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  • Archives - Wading Through
  • Archives - The Craft Sea

Homeschool W14-15: Thanksgiving Break was Needed

A’s ELA, Math, and Science

The Fox stories

More Fox books

What We Studied

Two weeks of activities and school. Overall, I’m amazed at how much school we actually accomplished. Only a few more weeks until Christmas break. Getting those last lessons.

Chemistry Class

A’s ELA

Fairy Tale books

Literature and Poetry

Arthur started and finished his next read aloud. He enjoyed it, but I did forget about how many weird God references are in that book. I really gloss over those things. 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.

  • Poetry for Young People: American Poetry

  • Reading Explorer: Intro

  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Quentin got back into the Blossom & Root curriculum with two tales and their variations. I’m really enjoying the format for this year. He also worked on some basic grammar.

  • Sing a Song of Seasons

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

  • Fairy Tales Collection

  • The Other Side of the Story

  • Little Red Riding Hood by Paul Galdone

  • Lon Po Po by Ed Young

  • Red by Jed Alexander

  • Little Red Ruthie by Gloria Koster

  • Little Red Riding Sheep by Linda Ravin Lodding

  • The Girl and the Wolf by Katherena Vermette

  • The Wolf's Story by Toby Forward

  • Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alec T. Smith

  • Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz

  • Werewolf? There Wolf! by Kyle Sullivan

  • Tango Red Riding Hood by Rachel S. Hobbs

  • Little Red Riding Hood and the Misread Wolf by Troy Wilson

  • Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon by Ying Chang Compestine

  • Very Little Red Riding Hood by Heapy & Heap

  • The Other Side of the Story: Little Red Riding Hood

  • Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins

  • Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood by Mike Artell

  • Yummy by Lucy Cousins

  • Henny Penny by Paul Galdone

  • The Sky is Falling by Mark Teague

  • Henny Penny by Vivian French

  • The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night by Peter Spier

  • Flossie and the Fox by Patricia McKissack

  • Basho and the River Stones by Tim J Myers

  • Fox: A Circle of Life Story by Isabel Thomas

  • Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny, and Mike by Cynthia Rylant

  • The Great Gran Plan by Elli Woollard

  • Watch Out for Wolf! by Anica Mrose Rissi

  • Redlocks and the Three Bears by Claudia Rueda

  • Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens

  • The Grasshopper and the Ants by Jerry Pinkney

  • The Little Red Hen by Jerry Pinkney

  • The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier

  • The Grasshopper's Song by Nikki Giovanni and Chris Raschka

  • The Little Red Hen by Margot Zemach

  • Rapunzel by Barbara Rogasky

  • Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky

  • Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox

  • Petrosinella: A Neapolitan Rapunzel by Diane Stanley

  • Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel by Patricia Storace

  • Rapunzel by Bethan Woollvin

  • Really Rapunzel Needed a Haircut by Jessica Gunderson

  • Rapunzel Let Down Your Zip Wire by Jasmine Brooke

 

Math

Arthur continued to dive into Singapore 5A. We are definitely going to slow down our math lessons a bit to make sure that Arthur achieves mastery. We’ve moved onto new skills dealing with multiplying and dividing fractions. Time for me to relearn some math! We also continued our next logic book.

  • Singapore Common Core 5A

  • Orbiting with Logic

Quentin’s all about review right now. I don’t anticipate starting Singapore 2A until January. We also continued our logic book.

  • Lollipop Logic Book 3

  • Tinkeractive Math Grade 1

Social Studies

Arthur covered more about immigration, specifically Japanese immigration. We also covered the inventions and presidents of the late 1800s. We did a specific lesson on the Statue of Liberty.

  • DK American History

  • We were There Too! Young People in US History

  • Words that Build a Nation

  • Heart and Soul

  • Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

  • An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

  • A Different Mirror for Young People

  • This is Our Land: A History of American Immigration

  • Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers

  • Let Liberty Rise! How America's Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty by Chana Stiefel

  • Liberty Arrives! How America's Grandest Statue Found Her Home by Robert Byrd

Quentin learned about the ancient Meosamerican cultures including the Maya.

  • 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

  • DK Myths, Legends, and Sacred Stories

  • The Ancient World: Ancient Maya by Barbara A. Somervill

  • The Ancient Maya by Jackie Maloy

  • The Genius of the Maya by Izzi Howell

  • The Mystery of the Maya: Uncovering the Lost City of Palenque by Peter Lourie

A’s ELA, Math, and History

Q’s ELA and Math

Art and Music

Science

Arthur started covering the first couple of elements on the Periodic Table. We’ll be doing this for the next couple of weeks for Chemistry. We also caught back up with our Story of Science chapters.

  • RSO Chemistry

  • DK Super Simple Chemistry

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

  • DK The Elements

Quentin moved to invertebrates and covered fish and amphibians.

  • RSO Life

  • DK Oversimple Biology

  • Fish by Isabel Martin

  • DK Eyewitness Fish

  • Fish by Christine Taylor-Butler

  • Do You Know About Amphibians by Buffy Silverman

  • Amphibians by Christine Taylor-Butler

Q’s History

Q’s Work and Harvest Books

A’s History, Science, ELA, and Math

STEAM Coop

Arthur continued his exploration of board games. By the end of the six weeks, the kids will have created their own board games. We started our board game construction. Quentin’s class finished their exploration of Native Americans.

A’s Monet Mash-up Art

A’s ELA and Math

Q’s The Tower Books

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We got back into it covering three artists (Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, and Vincent Van Gogh) and three composers (Johann Sebastian Bach, Mozart, and Brahms). I’m working these subjects in as we can, but proud of our progress so far. They are always the first on the chopping block if we run out of time during the week.

  • 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

  • Iconic Composers by Nicholas Csicsko & Emi Ferguson

  • Johann Sebastian Bach by Mike Venezia

  • The Piano by Marika Maijala and Juha Virta

  • Becoming Bach by Tom Leonard

  • 13 Art Movements Children Should Know

  • 13 Artists Children Should Know

  • Monet Paints a Day by Julie Danneberg

  • Claude Monet by Mike Venezia

  • Monet's Cat by Lily Murray & Becky Cameron

  • The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström

  • Impressionism: 13 Artists Children Should Know

  • Johannes Brahms by Mike Venezia

  • Vincent Van Gogh by Mike Venezia

  • The Yellow House by Susan Goldman Rubin

  • Vincent’s Colors by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  • The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström

  • Katie's Starry Night

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Mike Venezia

  • Mozart: Great Lives in Graphics

  • Play, Mozart, Play by Peter Sis

  • Mary Cassatt: Extraordinary Impressionist Painter by Barbara Herkert

  • Mary Cassatt by Mike Venezia

  • Women in Art by Rachel Ignotofsky

Q’s Science

Doing free art

Q’s version of Van Gogh’s Starry Night

Field Trip

Not a field trip, we did have a fun playdate at Backyard Playworld with some friends.

Art with pandas

Art and Music

High

  • We took a cold, but lovely walk at Heron Haven on Black Friday. It was the perfect choice for the day after Thanksgiving. Bonus, there was no one else there.

Low

  • We actually didn’t really have a low point this two weeks. Taking a few days off for the Thanksgiving break really helped.

More art and music

ELA and Math

Next Week

  • Starting a new read aloud

  • Covering more classic tales

  • Learning about area and perimeter for math (A)

  • Lots of math review (Q)

  • Covering specific elements on the Periodic table

  • Engaging in a few fun field trips

Open play at Bounce U

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: homeschool
categories: Life
Monday 12.04.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Music Monday - Beartooth "Might Love Myself"

Another good one from Beartooth!

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg
lion witch.jpg
morbidly.jpg
undertaking.jpeg
christmas beast.jpg
accomplice.jpg
dead guy.jpg
swordheart.jpg
folklore.jpg
holly jolly.jpg
all rhodes.jpg
powerless.jpg
sphere.jpg
tourist.jpg
once upon.jpg
unroma.jpg
wildest.jpg
tags: Beartooth
categories: Music
Monday 12.04.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Life Right Now #35

As I look outside my window: It’s pretty gray and dreary today. And I think the temps are going to hover in the 30s. It’s definitely an inside day.

Right now I am: Getting ready to dive into a new book. I love it when I finish a book at bedtime. It’s lovely to start the morning with a new book.

On my bedside table: All those holiday romances… I’ve got a physical stack and a Kindle stack.

On my tv this week: We wrapped up our first Nic Cage Quarterly with 18 movies watched! With the start of December, we started with the new Doctor Who specials and S3 of Slow Horses.

Listening to: All the usual podcasts. Nothing too new or exciting.

On the menu for this week:

  • Monday - Me out

  • Tuesday - BBQ Cheddar Meatloaf

  • Wednesday - Our

  • Thursday - Firecracker Chicken

  • Friday - Black Bean Soup and Ranch Chicken Tacos

  • Saturday - Me Out

  • Sunday - Chicken n Dumplings

On my to do list: A lot of prep work for spring semester of coop; Christmas prep; random cleaning projects…

Happening this week:

  • Monday - Coffee with potential coop families; Chemistry Class; Book Club

  • Tuesday - State Capitol Tour; Lost in Fun

  • Wednesday - Medieval Putt; Santa Rock n Lights

  • Thursday - Coop; Lit Society

  • Friday - Rudolph Performance; Fontenelle Forest Hike

  • Saturday - Book and Bottle Exchange for book club

  • Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: Working on November’s Memory Planner pages. I also want to gather materials for this year’s December Daily album.

My simple pleasures: Hot chocolate (without cow’s milk!); breezy and fun books

Looking around the house: We need to do a quick pick-up before coop book club this afternoon. And I would really like to do a deep clean of the kitchen, but that’s probably not going to happen today.

From the camera: Q insisted on doing art and music with his pandas.

tags: Life Right Now
categories: Weekly Wrap-up
Sunday 12.03.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Snowed In for Christmas by Jaqueline Snowe

Title: Snowed in for Christmas

Author: Jaqueline Snowe

Publisher: Forever 2023

Genre: Holiday Romance

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - The Gym (cheating a bit as I don’t have long romance books, but the MMC is a football coach, so I’m counting it)

Spice Rating: 5

Sorority mom Becca Fairfield is used to guys not taking her seriously. She’s too blond, too quirky, or Just. Too. Much.So she’s ditched dating to focus on her job and a house filled with drama and plenty of tea. Now with the holidays and a major blizzard on her doorstep, Becca has everything she needs to survive the next two weeks on her own. Hot cocoa, plenty of books . . . and the memory of a steamy kiss with a certain sexy, grumposaurus next-door neighbor to keep her warm.

Only Becca’s seriously underestimated this Snowpocalypse. So when the power goes out and Harrison Cooper—football coach, master crank, and the guy who acted mega-awkward after said steamy kiss—offers her shelter, it only makes sense to accept. They’ll just be Blizzard Buddies. Hang out, stay safe, and maybe indulge in a little R-rated cuddling
. Becca knows that Harrison isn’t the dating kind, and what happens during the storm lasts only as long as the storm. But are they keeping warm . . . or playing with fire?

Very sweet and a little spicy Christmas romance. I usually hate the miscommunication trope, but this one did not bother me as much. It wasn’t so much miscommunication as no communication. But the main characters fairly quickly sort that out. Plus we get forced proximity and one bed! I do enjoy those tropes a lot. Overall this was a breezy and fun Christmas themed romance for my week.

Romanceopoly.jpeg
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Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: Jaqueline Snowe, romance, Christmas, 4 stars, Romanceopoly
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 12.02.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

December 2023 Life Goals

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

  • Read 18 Books ✓

  • Have a Great Thanksgiving ✓

  • Finish Cleaning Out My Clothes

  • Make Christmas Plans

December Goals:

  • Read 18 Books

  • Complete our Christmas Bucket List

  • Travel to Indiana for Christmas

  • Finalize Reading Retreat Plans

  • Prep Blog for 2024

  • Solidify Art and Geometry Plan (Coop)

  • Get the Spring Semester in Order (Homeschool)

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: Monthly Life Goals
categories: Life
Friday 12.01.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Christmas Bucket List

Another Christmas season is upon us! Time for another bucket list. Let’s see what I’m hoping to do this year:

  1. Read 10 Holiday Romances

  2. Coop Christmas Party!

  3. Decorate the Mini Tree

  4. Letter to Santa

  5. Christmas Movies x3

  6. Make Paper Snowflakes

  7. Go See Santa at Cabela’s

  8. Go See Werner Park Lights

  9. Hot Chocolate Bar

  10. Meet the Reindeer

  11. Go for a Winter Hike

  12. Puzzle Day

  13. Make Gingerbread Cookies

  14. Visit Zoolightful at the Zoo

  15. Drive around and see the lights

  16. Fantasy of Lights

  17. Dinner at Coney Island and Visit to Santa Lights

  18. Christmas music dance party

  19. Watch The Grinch

  20. Make Peppermint Bark

  21. Christmas Advent Books

  22. Find a New Christmas Album

  23. Have a Candy Cane Hunt

  24. Go Sledding

  25. Send out Christmas cards

  26. Try a new holiday drink

  27. Make a snowglobe

  28. Make Christmas cocktails

  29. Create my December Daily base pages

  30. Read A Christmas Carol

Next Up on the TBR Pile:

starry river.jpg
lion witch.jpg
morbidly.jpg
undertaking.jpeg
christmas beast.jpg
accomplice.jpg
dead guy.jpg
swordheart.jpg
folklore.jpg
holly jolly.jpg
all rhodes.jpg
powerless.jpg
sphere.jpg
tourist.jpg
once upon.jpg
unroma.jpg
wildest.jpg
tags: Christmas bucket list
categories: Life
Friday 12.01.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Fall Bucket List Finish

My favorite season of the year. Decent showing this year, even if I decided to slow everything down and rest this season.

  1. Visit Vala’s 6x ✓

  2. Celebrate Friendsgiving - Cancelled due to sickeness

  3. Read 50 Books ✓

  4. Complete Spooky Movie Month ✓

  5. Execute a Halloween Party for Coop ✓

  6. Have an Art/Craft Day

  7. Three State Park Visists ✓

  8. Two Zoo Visits

  9. Pick Out and Carve Pumpkins ✓

  10. Go Trick-or-Treating ✓

  11. Jump in a Pile of Leaves

  12. Go Through a Corn Maze ✓

  13. Make 5 Fall Recipes

  14. Make Leaf Art ✓

  15. Go Pick Apples ✓

  16. Go on a 3 Fall Forest Hikes ✓

  17. Make 3 Pumpkin Recipes

  18. Go Bowling

  19. Use our GetOut Pass 2 Times - Only used it one time

  20. Decorate for Fall ✓

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg
lion witch.jpg
morbidly.jpg
undertaking.jpeg
christmas beast.jpg
accomplice.jpg
dead guy.jpg
swordheart.jpg
folklore.jpg
holly jolly.jpg
all rhodes.jpg
powerless.jpg
sphere.jpg
tourist.jpg
once upon.jpg
unroma.jpg
wildest.jpg
tags: Fall Bucket List
categories: Life
Thursday 11.30.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

November 2023 Wrap-up

November TBR Pile (21/27):

  1. Bookworms BC: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

  2. Friend BC: Underground Airlines by Ben Winters ✓

  3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers ✓

  4. Kid Read Aloud: Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia ✓

  5. Kid Read Aloud: The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

  6. Kid Book Club: From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks ✓

  7. Romance: Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark ✓

  8. Romance: A Delicate Deception by Cat Sebastian ✓

  9. Romance: Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

  10. Romance: Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey

  11. Romance: Love of My Lives by Yamille Saied Mendez

  12. Romance: The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary ✓

  13. Romance: The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert ✓

  14. Romance: Shades of Wicked by Jeaniene Frost ✓

  15. Romance: Wicked All Night by Jeaniene Frost ✓

  16. Romance: Wicked Bite by Jeaniene Frost ✓

  17. Romance: Role Playing by Cathy Yardley ✓

  18. Horror: Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons ✓

  19. Horror: The September House by Carissa Orlando ✓

  20. Nonfiction: Unlikeable Female Characters by Anna Bogutskaya ✓

  21. Science Fiction: Starter Villain by John Schalzi ✓

  22. Science Fiction: Ark by Veronica Roth ✓

  23. Science Fiction: Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin ✓

  24. Science Fiction: Summer Frost by Blake Crouch ✓

  25. Science Fiction: Randomize by Andy Weir ✓

  26. Science Fiction: You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles ✓

  27. Science Fiction: The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 5563 pages
Pages Remaining: 281,238 pages

Current Read - Snowed in for Christmas by Jacqueline Snowe; Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (0)

UnRead Shelf Progress

  • Starting Number: 339

  • Books Read: 1

  • Books Acquired: 0

  • Books Unshelved: 1

  • Finishing Number: 337

December TBR Pile: Not burdening myself with a TBR for this month. Just reading what I feel like.

  1. Bookworms BC: None

  2. Friend BC: None

  3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson

  4. Kid Read Aloud: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

  5. Kid Read Aloud: The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

  6. Kid Book Club: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Movies Watched - November became Nic Cage November! We began a retrospective of his entire career. Definitely not going to finish this month, but we can get a start. We ended up with 17 Nicolas Cage movies and one docmentary.

  • In Defense of Nicolas Cage

  • Rumble Fish (side character)

  • Valley Girl

  • Racing with the Moon (side character)

  • Birdy

  • The Cotton Club (side character)

  • Peggy Sue Got Married

  • The Boy in Blue

  • Moonstruck

  • Raising Arizona - Still my favorite Nicolas Cage movie!

  • Time to Kill - This is terrible. Skip it.

  • Firebirds

  • Wild at Heart - Reminds me why I don’t really enjoy Lynch.

  • Zandalee

  • Honeymoon in Vegas

  • Amos & Andrew

  • Deadfall

  • Red Rock West

  • Guarding Tess

  • Solarbabies - Obviously not a Nic Cage movie. This was for family movie night. Very cheesy 80s scifi movie.

  • Five Nights at Freddy’s - Kids’ pick for Thanksgiving movie night.

  • Fantastic Mr. Fox

TV Shows Watched

  • Loki S2

  • Lower Decks S3

  • Ghosts S6

  • Rick & Morty S7

  • Bachelor in Paradise

  • Shoresy S2

  • Doctor Who

Comments -

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
categories: Monthly Wrap-Up
Thursday 11.30.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

Title: Role Playing

Author: Cathy Yardley

Publisher: Montlake 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 333

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Autumn

Spice Rating: 5

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a deal—he’ll be more social if she does the same—she can’t refuse. She joins a new online gaming guild led by a friendly healer named Otter. So that nobody gets the wrong idea, she calls herself Bogwitch.

Otter is Aiden, a fifty-year-old optimist using the guild as an emotional outlet from his family drama caring for his aging mother while his brother plays house with Aiden’s ex-fiancée.

Bogwitch and Otter become fast virtual friends, but there’s a catch. Bogwitch thinks Otter is a college student. Otter assumes Bogwitch is an octogenarian.

When they finally meet face to face—after a rocky, shocking start—the unlikely pair of sunshine and stormy personalities grow tentatively closer. But Maggie’s previous relationships have left her bitter, and Aiden’s got a complicated past of his own.

Everything’s easier online. Can they make it work in real life?

Another contender for Dirty Book Month. While I really enjoyed a story featuring older protagonists, I really really wanted a few more spicy scenes. Those few don’t come until about 70% of the way through the book. If I put that complaint to the side, I really loved following Maggie and Aiden as they navigate life online and in person. We get to see two people who are ostracized from being their shelves by those around them. I rooted for them to to at least be comfortable in themselves by the end of the story. The scenes with Maggie’s ex-hsuband really made me so angry. I was so glad to see Maggie continue to be her honest self. Overall, a really good contemporary romance.

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Spice Meter.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: Cathy Yardley, romance, Romanceopoly, 4 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 11.29.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Title: Starter Villain

Author: John Scalzi

Publisher: Tor Book 2023

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 264

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.

Another utterly delightfully entertaining science fiction romp by John Scalzi. I really enjoy his light and fluffy adventure stories every once in awhile between more serious scifi picks. This one drops you, and Charlie, into an unknown world. We have to slowly navigate our way through the villains, supervillains, and common assholes. My favorite parts involved Hera and the dolphins. Seriously, they stole the entire show when they appeared on the pages. There’s not a ton of substance to this book, but it’s one hell of an entertaining ride.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: John Scalzi, science fiction, 5 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 11.29.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Currently #22

Reading: I’m in between two books at the moment. I picked Whalefall by Daniel Kraus as my lighter thrillers and Bad Bachelor by Stephanie London as a potential dirty book month pick.

Watching: We’re wrapping up our first Nicolas Cage Quarterly. We’ve managed to get to the early 1990s in our first month. I know it’s going to take at least four months to get through all his movies and realistically more like five or six. But we’re doing it.

Listening: What else, I’ve been listening to 99PI and Hello from the Magic Tavern. Slowly, slowly I’m working through the back episodes.

Making: I was going to make coffee cake on Sunday, but just didn’t get around to it. Today is the day!

Feeling: After taking a few days off for Thanksgiving, I’m feel more centered. I took some time and relaxed a bit.

Planning: Just a few weeks until Christmas so I’m deep into travel planning. Trying to decide exactly when I’m going to leave and when I’m going to travel back home. I might just wait until I see the weather report for the week of Christmas before making final plans.

Loving: I had to grab more caramel lava cakes from Aldi’s this week. They are way too delicious!

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: Currently
categories: Life
Tuesday 11.28.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Music Monday - The Word Alive "No Way Out"

Another song I can’t get out of my head.

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg
lion witch.jpg
morbidly.jpg
undertaking.jpeg
christmas beast.jpg
accomplice.jpg
dead guy.jpg
swordheart.jpg
folklore.jpg
holly jolly.jpg
all rhodes.jpg
powerless.jpg
sphere.jpg
tourist.jpg
once upon.jpg
unroma.jpg
wildest.jpg
tags: The Word Alive
categories: Music
Monday 11.27.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Life Right Now #34

As I look outside my window: Very gray and dark after our snow last night.

Right now I am: Probably going to finish my current read and then maybe my puzzle.

Thinking and pondering: How long can I hold off on going to the grocery story this week?

On my bedside table: Lots of Christmas romances only list.

On my tv this week: We’re continuing our Nic Cage Quarterly. We’ve made it up to the early 1990s.

Listening to: More episodes of 99PI and Hello from the Magic Tavern for my weekend listening.

On the menu for this week:

  • Monday - Italian Noodle Soup

  • Tuesday - Ham and Cheese Croissants

  • Wednesday - Me Out

  • Thursday - Buffalo Chicken Sliders

  • Friday - Pizza Night

  • Saturday - Balsamic Pork Roast

  • Sunday - Avocado, Mozzarella, Bruschetta Chicken

On my to do list: Lots of Christmas prep this week.

Happening this week:

  • Monday - Arthur Dentist Appointment

  • Tuesday - Home Day

  • Wednesday - Home Day

  • Thursday - Coop

  • Friday - Home Day

  • Saturday - Home Day

  • Sunday - Coop Book Club

What I am creating: I finished my October Memory Planner pages yesterday. I might just get started on my November pages today.

My simple pleasures: Sleeping without pain (did not happen last night), leftover turkey sandwiches

Looking around the house: Meh. I’m okay with it.

From the camera: Very cold, but enjoyable walk at Heron Haven on Black Friday.

tags: Life Right Now
categories: Weekly Wrap-up
Sunday 11.26.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Randomize by Andy Weir

Title: Randomize (Forward #6)

Author: Andy Weir

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 28

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

In the near future, if Vegas games are ingeniously scam-proof, then the heists have to be too, in this imaginative and whip-smart story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Martian.

An IT whiz at the Babylon Casino is enlisted to upgrade security for the game of keno and its random-number generator. The new quantum computer system is foolproof. But someone on the inside is no fool. For once the odds may not favor the house—unless human ingenuity isn’t entirelya thing of the past.

Decent story that hinges on gambling and quantum computing. Thank goodness I watched a long video explaining quantum computers a few months back. That really helped me understand where Weir was going with this story. The actual plot is pretty predictable, but I enjoyed where we went in just a few pages.

Forward

  • #1 Ark by Veronica Roth

  • #2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch

  • #3 Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin

  • #4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles

  • #5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

  • #6 Randomize by Andy Weir

COYER.jpeg
Star Ratings.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: short stories, science fiction, Andy Weir, 4 stars, COYER
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 11.25.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

Title: The Last Conversation (Forward #5)

Author: Paul Tremblay

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 56

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

What’s more frightening: Not knowing who you are? Or finding out? A Bram Stoker Award–winning author explores the answer in a chilling story about identity and human consciousness.

Imagine you’ve woken up in an unfamiliar room with no memory of who you are, how you got there, or where you were before. All you have is the disconnected voice of an attentive caretaker. Dr. Kuhn is there to help you—physically, emotionally, and psychologically. She’ll help you remember everything. She’ll make sure you reclaim your lost identity. Now answer one question: Are you sure you want to?

Surprisingly, this was my other favorite out of the collection. I have not been a huge fan of Tremblay’s writing, but this story was spot on. We get a bit of horror-tinged science fiction in this short, fairly ambiguous story. I loved how details are slowly revealed through the pages until we get to quite a gasp-inducing ending. So good.

Forward

  • #1 Ark by Veronica Roth

  • #2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch

  • #3 Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin

  • #4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles

  • #5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

  • #6 Randomize by Andy Weir

COYER.jpeg
Star Ratings.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: short stories, science fiction, Paul Tremblay, 5 stars, COYER
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 11.25.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles

Title: You Have Arrived at Your Destination (Forward #4)

Author: Amor Towles

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 54

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

Nature or nurture? Neither. Discover a bold new way to raise a child in this unsettling story of the near future by the New York Times bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow.

When Sam’s wife first tells him about Vitek, a twenty-first-century fertility lab, he sees it as the natural next step in trying to help their future child get a “leg up” in a competitive world. But the more Sam considers the lives that his child could lead, the more he begins to question his own relationships and the choices he has made in his life.

I absolutely adored A Gentleman in Moscow, but this story just didn’t quite intrigue me enough. There is a beginning of a larger story in here along with some interesting background world building. The problem is that it just doesn’t go anywhere for me. Oh well.

Forward

  • #1 Ark by Veronica Roth

  • #2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch

  • #3 Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin

  • #4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles

  • #5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

  • #6 Randomize by Andy Weir

COYER.jpeg
Star Ratings.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: short stories, science fiction, Amor Towles, 3 stars, COYER
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 11.25.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin

Title: Emergency Skin (Forward #3)

Author: NK Jemisin

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 38

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

What will become of our self-destructed planet? The answer shatters all expectations in this subversive speculation from the Hugo Award–winning author of the Broken Earth trilogy.

An explorer returns to gather information from a climate-ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet’s finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind—hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out ages ago. After all this time, there’s no telling how they’ve devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.

My favorite story from this collection! Jemisin is a master at dropping the reader into new worlds but not overwhelming you with confusion. We learn about the world as we need to, adding layer and layer to the story being told. In this case, when the characters name the resource the traveler needs to retrieve, I gasped out loud. Jemisin manages to connect this fantastical story directly to our current world with a commentary on social justice and environmental responsibility. She packs a punch in this very short story.

Forward

  • #1 Ark by Veronica Roth

  • #2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch

  • #3 Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin

  • #4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles

  • #5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

  • #6 Randomize by Andy Weir

COYER.jpeg
Star Ratings.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: short stories, science fiction, N.K. Jemisin, 5 stars, COYER
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 11.24.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Summer Frost by Blake Crouch

Title: Summer Frost (Forward #2)

Author: Black Crouch

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 75

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall TBR; COYER

A video game developer becomes obsessed with a willful character in her new project, in a mind-bending exploration of what it means to be human by the New York Times bestselling author of Recursion.

Maxine was made to do one thing: die. Except the minor non-player character in the world Riley is building makes her own impossible decision—veering wildly off course and exploring the boundaries of the map. When the curious Riley extracts her code for closer examination, an emotional relationship develops between them. Soon Riley has all new plans for her spontaneous AI, including bringing Max into the real world. But what if Max has real-world plans of her own?

While the story is fine, it’s one that I have read many times from previous authors. I guessed the ending about one page into the story. From there, it was just pretty boring for me. If I try to step outside of my own experience, the story is good. The progression is nicely paced and the questions raised are interesting. I just have read it before.

Forward

  • #1 Ark by Veronica Roth

  • #2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch

  • #3 Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin

  • #4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles

  • #5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

  • #6 Randomize by Andy Weir

Fall Reading Challenge.png
COYER.jpeg
Star Ratings.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: short stories, science fiction, Blake Crouch, 3 stars, COYER, Fall TBR List
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 11.24.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Ark by Veronica Roth

Title: Ark (Forward #1)

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 45

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall TBR; COYER

On the eve of Earth’s destruction, a young scientist discovers something too precious to lose, in a story of cataclysm and hope by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Divergent trilogy.

It’s only two weeks before an asteroid turns home to dust. Though most of Earth has already been evacuated, it’s Samantha’s job to catalog plant samples for the survivors’ unknowable journey beyond. Preparing to stay behind and watch the world end, she makes a final human connection.

As certain doom hurtles nearer, the unexpected and beautiful potential for the future begins to flower.

An introspective little story with a science fiction backdrop. This one was less about technology and more about people. While I don’t think it quite fit with most of the other stories in this collection, I enjoyed the quiet story about plants and beauty. This is super quick, but a good story.

Forward

  • #1 Ark by Veronica Roth

  • #2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch

  • #3 Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin

  • #4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles

  • #5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

  • #6 Randomize by Andy Weir

Fall Reading Challenge.png
COYER.jpeg
Star Ratings.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: short stories, science fiction, Veronica Roth, Fall TBR List, COYER
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 11.24.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

  • It’s friends and food day

  • I made a mess of next coop semester’s schedule of teachers. Two many changes happening (comings and goings, plus an added class) have caused lots of needed changes. We’ll work it out, but I spent like 20 minutes Tuesday making a list of proposed changes.

  • Speaking of… I really need to work on the homeschool plan for spring. I’m still really adjusting to Quentin being a first grader along with coop and activities.

  • Blowing way past my reading goal for the year. I’ll be past 250 when December 31st rolls around. So much reading this year!

Next up on the TBR pile:

starry river.jpg lion witch.jpg morbidly.jpg undertaking.jpeg christmas beast.jpg accomplice.jpg dead guy.jpg swordheart.jpg folklore.jpg holly jolly.jpg all rhodes.jpg powerless.jpg sphere.jpg tourist.jpg once upon.jpg unroma.jpg wildest.jpg
tags: Odds and Ends
categories: Life
Thursday 11.23.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 
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