Currently #5

Reading: I grabbed the new Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett and I am so in love with it! There’s an element of cozy fantasy in this series that I’m really drawn to.

Watching: J and I started the new Shogun series. It is very well researched and extremely cinematic. We are hooked.

Listening: I’ve pushed off audiobooks in favor of podcasts lately. But I haven’t actually listened to many episodes lately. I’m just enjoying the quiet lately.

Making: I’m moving into the next phase of retreat planning. I’m taking a long look at the budget and category breakdowns. Plus I’ve sent the next email so I can start working on the grocery list.

Feeling: After my birthday day out, I’m feeling a lot better. I needed just a bit of time away to recenter myself.

Planning: I’m looking to summer and redoing our bucket list. Last year didn’t go as planned. Hopefully this year we can do some travel (locally) and visit some interesting places.

Loving: Spring is not my favorite season, but I am really enjoying spotting signs of the season while out and about. Little green shoots are catching my eye.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

Title: Crimson Bound

Author: Rosamund Hodge

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 2015

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 441

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fairy Tales; In Case You Missed It - 2015

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless—straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in a vain effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her hunt for the legendary sword that might save their world. Together, they navigate the opulent world of the courtly elite, where beauty and power reign and no one can be trusted. And as the two become unexpected allies, they discover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic . . . and a love that may be their undoing. Within a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Oof this one really did not work for me at all. I picked it up as a Red Riding Hood retelling and was hoping for a good fantasy novel. The world building was interesting if confusing. At times I got very into the weeds trying to figure out if the references were straight out of French lore or if the author made it up. Parts of the story got really convoluted. But my biggest complaint are directly about the romance. Why do we have to have another silly love triangle? I really dislike the female protagonist following her destiny only to find two men standing in her way. The biggest issue was that Armand was a complete nothing burger of a character. I could not imagine why Rachelle would ever fall for him. Really the same goes for Erec. This book may have been saved if the stupid love triangle was dropped.

star-rating-remains-the-most-important-part-of-a-review-cad0047.cad0047.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

Worst Best Man by Lucy Score

Title: The Worst Best Man

Author: Lucy Score

Publisher: Bloom Books 2018

Genre: Romance

Pages: 432

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; She Reads Romance - Contemporary Romance

Spice Rating: 5

The bride is a doll. The groom is the perfect gentleman. But the rest of the wedding party? They're the stuff of nightmares. Rich? Check. Vapid? Double Check. Entitled? Not enough checks in the world. And the Best Man? More like the Worst Man.

But Maid of Honor Franchesca takes her duties seriously. Kidnapped groom? She's got this. Rude attendees? You just watch her handle them. So a Best Man with a big attitude and an even bigger...checkbook? Yeah, there's no way she's going to let that pretentious, judgmental jackhole ruin her best friend's wedding. No matter how sexy he is. (Well, that's the plan anyway...)

Aiden Kilbourn doesn't do long-term relationships. He's busy ruling the business world, and has yet to find a woman he can tolerate for longer than a month, two at the outside, anyway. Conquering the unconquerable is basically his bread and butter. And he hasn't met a challenge that he can't win. But Franchesca Baranski? This smart-mouthed girl from Brooklyn may just be his downfall.

Another contemporary romance for me. I think I might need to lay off these for awhile. But before I do, I did end up enjoying this enemies to lovers story. The banter in the first half of the book was amazing. I loved Aiden and Francesca’s adventures in attempting to get the groom back. The book went downhill a bit after they started dating. It just wasn’t quite the same spark. My favorite parts were when Aiden interacted with Francesca’s family especially her brothers. It was fun and silly. The steamy scenes were pretty steamy, but not quite my favorite. There was a little too much aggression in those scenes for me to love them. But overall, it was a decent romance.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Two more weeks indoor for coop. I think we are all over being inside. Here’s hoping that the weather cooperates.
Still celebrating my birthday week with random free offers and discounts.
Diving into planning homeschool curriculum for next year.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

Title: Beautyland

Author: Marie-Helene Bertino

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2024

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Pages: 336

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space carrying its famous golden record, a baby of unusual perception is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. Adina Giorno is tiny and jaundiced, but she reaches for warmth and light. As a child, she recognizes that she is different: She possesses knowledge of a faraway planet. The arrival of a fax machine enables her to contact her extraterrestrial relatives, beings who have sent her to report on the oddities of Earthlings.

For years, as she moves through the world and makes a life for herself among humans, she dispatches transmissions on the terrors and surprising joys of their existence. Then, at a precarious moment, a beloved friend urges Adina to share her messages with the world. Is there a chance she is not alone?

Such a bait and switch book! I was very intrigued by the science fiction aspect in the summary. I wanted to read an interesting story about an alien being who “lives” as a human and attempts to teach the other aliens about us. I was hoping for The Mountain in the Sea vibes with discussions about humanity and nature of life. Instead we get a very standard coming of age story. Even worse, we are meant to think that Adina is an alien when she’s heavily coded at autistic. Portraying an autistic person as an alien really left an icky taste in my mouth. Beyond that, the story just goes nowhere. I was at times enraged but mostly bored.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Love Everlasting Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

Title: Love Everlasting Vol. 1

Author: Tom King, Elsa Charretier

Publisher: Image Comics 2023

Genre: Comics

Pages: 136

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

From multiple Eisner Award winning writer Tom King and up-and-coming artist Elsa Charretier comes the first volume of a thrilling, genre-bending romance/horror mashup. Joan Peterson discovers that she is trapped in an endless, terrifying cycle of “romance”—a problem to be solved, a man to marry—and every time she falls in love she’s torn from her world and thrust into another tear-soaked tale. Her bloody, time-looping journey to freedom and revelation begins in this breathtaking, groundbreaking debut volume. Collects Love Everlasting #1-5.

Absolutely trippy. It took me multiple pages to get a handle on what exactly was happening in this story. The reader is thrust into confusion just like Joan as she begins to live multiple realities. This volume is weird and trippy and exactly what I want in my horror comics.

Title: Love Everlasting Vol. 2

Author: Tom King, Elsa Charretier

Publisher: Image Comics

Genre: Comics

Pages: 136

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges

The mind-bending story of Joan Peterson's journey through love and horror continues in the second epic and heartbreaking arc of this critically acclaimed, Harvey-nominated series. After traveling from romance to romance, Joan finds herself trapped inside just one story, growing older with the love of her life instead of escaping again and again. And as she becomes a wife, a mother, a grandmother, she is on a bloody quest to discover if everyone in this new world is insane, or if she alone is broken.

Collects Love Everlasting #6 - #10

And we get to the conclusion of this story. It ended up not being my favorite, but I did enjoy the story. There was a bit too much meandering in the storyline.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W23: Ready for a Break!

What We Studied

Our week went well and we accomplished a lot of school work. But, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we needed a bit of a break. Makes sense in the we haven’t had a real break since Christmas. We made sure to knock out some lessons so next week can be a bit of a break.

Literature and Poetry

This week Arthur read one of my favorite childhood books, The Witches by Roald Dahl. I don’t think he enjoyed it as much as me, but thanks okay. We did get to watch the movie version for family movie night as an extra treat. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills. We continued the first Reading Explorer book which focuses on reading comprehension. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

My America poem collection
Reading Explorer 1
The Witches by Roald Dahl

Quentin finished another in his favorite series. We covered a few different lessons from the Blossom and Root curriculum. He also worked on some basic grammar with some fun books.

Sing a Song of Seasons
Zoey and Sassafras: Grumplets and Pests by Asia Citro
If You were an Interjection by Nancy Loewen
If You were a Conjunction by Nancy Loewen
If You were an Antonym by Nancy Loewen
If You were a Preposition by Nancy Loewen
If You were Homonym or a Homphone by Nancy Loewen
The Little Mermaid by Jerry Pinkney
The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
The Other Side of the Story
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen
Grandmother Winter by Phyllis Root
The Story Blanket by Ferida Wolf
Good Night Wind by Linda Elovitz Marshal
Rumpelstitlskin by Paul Galdone
The Elves and the Shoemaker
Rumpelstiltskin
The Elves and the Shoemaker by Paul Galdone
The Elves and the Shoemaker by Jim Lamarche
Frankly I'd Rather Spin Myself a New Name by Jessica Gunderson
Rumplestitlskin by John Cech
Rumplestiltskin's Daughter by Diane Stanley
Rattlestiltskin by Eric A. Kimmel
The Girl Who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton
Beaver Steals Fire by Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
The Water Dragon by Li JIan

Math

Arthur finished a unit on Decimals. Most of it was review, but it was a good review for him. We’re flying through the lessons. We also dove into the Grade 4 Financial Literacy book and covered another units.

Singapore Common Core 5B
Orbiting with Logic
Evan Moor Financial Literacy G4

Quentin continued Singapore 2A with a unit on measurements. We also continued our logic book; almost finished with this one!

Lollipop Logic Book 3
Singapore Common Core 2A

Social Studies

Arthur covered more about the Great Depression with a focus on the American Dust Bowl. I found some great resources and we even started watching Ken Burns’ The Dust Bowl documentary.

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
DK Timelines of Everything
DK History
The Great American Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Helped Remedy a National Disaster by Martin W. Sandler
A Day that Changed America: The Black Sunday Dust Blizzard by Bruce Berglund
Voices of the Dust Bowl by Sherry Garland
This is the Rope: A Story from The Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson

Quentin began the chapters of Ancient Rome with the founding and the Republic. We found a good balance of videos, textbooks, and small readings.

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
Find the Journeys Around the World by David Long
Ancient Worlds
A Journey Through Art by Aaron Rosen
Ancient Rome by Peter Chrisp
The Ancient Romans Cohn
DK Eyewitness: Ancient Rome
Stephen Biesty's Ancient World
The Genius of the Romans

Science

We’re back at Chemistry class. This week they talked about the relationship between Hydrogen and Oxygen. We made sure to read another chapter in our Story of Science book.

RSO Chemistry
DK Super Simple Chemistry
Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim
DK The Elements

Quentin got back into the RSO Life curriculum moving into the unit on Human Anatomy. We covered the digestive system this week.

RSO Life
DK Oversimple Biology
DK Human Body
Know and Glow Human Body
DK Eyewitness: Human Body
iDiscover The Body by Carolyn Scrace
The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers: A Tour of Your Useless Parts, Flaws and Other Weird Bits by Rachel Poliquin
Click: The Inner You
Click: Tastes Good
Shape of a Stomach by Kirsty Holmes
Blueprint for a Bladder by Kirsty Holmes

STEAM Coop

Arthur started his unit on spring growth. This week they talked abut soil composition and basic planting techniques. Quentin learned about deserts and had fun making a sand painting.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We covered a bit of art and music and managed to start watching a documentary. We covered frescos and etching/printmaking/woodcuts for art and Verdi and Gershwin for music.

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
DK Art and How It Works
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
13 Art Movements Children Should Know
13 Artists Children Should Know
13 Modern Artists Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge

Field Trip

We didn’t have any field trips these week. But we did accomplish two nature hikes and two park playdates with friends. The weather was beautiful this past week and we took advantage of it!

High

We finally bought a membership and made it down to the Luminarium, the new local hands-on science museum. We spent a few hour after coop exploring with some friends. Even being there for a few hours, we didn’t actually get to see everything! We will definitely be back soon.

Low

Nothing. We had a great two weeks!

Next Week

Continuing our current read alouds
Hopefully starting and finishing the coop book club selection
Moving through the 1930s for history, focusing on the Dust Bowl
Continuing our math units
Exploring some new concepts about the periodic table
Diving into Ancient Rome for science
Hopefully heading outside for a nature walk

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Saint Asonia feat. John Cooper "Wolf"

A collaboration that I didn’t think I needed, but apparently I did. I love Adam’s voice and it is really well matched to John’s voice.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #7

As I look outside my window: It’s super clear outside and supposed to be almost 70 degrees, but windy. We’re having book club outdoors instead of stuck in a house.

Right now I am: Trying to decide what to make for brunch. Maybe lemon poppy seed scones, bacon, and eggs.

Thinking and pondering: What changes do we need to make for coop? We are shifting some things around and changing the ways that families can interact with the coop. I keep second guessing myself on a few things…

On my bedside table: The Worst Best Man by Lucy Score; Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

On my tv this week: We mostly stuck to random television shows this week. I finally finished S2 of Our Flag Means Death and switched back to Wonderland.

Listening to: I’m still taking a break from audiobooks so I listened to some episodes of Hello from the Magic Tavern.

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Out for book club
Tuesday - Italian Beef Sandwiches
Wednesday - Crab and Asparagus Soup
Thursday - BBQ Chicken, Apple, and Bacon Quesadillas
Friday - Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quinoa Bowls
Saturday - Chicken Tikka Masala
Sunday - Birthday Dinner (not my actual birthday, but when we’re celebrating)

On my to do list: I made eye appointments, so I guess I should move on to doctor appointments for the kids and me.

Happening this week:

Monday - Chemistry Class; Book Club
Tuesday - Bregant House Tour
Wednesday - Eye Appointments; Book Discussion
Thursday - Coop
Friday - OPPD Arboretum Hike
Saturday - Home Day
Sunday - Birthday Day Out

What I am creating: Nothing much. I finished January’s Memory Planner pages, but have yet to start on February’s pages.

My simple pleasures: Target runs by myself, coffee

Looking around the house: The kitchen is about due for a massive cleanout both in terms of equipment and food. I think the rest of this month is going to be eat the food in the house (or buy the one ingredient that can turn the food in the house into a meal).

From the camera: Yesterday we had a lovely baby shower for a friend making her a ton of freezer meals. A lovely afternoon.

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

Title: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. (D.O.D.O. #1)

Author: Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

Publisher: William Morrow 2017

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 752

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; 52 Book Club - Chapters have date headings

When Melisande Stokes, an expert in linguistics and languages, accidently meets military intelligence operator Tristan Lyons in a hallway at Harvard University, it is the beginning of a chain of events that will alter their lives and human history itself. The young man from a shadowy government entity approaches Mel, a low-level faculty member, with an incredible offer. The only condition: she must sign a nondisclosure agreement in return for the rather large sum of money.

Tristan needs Mel to translate some very old documents, which, if authentic, are earth-shattering. They prove that magic actually existed and was practiced for centuries. But the arrival of the scientific revolution and the Age of Enlightenment weakened its power and endangered its practitioners. Magic stopped working altogether in 1851, at the time of the Great Exhibition at London’s Crystal Palace—the world’s fair celebrating the rise of industrial technology and commerce. Something about the modern world "jams" the "frequencies" used by magic, and it’s up to Tristan to find out why.

And so the Department of Diachronic Operations—D.O.D.O. —gets cracking on its real mission: to develop a device that can bring magic back, and send Diachronic Operatives back in time to keep it alive . . . and meddle with a little history at the same time. But while Tristan and his expanding operation master the science and build the technology, they overlook the mercurial—and treacherous—nature of the human heart.

I was so incredibly excited about this book that I picked up last year. First off, the dodo bird completely sucked me in. And then the summary really intrigued me. I love a good time travel novel and was hoping this one was it. Unfortunately, this book was way too long full of dry passages that seem to go on forever. Clearly those passages were written by Stephenson. He definitely has a way of stretching out the technical conversations and padding them with initialisms and acronyms. I found my mind wandering throughout many sections of this book. The only thing that kept me going was the overall mystery of how Mel got stuck back in 1851. Seriously, Mel and Tristan saves his novel for me. And now I’m debating about whether I actually want to read the sequel and get the conclusion of the story.

D.O.D.O.

#1 The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
#2 Master of the Revels

Next up on the TBR pile:

March 2024 Life Goals

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

Read 18 Books ✓
Relax During My Reading Weekend ✓
Finalize Guest List for the Bookish Retreat - Still working on this one
Start the Homeschool Supplies Cleanout

March Goals:

Read 18 Books
Finalize Guest List for the Bookish Retreat - Still working on this one
Start the Homeschool Supplies Cleanout
Get New Glasses - Me and Arthur
Finalize Spring Travel Plans

Next up on the TBR pile:

February 2024 Wrap-up

February TBR Pile (26/28):

Bookworms BC: That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert (reread)
Friend BC: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia
Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Guards! Guards! by Terry Prachett ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Tales from the Odyssey Part One by Mary Pope Osborne ✓
Kid Read Aloud: Tales from the Odyssey Part Two by Mary Pope Osborne ✓
Kid Read Aloud: The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith ✓
Fantasy: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman ✓
Fantasy: Malamander by Thomas Taylor ✓
Fantasy: Haunted Holiday by Kiersten White ✓
Fantasy: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft ✓
Fantasy: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire ✓
Science Fiction: Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells ✓
Science Fiction: System Collapse by Martha Wells ✓
Romance: Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert ✓
Romance: Untouchable by Talia Hibbert ✓
Romance: A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone ✓
Romance; Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband by Melissa Mayhue ✓
Romance: Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert ✓
Thriller/Mystery: The Last One by Will Dean ✓
Thriller/Mystery: The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas ✓
Thriller/Mystery: Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty ✓
Comics: Confetti Realms ✓
Horror: Dead Voices by Katherine Arden ✓
Horror: Mimi’s Tales of Terror by Junji Ito ✓
Nonfiction: Sellout by Dan Ozzi ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 7812 pages
Pages Remaining: 257,870 pages

Current Read - The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (6):

During a trip to Half Price Books, I grabbed a few clearance books off the shelves.

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

From BOTM, I grabbed The Mayer of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham.

And I put in a Thriftbooks order for some homeschool stuff, but also two books for me.

To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt
To Desire a Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

UnRead Shelf Progress

Starting Number: 330
Books Read: 4
Books Acquired: 6
Books Unshelved: 7
Finishing Number: 325

March TBR Pile:

Bookworms BC: NONE
Friend BC: The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia
Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Kid Read Aloud: The Witches by Roald Dahl
Kid Book Club: The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Raúf
Fantasy: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
Science Fiction: The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland
Science Fiction: Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
Historical Fiction: Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig
Romance: Ruthless by Anne Stuart
Horror: The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
Horror: What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell
Nonfiction: The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart
Comics: Love Everlasting Vol. 1
Comics: Love Everlasting Vol. 2

Movies Watched - It’s another Nic Cage Quarterly for the month! We ended up watching 13 Nicolas Cage movies.

It Could Happen to You
Trapped in Paradise
Kiss of Death
Leaving Las Vegas
The Rock
Con Air
Face/Off
City of Angels
Snake Eyes
8MM
Bringing Out the Dead
The Family Man
Gone in 60 Seconds

And one non-Nic Cage Movie

Anyone But You

TV Shows Watched

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist S1
The Bachelorette S28
The Buccaneers
Below Deck

Comments - Another huge reading month for me! I managed almost a book a day throughout the month. This was helped by my early month reading weekend and some late nights. We also did a decent job at watching Nic Cage movies for our big year project.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty

Title: Chaos Terminal (The Midsolar Murders #2)

Author: Mur Lafferty

Publisher: Ace 2023

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 369

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Locked Room Mystery; Library Love

Mallory Viridian would rather not be an amateur detective, thank you very much. But no matter what she does, people persist in dying around her—and only she seems to be able to solve the crime. After fleeing to an alien space station in hopes that the lack of humans would stop the murders, a serial killer had the nerve to follow her to Station Eternity. (Mallory deduced who the true culprit was that time, too.)

Now the law enforcement agent who hounded Mallory on Earth has come to Station Eternity, along with her teenage crush and his sister, Mallory’s best friend from high school. Mallory doesn’t believe in coincidences, and so she’s not at all surprised when someone in the latest shuttle from Earth is murdered. It’s the story of her life, after all.

Only this time she has more than a killer to deal with. Between her fugitive friends, a new threat arising from the Sundry hivemind, and the alarmingly peculiar behavior of the sentient space station they all call home, even Mallory’s deductive abilities are strained. If she can’t find out what’s going on (and fast), a disaster of intergalactic proportions may occur.…

.Finally grabbed the second book in the Midsolar Murders series and enjoyed it. I must say that for a portion of this book, I was very annoyed by the lack of information. Mallory’s inability to understand what was happening around her was frustrating. But once the mystery really started unraveling, I understand and my annoyance faded. In this one, we get some familiar characters and the reintroduction of a few storylines teased in the first book. Thankfully the book focuses on the murder mystery and leaves the romance mostly out of the story. I was afraid that the book was going to shove Mallory and Xan together romantically. It does not. Instead, another character enters the scene. I loved the interactions between the residents on the space station. Those chapters were my favorite. Overall, I fun murder mystery on a space station.

The Midsolar Murders

#1 Station Eternity
#2 Chaos Terminal

Next up on the TBR pile:

Mimi's Tales of Terror by Junji Ito

Title: Mimi’s Tales of Terror

Author: Junji Ito

Publisher: VIZ Media 2023

Genre: Horror Manga

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

University student Mimi and her boyfriend Naoto encounter one chilling mystery after another. There’s the enigmatic neighbor woman dressed in black from head to toe—but if she’s so odd, why does it seems like there are many others like her? Then, whose eyes track Mimi’s movements from the cemetery next door? And why does a bizarre red circle drawn on a basement wall change with each passing day?

Nine scary stories that really happened, drawn from the famed collecton of urban legends Shin Mimibukuro (New Earmuffs), and adapted into manga by horror genius Junji Ito!

I randomly found this horror comic collection on a list from my local library. I dove int and it was exactly what I wanted. We get some truly horrifying stories that mostly have no ends or explanations. I really loved the shorts; they were just long enough to hold my attention with a big punchline! Loved them. The black and while drawings added to the horror. Do not pick this one up if you at all squeamish.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #4

Reading: I finally got the second Midsolar Murders book, Chaos Terminal, by Mur Lafferty. I’m really digging these murders in space books.

Watching: We’re deep into another Nic Cage Quarterly. We’ve finally made it past 2000!

Listening: I took a break from audiobooks and jumped back into some of my podcasts.

Making: Book club is tonight and I’m making spinach artichoke dip. I love it so much, but definitely cannot eat an entire crockpot’s worth. Thankfully friends will be over to share in the wealth.

Feeling: I’m not sure why, but I’m feeling a bit at sea this week. I decided that we might need a bit of a break next week from school. We’ll think of it as our spring break.

Planning: Working on spring and summer plans and schedules. We’re changing things up for the coop during this summer and I’m rethinking our schedules and timelines. We’ll see how it goes.

Loving: Per the aforementioned plans and schedules, I’m really excited about a few changes with respect to the coop. The changes calmed and then excited me. This bodes well for the next six months.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W22: Two Great Weeks of School and Activities

What We Studied

This post actually covers a Flex Week and a regular week. Right now, we are actually ahead of schedule for some of our curriculum and it’s really giving me life. I don’t want to push too hard, but I love having some wriggle room for more activities, games, and documentaries.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur finished a complete read aloud during Flex Week, covered another during the regular week, and even started a third. We are on a roll. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills. We continued the first Reading Explorer book which focuses on reading comprehension. He also continued his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root.

The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
My America poem collection
Reading Explorer 1
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Ramayana: Divine Loophole by Sanjay Patel

Quentin finished a collection of stories from the Odyssey, completed a short read aloud, and started another in his favorite series. We are pushing our Blossom and Root lessons out another week. He also worked on some basic grammar.

Sing a Song of Seasons
Tales from the Odyssey Part Two by Mary Pope Osborne
Ramayana: Divine Loophole by Sanjay Patel
Zoey and Sassafras: Grumplets and Pests by Asia Citro
365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental

Math

Arthur continued with a unit on Decimals. Most of it was review, but it was a good review for him. We’re flying through the lessons. We also dove into the Grade 4 Financial Literacy book and covered a few units.

Singapore Common Core 5B
Orbiting with Logic
Evan Moor Financial Literacy G4

Quentin continued Singapore 2A with a big review of numbers to 1000. We also continued our logic book.

Lollipop Logic Book 3
Singapore Common Core 2A
Addition on the Menu by Kirsty Holmes
Place Value Prize by Kirsty Holmes
Groups in the Garden by Kirsty Holmes

Social Studies

Arthur covered the 1920s from Boom to Bust and into the Great Depression. We covered all the high points. We even found a way to include a few documentaries.

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
DK Timelines of Everything
DK History
Cobblestone: Hollywood and the Rise of Motion Pictures
The Roaring Twenties by Marcia Amidon Lusted
Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman
Dorothea's Eyes by Barb Rosenstock
Thanks to Frances Perkins: Fighter for Workers' Rights by Deborah Hopkinson
The Only Woman in the Photo: Frances Perkins and Her New Deal for America by Kathleen Krull

Quentin finished the chapters on Ancient Greece and then moved onto the chapters on Ancient India. We found a good balance of videos, textbooks, and small readings.

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
Find the Journeys Around the World by David Long
Blast Back! Ancient Greece by Nancy Ohlin Pg. 1-31
Ancient Worlds
Ancient Greece by Sandra Newman
DK Eyewitness Ancient Greece
Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece by Danielle Smith-Llera
A Child's Introduction to Greek Mythology Heather Alexander
Ancient Greek Art by Susie Hodge
A Journey Through Art by Aaron Rosen

Science

We were back at Chemistry class two weeks. I taught them all about liquids and density and we even attempted to make oobleck. This past week was a chemistry flex week, so we had a little break. But we made sure to read another couple of chapters in our Story of Science book.

RSO Chemistry
DK Super Simple Chemistry
Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim
DK The Elements

Quentin got back into the RSO Life curriculum moving into the unit on Human Anatomy. We covered the circulatory and respiratory systems.

RSO Life
DK Oversimple Biology
DK Human Body
Know and Glow Human Body
DK Eyewitness: Human Body
iDiscover The Body by Carolyn Scrace
The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers: A Tour of Your Useless Parts, Flaws and Other Weird Bits by Rachel Poliquin
Click: The Inner You
Parts of a Heart by Kirsty Holmes
Lay Out the Lungs by Kirsty Holmes

STEAM Coop

Arthur covered geometry and art with two lessons featuring perspective and line drawing He got to play with compasses and rulers. Quentin’s class was all about magnets. He really got into the lessons these two weeks which just makes my heart happy.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We covered a bit of art and music and managed to watch a few documentaries. Arthur got on an aviation history kick watching one about the Wright Brothers, one about the Red Baron, and one about the Great Air Race of 1924. He also chose a Modern Marvels episode about the building the Panama Canal. Quentin watched a documentary about Archimedes of Ancient Greece..

DK Music and How it Works
DK The Arts
DK Art and How It Works
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
13 Art Movements Children Should Know
13 Artists Children Should Know
13 Modern Artists Children Should Know
The Story of Paintings by Mick Manning & Brita Granström
Why is Art Full of Naked People? by Susie Hodge

Field Trip

We didn’t have any field trips these week. But we did accomplish two nature hikes and two park playdates with friends. The weather was beautiful this past week and we took advantage of it!

High

Low

Nothing. We had a great two weeks!

Next Week

Continuing our current read alouds
Hopefully starting and finishing the coop book club selection
Moving through the 1930s for history, focusing on the Dust Bowl
Continuing our math units
Exploring some new concepts about the periodic table
Diving into Ancient Rome for science
Hopefully heading outside for a nature walk

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Alkaline Trio "Versions of You"

Another band back together and making new music. Love it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #6

As I look outside my window: Bright and clear with just a bit of cool temps.

Right now I am: Going to pick up my current read and enjoy a few pages.

Thinking and pondering: How can I make the retreat meals smoother? Randomly this is what popped into my head this morning.

On my bedside table: The Rise and Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland; The Worst Best Man by Lucy Score

On my tv this week: We dove back into Nic Cage Quarterly and covered a few more of his movies. We’ve made it out of the 1990s.

Listening to: After my big audiobook binge, I managed to pivot back to my podcasts. I got through another couple of episodes of Hello from the Magic Tavern.

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Out (book club)
Tuesday - Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Wednesday - Peanut Butter Chicken and Broccoli Rice Bowls
Thursday - Apple Cheddar Grilled Cheese
Friday - Pizza Night
Saturday - Coffee Rubbed Pork Loin
Sunday - Buffalo Chicken Nachos

On my to do list: I need to finish my questions for Tuesday’s book club meeting that I’m hosting. I also need to post a few reminders in the coop group. And I should try and update my retreat documentation.

Happening this week:

Monday - Chemistry Class; Book Club
Tuesday - Errands; Book Club
Wednesday - Home Day
Thursday - Coop
Friday - Nature Hike
Saturday - Friend's Baby Shower
Sunday - Coop Book Club

What I am creating: I want to get my January Memory Planner pages finished soon…

My simple pleasures: Cinnamon spice tea, cooler (but not cold) temperatures, nature walks with friends.

Looking around the house: I need to tidy and vacuum the living room, but the kitchen is looking good right now.

From the camera: We had to stop at the neighborhood photo spot before they change it.

Sellout by Dan Ozzi

Title: Sellout: The Major Label Feeding Frenzy that Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore 1994-2007

Author: Sarah Hollowell

Publisher: Dey Street Books 2021

Genre: Nonfiction - Music

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Reader

Punk rock found itself at a crossroads in the mid-90’s. After indie favorite Nirvana catapulted into the mainstream with its unexpected phenomenon, Nevermind, rebellion was suddenly en vogue. Looking to replicate the band’s success, major record labels set their sights on the underground, and began courting punk’s rising stars. But the DIY punk scene, which had long prided itself on its trademark authenticity and anti-establishment ethos, wasn’t quite ready to let their homegrown acts go without a fight. The result was a schism: those who accepted the cash flow of the majors, and those who defiantly clung to their indie cred.

In Sellout, seasoned music writer Dan Ozzi chronicles this embattled era in punk. Focusing on eleven prominent bands who made the jump from indie to major, Sellout charts the twists and turns of the last “gold rush” of the music industry, where some groups “sold out” and rose to surprise super stardom, while others buckled under mounting pressures. Sellout is both a gripping history of the music industry’s evolution, and a punk rock lover’s guide to the chaotic darlings of the post-grunge era, featuring original interviews and personal stories from members of modern punk’s most (in)famous bands.

I ran across this book as a recommendation on interesting nonfiction from the last few years. I was intrigued by the topic as I’m a huge fan of punk and emo. This book breaks down the history of eleven bands. Some of the chapters are more engaging than the others. Hands down my favorite chapter was the first one about Green Day. Their story was absolutely fascinating! At times, Ozzi gets a little too in the weeds with the profusion of name drops and technical aspects of the music industry. But overall I enjoyed this journey through music history. As a bonus, it inspired me to download a few key albums from my past.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert

Title: Midnight Ruin (Dark Olympus #6)

Author: Katee Robert

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; She Reads Romance - Spicy

Spice Rating: 8

Eurydice Dimitriou has always been the innocent sister, but she's finally ready to step out of the long shadow cast by her powerful family…and the ex who shattered her heart. Perhaps rough hands on soft skin are exactly what she needs to forget her heartbreak once and for all?

Charon Ariti has been Hades's right-hand man for years. He's given everything to the lower city, but now he's ready to take something for himself. He's only too happy to give Eurydice a special kind of education…but is her heart really free enough to be claimed?

Orpheus Makos will do whatever it takes to make things right. Once the golden boy of the upper city, he's now a shadow of his former self. He'll do anything to get Eurydice back…even if it means she's not coming into his arms alone. Three hearts. Three futures. Countless ways to get it wrong.

But with enemies slipping through Olympus's faltering barrier to lay siege on the lower city, a trio of broken hearts will be the least of these would-be lovers' worries…

Oh this one was intense! We get a very dramatic and yet beautiful romance story wrapped around the larger political and fantastical storyline affecting Olympus. We move our action to the Lower City and find Eurydice attempting to find her new balance after the events in the first book in the series. I was very much into following her journey. At times, she is much too immature for my personal tastes. Enter Charon, the stabilizing force in her life. I have been wanting his story since the very first book. I was so very excited to see how he connected with Eurydice. As a bonus, we get to see how Orpehus fits into Eurydice and Charon’s relationship. And it was very spicy! I was so very into their relationship evolution. Even more, I’m very into the larger storyline featuring all the characters in the Dark Olympus series.

Dark Olympus

#0.5 Stone Heart
#1 Neon Gods
#1.5 Hades and Hades
#2 Electric Idol
#2.5 Zeus and Hera
#3 Wicked Beauty
#4 Radiant Sun
#5 Cruel Seduction
#6 Midnight Ruin
#7 Dark Restraint

Next up on the TBR pile: