Cinders by Michelle D. Argyle

Title: Cinders

Author: Michelle D. Argyle

Publisher: MDA Books 2010

Genre: Fatnasy

Pages: 172

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

Cinderella's happily-ever-after isn't turning out the way she expected. With her fairy godmother imprisoned in the castle and a mysterious stranger haunting her dreams, Cinderella is on her own to discover true love untainted by magic.

I was sucked in by the tagline “a dark Cinderella tale.” And while we do get some shades of that, this book was mostly boring. I couldn’t seem to care about any of the characters. Even the villains were lackluster. And I wasn’t excited by the trajectory of the storyline. Mostly I read this and then was glad to delete it off my kindle app.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost

Title: Twice Tempted (Night Prince #2)

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Publisher: Avon 2013

Genre: Romance

Pages: 360

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series; Romanceopoly - Fated Folly

Spice Rating: 5

Dating the Prince of Darkness has its challenges . . .

Leila's psychic abilities have been failing her,and now she isn't sure what the future holds. If that weren't enough, her lover Vlad has been acting distant. Though Leila is a mere mortal, she's also a modern woman who refuses to accept the cold shoulder treatment forever--especially from the darkly handsome vampire who still won't admit that he loves her.

Like choosing between eternal love and a loveless eternity . . .

Soon circumstances send Leila back to the carnival circuit, where tragedy strikes. And when she finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who may be closer than she realizes, Leila must decide who to trust--the fiery vampire who arouses her passions like no other, or the tortured knight who longs to be more than a friend? With danger stalking her every step of the way, all it takes is one wrong move to damn her for eternity . . .

Oh yes! This was exactly what I wanted from this series! The first book had me very frustrated by both Vlad and Leila’s behavior. Thankfully this book starts to break their behavior down and we actually see some growth from our characters. And while we don’t get a happy ending (there are two more books in this series), we get shades of happiness sprinkled in throughout the obstacles and pain. The big mystery really amps up in this volume and I cannot wait to see where this all goes.

Night Prince

• #1 Once Burned

• #2 Twice Tempted

• #3 Bound by Flames

• #4 Into the Fire

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W5: Ready for a Calm Week

What We Studied

A strange week. I had everything planned out and then our plans on Thursday and Friday drastically changed. It really threw me off a bit.

Quentin’s history books

Literature and Poetry

Arthur continued reading the Percy Jackson series with The Lightning Thief. We kept reading and have really gotten into the story. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root. And finally, we finished the next coop book club selection.

• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

• A Child's Introduction to Greek Mythology

• Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

• Reading Explorer: Intro

• The Last Human by Lee Bacon

Quentin continued reading a new selection. I think that he finally got into the story more. His reading comprehension answers have gotten more correct. He also worked on some basic grammar.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Quentin’s ELA and Math books

Math

Arthur started Singapore 5A. The book starts with some basic place value review but very quickly moves to multiples, factors, and primes. We are definitely going to slow down our math lessons a bit to make sure that Arthur achieves mastery. We also continued our next logic book.

• Singapore Common Core 5A

• Orbiting with Logic

Quentin continued working toward the end of Singapore 1B with a review on time. I’m still debating if we should take a small review break after finishing 1B and before beginning 2A. We also continued our logic book.

• Lollipop Logic Book 3

• Singapore Common Core 1B

Learning about monarch butterflies

Social Studies

Arthur jumped back into BYL 6 and History Quest: US History starting at the beginning of the Civil War. He finished the war. We’ll be taking a break for our Flex Week before moving on Reconstruction. We’ll be sprinkling in various historical fiction readers to reinforce the time periods.

• DK American History

• We were There Too! Young People in US History

• Two Miserable Presidents by Steve Sheinkin

• Words that Build a Nation

• Heart and Soul

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

Quentin moved onto the Neolithic time period and focused on the agricultural revolution. We even watched a great NOVA documentary about Stonehenge.

