Paper Girls Vol. 5

Title: Paper Girls Vol. 5

Author: Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matt Wilson

Publisher: Image 2018

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 128

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

BRIAN K. VAUGHAN, bestselling writer of SAGA, and CLIFF CHIANG, legendary artist of Wonder Woman, return with award-winning colorist MATTHEW WILSON and innovative letterer JARED K. FLETCHER for the darkly dramatic fifth volume of PAPER GIRLS. Can anyone escape fate? That’s what Mac and her fellow newspaper delivery girls must discover as they travel from the year 2000 to a distant and dangerous future era of Cleveland, Ohio. Plus, the secret truth behind the mysterious “Grand Father” who’s been pursuing the girls across time is finally revealed! Collects PAPER GIRLS #21-25

Another great volume of this series. I am so invested with these girls. I can’t wait to see what happens next and what twists will be revealed. One of my biggest questions: What’s up with Mac and her future death? Seriously I’m hanging on by a thread waiting to know…

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #4

Reading: Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield. I loved The Thirteenth Tale, hoping this one is just as good. I’m only a few pages in, but so far, pretty interesting.

Watching: J and I started This Giant Beast that Is the Global Economy with Kal Penn. Depressing, but interesting dive into various aspects of the global economy.

Listening: Lots of podcasts. I’m currently catching up with a few back episodes of Reading Glasses.

Making: The dish of the week is apparently scones. Yesterday I made chocolate chip ones and mango and coconut ones. I want to try out a savory recipe (maybe ham and cheese?) and a new sweet recipe this week.

Feeling: It’s my birthday!!!

Planning:  Putting the finishing touches on our travel plans next week. We’re hitting Legoland Chicago on our way to Indiana.

Loving: My in-laws got me a cozy new library themed blanket. Perfect addition to my reading chair in the playroom. It’s been so cold lately and our house has weird cold (playroom) and hot spots (master bedroom) so we’ve been playing with the thermostat. A blanket helps me stay cozy reading while the kiddos play.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - YUNGBLUD and Halsey feat. Travis Barker "11 Minutes"

I think Halsey is growing on me. I really liked her SNL performance from a few weeks back. And I’m digging this new song…

Lumberjanes Vol. 2

Title: Lumberjanes Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max

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

Publisher: BOOM! 2015

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 112

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

The second collection of the award-winning Lumberjanes is here! Five girls become instant best friends when they go to camp and discover there is a lot more to the summer than learning to how to paddle a canoe. Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Rumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types is not your average summer camp and Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are not your average campers. Between the river monsters, magic, and myths, this summer is only just beginning! Collects issues #5-8.

Such great fun! I really really enjoyed this series. All of the characters are so great. I love seeing what happens next at their Not-quite-normal summer camp. One mystery was solved in this volume, but I just know that there are many more out there to explore.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Winter Bucket List Update #3

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.

Progress: 7/25

1. Read 45 books ✓

2. Eat at 5 new-to-me restaurants (in progress 2/5)

3. Go sledding

4. Attend a hockey game

5. Attend two theater performances (in progress 1/2) - We went to see Thumbelina at the Rose Theater. Very fun little show. I don’t think we’ll get to another performance before the end of this bucket list, but we do have at least three more scheduled for Spring and Summer.

6. Bake some bread ✓

7. Make winter crafts ✓

8. Create a table centerpiece ✓

9. Get our fireplace working

10. Movie Month January ✓

11. Weekly Game Day/Night with Arthur (in progress)

12. Make Valentine’s ✓

13. Try 3 new hot chocolate recipes/mixes

14. Visit two new-to-the-boys museums (in progress 1/2) - Not quite a museum, but we did visit the botanical garden at Lauritzen so I’m counting it!

15. Have an indoor picnic.

16. Swim at the gym 5 times (in progress 1/5) - After Q’s stomach bug this January, I didn’t think we would ever get to the pool. We have been 1 time so far. Hoping to squeeze in a few more trips.

17. Host a tea party!

18. Make a snow globe

19. Make a seasonal door hanger/wreath

20. Complete a jigsaw puzzle ✓

21. Find a great coffee shop for me!

22. Spend an afternoon at a local bookstore

23. Buy some new cozy pajamas

24. Explore an area of Omaha

25. Travel to Indiana for Nick and Alex’s 16th Birthday! - Finally scheduled everything! We will be there for their actual birthday!

Next up on the TBR pile:

March 2019 Life Goals

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

• Secure hotel for April’s Stampin’ Up! convention — Success! Pam and I will be staying at a cute looking AirBnB pretty close to the convention center.

• Nail down travel plans for March — Success!

• Nail down travel plans for April — Still working on this one. Not sure when I will be leaving exactly.

• Driver’s license — Fail.

• Make dentist appointments — Success! Mine isn’t until May, but we already had Q and A’s appointments.

• Find a babysitter for monthly date nights — Fail. I need to get on this…

• Library ban for rest of February — Fail. I always get distracted by the shinies…

• Get rid of two boxes in the kitchen — Fail. I just don’t know what to do with all this random, yet occasionally useful crap.

March's Goals:

• Go see Captain Marvel in the theaters for my birthday movie — I haven’t been out on a date with J in years (seriously years, it’s been rough). We both want to see Captain Marvel and it comes out two days after my birthday. Going to try and get there!

• Take the littles to Legoland Chicago — I have the tickets and a hotel booked, just need to actually get there. We’re stopping on the way to Indiana for Spring Break.

• Throw a small birthday party for the twins — March 19th my big boys are turning 16!!! We’re working out the details, but they are wanting a small party at Crazy Pinz.

