Monday Malarkey

Recent arrivals (top to bottom):

• Anthem by Noah Hawley
• Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen
• Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer
• Fuzz by Mary Roach
• The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
• The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Delilah Harris
• The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton
• My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
• Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson 
• Becoming Abolitionists by Derecka Purnell
• Heard it in a Love Song by Tracy Garvis Graves
• Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
• Maid by Nita Prose

Not pictured: 

• Joan is Okay by Weike Wang

This shockingly large and unexpected pile brought to you by the "Free ARC" cart at my old library. I dropped by to look for any old book that was either falling apart or had no particular value in the library sale corner (like outdated reference books) for the sake of tearing out pages to use in collaging and came across the cart. Oh, and I did find a terribly outdated reference book that has about 1500 pages, so lots of nice page ripping is in my future. I can't bear to just tear apart any old book. They have to be useless or in poor condition. 

At any rate, I was not expecting to get a pile of free books. There were 4 shelves full but I stuck mostly to books that were already on my radar, either ones that I'd seen reviewed and put on my wish list or by authors I love (Tracy Garvis Graves, Noah Hawley) and I think I ended up with some pretty exciting books. I'm especially thrilled that there are plenty by Black authors because I've decided that Black History Month should just go on all year, especially when it comes to books that have been banned or challenged. 

Books finished since last Malarkey:

• Spy x Family #2 by Tatsuya Endo
• The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo
• The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis
• Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
• Blame by Simon Mayo

Currently reading:

• Joan is Okay by Weike Wang

I have the Beatles Book still going but didn't touch it, last week. The same is true of Paint Mojo (which I've also had a bookmark in for several weeks) because I have all sorts of art projects going and it's not actually a good time for that one, although I'll keep reading a chapter, now and then, when I think of it and then return to it when I'm ready to use it for inspiration. 

Joan is Okay was not pictured because I didn't pick it up from the cart, for some reason, although I kept looking at it. It was obviously calling me but I think I just decided I had more than enough and I needed to stop. Fortunately, it was still there when I went back the next day. I had to return to Vicksburg to take Isabel to the vet and since it was 40° out, she was safe and comfy in the car while I ran in and snatched it off the cart (I would not have left her for a second if it had been warm out and the sun shining). I started Joan is Okay last night, and I am loving it. Always listen when books holler at you. 

I'll be adding a new nonfiction read tonight, now that I've finished Caste. 

Posts since last Malarkey:

• A Boy Named Isamu by James Yang and Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford and Floyd Cooper  (mini reviews)
• Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea (book review)
• Fiona Friday (cat photo)
• The Founding Myth by Andrew L. Seidel (book review)
• Slightly Foxed #71, Letters of Note: War by Shaun Usher, and The Arrow Book of Funny Poems, compiled by Eleanor Clymer (mini reviews) 
• The Defiant Middle by Kaya Oakes (book review)
• Fiona Friday (cat photo)

In other news:

I was actually expecting to share the children's books from my recent non-buying break purchase in my "recent arrivals" today. Both piles (the ARCs from the library and the children's books from Book Outlet) have already been dipped into. Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo is one I bought from Book Outlet primarily because of the combination of WWII story and a cat on the cover. Haha, figures. It's a good story and I hope to review it very soon. I had never heard of Michael Morpurgo but apparently he's one of England's most admired writers of middle grade books. I bought two more of his and I'm excited about both. 

I'm reading a little too fast to keep up with myself, review-wise, this year. Such a relief after two years of not reading at my normal pace. It's the old problem boomeranging on me but when you're reading almost exclusively off your own shelves, it's a lesser one. There are no required reviewing dates, hence no pressure. That's the reason I'm doing more combined mini reviews — while I know people do drop by to read my reviews, I started this blog as a place to spill about the books I've read and it's become a nice reference to look back upon. But, I don't necessarily need to write separate reviews for everything.

I do have a single book that I accepted for book tour (because it was on my wish list). It has not arrived and the review date is just 10 days from now, so if it doesn't get here, no biggie. I'll eventually check it out from the library. But, every other request for review has gone in the circular file. 

TV-wise, I've been bingeing (sp?) on Chicago Fire but I'm still only on Season 2. Wow, there were a lot of episodes in those early seasons! Over 20 in Season 1. The only other thing I watched, this week, was the news. I have no personal connection to Ukraine, other than the head of my husband's dissertation committee and his family, second generation Ukrainian-Americans, whom we haven't seen or spoken to in probably at least a decade but I am well aware of just how dangerous this is. If Putin succeeds in keeping Ukraine from staying a democracy, he is going to continue saying, "I can't have a democratic country to the West" and invading the next country. Not to mention the horrible toll on human lives.

So, I am rooting for Ukraine, of course, and much bemused by the Americans who are traitorously siding with an authoritarian who has journalists, protestors, politicians who disagree with him, etc., murdered  regularly. My prayers are with the people of Ukraine, who have shown uncommon courage in the face of horror. To their strength, to victory for Ukraine, to democracy. 

©2022 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.