• History Quest Early Times

• DK When on Earth?

• Human Wold

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK A Child Through Time

• A History of Western Art

• DK Science Year by Year

• Peter Kent’s City Across Time

• The Secrets of Stonehenge by Mick Manning and Britt Granstrom

View from Hitchcock Nature Center

Science

Arthur is embarking upon RSO Chemistry this year. We will be doing the experiment portions with a group of coop friends. That portion starts today. This week we covered Unit 1 with a basic focus on chemistry. The text was super boring, but thankfully I found some good short videos to reenforce the ideas and spark some interest. I found a really good one detailing the chemistry involved in baking cookies. For the Story of Science, we learned about Tycho Brahe.

• RSO Chemistry

• DK Super Simple Chemistry

• Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim

Quentin continued RSO Life with a lesson about classification systems focusing on the animal kingdom. I actually found the sorting mat pieces I had made for Arthur years ago. Good on me for keeping them and actually knowing where I put them!

• RSO Life

• DK Oversimple Biology

After dinner gelato taste testing. We all agreed that the Limoncello was the best.

STEAM Coop

Coop was cancelled this week due to terrible air quality. We have too many families with medical issues. Unfortunately that means that out of the first five week of coop, we have cancelled twice. Not excited about this turn of events. On a better note, we might have found an indoor location for the winter.

Art books featuring Alma Thomas

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

Another week that I actually fit in art and music! I am on a roll! We covered the music of Erik Satie, a very eccentric composer, but one we have heard a lot as background music. We also covered the colorful art of Alma Thomas. Both of the boys really got into her pieces more than previous weeks.

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

• Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw

• 13 American Artists Children Should Know

• A Child's Introduction to Art

• Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky

• We are Artists by Kari Herbert

• Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas by Jeanne Walker Harvey

Free expression art time

Field Trip

On Tuesday, we traveled over to Iowa for a guided field trip at the Hitchcock Center. The kids learned about monarch butterflies and specifically Monarch Watch. Then we attempted to find some monarchs for tagging. We found a few, but were unable to actually catch any. Still it was great day out in nature.

Shapes and colors inspired by Alma Thomas

High

(Reluctant high) Because coop was cancelled on Thursday, we had more time in our week. We ended up spending the entirety of Thursday morning shopping for birthday party supplies, coop supplies, chemistry class supplies, and fall service project donation items. I had been stressing a bit about how to fit all this in and not do the shopping on the weekend (I hate shopping on the weekends). Our impromptu cancelling gave us the opportunity to get it all done (well mostly) in one outing.

Imitating the blocky pieces style of Alma Thomas

Low

I kind of ran out of steam by the end of the week. Because our nature hike was cancelled, we ended up schooling Friday morning and then for the afternoon, I just took the kids to the park. They had been begging for some outside scootering time, so it worked out. I was just very tired by that point.

Arthur’s ELA, math, and science

Q’s history books

Next Week - Will be a Flex Week. It’s our chance to catchup on things we delayed and take a breath from big planning.

• Finishing Percy Jackson and Starting Echo Mountain

• Finishing The One and Only Ivan and Starting a Zoey and Sassafras book

• Reviewing for Math

• Watching a Documentary or two

• Playing a board game or two

• Hosting the first Chemistry Class

• Lots of coop related activities

Sorting animals

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Nita Strauss feat. Lilith Czar "Monster"

Seriously, this new Nita Strauss may be my new favorite. Every song is amazing!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The International House of Dereliction by Jacqueline Davies

Title: The International House of Dereliction

Author: Jacqueline Davies

Publisher: Clarion Books 2023

Genre: MG Fantasy

Pages: 227

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Ten-year-old Alice is moving for the eleventh time.

She’s lived in so many houses, each more broken than the last, that home to Alice is nothing more than a place you fix and then a place you leave. After all, who needs a permanent home when you’re a whiz at fixing things?

But when Alice arrives at her new home, she can’t take her eyes off the house next door, the stately dark house that hulked in the dimming light. The once-grand mansion, now dilapidated and condemned, beckons Alice; it's the perfect new repair job!

As Alice begins to restore the House to its former splendor, she senses strange presences. Is there a heartbeat coming from the House’s walls? Is someone looking at her? Soon she realizes she’s not alone. Three ghosts have been watching, and they need Alice’s help to solve their unfinished business.

Will Alice be able to unravel the mysteries of the House and find her forever home . . . before it’s too late?

Apparently I really enjoy quirky and/or horror middle grade. Do not give me a straight coming-of-age story or a beautiful family story. I want weird characters and slightly fantastical and/or absurd situations. This one was such a lovely story involving a quirky family and a collection of lost ghosts. Alice grabbed me right away. I would have loved having Alice as a friend when I was 10 years old. I think our weirdness would compliment each other. I loved following her as she attempts to scratch her home improvement itch while also wrestling with the meanings of family and belonging. Such a cute little book with lots of atmosphere. Perfect for my fall reading.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #27

As I look outside my window: The clouds are back but thankfully the temperatures are where they should be for this time of year. I’m totally ready for fall weather!

Right now I am: Enjoying my lazy Sunday. I will need to pop into the library and grocery store later, but right now, I’m taking a few minutes of quiet for myself.

On my bedside table: Rest of Jeaniene Frost’s Night Prince series; Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen (friend book club)

On my tv this week: J and I finished Andor and started the new season of Lower Decks. We also continued with Foundation (is there something going on with the timeline?) and Killing It.

Listening to: I went down a strange rabbit hole of 90s movie soundtracks the other day and added a ton to my Apple Music account. Apparently I was in a very nostalgic mood and binge listened to bands such as Letters to Cleo and Save Ferris.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Leftovers

• Tuesday - Salmon Bowls

• Wednesday - Honey Lime Jalapeño Chicken

• Thursday - Spaghetti

• Friday - Baked Potato Soup

• Saturday - Chili Verde

• Sunday - Sega Wat

On my to do list: I still need to make appointments for things. And I have a long list of birthday party prep tasks. Plus a shorter shopping list for all the things.

Happening this week:

• Monday - First Chemistry Class!

• Tuesday - Lewis and Clark Landing Meetup; Family Flu Shots

• Wednesday - Fall Service Project

• Thursday - Coop (hopefully!)

• Friday - Glacier Creek Hike; Lit Society

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Breakfast Club

What I am creating: I’m working on my planner and Memory Planner this weekend. Hoping to get completely caught up. I also found a deeply discounted Happy Planner for next year. It was an 18 month planner (July 2023 to December 2024) with the layout that I like best. Win for me!

My simple pleasures: Fun romance books, a moment to breathe, successful shopping trips (crossing off those needed items!)

Looking around the house: We only have a few weeks until the big birthday party. I’m attempting to clear out one area on the main floor every few days in preparation. Things have just been piled everywhere from the various summer projects. But now it needs to all go away! I need my main floor back to minimal clutter.

From the camera: View from the top of the Hitchcock Nature Center. People really get down on Nebraska/Iowa, but sometimes the beauty of the natural landscape really takes my breath away.

The Changeling King by Ethan M. Aldridge

Title: The Changeling King (Estranged #2)

Author: Ethan M. Aldridge

Publisher: HarperCollins 2019

Genre: Comics

Pages: 256

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

After years of pretending to be human, the changeling Edmund Carter has assumed his rightful role as Cinder, king of the World Below. But not everyone at the royal palace is happy about his return.

Meanwhile, Ed is adjusting to human life in the World Above. His birth family treats him with a kindness he never knew growing up in the Fay court, but Ed misses the sense of purpose he had as a knight.

When a mysterious new threat emerges in the World Below, Cinder must call on Ed and their older sister, Alexis, for help. But nothing can prepare them for the family secret that awaits at the end of their perilous quest.

And with this volume, we get a conclusion to the story of how Cinder and Ed find their places in the above and the below. Another great story with great characters. More great art to admire. And quite a cliffhanger to the end of this volume. But it was so incredibly enjoyable to read.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Estranged by Ethan M. Aldridge

Title: Estranged (Estranged #1)

Author: Ethan M. Aldridge

Publisher: HarperCollins 2018

Genre: Comics

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Edmund and the Childe were swapped at birth. Now Edmund lives in secret as a changeling in the World Above, his fae powers hidden from his unsuspecting parents and his older sister, Alexis. The Childe lives among the fae in the World Below, where being a human makes him a curiosity at the royal palace.

But when the cruel sorceress Hawthorne seizes the throne, the Childe and Edmund must unite on a dangerous quest to save both worlds—even if they’re not sure which world they belong to.

I cannot remember exactly where I heard about this particular comic, but it ended up on my holds list. I thoroughly enjoyed this twist on the fairy changeling story. We get a fun mix-up and a royal coup all in one volume. The art was colorful yet crisp. The character were a lot of fun and the action sequences full of suspense.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Things We Make by Bill Hammack

Title: The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans

Author: Bill Hammack

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2023

Genre: Nonfiction - Engineering

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer Reading TBR

For millennia, humans have used one simple method to solve problems. Whether it's planting crops, building skyscrapers, developing photographs, or designing the first microchip, all creators follow the same steps to engineer progress. But this powerful method, the "engineering method", is an all but hidden process that few of us have heard of—let alone understand—but that influences every aspect of our lives.

Bill Hammack, a Carl Sagan award-winning professor of engineering and viral "The Engineer Guy" on Youtube, has a lifelong passion for the things we make, and how we make them. Now, for the first time, he reveals the invisible method behind every invention and takes us on a whirlwind tour of how humans built the world we know today. From the grand stone arches of medieval cathedrals to the mundane modern soda can, Hammack explains the golden rule of thumb that underlies every new building technique, every technological advancement, and every creative solution that leads us one step closer to a better, more functional world. Spanning centuries and cultures, Hammack offers a fascinating perspective on how humans engineer solutions in a world full of problems.

J requested this one from the library and then had me read it. For the most part, I knew the information included in this book. This reads as a great introduction to the world of engineering. Hammack presents a variety of engineered items in a straight forward manner. He definitely has a way with words. There were tidbits of information here and there in the chapters that weren’t as focused on history. I learned more from the modern items than anything else.

Next up on the TBR pile:

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

Title: 56 Days

Author: Catherine Ryan Howard

Publisher: Blackstone 2021

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 305

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead.

56 DAYS AGO

Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin and start dating the same week COVID-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO

When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests they move in together. Ciara sees a unique opportunity for a relationship to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends. Oliver sees a chance to hide who—and what—he really is.

TODAY

Detectives arrive at Oliver’s apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.

Can they determine what really happened, or has lockdown created an opportunity for someone to commit the perfect crime?

After hearing about this book for the past two year, I finally put it on my shortlist and start reading. I was very annoyed by all of the characters at the beginning, but as the mystery began to unspool, I was hooked. Once we know of the dead body, even a few thoughts, I was desperate to finish the book and put all the pieces together. Oliver and Ciara we two very flawed, but interesting characters to follow. Amongst the various thrillers that I have tried, this was in the top tier. Thrillers still aren’t my favorite, but this particular book was a good one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost

Title: Once Burned (Night Prince #1)

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Publisher: Avon 2012

Genre: Romance

Pages: 373

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Spice Rating: 5 (but with vampires)

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person's darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude...until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world's most infamous vampire...

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all--but whatever you do, don't call him Dracula. Vlad's ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him—a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

Oh a whole series focused on Vlad! I was so incredibly excited to start this as he may just be my favorite character in the entire Night Huntress world. We get to see just how cold and calculated he can be in a variety of situations. He really frustrated me so many times throughout this book, but I loved every page of it. Leila came to be a great foil for our enigmatic vampire master. I loved the mystery element to this series. All of the Night Huntress books have that mystery element, but I really fell into this one. I was desperate to find a conclusion, but slightly annoyed to find a bit of a cliffhanger. Now I cannot wait to read the rest of this series.

Night Prince

• #1 Once Burned

• #2 Twice Tempted

• #3 Bound by Flames

• #4 Into the Fire

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #17

Reading: Nerdy Bookish Friends is reading Timeline by Michael Crichton this month. I’ve never actually read this one. Interested to see how it goes.

Watching: J and I finally started watching Andor. So much better than some of the other Star Wars shows. W'e’ll be finishing it this week. Maybe we will watch Ashoka next.

Listening: I have actually been listening to an audiobook this week. The only version of the book from the library was the audiobook. I’m not usually an audiobook fan, but I managed to listened to most of it this week. Wrapping up soon.

Making: I’ve been making scones lately and really loving it. I want to try a few new scone bases. I think raspberry will be next.

Feeling: After a cooler week, we are back to temps in the 90s. I am not a fan at all. Here’s hoping that the cooler temps come soon.

Planning: Along with two friends, I am teaching the first three weeks of our Chemistry class. I’m working on the plans for the atoms lesson.

Loving: Coop is back in swing and I’m really loving the weekly get together of our friends. Teaching has gone as soon as it can right now. And we even have a lead on an indoor space.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W4: We Went Somewhere Every Day This Week!

What We Studied

We ended up leaving the house every day this week and I very much disliked it. We did managed to cover most of our planned curriculum for the week including a documentary.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur started reading the Percy Jackson series with The Lightning Thief. We kept reading and have really gotten into the story. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root. And finally, we started the next coop book club selection.

• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

• A Child's Introduction to Greek Mythology: Intro through Gods Galore

• Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

• Reading Explorer: Intro

• The Last Human by Lee Bacon

Quentin started reading a new selection. I’m not sure how engaged he really is right now. It is a big chapter book and he hasn’t listened to many of them. He also worked on some basic grammar.

• Sing a Song of Seasons

• Be the Bus: The Lost and Profound Wisdom of The Pigeon

• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

• My Body is a Rainbow: The Color of My Feelings by Mallika Chopra

Math

Arthur continued his math year with some review packets. We will start his next Singapore book next week. We’ll see how that goes. We also continued our next logic book.

• Orbiting with Logic

Quentin continued working toward the end of Singapore 1B with a unit on time. I’m still debating if we should take a small review break after finishing 1B and before beginning 2A. I’m still deciding. We also continued our logic book.

• Lollipop Logic Book 3

• Singapore Common Core 1B

Social Studies

Arthur jumped back into BYL 6 and History Quest: US History starting at the beginning of the Civil War. He covered the rest of 1864 this week. We’ll be sprinkling in various historical fiction readers to reinforce the time periods.

• DK American History

• We were There Too! Young People in US History

• Two Miserable Presidents by Steve Sheinkin

• Words that Build a Nation

• Heart and Soul

Quentin continued a journey through the Ice Age focusing on how animals and humans lived together. We even watched a great NOVA documentary about the time period.

• History Quest Early Times

• DK When on Earth?

• Human Wold

• A Child's Introduction to Natural History by Heather Alexander

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• DK A Child Through Time

• A History of Western Art

• DK Science Year by Year

Science

Arthur is embarking upon RSO Chemistry this year. But before we officially start the curriculum, we are covering some basic Chemistry and Science lessons. Once we start the actual book, we will be doing the experiment portions with a group of coop friends. This week we did a bit of review. We also attended an informational meeting about a mousetrap race car project. A close friend organized this large project for our homeschool aquaintances. We chatted about specs and ideas and set some dates. Arthur task for the next few weeks is to brainstorm and make a supply list.

• RSO Chemistry

• DK Super Simple Chemistry

• Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim

Quentin continued RSO Life with a lesson about cells. He will also be engaging in various nature science lessons and explorations throughout the year. We did a fun little experiment looking at a chicken egg and labeling the parts.

• RSO Life

• DK Oversimple Biology

• Many Creatures: A Song About Animal Classifications by Laura Purdie Salas

• A Mammal is an Animal by Lizzy Rockwell

• Animal School: What Class are You? by Michelle Lord

• Animal Classification by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst

STEAM Coop

Quentin covered insects even making his own creative insect and going on a bug hunt. The bug hunt was his favorite part of coop. Arthur’s group learned about water filtration and even made their own systems. It was nice to get back into the groove with all our coop friends.

We had a meeting to discuss renting the Volunteer Firefighter’s Hall during the winter months. They are (probably) willing to rent us the space for $100 per week. It’s a chunk of month, but we can handle it. On Thursday, a coop member brought us another potential rental for half the price. We need to get confirmation, but we might just have a space for the winter months.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

Another week that I actually fit in art and music! I am on a roll! We covered the music of Gabriela Lena Frank, a modern composer, and the art of Jason Lawrence.

• The Science of Song: How and Why We Make Music by Alan Cross, Emme Cross, and Nicole Mortillaro

• A Child's Introduction to the Orchestra by Robert Levine

• DK Music and How it Works

• DK The Arts

• Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw

• The Great Migration: A Children's Story by Jacob Lawrence

• Harriet and the Promised Land by Jacob Lawrence

• Jacob Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence, a Young Artist in Harlem by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

• Jacob Lawrence in the City by Susan Goldman Rubin

• 13 American Artists Children Should Know

• A Child's Introduction to Art

Field Trip

We didn’t do a big field trip this week, but we did make it out for a few events. On Friday, we had a nature hike at Heron Haven. Lots and lots of frogs were spotted in the pond. A’s friends even caught multiple to check out.

High

On Thursday, the boys made a plan with some friends to get boba tea at the mall. The adults agreed and we had a good old-fashioned social time at the mall food court. We grabbed lunch and boba tea. After social hour, I even snuck in about an hour of schoolwork before we headed home.

Low

Leaving the house every single day this week was not my favorite. I was completely drained by Friday, but had to go to coop book club on Saturday morning.

Next Week

• Continuing Percy Jackson

• Continuing The One and Only Ivan

• Getting close to finishing Singapore 1B (Q)

• Starting Singapore 5A (A)

• Moving into the last stages of the Civil War

• Covering the Neolithic Period

• Admiring Alma Thomas’s art

• Listening to Erik Satie’s music

• Exploring survival skills (A) and photography (Q) for coop

Friday’s book

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Nita Strauss feat. Chris Motionless "Digital Bullets"

Another Nita Strauss banger… this time with Chris from Motionless in White.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #26

As I look outside my window:

Right now I am:

Thinking and pondering:

On my bedside table: Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost; The International House of Dereliction by Jacqueline Davies

On my tv this week: We’ve mainly focused on our currently airing shows.

Listening to: I ended up starting my next Night Huntress book on audio. It was all the library had, so audiobook it is.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Tomato and Basil Grilled Cheese

• Tuesday - Mongolian Beef

• Wednesday - Snack Dinner

• Thursday - Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup

• Friday - Leftovers

• Saturday - Beef Stew

• Sunday - Black Bean Salsa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

On my to do list: Ugh! I still need to make all those appointments.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Home Day

• Tuesday - Hitchcock Center Field Trip

• Wednesday - Home Day

• Thursday - Coop; Lit Society

• Friday - Hitchcock Center Nature Walk

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: I finally printed by July and August pics for my Memory Planner.

