War by Omar El Akkad
UnRead Shelf Pick: Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield
Random TBR Pick: #65 An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor (iPad)
Series Pick: Lord Carew’s Bride by Mary Balogh
Series Pick: A Counterfeit Betrothal by Mary Balogh
Monthly Keyword (Heart): Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Monthly Motif (Cover Love): A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang (iPad)
Comic: Lady Mechanika Vol. 1
Comic: Lady Mechanika Vol. 2
Comic: Lumberjanes Vol. 1
Romance: Dark Angel by Mary Balogh
Romance: The Notorious Rake by Mary Balogh
Horror: Craven Manor by Darcy Coates (iPad)
Fantasy: In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
Science Fiction: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Nonfiction: Eruption by Steve Olson
Nonfiction: Visualizing the Beatles by John Pring and Rob Thomas
Young Adult: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
HP Year-Long ReRead: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Movies watched — We did January movie month. See what we watched here, here, and here.

TV Shows watched

The Bachelor S23 — Back at it even though I think Colton is a bit of a wet blanket.
Letterkenny S2 — This show makes me laugh so hard!
The Good Place S3 — This show continues to surprise us. Love it!
The Magicians S4 — Finally it’s back! And oh my, that was such a season opener.

Comments - I rocked my reading in January! Look at all those books I finished! Four of them were off my UnRead Shelf, so progress on my 50 book goal. Unfortunately I went a little library crazy which impaired my total. Looking for more reads from my shelves this February.

Next up on the TBR pile: