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Hi all!

Realized last week I marked week 24 as week 25, whoops!

Hope everyone's doing well. being vaccinated means actually seeing friends, so i have to say overall my mental state is improving, even though things are obviously still precarious, because at least I have social contact! I'm an introvert, but I still need SOME contact. I do admit my tolerance has gone way down though. A couple hours is plenty!

This week I finished:

Haha - not a huge fan, at least it's just one volume

Once & Future, Vol. 3: The Parliament of Magpies - not a huge fan of Arthurian mythos, but it's interesting enough I keep going. Interesting takes on it, although I'm sure I'm missing subtext only having a vague idea of the characters.

Faithless II - i continue to be on the fence with this series. very weird, but intriguing enough i keep going.

Single White Vampire - re-read

Stealing from Wizards Volume 1: Pickpocketing - After Jen's post on this, i saw it was pretty cheap on Kindle so went ahead and picked it up. I really loved it! Thought it had charming world building, was a lot of fun. Used it for book nerds book related to air, since the main character was able to run fast by calling wind to catch him.

Currently reading:

1Q84- managed another 100 pages or so of this. Such a trial, trying to just push through haha. I don't want to find another longest book for popsugar

The Library of the Dead - came up on a library hold so trying to knock it out quickly. Like it so far, not super far yet.

I need to get logged on for my evening workout class soon, I am having trouble coming up with a question. I'll try to circle back later with one! If not, if anyone else has a question they want to ask, feel free!

Had a nice few days off with the in-laws visiting, so starting to ease back into social interaction. We went inside multiple stores!

The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars: I've read one book by this author that dealt with thinly-veiled Golden Age science fiction authors, and it was entertaining enough that I got this one about Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts. I would characterize it as "zany" - the plot doesn't hold up that well, but I enjoyed the Holmesian references and the humor. In addition to the gentle skewering of the Irregulars, the Hollywood studio system comes in for some ribbing as well.

Smiling Bears: A Zookeeper Explores the Behavior and Emotional Life of Bears: Sheri mentioned this one a few weeks ago, and I am always down for some animal behavior. It was fun, but I was hoping for a bit more exploration of some of the specific behaviors (she didn't really even describe the bear smiles) amidst the series of anecdotes. (What I really want is for someone to give bears all the silly cognitive tests we give chimpanzees and four-year-olds - like can they correctly choose the heavier of two balls to dislodge a treat from a ramp, that sort of thing. Someone please get on this, I will buy your book.)

It's going to be 100+ this weekend in Seattle (where it normally never gets that hot) so I plan to hunker down in front of the fan with a book this weekend and probably not move. Except maybe to go to a movie theater or a place with AC.

They also announced our company's back to work plan, so starting mid-July, I'll probably be going back to the office a couple of days a week! Kind of looking forward to it, kind of not, tbh.

Last week I finished Black Sun. I loved it. The characters and worldbuilding were excellent. Looking forward to book #2, for sure. I used this for my Popsugar book with an oxymoron in the title.

I'm currently reading two books, which is rare for me. I'm reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant as my Popsugar book that's been on my TBR list the longest, since I'm using my library hold list as my TBR list for the purposes of the challenge. I'm enjoying it so far, but then I really like political intrigue, and I love that it's from an accountant's POV. Very different from most fantasy I've read, and an interesting take on colonialism and assimilation.

I'm also reading a graphic novel, Shattered Warrior. I'm liking it a lot so far. It actually complements my reading of Baru Comorant, but in a more sci-fi vein, since it's about a world that was conquered by alien forces, and the people who fight back from both within and outside the system.

Rebecca, sorry if I gave a mistaken impression of Smiling Bears! It's much more a memoir of her experience with bears and her feelings of them having distinct personalities and the abilities to learn more so than being a research scientist actually running tests to prove it. I just love bears, and Detroit Zoo is my home zoo. So I remember Barle distinctly and was really sad when she passed a few years ago. I don't specifically remember the name Magsie, but i'm certain i watched her a lot, the zoo doesn't always put names on the various exhibits. So I loved it just from a "hearing stories about bears" perspective

still reading the Alienist.... it's slow-going, but that's the style. reminds me of two things at the same time: Murdoch Mysteries and Sherlock Holmes*

it reminds me of Murdoch Mysteries for more than just the fact that it takes place about the same time - the writing is similar (I've read all the books and watched all the show thus far, there will be a season 15!) - as is the subject matter as well.

it reminds me of Sherlock Holmes in that - while I've not even read a full Sherlock Holmes story but have seen the BBC Sherlock - the main character - Laszlo Kreizler - is not the narrator, but rather John Moore, a police reporter for a newspaper in New York.

it's taking me a while to get into it, but the story is compelling and interesting (and i want to know whodunnit as well as whydunnit!), and I just might have to watch the TNT adaptation of it, even if I decide not to read the other books in the series.

I liked Smiling Bears, I just felt like I knew less about bear expressions than the author assumed. I don't think I'd necessarily recognize a bear smile if I saw one at the zoo. (If it bites its paw, though, I'll know to be concerned.)

I don't think I realized the Murdoch Mysteries show was a book adaptation! I had some issues with the show, but they were mostly production related, so maybe I'll try reading.

Rebecca wrote: "I don't think I realized the Murdoch Mysteries show was a book adaptation! I had some issues with the show, but they were mostly production related, so maybe I'll try reading."
go for it! my library had them all; and they're all listed here on GR, too. mind you, the plot for the show went in a totally different direction than the books

School is finally out and I can breathe!! And, I just got home from the first in-person rehearsal in 15 months with my a cappella jazz chorus and it's made me so, so happy.

Last week I'd posted that I had just started Remnant Population. It took me a few more chapters to get into it, but once the first contact was made it became much more interesting! I love that the protagonist is a crotchety old woman who just wants to be left alone. Such a refreshing change from the young upstart heroes you usually read about. Used for the two- word title prompt.

Two other finishes - I finally finished The House of Hades with the kiddo (used for multiple POV prompt), and I re-read The Three-Body Problem (used for book in translation prompt) for my other GR group's series read. I'd read it before about 5-6 years ago and loved it, but somehow never continued the trilogy. I'm excited to find out where this goes next. I learned so much - about China (really appreciated the translator's footnotes), about computing, about physics. Such a neat book!

Lovely to hear about folk being able to get out and about again!

This week I finished off the Darker Shade of Magic trilogy with A Conjuring of Light. I thought this picked up again after a slightly slower/less plotty second book and ended well. All in all, a good trilogy and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.

Currently reading Spellmaker to carry on the light fantasy YA theme. I got the first of these books, Spellbreaker, free from amazon and thought it was fun, and then saw this one for 99p so picked it up. Shame there's only two, but I might now be convinced to read the Paper Magician series by the same author.

Just returned from a family reunion vacation at a lake. Twenty six of us and we often only see each other this one time per year. My son got to introduce his wife of almost 2 years to the family (they had a very small 20 person wedding and no one in my family was able to attend). I only got minimal reading done.

Before the trip I finished Project Hail Mary. I loved it! Both my son and daughter finished it in mere hours I think too. Now everyone in the family has read it and we can all discuss it. I just loved the continual problem solving. As an engineer, I just eat up that kind of thing.

On the trip I started the easy read of The Anthropocene Reviewed. I have read one other John Green book (TFiOS) but I often watch his Vlog brothers videos. This is apparently a print version of his podcast of the same name (I think) but with some more. I have never listened to the podcast so it is all new to me. It is a book of essays on fairly random but interesting and quirky topics. I'm enjoying it and it is a great, light non-fiction read.

Today I started the audiobook (needing to walk after 7 hours in the car) Agent to the Stars. Narrated by Wil Wheaton and so far it is living up to its Scalzi entertainment. This book does not appear to be super long.