October 2021 Wrap-up

October TBR Pile (19/30):

Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov ✓
The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare ✓
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert (reread for book club) ✓
Bird Box by Josh Malerman ✓
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo ✓
Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas
Sunshine by Robin McKinley (reread)
The Guide by Peter Heller ✓
The Woods are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins ✓
Bloodlust and Bonnets by Emily McGovern ✓
The End and Everything After by Matt Fraction
The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Lady Killer by Joelle Jones
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter ✓
Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent
The Tea Dragon Tapestry by Katie O’Neill
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury ✓
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
The Diabolical Miss Hyde by Viola Carr
Dr. Mütter’s Marvels by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn ✓
Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore ✓
The House that Fell from the Sky by Patrick Delaney ✓
House of Shadows by Darcy Coates ✓
House of Secrets by Darcy Coates ✓
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling ✓
In Love with a Haunted House by Kate Goldman ✓
Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse ✓
A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 5812 pages
Pages Remaining: 445,962 pages

Current Read - Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune; Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (11) - At the beginning of the month, I had my bookish retreat. While I did try to limit myself to just a small stack of books bought at the stores that weekend, I still came away with a few to add to my shelves. And I acquired one during our book exchange. I also picked up two books from Book of the Month. For the first time, I bought books from the Indie Press List from my beloved Currently reading podcast. Their October selections were all spooky and just what I had been wanting! And a friend gifted me a book (TJ Klune) as a thank you for setting up the retreat.

The Comfort Book by Matt Haig (exchange)
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (retreat)
Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (retreat)
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow (retreat)
The City & The City by China Miéville (retreat)
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune (gift)
Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore (BOTM)
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling (BOTM)
A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow (Indie Press List)
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth (Indie Press List)
The Night Gardeners by (Indie Press List)

UnRead Shelf Progress

Starting Number: 283
Books Read: 3
Books Acquired: 11
Books Unshelved: 0
Finishing Number: 291

November TBR Pile: I often read nonfiction, but I’m going to try to increase my numbers for this Nonfiction November.

BOTM: TBD
Bookworms BC: Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon
Friend BC: Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Nonfiction: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Nonfiction: Girl Gurl Grrrl by Kenya Hunt
Nonfiction: Dr. Mutter’s Marvels by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz
Nonfiction: The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
Nonfiction Bad Fat Black Girl by Sesali Bowen
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent
Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren
Malorie by Josh Malerman

Movies watched - It was spooky movie month. I usually make a giant list from which we pick a movie most nights. We had quite a mix of movies watched this October.

Lady of the Manor - A bit uneven
Free Guy - Of course I loved this one
Escape from Planet of the Apes - Very decent movie
The Relic - This one actually holds up well
The Shadow - Went with a Penelope Ann Miller run and rewatched this one. Very cheesy at parts, but a good adventure movie.
The Dead Don’t Die - Loved it until the voice over at the end scene. Much too heavy-handed.
Brazil - It’s been years. Still as weird as I remember. Love the ducts! We also watched the tv edit and the making of documentary.
Touch of Evil - Somehow I had never seen this. Another amazing Orson Welles picture!
Detective Pikachu - Arthur’s birthday movie choice. I really enjoyed this one.
Brotherhood of the Wolf - J’s been trying to get me to watch this one for years. Pretty good supernatural-ish action movie.
Dune - Oh goodness that was a beautiful movie. So glad that the sequel has been greenlit.
North by Northwest - Haven’t seen this in years. Love it!
Sleepaway Camp - Watched the sequel last year,

TV Shows watched

Last Week Tonight
Lower Decks S2
Archer S12
Ted Lasso S2
Foundation S1

Comments - Great reading month for October. I covered a ton of spooky books and really leaned into my moods. We didn’t watch 30 spooky movies, but had a decent showing of 14 movies watched (two versions of Brazil). And we finished a few seasons of television (Lower Decks, Archer, Ted Lasso).

Next up on the TBR pile:

Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Title: Race to the Sun

Author: Rebecca Roanhorse

Publisher: Disney Hyperion 2020

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Pages: 298

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he's a threat, but her father won't believe her. When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run!", the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission that can only be accomplished with the help of Diné Holy People, all disguised as quirky characters. Their aid will come at a price: the kids must pass a series of trials in which it seems like nature itself is out to kill them. If Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery can reach the House of the Sun, they will be outfitted with what they need to defeat the ancient monsters Mr. Charles has unleashed. But it will take more than weapons for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be . . . Timeless themes such as the importance of family and respect for the land resonate in this funny, fast-paced, and exciting quest adventure set in the American Southwest.

This was an addition to our homeschool curriculum. I thought it fit well with the theme of “Fantastic Journeys and Perilous Quests.” We get a great story weaving Navajo myths and stories with a very modern day middle school girl. The writing style is very much like Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series. I wonder if that was the direction given to these various authors. I wanted a bit more of a difference, but the characters and story definitely made up for it. We learned a lot about Navajo culture and had a lot of fun along the way.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

Bloodlust & Bonnets by Emily McGovern

Title: Bloodlust & Bonnets

Author: Emily McGovern

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing 2019

Genre: Comics

Pages: 216

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Set in early nineteenth-century Britain, Bloodlust & Bonnets follows Lucy, an unworldly debutante who desires a life of passion and intrigue—qualities which earn her the attention of Lady Violet Travesty, the leader of a local vampire cult.

But before Lucy can embark on her new life of vampiric debauchery, she finds herself unexpectedly thrown together with the flamboyant poet Lord Byron (“from books!”) and a mysterious bounty-hunter named Sham. The unlikely trio lie, flirt, fight, and manipulate each other as they make their way across Britain, disrupting society balls, slaying vampires, and making every effort not to betray their feelings to each other as their personal and romantic lives become increasingly entangled.

What a delightfully funny little graphic novel! I randomly picked this one up from a shelf at the library and let it sit on my floor for weeks. I grabbed it after starting a very disappointing novel. This was just what i needed. Right away, we meet Lucy and then Byron (you know, like in the books) and encounter a cult of vampires. From there we follow a twisty and turny path to reconnect with those vampires to slay them? Questions and declarations and puns and double entendres abound! I was snort laughing throughout most of the book. I especially loved the little interactions with Napoleon the Eagle and Castle. Oh so good! If you need a pick-me-up that actually discussions love and duty and fate, pick this one up!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Trying desperately to finish a few more spooky books before this month is over…
I really love learning about dinosaurs. So glad that’s the boys’ current obsession.
Double book club meetings this week. So much book talk!
Here’s hoping that we get out to the state parks a few more times before the year ends.
Oh the tv show Foundation is so good. I don’t want the season to end.

Next up on the TBR pile:

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

Title: A Spindle Splintered (Fractured Fables #1)

Author: Alix E. Harrow

Publisher: Tordotcom 2021

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 126

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Seasonal TBR

It's Zinnia Gray's twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no-one has lived past twenty-one.

Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate.

Loved this meta fairy tale where Zinnia falls into her favorite story, Sleeping Story. We get multiple pop culture references along Zinnia’s path to her own story. This book is very short, but fast-paced and fun. I loved seeing her interact with the other fairy tale characters. The twist at the end made the book worth it.

Fractured Fables

#1 A Spindle Splintered
#2 A Mirror Mended

Next up on the TBR pile:

In Love with a Haunted House by Kate Goldman

Title: In Love with a Haunted House

Author: Kate Goldman

Publisher: 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 130

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

The last thing Mallory Clark wants to do is move back home. She has no choice, though, since the company she worked for in Chicago has just downsized her, and everybody else. To make matters worse her fiancé has broken their engagement, and her heart, leaving her hurting and scarred. When her mother tells her that the house she always coveted as a child, the once-famed Gray Oaks Manor, is not only on the market but selling for a song, it seems to Mallory that the best thing she could possibly do would be to put Chicago, and everything and everyone in it, behind her. Arriving back home she runs into gorgeous and mysterious Blake Hunter. Blake is new to town and like her he is interested in buying the crumbling old Victorian on the edge of the historic downtown center, although his reasons are his own. Blake is instantly intrigued by the flame-haired beauty with the fiery temper and the vulnerable expression in her eyes. He can feel the attraction between them and knows it is mutual, but he also knows that the last thing on earth he needs is to get involved with a woman determined to take away a house he has to have.

Big caveat: I realize that this is more like a short story than a novel, so my review might be a bit unfair. But I still stand by my thoughts on this one.

I really really really wanted to love this story. I love the set-up of a woman returning to her hometown and attempting to buy the gothic mansion next door. I love the arrival of a long-lost grandson to stake a claim on the mansion. I love love love the idea of them getting together and working out how to deal with their attraction to each other and the house over the course of the story. I disliked how rushed this all feels. And I really dislike the weird interludes from the ghost. This seems like more of an initial story treatment than something that you actually publish.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

Title: The Ex Hex

Author: Erin Sterling

Publisher: Avon 2021

Genre: Romance

Pages: 318

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Unread Shelf RC - Author You’ve Never Read Before

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

I picked this one up and sped through it in about two days. Perfect read for this witchy week. This is a light-hearted mystery and romance set in a small college town. I enjoyed the setting and the atmosphere. I enjoyed the side characters and the general vibe. I really loved all the fun witchy adventures. I could have used more romance inn that it seemed to get the romance started and then speed ahead. I wanted to sit int he romance a bit more before moving to the next scene. I also wanted a bit more of the mystery drawn out. The ending came very abruptly and I just wanted a bit more.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool Fall Break: We Caught Up!

What We Studied

Originally I had scheduled our Fall Break week for this past week. I knew we would get behind on curriculum because of sickness or unexpected disruptions. Thankfully it happened because of the second reason not the first. That meant that we ended up taking this week to catch up on some subjects and do a bit of fill in. The kids had no idea that I scrapped their break week. (To be fair, we have had our share of break days throughout the fall.)

Literature and Poetry

Continuing with our reading of Race to the Sun. We are a bit behind due to lots of random things, but we’re really enjoying the story and will finish soon. We also covered a few picture book studies for our fall theme.

Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife by Sarah Grace Tuttle
I and You and Don’t Forget Who: What is a Pronoun by Brian P. Cleary
When I was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini
The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat

Math

We’re still working through Unit 3 about multiplication and division. We’ll be staying here for another few weeks to gain some mastery. We also read a few math related picture books, including starting the Sir Cumference series.

Singapore Math Common Core Edition 3A
The Wing Brothers: Carnival de Math by Ethan Long
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table by

Social Studies

This week was all about the Magna Carta.

DK Timelines of Everyone
When on Earth
DK History
A Medieval Feast by Aliki
A Medieval Cathedral by Fiona MacDonald
The Magna Carta: Cornerstone of the Constitution by Roberta Baxter

Arthur Independent Time

To allow for one-on-one time with Quentin, I have added an hour of independent work time for Arthur. Each week, he will have a mix of packet work (mostly grammar and math review), independent reading time, and special projects. Many of his projects will be aligned with our literature selections (some taken from B&R Language Arts curriculum) and history. This week, he focused on packet work and some random building projects.

Science and STEAM Coop

Continuing with our Dinosaur unit from Blossom and Root! We covered the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian Periods.

Everything Awesome About Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Beasts by Mike Lowery
The Story of Life: Evolution by Katie Scott
Life: The First Four Billion Years by Martin Jenkins
When the Whales Walked and Other Incredibly Evolutionary Journeys by Dougal Dixon
Prehistoric: Before the Dinosaurs by David West
DK Prehistoric
Prehistoric by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

Art/Music

Nothing this week

Quentin

I have scheduled at least four 1-hour time blocks for one-on-one time with Quentin. I bought Blossom and Root’s Early Years Volume 2 curriculum to use as our base. I love the variety of activities and some of the bigger projects included. For ELA, we continued our big overview of the alphabet. We covered more counting and some basic math concepts as well as simple map skills. And we had some puzzles to round out the week. We also continued a big unit on transportation.

ELA

Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers
My “q” Sound Box by Jane Belk Moncure
Quentin Quokka’s by Barbara deRubertis
My “r” Sound Box by Jane Belk Moncure
Rosie Raccoon’s Rock and Roll Raft by Barbara deRubertis
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
Quick as a Cricket by Dan and Audrey Woods

Math

Other

Awesome Ambulances by Tony Mitton
Flash the Little Fire Engine by Pam Calvert
Emergency Vehicles by Melissa Abramovitz
Patrolling Police Cars by Tony Mitton
Dial 9-1-1! by Charles Ghigna
A Fire Truck Named Red by Randall de Sève
Emergency Monster Squad by Dave Horowitz
Counting Cars
All Kinds of Cars by Carl Johanson
The Gingerbread Man Loose on the Fire Truck by Laura Murray
Bunnies on the Bus by Philip Ardagh
Let’s Build by Julie M. Fenner
Diggers by Amy Johnson
Mighty, Mighty Construction Site by Sherry Dusky Rinker
Let’s Go on a Digger by Rosalyn Albert
Trucks Galore by Peter Stein
The Digger and the Flower by Joseph Kuefler
The Mixed-Up Truck by Stephen Savage
Truck, Truck, Goose by Tammi Sauer

Field Trip

One last trip to Vala’s for the season! We arrived right when they opened, met up with friends, and spent 6 1/2 hours there! So much fun. Each of the boys picked one thing that they could not miss (bouncy pillows for Quentin and the corn pit for Arthur). Plus, we grabbed a few pumpkins and some cookies on the way out. Another successful season at one of my favorite places.

Documentary Selection

I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies. We didn’t actually watch anything this week, but made up for it by all the PBS Eons videos for our dinosaur unit.

Misc. - Random picture books read

One Leaf, Two Leaves, Count with Me by John Micklos Jr.
Yellow Time by Lauren Stringer
Never Ask a Dinosaur to Dinner by Gareth Edwards
Leaves by David Ezra Stein

Highs and Low

We loved our fist trip to Vala’s, but were so sad that it was our last one of the season. I might just buy season passes next year. I just love going and that would allow us to do a few mornings instead of three marathon days. And maybe we could go at night with J one time like on a Wednesday or something.

Next Week

Continuing to read Race to the Sun
Moving to Cahokia and the Ancient Puebloans for history
Mastering multiplication and division
Moving forward in time for the Dinosaur Unit
Covering dinosaurs for coop! (We’re hosting!)

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - DED "Kill Beautiful Things"

A new find of mine on Octane. I really love this song that’s playing on repeat.

Life Right Now #32

As I look outside my window: It’s raining… a very dreary and cold day ahead of us. Perfect for reading a good book with a hot cup of tea and a cozy blanket.

Right now I am: Getting ready to pick up that book before I have to do house cleaning tasks.

Thinking and pondering: How has my task list grown so much in the past month? Blergh.

On my bedside table: A Spindle Splintered by Alix Harrow; Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

On my tv this week: We caught up on some of our currently airing shows (What We Do in the Shadows), finishing a few seasons (Lower Decks, Ted Lasso).

Listening to: I’m hoping to get to Dungeons and Daddies today. I got distracted this week with the return of The Bachelorette.

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Shrimp Burrito Bowls
Tuesday - Out at Inner Rail
Wednesday - Out at Spin Pizza
Thursday - Smoked Sausage and Potatoes
Friday - Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Saturday - Parmesan Tilpaia
Sunday - Zimbabwe Peanut Stew

On my to do list: Oh so many things. But I really need to focus on some organizational tasks such as getting November and December’s lesson plans prepped and cleaning out my download folder. I also need to submit my hours and double check Alex’s financial aid package.

Happening this week:

Monday - Home Day
Tuesday - Schramm Field Trip; Bookworms Book Club
Wednesday - Home Day; Friend Book Club
Thursday - Coop about Dinosaurs
Friday - Home Day
Saturday - D&D (First Meeting!)
Sunday - Halloween!

What I am creating: Nothing. I really should get moving on Christmas cards…

My simple pleasures: Good parties with good friends. A clean living room. Finding good documentaries.

Looking around the house: Yesterday, I got the first floor cleaned up. It’s amazing how better I feel when there aren’t piles of things laying around. I feel so much better.

From the camera: Boo at the Zoo! It was nice to experience this again.

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

Title: Love Lettering

Author: Kate Clayborn

Publisher: Kensington Books 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 322

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy

Meg Mackworth’s hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing custom journals for her New York City clientele. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Knowing the upcoming marriage of Reid Sutherland and his polished fiancée was doomed to fail is one thing, but weaving a secret word of warning into their wedding program is another. Meg may have thought no one would spot it, but she hadn’t counted on sharp-eyed, pattern-obsessed Reid.

