Hot Winter Nights by Jill Shalvis

Title: Hot Winter Nights (Heartbreaker Bay #6)

Author: Jill Shalvis

Publisher: Avon 2018

Genre: Romance

Pages: 362

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; Finishing the Series

Who needs mistletoe?

Most people wouldn’t think of a bad Santa case as the perfect Christmas gift. Then again, Molly Malone, office manager at Hunt Investigations, isn’t most people, and she could really use a distraction from the fantasies she’s been having since spending the night with her very secret crush, Lucas Knight. Nothing happened, not that Lucas knows that—but Molly just wants to enjoy being a little naughty for once . . .

Whiskey and pain meds for almost-healed bullet wounds don’t mix. Lucas needs to remember that next time he’s shot on the job, which may be sooner rather than later if Molly’s brother, Joe, finds out about them. Lucas can’t believe he’s drawing a blank on his (supposedly) passionate tryst with Molly, who’s the hottest, smartest, strongest woman he’s ever known. Strong enough to kick his butt if she discovers he’s been assigned to babysit her on her first case. And hot enough to melt his cold heart this Christmas.

Another fun volume in this contemporary romance series, but still not my favorite. Lucas and Molly were at least two great characters that had actual personalities and lives. Their growing relationship was delightful to read. The book was a joy to read, but I was a little sad at the lack of steamy scenes. Some of the previous books had a better balance of steam, action, and dialogue.

Heartbreaker Bay

• #1 Sweet Little Lies

• #2 The Trouble with Mistletoe

• #2.5 One Snowy Night

• #3 Accidentally on Purpose

• #4 Chasing Christmas Eve

• #4.5 Holiday Wishes

• #5 About That Kiss

• #6 Hot Winter Nights

• #6.5 Just Say When

• #7 Playing for Keeps

• #8 Wrapped Up in You

• #8.5 Twist of Fate

Next up on the TBR pile:

Weyward by Emilia Hart

Title: Weyward

Author: Emilia Hart

Publisher: St Martin’s Press 2023

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; BOTM Cleanout

I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

CW: Rape, Domestic Violence

Usually with content warnings like those, I would immediately say no thank you to the book. But something about the summary of the book really drew me in. I started reading and was immediately connecting with the three Weyward women. As their stories unfold, we understand just how these women have been shoved to the side of their lives and how the patriarchy has punished them for just about everything. Their stories are not happy ones, but we do get to see these women come into their own identities and triumph over many of the obstacles put into their paths. The stories end on very hopeful notes, but more importantly, we get to see the journey these women undertake to get to the hopeful spot. This may just end up on my Top 10 of the year.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W26: The Wind Chill Killed Our Winter Hike

What We Studied

We had a Flex Week (so needed this time around) and a normal week in the past two weeks. Beyond the actual teaching, I’ve been thinking about and planning for next year. Things are not going to radically change. I think we’ve hit onto a good system. Just needs some tweaks here and there.

Literature and Poetry

We picked up the next selection and thankfully it is so much better right away.

• The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Arthur tackled his first Shakespeare with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We covered some about Shakespeare himself the time period he lived in before reading a few version of Midsummer. We worked up to the actual Shakespeare at the end of the week and capped off our study with a movie version. We also found some great videos including three episodes from Crash Course Theater specifically about Shakespeare’s plays. The plan is to cover one Shakespeare play a year from now on. Next year I’m planning on having him read a complete scene. Not sure which play yet though.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• Shakespeare’s Seasons by Miriam Weiner

• William Shakespeare and the Globe by Aliki

• Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare by Diane Stanley

• Will's Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk by Jane Sutcliffe

• William Shakespeare: Scenes from the Life of the World's Greatest Writer by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom

• A Midsummer Night's Dream retold by Georghia Ellinas

• A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We started the next in the Pooh series and will be sprinkling in the stories when we don’t have a country specific book. He also read me the entire Little Bear book. Getting much better as reading aloud!

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

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

• Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik

• Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring by Kenard Pak

• Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes

• Penny and Her Sled by Kevin Hanks

Pasta Bridge - Their bridge collapsed almost immediately, but good try!

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). Arthur ‘s been working on a review workbook before we move onto a Personal Finance unit. Quentin is moving through 1B now. Both boys finished their logic books this past week. We might take a break and pull out a games book instead of the next logic books.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Kumon Geometry and Measurement Grade 4 WB

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

• Singapore 1B

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We covered Martin Van Buren, indigenous lives, and the Trail of Tears. Hard week to discuss, but so important.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• A Different Mirror

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• What the Eagle Sees

• A is for Abigail: F for First Ladies

• Smart About the First Ladies

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We continued our study of Africa with a focus on West African nations.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me: A School Like Mine

• Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Mark Melnicove

• Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill by Virginia Kroll

• Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales

• Ananse and the Lizard by Pat Cummings

• The Hatseller and the Monkeys by Baba Wagué Diakité

• Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson & Sean Qualls

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. Our joint science class was cancelled due to sickness with the other family. We’ll hopefully get back at it this week. We did read about engines and watch a great Modern Marvels episode about Engines.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We continued watching a new documentary series called Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s a behind the scenes look at caring for the animals at the park. Each episode is less than 30 minutes, so it’s a perfect length for Q.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• A Zeal of Zebras: Animal Groups on an African Safari by Alex Kuskowski

• Safari, So Good! All About African Wildlife by Bonnie Worth

• African Acrostics: A Word in Edgeways by Avis Harley

• African Critters by Robert B. Haas

• Elephants of Africa by Gail Gibbons

• Nat Geo Kids Elephants by Avery Elizabeth Hurt

Rare sighting of the bobcat

STEAM Coop

The big kids have continued their engineering challenge making land sailboats and pasta bridges. Quentin did a study of time and seasons with a few fun little projects.

Land sail boats

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy.

Field Trip

We took a coop trip to see The Stink Cheese Man at The Rose Theater. Very fun production! We had lots of laughs watching the show. And the school rate tickets are only $5 a piece!

High

• We had a lovely Nature Explorers meeting at Chalco this past Friday. The kids got to explore the beach area by the water and the woods. We even walked the southwest portion around the lake. Not a great lake to walk in summer as there’s no shade, but it was great in March.

Low

• We tried to do a winter hike at Neale Woods two Fridays ago, but it was a terrible idea. It was a cold day, but that usually doesn’t stop us. I didn’t realize just how high up Neale Woods is on the bluffs. The wind chill was terrible! We bailed about 15 minutes in and went to the zoo instead. Unfortunately many of the districts had spring break so the zoo was packed. We still managed to see the desert, aquarium, giraffes, and elephants. In fact, the giraffes had a new baby and the elephants had a new baby just a few days after we were there. Can't wait to the see the babies next time we go.

Next Week

• Starting a Midsummer Night’s Dream retelling novel

• Playing some logic games

• Hopefully covering engines for physics

• Moving to Central Africa

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - boygenius "Souvenir"

Another older song that I just rediscovered. Love it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

You Just Need to Lose Weight by Aubrey Gordon

Title: “You Just Need to Lose Weight” and 19 Other Myths About Fat People

Author: Aubrey Gordon

Publisher: Beacon Press 2023

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

The pushback that shows up in conversations about fat justice takes exceedingly predicable form. Losing weight is easy—calories in, calories out. Fat people are unhealthy. We’re in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Fat acceptance “glorifies obesity.” The BMI is an objective measure of size and health.Yet, these myths are as readily debunked as they are pervasive.

In “You Just Need to Lose Weight,” Aubrey Gordon equips readers with the facts and figures to reframe myths about fatness in order to dismantle the anti-fat bias ingrained in how we think about and treat fat people. Bringing her dozen years of community organizing and training to bear, Gordon shares the rhetorical approaches she and other organizers employ to not only counter these pernicious myths, but to dismantle the anti-fat bias that so often underpin them.

As conversations about fat acceptance and fat justice continue to grow, “You Just Need to Lose Weight” will be essential to ensure that those conversations are informed, effective, and grounded in both research and history.

Finally, I got Gordon’s follow up to her first book. I had really been excited about this volume and make no mistake, this is a great book. It just fell a little flat for me because it felt like a rehashing of a lot of things from her first book. I think that this one has a better format for people. Taking on one myth at a time helps to break up the science and the heavy. Having follow-up questions at the end of chapters is a great way to push the knowledge and questions back to the reader. In a sense, this is the workbook version of her first book. The content isn’t completely the same, but there’s a lot of overlap. I enjoyed hitting some of the high points. I really enjoyed getting some language to help combat anti-fat bias in the wild. If you had to pick up one Gordon book, make it this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #10

Right now I am: Needing to get brunch started soon. And I would like to work on my craft project before my zoom book club later today.

On my bedside table: The Other Half of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost; Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel; The Getaway by Lamar Giles

On my tv this week: We’ve kept up with Ted Lasso and The Mandalorian after finishing McMillion$.

Listening to: I started the Revolutions podcast season about the French Revolution. I’m only 1/3 of the way through the episodes. There are a lot.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - J’s Birthday Dinner

• Tuesday - Spicy Thai Noodles

• Wednesday - Cajun Stuffed Chicken Breast

• Thursday - Leftovers

• Friday - Ham and Potato Soup

• Saturday - Cheesy Bacon and Egg Hash

• Sunday - Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quinoa Bowls

On my to do list: The bees have been buzzing in my head all week, so I finally did a brain dump. Now I have a giant list of tasks to try and complete. Just the act of writing it all down helps me tame the bees. Now I need to start completing the tasks.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Home Day; J’s Birthday

• Tuesday - Nat Geo: Rise of the T-Rex

• Wednesday - Science with friends

• Thursday - Coop

• Friday - Winter Hike at Walnut Creek Lake

• Saturday - Pick up our chicks for the week

• Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: I’m finally getting to February Memory Planner pages. I also cut out the bases for the Reading Retreat goody bag tags. Now I need to decide which to work on today.

My simple pleasures: Sunshine, Raspberry Lime Spindrift, a good walk

Looking around the house: I cleaned up the coop materials area and suddenly the house looks so much better. I’ll be glad to put it all away in two weeks when the Engineering Challenge season ends.

From the camera: Quentin found a big stick in the forest during Nature Explorers. It might have been too big for him…

The Drift by C.J. Tudor

Title: The Drift

Author: C.J. Tudor

Publisher: Ballantine Books 2023

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 340

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Published in 2013

Hannah awakens to carnage, all mangled metal and shattered glass. Evacuated from a secluded boarding school during a snowstorm, her coach careered off the road, trapping her with a handful of survivors. They’ll need to work together to escape—with their sanity and secrets intact.

Meg awakens to a gentle rocking. She’s in a cable car stranded high above snowy mountains, with five strangers and no memory of how they got on board. They are heading to a place known only as “The Retreat,” but as the temperature drops and tensions mount, Meg realizes they may not all make it there alive.

Carter is gazing out the window of an isolated ski chalet that he and his companions call home. As their generator begins to waver in the storm, something hiding in the chalet’s depths threatens to escape, and their fragile bonds will be tested when the power finally fails—for good.

The imminent dangers faced by Hannah, Meg, and Carter are each one part of the puzzle. Lurking in their shadows is an even greater danger—one with the power to consume all of humanity.

What an absolute ride! Usually books billed as thrillers really fall flat for me. They just lack the oomph that I’m looking for or the characters are so incredibly unlikeable that I’m wishing all of them would get murdered. This one I went in blind except for a recommendation from my favorite podcast. The host purposely left the summary mostly hidden so as not to spoil the reveals and that’s exactly the way to go with this one. I dove in and immediately started piecing the big connections and storyline together. We are plopped right into the middle of a bus crash, a stalled ski lift gondola, and a mysterious locked “retreat.” From there, we have to understand exactly what is going on in the outside world, who each of the characters actually are, and how they intend to survive the situation and the elements. I got so wrapped up into the story that I ended up finishing this book in one day. I was completely along for the ride. Once the big reveals happen, I actually gasped out loud (I hardly ever do that.) It was just so good! A great book to end my work on.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Score by Elle Kennedy

Title: The Score (Off Campus #3)

Author:Elle Kennedy

Publisher: Createspace 2016

Genre: Romance

Pages: 354

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; Romanceopoly - Library

Spice Meter: 5

He knows how to score, on and off the ice
Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn’t have the first clue about what she's going to do after college. To make matters worse, she’s nursing a broken heart thanks to the end of her longtime relationship. Wild rebound sex is definitely not the solution to her problems, but gorgeous hockey star Dean Di Laurentis is impossible to resist. Just once, though, because even if her future is uncertain, it sure as heck won’t include the king of one-night stands.

It’ll take more than flashy moves to win her over
Dean always gets what he wants. Girls, grades, girls, recognition, girls…he’s a ladies man, all right, and he’s yet to meet a woman who’s immune to his charms. Until Allie. For one night, the feisty blonde rocked his entire world—and now she wants to be friends? Nope. It’s not over until he says it’s over. Dean is in full-on pursuit, but when life-rocking changes strike, he starts to wonder if maybe it’s time to stop focusing on scoring…and shoot for love.

Enjoyed this volume much more than the number two in the series. I had wondered about Dean’s story since he first appeared in The Deal and was excited to finally dive into his own deal. Paired with Allie, whom we met at Hannah’s roommate and happily together with another man, we get a great storyline. This one involves rebound to lover, along with manipulation (not from Dean or Allie, but Allie’s ex-boyfriend), and lots of talk about what to do next in life. Once Dean really started opening up, I was totally hooked on him. Loved seeing all the layers being peeled back. Throughout this entire series, I feel like I’ve liked the MMCs much more than the FMCs. Kennedy writes the men as much more interesting and layered characters. Even though I thoroughly disliked Sabrina when she’s appeared before, I will have to read the next book to get her and Tucker’s story.

Off Campus

• #1 The Deal

• #2 The Mistake

• #2.5 The Pact

• #3 The Score

• #3.5 The Incident

• #4 The Goal

• #5 The Legacy

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

Title: The Thousandth Floor (Thousandth Floor #1)

Author: Katharine McGee

Publisher: Harper Collins 2016

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Pages: 441

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Spring TBR

New York City as you’ve never seen it before. A thousand-story tower stretching into the sky. A glittering vision of the future, where anything is possible—if you want it enough.

Welcome to Manhattan, 2118. A hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and dreams. But people never change: everyone here wants something…and everyone has something to lose.

Leda Cole’s flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have touched.

Eris Dodd-Radson’s beautiful, carefree life falls to pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart.

Rylin Myers’s job on one of the highest floors sweeps her into a world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will her new life cost Rylin her old one?

Watt Bakradi is a tech genius with a secret: he knows everything about everyone. But when he’s hired to spy by an upper-floor girl, he finds himself caught up in a complicated web of lies.

And living above everyone else on the thousandth floor is Avery Fuller, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl who seems to have it all—yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have.

Much too Gossip Girl nonsense for me. I was intrigued by the premise and the setting. I was hoping that it was going to be a more action filled version of High Rise, but it really fell flat for me. We get too much teenage angst and the love triangles were killing me. I just felt myself getting more and more bored with the story as the pages went by. That’s never a good sign. And then we get to the big ending and I just did not care about the characters at all. Definitely not the book for me. This book was more teenage romantic nonsense than science fiction story.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Acid for the Children by Flea

Title: Acid for the Children

Author: Flea

Publisher: Headline 2019

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 390

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; 52 Book Club - Set in Australia

In Acid for the Children, Flea takes readers on a deeply personal and revealing tour of his formative years, spanning from Australia to the New York City suburbs to, finally, Los Angeles. Through hilarious anecdotes, poetical meditations, and occasional flights of fantasy, Flea deftly chronicles the experiences that forged him as an artist, a musician, and a young man. His dreamy, jazz-inflected prose makes the Los Angeles of the 1970s and 80s come to gritty, glorious life, including the potential for fun, danger, mayhem, or inspiration that lurked around every corner. It is here that young Flea, looking to escape a turbulent home, found family in a community of musicians, artists, and junkies who also lived on the fringe. He spent most of his time partying and committing petty crimes. But it was in music where he found a higher meaning, a place to channel his frustration, loneliness, and love. This left him open to the life-changing moment when he and his best friends, soul brothers, and partners-in-mischief came up with the idea to start their own band, which became the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Acid for the Children is the debut of a stunning new literary voice, whose prose is as witty, entertaining, and wildly unpredictable as the author himself. It's a tenderly evocative coming-of-age story and a raucous love letter to the power of music and creativity from one of the most renowned musicians of our time.

I was bored. Seriously, I just didn’t get into this book at all and felt apathy every time I needed to pick it up. At times, Flea got very full of his own importance and it spilled out into the text. I just couldn’t get myself interested in this book. Memoir is not my genre, and this one definitely didn’t hit for me at all.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #5

Reading: I picked up The Drift by CJ Tudor after a recommendation from my favorite book podcast. It is definitely a thrill ride!

Watching: J and I finally started the documentary series McMillion$ about the McDonald’s Monopoly fraud scandal. It just took a very serious turn and we are floored.

Listening: I went back to the beginning of 99PI (over 10 years ago) and started listening to the very old episodes. The oldest ones are around 5 minutes each, so I knocked out a ton this weekend. It’s easy to throw in a few while making dinner and picking up the house.

Making: I made a meal plan for this week and into next’s and now I’m just not feeling the meals I put on there. Scrapping it and making new plans this week.

Feeling: Not sure why, but I’m feeling really strung out and at my limit this week. I should probably take a few minutes today to figure out why.

Planning: I’ve moved on to starting the basic planning for next year’s homeschool curriculum. My favorite companies had their spring sales this month so I grabbed some things I knew we would use. Now I’m working on our literature lists.

Loving: We’ve been on a library hold tear this month. So many books! But I love going and getting a new bag of books to check out and work through.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - First Aid Kit "Emmylou"

An old song, but I recently rediscovered it and am totally in love again.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Spring Bucket List

Another season, another bucket list. Our main goal is to get out in nature weekly.

1. Read 45 Books

2. Movie Month February

3. Go on 12 Hikes

4. Have an Indoor Picnic

5. Make a Snow Globe

6. Check Off 50 Hours Outside

7. Visit the Zoo 3 Times

8. Monthly Bingo/Trivia Nights

9. Use the GetOut Pass 3 Times

10. Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

11. Make a New Dessert

12. Have an Ice Cream Sundae Night

13. Two Lincoln Excursion Days 

14. Three State park Visits

15. Day trip to Des Moines

16. Plan out curriculum for next year

17. Plan an Indiana trip for summer complete with mini trip

Next Up on the TBR Pile:

Winter Bucket List Finish

Not quite the showing I was hoping for, but we did get out and about a ton this season.

1. Go Sledding ✓

2. Read 45 Books ✓

3. Bake Some Bread ✓

4. Make Winter Crafts

5. Movie Month February

6. Make Valentines ✓

7. Go on 5 Winter Hikes ✓

8. Have an Indoor Picnic

9. Make a Snow Globe

10. Complete 3 Puzzles ✓

11. Buy Some New Cozy Pajamas ✓ - I was actually gifted some cold weather ones for my birthday and I bought some warm weather ones.

12. Check Off 50 Hours Outside

13. Have a Birthday Day Out ✓

14. Visit the Zoo 3 Times (2/3)

15. Monthly Bingo/Trivia Nights ✓

16. Take the Kids Bowling ✓

17. Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

18. Make a New Dessert

19. Make a Bird Feeder

20. Have an Ice Cream Sundae Night

Next Up on the TBR Pile:

The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron

Title: The Light in Hidden Places

Author: Sharon Cameron

Publisher: Scholastic Press 2020

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

One knock at the door, and Stefania has a choice to make...

It is 1943, and for four years, sixteen-year-old Stefania has been working for the Diamant family in their grocery store in Przemysl, Poland, singing her way into their lives and hearts. She has even made a promise to one of their sons, Izio -- a betrothal they must keep secret since she is Catholic and the Diamants are Jewish.

But everything changes when the German army invades Przemysl. The Diamants are forced into the ghetto, and Stefania is alone in an occupied city, the only one left to care for Helena, her six-year-old sister. And then comes the knock at the door. Izio's brother Max has jumped from the train headed to a death camp. Stefania and Helena make the extraordinary decision to hide Max, and eventually twelve more Jews. Then they must wait, every day, for the next knock at the door, the one that will mean death. When the knock finally comes, it is two Nazi officers, requisitioning Stefania's house for the German army.

With two Nazis below, thirteen hidden Jews above, and a little sister by her side, Stefania has one more excruciating choice to make.

Not a bad book, but I am definitely not the intended audience for this one. I came into this book not knowing Stefania’s story, but knowing many stories from the Holocaust. Put those together with general knowledge about the time period and I had a strong basis before the story begins. And therein lies my biggest issue with this book. There is so much education about the general situation that I was bogged down by education instead of story. I skimmed a few sections not feeling the need to read every word printed. As for the story itself, it was interesting, but something about the writing style got in the way. I wonder if it was the perspective or the word choices. This is a young adult book. If I was 13, I might have really gotten into this book. Instead, I would have preferred to read the nonfiction account or a collection of nonfiction accounts about this geographic place.

Next up on the TBR pile:

What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

Title: What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat

Author: Aubrey Gordon

Publisher: Beacon Press 2020

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 197

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Anti-fatness is everywhere. In What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat, Aubrey Gordon unearths the cultural attitudes and social systems that have led to people being denied basic needs because they are fat and calls for social justice movements to be inclusive of plus-sized people’s experiences. Unlike the recent wave of memoirs and quasi self-help books that encourage readers to love and accept themselves, Gordon pushes the discussion further towards authentic fat activism, which includes ending legal weight discrimination, giving equal access to health care for large people, increased access to public spaces, and ending anti-fat violence. As she argues, “I did not come to body positivity for self-esteem. I came to it for social justice.”

By sharing her experiences as well as those of others—from smaller fat to very fat people—she concludes that to be fat in our society is to be seen as an undeniable failure, unlovable, unforgivable, and morally condemnable. Fatness is an open invitation for others to express disgust, fear, and insidious concern. To be fat is to be denied humanity and empathy. Studies show that fat survivors of sexual assault are less likely to be believed and less likely than their thin counterparts to report various crimes; 27% of very fat women and 13% of very fat men attempt suicide; over 50% of doctors describe their fat patients as “awkward, unattractive, ugly and noncompliant”; and in 48 states, it’s legal—even routine—to deny employment because of an applicant’s size.

Advancing fat justice and changing prejudicial structures and attitudes will require work from all people. What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat is a crucial tool to create a tectonic shift in the way we see, talk about, and treat our bodies, fat and thin alike.

Not a happy book by any definition, but a very important book to read. A lot of what is covered in these pages has been mentioned on Gordon’s podcast Maintenance Phase, but I very much appreciated hearing her arguments laid out systematically in each chapter. We get au unflinching look at anti-fat bias in our society from the words we use to the programs we enact. I loved the deep dives into different aspects. Definitely a proper primer on the topic. I am waiting for a library copy of Gordon’s second book to further educate myself.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• I’m in the middle of three not very fun books. My next read really needs to be fun.

• Craving some comfort food this week. Not sure exactly what, but comfort food.

• On second thought, I really want some gummies this week… Guess I need to pop back into Target for some Albanese gummy bears.

• My brain is telling me that I’ve forgotten to do something this week. I cannot remember.

Next up on the TBR pile:

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey

Title: My Killer Vacation

Author: Tessa Bailey

Publisher: Avon 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 290

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Sleuth Street (Thriller/Mystery where main character is a detective or PI)

It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation in sweet, sunny Cape Cod—just Taylor and her beloved brother—but discovering a corpse in their rental house has really thrown a wrench into their tanning schedule. Now a rude, crude bounty hunter has arrived on the back of his motorcycle to catch the killer and refuses to believe Taylor can be helpful, despite the countlesshours she's spent listening to true crime podcasts. Not to mention her fulfilling teaching career of wrangling second graders.

A brash bounty hunter and an energetic elementary school teacher: the murder-solving team no one asked for, but thanks to these pesky attempts on Taylor's life, they're stuck together, come hell or high tide.

Myles is just there to do a job, not babysit an amateur sleuth. Although…it is becoming less and less of a hardship to have Taylor around. Sure, she’s stubborn, distracting and can’t stay out of harm’s way. She’s also brave and beautiful and reminds him of the home he left behind three years ago. In other words, the insatiable hunger and protectiveness she is awakening is a threat to his peace of mind. Before Myles sinks any deeper into this dangerous attraction, he needs to solve this murder and get back on the road.

But will fate take her from him before Myles realize the road has been leading to her all along?

Another Tessa Bailey book that I actually enjoyed! Imagine that! This was breezy and light full of fun banter and interactions between the main character and crazy steamy scenes. There’s not much to this book, but it really helped me recover from reading multiple serious books in a row. I needed something that didn’t make me think a lot, but that I enjoyed reading and wanted to keep picking up This is the book. Taylor is a bit of a mess, but a non-annoying mess. I loved her interactions with her brother, but it was the madcap murder mystery that keep me with her character. And Myles is just so darn smoking hot with his surliness and sunglasses. I immediately fell for him! Nothing too ground-breaking, but a great little quick read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Title: The Beautiful and Damned

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Publisher: 1922

Genre: Classics

Pages: 422

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; Unread Shelf - Enough; 52 Book Club - Set in Roaring Twenties

The Beautiful and Damned, F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel, tells the story of Anthony Patch, a 1920s socialite and presumptive heir to a tycoon's fortune, the relationship with his wife Gloria, his service in the army, and alcoholism. Anthony and Gloria are young and gorgeous, rich and leisured and they dedicate their lives to the pursuit of happiness and we follow the intimate story of their marriage as it disintegrates under the weight of their expectations, fuelled by dissipation, jealousy and aimlessness.

This one was a slog! I absolutely adore The Great Gatsby, and was wanting to cover Fitzgerald’s other major works. Everything about this one feels so clunky. We are bogged down in lots of chapters detailing Anthony’s life before the meat of the story starts. Once he mets Gloria, things become marginally better. But Fitzgerald really takes too many tangents and asides. The core of the story gets much too muddled and confusing. He definitely became a much more concise writer later. I finished this one, but would not recommend to others.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W25: Mad Scramble Disrupted My Life

What We Studied

(See my Low later on to explain the title of this post.) In general, we flew through a ton of curriculum. In fact, I’m getting a little concern that we are going to run out of our current curriculum choices soon. I may need to pull some unit studies and extra stuff to throw in soon.

Literature and Poetry

We ended up only getting about 60% of the way through the coop book club selection before we gave up. It just did not work for us at all! In fact, it didn’t work for any of our book club families, so we were in good company. We picked up the next selection and thankfully it is so much better right away.

• Argos by Ralph Hardy

• The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

We finished with our read aloud. As next week is a Flex Week, we are actually going to take a break before tackling Shakespeare.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We started the next in the Pooh series and will be sprinkling in the stories when we don’t have a country specific book.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

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

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). Arthur finished 4B last week. We will be taking a break and doing a review course before moving onto 5A. Quentin is close to finishing 1A and we are planning on jumping right into 1B afterwards.

• Logic Liftoff (Arthur)

• Lollipop Logic Book 2 (Quentin)

• Singapore 1A

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• A Different Mirror

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• What the Eagle Sees

• A is for Abigail: F for First Ladies

• Smart About the First Ladies

• Race to Chimney Rock by Jesse Wiley

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We started Africa and covered North Africa.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me: A School Like Mine

• Africa by Mel Friedman

• Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Mark Melnicove

• A Visit to Grandad: An African ABC by Sade Fadipe & Shedrach Ayalomeh

• Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales

• Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill: An African Mother Goose by Virginia Kroll

• The Storyteller by Evan Turk

• Follow Me Around Egypt by Wiley Blevins

• Living in Egypt by Chloe Perkins

• The Arabic Quilt by Aya Khalil

Straw Tower Time!

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. Our joint science class was cancelled due to sickness with the other family. We covered electromagnetism at home and watched a few episodes of Bill Nye: The Science Guy.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We continued watching a new documentary series called Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s a behind the scenes look at caring for the animals at the park. Each episode is less than 30 minutes, so it’s a perfect length for Q.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• The Amazing African Alphabet by Kristina Jones

Arthur made a game

STEAM Coop

Both groups continued the Engineering Challenge. The big kids made straw towers. It was a heated competition right until the end. The oldest group will be doing a different challenge each week. The youngest kiddos made a marble run with toilet paper rolls.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy.

Field Trip

No field trip this week.

Can you find Quentin?

High

• We had our first Nature Explorers meeting at Hummel Park this week. It was super cold, but the kids had fun exploring with friends.

Low

• Construction began on our nearby main street and caused some massive issues. No big deal, but then random no parking signs appeared all up and down my street. No parking 24/7 until October 30th. Um what!?!?! I was supposed to host coop on Thursday, but people would have to park on street. I had to scramble and we switched to another’s house, but I was very upset. Thankfully by the end of this week, they clarified the signs. There is now no parking on the north side of my street, but we can still park on the south side. So coop is now back at our house for next week.

Next Week

• Flex Week! We are catching up on some units and adding more games, outings, and documentaries.

Arthur contemplating going down the slide…

Next up on the TBR pile: