Life and Things
This was a mostly quiet week. I did have a glaucoma doctor appointment, to double-check the pressure in my eye. It was normal for me, so no drops. Yay!
My Fitbit bit the dust. A new one should be arriving tomorrow. I’m so used to wearing one now that I feel funny without it. My new one is the Alta HR, which is slimmer and more elegant looking than the Charge HR that I inherited.
I’m trying not to be too excited, but the property my sister, brother, and I co-own finally has a buyer and should close on the 31st. My first order of business is to get new prostheses crafted. Here are some possibilities. I like to have fun with it, and now I really can!
I like the bottom two!
Books read, reviewed, and posted/scheduled this past week
Traveling the Blue Road curated by Lee Bennett Hopkins, 3*
Stick Sketch School: Safari by Billy Attinger, 4*
Total Life Cleanse by Jonathan Glass, 4*
A Wild and Unremarkable Thing by Jen Castleberry, 4*
The Ballad of Huck and Miguel by Tim DeRoche, 5*
Ebb & Flow by Heather T Smith, 5*
Manga Classics: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain & Crystal Chan, 5*
Favourite Read of the Week
Ebb & Flow by Heather T Smith
‘One summer, after a long plane ride and a rotten bad year I went to Grandma Jo’s. It was my mother’s idea. Jett, what you need is a change of scenery. I think she needed a change of scenery, too. One without me. Because that rotten bad year? That was my fault. Thus begins the poignant story, told in free verse, of eleven-year-old Jett. Last year, Jett and his mother had moved to a new town for a fresh start after his father went to jail. But Jett soon learned that fresh starts aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. When he befriended a boy with a difficult home life, Jett found himself in a cycle of bad decisions that culminated in the betrayal of a friend – a shameful secret he still hasn’t forgiven himself for. Will a summer spent with his unconventional grandmother help Jett find his way to redemption? Writing in artfully crafted free-verse vignettes, Heather T. Smith uses a deceptively simple style to tell a powerful and emotionally charged story. The engaging narrative and the mystery of Jett’s secret keep the pages turning and will appeal to both reluctant and avid readers.
This captivating book offers a terrific opportunity for classroom discussions about the many ways to tell a story and how a small number of carefully chosen words can have a huge impact. It also showcases the positive character traits of empathy resilience, courage, and responsibility.’
Current Read
Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy
‘Beautiful. Perfect. Dead.
In the peaceful seaside town of Cape Bonita, wicked secrets and lies are hidden just beneath the surface. But all it takes is one tragedy for them to be exposed.
The most popular girls in school are turning up dead, and Penelope Malone is terrified she’s next. All the victims so far have been linked to Penelope—and to a boy from her physics class. The one she’s never really noticed before, with the rumored dark past and a brooding stare that cuts right through her.
There’s something he isn’t telling her. But there’s something she’s not telling him, either.
Everyone has secrets, and theirs might get them killed.’
Next Up (maybe)
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton
Escape Claws by Linda Reilly
Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
Book Haul
Dayfall by Michael David Ares
‘FEAR THE DAY
In the near future, patches of the northern hemisphere have been shrouded in years of darkness from a nuclear winter, and the water level has risen in the North Atlantic. The island of Manhattan has lost its outer edges to flooding and is now ringed by a large seawall.
The darkness and isolation have allowed crime and sin to thrive in the never-ending shadows of the once great city, and when the sun finally begins to reappear, everything gets worse. A serial killer cuts a bloody swath across the city during the initial periods of daylight, and a violent panic sweeps through crowds on the streets. The Manhattan police, riddled with corruption and apathy, are at a loss.
That’s when the Mayor recruits Jon Phillips, a small-town Pennsylvania cop who had just single-handedly stopped a high-profile serial killer in his own area, and flies him into the insanity of this new New York City. The young detective is partnered with a shady older cop and begins to investigate the crimes amidst the vagaries of a twenty-four hour nightlife he has never experienced before. Soon realizing that he was chosen for reasons other than what he was told, Jon is left with no one to trust and forced to go on the run in the dark streets, and below them in the maze of the underground. Against all odds he still hopes that he can save his own life, the woman of his dreams, and maybe even the whole city before the arrival of the mysterious and dreaded event that has come to be known as…. DAYFALL.’
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
‘Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir.
They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for an enemy.’