A year later, Reid has tracked Meg down to find out how she knew that his meticulously planned future was about to implode. But with a looming deadline and a bad case of creative block, Meg doesn’t have time for Reid’s questions—unless he can help her find her missing inspiration. As they gradually open up to each other, both try to ignore a deepening connection between them. But the signs are there—irresistible, indisputable, urging Meg to heed the messages Reid is sending her, before it’s too late . . .

Overall I did really enjoy this lighter romantic comedy. We get the silly meet-cute, lots of complications, and a happily ever after. In between, I grew to like Meg and Reid. Or really, I grew to like Meg a lot. Reid stayed too much of an enigma for me. I wanted to see him come out of the shell more and learn more about his likes and desires. His character didn’t go quite deep enough for me. The romance is very slow burn, but that’s okay. I sometimes like a slow burn. Once we get to something, the something happens very fast. I would have liked to spend a bit more time with them as a couple before the big reveal happens. From there, I disliked how fast the pace moved and how quickly things wrapped up in a neat bow. The book is very light-hearted and fun at most points in the story. I stayed engaged with the story and flew through the pages.

Next up on the TBR pile:

House of Secrets by Darcy Coates

Title: House of Secrets (Ghosts and Shadows #2)

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Black Owl Books 2016

Genre: Horror

Pages: 246

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Sophie and Joseph’s escape from Northwood is short-lived. The beast survived, and attached itself to Joseph’s young cousin, Elise.

Garrett writes to beg for their help. Joseph and Sophie travel to meet him at Kensington, a long-abandoned mansion that overlooks a dead town.

The house offers a small hope: its original owner had dedicated her life to researching the monster that possesses Elise. Garrett hopes to find a way to kill the creature without harming his daughter.

But Kensington is a dangerous building. Once the carriage leaves, they’re trapped inside the collapsing walls and forced to confront the horrors within.

Shrouded figures stalk them. Whispers echo through the night. Unmarked graves dot the property.

And the dead are not as restful as they seem…

And now the sequel! Right away we know that the Grimlock was not vanquished and Sophie and Joseph are pulled back into the horrors fo the Argenton family. We change settings, but not the horror. We still get all the creepy gothic vibes and horrifying happenings. Kensington and Ms. Bishop were great perfect additions to the larger storyline. The pages flew by with me desperate to find out what happens next. Perfect reading for this season! And now I am going to have to put more Darcy Coates books onto my TBR.

Ghosts and Shadows

#1 House of Shadows
#2 House of Secrets

Next up on the TBR pile:

Videos Falling Like Leaves

Oh yes! I must watch this one!

Oh. A Chinese vampire movie. This might be an interesting take on the genre.

Not sure how I feel about this one, but you know I’ll probably watch it anyway.

Putting this on the list…

Dumb and entertaining

House of Shadows by Darcy Coates

Title: House of Shadows (Ghosts and Shadows #1)

Author: Darcy Coates

Publisher: Black Owl Books 2015

Genre: Horror

Pages: 294

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Sophie’s world is shattered when disaster bankrupts her family. She’s still reeling from the news when she’s offered an unexpected solution: Mr Argenton, a wealthy stranger, asks for her hand in marriage.

Marrying Mr Argenton will restore her family’s fortunes and save them from scandal, but condemns Sophie to a life in Northwood, a vast and unnaturally dark mansion situated hours from civilisation.

Sophie struggles to adjust to her new position as mistress over the desolate house. Mr Argenton’s relatives are cold, and Mr Argenton himself is keeping secrets. Even worse, the house is more than it seems.

The piano plays in the middle of the night. Blood drips from the ceiling. Sophie is pulled towards the terrifying truth: Northwood’s ancient halls are haunted. The malevolent spirits—produced by grisly deaths—resent her intrusion into their home.

Trapped in Northwood and desperate for an escape, Sophie’s fate is further complicated as she finds herself drawn to the tall, dark-eyed man she married. She suspects her feelings are returned, but Mr Argenton is hiding something... and his secrets are so dangerous that they might just be unforgivable.

Now this is the haunted house story that I wanted to read (especially after the disappointing book from yesterday)! Right away we now that there’s something creepy going on with Mr. Argenton. I knew where the story was going to go next, but I was there for every page. This gave me Crimson Peak vibes, perfect for this month. Once Sophie arrives at Northwood, the terrors begin to surface and do not let up until the very end. I was thoroughly creeped out by the odd doings that occur. That was exactly the feeling I was hoping to manifest. So incredibly good! I loved Sophie and Joseph and their budding relationship. We get a very Jane Eyre style romance perfect for this mystery. This book ends with a conclusion, but there is a sequel and I had to pick it up next!

Ghosts and Shadows

#1 House of Shadows
#2 House of Secrets

Next up on the TBR pile:

The House That Fell From the Sky by Patrick R. Delaney

Title: The House that Fell from the Sky

Author: Patrick Delaney

Publisher: 2020

Genre: Horror

Pages: 573

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

When twenty-nine-year-old Scarlett Vantassel comes to the conclusion that her life doesn’t resemble any of the things she actually wanted for herself, she drops out of school and moves back home, attempting to reconnect with the people she left behind. But a shadow falls over her return one early October morning when a sinister house miraculously appears in the center of the city, sparking a media frenzy that attracts attention nationwide.

Soon after the newspapers label it, "The House that Fell from the Sky," Scarlett’s childhood friend Hannah becomes obsessed with the idea that the house holds the key to discovering whether there really is life after death. Undeterred by her friends' numerous warnings, Hannah becomes increasingly consumed with the desire to enter the house, convinced it would allow her to reconnect with her recently deceased mother.

Despite a series of escalating events suggesting that the house may be more dangerous than anyone ever thought possible, a privately owned company seizes control of the property and hosts a lottery to lure the city’s residents, promising the winners a large cash reward if they dare to enter the house. To Scarlett’s horror, Hannah uses her vast wealth to secure a spot among the winners to gain access to the house.

Now, it’s up to Scarlett, her older brother Tommy, and her friend Jackson to face their fears and journey into a place where nothing is ever quite as it seems, and decide if they can help a friend in need, or if Hannah truly is lost.

Read that premise again. Sounds absolutely amazing, right? This sounded like a book that I would love. But alas, it was a big disappointment. My biggest problem with the book is the characters. Supposedly Scarlett is 29 years old. Nope… I don’t buy it. She and her friends like more like 16 year olds. The disconnect really annoyed me greatly. I could not connect to the characters at all. Often their motivations were very muddled and confusing. Hannah especially really annoyed and confused me. Beyond the characters, the story ends up being pretty boring. I was excited for a creepy house to explore, but it took forever to actually get to the house. And once we got inside, it was a confusing mess. So many times, I was thoroughly confused by what was actually happening at any given moment. It felt like the story was missing whole sections to actually immerse yourself into the atmosphere. Overall, a very big disappointment for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W10: Dinosaurs and Trains are Our Favorites

What We Studied

We managed to cover a lot of ground in a week shortened by two field trips.

Literature and Poetry

We started another read about this week. The original language arts curriculum did not have enough read alouds for how fast we actually read in this house. So I ended up adding about 7 more to the list. This one is one of the Rick Riordan imprints for Disney and features Navajo character and myths. This will fit in nicely with our history unit on Cahokia and the Ancient Puebloans in two weeks.

Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife by Sarah Grace Tuttle
10 Minutes a Day Spelling

Math

We’re still working through Unit 3 about multiplication and division. We’ll be staying here for another few weeks to gain some mastery.

Singapore Math Common Core Edition 3A
Peg + Cat: The Big Dog Problem by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson
Peg + Cat: The Pirate Problem by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson
Peg + Cat: The Race Car Problem by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson

Social Studies

We covered The Crusades for world history this week. Not the nicest of topics, but it was important for Medieval History.

DK Timelines of Everyone
When on Earth
DK History
DK Castles and Knights
DK Eyewitness Knight

Arthur Independent Time

To allow for one-on-one time with Quentin, I have added an hour of independent work time for Arthur. Each week, he will have a mix of packet work (mostly grammar and math review), independent reading time, and special projects. Many of his projects will be aligned with our literature selections (some taken from B&R Language Arts curriculum) and history. This week, he focused on

Science and STEAM Coop

We finally started our big dinosaur unit. I bought the Blossom and Root Prehistoric Unit to give us a basis. From there, we are accelerating a few weeks and slowing down for a few weeks.

D is for Dinosaur: A Prehistoric Alphabet by Todd Chapman and Lita Judge
Dinosaurs! by Gail Gibbons
Dinosaur Tracks by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
The Street Beneath My Feet by Charlotte Guillain
Fossils by Ann O. Squire
Everything Awesome About Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Beasts by Mike Lowery
The Story of Life: Evolution by Katie Scott
Life: The First Four Billion Years by Martin Jenkins
Grandmother Fish: A Child’s First Book of Evolution by Jonathan Tweet
Annabelle and Aiden in The Story of Life by J.R. Becker
When the Whales Walked and Other Incredibly Evolutionary Journeys by Dougal Dixon
Prehistoric: Before the Dinosaurs by David West
DK Prehistoric
Prehistoric by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

Art/Music

Nothing this week

Quentin

I have scheduled at least four 1-hour time blocks for one-on-one time with Quentin. I bought Blossom and Root’s Early Years Volume 2 curriculum to use as our base. I love the variety of activities and some of the bigger projects included. For ELA, we continued our big overview of the alphabet. We covered more counting and some basic math concepts as well as simple map skills. And we had some puzzles to round out the week. We also started a big unit on transportation.

ELA

Once Upon an Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers
My “o” Sound Box by Jane Belk Moncure
Oliver Otter’s Own Office by Barbara deRubertis
My “p” Sound Box by Jane Belk Moncure
Polly Porcupine’s Painting Prizes by Barbara deRubertis

Math

Other

Let’s Go ABC! Things that Go, from A to Z by Rhonda Gowler Greene
On the Move
Fast and Slow by Britta Teckentrup
Little Kids First Big Book of Things that Go by Karen de Seve
Calling All Cars by Sue Fliess and Sarah Beise
Two Tough Trucks Get Lost by Corey Rosen Schwartz
Muddy, Mud, Bud by Patricia Lakin
Toot Toot Zoom by Phyllis Root
Trucks Roll by George Ella Lyon
Tow Truck Joe by June Sobel
Trucks Zooming By by Pamela Jane
Trucks Go by Steve Light
Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Mericle Harper
Twinkle Twinkle Little Car by Kate Dopirak

Field Trip

We had two great field trips this week. On Tuesday, we headed to Arbor Day Farm for a guided field trip about animals and the forest. After the guided portion, all the kids had a ton of fun playing and exploring. On Friday, we headed to The Durham Museum for a transportation theme tour. We learned about moving to Omaha, homes throughout the ages, and train travel. The kids loved hanging out the various train cars and learning the various parts.

Documentary Selection

I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies. We didn’t actually watch anything this week, but made up for it by all the PBS Eons videos for our dinosaur unit.

Misc. - Random picture books read

Letter Town by Darren Farrell
Leif and the Fall by Allison Sweet Grant and Adam Grant
Nothing Fits a Dinosaur by Jonathan Fenske
Fall Leaves Fun by Martha E.H. Rustad
Windows by Julia Denos
It’s So Quiet by Sherri Duskey Rinker
Monster Hug by David Ezra Stein
Ty the Dinosaur and the Substitute Teacher by Marcus Tallberg and Jill C. Faulkner
There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves by Lucille Colandro
Gus, the Dinosaur Bus by Julia Liu
Dinosaur Roar! by Paul Strickland
Lucky Leaf by Kevin O’Malley
Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Zero is the Leaves on the Tree by Betsy Franco
Regina is NOT a Little Dinosaur by Andrea Zulli
In the Leaves by Huy Voun Lee

Highs

Not exactly a high point as it’s not much fun, but we did get our flu shots taken care of this week. One big thing checked off my list.

Lows

All of our activities made us so incredibly tired this week.

Next Week

Continuing to read Race to the Sun
Covering the Magna Carta and Robin Hood
Mastering multiplication and division
Moving forward in time for the Dinosaur Unit
Visiting Vala’s one last time for the season

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Asking Alexandria "Alone Again"

Yeah! I have been waiting for new music from Asking Alexandria, and it finally came!

Life Right Now #31

On my bedside table: Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn; The Haunting of Drearcliff Grange School by Kim Newman

On my tv this week: We’ve kept at our spooky movie month theme. This past week we watched both versions of Brazil and a few making of featurettes. Such different movies!

Listening to: Nothing really. Not much time for music or podcasts this week.

On the menu for this week: I’m at the point of the year that I hate meal planning… But I’m going to attempt some meals this week.

Monday - Baked Potato Soup
Tuesday - Out for me (not sure what the kids and J will eat)
Wednesday - Tilapia and rice?
Thursday - Probably about before the zoo
Friday - Lemon Chicken Thighs with Potatoes
Saturday - Halloween party cookout
Sunday - Spicy Shrimp Burrito Bowls

On my to do list: The list is in shambles currently. I need to carve out about 30 minutes this afternoon to redo my list and get it organized…

Happening this week:

Monday - Home day
Tuesday - Last trip to Vala’s for the season; Trivia night for a friend’s birthday
Wednesday - Dentist for Q and then Home day
Thursday - Coop; Boo at the Zoo
Friday - Home Day
Saturday - Coop Halloween Party
Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: Nothing. I’m in a weird lull. I really should carve out some time to make some Christmas cards, but that would require cleaning my office. I should really do that this week.

My simple pleasures: Going to bed early, a nice hot cup of tea, wrapping up in a light but cozy sweater.

Looking around the house: I really need to get the boys to pick up their stuff. It has spread throughout the entirety of the downstairs and I’m a bit annoyed.

From the camera: Trying to capture a picture of the inside of this butterfly’s wings was very difficult. Almost 30 photos taken and this was the best one. I just love the irridescent purple on the inside. The outside is a very pretty brown pattern, but it’s the inside that stunned me.

Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov

Title: Foundation and Earth

Author: Isaac Asimov

Publisher:

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 423

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Scif/Fan

Golan Trevize, former Councilman of the First Foundation, has chosen the future, and it is Gaia. A superorganism, Gaia is a holistic planet with a common consciousness so intensely united that every dewdrop, every pebble, every being, can speak for all—and feel for all. It is a realm in which privacy is not only undesirable, it is incomprehensible.

But is it the right choice for the destiny of mankind? While Trevize feels it is, that is not enough. He must know.

Trevize believes the answer lies at the site of humanity’s roots: fabled Earth . . . if it still exists. For no one is sure where the planet of Gaia’s first settlers is to be found in the immense wilderness of the Galaxy. Nor can anyone explain why no record of Earth has been preserved, no mention of it made anywhere in Gaia’s vast world-memory. It is an enigma Trevize is determined to resolve, and a quest he is determined to undertake, at any cost.

I fear that I cannot say too much about this book without spoiling it or at least the books that come before. What I can say is that I was completely into this book right from the first page. We begin moments after the last book ended and continue at a fast pace until the final reveals. We visit multiple planets (some we’ve been to before and some new-to-us) and face many dangers. Asimov sprinkles in a ton of callbacks throughout the story. To really understand it all, you have to read the entirety of the series starting with I, Robot. It is a daunting task I admit, but I am so glad that I read them all. The payoff is amazing. I only guessed the ending right before it gets revealed. So satisfying!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

Title: The Halloween Tree

Author: Ray Bradbury

Publisher: 1972

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 160

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Join the shadowy Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud as he takes eight trick-or-treaters on an unforgettable journey to find their missing friend, Pip. Travel through space and time, from the tombs of ancient Egypt to the gargoyles of Notre-Dame Cathedral, all the way to the cemeteries of Mexico on el Día de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Is Pip still alive? And if so, can his friends save him from a ghastly fate before it’s too late?

Somehow I had never read this story until this year. I finally picked it up and read this in one afternoon with a cup of tea. I love this twisty tale exploring Halloween through cultures and the years. I loved the story of following the gaggle of boys to rescue their friend Pipkin. Moundshroud is the the best character and I really wish we had a bit more of him. This is definitely the book for young kids that want to be scared. Even I got the chills at a few parts. Such a fun experience.

Next up on the TBR pile: