Monday Malarkey

Recent arrivals are going to be divided into purchases and books from publishers, today, since quite a few walked in my door, in the past two weeks.

Purchases (shown above, top to bottom):

The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone
The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas
Spain Under Franco: A History by Max Gallo
I've Got the Light of Freedom by Charles M. Payne

In order: WWII, The Spanish Civil War (twice), and Civil Rights in Mississippi. I think I'll save the Civil Rights book for Black History Month. And, there's no way I'll get to the rest before 2019 but I did make an interesting discovery, thanks to the arrival of that fat book on the Spanish Civil War. I am no longer terrified of chunksters. In fact, I can hardly bear not diving into that huge book! I can't even tell you how happy that makes me. But it'll have to wait. I have at least two more very full months in which I've got a stack already waiting for me. I'm going to do my best to avoid requesting anything but children's books, for the next few months, so that my calendar is freed up for books I already own, come the first of the year.

From publishers for review (top to bottom):

• Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (graphic novel) - from Scholastic
• Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver - from HarperCollins 
• The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves - from St. Martin's Press
• To Kill A Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel by Harper Lee and Fred Fordham - from HarperCollins
• Never Too Young: 50 Unstoppable Kids Who Made a Difference by Aileen Weintraub and Laura Horton,
• Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast: Mission Defrostable by Josh Funk and Brendan Kearney,
• Business Pig by Andrea Zuill,
• and Look at Me! Wild Animal Showoffs by Jim Arnosky - all 4 from Sterling Children's Books

Am I a lucky girl, or what? Such an exciting pile. Of course, I've already read some of the children's books. Middle-of-the-night reading story forthcoming. They were worth the excitement.


Books finished since last Malarkey:

• Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech
• Death of the Snake Catcher: Short Stories by Ak Welsapar
• Homespun: Amish and Mennonite Women in Their Own Words, ed. by Lorilee Craker
• Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast: Mission Defrostable by Josh Funk and Brendan Kearney
• Look at Me! Wild Animal Showoffs by Jim Arnosky
• Business Pig by Andrea Zuill

I read a ton of children's books in August, about 2/3 of the books I read. So, I did something a little different when the latest pile walked in the door. Instead of immediately sitting down to read the four children's books the moment they arrived, I waited until August ended so that I'd have a swinging start to the month of September. As it turned out, I went to bed early on the 31st and woke up at 1:30 AM. Sproing! I was wide awake. So, I sat up and read three children's books (and started a 4th) at 1:30 in the morning. They made the time a little more joyful than it might have been. Why toss and turn when you can read about a pancake and a piece of french toast saving the day with the help of a former rival? This week will be dedicated to reviews of children's books. If I finish reviewing the picture books, I'll move on to middle grade titles. If not, I'll save those for next week.


Currently reading:

• Never Too Young! by Aileen Weintraub and Laura Horton
• I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan

I also still have a bookmark in Sons and Soldiers by Bruce Henderson and plan to focus on that title after I finish I Know You Know.


Posts since last Malarkey:

• How to Be a T. Rex by Ryan North and Mike Lowery (book review)
• Six Weeks in the Sioux Tepees: A Narrative of Indian Captivity by Sarah F. Wakefield (book review)
• From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein (book review)
• The Muse by Jessie Burton and a Fiona Friday pic (book review and cat photo)
• Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson (book review/tour)
• Homespun: Amish and Mennonite Women in Their Own Words, ed. by Lorilee Craker (book review/tour)
• Fiona Friday: Fiona loves her pink ribbon (cat photo)

In other news:


I can't remember what I watched last week, but I know there was a movie . . . just one. Oh, well. This week we watched Pork Pie:

Husband says it's the remake of another movie similarly titled. Pork Pie is the story of three people who unexpectedly become outlaws and end up getting chased across New Zealand by both police and reporters. It's a fun movie, filled with exciting chase scenes. The characters are nicely wacky and slowly become friends (actually, two of them become . . . more than a little friendly) on their way to Invercargill, where one of the men wants to apologize to someone for the horrible thing he did, which he now knows to have been the biggest mistake of his life. Loved it!

Still watching Torchwood, when I have an hour to sit and goof off. My absolute favorite episode was in Season 1: "Random Shoes". Since the year I binge-watched Torchwood, I've occasionally gone back to watch "Random Shoes". It's an unusually sweet and touching episode and I was excited when I discovered it was next in line. I did skip over one episode that I remember as particularly gruesome. No need to watch anything that I didn't like the first time.


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