October 2020 Wrap-up

October TBR Pile (17/27)

1. Book of the Month Club: One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

2. Book of the Month Club: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

3. Girly Book Club: The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali ✓

4. Friend Book Club: Sleepjng Giants by Sylvain Neuvel ✓

5. Unread Shelf Random (Oct): Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

6. Goodreads To Read Random (Oct): The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

7. Theme 1: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones ✓

8. Theme 1: White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi ✓

9. Theme 1: Devolution by Max Brooks ✓

10. Theme 2:

11. Theme 2:

12. Theme Wrap-up: The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender ✓

13. Theme Wrap-up: The Secrets of Drearcliff School by Kim Newman

14. Theme Wrap-up: Sanctum by Madeleine Roux

15. Romance: Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt

16. Romance: A Rogue of One’s Own by Evie Dunmore ✓

17. Romance: Well Played by Jen De Luca ✓

18. Nonfiction: The Witches by Stacy Schiff

19. Historical Fiction: Lovely War by Julie Berry ✓

20. Ebook: Dark Desires by Eve Silver ✓

21. Added: Lumberjanes Vol. 12 ✓

22. Added: Lumberjanes Vol. 13 ✓

23. Added: Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner ✓

24. Added: The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller ✓

25. Added: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune ✓

26. Added: The Last Mrs. Summers by Rhys Bowen ✓

27. Added: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 5323 pages
Pages Remaining: 510,243 pages

Current Read - The Last Flight by Julie Clark

Books I Gave Up On (0) 

Books bought/received (2) - Two selections from BOTM this month.

• A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

• Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

November TBR Pile:

1. Book of the Month Club: One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

2. BOTM Club: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

3. BOTM Club: The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

4. Girly Book Club: Color Me In by Natasha Diaz

5. Friend Book Club: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

6. Unread Shelf Random (Nov): Still Life by Louise Penny

7. Goodreads To Read Random (Nov): The Troop by Nick Cutter

8. Theme 1: The Address Book by Deirdre Mask

9. Theme 1: The Witches by Stacy Schiff

10. Theme 1: The Buried by Peter Hessler

11. Theme 2: The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

12. Theme 2:

13. Theme 2:

14. Horror: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

15. Comics: Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy

16. Comics: Lumberjanes The Infernal Compass

17. Comics: Lumberjanes The Shape of Friendship

18. Comics: Lumberjanes Bonus Tracks

19. Comics: Flight Vol. 1

20. Comics: Flight Vol. 2

21. Romance: Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt

22. Romance: Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

23. Romance: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

24. Thriller: There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

25. Horror: The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School by Kim Newman

26. Horror: Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Movies watched

• Save Yourselves - Weird and odd. Loved it!

• Enola Holmes - Delightful

• Aladdin (2019) - Better than I thought it was going to be. Will Smith is a good different genie.

• Crazy Rich Asians - Better than the book…

• Phinneas and Ferb: Candace Against the Universe - Our entertaining family movie night selection.

• The Doorman - So very forgettable.

• Jaco - Knew the music, didn’t know the name. Interesting biography.

• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Rewatch for me, first time for J.

TV Shows watched 

• Battelstar Galactica S3-4

• The Boys S2

• The Great British Bake-Off S11

• Lower Decks S1

• Archer S11

• Happy S2

• Home S1

• Below Deck S7

• Truth Seekers S1

Comments - A mixed bag when it came to the quality of the books I read this month, but I did reach my number goal. I’ve put myself on a library hold ban for November and December (except for book club books). Things got a little out of a hand and I stop reading my unread books. Need to get back to my own bookshelves and knock out some more books.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Well Played by Jen DeLuca

Title: Well Played (Well Met #2)

Author: Jen DeLuca

Publisher: Berkley 2020

Genre: Romance

Pages: 332

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Stacey is jolted when her friends Simon and Emily get engaged. She knew she was putting her life on hold when she stayed in Willow Creek to care for her sick mother, but it's been years now, and even though Stacey loves spending her summers pouring drinks and flirting with patrons at the local Renaissance Faire, she wants more out of life. Stacey vows to have her life figured out by the time her friends get hitched at Faire next summer. Maybe she'll even find The One.
 
When Stacey imagined "The One," it never occurred to her that her summertime Faire fling, Dex MacLean, might fit the bill. While Dex is easy on the eyes onstage with his band The Dueling Kilts, Stacey has never felt an emotional connection with him. So when she receives a tender email from the typically monosyllabic hunk, she's not sure what to make of it.
 
Faire returns to Willow Creek, and Stacey comes face-to-face with the man with whom she’s exchanged hundreds of online messages over the past nine months. To Stacey's shock, it isn't Dex—she's been falling in love with a man she barely knows.

Oof a disappointment for me. I really did enjoy the first book in the series focusing on Simon and Emily. It was a fun rom-com romp. I was looking forward to the next installment, but this one really fell flat with me. I couldn’t find myself connecting with Stacey as a main character. She seemed like a flighty, shallow person constantly whining about her inability to get out of her hometown. And then we move onto the romance portion. The catfishing plot was just so incredibly predictable and yet the book just breezed past it once it was revealed. I couldn’t believe that Stacey didn’t spend any real time dealing with the deception. Finally we get to actual romance and I just wasn’t that interested in Stacey and Daniel as a couple. Blergh. I’m hoping the third book focused on Mitch and April is better.

Well Met

• #1 Well Met

• #2 Well Played

• #3 Well Matched

Next up on the TBR pile:

It's Way Too Cold Videos

I can’t wait for this upcoming season!

I was cackling at this skit.

Every once in a while, there comes a mash-up that is absolutely everything! This is that mash-up!

Made me laugh out loud…

This looks like a good all-women spy action adventure.

This was so very amazing… J and laughed through the entire thing. But in all seriousness, I really need those spiders.

I’m actually kind of interested in watching this one.

Might be the next weird show we watch

Might just be good

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

Title: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Author: Winifred Watson

Publisher: 1938

Genre: Classics

Pages: 234

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy; Monthly Theme - May

Miss Pettigrew, an approaching-middle-age governess, was accustomed to a household of unruly English children. When her employment agency sends her to the wrong address, her life takes an unexpected turn. The alluring nightclub singer, Delysia LaFosse, becomes her new employer, and Miss Pettigrew encounters a kind of glamour that she had only met before at the movies. Over the course of a single day, both women are changed forever.

Such a delightful book. I remembered watching the movie version years back and enjoyed it. I hoped that the book would be just as delightful and thank goodness it was. I loved the comedy of errors and the witty banter. I kept waiting to see what silly situation Delysia and Guinevere found themselves in next. I just kept smiling through the entire book. I especially loved the encounters with Edythe and Tommy. Of course there are a few lines that are not at all appropriate to us now. Be forewarned. I kept having to remind myself that the book was written in 1938. Otherwise it was a lovely book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Last Mrs. Summers by Rhys Bowen

Title: The Last Mrs. Summers (Royal Spyness #14)

Author: Rhys Bowen

Publisher: Berkley 2020

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 300

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - July

I am a bit at loose ends at the moment. My cook, Queenie, is making my new role as mistress of Eynsleigh something akin to constant torture as Darcy is off on another one of his top secret jaunts. And Grandad is busy helping wayward youths avoid lives of crime. So when my dearest friend, Belinda, inherits an old cottage in Cornwall and begs me to go with her to inspect the property, I jump at the chance.

After a heart-stopping journey in Belinda’s beast of a motorcar, we arrive at the creaky old cottage called White Sails and quickly realize that it is completely uninhabitable. Just when I’m starting to wonder if I would have been better off trying to get Queenie to cook a roast that hasn’t been burnt beyond all recognition, we meet Rose Summers, a woman Belinda knew as a child when she spent time in Cornwall. Rose invites us to stay at Trewoma Hall, the lovely estate now owned by her husband, Tony.

Belinda confesses that she never liked Rose and had a fling with Tony years ago, so staying with them is far from ideal but beggars can’t be choosers as they say. Trewoma is not the idyllic house Belinda remembers. There’s something claustrophobic and foreboding about the place. Matters aren’t helped by the oppressively efficient housekeeper Mrs. Mannering or by the fact that Tony seems to want to rekindle whatever he and Belinda once had right under his wife’s nose.

Our increasingly awkward visit soon turns deadly when a member of the household is found murdered and all clues point to Belinda as the prime suspect. I soon learn that some long buried secrets have come back to haunt those in residence at Trewoma Hall and I’ll need to sift through the ruins of their past so Belinda doesn’t lose her chance at freedom in the present. . . .

This was not my favorite of the series. Rating it as a stand-alone mystery, I would have given it 4 stars. I liked the more gothic approach to a murder mystery. I liked the new characters and the setting. But this is the 14th book in a series and it just doesn’t fit very well. All of our well-known characters are acting strangely. Many of our favorites were not present for this one. I disliked the relationship between Georgie and Belinda in this book. Georgie becomes a not-nice person when she spends a lot of time with Belinda. Talk about a toxic friend. I was hoping that we would get more of a partnership between Georgie and Darcy once married, but he’s off once again doing his “spy” work leaving Georgie alone. Not a fan. Really hoping the next book in the series returns to normal.

Her 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

• #13 Love and Death Among the Cheetahs

• #14 The Last Mrs. Summers

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W11: In Which We Covered Everything I Planned!

What We Studied

This week our subjects were Babylon, Assyria, and Asia (Social Studies), Van Gogh (art), Bats and Spiders (unit theme), Moon (science), Antonin Dvorak (music), and Winnie the Pooh (literature). Amazingly, we managed to finish everything that I had planned in my usual ambitious lesson plan. It will never happen again, but it was an accomplishment.

Literature and Poetry

We finished reading The House at Pooh Corner and did some study questions about the stories. Arthur also watched the Disney movie version of The World of Pooh.

• The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

• Candy Corn: Poems by James Stevenson

Math

We covered Unit 16 in Singapore Math 1B. These lessons were all about numbers up to 120; addition, subtraction, and basic number theory. With this unit done, we only have one more unit to cover in Singapore Math 1.

Social Studies

We covered Ancient Babylon and Assyria for World History. At the end of the week, we did a geography continent study for Asia.

• Hammurabi by John Bankston

• Ancient Babylon by Karen Bush Gibson

• The Assyrians by Elaine Landau

• Spotlight on Asia by A.R. Schaefer

• Introducing Asia by Anita Ganeri

• Asia by Mary Lindeen

• Adventures in Asian Art by Sue DiCicco

Science

We finished our moon study and started documenting the various phases of the moon leading up to and after Halloween.

• Smithsonian The Moon by James Buckley Jr

• The Moon by Michael George

• The Sun and the Moon by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano

• The Moon Keeper by Zosienka

• Earth Space Moon Base by Ben Joel Price

• The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson

• Moon Wishes by Guy and Patricia Storms

• Once in a Blue Moon by Danielle Daniel

• Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

• The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons

• Moon by Steve Tomecek

• Wild Kratts: Glow Wild by Martin and Chris Kratt

Art

We did a study fo Van Gogh’s life and paintings. We focused on The Starry Night, Sunflowers, Bedroom in Arles, and Self Portrait. Arthur made his own versions of those paintings. We also found some great picture books about Van Gogh.

• Vincent Paints His House by Tedd Arnold

• The Yellow House by Susan Goldman Rubin

• Vincent Can’t Sleep by Barb Rosenstock

• Biography by Mike Venezia

• Vincent’s Colors by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Music

Our composer of the week was Antonin Dvorak. J and I are big fans of Dvorak. Arthur liked his compositions, but not quite as much as Mozart and Beethoven.

Nature Play Day

No nature play this week as Q had a small cold. We didn’t want to infect our friends.

Unit Theme

Our theme was bats and spiders! We’re embracing the spooky for October. Lots of animal science this week and a ton of picture books. We also watched two Magic School Bus episodes about spiders and bats. I’m so excited that I found some great video guides to go along with the episodes.

• Spiders by Nic Bishop

• A Web by Isabelle Simler

• Miss Muffet or What Came After by Marilyn Singer

• Frank the Seven-Legged Spider by Michaele Razi

• Spartacus the Spider by Etienne Delessert

• Spiders: Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle

• Spiders Deadly Predators by Claire Llewellyn

• The Hugely-Wugley Spider by Ethan T. Berlin

• Bear’s Scare by Jacob Grant

• The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howl

• The Spider by Elise Gravel

• The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

• Bats by Sally Morgan

• Bats by Kate Riggs

• Bats After Dark by Ruth O’Shaughnessy

• Bats by Julia Vogel

• The Bat can Bat by Gene Barretta

• Bats at the Ballgame by Brian Lies

• I am Bat by Morag Hood

• Hello, Bumblebee Bat by Darrin Lunde

• A Kite for Moon by Jane Yolen

• Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

• Little Red Bat by Carole Gerber

• Bats in the Band by Brian Lies

• Bats by Julie Murray

• Bat Count by Anna Forrester

• Bats Biggest Littles by Sandra Markle

• Bats by J. Angelique Johnson

• The Bat by Elise Gravel

Misc. - Random picture books read

• Applesauce Day by Lisa Amstutz

• Ready for Pumpkins by Kate Duke

• Hooray for Fall by Kazuo Iwamura

• Hedgehugs by Steve Wilson and Lucy Tapper

• Attack of the 50 Foot Fluffy by Mike Boldt

• Manana Iguana by Ann Whitford Paul

• Penguin Problems by Jory John

• Little Lizard’s Big Party by Melinda Melton Crow

Highs

• Spontaneous dance party!

• We had a fun time doing the Boo Drive-thru at the Oak View Mall on Friday.

Lows

• Quentin had a bit of cold this week so no nature play. Sad to miss our friends!

• I think that both kids had a bit of cold and there were many meltdowns throughout the week.

Next Week

We’re going to start The Chronicles of Narnia; first up is The Magician’s Nephew. For history, we’re going to cover Persia, Hebrews, and Phoenicians. And next week is Halloween! Lots of fun spooky books in our stack.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Sufjan Stevens "Should Have Known Better"

Older song, but every time it pops up, I must listen to it. Love this one!

Life Right Now #36

As I look outside my window: It’s very lightly snowing. More of a mix of rain and snow really.

Right now I am: Finishing our meal plan for November and December. One of my least favorite home tasks, but it’s got to be done. Also trying to add in more lunches as we’re trying to cut our eating out budget.

On my bedside table: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson; Well Played by Jen DeLuca

On my tv this week: We’re slowly working through the last season of Battlestar Galactica. It’s not great, but darn it we are in it until the end.

Listening to: All the usual podcasts. I’m feeling like I need to add more music in rotation.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Leftovers

• Tuesday - Chilean Ajiaco

• Wednesday - Zurek (Polish Rye Soup)

• Thursday - Black Bean Chicken

• Friday - Beef Tips

• Saturday - Monaco Vegetable Soup

• Sunday -

On my to do list: I did a huge brain dump on Friday. I’m hoping to knock out at least 5 items today and another 5-10 next week. On the list are a variety of small and some much larger tasks.

Happening this week: This week is going to be bonkers! We have so much going on.

• Monday - Regular Day

• Tuesday - HVAC install; Ikea delivery; Grocery store visit; Durham Halloween Drive-thru

• Wednesday - HVAC install; Nature Play Day

• Thursday - Library visit

• Friday - Regular Day

• Saturday - Halloween Party!

• Sunday - Regular Day

What I am creating: Long-term and short-term curriculum plans. We’re reaching the end of the semester and I’m trying to wrap it up and start planning for next semester.

My simple pleasures: Nightly Calm hot tea, cozy socks, spooky books

Looking around the house: It’s vacuum day! Lots of rooms were picked up yesterday, so today I get to vacuum all of them. Also excited to vacuum my craft room in anticipation of my new craft storage arriving on Tuesday.

From the camera: Shenanigans during the Book Drive Thru at the mall.

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Title: Sleeping Giants (The Themis Files #1)

Author: Sylvain Neuvel

Publisher: Del Rey 2016

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 296

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - August

A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.

Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected.

But some can never stop searching for answers.

Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What’s clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery—and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?

Our book club for this month and this was right up my alley. I loved diving right into the mystery of the robot parts. And from there, we get to meet some interesting characters. The unnamed narrator is most intriguing. I wonder if we ever get to know the identity of that person. Maybe in the second or third book, but definitely not in this one. I loved attempting to unravel the mystery alongside the various members of the team. As we got to know all the members of the team, I just wanted to know more about each one, especially Kara. I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series.

The Themis Files

• #1 Sleeping Giants

• #2 Waking Gods

• #3 Only Human

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

Title: The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall

Author: Katie Alender

Publisher: Point 2015

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Monthly Theme - August

Delia's new house isn't just a house. Long ago, it was the Piven Institute for the Care and Correction of Troubled Females -- an insane asylum nicknamed "Hysteria Hall." However, many of the inmates were not insane, just defiant and strong willed. Kind of like Delia herself.

But the house still wants to keep "troubled" girls locked away. So, in the most horrifying way, Delia becomes trapped. And that's when she learns that the house is also haunted.

Ghost girls wander the hallways in their old-fashioned nightgowns. A handsome ghost boy named Theo roams the grounds. Delia learns that all the spirits are unsettled and full of dark secrets. The house, too, harbors shocking truths within its walls -- truths that only Delia can uncover, and that may set her free.

And she'll need to act quickly -- before the house's power overtakes everything she loves.

This was a surprisingly fun ghost adventure story. I’m not sure why I ended up picking this up, but I sped read through this one in only a few days. I was immediately drawn in by the setting. I’m a sucker fo ra haunted former asylum or school. I liked Delia, but the other characters were the ones that kept me reading. I loved Theo and Eliza and Florence and even Maria. I couldn’t wait to uncover the mystery of who was controlling the ghosts. The last 30 pages were a rollicking good time. This was very fun and a good weekend’s read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Title: The House in the Cerulean Sea

Author: TJ Klune

Publisher: Tor Books 2020

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 393

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: MMD 2020; Monthly Theme - July

Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world.

Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.

This was such a delightful, feel-good book. I found myself smiling as soon as Linus arrived on the island and met the inhabitants. I was rooting for all the characters to find their happy and their home. I immediately fell for all the characters, but especially Lucy. It’s so great to read a book where the characters really care for each other deeply and want to reach happiness. I was desperate to see everything turn out okay. By the conclusion of the book, I was on pins and needles urging Linus to go back and find his home. I even got a bit teary-eyed. It was just so incredibly good. If you need a book to pick you up, this one definitely does the job.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller

Title: The Widow of Rose House

Author: Diana Biller

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin 2019

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: TBR Jar Random

It’s 1875, and Alva Webster is ready for a fresh start. After three years of being pilloried in the presses for fleeing her abusive husband, his sudden death allows her to return to New York where she is determined to restore a dilapidated Hyde Park mansion, and hopefully her reputation at the same time. She is decidedly not supposed to fall in love.

But when a haunting at her new home threatens her careful plans, she must seek help from the eccentric and brilliant and - much to her dismay - very handsome Professor Samuel Moore. Alva doesn’t need more complications in her life, especially not a convention-flouting, scandal-raising one like Sam. Unfortunately, Sam is the only one who can help. Together, the two delve into the tragic secrets wreathing Alva’s new home while Sam attempts to unlock Alva’s history―and her heart.

Not sure why this one came up on my TBR, but I’m glad I ended up reading it. Overall I really enjoyed the story of Alva and the the mysteries of a rundown mansion. I loved her relationship with Sam and the back and forth between those two. I loved the the discussions about engineering and interior design. It was an interesting book and a good historical fiction volume. My biggest complaint was the ghost story part. The summary of the book makes it seem like the ghost story is essential, but it only appears sporadically. I would have liked more ghost story, but it was not meant to be.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

Title: Big Summer

Author: Jennifer Weiner

Publisher: Atria Books 2020

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 364

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020

Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn’t spoken one word to Drue in all this time—she doesn’t even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media—so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.

Drue was always the one who had everything—except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne’s no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She’s built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend’s siren song.

A sparkling novel about the complexities of female relationships, the pitfalls of living out loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart, Big Summer is a witty, moving story about family, friendship, and figuring out what matters most.

Wow! What a huge disappointment to me. I was annoyed the first third of the book or so by the constant reminders of Instagram influencing and the fact that Daphne’s plus size. I just kept wanting to put down the book and not pick it back up again. I also got really tired of the constant flashbacks to how Drue acted in the past. Then we hit the 50% mark and I wanted to throw the book against the wall. I couldn’t get into the new direction of the book. Daphne becoming an amateur detective was completely unrealistic. The insta-love between her and Nick was unrealistic. I guessed the prologue’s importance once Drue died, but it was just annoying. I hated the entire second half of the book and disliked the first half of the book. Complete disappointment for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #17

Reading: I finally started reading The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune and it is just making me so happy. I’m loving every page of it!

Watching: We introduced the kids to The Music Man (2003 version) this past weekend. We covered Sousa in music last week and it seemed appropriate. Next weekend, we’re thinking the original movie version.

Listening: I finally went back to listen to the mini series of At the Mountains of Dadness from Dungeons and Daddies. This three part Call of Cthulhu adventure is perfect for my horror heart.

Making: I’m thinking I need to make a few loaves of banana bread this week. That sounds perfect for these fall temperatures.

Feeling: The temperatures have officially dropped. I’m all about the cozy lately. I do love my fall wardrobe, full of cardigans and slippers.

Planning: We’re doing a family Halloween party instead of trick-or-treating. I’m planning some fun activities for the kiddos.

Loving: Cooler temps mean snuggling with fuzzy blankets. Yes!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W10: In Which We Switch the Schedule Every Day

What We Studied

Every single day, we switched the schedule and what we did per Arthur’s request. It made for an interesting week for homeschooling.

Literature and Poetry

We kept reading Winnie the Pooh and started reading The House at Pooh Corner. We didn’t get as far as I would have liked, but we’re plugging through the book next week also. Good thing too as our next book didn’t yet come off hold at the library. That’s okay. I think we are going to substitute with a different book the next week instead. We also grabbed a new poetry book featuring seasonal poems.

• Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

• The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

• Pumpkin Butterfly: Poems from the other Side of Nature by Heidi Mordhorst

Math

This week was all about fractions! Arthur caught on pretty quickly, so we went further than I thought we would go. We even covered improper and equivalent fractions a bit. We’ll circle back in a few weeks.

• Fraction Action by Loreen Leedy

• Fraction Fun by David A. Adler

• Working with Fractions by David A. Adler

• Fractions, Decimals, and Percents by David A. Adler

• If You Were a Fraction by Trisha Speed Shaskan

Social Studies

We covered a few U.S. History lessons this week. On Monday, we learned about Indigenous Peoples’ Day and talked about why we don’t celebrate Columbus Day anymore. From there, we covered Jamestown, Roanoke, and the Pilgrims’ arrival. We also watched another episode of Native America. Only one more in the documentary series. So sad! It’s just so so good! Arthur actually requested history multiple times this week. It was a good week.

• The Lost Colony of Roanoke by Jean Fritz

• 1607: A New Look at Jamestown by Karen E. Lange

• The Jamestown Colony by Peter Benoit

• The Mayflower by Mark Greenwood

• Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage by Peter Arenstam

• Fact Tracker: Pilgrims by Mary Kate Osborne

• 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving by Catherine O’Neill Grace

• Pilgrim Cat by Carol Antoinette Peacock

Science

Science was all about nocturnal animals this week! It dovetailed nicely with our weekly unit theme of owls.

• When the Stars Come Out by Nicola Edwards

• Nocturnal Animals by Abbie Dunne

• While the World is Sleeping by Pamela Duncan Edwards

• Daylight Starlight Wildlife by Wendell Minor

• The Night is for Darkness by Jonathan Stutzman

• After Dark: Poems About Nocturnal Animals by David L. Harrison

• Night Animals by Gianna Marino

• Daytime Nighttime by Diane Lang

• Nighttime by Jill Esbaum

• The Night Box by Louise Greig

• Lucy’s Light by Margarita del Mazo

• Night Animals Need Sleep Too by Gianna Marino

Art

We didn’t end up with any formal art lessons this week.

Music

Our composer of the week was John Philip Sousa. Arthur enjoyed him a lot more than Puccini and opera from last week. We need to watch The Music Man this week to keep up our march theme.

• Biography by Mike Venezia

Nature Play Day

Our nature play was all about fall this week! We walked down to the forest to notice the seasonal changes and search for animal tracks. Because it was such a nice day, we spent some time at the playground before heading back to the house. After lunch, we made fun seasonal shapes stained glass and compared some leaves. Such a lovely day!

Unit Theme

Our weekly theme was owls! Lots and lots of owl books, some owl facts, and fun owl videos. We also covered the chapters in The Tarantula in My Purse that talked about a screech owl.

• Owls by Mary R. Dunn

• Berkeley’s Barn Owl Dance by Tera Johnson and Tania Howells

• Whobert, Whoever Owl Detective by Jason Gallagher

• Knight Owls by Eric Seltzer

• Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton

• Hooray for Today by Brian Won

• The Happy Owls by Celestino Piatti

• Owl Sees Owl by Laura Godwin and Rob Dunlavey

• Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan

• Good Luck Baby Owls by Giles and Alexandra Milton

• Little Owl’s Orange Scarf by Tatyana Feeney

• Owls are Good at Keeping Secrets by Sara O’Leary

• A Snowy Owl Story by Melissa Kim

• The Owl and Other Night Creatures

• Owls by Valerie Bodden

• Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

• Baby Owl’s Bakery by Ji-hyeon Kim

• Baby Owl’s Rescue by Jennifer Keats Curtis

• Whoo-ku Haiku by Maria Gianferrari

• Otto the Owl Who Loved Poetry by Vern Kousky

Misc. - Random picture books read

• it’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond

• Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks

• Little Tree by Loren Long

• Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers

• By the Light of the Moon by Fran Preston-Gannon

• The Perfect Pumpkin Pie by Denys Cazet

• Moon Rabbit by Natalie Russell

• Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

• How to Be on the Moon by Viviane Schwarz

• Hey, Hey, Hay! by Christy Mihaly

• Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant

• Tractor Mac: Autumn is Here by Billy Steers

• The Pumpkin Mystery by Carol Wallace

• The Magic School Bus Ride Again: Hide-and-Seek

• Charle the Ranch Dog: Rock Star by Ree Drummond

• The Ghosts Go Haunting by Helen Ketteman

• Pinky and Rex and the Perfect Pumpkin by James Howe

• Little Muir’s Song by John Muir

• Pattan’s Pumpkin by Chitra Soundar

• WonderFall by Michael Hall

• Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell

Highs

• Arthur’s birthday was on Thursday! We had sundaes and a shortened school day.

• Loved the owl theme this week!

Lows

• We ran out of steam a few times this week…

Next Week

Our weekly theme is bats and spiders! Celebrating the spooky for the month. In history, we are going to cover ancient Babylon and Assyria, plus a continent study for Asia.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Royal & the Serpent "Overwhelmed"

Another amazing Alt Nation find.

Life Right Now #35

Thinking and pondering: What should I do with the play room? It’s a mess right now.

On my bedside table: The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender; The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

On my tv this week: We’re slowly working through Battlestar Galactica S4 and jumped back into Happy S2. I’m watching GBBO and Below Deck.

Listening to: All the podcast like usual.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Curried Coconut and Lime Gourd Soup

• Tuesday - Chili

• Wednesday - Leftovers

• Thursday - Polish Rye Soup

• Friday - Chicken and Dumplings

• Saturday - Chicken Ranch Tacos

• Sunday - Cheesy Artichoke Pasta

On my to do list: My big task is to figure out eye appointments for myself and the kids.

Happening this week: Nothing much. I’m sure we’ll go to the library later this week, but that’s it so far. Maybe a zoo visit? Or at least a trip to a park?

What I am creating: Nothing much. I really do want to make some Christmas cards this week.

My simple pleasures: Hot tea, a good book

Looking around the house: Thinking about what to do with my craft room once my furniture arrives right before Halloween.

From the camera: We went trick-or-treating at Lauritzen Gardens today. It was cold, but lots of fun!

White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

Title: White is for Witching

Author: Helen Oyeyemi

Publisher: Riverhead Books 2014

Genre: Horror

Pages: 306

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Horror; Monthly Theme - October

There’s something strange about the Silver family house in the closed-off town of Dover, England. Grand and cavernous with hidden passages and buried secrets, it’s been home to four generations of Silver women—Anna, Jennifer, Lily, and now Miranda, who has lived in the house with her twin brother, Eliot, ever since their father converted it to a bed-and-breakfast. The Silver women have always had a strong connection, a pull over one another that reaches across time and space, and when Lily, Miranda’s mother, passes away suddenly while on a trip abroad, Miranda begins suffering strange ailments. An eating disorder starves her. She begins hearing voices. When she brings a friend home, Dover’s hostility toward outsiders physically manifests within the four walls of the Silver house, and the lives of everyone inside are irrevocably changed. 

I am starting to think that I’m not really a big fan of Oyeyemi’s writing style. The story jumps a bit all over the place and becomes hard to follow. I wasn’t a fan of how the various characters referred to each other. It was hard to tell who was who and what the relationship between the various characters. It also took me extra long to figure out who the various narrators were. Things got better once I figured out that part, but I was still confused in many instances. I just didn’t love this book, but could appreciate Oyeyemi’s commitment to a gothic writing style and inventive story lines.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dark Desires by Eve Silver

Title: Dark Desires (Dark Gothic #1)

Author: Eve Silver

Publisher: Eve Silver 2013

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 318

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Goodreads Random

Betrayed by those she trusted, penniless and alone, Darcie Finch is forced to accept a position that no one else dares, as assistant to dangerously attractive Dr. Damien Cole. Ignoring the whispered warnings and rumours that he's a man to fear, she takes her position at his eerie estate where she quickly discovers that nothing is at it seems, least of all her handsome and brooding employer. As Darcie struggles with her fierce attraction to Damien, she must also deal with the blood, the disappearances … and the murders.

With her options dwindling and time running out, Darcie must rely on her instincts as she confronts the man she is falling in love with. Is he an innocent and misunderstood man … or a remorseless killer who prowls the East End streets?

I sped through this novel quickly. It was one of those random cheap Kindle deals that I picked up somewhere along the way. I thought it would be a fun supernatural romance. I really wanted some good fun supernatural occurrences, a great relationship, and some steamy scenes. By the time I had gotten tot he end of the book, i was just pretty disappointed. Their relationship between Darcie and Damien was nonexistent. I couldn’t see any reason why these two were together. I get Darcie’s motivations a bit, but Damien is a complete mystery. I never figured out why he loved Darcie. There just didn’t seem like anything to build a relationship. And I was disappointed that there wasn’t any real supernatural occurrences. Not really impressed.

Dark Gothic

• #1 Dark Desires

• #2 His Dark Kiss

• #3 Dark Prince

• #4 His Wicked Sins

• #5 Seduced by a Stranger

• #6 Dark Embrace

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lovely War by Julie Berry

Title: Lovely War

Author: Julie Berry

Publisher: Penguin Books 2020

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Pages: 480

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020; Monthly Theme - June

They are Hazel, James, Aubrey, and Colette. A classical pianist from London, a British would-be architect turned soldier, a Harlem-born ragtime genius in the U.S. Army, and a Belgian orphan with a gorgeous voice and a devastating past. Their story, as told by the goddess Aphrodite, who must spin the tale or face judgment on Mount Olympus, is filled with hope and heartbreak, prejudice and passion, and reveals that, though War is a formidable force, it's no match for the transcendent power of Love.

Another selection from the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Challenge. Overall, I ended up really enjoying this book. I loved following the interconnected stories of James, Hazel, Aubrey, and Colette. I loved reading about their experiences in World War I and the trials their endured. It was a good book that kept me interested throughout. I did have to keep reminding myself that this was labeled as a young adult novel and as such, didn’t get as serious as i would have liked. The frame story with the Greek gods was inventive in the telling of the story. The story did start fairly slow and I didn’t get hooked until we crossed the 100 page mark. And the last 25 pages or so, I could have done without. But it was a good book that was very infortative as to life during World War I.

Next up on the TBR pile: