Andrea's 2016 Challenge - the DIY MFA

I'm keeping it simple and focused this year, loosely basing my challenge on the idea of a DIY MFA. The idea is to create you're own MFA program by creating a focused reading program and setting up you're own goals.

I've been trying to focus on my writing and I'm looking at incorporating reading books that will inspire me and keep me up to date on what's currently being published, as well as some cats just for my own sense of fun.

I'll post some writing updates from time to time as well.

Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016 – 10/10

Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree/Etc. – 8/10

Printz Award Winners and YA Classics – 9/10

Nonfiction – Writing, Critical Analysis, or Anything Else Helpful – 5/10

Poetry – 10/10

Graphic Novels – 10/10

Miscellany – 5/10

TOTAL: 57/70

Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016
1. Get in Trouble by Kelly Link (****)
2. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle (****)
3. Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina (****)
4. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (****1/2)
5. Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (****)
6. She Walks in Shadows, edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles (****)
7. The War of Words by Amy Neftzger (**1/2)
8. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (****1/2)
9. The Vegetarian by Han Kang (***1/2)
10. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (****)

Possibilities:
Angels & Exiles by Yves Meynard
Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente

Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree/Etc.
1. Ringworld by Larry Niven (**1/2) - Winner of the 1971 Hugo/1970 Nebula
2. Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler (*****)
3. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton (****)
4. The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang - Winner of the 2011 Locus Award and Hugo Award for Best Novella (****)
5. Gateway by Frederik Pohl (***) - 1978 Hugo/1977 Nebula
6. Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville (****) - won the Arthur C. Clarke Award an other awards
7. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (****) - 1974 Hugo/1973 Nebula
8. Doomsday Book (audio book) by Connie Willis (****) - 1993 Hugo/1992 Nebula

Possibilities:
2011 Hugo/2010 Nebula - Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
1987 Hugo/1986 Nebula - Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
1984 Hugo/1983 Nebula - Startide Rising by David Brin
1979 Hugo/1978 Nebula - Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre
1973 Hugo/1972 Nebula - The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov

Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson - Won the 1994 Hugo, nominated for the Nebula
Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson - Won the 1997 Hugo, nominated for the Nebula

Award Winners – Printz Award Winners and YA Classics
1. The First Part Last, by Angela Johnson - 2004 Winner (****)
2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (****)
3. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (****)
4. The BFG by Roald Dahl (***)
5. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (****) - 2009 Winner
6. In Darkness (audio book) by Nick Lake (****) - 2013 Winner
7. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (****)
8. I’ll Give You the Sun (audio book) by Jandy Nelson (****1/2)- 2015 Printz Winner
9. A Step From Heaven, by An Na (***1/2) - 2002 Printz Winner

Possibilities:
2003 - Postcards from No Man's Land, by Aidan Chambers

2015 Honor - And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard
2015 Honor - The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley
2015 Honor - Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
2014 Honor - Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal
2014 Honor - MAGGOT MOON by Sally Gardner, illustrated by Julian Crouch
2014 Honor - Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

Nonfiction – Writing, Critical Analysis, or Anything Else Helpful
1. In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood (***1/2)
2. Chain of Evil: Journalstone’s Guide to Writing Darkness by Michael R. Collings (DNF)
3. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace (****)
4. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (*****)
5. Independent Ed: Inside a Career of Big Dreams, Little Movies, and the Twelve Best Days of My Life by Edward Burns (****)

Possibilities:
Tim Burton: Essays on the Films, edited by Johnson Cheu
Books: A Living History by Martyn Lyons
The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of "Proper" English, from Shakespeare to South Park by Jack Lynch
Writing the Other by Nisi Shawl
Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction by Brit Mandelo
Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life by Natalie Goldberg
From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine's Journey through Myth and Legend by Valerie Estelle Frankel

Poetry
1. Southern Cryptozoology: A Field Guide to Beasts of the Southern Wild by Allie Marini (*****)
2. God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant (****1/2)
3. Terra Incognita by Jennifer Martin (****)
4. was it more than a kiss by Chella Courington (spotlight interview)
5. A Heart with No Scars by Brennan "B Deep" DeFrisco
6.A History of the Cetacean American Diaspora by Jenna Le (spotlight interview)
7.An Animal I Can't Name by Raegan Pietrucha
8. The Midway Iterations by T.A. Noonan
9. My Mother's Child by Pamela L. Taylor (spotlight interview)
10. The 2016 Rhysling Anthology, edited by Charles Christian

Possibilities:
TBA

Graphic Novels
1. The Arrival by Shaun Tan (****)
2. Super Mutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki (****)
3. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (****)
4. Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley (****)
5. Skim, written by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (****)
6. Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault (*****)
7. Lumberjanes Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy, written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, illustrated by Brooke A. Allen (***1/2)
8. Lumberjanes Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max, written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, illustrated by Brooke A. Allen
9. Ghosts by by Raina Telgemeier (***)
10. Lumberjanes Vol. 3: A Terrible Plan, written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, illustrated by Brooke A. Allen (***1/2)

Possibilities:
The Unwritten: Vol 1 by Mike Carey
Saga: Vol 1 by Brian K Vaughan

Miscellany
1. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie (*****)
2. Bird Box by Josh Malerman (***)
3. The Dragons of Heaven by Alyc Helms (***1/2)
4. The Plant by Stephen King (**)
5. Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal (****)

TBA

Welcome back, Andrea! Simple sounds good to me!

Nice to see you back! Simple is always great!

Have a great reading year!

Sometimes the simple plan is the best one. Good luck with your challenge!

Hooray Andrea is here! Looking forward to following along. :)

Good luck with your reading (and your writing) this year.

Have a great reading and writing year!

Hi, everyone. Happy reading!

Oh, I do like your set-up - very clever!

Thank you, Eva!

...

1. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie (*****)
Category: Miscellany

An absolutely fantastic conclusion to an absolutely fantastic trilogy. Keeping this review short because it's the third book and spoiler. That said, the universe, the culture, the characters make put three books on my list of all-time favorites.

Following in the footsteps of my fellows, here is the Year End Meme, filling in the blanks with the title of a book that read in 2015:

Describe yourself: The Reader
Describe how you feel: The Higher Power of Lucky
Describe where you currently live: The Walls Around Us
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Red Mars
Your favorite form of transportation: Uprooted
Your best friend is: Six Gun Snow White
You and your friends are: wingless, scorched & beautiful
What’s the weather like: Under a Painted Sky
You fear: One Hundred Years of Solitude
What is the best advice you have to give: The Ask and the Answer
Thought for the day: Everyone I Love is a Stranger to Someone
How I would like to die: Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
My soul’s present condition: Forever Peace

Great meme answers! Enjoy your reading and good luck with the writing!

Great meme answers. Even the introvert that I am would fear One Hundred Years of Solitude. Great use of the title (for a book I have yet to to read)!

Thanks, Chrischi & Lori!

In other news, I've just learned about the Popsugar Reading Challenge, which is another way to diversify reading by checking off each of the items. I'm curious to see how many I can check off during the course of my normal reading.

The website I linked to also has a printable list for those interested playing with it, too.

Ha! I need another challenge like I need a hole in the head - but, yeah, I printed out a copy of the Popsugar list!

Love your theme! Too bad we can't actually get degrees simply based on reading what we want.

>23 DeltaQueen50: What she said...

>22 andreablythe: - Dodging adding another reading challenge to my 2016 reading. I saw this challenge on a couple of threads last year so I have bookmarked to site. Could make a nice change if there is no Bingo challenge next year or if I want to try something different. Thanks for posting the link!

>23 DeltaQueen50: and >25 MissWatson:
I know, right? But I saw it and I just couldn't resist.

>24 LittleTaiko:
Thank you! If we could all get degrees just by focused reading, there would be people here on LT with DOZENS of degrees. ;)

>26 lkernagh:
That is very wise of you. I really shouldn't add any kind of challenge myself, and yet... here I am.

Another challenge? Just what we all need.

>28 hailelib:
I thought so. ;)

Just now trying to catch up with threads and extending a hi!
Hope 2016 is a fun year for your DIY MFA!

Hi, mamzel! Glad to see ya!

I'll enjoy seeing what you read - should be lots of good reading with the award winner categories.

2. The Arrival by Shaun Tan (****)
Category: Graphic Novels

In a dark city, overshadowed by darkness, a man embraces his wife and daughter and then boards a steamship for another country, where he hopes to create a new life for his family. After going through a long process of immigration, he finds himself in a city he finds himself is bright and beautiful and strange.

Although he doesn't understand the local language, he fumbles his way into a room for rent and then seeks employment. Along his journey into shaping a new life for himself and his family, he meets other people from other countries who have migrated to this city as well. Each has their own stories, their own reasons for leaving home and making a new life for themselves.

One of the amazing things about this book is how it tells a moving, heartfelt story entirely in images. There are no words, just gorgeous art. The art is softly penciled and sepia toned. It manages to be both realistic and fantastical at the same time, elaborately bringing to life a strange world that also feels familiar.

A beautiful book.

I so loved The Arrival - the message as well as the art.

I have had The Arrival on my wishlist for ages and I really need to get to it. It sounds and looks beautiful.

Absolutely love the image you posted from The Arrival. It's going on my WL too. I just finished reading In Darkness and posted a lot of comments on my thread. I loved it until the end. Both The First Part Last and A Step From Heaven are really good. Hope you can fit them in this year. & glad you're back!

>33 andreablythe:
I had it home from the library but never got around to reading it, so it's still on the wishlist. Looks so beautiful, though!

>34 mamzel:
And it's so amazing how clear the message is without any text, just images. It would make a great animated film.

>35 DeltaQueen50:
It's so wonderful.

>36 cammykitty:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Printz winners. You have me excited to read them all over again.

>37 -Eva-:
Definitely get it again. It's a story that can be read very quickly.

I keep on encountering wonderful reviews for The Arrival, like your's. As like some of the others posting above, one of these days I will remember to check out a copy of The Arrival from my local library.

>33 andreablythe: - Oh wow! That picture alone makes me want to get this book. On to the wishlist it goes.

>39 lkernagh: & >40 LittleTaiko:
Definitely read it. It's a short read, being that it lacks

* * *

3. Get in Trouble by Kelly Link (****)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016

Get in Trouble provides yet further evidence as to why Kelly Link is one of my favorite living short story writers. These tales are raw and human, with interweavings of the speculative, sometimes in subtle ways.

In "The Lesson," the only hint of magic or the scientifically strange is a stuffed, clawed creature said to be long extinct, despite strange rustlings in the night. Where the magic comes in is how the story unfolds. Two men, awaiting the birth of of an adoptive child through a surrogate mother, take a trip to an isolated island to attend the wedding of a friend they haven't seen in years. Through the bride's wonderfully weird version of party celebrations and the discomforts of being disconnected from news from the mainland, it becomes clear that these two men love each other deeply and that that love is being strained by the stress of adoption. It also becomes clear that the decadence of their youth no longer appeals to them. "The Lesson" is a beautiful tale and my favorite in the book.

Other stories reveal a young woman who serves as an uneasy caretaker for the mysterious beings that live up on the hill ("The Summer People"), an aging movie star, formerly known as the demon lover, who seeks out his ex-girlfriend while she's on a ghost hunting expedition ("I Can See Right Through You"), and a girl attempts to meet an older man she catfished online at a hotel where dentist and superheroes are both having conventions ("Origen Story").

Another story that lingers with me long after I read it is "The New Boyfriend," which explores the complicated mess of teenage friendship and young love in unsettling ways. When her friend received her third animatronic boyfriend, a girl enacts a plan to steal it for herself, convince he can love only her.

4. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle (****)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016

The book is excellent, a tribute to the horrors of Lovecraft that doesn't shirk from simultaneously exploring the more problematic elements of prejudice in Lovecraft's work. It's a story of a young hustler in 1920s New York, who manages to hustle the wrong person and finds himself ensconced in the awakening of powers beyond his understanding.

My review, however, is frustrating. As with this book, I keep trying to write more thorough book reviews for "professional" publication on various websites. As soon as I decide to write a review for submission, my inner critic clamps down and strangles me making it nearly impossible to get words out. But when I'm writing reviews for LT or for my blog, then it's like no problemo. I keep trying to work through it, but it means I fall behind on both my writing AND my reading, which it so, so frustrating.

January Progress

Books Finished:
1. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie (*****)
2. The Arrival by Shaun Tan (****)
3. Get in Trouble by Kelly Link (****)
4. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle (****)

Total for the year (including Main Challenge): 4/70

Favorite Read:
Ancillary Mercy being that it was such an amazing conclusion to such an amazing series.

Worst Read:
Nada.

Books Still in Progress at the End of the Month:
Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina

Category Progress
Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016 – 2/10
Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree – 0/10
Award Winners – Pritnz – 0/10
Nonfiction – Writing, Critical Analysis, or Anything Else Helpful – 0/10
Poetry – 0/10
Graphic Novels – 1/10
Miscellany – 1/10

Categories Completed this Month: 0
Total Categories Completed: 0

Popsugar Reading Challenge Progress - Items Completed
A book that's under 150 pages
A science fiction novel
A book recommended by a family member
A graphic novel
A book that is published in 2016
A book from the library

Total - 6/40

(I'm allowing books to fit multiple categories to make it easier on myself. Although I'm sure if I was doing it properly, I would Have an individual book for each category.)

Could you write the longer, in-depth review here? Some do write substantial reviews here and they are generally well received.

>44 RidgewayGirl:
I totally could, but it would mean that I couldn't submit it to any literary journals or sites, because it would be considered "previously published". It's one of the annoying technicalities of the publishing world.

Oh! I almost forgot. Last Saturday, I took a jaunt up to the city to Borderlands Books for a reading and book signing with the amazing Charlie Jane Anders in celebration of her new novel All the Birds in the Sky. It was a packed house, with standing room only as Charlie read from her charming and funny tale about a witch and a mad scientist becoming friends. I laughed out loud several times during the reading and then waited in a rather long line to get my book signed (during which time, I found two more books to purchase that day – Fledgling by Octavia Butler and Tooth & Claw short stories by Jo Walton). It’s was a joy and a delight to have been there, even though I couldn’t stay longer to mingle. I’m just so happy for her and for all of her success.

Or pretend you're writing it for LT or your blog as a way to get around writer's block? If only there were a word processor done up to look like LT's review window ;)

The book signing sounds like fun! I enjoy reading Anders' articles on io9 (whenever I remember to pop over there) and am glad she's doing well with her book.

>47 rabbitprincess:
Hah, yeah. I've been trying to do that, think about it differently, like its a post Im only going to share for myself. I might do it in my blogging platform, because it's a way to easily save the document as I go along.

Yeah, I read her I read her i09 stuff, too, and it's great. I've also met her in persona couple of times before and she's just a fabulous person, too. Which makes me all the more happy for her.

You hit me with a BB for Get In Trouble. I've enjoyed everything of Link's that I've read so far.

>46 andreablythe: Nice, I put that book on my wishlist immediately after reading your account of the reading. I just read a review by Anders today of the movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which I thought was hilarious.

>49 mstrust:
Exccccelllent. I need to read more by here. There's a collection or two I haven't gotten to yet.

>50 sturlington:
OMG. I need to find that review!

ETA: Loved that review. :)

Okay, I gave up on trying to write something more indepth for pro-publication. So, here's....

* * *
4. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle (****)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016

The Ballad of Black Tom is a fitting tribute to H.P. Lovecraft. It’s a novella that draws up the doom-ridden horror of the elder gods, while also addressing the unsettling prejudice of Lovecraft’s writing. “I grew up worshipping the guy so this issue felt quite personal to me,” explained Victor LaValle. “I wanted to write a story set in the Lovecraftian universe that didn’t gloss over the uglier implications of his worldview.”

The story centers around Tommy Tester, a young black man in 1920s Harlem. In order to avoid the hard life his father led as a laborer, Tommy turns to hustling in order to make his living. He has learned to disguise himself, donning a suit, a guitar case, and a shuffling step to mask himself against the watchful eyes white folks and the cops, who might see him as threatening otherwise. He knows how to put on a bit of theater and draw in a certain subset of clientele. But after he delivers an occult tome (with a page conveniently missing) to a reclusive sorceress in Queens, he earns her wrath, which brings destruction down on him and leads him into awakening powers best left sleeping.

Racism serves as an ever present backdrop, a constant shadow laid across the vivid descriptions of Harlem and other regions of New York that make their appearance. This racism takes several forms, both subtle and overt, from the cops who hassle him and steal his money to the patronizing rich white man who promises “salvation” for the downtrodden. Some of these moments are eerily familiar to current events. This is an intricate part of what makes this story so horrifying. If the world is so hateful, then how can ancient, powerful, and indifferent beings be any worse? Thus, Tom’s descent into darkness is frightening, blood soaked, and to a certain extent understandable.

The Ballad of Black Tom is fast read and a brilliant horror story.

5. Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina (****)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016

New York is a terrifying place in the summer of 1977 with incidents of arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer known as Son of Sam shooting young women. As if this is not enough, seventeen-year-old Nora Lopez also has to deal with her out of control brother, her mom who may loose her job at any moment, and a landlord who continues to hassle them about the rent. With all this going on, its seems almost too much to have to deal with falling for the hot guy who started working at the grocery store, as well.

The heat and anxiety of living in 1977 New York comes through clearly in Burn Baby Burn. I could practically feel the heat baking through the cement and the growing tension surrounding the ongoing murders created a constant underlying anxiety, which must have been present for so many people at the time.

But for all the dangers out on the streets, the biggest dangers in Burn Baby Burn are the ones that are closest to home. Nora's situation at home is clearly abusive, but it can take a lot of break out of the secrecy and suffering and shame that such a situation creates. Medina does an excellent job balancing the frustrations and fears of being a teenager in a hostile world, while also imbuing the story with a sense of young joy and hope. Nora has a lot to deal with, but all of her problems are real relatable problems and there is little to no angst for angst sake. She's a believable character, one I could easily relate to and sympathize with. Nora's relationships wither her family and friends are well handled, each with their own layers of complexity.

6. Ringworld by Larry Niven (**1/2)
Category: Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree
Winner of the 1971 Hugo/1970 Nebula

Not my cuppa tea, this one. Two aliens and two humans make an epic journey to a world outside the known system to explore and discover a strange alien built contraption, an entire world constructed as a ring around a star. The concept is interesting enough, but the characters felt like they were just wandering about for most of the story. The reasons for each of the characters making such a journey felt entirely too vague without a strong enough sense of investment in the outcome. Although I liked how alienness of the aliens, I wasn't fond of how the female characters were handled in the story — both of whom felt quite one dimensional compared to the male characters.

.

7. Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler (*****)
Category: Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree
"Bloodchild" won the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus awards and "Speech Sounds" won the Hugo
This is also FOGcon homework.

As Octavia Butler is the Honored Ghost for FOGcon this year, it seemed like an excellent idea to return to Bloodchild and Other Stories. Its a slim volume of stories, one that could easily be read in an afternoon. But these are stories with incredible strength.

It's no wonder, for example, that "Bloodchild" won three awards for best novelette (Hugo, Nebula, and the Locus). This story of how humans have come to live symbiotically with an alien species on another planet. It's also a coming of age story and a beautiful and complex exploration of birthing, family, and love. "Bloodchild" lingered with me long after I first read it, and returning to it I find myself pondering it all over again. It's a powerful story and makes me desperate to write, to continue attempting to build my skills in the hopes of coming even a little close.

All of these stories provide their own explorations of humanity, from apocalyptic world in which people have lost the ability to understand either written or spoken language to unusual solutions to managing genetic diseases to the sympathetic explorations of family conditions. There's a lot of strangeness and a lot of beauty to be had here and I highly recommend this book as an introduction to Butler's work.

Both The Ballad of Black Tom and Burn Baby Burn sound fantastic.

>52 andreablythe: & >54 andreablythe: Good to see such positive reviews for the Victor LaValle and Octavia Butler books as I have others by both authors on the tbr shelves. Sadly I also have Ringworld which I'm sorry to see didn't work for you.

Well, you've been reading a lot of good books since I last checked in. I've been wanting to read something by Victor LaValle since I read his excellent introduction of the new Penguin classics edition of Hangsaman, and I was looking at The Ballad of Black Tom on the Kindle just yesterday. Will definitely buy it and read it now, based on your review.

I love Octavia Butler and am sad that I have now read all of her books and will never get to read anything new by her again. I little ebook of two of her previously uncollected stories came out last year called Unexpected Stories. These stories weren't as strong as in Bloodchild but they were interesting reads.

Yeah, Larry Niven and writing women, definitely not one of his strengths. I don't think Ringworld has aged well at all.

>54 andreablythe: I'll have to check out Octavia Butler.

Hi Andrea, I am planning on reading my first Octavia Butler this month with Kindred so pleased to see you rate her so highly. I also have Burn Baby Burn sitting on the corner of my desk making me feel guilty as I did receive it for the ER program and haven't gotten to it yet. Good to know that I will most probably enjoy it when I get to it!

>55 RidgewayGirl:
Both are great, though very different. I hope you get a chance to enjoy them.

>56 AHS-Wolfy:
I need to read more work by LaValle and Butler, based on how much I've already enjoyed work by them. I have Butler's Fledgling on my list to read this week, which I'm excited for.

Ringworld, however, does not have me much inspired to read anything else by Niven.

>57 sturlington:
I hope you enjoy Black Tom! (Hangsaman looks interesting, especially being a Shirley Jackson book. I may have to grab that one.)

I need to read more of Butler, although I'm glad that being where I'm at means I have a lot of good books to look forward to. I know I'll be sad when I run out.

>58 LisaMorr:
Yes! She's wonderful!

>59 DeltaQueen50:
Kindred is on my TBR, so I can't wait to see what you think of it!

The Ballad of Black Tom looks really interesting, I'll have to check that out.

>61 lavaturtle:
Yes! It's great. :)

January Progress

Books Finished:
1. Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina (****)
2. Ringworld by Larry Niven (**1/2)
3. Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler

Total for the year (including Main Challenge): 7/70

Favorite Read:
Bloodchild and Other Stories is amazing everytime I read it.

Worst Read:
Not a fan of Ringworld.

Books Still in Progress at the End of the Month:
Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina

Category Progress
Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016 – 3/10
Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree – 2/10
Award Winners – Pritnz – 0/10
Nonfiction – Writing, Critical Analysis, or Anything Else Helpful – 0/10
Poetry – 0/10
Graphic Novels – 1/10
Miscellany – 1/10

Categories Completed this Month: 0
Total Categories Completed: 0

Popsugar Reading Challenge Progress - Items Completed
(no new ones this month)

Total - 6/40

(I'm allowing books to fit multiple categories to make it easier on myself. Although I'm sure if I was doing it properly, I would Have an individual book for each category.)

8. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton (****)
Category: Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree/Etc.
Winner of the 2004 World Fantasy Award

About a year ago (or something), I read and adored Jo Walton's Among Others, for the way it handled fairies and magic as subtle things in the world, so subtle they often go unnoticed by most people.

Tooth and Claw is nothing like Among Other, a completely different direction in style and story. The book is a comedy of manners, kind of like Jane Austen but with a society of dragons. It deals with the practical matters of such a society. From the book description:

"Here is a tale of a family dealing with the death of their father, a son who goes to court for his inheritance, a son who agonizes over his father's deathbed confession, a daughter who falls in love, a daughter who becomes involved in the abolition movement, and a daughter sacrificing herself for her husband."

It's so human in the kinds of troubles the dragons have to face (which makes sense since dragon culture was influenced by the Yarge), but social manners and propriety are all greatly influenced by the biology of the dragons — a young women is gold when she is a maiden, but blushes to pink when she becomes betrothed signifying her new ability to have children (it makes for some interesting new challenges when a woman is "compromised"); the length of a dragon has a strong influence on their social position; and so on. There is more, but I don't want to give too much away.

The only giant glaring negative to this novel was the fact that my edition had two pages that were bound wrong — page 19 came after page 22 (which took me a week to figure out) and another page toward the end was flipped upside down.

Otherwise, Tooth and Claw was a charming read, neatly pulling together the threads of all the character's storylines into a satisfying conclusion.

_____

On a related note, FOGcon started yesterday and my friends and I sat down with Jo Walton last night and she was absolutely lovely.

>8 andreablythe: Great review! I've not read this one yet but it sounds like one I would enjoy. I finished The Just City recently and liked it very much. I also found that it was completely different from the other Walton books I'd read before. She is so versatile! Also, it's nice that you were able to meet her.

>64 andreablythe: - I can't say that I'm familiar with this author but I've now seen her name pop up in about three different threads over the last couple of days - all for different books! Sounds like someone I should try.

>64 andreablythe: Tooth and Claw sounds great too! I have a few Waltons on the TBR. Someday, someday...

Hi, all, I'm still around, although I have been terrible at keeping updated with everything here. I'm a little shocked at how little reading I've been doing so far this year (only 10 books!). It's probably the most sparse year of reading I've ever done, but the year is still relatively young.

And I have some reasons behind that, at least for March and April.

In March, I participated in the March Around the World movie challenge, in which I attempted to see 30 movies from 30 different countries. I managed to get through 22, which is still a hefty number. The list is here.

And April? Well, April is National Poetry Month and I have a number of projects going on in addition to attempting to read oodles of poetry.

First, I'm offering up two books of poetry as part of the Big Poetry Giveaway 2016.

I am also participating in ELJ Publications' 30/30 challenge, in which I will attempt to write thirty poems in the thirty days of April. For that challenge, I've created a separate blog to house all the poetry that I create.

I'll be posting a #selfiewithpoetry a day on my Instagram.

And, if all goes well, I'll be sharing four new Poet Spotlight interviews on my blog.

So, yeah, there's a lot going on, but all good crunchy creative type stuff at least.

_________________

Here's my March reading:

9. The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (****)
Category: Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree/Etc.
Winner of the 2011 Locus Award and Hugo Award for Best Novella

This novella explores the nature of consciousness and what constitutes sentience. In the story, a set of digital pets are created and sold to users in e VR environment. While some grow bored with the creature a few become dedicated to their progress and they begin to grow their own sense of autonomy. There's no apocalyptic machines-are-going-to-take-over-the-world elements to this. It's more of an intellectual exploration of one possibility. It's fascinating and sweet, and the people raising these AI pets bring them up like family.

* * *

10. The First Part Last, by Angela Johnson (****)
Category: Award Winners – Pritnz
2004 Winner

A young teenage boy has become a single father. He's not ready for it and struggles to maintain his schooling and raise his daughter and is strained to the point of extreme exhaustion. But throughout there is no doubt that he loves his little girl and he will do anything for her, if he can. It's wonderfully moving and worth a read.

Wow - you've definitely been busy! Good luck with all your writing this month.

Thanks, Stacy!

>68 andreablythe:
Well, we won't be accusing you of slacking, that's for sure! :)

11. Southern Cryptozoology: A Field Guide to Beasts of the Southern Wild by Allie Marini (*****)
Category: Poetry

I don't have a proper review for this one yet, because I haven't had time to put all my thoughts down on paper, but it's an utterly amazing exploration of mythological creatures of the Southern Wilds, through which the poet explores identity and womanhood. AMAZING.

* * * *

12. God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant (****1/2)
Category: Poetry

"He got into nails, of course,
because He’d always loved
hands--
hands were some of the best things
He’d ever done"

In Cynthia Rylant's novel-in-poems, Godgets a job, watches cable, eats dinner alone, marvels at he beauty of the world, sees all the ways life went in directions he didn't intend it to go, discovers Himself. By grounding himself in the mortal world, He learns loneliness, anger, wonder, and fear. I found myself smiling at each new discover God made about the world he created, as well as each new discovery about Himself. These are accessible poems, beautiful in their simplicity and the way they subtly unveil layers of meaning in their own words and in religion and life. Recommended reading.

“But he finally saw
how pain caused
one of two things:
A reverence for life.
Or killing.
Both grew from the same seed.”

Andrea, I love your 30/30 challenge! It's a fantastic trip to some very interesting women characters. With that kind of creative writing its no wonder you haven't been reading much.

>73 DeltaQueen50:
Thanks, Judy!

I'm happy to say that Poetry Month was a giant success! I completed both of my 30/30 challenges (writing a poem a day and the Instagram challenge.

And I also managed to read oodles of books!

Including Southern Cryptozoology: A Field Guide to Beasts of the Southern Wild by Allie Marini and God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant, which I already mentioned, I read:

13. Terra Incognita by Jennifer Martin (****)
14. was it more than a kiss by Chella Courington (****)
(spotlight interview)
15. A Heart with No Scars by Brennan "B Deep" DeFrisco (*****)
16.A History of the Cetacean American Diaspora by Jenna Le (****)
(spotlight interview)
17.An Animal I Can't Name by Raegan Pietrucha (****1/2)
18. The Midway Iterations by T.A. Noonan (****)
19. My Mother's Child by Pamela L. Taylor (****)
(spotlight interview)

There were also a bunch of books that I read in part (as in a poem or few). Some of these I've read in their entirety years ago, and others are ones I just didn't have time to delve into completely at this time.

Neat Sheets: The Poetry of James Tiptree, Jr..
Paper House by Jessie Carty
Elephant Rocks by Kay Ryan
Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon by Pablo Neruda
From the Standard Cyclopedia of Recipes by B.C. Edwards
Love in a Time of Robot Apocalypse by David Perez
Ceremony for the Choking Ghost by Karen Finneyfrock
The Letter All Your Friends Have Written You by Caits Meissner and Tishon
No Experiences by Erin Watson
The Woman Who Fell from the Sky by Joy Harjo
TEN by Val Dering Rojas
Dream Work by Mary Oliver
An Apparently Impossible Adventure by Laura Madeline Wiseman
Ay Nako: Writing Through the Struggle by Lorenz Mazon Dumuk
Cloud Pharmacy by Susan Rich
The Usable Field by Jane Mead
Debridement by Corrina Bain
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Haunted House by Marisa Crawford
Everyone I Love is a Stranger to Someone by Annelyse Gelman
Domestic Work by Natasha Trethewey

That was one busy reading month!

Wow! You had a productive April! :)

>76 mamzel: and >77 rabbitprincess:
Thanks!

March and April Progress

Books Finished:
1. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
2. The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang
3. The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
4. Southern Cryptozoology: A Field Guide to Beasts of the Southern Wild by Allie Marini
5. God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant
6. Terra Incognita by Jennifer Martin
7. was it more than a kiss by Chella Courington
8. A Heart with No Scars by Brennan “B Deep” DeFrisco
9. A History of the Cetacean American Diasapora by Jenna Le
10. An Animal I Can’t Name by Raegan Pietrucha
11. The Midway Iterations by T.A. Noonan
12. My Mother’s Child by Pamela L. Taylor

Total for the year (including Main Challenge): 19/70

Favorite Read:
For fiction, my favorite was Tooth and Claw, for its Austen-style dragon story.

For poetry, I adore Allie Marini's Southern Cryptozoology and I highly recommend that everyone read it.

Worst Read:
N/A

Books Still in Progress at the End of the Month:
In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood and Ann of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Category Progress
Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016 – 3/10
Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree – 2/10
Award Winners – Pritnz – 0/10
Nonfiction – Writing, Critical Analysis, or Anything Else Helpful – 0/10
Poetry – 9/10
Graphic Novels – 1/10
Miscellany – 1/10

Categories Completed this Month: 0
Total Categories Completed: 0

_____

Annnnnnddddd, I'm ditching the Popsugar Reading Challenge because I just don't have time to focus on another thing. Although, I'll probably go back at the end of the year and see how many I can tick off just from my regular reading.

Great job with your April poetry month, Andrea!

>75 andreablythe:
Excellent results - congrats!

Thank you, Lori and Eva!

To everyone else. I'm sorry that I haven't been around, but things have continued to be busy in a way that leads toward being overwhelming.

A quick catch up on what I've been reading.

20. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (****)
Category: Printz Award Winners and YA Classics

I finally got around to reading this classic, having never read it as a child. The story of an bright-eyed, imaginative, and hard working orphan come to live with an elderly brother and sister has captured the hearts of many readers and, after reading it, I can see why. She’s a wonderful and moving character.

21. In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood (****)
Category: Nonfiction – Writing, Critical Analysis, or Anything Else Helpful

Atwoods personal exploration of the genre was interesting. The book was divided into three parts, with Part One focusing on what constituted science fiction versus speculative fiction along with an exploration of dystopian and utopian literature. Part Two provides a collection of essays exploring specific works of science fiction literature (1984 and Brave New World, for example), while Part Three presents a few shorts stories showcasing some of Atwood's speculative work.

22. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (****)
Category: Printz Award Winners and YA Classics

Continuing with my theme of getting to YA classics I never read as a kid.

I get why people love Margaret. The story remains true to life after all these years and something I would share with any young girl dealing with the transition into womanhood. I especially love the pride these girls have about the idea of getting their periods, which was a huge contrast with the sense of embarrassment I remember among my friends and I when I was growing up.

23. The 2016 Rhysling Anthology, edited by Charles Christian(****)
Category: Poetry

A lovely collection of some of the best poems in the speculative genres.

The winners were recently announced:

Tied for best long poem: Krysada Panusith Phounsiri — “It Begins With A Haunting” and Ann K. Schwader — “Keziah”

Best short poem: Ruth Berman — “Time Travel Vocabulary Problems”

24. The BFG by Roald Dahl (***)
Category: Printz Award Winners and YA Classics

Since the movie is coming out (or is out), I thought I would check back in with the book that enchanted me as a kid. I remember just being enthralled by it, completely absorbed and in love with this Big Friendly Giant.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite hold up as well for me now as an adult. The silliness of the giant's speech and his mixed up words didn't amuse me, but more started to get on my nerves after a while. Ah, well. It happens.

———

Currently Reading: All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders, which is just lovely so far.

>82 andreablythe: Good to see you around!

Hi Andrea, good to see you posting! I am glad that you enjoyed Anne of Green Gables as that book was one of my childhood favorites.

>83 VictoriaPL:
Thanks! I've missed it. I need to go catch up on the other threads, but I know that will take me a while, so I keep putting it off, which only makes it worse. ;)

>84 DeltaQueen50:
Hi! Anne was a lovely character. I just wish I had read her when I was young, because I know I would have connected to her so much more.

Glad to see you around. I'm planning on reading BFG this year for the first time. Wonder if I'll have the same reaction as you?

Happy to see the love for Anne and Margaret. Like you, I definitely did not feel pride. Instead, I started counting down the years until menopause was an option. :)

>86 LittleTaiko:
Hah! Yeah, I'd go for menopause (except for the hot flashes, as I hear those are awful).

I'll be curious to see your reaction to BFG. :)

>86 LittleTaiko: Amen! I am counting down until menopause as well. Very annoyed that the human reproductive system operates on the opt-out rather than the opt-in model. I did not ask for THAT to happen every month! And always when I least want it to happen. Have you read Sarah Andersen's cartoons (such as those collected in Adulthood is a Myth)? She has a few about periods that are SO TRUE for me.

Matilda is my favourite Roald Dahl but I am quite fond of The BFG as well. Haven't read it in a long time, though.

>87 andreablythe: - Yeah, not looking forward to the hot flashes as I detest being hot!

>88 rabbitprincess: - No, I haven't read anything by her but obviously need to now. Agree that an opt out system really would have worked so much better.

>88 rabbitprincess:

I've only read Andersen's comics as I've come across them randomly online — but I love them every time I do. They're hilarious and way to real.

>89 LittleTaiko:

Yeah, me, too. When I was younger I used to say that I would rather be too cold than too hot. But that's changing a bit, since I've reached an age where it's really difficult to get rid of a chill.

I am still reading so SLOW, but since I'm doing so much, I'm telling myself that's okay.

25. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (****1/2)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016

I’ve long loved the work Charlie Jane Anders does — both as the host of Writers with Drinks and as a long-time editor and writer at i09. So I was thrilled to have been able to pick up a copy of All the Birds in the Sky (which I got signed at one of her readings in San Francisco).

The novel is sort of a like a nature witch and mad scientist love story that explores the philosophical differences between how magic and science approach deal with a world that’s falling apart. Both have their own ways of trying to make things better, but when magic and science begin to clash, it threatens to destroy the world instead.

I love the characters in this novel. Both Patricia and Laurence had rough childhoods that they managed to survive and deal with in their own ways. Though they are both flawed, they also have their own sense of compassion that leads them to try to do good in the world. Somehow, despite all their differences and mistakes, they manage to fit together.

Anders’ writing is beautiful — a mixture of beautiful details, humor, and emotional resonance. I loved this book.

26. Chain of Evil: Journalstone’s Guide to Writing Darkness by Michael R. Collings (DNF)
Category: Nonfiction – Writing, Critical Analysis, or Anything Else Helpful

I got about halfway through the book before deciding to quit. It’s not a bad look at writing in the horror genre, per se, but I strongly disagree with much of Collings’ point of view and “rules” of writing. Also, since it mostly comprised of a collection of essays, the book as a whole was not as cohesive as I would have liked. Therefore, since I found myself experiencing varying degrees of annoyance and disinterest while reading, I decided to move on to other reading.

27. Bird Box by Josh Malerman (***)
Category: Miscellany

Strange creatures have come into the world — anyone who sees them quickly goes insance and commits suicide, leaving the world to rapidly fall into chaos. One woman who has been hiding in a boarded up house with two young children makes a decision to attempt a risky journey to safety — the trick being that she and the children will have to travel blind.

Has plenty of thrills and some great moments, although there were areas at the beginning where I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to fully get into the story or the characters.

28. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (****)
Category: Award Winners – Printz Award Winners and YA Classics

I read Jellicoe Road in a single day — something I haven’t done in ages. It’s a powerful coming of age story about friendship and rivalry between different groups in a small community. It also has a mystery that tugs at the past, bringing secrets to light. There’s a lot of humor and a lot of tragedy and it all weaves together beautifully.

29. Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (****)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016

A beautiful literary fantasy novel set in Mexico City, about a group of three uncool friends who discover magic exists and begin to use to to piece together their lives with tragic consequences. The story jumps back and forth between the characters as teenagers and them as adults, which provides a poignancy as we see the ways they have changed or not. The sorrows and sweetness or life are all mixed up together and the result is magical.

*

Currently in progress: The Dragons of Heaven by Alyc Helms and She Walks in Shadows, edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles

30. She Walks in Shadows, edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles (****)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016

Lovecraft did not include many women in his mythos (maybe three or so total). This anthology responds to that absence by presenting a collection of short stories and art created by women with women at the center. It's a solid collection of stories, very few of which have anything other than a bleak ending — because when when you're playing with the elder gods, you usually end up with bloodshed, madness, or death. Regardless, the women at the center of these stories are smart or powerful or twisted in their own delightful ways. A couple that I loved include Jilly Dreadful's “De Deabus Minoribus Exterioris Theomagicae,” which presents the story as a thesis outline, and Pandora Hope's “Eight Seconds,” in which a bull-riding woman faces off against her own destruction — although these two barely scratch the surface of the many great stories in this anthology.

.

31. The Dragons of Heaven by Alyc Helms (***1/2)
Category: Miscellany

Missy Masters has the power to control shadows and uses this power to play a role as the vigilante superhero, Mr. Mystic. When a magical barrier suddenly appears around all of China and all of the official China towns of the world, it's up to her to find a way to take down the barrier — a challenge that leads her back into the past she left behind.

The book mixes up superhero novel with martial arts movies and dragon mythology in a fun, action packed urban fantasy. Where it differs from similar action titles is the structure, with each chapter alternating between the past and the present — a structure that was at times frustrating for me because every time I was getting used to a time period (either past or present), it would cut right in the middle of the action to the other period. However, this structure was vital to the heart of the story, unveiling her past and refocusing on a story of love, family bonds, and the way those bonds can be broken apart. It was this connection to Missy's past that made the novel more than just an action-adventure story and it's what makes me want to keep reading more.

.

32. Super Mutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki (****)
Category: Graphic Novels

Such a strange graphic novel and one that was a little hard to get into at first. For most of the book, each page represents a single vignette, a tiny story about one or more of the characters from the Academy, and at the beginning with the vignettes jumping between so many different characters, it was difficult to keep track of who was who and what was going on. However, as I continued reading, I began to recognize the main set of characters and settled into the strange stories at this strange school that features an array of mutants and magic and science.

Some of the vignettes are anchored in ordinary teenage angst (like crushes and school dances and friendship) that makes them easy to relate to, while others are simply, delightfully bizarre (such as the everlasting boy, who throughout the book experiences a variety of deaths and rebirths and eternities). Taken as a whole, this is really a fabulous book, which doesn't allow itself to be anchored by any single storyline, but lets itself fall into the chaos of teenage-dom with all its weird wisdom and foolish obsessions.



.

Currently Reading: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and Gateway by Frederik Pohl

SuperMutant Magic Academy looks intriguing! My library has a few copies, so it's on the list for my next trip there!

Bird by Bird was one of my favorite course books at Uni - it's on the to-reread list already. Hope it has stood the test of time!

I hope you like Super Mutant Magic Academy, Eva!

So far I'm finding Bird by Bird to be mostly a nostalgic experience — as in, I know this already, but what a joy to return to it.

Hi, everyone. Reading is still going slow for me these days, in part because I've been binge watching old horror movies (like Frankenstein). I've also attended several events in the last few weeks, such as reading and performing at the All Womyn's Showcase among other things.

In the midst of everything that's been going on, I forgot to tell you all the REALLY EXCITING NEWS. The result of the ELJ Publications 30/30 Challenge (which I mentioned back in April >68 andreablythe:) is not only that I completed 30 poems in 30 days, but that ELJ has chosen to publish a small collection of these poems! The chapbook will be called Pantheon and is set to come out in August 2017!

Congratulations! That's very exciting!
LTers are a creative lot- I'm having a short story published next year too.

And I've started with the yearly horror movie binge too, new and old. My favorite "new" find is the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".

Congratulations, Andrea!

>95 andreablythe: Awesome news! Congratulations!

Wow, that's wonderful! Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Catching up. Funny how a few days' absence causes the threads to be enormously long.

Congratulations!

>82 andreablythe: I read the Blume and another book in which the protagonist's parents react to her getting her period by taking her out to dinner to celebrate. I was bitterly disappointed when all I got was a box of pads and my mother's visible discomfort with the topic. Good times.

Thanks, everyone! I'm sooooo excited.

>96 mstrust:
Love the horror movie binging. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is on my list to see. I would recommend The Phantom Carriage (1921), Eyes Without a Face (1960), and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962).

>101 RidgewayGirl:
Gotta love the memories, am I right?

>95 andreablythe: Congrats! A well deserved reward for your efforts.

Thanks, Wolfy!

Congrats!

And I took BBs for all three books in >92 andreablythe:...I'm hopeless!

Thanks, Lisa! And haha, I'm happy to help your TBR list grow. ;)

* * *

33. Gateway by Frederik Pohl (***)
Category: Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree/Etc.
Winner of the 1978 Hugo/1977 Nebula

I enjoyed this, although it was slow getting into it. I loved the concept of humanity exploring the outer reaches of space through the ancient technology of a race that has disappeared. Humanity doesn't understand how any of it works, but the ships still function, still make it out to various destinations programmed into the ships, but it's a crap shoot because there's no way to know the destination until you figure it out the first time, which means sending prospectors out in a grand gamble as to whether they'll make an amazing discovery or return dead, if at all.

Unfortunately, the story structure alternates between the main character in therapy talking about why he's so miserable underneath his wealth and privilege and the time he spent on Gateway. Although, I recognize that the therapy sessions are a part of what ultimately make this a strong story, they bored and annoyed me, making me like the main character less because he was such a jerk to his robot therapist. Toward the end as the conclusion of the story is revealed, these sessions got more interesting but I felt like they dragged down more than helped in the first half of the book.

>95 andreablythe:
HUGE congrats and well done!

Thanks, Eva!

Just got myself a Tenner badge. I can't believe I've been on LibraryThing for 10 years.

>109 andreablythe: Nice! Congratulations!

Congratulations! You can call yourself "LT- First Generation". : D

I get to be First Generation? Sweet!

>109 andreablythe: Awesome! Happy Thingaversary! :)

Congrats on your 10 years with LT!

Thanks, guys!

.

34. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (****)
Category: Graphic Novels

Fabulous! I loved the mixture of futuristic and medieval in the design of the world, loved the spunky and slightly murderous main character, loved the "super villain" she signs up with, love the style of the art. It's really fun and makes me want to pick up the author'S other comic Lumberjanes.

Glad you enjoyed Nimona, Andrea. The Lumberjanes should appeal as well.

>116 DeltaQueen50:
I hope so! Not only was the storyline great, but man I love how Stevenson has created her own art style — the long skinny, angular bodies of many of the characters contrasted with the round, soft shapes for Nimona, while the backgrounds are mostly abstract or plain. There's not many who do anything similar.

Her work is distinctive, you can look at a page and know immediately it's Noelle Stevenson's work.

35. The Plant by Stephen King (**)
Category: Miscellany

I read The Plant in preparation for THE POEMING 2016, a 31/31 challenge taking place in October in which 56 poets will be creating found poetry from Stephen King's 56 books.

An editor of a paperback publishing house gets a fascinating manuscript from someone who he believes to be a crockpot. Although initially interest, after seeing a series of disturbing photographs accompanying the manuscript, he calls the police. The author is enraged and sends death threats along with a strange plant that is more than it seems.

Having read two handfuls or so of King's books, I have to say The Plant is far from my favorite. I'm not sure the epistolary style works — and that's in part because it's a hard style to work with anyway, because of being limited to letters, new clippings, diaries, and the like. Diaries are by far the most annoying to me since they often fall into a standard first person narrative, rather than feeling like a diary — for example, I don't know many (or any) people who include full dialogue scenes complete with quotes in their diaries. King does the same thing here, which might have made sense for one of the characters, but not several of them. Plus he sort of breaks with style at one point when the action gets going, switching to an omniscient third person that's explained as being a found fictional account written by the characters (technically okay, but feels like a cheat).

In general, I wasn't that interested in any of the characters, most of whom are jerks.

It also doesn't help that the novel is unfinished, so I can't see what it might have built to, how it might have ultimately paid off.

But since my main focus in reading this book is to ultimately create found poetry from it at TendrilsOfLeaves.tumblr.com, it doesn't really matter if I dig it. Should be an interesting month of poem making.

Oh, hey! If you all are interested, Yellow Chair Review #8 is live, and it has three of my Our Lady poems, "Harley Quinn," "Rogue," and "Ursula" inside. All three poems are a part of my forthcoming chapbook, Pantheon, which will be published next year by ELJ Publications.

>120 andreablythe: I love your poems, Andrea, today "Harley Quinn" really spoke to me, I felt it in my gut. "Ursula" makes me smile.

Thanks, Judy!

36. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace (****)
Category: Nonfiction – Writing, Critical Analysis, or Anything Else Helpful

Pixar Animation is one of my favorite movie making studios. Not every flick is my cup of tea, but they seem to approach each project with a sense of innovation and heart. How they manage to consistently maintain that level of creativity in an industry that tends to churn our generic blockbusters on a regular basis is presented Creativity, Inc. Written by by Ed Catmull (one of the founders of Pixar) with Amy Wallace, the book is simultaneously a history of the computer animation industry, a memoir of Pixar with all its ongoing success and challenges, and a guide for approaching the management of creative teams.

One of the main ideas behind his management philosophy is that it's impossible for one person to know everything, and that, in fact, it is certain that there are things unknown that are influencing the flow of creativity. He writes,

“I believe the best managers acknowledge and make room for what they do not know—not just because humility is a virtue but because until one adopts that mindset, the most striking breakthroughs cannot occur. I believe that managers must loosen the controls, not tighten them. They must accept risk; they must trust the people they work with and strive to clear the path for them; and always, they must pay attention to and engage with anything that creates fear. Moreover, successful leaders embrace the reality that their models may be wrong or incomplete. Only when we admit what we don’t know can we ever hope to learn it.”

This acknowledgement of unknown factors influencing the dynamics of a creative environment enables the initiation of a process of self reflection and analysis — not as a one time solution but as an ongoing process of growth. As one solution proves to be successful, another litany of challenges will present themselves and it's important to know how to navigate those new challenges and change tactics as they arise. One of the many things I love about this book is how it shies away from simple, trite catch phrases that are usually presented as rules for success. Phrases such as "Trust the process" sound wise at first glance, but can often come to be meaningless. The reality is that finding solutions often requires adaptability and a willingness to address problems, failure, and change.

One of the great flaws, he finds in many operations is how they address failure as something to be avoided at all costs, a believe that often stifles creativity and risk taking. Catmull asserts that failure is "a necessary consequence of doing something new.” The very act of forging ahead on a new project, whether creating a film or writing a book, means that there will be inevitable failures along the way. Rather than seeing these failures as doom, seeing them as inevitable enables people to work through the frustration of not getting it right the first time (or second or tenth). It's something that I've learned (and am still learning) to accept as I've attempted and failed again and again at finishing my stupid novel — each failed attempt getting me closer and closer to understanding the heart of the story, getting closer to learning how to get it right.

I also rather likes what Catmull had to say about change — similar to failure, in that people tend to be terrified of it:

“Here’s what we all know, deep down, even though we might wish it weren’t true: Change is going to happen, whether we like it or not. Some people see random, unforeseen events as something to fear. I am not one of those people. To my mind, randomness is not just inevitable; it is part of the beauty of life. Acknowledging it and appreciating it helps us respond constructively when we are surprised. Fear makes people reach for certainty and stability, neither of which guarantee the safety they imply. I take a different approach. Rather than fear randomness, I believe we can make choices to see it for what it is and to let it work for us. The unpredictable is the ground on which creativity occurs.”

I could probably quote passages and passages of this book, and examine each one closely, but I would quickly run out of space here. Having listened to Creativity, Inc. on audio book (narrated by Peter Altschuler), I'm eager to buying a print copy so that I can peruse the text more closely to better absorb the information and examine it for concepts that might help my own creative life.

37. Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley (****)
Category: Graphic Novels

I also really enjoyed Relish, a loving graphic memoir. For many people, food is tied to specific memories and the other explores this by sharing her own memories of growing up with parents who were (and remain) passionate about good food and how specific meals connect her with specific moments of her life. I'm not a foodie, but I understand the joy of an excellent meal (or a terrible one) especially if that meal is made with love. Like any good food memoir, Relish is interspersed with recipes (her suggestions on how to cook mushrooms, I've actually applied in the kitchen). Funny and poignant, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

38. Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville (****) - won the Arthur C. Clarke Award an other awards
Category: Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree/Etc.

This... took a ridiculously long time to read. It was worth it, but I mean seriously.

Miéville presents an ornately complex city, operating on a mixture of steampunk science and magic, layered with neighborhoods, districts, slums, and inhabited by numerous intelligent species from humans to khepri (insectile humanoids), Garuda (birdmen), cacti men, and other beings. Everywhere is slick and reeking with filth and squalor (although it's noted that there are rich burroughs that are less so. It's a fascinating place, although one I'm not sure I'd want to visit.

The story spends some time getting to know the main characters, alternating between their POVs and adding more characters as it goes along building to a catastrophic moment that unleashes danger and fear on the city. Those first 200 or so pages are necessary to making, but I had a hard time getting through them (almost too much information to be absorbed). When the action finally gets started things become gripping while still being richly detailed. A great novel, but it definitely took some work to get through.

39. Skim, written by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (****)

A beautifully illustrated coming of age story set in the '90s. Skim is the nickname of a not-skinny high school girl, who discovers how much first love delights and hurts. Friendships change, fall apart or grow. The school goes into frienzie of "embracing life" when a boy commits suicide. And somewhere a long the way, a teenage girl, who loves Wicca and goth culture, can figure out a little more about who she is.

40. Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault (*****)
Category: Graphic Novels

Hélène is a you woman being tormented by her peers, former friends who now bully her, calling her fat and writing messages on the bathroom walls. One of the way she survives this loneliness and torment is to fall into the pages of a great book, Jane Eyre. It's a story about how literature and small magical-seeming moments can keep you going through the terrible times of your life.

I particularly love the art in this book. It's crisp and brightly colored in presenting the story of Jane Eyre and muted sketches with beautiful soft scenery when presenting Hélène's daily life. It reveals how stories and imagination can feel so clear and vibrant, while the real world feels dull and undefined. Such beautiful art.

Taking note of the two above Graphic Novels by female authors, these sound perfect for next years CatWoman "Graphic Novels" month.

>128 DeltaQueen50:
Nice! Hope you enjoy them!

>109 andreablythe:
I was in a bit of a shock when I got mine - how is it possibly 10 years already?!

>125 andreablythe:
I am so happy you liked it! It is indeed what I like to call a "treacle-read" - slow but sweet. :)

I know! I don't know where the time went.

Slow but sweet is a great way to describe it.

41. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (*****)
Category: Writing, Critical Analysis, or Anything Else Helpful

I returned to Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life this month, although looking back I'm not really sure why. I knew I wanted to read a writing book and this was a book I loved once upon a time, but it had been years since I've read it and there were plenty of other as-yet-unread writing books on my selves that I could have picked up instead.

Maybe I was just drawn to it. Lamott's words were as witty, intelligent, and compassionate as I remembered them, but I struggled through the first portion of the book, my mind distracted and unable to focus — a problem with my own headspace more than the words on the page.

I think I've been a bit mentally overwhelmed in recent weeks (or months), too many things in life and literature for me to process — which might be a reason I've been turning more to TV and movies as a form of relaxation, since they tend to require less engagement.

But as I read and continued reading, working my way through the my own mental blocks, the book slowly anchored me and I felt a little clearer. Lamott writes about her own challenges in writing and in life and the ways it can overwhelm and drive her into despair. Seeing to her imperfect journey was a comfort, providing a sense of I'm not alone in this mess as I approached mine.

At the moment, I don't have the book in front of me, so I can't seem to call up any of the specific pieces of advice that Lamott gives. So, I'll point to Carina Bissett, who also did a reread of Bird by Bird recently and shared a lovely piece on the ways that this book has helped her through challenging times. In her post, she highlights the recommendations Lamott has for getting past perfectionism and moving into getting words on the page — shitty first drafts, short assignments, the picture frame technique.

As Carina notes in her post, "It can be a difficult pursuit to move past the desire for perfection in order to put the story on the page in its raw and garbled state. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to discover the places where a story might have missed its mark or characters whose voices might never be heard if you don’t get the words on the page."

Once upon a time, I would have recommended Bird by Bird primarily to young writers, writers just learning to face the immensity of the page. But having reread it now, I can see that this is a book for writers of all ages and at many stages in their career, a book that teaches compassion for the self, even when struggling with the writing life and the universe, and everything.

42. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (****) - 1974 Hugo/1973 Nebula
Category: Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree/Etc.

An object traveling through our solar system is discovered to be the first sign of intelligent alien life and a space crew is dispatched to explore the ship and learn as much it can before the ship passes out of our solar system again.

This was wonderfully readable, keeping a balance — describing just enough science stuff to keep it believable, while not letting the science drown out the adventure of exploring a strange alien ship. The tension of the story was relatively low — although exploration of an alien is an inherently risky proposition, I never really felt that the crew were in serious danger at any point in time, because this didn't feel like that kind of a story. Even when one of the planet governments expresses concern that the ship might be some sort of invasion device or weapon, you never really buy into that and mostly just think them foolish, because even the tensions between the different planetary cultures seem to minimal. Instead most of the feeling was a sense of wonder at discovery of something astounding and beautiful in its own alien way.

Also, I was relatively pleased with how the story described the women on the crew. Although there were a couple of off-hand sweeping statement of the "woman are such-and-such" variety, they were not particularly bothersome. And in general I appreciated how the women crew members were often highly skilled and respected for those skills, with minimal focus on their appearance.

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43. In Darkness (audio book) by Nick Lake (****) - 2013 Winner
Category: Award Winners – Printz Award Winners and YA Classics

A brutal to read story about a young gangster in Haiti who is trapped in a collapsed hospital following a massive earthquake. Trapped in the dark, and certain he is going to die, he relives his violent past and his lost twin sister. These memories are interwoven with visions of Toussaint L'Ouverture, who liberated Haiti from French rule in the 1804. I'm not sure I would call this an enjoyable read, because it's just so violent and dark during more of the story, but it was interesting and well done.

>132 andreablythe: - I've had that book for years and hope to finally read it someday. It's a book that always seems to come with high praise.

>134 LittleTaiko:
It's so worth reading, especially if you're struggling lately.

44. The War of Words by Amy Neftzger (**1/2)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016

Note: This book was provided as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kelsey is a young women (I'm not sure how young – teenager? 20-something?) playing an integral part in a war against an unnamed sorcerer, casting spells of confusion and misinterpretation into the world. In between endless battles with the sorcerer's shadows, Kelsey discovers a secret book, supposedly unreadable, that may help the kingdom win the war. She calls on her friends back at school (through scrying and bird-carried messages) for help in unraveling the mystery.

There are some interesting concepts in this story, playing words, truth, and lies. But I got kind of lost from the beginning, as I kept trying to figure out what kind of world this was — a kingdom, but what kind and in what sort of an era? It almost seems generically medieval, except that there are guns (not used in battle) and the book references vaccines, which makes it seem more modern (like 1800s). Without enough sense of the world to anchor me, I couldn't quite get fully into the story — which was unfortunate.

Apparently, this is the third in a series — something that is not made clear in the description and would have been good to know before I requested the book. It does make me wonder if all the things that felt glossed over in this book (like setting, world building, etc.) might have been covered previously in the first two books. It would make sense, because the development relationships between the characters — which I also couldn't get a handle on, except that their friends at some level — might have been covered in previous books as well. But I'm probably not going to go back and read to find out.

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45. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (****)
Category: Award Winners – Printz Award Winners and YA Classics

A monster made of yew tree and distant ages rears up out of the night to greet Connor, a young boy with monsters of his own. I loved this story, which is about heartache and imperfect people and stories in which the hero is not always the hero and the villain not always the villain. It's a story that had me weeping big, sloppy tears by the time I reached in the end. Also, the art is lovely, dark and scratchy and beautiful. Highly recommended.

I'm 45 out of the 70 books I set for myself this year — and I don't think I'm going to be able to read another 25 books before the end. Maybe if I stick to shorter books..., so I guess not impossible.

Currently reading: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and Doomsday Book (audio) by Connie Willis. Both are great so far.

Good luck! You can still get some good ones in by Dec. 31st.

45 out of 70 is pretty darn good! Hope the rest of the year is filled with unexpected gems and food for thought.

Your current reads are both on my wishlist. I've heard nothing but good things about The Underground Railroad and Connie Willis has been recommended to me so many times, I don't know why I haven't got to her yet!

>139 mstrust:
True! I'm thinking I can probably get in another 10, which would be a good amount with everything that's going on.

>140 rabbitprincess:
Thanks! I hope so too. I have a feeling The Underground Railroad is going to be great.

>141 DeltaQueen50:
This is the third books I've read by Connie Willis. I loved both Bellweather and All About Emily. They are wryly funny, charming, and kind of scifi lite, making them fun reads. Doomsday Book is a bit darker in tone, dealing with infectious diseases and such, with deaths cropping up, but I'm finding it still has that wry humor laced through it and I'm really loving it. Almost wish I had more car time to get through it faster.

It was announced yesterday that The Underground Railroad won the National Book Award. Hope you enjoy it.

>137 andreablythe:
The art in that one adds so much to the story and "scratchy" is a great adjective for it!

>144 -Eva-:
For sure. The art is great. Although it's a different style, it reminded me of the dark, splotchy illustrations in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books in a way, as both were dark and unsettling.

>145 andreablythe:
Yes! They have very similar moods.

46. Doomsday Book (audio book) by Connie Willis (****)
Category: Awards Winners – Hugo/Nebula/Tiptree/Etc. - winner of the 1993 Hugo/1992 Nebula

I have read and loved two books by Connie Willis, Bellwether and All about Emily — both of which were shorter-lenght science fiction novels imbued with humor. They're intelligent, light reading — quite different from my most recent read, Doomsday Book, which I listened to as an audio book. Set in Oxford at a university in which historians are able to actually travel back in time to witness and experience the past eras they research, the story is split between Kivrin, who travels to the Middle Ages, one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history, and Dunworthy, her mentor who is terrified to see her go and who is left to face his own crisis in the present day as a sudden influenza outbreak flares up, forcing Oxford to go into quarantine. It's a considerably darker story than her other books, although it, too, is laced with Willis' wit and humor. Kivrin's journey to the Middle Ages was particularly compelling, as all her expectations of the kinds of people she expected to meet in the time period were altered by the experience of meeting the actual people, who were kind and loving and flawed and so many other things besides. I fell in love with the family that took her in, just as Kivrin did herself. This was a fantastic book, one that had me itching to read more. I can't wait to get my hands on more of Willis' time travel stories.

Graphic Novels
47. Lumberjanes Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy, written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, illustrated by Brooke A. Allen (***1/2)
48. Lumberjanes Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max, written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, illustrated by Brooke A. Allen (***1/2)

The Lumberjanes stories are fun, riotous stories about a cabin of girls at a summer camp who always seem to find themselves in the strangest of situations, from fighting shadowy foxes, to getting lost in a cave full of tests and traps, to facing down greedy gods. I don't love this one quite to the degree I loved Nimona, but it's still fantastic.

49. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (****1/2)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016

“If you want to see what this nation is all about, you have to ride the rails. Look outside as you speed through, and you’ll find the true face of America. It was a joke, then, from the start. There was only darkness outside the windows on her journeys, and only ever would be darkness.” — from The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad — which has won a National Book Award and a Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction — tells the story of Cora, a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. When a fellow slave Ceasar tells her about the Underground Railroad, she agrees to escape with him and begins a journey north, taking her through various states and cities — each one with its own unique culture, some welcoming her with open arms, others openly hostile. The story unfolds the landscape of the Unites States, unveiling the many shades of racism, both openly violent and disguised behind a seemingly friendly face. This is a powerful book, at times uncomfortable in its straightforward portrayal of the violence inflicted on Cora and her peers, but always beautifully written and challenging in all the best ways.

50. The Vegetarian by Han Kang (***1/2)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016
Note: This book was an ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Vegetarian tells the story of Yeong-hye, who abruptly decides to become a vegetarian following a frightening dream. Her story is not told in her own voice, however, but through the voices of her husband, brother-in-law, and sister. We see how others perceive her — as a wife who has lost her usefulness, as an object of preternatural desire, as an innocent who could have been saved. Viewing Yeong-hye from the outside, we never really get a full understanding of who she is, and that's purposeful. It might have felt as though the narrative had silenced her own voice, except Yeong-hye has already silenced herself, gone to a quiet and internal place that is for her alone. It's an interesting book, although somewhat bleak for my tastes. Worth reading, but not a favorite.

>147 andreablythe: So glad you liked Doomsday Book! Since you're looking to read more of her time travel stories, I highly recommend both To Say Nothing of the Dog and Blackout/All Clear!

>151 christina_reads:
Thanks for the recs, Christina. I'll definitely be picking all of those up!

51. Independent Ed: Inside a Career of Big Dreams, Little Movies, and the Twelve Best Days of My Life by Edward Burns

In Independent Ed, Edward Burns relates his experiences working in the film industry as a writer, director, and actor. Burns directed and produced his first film, The Brothers McMullen, on a tiny $25,000 budget — which went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995. Since that initial success, he has gone on to make ten more films on his own terms and act in several big budget Hollywood movies (such as Saving Private Ryan) and television shows.

This memoir highlights Burns’ successes, but perhaps more importantly delves into his mistakes, the poor decisions and bad luck that makes a movie fail to be the success one hoped it would be. These missteps, more than the successes, are where the greatest lessons lie.It’s hard to figure out why something succeeds, much easier to point to the number of reasons why something didn’t. His honesty in looking back on these moments, in which he examines where he went wrong and where the cards were against him, is a part of what makes this memoir work.

A few practical, useful pieces of advice are littered throughout the book (the difference between a master shot and a two shot, for example), providing some help in the nitty gritty of making a movie — but the real value of this book is in his philosophy toward filmmaking in general.

For Burns, the act of independent filmmaking is the ability to make movies according to your own vision and away from influences that might compromise that vision. He describes the twelve best days of his life as the twelve days he spent filming his first movie, The Brothers McMullen — twelve days telling a story true and making a movie for no other reason than the sheer joy of making a movie.

After The Brothers McMullen became a success and as his career as a director progressed, Burns continued to seek out those twelve days of joy. This lead him to choose projects that may have had smaller budgets, but that provided him with the freedom he needed to tell the kind of quiet stories to which he was drawn and to experiment with new technologies (such as using digital cameras and premiering some of his films on streaming services).

With the availability of such technologies, he notes, filmmakers have the opportunity to seek out their own twelve best days, to experiment and learn how to make movies while in the process of making movies in the same way writers learn how to tells stories through the act of telling stories, and musicians learn how to create songs by plucking strings on a guitar to get it right. He explains:

“At this moment, anyone who dreams of becoming a filmmaker is lucky indeed. For the first time in the history of cinema, filmmaking does not need to be a capitalist enterprise. You no longer need millions of dollars or even thousands of dollars. You are no longer beholden to someone writing a check. It no longer needs to be a business. It can be your artistic expression.”

Many filmmakers have realized this and are using various outlets on the internet to get their movies made and seen. But, as someone who’s often felt overwhelmed by what I believed the barriers to moviemaking to be, it’s empowering to be reminded that those barriers than I had imagined them. It’s a strong message for me — for all of us creative types — to get back to work and to keep seeking out those best days, those days when we are engaged and living our work.

As a footnote, I realize that I’ve never seen any of the movies Burns directed. As someone interested in independent filmmaking, I’m fascinated by what people are able to accomplish with small budgets and creative thinking. It would be interesting to do a marathon focused on Burns’

Taking the morning afternoon playing catch-up on all the threads in the group and have enjoyed getting caught up with all of your reading. Congratulations on having your collection of poems being accepted for publication! That is truly a Seinfeld excitement dance moment!

>124 andreablythe: - I am looking forward to reading that one.

>125 andreablythe: - LOL, long yes, but glad to see you found the story to be worth the time investment!

Hi, Lori!

I hope you enjoy Relish as much as I did. :)

Mielville is an amazing writer, but he's a writer you have to fully invest in when you're reading. Which is a good thing.

So, I went to Yosemite over the weekend — my first time being there. It was frigidly cold, but so beautiful. Worth every shiver.







More thoughts and such on my blog.

Beautiful pictures, Andrea. Were there lots of people there at this time of year? I was there once in a September and you couldn't park or move anywhere there were so many people.

Thanks, Judy! There were far less people than in other seasons, but there were still plenty of people out and about with almost every parking spot in the camping area taken. At no point did we feel isolated on the trails, people were always about — but definitely not as crowded as it would have been in the summer.

Great photos! :D

52. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (****)
Category: Newbies – Books Published in 2015 & 2016

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children is a place for children who have been there and back again, those who have found doorways to other world that feel more home than home and who, for one reason or another, found themselves back in the mundane world of their previous lives. It's a place where these children can bide their time, trying to make do while they search for a way back to where they really belong, or learn to accept and make peace with the fact that they'll never return.

This first book in the series centers around Nancy, a teenage girl who has traveled to an underworld presided over by the lord of the dead, a place where she has learned to still herself into a statue. Having returned home, her parents can't accept who she is now and so have sent her away to this school, where disasters begin to happen shortly after she arrives.

This story is beautiful in its way. I love the way it presents different worlds for each kind of child and different kids for each kind of world. I also love the way it rejects the idea that a child like Alice would want to live in England instead of something like a Wonderland. My only complaint really was that this short book felt too sparse, and I would have enjoyed having more time to get to know the school and the characters within. However, since it's a series, I'm guessing I'll get that chance with other stories, hopefully from the point of view of other characters.

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53. Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal (****)
Category: Miscellany

This slender narrative tells the story of Katya, who deals in "Authenticities and Captures, trading on nostalgia for a past long gone." On a return trip from purchasing an antique typewriter, she meets a man hunting deer on the road who cuts her from the cloud and holds her captive while he finishes a mysterious task. An interesting, fun little read.

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54. I’ll Give You the Sun (audio book) by Jandy Nelson (****1/2)- 2015 Printz Winner
Category: Award Winners – Printz Award Winners and YA Classics

What a beautiful story of family, art, betrayal, and loss. Centering around a twin brother and sister, the story is split across two timelines — with Noah telling the story from when they were 14 years old and Jude telling it from the perspective of being 16 years old. Nelson does an amazing job of interweaving events, showing how seemingly disconnected events from the past have a profound impact on the present. I especially liked how she managed to give Noah and Jude each their own voice — similar, but unique to themselves and how they view the world. Everything comes together in the end in a fantastic culmination of events that left me entirely satisfied. Great book.

.

55. Ghosts by by Raina Telgemeier (***)
Category: Graphic Novels

Cat and her sister Maya move to a foggy seaside town for the sake of Maya's health (she has cystic fibrosis). Much to their surprise they find the town inhabited by ghosts with Dia de los Muertos being the most important celebration of the year. It's a cute story and I liked the diversity of the characters, but I wish it could have gone a little deeper into these girl's characters and feelings. Cat spends most of her time being petrified of the ghosts, and it doesn't leave much to explore the complicated feelings of responsibility and love for her sister. The art in this graphic novel is good, but not really my cup of tea, a bit cartoony for me.

Those are great photos - Yosemite is amazing!

Wishing you all the best for the holiday season, Andrea.

>162 -Eva-:
Eva, Yosemite is gorgeous! We only spent one full day there and I can't wait to go back! Maybe in the spring or summer though, when it's a weeeee less cold.

>163 DeltaQueen50:
A Happy Holidays to you, too, Judy!

56. A Step From Heaven, by An Na (***1/2) - 2002 Printz Winner
Category: Award Winners – Printz Award Winners and YA Classics

A story of a Korean family immigrating to the U.S., told in vignettes from the point of view of a young girl. The story avoids oversimplification, dealing with issues like assimilation, alcoholism, and abuse, while also sharing moments of love and beauty. The vignettes are a good choice here, providing plenty of in between spaces that allow the story to breathe.

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57. Lumberjanes Vol. 3: A Terrible Plan, written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis, illustrated by Brooke A. Allen (***1/2)
Category: Graphic Novels

As the series continues, we get the chance to better understand the group of campers and their relationships to one another — as well as more fun adventures that I won't spoil here.

I'm sure everyone has moved on to the 2017 threads ( mine is here), but first a brief summary of my 2016 reading.

I finished out the year with a total of 57 books read and three categories completed — although this means I didn't quite reach my goal, I'm still happy with the results as there were some really fantastic reads this year.

I'll be doing a blog post on my Top Reads from 2016 shortly and will share it here, when I'm done.

Glad to hear you had lots of fantastic reads! :D

Before I move on to the 2017 challenge, here are my top reads from 2016, cross posted from my blog.

Best Science Fiction Novel
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.

Best Fantasy Novel
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders.

Best Horror Novel
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle.

Best Historical Novel
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

Best YA Novel
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

Best Short Story Collection
Get in Trouble by Kelly Link.

Best Graphic Novels
Super Mutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki.
The Arrival by Shaun Tan.

Best Nonfiction Book
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace.

Best Poetry Collection
Southern Cryptozoology: A Field Guide to Beasts of the Southern Wild by Allie Marini.

Some wonderful books in your top reads of 2016. See you on the 2017 challenge!

Hi, Paruline. See you over there!