• Make Doctor appointment for Arthur and Quentin — Need to get this scheduled if not actually happening in March.

• Read 20 books (four from my UnRead Shelf) — Pushing my reading momentum into this month. 20 books should be doable, but I need to remember to grab some off my UnRead Shelf.

Next up on the TBR list:

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

Title: A Place for Us

Author: Fatima Farheen Mirza

Publisher: SJP for Hogarth 2018

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 385

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Includes a wedding; Women Authors; Literary Escapes - California

As an Indian wedding gathers a family back together, parents Rafiq and Layla must reckon with the choices their children have made. There is Hadia: their headstrong, eldest daughter, whose marriage is a match of love and not tradition. Huda, the middle child, determined to follow in her sister’s footsteps. And lastly, their estranged son, Amar, who returns to the family fold for the first time in three years to take his place as brother of the bride. What secrets and betrayals have caused this close-knit family to fracture? Can Amar find his way back to the people who know and love him best? 

Our book club selection for March and I’m pretty disappointed in this one. It was billed as a moving story of a family growing, changing, and healing. I just couldn’t get behind it. The story revolved around the father and son and I just couldn’t seem to care about either one. The mother and sisters seemed to exist only to support the two males in the house. I get that many of the familial relationships were influenced by the family’s religion, but that doesn’t mean that I have to like those relationships. Beyond my issues with the characters, I was deeply annoyed by the time jumping and POV switching. Without warning, the author constantly shifted the timeline or the POV. I spent way too much time figuring out who was talking, but more importantly, when they were talking. And then having the story told multiple times throughout the novel adding bits and pieces along the way was just too repetitive for me. I was very bored throughout most of this book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

February 2019 Wrap-up

February TBR Pile (21/26):

1. Book of the Month Club: In the Hurricane’s Eye by Nathaniel Philbrick

2. Girly Book Club: American War by Omar El Akkad ✓

3. UnRead Shelf Pick: Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield

4. Random TBR Pick: #65 An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor (iPad) ✓

5. Series Pick: Lord Carew’s Bride by Mary Balogh ✓

6. Series Pick: A Counterfeit Betrothal by Mary Balogh

7. Monthly Keyword (Heart): Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill ✓

8. Monthly Motif (Cover Love): A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang (iPad) ✓

9. Comic: Lady Mechanika Vol. 1 ✓

10. Comic: Lady Mechanika Vol. 2 ✓

11. Comic: Lumberjanes Vol. 1 ✓

12. Romance: Dark Angel by Mary Balogh ✓

13. Romance: The Notorious Rake by Mary Balogh

14. Horror: Craven Manor by Darcy Coates ✓

15. Fantasy: In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire ✓

16. Science Fiction: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

17. Nonfiction: Eruption by Steve Olson ✓

18. Nonfiction: Visualizing the Beatles by John Pring and Rob Thomas ✓

19. Young Adult: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han ✓

20. HP Year-Long ReRead: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (no review) ✓

21. Added: The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas ✓

22. Added: The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin ✓

23. Added: Damsels Vol. 1 ✓

24. Added: Damsels Vol. 2 ✓

25. Added: Exquisite Corpse by Penelope Bagieu ✓

26. Added: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6002 pages
Pages Remaining: 627,052 pages

Current Read - A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza; Paper Girls Vol. 5; The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

Books I Gave Up On (0) 

Books bought/received (0)

March's TBR Pile:

1. Book of the Month Club: Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

2. Girly Book Club: A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa

3. Friend Book Club: A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

4. UnRead Shelf Pick: The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

5. Random TBR Pick: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (iPad)

6. Series Pick: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

7. Series Pick: Cloaked in Malice by Annette Blair

8. Series Pick: The Battersea Barricades by Jodi Taylor (iPad)

9. Series Pick: The Steam Pump Jump by Jodi Taylor (iPad)

10. Monthly Keyword (Emerald): Newt’s Emerald by Garth Nix

11. Monthly Motif (Royalty, Government, Empires): TBD

12. Comic: Alex + Ada Vol. 1

13. Comic: Alex + Ada Vol. 2

14. Comic: Alex + Ada Vol. 3

15. Comic: Umbrella Academy Vol. 1

16. Comic: Lumberjanes Vol. 2

17. Comic: Paper Girls Vol. 5

18. Romance: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

19. Romance: A Counterfeit Betrothal / The Notorious Rake by Mary Balogh

20. Horror: The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

21. Science Fiction: The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

22. Nonfiction: The Library Book by Susan Orlean

23. Nonfiction: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

24. Young Adult: Paper Towns by John Green

25. Young Adult: Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

26. HP Year-Long ReRead: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Movies watched

• Accident Man — Interest little assassin movie.

• Robin Hood (2018) — Honestly a bit of a trainwreck. No thank you.

• Lost Horizon (1937) — J was surprised that I had never seen this one. Very good!

• The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai — It’s been awhile since I watched this one. Very crazy! Just like I remembered it.

• Mega Time Squad — Weird little movie from New Zealand.

• The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) — We continued with our re-watching of all The Three Musketeers adaptations with this two-parter from the 1970s. I always forget the random weird shit going on in the background in these.

• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — Oh so good! And the animation style is just amazing!

TV Shows watched

• Teachers S3

• Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj S1

• The Bachelor S23

• Letterkenny S3

• The Magicians S4

Comments - Another great reading month! I didn’t follow my library ban and read a ton from my shelves, but I did read a ton. And many of those books were ones that had been on my TBR list for awhile now. SO I’m calling it a good job! Having a ton of snow days helped. I’m super excited about March’s TBR pile. Can’t wait to dive in!

Next up on the TBR pile: