ŷ������

Hit a deer last night on my way home. Dealing with insurance, etc., today. Hoping everyone else is not dealing with similar situations! HAPPY THURSDAY!

After complaining so much about the new ŷ������ format, I do admit to liking the private notes section. Maybe that’s not new and I just never noticed it before, but I do find it useful. I’m always trying to note the positive…eventually�� :)

Close call! At 2:18AM on Monday morning I fell in our living room. I was trying to capture Tigger (aptly though inadvertently named “Tigger the Terror�� by me when we adopted her 5 years ago��) who inevitably awakens me at least once every single night and I have to put her in her carrier which I keep in the kitchen so I can return to a state of sleep. Once she has me awake she will not stop harassing me until I get up and either put her in the carrier or close our bedroom door, though she typically then knocks stuff off the bathroom counter (located next door to our bedroom) until I come searching for her. Fortunately, since I have 4 indoor cats I kept 2 rather large carriers in the kitchen for feeding time: Mister/Big Boy/Big Guy and Tigger the Terror both eat in separate carriers, Miss Mini-Me eats on top of the clothes dryer, and Sissy eats from her dish on the kitchen floor. I fell because (1) I was still mostly asleep and (2) I was angry at being awakened and having to follow her through the house until she allows me to pick her up and place her in the carrier. The result? I made the mistake of actually lunging down to try to catch her before she offered herself to me�� I both felt and heard my nose “crunch�� against the carpet and assumed I had broken it. That made me panic enough to brave through the pain of kneeling on my ‘titanium sports model�� knee implants to get myself up and to the kitchen sink immediately! (My oldest son broke his nose at the age of 10 and I was aware of just how much blood can literally gush from a broken nose�� I still cringe when I think of what all he had to endure as a result of that injury. But I digress��) It bled just a bit and I immediately placed ice in damp paper towels and held it on there for at least 30-45 minutes. I also took 3 Aleve. Anything to keep the inflammation down. In the meantime Tigger had been scared senseless and raced through the house several times, eventually stopping beside me and allowing me to place her in the carrier. (An immense concession on her part!) About 7 hours later that morning my nose was still a bit sore and rather sensitive to the touch, but no longer bleeding and allowing me to breathe almost normally. Sheesh! That was scary! Just a note: In those 5 years Tigger has allowed me to literally sleep through the night all of 5 times. Every 9 months or so I threaten to rehome her, but I just can’t do it. Once I’ve made a commitment, it is forever…for better or for worse.

ADMIN STUFF:
Much gratitude to Jennifer W for volunteering to serve as the “official organizer�� for November's discussion of The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. This book could be used to fulfill prompt #9 A book about a “found family.�� You can find that discussion as well as the thread to post the book you read to fulfill prompt #9 in the Current Monthly Group Read folder HERE. I still have to dig out my copy to reread.

Just a reminder that we are reading Book Lovers by Emily Henry for December. This could be used to fulfill prompt #1 A book published in 2022. JessicaMHR will be the "rambunctious reader" facilitating that discussion!

The comprehensive listing of Monthly Group Reads for 2022 is HERE.

Also, another reminder that every single past 2022 Monthly Group Read discussion and “I Finished!�� thread is open and available to all in the 2022 Monthly Group Reads folder HERE.

Question of the Week:
Are you reading or planning to read any specific books in November for “Nonfiction November�� or “Novellas in November�� or perhaps (in the US) related to Thanksgiving or as I prefer to think of it, Native American Heritage Month honoring Indigenous People?

As you-all know, I am planning to finally finish The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed, ostensibly for Nonfiction November. Good motivation! ��

I’ll actually be rereading A Psalm for the Wild-Built for a brand-new IRL book club and will follow that up by finally reading A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, both novellas and both written by Becky Chambers.

For another IRL book club I will be reading Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger who is a Native American author.

There are many many others I would love to think I might read this month, but I have another 3 Buddy Reads, including The The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story which is rather a brick at 624 pages containing 18 essays. Plus I have one other IRL book club book to read, Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett. If I finish all these I’ll be quite satisfied! :)

Popsugar: 46/50
ATY: 50/52
RHC: 19/24

FINISHED:
*The Perfectionist by Lane Kauffmann (5 STARS) was well-written, even if I had initial qualms about being inside the murderer’s mind. I would happily read at least one more of his books but I barely found a copy of this one (on Etsy for which I paid a high-to-me price) and it doesn’t look as if copies of any others are readily available. (And I did remember to check Project Gutenberg.)
POPSUGAR: #25, #36, #40-2018: prompt #9 A book about a villain or antihero, #46-Martin
ATY: #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): Total despair, #5, #7, #14-1 rating, #15, #25-211 pages, #31-1954, #40-The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, Judgment, The World, #49
RHC: NEW #20, #24-2016: Read a book originally published in the decade you were born

*Purrfect Murder (Mysteries of Max #1) by Nic Saint (3 STARS) for the IRL Borders Book Club reboot! This proved to be a much better read than I had expected. It borders on being a romance disguised as a cozy mystery and it would have definitely benefitted from better editing, but I admire him for tackling the issue of prejudice and discrimination against transgender folks. Saint depicted what damage extreme trolling and harassment can cause for transgender folks. I won’t continue with the series, but it was a rather enjoyable read and the writing was actually much better than I had expected�� Edited to add...none of the book club members really enjoyed this much. I think my 3-star rating is quite generous! :)
POPSUGAR: #5, #7, #25, #36, #37, #40-2015: prompt #7 A book with nonhuman characters, #42-Cat and Human!, #46-Odelia, #47, #48
ATY: #1-Uncle Alec, #4, #6, #7, #14-1,752 ratings, #15, #19, #36-Cats, #40-Strength, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Judgment, The World, #41-Pate!, #43, #46, #49, #50
RHC: #24-2020: prompt #3 A mystery where the victim is not a woman

*The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo (5 STARS) was an absolutely enthralling and intriguing read for me! I’ve now read and loved both of Choo’s books! I credit her writing skills for the fact that I truly enjoy her books, given that both contained themes to which I am not usually attracted. I highly recommend this one!
POPSUGAR: #4, #12, #25, #36, #40-2017: prompt #17 A book involving a mythical creature, #42, #46, #47
ATY: #1-Ambika, #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): William was in total despair, though still plotting, #6, #7, #11, #12-glass vials, #18, #19, #20-1931, #30, #35-poison distilled from oleander, #36-tigers, #40-The Lovers, Strength, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #41-Beware the tea!, #44, #46-the tiger, #49, #50, #51
RHC: #24-2021: Read a book you’ve been intimidated to read--Wasn’t sure I would enjoy it��

CONTINUING:
*Cross Fire (Alex Cross #17) by James Patterson
*Mrs. 'Arris Goes to New York (Mrs. ‘Arris #2) by Paul Gallico for the sister cities prompt.
*Beloved by Toni Morrison
*The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed. Nonfiction November is here!

PLANNED:
*Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
*Strange Sight (Essex Museum Witch Mystery #2) by Syd Moore
*The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman
*Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk
*The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
*Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz
*Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
*Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

L Y N N wrote: "Hit a deer last night on my way home. Dealing with insurance, etc., today. Hoping everyone else is not dealing with similar situations! HAPPY THURSDAY!

After complaining so much about the new Good..."



Oh no Lynn!!! I have never (knock on wood) hit a deer, but I've had several close calls. It's scary. My ex hit a deer a few years ago and I remember him complaining bitterly about the forms he had to fill out. And OUCH about your nose!!! Is it swollen and multicolored now? Maybe Tigger will calm down as she gets older? Maybe Tigger needs her own bedroom!

Happy Thursday

I had shorts on this past weekend because I couldn't take the heat! It was SO HOT. But it looks like we are finally getting some seasonably cool weather, it's chilly and I'm wearing a sweatshirt. I brought my tender plants in since nights were below freezing, but it looks like it's warming up to the 60s again today so maybe I need to bring them back out. Winter is LONG here and I want them to get as much sun as they can before our cold dark winter.



This week I finished 2 books, and 1 was my LAST needed for this Challenge. I am DONE! I'm relishing the freedom to just not do reading challenges for a few weeks, and tackle the pile of books I have from the library right now. But apparently I can't read without a challenge, so I'm also trying to finish AtY's challenge this year. I've got four books left to go for AtY, and I'm currently reading two of them.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo - this was ... okay. I didn't like it nearly as much as I liked Tiger Mountain (which was my "tiger" book this year! It was short, anyway. This was my Hugo winner, and the last book I needed for Popsugar.

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich - this was really good, but it wasn't one of my favorite books by Erdrich.




QotW

Yes! Every November, I read several books by Native American authors for Native American Heritage Month.

I just finished The Night Watchman. I'm currently reading a poetry anthology New Poets of Native Nations edited by Heid E. Erdrich (yes she is Louise's sister - and she's a great poet, I recommend Little Big Bully if you haven't read it yet), I've got an e-book borrowed for lunchtime reading, Dragon Castle (I had never heard of this book but I needed a new e-book and I was browsing Brooklyn's list of Native American e-books, and ... voila! this will work for AtY's "here there be dragons" category!!) which is written by Joseph Bruchac and appears to be a Slovakian tale of derring do aimed at middle schoolers (no dragons have appeared yet - I'm starting to wonder if this is one of those books that mention dragons but do not actually have dragons) which is not what I expected at all!, and at night I'm reading Shutter by Ramona Emerson & Night of the Living Rez: Stories by Morgan Talty.

I mean, I can only read one book at a time in any given moment, and my nighttime book was SUPPOSED to be Night of the Living Rez, and I started it, and it's excellent, and then I saw Shutter on a list of new books, I put it on hold, got it from the library, and read the first page just to see how it is and I cannot put it down. Sorry, all my other bedtime books, you'll have to wait a few days for me to read this one. SHUTTER is excellent! Unless it faceplants the ending, it's going to be five stars.

Happy Hidden Books Game Day! I finally got all 20 clues with a little bit of help from my Twitter friends.
#

I've been trying to spend more time on Mastodon than Twitter this week, I see much less anger inducing things on there, so starting to like it. At least I have a place to go if the birdsite implodes.

Other than that I've been chipping away at my NaNoWriMo book and I'm on track just about.

Finished:
Gilded by Marissa Meyer for duology and wow this is overlong. I would have liked it as a novella but as two 500 page books? I can't bring myself to read the second book for Popsugar so I'm going to read a book from a different duology and just be done with it.

So now I'm reading The World We Make which is the second book in a duology I started last year.

QOTW:
NaNoWriMo is my November thing this year so I'm not doing any special reading, I'm barely getting my usual reading done!

Nadine in NY wrote: "This week I finished 2 books, and 1 was my LAST needed for this Challenge. I am DONE!..."

Woohoo!

Nadine �� Whoohoo! Congrats on finishing Popsugar!

Lynn �� Yikes! And I thought I was having a bad month. Between the nose and the deer I’m glad you’re okay.

Oh gosh, Lynn! So much chaos in your life just now. Sending love and hoping things are able to calm down (and that the insurance stuff goes smoothly).

It's been an incredibly beautiful week weather-wise and I've been stuck inside working 9-5, which is later than my usual time but it's what happens when my boss is off on one of his out-of-state ventures. Yesterday was especially busy: I dropped off our eldest cat, Waylon, at the vet to have a tooth extracted (he had a cavity, poor boy), then went to work, picked Waylon up, zipped over to my part-time job for an hour, came home and finally ate dinner around 7:30. YEESH. I do appreciate being able to sleep in on these later mornings though.

Before all that, I got my bivalent Covid booster + flu shot on Saturday, which meant I was absolutely useless on Sunday. But I planned it that way, and took it easy, and woke up perfectly fine on Monday :D

Finished this week:
The Castle Doctrine - the Schaeferverse is starting to come together! This was another strong installment in the Daniel Faust series. We wrapped up a few threads and are still following others. 5 stars.
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 - I've never read anything like this. An incredibly well put-together narrative of an unforgettable day for so many of us. My heart went out to not just the people who were interviewed, but the narrators themselves. 4 stars.
Beyond Therapy - A hilarious script for our latest local staged reading, and my second encounter with Durang. 4 stars.
The Children's Hour - A reread to prep for upcoming auditions. I'd forgotten just how heavy this one was. 5 stars.
The Neverending Story - Buddy read with husband. We made it halfway, a little past where the first film (one of his favorites) ended, then jumped to the final few chapters. I hope to come back and read this properly one day; it was so charming. 3 stars.
The World We Make - A complex, ambitious end to this fantastic duology. Cities as living entities + Lovecraftian horror vibes. Audiobook is definitely the way to go here. 4.5 stars.

PS 48/50

Currently:
Glass Predator - I've come to the conclusion that I read Harmony solely to keep the entire Schaeferverse straight in my mind, going along with the author's recommended reading order so I won't miss important plot points. But I'm truly baffled by this character, and I don't appreciate the copaganda vibes.
The Summer Queen - I started this last weekend and need to get back to giving it a proper go. It felt overly descriptive on Sunday, but that may also have been my energy-less self being impatient.
The Wicked + The Divine: Book One - Still working at this, I'm around halfway through and enjoying it. Definitely has the American Gods vibe, but in comics form and feels a bit more current. I mean come on, a convention dedicated to the gods of the world? Sounds cool/bizarre/terrifying, let's go!
Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism - Just started, Nonfiction November book #2!

QOTW: Are you reading or planning to read any specific books in November for “Nonfiction November�� or “Novellas in November�� or perhaps (in the US) related to Thanksgiving or as I prefer to think of it, Native American Heritage Month honoring Indigenous People?
Funnily enough, I just joined the GR Nonfiction November group a week or so ago! I've never put much thought into reading nonfiction during November (usually I'm off doing NaNoWriMo, of which I'm making a very halfhearted attempt this year, getting started a week late), but I'm very excited about it. And they give you prompts! So far I've finished The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 for Record. I tried to start Alan Rickman's diaries on audiobook this morning but quickly realized the format wouldn't work for me, so it's back on the TBR for when I can snag a print copy. I do love to read Native/Indigenous-centered books in November too.
Other books in my November plans include Border and Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism, Braiding Sweetgrass, She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, A Snake Falls to Earth.

Ellie wrote: "Happy Hidden Books Game Day! I finally got all 20 clues with a little bit of help from my Twitter friends.
#

I've bee..."



Oh two years ago I had so much fun doing that puzzle with my daughter!!! last year I tried but I was stumped on so many, and my daughter was at college so I had no one to "play" with and I fizzled out. I will look again this year!!!

a book about a band or musical group

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I like this but it's overrated. The twist was blah because I wasn't emotionally invested and didn't care about person. Also, I saw a lot of people hyping the Billy/Daisy relationship (like it's all over facebook groups) but it was non-existent. But I can see how it could be turned into a really good miniseries.

no prompts

Crankshaft by K.M. Neuhold. Contemporary romance. Turned to my comfort genre on election night because reasons.

QOTW:
I don't really read based on the season. I will try to finish up the challenge. I think I have 7 prompts left but I'm almost finished with 2 non-fiction books for 2 of the prompts.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Oh two years ago I had so much fun doing that puzzle with my daughter!!! last year I tried but I was stumped on so many, and my daughter was at college so I had no one to "play" with and I fizzled out. I will look again this year!!!..."

There were only a couple I hadn't heard of this time, one of which I'm sure would be better known in the US. Some of them are really tough clues though!

Lynn I'm sorry to hear about your hitting a deer and your falling. I hope everything sorts itself out soon. Recently I went to Popular Forest & left making myself a promise that I will read The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family in 2023.
Congratulations Nadine for finishing the Popsugar Challenge.

Lynn - how horrible to have the deer and the fall on your nose so close together. We hit a deer years ago, and insurance wrote our car off. The problem was that both airbags deployed and it cost (in the early 2000) $2000 each to deal with the air bags. So that was $4000 before they even got to damage to the car.

I finished an amazing book. Good plot. A great character and it even asked questions about what does it mean to do good in the world or do evil.

Finished:

Hench
ATY prompt: A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2021 or 2022
Popsugar prompt: A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid

ATY - 47/52
PS- 38/35
Series -12/13
Clearing my TBR list: 36/40

Currently reading:

The Faceless Ones - 70% done

QOTW: I rarely read non-fiction. I've been reading short stories (not sure if they are long enough to be a novella) all year to achieve 52 books in 52 weeks. And I'm a Canadian, so I did Thanksgiving in October.

Interestingly, we had discussed having a prompt in ATY about reading a book about a holiday you don't celebrate. I think the point was supposed to be to learn something about another culture (like reading a Diwali book). I pointed out how easy that prompt would be for me. Every year, without even trying, I read a book that either takes place around the 4th of July weekend or American Thanksgiving. Once I opened my mouth, it didn't get proposed because no one wanted a prompt that was harder for Americans than for everyone else who reads a lot of American books.

We’ve had rollercoaster weather here—cold one day, warm the next, then cold again. We had rain and high winds (gusts up to 50 mph) all day Saturday, then warm enough Sunday that I spent all day helping a friend set up her Christmas lights �� and paid for it the next day. Wrenched my lower back and could hardly move Monday. Thankfully, it had improved enough Tuesday so I could walk over to the school to vote. Weather Tuesday was a seasonal 50F. Yesterday was 65F, today is supposed to be 70F but windy and possible severe storms midday. Then the bottom falls out and only 32-35F through the weekend with snow showers possible. 🥶

Finished two books this week, both for challenges.

* The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness, book three in her All Souls series. PS #30, board game in the title. This one was a bit faster paced than book two in the series. Now to get book four in next year’s challenge!

* Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse, ATY #22, book with a Jewish character. A good, fast read told in epistolary form.

Status:
PS: 49/50
ATY: 51/52


Currently reading:
* The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne �� Classic group read. It was the book I voted for in the polls, but am having difficulty getting into it. It’s me, not the book. Just not in much of a reading mood this week.


QOTW:
I have no nonfiction or novellas planned, but we’ll see how the rest of the month goes.


Viewing:
Finished the last season of “Angel.�� Mixed feelings. (view spoiler)[Not happy that they killed off Cordy, Fred and Wesley. On the other hand, they did finally bring down Wolfram & Hart, and with Connor’s help. And glad that though he regained his memories, he was finally mature enough to understand why Angel did it, didn’t hold a grudge, and helped him in the final fight. Not happy with the open ending, but not uncommon when a series is canceled. (hide spoiler)]

Last night I watched a 45-minute documentary on Dis+, “Saving Norte Dame.�� It follows the months-long process of securing the cathedral after the fire of April 15, 2019. A team of engineers and a construction crew had to shore up the building before they could begin the arduous process of removing the twisted and melted scaffolding and other debris. Really had to pay attention, though, as there are subtitles and some of the people featured spoke too fast for me to keep up.

Happy Thursday. I will start my check in by answering the QOTW first.
Question of the Week:
Are you reading or planning to read any specific books in November for “Nonfiction November�� or “Novellas in November�� or perhaps (in the US) related to Thanksgiving or as I prefer to think of it, Native American Heritage Month honoring Indigenous People?

Nonfiction November is my favorite reading month of the year. I look forward to it starting on December 1. I have several pages of nonfiction book suggestions so after I see the prompts I can match up titles. I also read at least one Native American author or book, usually nonfiction, in November. I have read 3 books this week for nonfiction November.
1. All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake. 5 stars.
2. The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit. 5 stars.
3. When Breath Becomes Air. 5 stars & a box of tissues.
4. Unrequited Infatuations: A Memoir. I should finish this one soon. My husband & I are listening to it in the car. Our next audio book will be Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe

Ellie wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Oh two years ago I had so much fun doing that puzzle with my daughter!!! last year I tried but I was stumped on so many, and my daughter was at college so I had no one to "play..."

wow yeah it's much easier this year!! I just got 8 answers right away!! Three others are very frustrating because I was SURE my answer was correct, but ... nope. So now I can't think of anything else for those. The other nine I'll have to think about.

Oh Lynn! Between hitting deer and Tigger - disruption galore! I'm with Nadine - I think Tigger needs her own room! Tigger-proofed of course.

I still remember when my mother hit a deer with our stationwagon back around 1970. It ended up doing very minor damage to the car (luckily) and we got to keep the venison, but it shook mom up for sure, but she dined out on the story for the rest of her life - as in she was the one putting food on the table. This of course was rural upstate NY in 1970 so you called the Sheriff, reported it to the insurance company with claim for repair and that was it. Except for cost of having the poor deer butchered. In those days, hitting deer in road was pretty rare, not like today. And it was deep in country.

I still have 4 books to read for PS but I have started two of them.

Finished:
Season of Death by Christopher Lane- involving an Inupiet detective in Alaska and incorporating both Inupiat and Ashabascan legends, traditions, and lore, it certainly fit Native American Heritage month but that was accidental. I read it as it was the random pick in a monthly challenge in another group.
I really like this series btw - hard to find other than in ebook as written 1998 - 2000.

A Curious Beginning - first in the Veronica Speedwell series and wonderful!

Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery - I❤Neil!

Currently reading:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - time I finished this re-read.
Sing, Unburied, Sing for PS - Anisfield-Waite winner
Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life, and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt
How Much of These Hills Is Gold - for PS - tiger on cover.

QOTW: I have a few cozy mysteries set at Thanksgiving in my TBR and if I find time or the mood strikes, I'll read one. I don't tend to plan any monthly reads according to those assigned heritage celebration months or holidays -- except I do specficially read a few Christmas mysteries and romances starting around Thanksgiving and through end of the year because I just love 'em.

Ellie wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "This week I finished 2 books, and 1 was my LAST needed for this Challenge. I am DONE!..."

Woohoo!"

Congratulations, Nadine!

I have been terrified of hitting a deer since watching the movie Tommy Boy.

This is not intentional with Nonfiction November, but I am reading Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films for the movie franchise's 60th anniversary.

Other than that, I'm just rereading some Star Trek and Star Wars, and I've got some Muppets and Mur Lafferty on deck.

Good grief! You're going through a lot! I hope your car is ok! Hitting deer is no joke!

Finished 38/50

Truly Human: Recovering Your Humanity in a Broken World for "book with a constellation on the cover". Not bad! I really liked the honesty and practicality of it.

Currently Reading

House Divided for "book set in Victorian era". Half way there! I gotta get a move on, it's due in 8 days!

Gender: Men, Women, Sex, Feminism for "book on gender identity". Interested to read this one since it's by an author I like who has a pretty wide background.

QotW

Not intentionally! I just read. I tend to not pick books to match the month. Just whatever is next on the list!

Hello! The weather turned here, that's for sure. It's rained for the past two days (which we very much needed). Temps are dropping today with wind chills tomorrow in the single digits and possibly some snow.

I ended up changing my plot for NaNoWriMo on day 4 because I really disliked the first version. Now I appear to be writing a romance set in an ambiguous capital city. (Hmm, maybe Austin would work.) I am behind on word count, but I'm not worried. I made a spreadsheet in 2005 with my daily word count, and I have added to it every year, and now I have 17 years of daily word counts for comparison. I'm ahead of the bad years, and on par with some tough years.

I have not done much reading, unless you count rereading my prior NaNo novels. I've reread 2011, 2017 and 2021 in the past week.

Finished This Week:
Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay by Craig L. Symonds. The war has ended, Japan has surrendered. Loved this book. A favorite closing tidbit: Admiral Nimitz was offered a place in Arlington National Cemetery, but he chose to be buried in San Francisco, within sight of the Pacific Ocean where he had spent so much time. A couple of admirals on his staff bought plots next to his, and then another one found out and bought one in the same cemetery. Recommended to anyone who studies the Pacific side of World War II. Not for PS Prompt.

Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald. A weird little book that won the Booker Prize back in 1979, about a community of people that live on barges on the Thames outside Chelsea in the 60s. The boats don't really leave their berths, and they're only in the water half a day when the tide is right. Very odd. Not for PS prompt, but I suppose you could call it on a ship for #2. (Cruise ship is a stretch.)

Sweep with Me by Ilona Andrews. Finished the audiobook of the Innkeeper novella. Still enjoyed it. Now to wait for Sweep of the Heart. Reread, not for prompt.

PS: 47/50 RH: 16/24 ATY: 51/52 GR: 164/100

Currently Reading:
Twice a Quinceañera by Yamile Saied Méndez. Two thirds complete. Can probably knock it out this weekend while watching football.

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2020 by Michio Kaku. Stalled about halfway. Need to get back to it.

The Queen's Gambit by Jessie Mihalik. Discovered my library had the audiobooks for this series of novellas. I'd read only the first one two years ago, but never finished the series. Halfway through book one, don't remember much at all.

QotW: Are you reading or planning to read any specific books in November for “Nonfiction November�� or “Novellas in November�� or Native American Heritage Month?
I can't really do themed reading in November because NaNoWriMo takes up so much of my time. I'll read some nonfiction because I naturally read nonfiction and there are other challenge prompts I need to fill where I'm using a nonfiction book.

It's been a quiet week this week for me. I'm going to see a musical tomorrow night, though, so looking forward to that - it's the tour of Jagged Little Pill in Seattle.

Finished:
Just a couple of manga volumes: Natsume's Book of Friends, Vol. 27 and Romantic Killer, Vol. 1.

Currently reading:
The World We Make - I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it so far.

Planned:
Ocean's Echo
Even Though I Knew the End
Cursed

QotW:
I don't have any holiday-specific or event-specific reading planned. Between NaNoWriMo and the library throwing a bunch of holds at me all at once, I pretty much have my November reading cut out for me already. :) I guess unintentionally I'm doing a little bit of novella reading, since there's been so many interesting novellas coming out recently.

Jen wrote: "The World We Make - I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it so far."

Glad you like it too, Jen!

Lynn -- I can't help but wonder why you don't put Tigger in a carrier before you go to sleep?

Finished: Pragmatism as a Way of Life: The Lasting Legacy of William James and John Dewey Co-authored by Hilary Putnam and his wife, this was pretty accessible, but I don't feel like I got a lot out of it.

Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers This is a free online book that had some helpful activities and suggestions for teaching critical media literacy.

Started: Kintsugi: Embrace your imperfections and find happiness - the Japanese way I love the central metaphor which is to make something broken more beautiful by filling in the cracks with gold. But I feel like the advice is not very helpful: Ignore your past. It doesn't matter. Just look toward your future. Sure! 'Cuz that's easy to do!

Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions This book is fascinating so far! Describing how people such as fire fighters is NICU nurses make decisions in high-pressure, constrained-time situation, the researchers are able to provide better explanations than the people making the decisions who sometimes claim that it was ESP or that they made no decision at all.

Qotw: Yes, I'm totally doing November Nonfiction! I read The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children's Lives, and Where We Go Now for drawing boundaries. I'm planning to read This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You for record. I tried to read The Complexity of Greatness: Beyond Talent or Practice for collection of elements (essays written by difference authors), but it was too obvious and difficult (combination of nature and nurture, yeah, yeah). I have considered reading Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir for secret pleasure, but am not looking forward to his navel-gazing.

Theresa wrote: "A Curious Beginning - first in the Veronica Speedwell series and wonderful! ..."



I have been meaning to read this for years. Maybe 2023 will be the year!!!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Ellie wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Oh two years ago I had so much fun doing that puzzle with my daughter!!! last year I tried but I was stumped on so many, and my daughter was at college so I had n..."

I’m stuck at 13/20. 😐

Good morning! Happy Thursday!

There was frost on the ground this morning. There was a storm on Tuesday. It couldn't decide if it wanted to rain or to snow. So it did both.

Today is my Friday! I have Veteran's Day off tomorrow. So I will try to get some reading and writing done. I haven't been doing too good with either.

I finally got my SRP manual so I can start planning for the summer. I found nice crafts this year. Plus, I can go through a past year for more inspirations because it has a similar theme.

Finished:

Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight Volume 1 aty flora/fauna 2. I'm counting this because werewolves are wolves darn it!

This has me at 51/52 in aty!

Reading: The Mythic Dream (PS constellations) It's an anthology of twisted myths. Like Egyptian gods in the future sort of thing. It's interesting.

Not planning much except to read whatever takes my fancy right now.

QOTW: I don't read anything specific for things. I read what I feel like reading.

@Lynn -- Holy Crap! I'm glad you're all right! My run ins with deer are usually at night when they infiltrate my backyard and in the fields around my house. Saw four of them on my way to work this morning. And I know how you feel about Tigger. My chiweenie gives me the same feels sometimes. I want to strangle him, but then he gives me that 'i love you' look. Manipulative brat that he is.

L Y N N wrote: "Hit a deer last night on my way home. Dealing with insurance, etc., today. Hoping everyone else is not dealing with similar situations! HAPPY THURSDAY!

After complaining so much about the new Good..."

I don't know if this will make you feel better (actually not sure why it would), but I actually totalled my car hitting a coyote. A teeny tiny little coyote and I totalled a 1 year old car. So, yeah, always aim for the bigger animal. You won't look so silly:)

I finished My Ántonia. I liked it, but didn't love it. Took me like 20 years to read one book of hers, so don't know if I'll get around to another.

I'm not reading Foucault's Pendulum. It's a bit deep, shall we say.

QOTW: Nope. Foucault's Pendulum is long and I have The Wicked Day checked out of the library and that doesn't look particularly short, so those 2 books will probably take me to close to the end of the month.

Heather L wrote: "
I’m stuck at 13/20. 😐

..."


Twitter hints have been ESSENTIAL for me. There were two books I've just never heard of, and apparently there is a popular BBC quiz show that I've also never heard of. I'm not done yet though.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Heather L wrote: "
I’m stuck at 13/20. 😐

..."


Twitter hints have been ESSENTIAL for me. There were two books I've just never heard of, and apparently there is a popular BBC quiz show that I've ..."



FINALLY got them all. Could not have done it without Twitter hints.


It's some kind of crime that two of those were not Gone with the Wind and Every Heart a Doorway. I actually tried each of those multiple times because I was so sure.

L Y N N wrote: "Hit a deer last night on my way home. Dealing with insurance, etc., today. Hoping everyone else is not dealing with similar situations! HAPPY THURSDAY!

After complaining so much about the new Good..."

Oh geez I'm glad you're okay! Falls can be scary, no matter what age you are.

It got cold FAST here. Need to get snow tires for my new car -- I'm driving to my sister's house for Thanksgiving and no guarantee the roads won't be snowy on the way...

Also, all my big projects in school seem to be due in the next few weeks. PANIC! Somehow still managing to read during the madness, haha...

Books read this week:

A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories -- story collection by a favorite author, including two in her The Blue Sword world. Kind of slow-moving but in a dreamy, mythic way, even the one story set in the modern day.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth -- I loved the cover, which made me overlook the awful ŷ������ ratings. I didn’t find it TERRIBLE, but it was definitely kind of disappointing. More yokai and Japanese ghosts, please, and less privileged twenty-somethings bickering��

Fairy Tale -- a dark fairy tale by Stephen King. Definitely lighter than much of his work, but still has some of his trademark macabre touches, and actually feels a lot more uplifting and hopeful than a lot of his work.

The Idanha: Guests and Ghosts of an Historic Idaho Inn -- actually read this for a college class. It’s supposed to be about a famous hotel in Idaho, but it feels like the author only scrounged up enough material for a magazine article and so padded this to book length with a bunch of stories only barely related to said hotel. Ah well�� still interesting to learn about what my home state was like at the turn of the 20th century.

Unicornado: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure -- collection of Phoebe and Her Unicorn comics. Still as fun and cute as ever.

Currently Reading:

Heidi
Gearbreakers
The True Meaning of Smekday (audiobook)
Space Opera
Revenge of the Librarians

QOTW:

I rarely plan reads too far in advance, but I DID read "The Idanha" this month, so I guess that counts for Non-Fiction November. And I have two upcoming reads that can fit this month -- To Sleep with the Angels: The Story of a Fire for Non-Fiction November and A Snake Falls to Earth for Native American Heritage Month.

Kenya wrote: "It got cold FAST here. Need to get snow tires for my new car -- I'm driving to my sister's house for Thanksgiving and no guarantee the roads won't be snowy on the way...

Also, all my big projects ..."

Good luck with your projects, Kenya! I always hated how they were all due at once - the worst.

Mandy wrote: "I finally got my SRP manual so I can start planning for the summer. I found nice crafts this year. Plus, I can go through a past year for more inspirations because it has a similar theme. ..."


what is SRP?

Nadine in NY wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Heather L wrote: "
I’m stuck at 13/20. 😐

..."


Twitter hints have been ESSENTIAL for me. There were two books I've just never heard of, and apparently there is a popular BBC..."


LOL �� I still haven’t gotten the one that isn’t “Gone with the Wind.�� I did get the other one and when I did it was a “Duh! Seen that one mentioned so much this year—including this group!��

Heather L wrote: "LOL �� I still haven’t gotten the one that isn’t “Gone with the Wind..."

I really got distracted by all the clues going "who does the woman look like". It's kinda a niche clue, but as soon as I twigged who she was, I got it.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Mandy wrote: "I finally got my SRP manual so I can start planning for the summer. I found nice crafts this year. Plus, I can go through a past year for more inspirations because it has a similar th..."

summer reading program.

Ellie wrote: "Heather L wrote: "LOL �� I still haven’t gotten the one that isn’t “Gone with the Wind..."

I really got distracted by all the clues going "who does the woman look like". It's kinda a niche clue, bu..."


I feel like a few of these are niche/genres clues. I finally got the apple one �� six left. I’m not on Twitter, so looking for clues is taking time.

ETA: got the cloud ladder lady...five to go, lol.

@Lynn your week sounds like a trial. For insurance though it’s better to hit the deer than swerve and miss it.
Did you break your nose? My aunt tripped over her cat and broke her arm a couple of years ago they day before she needed to pack her car to head home for the winter. We had to go and help load the car and get the house closed for the winter. Naturally the cat was fine.

@Ellie thanks for posting the link I am currently stuck at 9/20. I haven’t checked twitter for extra hints yet. I’m stubborn.

@Nadine I was so sad that it wasn’t gone with the wind. Still haven’t figured that one out. Never saw every heart is a doorway but I did complete that clue.

Ellie wrote: "Happy Hidden Books Game Day! I finally got all 20 clues with a little bit of help from my Twitter friends.
#

I've bee..."

I've never heard of Caboodle game - but then I'm not in the UK. I may have to give it a try. It looks like fun!

Ellie wrote: "Heather L wrote: "LOL �� I still haven’t gotten the one that isn’t “Gone with the Wind..."

I really got distracted by all the clues going "who does the woman look like". It's kinda a niche clue, bu..."



Same. And then I saw someone tweet (view spoiler)[how am I supposed to know what Kate Bush looks like?? (hide spoiler)] and I STILL didn't get it right away, but finally it clicked.

Mandy wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Mandy wrote: "I finally got my SRP manual so I can start planning for the summer. I found nice crafts this year. Plus, I can go through a past year for more inspirations becaus..."




ahhhh! I think I asked you that last year too!!! LOL maybe by next year I can remember it.

Heather L wrote: "I feel like a few of these are niche/genres clues. I finally got the apple one �� six left. I’m not on Twitter, so looking for clues is taking time.

ETA: got the cloud ladder lady...five to go, lol ..."


I'd never heard of the apple book, and I wasn't seeing the graphic properly I guess, so without the clues ... I NEVER would have gotten that one.

I never heard of the Hidden Books Game till today. It’s driving me crazy.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Theresa wrote: "A Curious Beginning - first in the Veronica Speedwell series and wonderful! ..."



I have been meaning to read this for years. Maybe 2023 will be the year!!!"

I had too and now I wonder why I waited. It is unexpected in so many ways and just fun. Check out my review for more. I think I gave it 4 stars. I can see why this series has made Raybourn so very popular.

Katy wrote: "L Y N N wrote: "
I don't know if this will make you feel better (actually not sure why it would), but I actually totalled my car hitting a coyote. A teeny tiny little coyote and I totalled a 1 year old car. So, yeah, always aim for the bigger animal. You won't look so silly:)"

🤣🤣

Oh Katy, it's not really funny but your comment is!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Ellie wrote: "Heather L wrote: "LOL �� I still haven’t gotten the one that isn’t “Gone with the Wind..."

I really got distracted by all the clues going "who does the woman look like". It's kinda a ..."


That clue actually helped me, lol. I have five left. I keep trying to put it out of my mind to get stuff done, but now they’re stuck in my head.

I want to know who the girl climbing the ladder is!!!

I've only gotten 15 so far....

Doni wrote: "I want to know who the girl climbing the ladder is!!!"



If you really want to know (and I needed to know in order to figure it out): (view spoiler)[Kate Bush (hide spoiler)]