My simple pleasures: A good book discussion (or four this past week), a normal coop meeting, fun middle grade books

Looking around the house: I need to do an overall pickup of the main floor of the house. Things are decent, just some random piles.

From the camera: Making water filtration systems for coop.

2023 Reading Challenges Update #3

I’m back to employing reading challenges to help direct my reading this year. Let’s check in with my progress of all the challenges I am attempting this year. I am leaving out the Build Your Library Challenge as it’s very strictly Arthur’s challenge and I’m not focused on actually completing it.

• Goodreads 176/200 88%

• Winter TBR 25/25 100%

• Spring TBR 20/25 80%

• Summer TBR 22/25 84%

• Fall TBR (not started yet)

• Unread Shelf 22/50 44%*

• Kid Read Alouds 20/20 100%

• BOTM Cleanout 7/12 58.3%

• 52 Book Club 43/52 80.8%**

• Romanceopoly 30/39 76.9%**

• COYER 8/20 40%*

• Finishing the Series 4/10 40%

Total Challenges 2/12 16.7%

Total Reading Slots 377/503 75%

* - Needs Work
** - Doing a Great Job

Comments: Overall, I’m really doing a decent job at all my reading challenges. I do need to retool my focus to my own shelves. Looking forward to my last season of this year’s reading.

Next up on the TBR pile:

September 2023 Life Goals

Let’s check in on August’s goals and my progress.

• Read 18 Books ✓

• Kick-Off Our Homeschool Year and Coop ✓

• Knock Out 5 More Items from Our Summer Bucket List ✓

• Limit My Personal Library Check-outs ✓

September Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Plan the Boys’ Birthday Party

• Finish Out Our Summer Bucket List

• Start Our Fall Bucket List

Next up on the TBR pile:

August 2023 Wrap-up

August TBR Pile (23/23):

1. Bookworms BC: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna ✓

2. Friend BC: Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Doomsday Book by Connie Willis ✓

4. Kid Read Aloud: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien ✓

5. Kid Book Club: Wildoak by CC Harrington ✓

6. Nonfiction: Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson ✓

7. Romance: The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman by KJ Charles ✓

8. Romance: Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian ✓

9. Romance: Playing for Keeps by Jill Shalvis ✓

10. Romance: Wrapped Up in You by Jill Shalvis ✓

11. Romance: A Duke in Disguise by Cat Sebastian ✓

12. Romance: One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost ✓

13. Romance: Happily Never After by Jeaniene Frost (novella, no review) ✓

14. Romance: One for the Money by Jeaniene Frost (novella, no review) ✓

15. Romance: Reckoning by Jeaniene Frost (novella, no review) ✓

16. Horror: The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro ✓

17. Horror: Vampiric Vacation by Kiersten White ✓

18. Horror: Camp Creepy by Kiersten White ✓

19. Horror: Menacing Manor by Kiersten White ✓

20. Horror: The Deep by Nick Cutter ✓

21. Fantasy: The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker ✓

22. Fantasy: The First Bright Thing by JR Dawson ✓

23. Poetry: Break Your Glass Slippers by Amanda Lovelace ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 6833 pages
Pages Remaining: 303,286 pages

Current Read - 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (1)

• BOTM Selection - I snatched up The Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas. We are reading this for October’s Nerdy Bookish Friends selection.

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 339

• Books Read: 1

• Books Acquired: 1

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 339

September TBR Pile: Moving into spooky season and so my TBR pile is going to lean toward horror for the next two months. But I’m not quite sure what I’m planning on reading, so leaving the plan very vague.

1. Bookworms BC: The Mermaid by Christina Henry (probably won’t reread as I just read this)

2. Friend BC: Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Timeline by Michael Crichton

4. Kid Read Aloud: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

5. Kid Read Aloud: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

6. Kid Book Club: The Last Human by Lee Bacon

Movies Watched

• The Blackening - Well, that was entertaining as hell.

• Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Very good retrospective music documentary. Lots of great highlights.

• Red, White, and Royal Blue - A bit Hallmark-y but a decent young adult romance.

• The Meg 2 - That was utterly ridiculous and I loved it.

TV Shows Watched - Apparently we cycled through a decent amount of television shows this month. More like a lot of these are currently airing and dropping one episode a week… But still, lots of good shows were watched.

• The Witcher S3

• The Righteous Gemstones S3

• Foundation S2

• Below Deck: Down Under S2

• The Bachelorette

• Shiny Happy People

• Get Back

• Agent Elvis S1

• Killing It S2

• The Great S3

• Only Murders in the Building S3

• Andor

Comments - Wow! Look at those totals. I thought that with the start of our homeschooling year and coop, my reading totals and television/movie watching would be very low. Somehow I found more of a balance than I thought I would. Very exciting for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Menacing Manor by Kiersten White

Title: Menacing Manor (The Sinister Summer #4)

Author: Kiersten White

Publisher: Delacorte Press 2023

Genre: Middle Grade Horror

Pages: 272

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

After escaping from Edgaren’t and Dr. Jay, the Sinister-Winterbottoms and their friends arrive at Stein Manor Science Camp. They all work together to distract the friendly teenage camp director so they can explore and look for clues about where their parents might be.

Meanwhile, Theo and Alexander settle on a daring plan. They know exactly where Edgaren’t is going to be: coming for them, and the books. This time, they’ll be ready. This time, they’ll get answers. And this time, they won’t trust the adult in charge, which is easy enough when it’s enormous, lurking, unfriendly Mr. Frank. But as they get closer to opening the books and their parents’ histories, an unexpected foe is watching everything they do. . . .

Fake volcanoes! Real sea caves! Strangely modified frogs! Startling betrayal! And a lightning-struck manor! all combine for the electrifying penultimate Sinister Summer adventure.

Oh that was utterly delightful! I loved the ensemble within this volume. We get to see how many of the kids work tougher to solve the mystery of their parents’ disappearances. We get more clues and some perilous situations. The best part was the interplay between Essa and Mr. Frank. I love the twist on the classic horror stories. I cannot wait until January for the last book in the series. I hope that we get a satisfying conclusion.

The Sinister Summer

• #1 Wretched Waterpark

• #2 Vampiric Vacation

• #3 Camp Creepy

• #4 Menacing Manor

Next up on the TBR pile:

One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost

Title: One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress #6)

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Publisher: Avon 2011

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Pages: 358

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Spice Meter: 5 (albeit one with a vampire)

Having narrowly averted an (under)world war, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more
than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift
from New Orleans' voodoo queen just keeps on giving-leading to a personal favor
that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous
spirit.

Oh I really enjoyed this one! We get to see Cat and Bones at their best teamed up to take down an unusual ghost. I loved their leadership and banter with the other players. The ghost was significantly creepy and a big mystery to be solved. I loved the appearances by Ian and Spade and Denise. My biggest complaint is actually with the B plot featuring Don and the new head of the military unit Madigan. I really disliked how that just seemed to fizz out to nothing by the end of the book. I would have liked more a resolution.

Night Huntress:

• #0.5 Reckoning ✓

• #1 Halfway to the Grave ✓

• #1.5 Happily Never After ✓

• #2 One Foot in the Grave ✓

• #3 At Grave’s End ✓

• #3.5 Devil to Pay

• #4 Destined for an Early Grave ✓

• #4.5 One for the Money ✓

• #5 This Side of the Grave

• #6 One Grave at a Time

• #6.5 Home for the Holidays

• #7 Up from the Grave

• #7.5 Outtakes from the Grave

• #7.6 A Grave Girls’ Getaway

• #8 Both Feet in the Grave

Next up on the TBR pile: