Mad Hatters and March Hares

Title: Mad Hatters and March Hares

Edited by: Ellen Datlow

Publisher: Tor 2017

Genre: Fantasy Short Stories

Pages: 332

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Animal in Title; Share-a-Tea; I Love Libraries

From master anthologist Ellen Datlow comes an all-original of weird tales inspired by the strangeness of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.

Between the hallucinogenic, weird, imaginative wordplay and the brilliant mathematical puzzles and social satire, Alice has been read, enjoyed, and savored by every generation since its publication. Datlow asked eighteen of the most brilliant and acclaimed writers working today to dream up stories inspired by all the strange events and surreal characters found in Wonderland.

As with every short story collection, the results are a bit mixed. But this collection really redeemed itself with a few key stories. My favorites:

• "Mercury" -- Love the twist on the Mad Hatter idea. The twist at the end was definitely the best part. 
• "Alis" -- Hands down the creepiest story I have read in a very very very long time. I seriously had a nightmare about it the night after I read it. And I have avoided mirrors for awhile. Horrifying...
• "All the King's Men" -- This was such a weird little story. I might just have nightmares about little Humpty Dumpties.
• "In Memory of a Summer's Day" -- Love the idea of Wonderland turned into a tourist attraction. And yet, Wonderland is still a very dangerous place.
• "Sentence Like a Saturday" -- What if a creature from Wonderland got stuck in our world? And grew up, but never really became a part of our world? Oh... I am here for this story.
• "Eating the Alice Cake" -- Hmmm.. I wasn't expecting this story, but loved the twists and turns. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Little Book of Feminist Saints by Julia Pierpont and Manjit Thapp

Title: The Little Book of Feminist Saints

Author: Julia Pierpont and Manjit Thapp

Publisher: Random House 2018

Genre: History; Women's Studies

Pages: 190

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: I Love Libraries

In this luminous volume, New York Times bestselling writer Julia Pierpont and artist Manjit Thapp match short, vibrant, and surprising biographies with stunning portraits of secular female “saints”: champions of strength and progress. These women broke ground, broke ceilings, and broke molds—including

Random pick off of the library's new books shelf. I am surprised that I have at least heard of every single woman featured. I did learn more about a few of the women (mostly non-Americans), but overall enjoyed reading each entry. Plus, the illustrations are just beautiful.

Next up on the TBR pile:

May Videos

This trailer is piquing my interest...

Looks like an interesting story and the cinematography looks beautiful.

Always here for a Jurassic Park movie...

Domino better kick major ass in this movie.

Donald Glover is a treasure

Call me intrigued...

This looks like it's going to turn into another King Arthur, and that is not a compliment...

The Walking Dead Vol. 28

Title: The Walking Dead Vol. 28: A Certain Doom

Author: Robert Kirkman; Charlie Adlard; Stefano Guadiano; Cliff Rathburn; Dave Stewart

Publisher: Image 2017

Genre: Comics

Pages: 136

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel

In the aftermath of The Whisperer War--ALL IS LOST as Rick and all of Alexandria fight for survival against the largest horde of walkers they’ve ever faced.

Collects THE WALKING DEAD #163-168.

I was wholly not prepared for this volume. I assumed that the residents of Alexandria would deal with the zombie hoard and be done with it. I didn't expect one specific death and it gutted me. The last few pages reminded me of the first few pages of the entire series. No need for words when the images are so detailed.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #4

Reading: Mad Hatters and March Hares edited by Ellen Datlow. Really enjoying this collection of 18 Alice in Wonderland inspired short stories.

Watching: We finished Supernatural S4 this week. Starting S5 soon.

Listening: Currently working through the back catalogue of the Bad Times Good Stories podcast. Some of these stories are hilarious.

Making: Still working through all my retiring stamp sets. And making cards for stamp club for Saturday.

Feeling: I have no idea why, but I've been so worn down the past few days.

Planning: Getting all of May's activities set on the calendar. 

Loving: I took s'mores cookies and popcorn to friend's house for playdate last good. Now I'm stuck on s'mores cookies and popcorn. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday -- Lola Blanc "Don't Say You Do"

Stumbled upon here on Youtube and I am entranced. Definitely need more...

Through the Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter

Title: Through the Zombie Glass (White Rabbit Chronicles #2)

Author: Gena Showalter

Publisher: Harlequin Teen 2013

Genre: YA - Fantasy

Pages: 478

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: A to Z - T; I Love Libraries; Seasonal Series - Read a Book While Eating Chocolate

Zombies stalk the night.  
Forget blood and brains. These monsters hunger for human souls. 
Sadly, they've got mine… 
Alice Bell has lost so much. Family. Friends. A home. She thought she had nothing else to give. She was wrong.  
After a new zombie attack, strange things begin to happen to her. Mirrors come to life, and the whispers of the dead assault her ears. But the worst? A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do very wicked things.  
She's never needed her team of zombie slayers more, but ultra bad-boy Cole Holland, the leader and her boyfriend, suddenly withdraws from her…from everyone. Now, with her best friend, Kat, at her side, Ali must kill the zombies, uncover Cole's secret and learn to fight the darkness. 
But the clock is ticking…and if she fails at a single task, they're all doomed.

This is exactly what I needed to read this weekend: a fun, sometimes horrifying young adult fantasy. I devoured every word, reading this one in only two days. I couldn't get enough of this fast-paced adventure. I was desperate to see what happened to regular Ali and Zombie Ali. I kept yelling (in my head) at Cole to get his shit together. I speculated on the identity of the spy and actually got it right for once. I can't wait to pick up the next volume.

White Rabbit Chronicles:

• #1 Alice in Zombieland
• #1.5 Cole... Meet Ali
• #2 Through the Zombie Glass
• #3 The Queen of Zombie Hearts
• #4 A Mad Zombie Party
• #4.1 Kat in Zombieland

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #15

As I look outside my window: A little overcast out there, but I'm sure the sun will come out later.

Right now I am: Eating breakfast (BLT and a grapefruit, weird breakfast, but tasty) before the kiddos demand attention. 

On my bedside table: Rest of The White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter -- my current YA guilty pleasure.

On my tv this week: We've been watching a lot of Supernatural (almost finished with S4!), but last night we finally watched Mad Max: Fury Road.

Listening to: Catching up with a few podcasts (Hey Crafty Babes, OBM, Reading Glasses) and, of course, Black Veil Brides.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Leftovers
• Tuesday - Chili and Cornbread
• Wednesday - Cheesy Artichoke Pasta
• Thursday - Popcorn Shrimp
• Friday - Chicken Parmesan
• Saturday - Leftovers
• Sunday - Mongolian Beef and Rice

On my to do list: Purge downstairs closet, buy plane tickets, renew Costco, send cards, decide May's Club order, make a few craft projects. I'm sure there's more...

Happening this week:

• Monday - Home day
• Tuesday - Oakland Zoo
• Wednesday - Errands
• Thursday - Beach Day!
• Friday - Home day?
• Saturday - Stamp Club
• Sunday - ???

What I am creating: I'm attempting to finish off my retiring stamp sets cards so I can get to the new goodies coming Tuesday. Plus, I'm working on April's Memory Planner and hoping to do some catch up with Arthur's 2017 PL album.

My simple pleasures: Bacon, Raspberry Vodka and Sparkling Lemonade, a good fantasy series, new SU catalog

Looking around the house: Decent shape although I really need to tackle that downstairs closet. Plus, I should vacuum and sweep tomorrow. 

From the camera: Laughing at the goats. 

Circe by Madeline Miller

Title: Circe

Author: Madeline Miller

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2018

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 394

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Share-a-Tea 

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power--the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

My Book of the Month selection for April and I definitely picked the right book for me. This is a wonderful retelling of the myth of Circe told from her perspective. I'll admit that the book started out a bit slow. Once Circe was exiled to her island, I really dove into the book and loved every word. Miller tells a compelling story with a gorgeous voice. Miller makes her fair share of changes and expansions of Circe's story, but every choice made sense. I really loved the twists and turns. Overall, a great read!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman

Title: The Dress Lodger

Author: Sheri Holan

Publisher: Grove 2010

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 322

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: TBR Pile; Popsguar - Given as a gift; Seasonal Series - Flower as bookmark

In Sunderland, England, a city quarantined by the cholera epidemic of 1831, Gustine, a defiant fifteen-year-old beauty in an elegant blue dress rented from her pimp-landlord, sells her body to feed her only love: a fragile baby boy. When she meets surgeon Henry Chiver, who has recently been implicated in the Burke and Hare killings, in which beggars were murdered so the corpses could be sold for medical research, Gustine begins working for him by securing cadavers for his ill-equipped anatomy school. It is a gruesome job that will soon threaten the very things she’s working so hard to protect.

One of those books that has been on my shelf for years it feels like. I finally dove in and it's middle of the road. It's not a bad book, but I found myself fairly bored by it. I wasn't super connected to any of the characters. The setting and background story is interesting, but not enough to carry me through the entire book. I was not a fan of the weird third person narration and jumps between stories and characters. The book felt unconnected. Overall a very meh historical fiction novel.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Q really needs to learn English soon, the screeching is becoming a bit much now...
• Hoping my reading momentum continues through May.
• Secured tickets to the Warped Tour for the twins and me. I might be more excited than they are.
• My scores cookies went a little crazy, but they still taste good.
• So much driving this week. Oh my I am done crossing the Bay.
• Getting closer to a tattoo design. I need to find some time for a consultation appointment.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Spring Bucket List Update #2

Not a lot of tasks checked off this section. Hopefully May goes better. Let's see how we've done so far this season.

1. Have an Easter Egg Hunt ✓ 
2. Dye Easter Eggs ✓  
3. Beach picnic (too cold this month, hopefully we can in May)
4. Ride the steam train at Tilden
5. See the baby goats/sheep/pigs at the farm
6. Go to the farmer's market
7. Make fun cupcakes
8. Make a fairy door
9. Have a cookout ✓
10. Visit Happy Hallow ✓ -- We went yesterday!
11. Create a gardening project for Arthur
12. Paint my nails a springy color
13. Play with sidewalk chalk
14. Go to a botanical garden
15. Visit five different parks -- Castro Valley Park, Seven Seas Park, Coyote Pointe, Hellyer County Park, 
16. Fly a kite
17. Make strawberry shortcake
18. Have an ice cream sundae night
19. Visit Chabot twice before our membership runs out -- Went on April 19th
20. Blow bubbles
21. Make a rainbow craft
22. Host a tea party
23. Make dirt pudding
24. Bake flower pot bread
25. Go berry picking

Next up on the TBR pile:

May 2018 Life Goals

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

• Clean out the downstairs closet -- Fail.
• Read 15 books -- Success!
• Meal plan for all of April -- Success! I even worked in a few new recipes.
• Do a clothes clean-out for me and the boys -- Fail
• Figure out our summer travel plans -- Fail
• Knock off 5 items from my Spring Bucket list -- Fail. We only check off two tasks: host a cookout and visit Happy Hollow. We did make progress on visiting five parks and going to Chabot twice. Our beach day had to be rescheduled due to weather. I'm hoping May offers some good opportunities for activites.
• Try 5 new recipes -- Sorta fail. I didn't get to 5 new recipes, but we did try 2 new ones...
  • Spinach and Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken -- Needed more blue cheese
  • Caribbean Salmon Quinoa Bowls -- Pretty good...
• Create a grocery and activity budget and stick to it -- Success!

May's Goals:

• Care Exchange cards -- I had a plan to send out thank you cards to the exchange participants. I've worked through about 30% of the participants. Need to get the others sent out, but first stamps must be bought!
• Finalize summer plans (buy plane tickets!) -- This is getting super close, need to lock our plans down.
• Figure out J's travel plans -- He has to go overseas for work sometime soon. I need dates!
• Institute a library ban for me -- Except for the book club selection and any series I'm currently reading, I am not going to check other books out from the library. Need to get back to my own shelves for awhile.
• Clean out that darn downstairs closet! -- Seriously, I will tackle this one in May!
• Knock off 5 items from my Spring Bucket list -- I need to be a bit more intentional this month. I'm thinking a few crafts, more parks, another visit to Chabot, a beach day, and maybe some food related ones.
• Plan out a sample schedule for summer -- I like to space out our big activities and fill in with smaller and cheaper ones. Need to get on this!
• Get my hair dyed! -- A friend has offered to dye my hair. We talked about what I wanted. Now we need to find a time and actually do it. This may have to get pushed to June due to schedules, but I at least want to get it on the calendar. 
• Schedule our first pool day -- The company has to come and do the big chemical dump, but it should be ready early this month.

Next up on the TBR list: