September 2023 Recap: Nope, Still Hot.

Happy October! It’s officially fall in the northern hemisphere, and we all know what that means in Phoenix… Absolutely nothing. It’s still hot. Although we do start cooling down nicely at night during the month of October, so by the end of the month, I should be able to break out my hoodie at night.

I’m still on pace to actually finish the full reading challenge this year (for once), as long as I can keep from getting too bogged down in long books. For September, I finished 5. Let’s talk about them!

My first read of September was my choice for challenge #40, Read a “Dark Academia” novel: The Secret History by Donna Tartt. One of the Discord servers I hang out in now and then was having a literature discussion and giving suggestions for novels that fit with the “Dark Academia” aesthetic. The Secret History was one of the most frequently recommended, along with If We Were Villains, and happened to be the first one that came up on my Paperback Swap wish list. The story centers around a private liberal arts college in Vermont where a poor young man from rural California ends up being accepted into a very exclusive – almost cult-like – program studying Greek, classic literature, and philosophy.

The book starts out talking about the death of one of this small group, and then goes back to set up the main character’s arrival at the college, his attempts to be invited into the exclusive classical studies program, and his struggles to be accepted by the other students. Richard’s story is at times harrowing, riddled with the kind of bad decisions college students can’t seem to help making, and ends in tragedy. It was very well written, and at times a good bit disturbing. There were scenes where the characters’ paranoia had me on the edge of my seat as well. [4 stars]

After that, I jumped into a novel I’d been looking forward to since I found it on the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2022 list (yep, that’s challenge prompt #49): Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro. The premise in itself sounded interesting – a story about children with supernatural gifts having to face forces that could threaten the world itself… but the first review blurb Amazon listed read “Charles Dickens meets Joss Whedon in Miro’s otherworldly Netflix-binge-like novel.” —The Washington Post

I had to read it. And within the first chapter I was getting serious vibes of The Nevers. It was very tense, full of horror and betrayal and a rather philosophical through-line of what it is to be a monster. A sequel is scheduled to be published next year sometime, and I definitely have to pick it up – not just because of the cliffhanger ending, but because I need to know what happens to this band of misfits. [4.5 stars]

My next read of September was one that I’d been planning to read for ages – Neil Gaiman’s classic American Gods. I had heard a lot about it, so I knew the premise was similar to a lot of other stories – Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles comes to mind – in which every culture’s gods and mythological figures were actually real and walking among us. The Iron Druid series is pretty hilarious, though, while this story is violent and gritty and tense.

Gaiman’s writing pulls you in as the story ranges all across the United States, including some landmarks that I recognized pretty well (Cairo, Illinois being one of them). It was an absolutely perfect choice for challenge #44, Read a folklore book or book based on folklore. [4.25 stars]

After American Gods, I burned through The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune in two nights – I’d been seeing recommendations for the past couple of years, and it seemed to fit pretty well for challenge prompt #52, Read a “found family” story. This book was, in a word, adorable. Six misfit magical children and their unusual caretaker in an orphanage on a remote island are visited by a caseworker from the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, who is a very by-the-book employee with a tender heart whose life is about to change forever…

This book made me laugh, made me “awwww”, and made me want a baby wyvern as a pet. In retrospect, it wasn’t a perfect story, but it left me with a big smile. [4.75 stars]

And then for something completely different, I picked up a tight little fast paced thriller, with plenty of twists and tension and surprises. Family Money by Chad Zunker follows an entrepreneur whose wealthy attorney father-in-law is kidnapped in front of him while on a trip to Mexico, and a burned body wearing his belt buckle and rings was found the next day. While trying to settle his father-in-law’s affairs, he uncovers a mystery about the source of the seed money to start his business, and each secret uncovers more secrets and lies.

This was my Amazon First Reads selection from February of 2022, and it fit perfectly for challenge prompt #56, Read a book about an entrepreneur (real or fictional). [3.75 stars]

For other media, Amazon Prime gifted us with the second season of The Wheel of Time (all but the season finale, which airs on October 5th)… This season has been quite an improvement on the first season – effects, pacing, and writing all seemed to have gotten a lot better, and there have been some spectacular episodes for actor performances. The storylines were still a departure from the books – but the “heart and spine” of the book story is still recognizable, and I’m really excited for season 3, which we’ve been told is more faithful to the Book 4 story (and that’s my favorite of the book series). And I’m continuing to watch Veronica Mars, The Last of Us and Lost for the first time alongside a few reaction channels. I’m still pretty early in these shows but am enjoying them so far!

Aside from that, it was a pretty quiet month – I bought myself a couple of new t-shirts from Redbubble, added another custom MoviePalette to my collection (I now have 3 of my favorite Buffy episodes hanging above my television), and attended my honorary niece’s first gymnastics competition of the season (she did quite well!). See also photos of Miss Fred being adorable, and being a little brat.

And that’s a wrap for my monthly wrap-up! Come chat with me in the comments – what have you been reading? See any good movies or TV shows lately? What’s your favorite pumpkin spice find for fall?

The Linzthebookworm/Logophile 2023 Reading Challenge

Level 1: Book of the Month Club [11/12 complete]
1. Read a book recommended to you on social media or by a friend – Recursion – Blake Crouch
2. Read a book under 300 pages – The Courts of Chaos – Roger Zelazny
3. Read a book with a female main character – Tress of the Emerald Sea – Brandon Sanderson
4. Read a book by an author whose name is Samantha, Sam, or a variant – Seven Blades in Black – Sam Sykes
5. Read a book that was written by an author from your home state
6. Read a book you meant to read for last year’s challenge – Have We Met? – Camille Baker
7. Read a book with a basic shape on the cover (examples: circle, square, heart, star, diamond) – Call It What You Want – Brigid Kemmerer
8. Read a book you got from Project Gutenberg, a library, or another nonprofit source – The Blue Castle – L.M. Montgomery
9. Read a book about a hobby you enjoy or want to pick up (fiction or nonfiction) – The Bullet Journal Method – Ryder Carroll
10. Read a book that starts with the first letter of your name – Daughters of the Lake – Wendy Webb
11. Read the next book in a series you haven’t read in a while – The Lost Metal – Brandon Sanderson
12. Free Space – Pick any book! – The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England – Brandon Sanderson

Level 2: Casual Reader Club [11/12 complete]
13. Read a book by Mary Faulkner (or one of her aliases)
14. Read a book of short stories or a novella – Ford County: Stories – John Grisham
15. Read a book that involves a lot of traveling – Swan Song – Robert R. McCammon
16. Read a book published in 1998 (25 years ago) – Ship of Magic – Robin Hobb
17. Read a book with a yellow cover – The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock – Jane Riley
18. Reread a book you have recommended to someone else – The Imperfect Disciple – Jared C. Wilson
19. Read a book by Dean Koontz – Intensity – Dean Koontz
20. Read a book with a one-word title – Slayer – Kiersten White
21. Read book 1 in a trilogy – The Armored Saint – Myke Cole
22. Read book 2 in a trilogy – A Heart so Fierce and Broken – Brigid Kemmerer
23. Read book 3 in a trilogy – Red Country – Joe Abercrombie
24. Free Space – Pick any book! – Mad Ship – Robin Hobb

Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club [11/12 complete]
25. Read a book that takes place somewhere you’d like to live – Revenge of the Nymph: The Faeries Vol.2 – Ramon Terrell
26. Read a book recommended by whatshouldireadnext.com – The Lion of Senet – Jennifer Fallon
27. Read a book by an author who shares a first or last name with one of your friends – The New York Trilogy – Paul Auster
28. Read a book with a neon-colored cover – Exiles – Ashley and Leslie Saunders
29. Read a book that has under 1,000 reviews or ratings on a website or app – Joshua: Man of Fearless Faith – W. Phillip Keller
30. Read a middle grade book (8-12 age range) – Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones
31. Read a book with the word “Time” in the title – The Last Time I Lied – Riley Sager
32. Read a book about a famous criminal(s) – Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde – Jeff Guinn
33. Read a movie novelization book (movie to book, instead of book to movie) – The Phantom Menace: Star Wars: Episode I – Terry Brooks
34. Read a fiction or nonfiction book that motivates you to be a better version of yourself – Savor: Living Abundantly Where You Are, As You Are – Shauna Niequist
35. Read a self-published book – Duel of Fire – Jordan Rivet
36. Free Space – Pick any book! – Yumi and the Nightmare Painter – Brandon Sanderson

Level 4: Speed Reader Club [8/12 complete]
37. Read a book that is over 600 pages – The Stone of Farewell – Tad Williams
38. Read a book from ListChallenge’s Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge – The Art of War – Sun Tzu
39. A book by an author named David/Dave
40. Read a “Dark Academia” novel – The Secret History – Donna Tartt
41. Read a book with a title that starts with the letter V – Vanishing Acts – Jodi Picoult
42. A book set in Asia or an Asian-inspired culture
43. Read a book with a cat on the cover – The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern – Lilian Jackson Braun
44. Read a folklore book or book based on folklore – American Gods – Neil Gaiman
45. Read a book where the main character is a dancer – Someone Else’s Life – Lyn Liao Butler
46. Read a book by a new author – Dead Man’s Hand – James J. Butcher
47. Read a book that involves a conspiracy
48. Free Space – Pick any book!

Level 5: Overachiever Club [5/12 complete]
49. Read one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2022 (any category) – Ordinary Monsters – J.M. Miro
50. Read a book where the main character is a villain or anti-hero
51. Read a book that has a title that is punny and/or alliterative – Murder’s No Votive Confidence – Christin Brecher
52. Read a “found family” story – The House in the Cerulean Sea – T.J. Klune
53. Read a book that has a letter Q in the title
54. Read a book that has an illustrated cover – Naomi and Her Daughters – Walter Wangerin, Jr.
55. Read a book that takes place in at least two different decades – The Alice Network – Kate Quinn
56. Read a book about an entrepreneur (real or fictional) – Family Money – Chad Zunker
57. Read a book that takes place in Alaska
58. Read a book with the word “Justice” in the title
59. Read a book involving dinosaurs
60. Free Space – Pick any book!

April 2023 Recap: All the Nerd Stuff

Another month, another chatty blog post ahead! Read at your own risk, y’all!

IMPORTANT CHALLENGE UPDATE: A short note – Linz and I have updated one of this year’s challenge prompts due to an oopsie… When picking a specific author for prompt #13, we chose one who was listed as an extremely prolific writer with over 900 books published under 11 pseudonyms. What we didn’t count on was the fact that almost all of her books are out of print and not in wide circulation, so it’s really tough to find any of them. I was able to locate 3 of her titles on Amazon – The Cat and the Canary, The Involuntary Chaperon, and Four Acting Monologues. – but if you’re not an Amazon person or want more options, we totally understand. We came up with two alternate prompts: Either you can choose a book by one of the authors listed on Owlcation’s list of the 21 most prolific authors of all time (which includes Mary Faulkner/Kathleen Lindsay, as well as a couple of authors from our previous challenges)… Or you can pull from one of our previous year’s featured author prompts: Georges Simenon (2022), John Irving (2021), Isaac Asimov (2020), Brandon Sanderson (2019), or Agatha Christie (2018). Since this has been dubbed “The Year of Sanderson“, it’s an easy choice to pick him… stay tuned to see if I take the easy way out.

Speaking of Brandon Sanderson *cough*… This month I finished another 6 books, including one of his. I’m ahead of schedule to complete my 50 book goal, and actually stand a fair shot of finishing the whole challenge for once this year.

The first book I read in April, for my first Free Space prompt (#12), was Brandon Sanderson’s second Kickstarter secret project, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England. With that title, you’d expect it to be pretty absurd and a fun ride, and you’d be correct – I had a really good time with it. The premise of the novel is basically The Bourne Identity meets the concept of time travel tourism, with hilarious excerpts from the handbook which was at least 60% advertising for the fictional company offering the ability to purchase your own personal medieval-era dimension.

The rest of the story – the main character’s journey in rediscovering who he is and reshaping his life, with some fun side characters, a somewhat familiar setting (with some quirky differences), and sci-fi elements – is a light, entertaining read. [4.25 stars]

Next up, my choice for challenge prompt #10, Read a book that starts with the first letter of your name – Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb. I picked this book up as an Amazon First Reads selection back in October of 2018, and didn’t re-read the descriptive blurb when I picked it for the challenge – I’d remembered it was advertised as suspense and gothic fiction, but had completely forgotten it was also billed as paranormal suspense. I enjoyed the book overall, and the descriptions of the setting and the glimpses of the area around 1910 – there were some things about the way the book resolved that I predicted handily, but overall there was a bit too much folklore and ghost story to this for my taste. [3.75 stars]

After that, I read Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult, which was one of a few options I had identified for prompt #41, Read a book with a title that starts with the letter V. This was a fascinating exploration of identity, memory and choices – so different from the sci-fi Recursion with its global stakes. It’s a family drama exploring some tough subject matter – kidnapping, alcoholism, child abuse, suicide, prison gangs, and repressed trauma. I’m not someone who has difficulty with these subjects – if you do, you may want to avoid this one – but it was deftly handled in my opinion, and very well written. [4.5 stars]

Next was the book I chose for challenge prompt #38, Read a book from ListChallenge’s Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge – the classic The Art of War by Sun Tzu (or Sunzi, as this copy lists it). This was one of the big binge of free classic novels I downloaded when I first got my Kindle and didn’t get around to. I can see why it’s survived for so long and been studied for centuries to apply to military and non-military leadership positions alike. Thought provoking, but not entirely my jam. [3 stars]

I have been looking forward to this book for a while, bought due to a recommendation from Merphy Napier. Duel of Fire by Jordan Rivet was self-published (perfect for prompt #35, Read a self-published book) and was a light, fun read with some romance, some fire magic, lots of sword play, some politics and betrayal… I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the setting and the magic, and I immediately had to buy the next in the series so I can find out what happens next. I’d say that’s a win. [4.25 stars]

Back when Linz and I were assembling our prompts for this year’s challenge, the usual wording of the trilogy prompts (specifically #22 and #23) was changed to just “book 2/3 in *a* trilogy” instead of “book 2/3 in the same trilogy” as we’d done previously. And since it got published that way, I decided to be a little tricksy and make progress in 3 separate trilogies because I could. For prompt #21, Read book 1 in a trilogy, I picked the first in a Young Adult fantasy by an author I’d seen years ago on a few panels at Phoenix ComiCon. Myke Cole usually writes more military fantasy, but this trilogy sounded more up my alley.

The Armored Saint was clearly setting up for a larger story so the beginning was a slow bit of world building, with a rush of action at the end setting up for the next book. I enjoyed the story for the most part, although there was one spot where I felt like the moralizing got a little heavy handed, and the fact that most of the book we are shown how oppressive the quasi-religious government is and primed to believe that everything they teach is a lie, only to find out that maybe it’s actually not so much a lie, kind of gave me whiplash. [3.75 stars]

Aside from reading, I’ve been continuing to watch Ted Lasso with one of the reaction channels I follow, and it’s quickly become a favorite show. We’re about halfway into season 2 now, watching a couple of episodes a week. I don’t know that I would subscribe to Apple+ streaming solely for this show, but if you can get a free week’s trial and binge-watch it all, I’d do it. And there are a few other Apple+ shows that I’ve heard good things about, so it might be worth subscribing if you know of others you’d like to check out while you’re at it.

In music news, I recorded another one of my original songs and uploaded to YouTube – Take My Hand … I’d intended to get a second one up but I got sidetracked by a couple of things. I got hit by an inspiration for a parody song just before the deadline to enter for the annual WoT Idol competition If you’ve read the Wheel of Time series, or just don’t care and want to hear my parody of Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero, enjoy Past Life Trauma. Yet again my song got knocked out in the first round of voting, but it was so much fun to participate that I didn’t care. And there were again some excellent competitors – full list of entries here, or you can see the last two years worth sorted by spoiler level in individual playlists here if you’re actually reading the books and want to avoid spoilers.

I ended up having a girls’ night out with some former neighbors and friends early in the month, and of course there was Easter Sunday, which was a very full day, and the week that followed was busy with the live stream events for the WoT Idol parody contest.

My other major nerd event, following closely on the heels of the parody song competition, was the annual JordanCon event in Atlanta. This was the biggest year so far, with 1195 attendees and over $23,000 raised for charity. And it was a heck of a lot of fun. Most years I’ve gone, I was rooming with some of my friends from Dragonmount, but this year they all had conflicts so I was without my designated extroverts. Well, except for one, but he was going to be off doing his own thing so I was going to be adrift.

In order to force myself to be social instead of hiding in my room all weekend, I set myself a couple of goals. JordanCon has a tradition of attendees collecting and displaying badge ribbons, and there is usually a lot of respect given the the folks who create the longest “badge beard” – most years I’ve only gotten 10 or so ribbons at most, because the best source is talking to the other attendees, some of whom have specific things you need to say or do to obtain ribbons from them. This year I set a goal to get my badge beard to hit the floor, which was achieved on Saturday afternoon. (And I ended up collecting several more on Sunday to boot.)

The other goal was to finish one of the convention games – usually they have at least one game designed to get attendees talking to one another, and this year the new member services director came up with a Bingo game that required the participants to interact with the many author and artist guests that come to the convention to sell books and art and sit on panels to discuss subjects of interest. The Bingo cards were randomized with 20 guests, and all the guests were given a stamp to use on the players’ cards. I decided I was going to finish my Bingo card, which was not easy – but the scheduling app for the convention helped me filter by panel guests to see what rooms they would be in at what times. I had to stalk the last few on Sunday afternoon instead of attending panels myself, but I was the first to finish the game, and received a cute little smiley super star pin. This game was a clever way to ensure we’d spend more time lurking in the Author’s Alley tables and sell more books, too – I bought 8.

The best pictures of April, including my nail art for the convention (themed around the Wheel of Time of course) are in the gallery below!

Another month down! Come talk to me in the comments, won’t you? Have you read The Wheel of Time? Do you ever go to conventions (not work related)? What have you been reading, or watching, or listening to?

The Linzthebookworm/Logophile 2023 Reading Challenge

Level 1: Book of the Month Club [11/12 complete]
1. Read a book recommended to you on social media or by a friend – Recursion – Blake Crouch
2. Read a book under 300 pages – The Courts of Chaos – Roger Zelazny
3. Read a book with a female main character – Tress of the Emerald Sea – Brandon Sanderson
4. Read a book by an author whose name is Samantha, Sam, or a variant – Seven Blades in Black – Sam Sykes
5. Read a book that was written by an author from your home state
6. Read a book you meant to read for last year’s challenge – Have We Met? – Camille Baker
7. Read a book with a basic shape on the cover (examples: circle, square, heart, star, diamond) – Call It What You Want – Brigid Kemmerer
8. Read a book you got from Project Gutenberg, a library, or another nonprofit source – The Blue Castle – L.M. Montgomery
9. Read a book about a hobby you enjoy or want to pick up (fiction or nonfiction) – The Bullet Journal Method – Ryder Carroll
10. Read a book that starts with the first letter of your name – Daughters of the Lake – Wendy Webb
11. Read the next book in a series you haven’t read in a while – The Lost Metal – Brandon Sanderson
12. Free Space – Pick any book! – The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England – Brandon Sanderson

Level 2: Casual Reader Club [6/12 complete]
13. Read a book by Mary Faulkner (or one of her aliases)
14. Read a book of short stories or a novella – Ford County: Stories – John Grisham
15. Read a book that involves a lot of traveling – Swan Song – Robert R. McCammon
16. Read a book published in 1998 (25 years ago)
17. Read a book with a yellow cover – The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock – Jane Riley
18. Reread a book you have recommended to someone else – The Imperfect Disciple – Jared C. Wilson
19. Read a book by Dean Koontz – Intensity – Dean Koontz
20. Read a book with a one-word title – Slayer – Kiersten White
21. Read book 1 in a trilogy – The Armored Saint – Myke Cole
22. Read book 2 in a trilogy
23. Read book 3 in a trilogy
24. Free Space – Pick any book!

Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club [3/12 complete]
25. Read a book that takes place somewhere you’d like to live
26. Read a book recommended by whatshouldireadnext.com
27. Read a book by an author who shares a first or last name with one of your friends
28. Read a book with a neon-colored cover
29. Read a book that has under 1,000 reviews or ratings on a website or app – Joshua: Man of Fearless Faith – W. Phillip Keller
30. Read a middle grade book (8-12 age range)
31. Read a book with the word “Time” in the title – The Last Time I Lied – Riley Sager
32. Read a book about a famous criminal(s)
33. Read a movie novelization book (movie to book, instead of book to movie)
34. Read a fiction or nonfiction book that motivates you to be a better version of yourself – Savor: Living Abundantly Where You Are, As You Are – Shauna Niequist
35. Read a self-published book – Duel of Fire – Jordan Rivet
36. Free Space – Pick any book!

Level 4: Speed Reader Club [2/12 complete]
37. Read a book that is over 600 pages
38. Read a book from ListChallenge’s Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge – The Art of War – Sun Tzu
39. A book by an author named David/Dave
40. Read a “Dark Academia” novel
41. Read a book with a title that starts with the letter V – Vanishing Acts – Jodi Picoult
42. A book set in Asia or an Asian-inspired culture
43. Read a book with a cat on the cover
44. Read a folklore book or book based on folklore
45. Read a book where the main character is a dancer
46. Read a book by a new author
47. Read a book that involves a conspiracy
48. Free Space – Pick any book!

Level 5: Overachiever Club [1/12 complete]
49. Read one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2022 (any category)
50. Read a book where the main character is a villain or anti-hero
51. Read a book that has a title that is punny and/or alliterative
52. Read a “found family” story
53. Read a book that has a letter Q in the title
54. Read a book that has an illustrated cover – Naomi and Her Daughters – Walter Wangerin, Jr.
55. Read a book that takes place in at least two different decades
56. Read a book about an entrepreneur (real or fictional)
57. Read a book that takes place in Alaska
58. Read a book with the word “Justice” in the title
59. Read a book involving dinosaurs
60. Free Space – Pick any book!

Mid-Year Catch-Up: January to June 2022

Well well well… hello there, friends, family and random internet strangers! Another update? So soon? Well shut my mouth and call me cornbread (or Norman, as my old college gang used to say… don’t ask.)

Now that my 2021 final update has been posted (have I mentioned that I’m a world champion level procrastinator?), I can get around to catching everyone up on the beginning of 2022. If you’re just here for the challenge roundup, click here. Otherwise, let’s do a bit of a monthly catchup, with random nonsense and links and photos and whatnot. Buckle in, this is gonna be a long one.

January started with the funeral of a friend who died from COVID, and unsurprisingly, a booster vaccine because I had a lot of travel planned and a deep desire to avoid the plague. I finally bought myself a new desktop computer, which I was going to need for a project in the spring, and had to set it up on my dining room table since my spare room wasn’t ready for office use yet. I was watching How I Met Your Father on Hulu (not as good as How I Met Your Mother, but near the end it started to show some promise, so I’ll check out season 2). Favorite music of the month was a throwback – The Call’s 1987 album Into the Woods. And I completed 4 books – Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson (for #4), King of Scars and Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo (for #15 and #16), and Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny (for #2).

February was a bit of a blur – work, church, and kitten chaos as she learned to find her way onto every high place in the house. I got a haircut (much needed), and did a girls’ night out with some friends and former neighbors – socializing does happen now and then, no matter how much of an introvert I am. I watched Encanto for the first time and cried like 5 times – what a movie. Aside from the Encanto soundtrack, my favorite music of the month was from Scary Pockets, a funk cover band – their collaboration with Ben Barnes was pretty great. I also finished 5 books – Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (for #6), Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey (for #8), Raven Cursed and Death’s Rival by Faith Hunter (for #27 and #49), and Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny (for #17).

March was packed with activities – first up, for Phoenix First Fridays I spent some time wandering the Phoenix Art Museum with a good friend… then I spent a weekend teaching myself Audacity and Cyberlink Power Director in order to record and make a lyric video for a Wheel of Time parody song I wrote for the WoT Idol contest (spoilers for books 6-10 if you care about such things). My entry was knocked out in the first round of judging, but I got a lot of lovely feedback and had so much fun with it that I immediately started compiling ideas for the 2023 contest. I spent another weekend up north visiting my bestie and her kiddos, during which we attended a local community theater production of Mamma Mia! Aside from that, I was watching season 6 of Outlander, listening to the Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack, and reading. I completed 5 books in the month of March – The Paid Bridesmaid by Sariah Wilson (for #1), These Tangled Vines by Julianne Maclean (for #5), I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella (for #20), The Martian by Andy Weir (for #10), and The Circle by Dave Eggers (for #42).

April was even more of a whirlwind, heavily featuring my annual trip to Atlanta for JordanCon 2022 (during which I performed my parody song live for karaoke, which was a blast). For television, I was watching Moon Knight on Disney Plus, and binge watching Bones on Hulu. For music, aside from thoroughly enjoying the Wheel of Time parodies from this year’s contest, my sister-in-law introduced me to Music Travel Love. And I completed 5 books during April – The Shadow Box by Luanne Rice (for #35), Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren (for #39), Turtles All The Way Down by John Green (for #13), City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (for #22), and A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney (for #54).

May involved more travel – another CluedUpp Geogames event with my best friend up north (a CSI theme, which prompted the crime scene photo below), and a week with my mom in Southern Illinois during which I helped her reorganize her closet and spent the rest of the week with my lower back out of whack. I watched two treasure hunt themed movies – Uncharted and The Lost City. And I completed 3 books – The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter (for #30), If You Tell by Gregg Olsen (for #50), and Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (for #46).

June started during my Southern Illinois trip, and then I came back to normal life, intense heat, and work. ChaosKitten (who is nearly a year old now) continued to find new ways to cause chaos. And I managed to pay off my mortgage, just over 5 years early. That’s a great feeling. I finished my binge watch of Bones – all 12 seasons. And I completed 4 books – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (for #46), A Train to Moscow by Elena Gorokhova (for #53), and Blood Trade and Black Arts by Faith Hunter (for #7 and #28).

So that has been my 2022 so far – I’d like to promise more regular updates in the future, but truly, we all know better, don’t we? I do expect to have another post later this month, if for no other reason than that I’m visiting Linzthebookworm for our respective birthdays (one day apart) and we were planning a collaboration while I’m in town.

How has your year been so far? Have you read any of these books? Or do you have any recommendations I should check out?

Talk to me, I love comments!

The Linzthebookworm/Logophile 2022 Reading Challenge

Level 1: Book of the Month Club [8/12 complete]
1. Read a book that cost less than $5 – The Paid Bridesmaid – Sariah Wilson
2. Read a book that is under 350 pages – Sign of the Unicorn – Roger Zelazny
3. Read a book that was recommended to you
4. Read a newly published book (within the past year) – Cytonic – Brandon Sanderson
5. Read a book that has a type of plant or flower in the title – These Tangled Vines – Julianne Maclean
6. Read a book because of the cover – Shatter Me – Tahereh Mafi
7. Read a book about a mythical creature – Blood Trade – Faith Hunter
8. Read a book that takes place in the future – Leviathan Falls – James S.A. Corey
9. Read a book by an author that’s new to you
10. Read a book from NPR’s top 50 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the past decade – The Martian – Andy Weir
11. A book by an author whose first or last name has 5 letters
12. Free Space – Pick any book!

Level 2: Casual Reader Club [6/12 complete]
13. Read a book published 5 years ago – Turtles All the Way Down – John Green
14. Read a Speculative Fiction
15. Read the first book in a duology – King of Scars – Leigh Bardugo
16. Read the second book in a duology – Rule of Wolves – Leigh Bardugo
17. A book that was published when you were 5 years old – The Hand of Oberon – Roger Zelazny
18. Read a book by an author named Alex, Alexander, Alexandra (or variant)
19. Read a book about Zombies
20. Read a book with a black cover – I’ve Got Your Number – Sophie Kinsella
21. Read a book from AbeBooks.com’s list of 100 (fiction) books to read in a lifetime
22. Read a book with the word City in the title – City of Girls – Elizabeth Gilbert
23. Read a book about a musician (non-fiction or fiction)
24. Free Space – Pick any book!

Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club [5/12 complete]
25. A book with a title that has 5 letters
26. Read a book published by Macmillan (or subsidiary)
27. Read a book with a title that doesn’t start with an article (A, An, The) – Raven Cursed – Faith Hunter
28. Read a book you recently acquired – Black Arts – Faith Hunter
29. Read a book that’s been on your TBR for over a year
30. Read a Revenge Story – The Rage of Dragons – Evan Winter
31. Read a book by Philippa Gregory
32. Read a book that takes place on an island
33. Read a book that does not have a person (or people) on the cover – Dark Matter – Blake Crouch
34. A book that you intended to read on last year’s challenge
35. Read a Psychological Thriller – The Shadow Box – Luanne Rice
36. Free Space – Pick any book!

Level 4: Speed Reader Club [3/12 complete]
37. Read a book over 500 pages
38. Read a book that starts with the letter Z (or has Z in the title) – Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating – Christina Lauren
39. Read a book that takes place around your favorite holiday
40. A book with 5 objects on the cover
41. Read a book with the word Wisdom in the title
42. Read a Dystopian Fiction – The Circle – Dave Eggers
43. Read a book by an author with the same name as one of your parents (Biological, Step, Adopted)
44. Read a book that a movie/show you’ve watched is based on but have yet to read (example: Watched The Hobbit, but never read the Hobbit)
45. Read a book about a Saint (non-Fiction or Fiction)
46. Read any book from the Men’s Health most popular book list – The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins
47. Read a book published in a year that was important to you
48. Free Space – Pick any book!

Level 5: Overachiever Club [4/12 complete]
49. Read the 5th book in a series or an author’s 5th novel – Death’s Rival – Faith Hunter
50. Read a True Crime book – If You Tell – Gregg Olsen
51. Read a book by Georges Simenon (or one of his Pen Names)
52. A book with the number 5 in the title
53. Read a book that takes place in Russia – A Train to Moscow – Elena Gorokhova
54. Read a book by an author using initials as part of their name – A Dream So Dark – L.L. McKinney
55. Read a book that has a title in the form of a question
56. Read a banned book from this banned book list
57. A book with at least 5 prominent characters
58. Read a book that Linz read previously (see book review archive here)
59. Read a book that Tress read previously (see reading category archive here)
60. Free Space – Pick any book!

March Recap – Reading, Life and Nonsense

Why hello there, readers. Or at least I assume you’re all readers – at very least you’re reading this now, aren’t you? ‘Tis that time again – a new month, a new post to let those who care know what I’ve been up to. For those who are just here for the reading challenge update – you can jump here for the mini-reviews, or just scroll to the bottom for the full State of the Challenge report, since apparently the fun HTML anchors don’t play nicely with the page break.

March was an interesting month around these parts – it’s now officially been a full year that I’ve been working from home, and I was immensely grateful for the “from home” bit of that when during two weeks of the month, I was assigned to a training class that was scheduled around the Eastern time zone participants’ needs. After the first week of the course, Daylight Saving Time went into effect, which usually doesn’t impact me at all (because Arizona don’t play DST, when you all change your clocks, we stubbornly stay put)… but it pushed the already early start time of my class an hour earlier for the second week, and that was just rough. Yes, that was 4:12 A.M. on my microwave readout there. I was up about an hour before I had to log into my computer, solely because I am not coherent enough to remember my computer password without coffee. If I’d had to commute on top of that, there would have been PROBLEMS.

The training class was a good one, though – we were learning skills and tips to assist the official training department during times when they have more training classes scheduled than official trainers.

Aside from the obnoxious schedule for two weeks of the month, there were a few bright spots. A few of the Wheel of Time centered YouTube channel hosts collaborated on a song parody contest – Wheel of Time Idol – at the beginning of the month. The Dusty Wheel hosted two livestreams where the fandom could vote for the winners, and there were some seriously amazing entries. Check out the full list here – including the playback of the live voting. Be warned for those who haven’t finished the series, some of the songs contain spoilers through the series end. This one was my favorite, but the overall winner made me laugh out loud multiple times.

Seeing the amazing song parodies inspired me to write my own, since the hosts plan on reprising the challenge next year. I had an enormous amount of fun writing it, and once I am able to get my office set up (the goal is by the end of the year) I’ll start working on recording my version for the challenge. I think it’s gonna be great. Once it’s done, I’ll link it here, of course, because I’m sure at least two of you will want to watch it. >.>

Other favorites of the month included Stash chai green tea, and the end of WandaVision, which brought me to tears.

In reading news, I finished a total of four books for the month of March.

I started reading Diana Gabaldon’s A Breath of Snow and Ashes at the end of February, mostly because our Linz had been reading it and – knowing that I’ve read the entire Outlander series before – kept making comments about the events of the book in our Skype chat. And of course it’s been six years since I read the books, and I’ve slept since then. And read a whole mess of other books, too, so I had very sketchy memories of this one. Linz used it for the challenge prompt #7, Read a book with the color white on the cover, and I figured I could do worse than follow her lead there. Don’t be surprised if this isn’t the only book we both read this year, because Gabaldon has finished her final draft of book 9 and in anticipation of that one, I figure I’ll want to reread books 7 and 8 while I’m at it.

This being the sixth in a series, I’m obviously invested in the characters and the story. I am not the biggest fan of historical fiction (I like it well enough, i just don’t gravitate to it often), but since these books are an interesting mix of historical fiction, romance, and some fantasy/sci-fi elements, they don’t quite fit the mold.

Gabaldon has clearly done a lot of research for these novels – there are references to actual historical events, and a lot of details about medical procedures and general ways a household would be run in the 1700s. This book contains two major events that have been on the horizon for a few books now, and the aura of foreboding is palpable. I thoroughly appreciated the foreshadowing and misdirections, the parallels and the way some things blindside you with sudden violence but in retrospect they make complete sense.

After that chunker of a volume, I wanted something a tad bit lighter and quicker to read. I’d read the first volume in Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series back in 2019, since the author was scheduled to be the Author Guest of Honor at JordanCon 2020 – which was unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic. I had picked up the second and third books in the series, since I did have fun with the first entry, but didn’t get around to them because of the cancellation. Book 2, Blood Cross, worked nicely for challenge #11, Read a book with exactly two words in the title.

The main character of this urban fantasy/paranormal series is a skinwalker of Cherokee origin, with a bit of something extra (no spoilers, although we learn about it in the first novel) that makes her a powerful monster hunter. She’s taken a contract hunting rogue vampires on behalf of the Vampire Council of New Orleans, and some crazy shenanigans are afoot in the town that put her and her best friend (and her best friend’s children) in serious danger.

Hunter’s take on the supernatural and vampire lore is pretty interesting, and in Blood Cross we discover the origin of vampires – and I was fascinated, so I immediately moved on to the third in the series, Mercy Blade. While there were quite a few options for categories this would work for, I ended up using it for #16, Read a book that has a person on the cover.

In Hunter’s lore, vampires and witches are the only known supernatural creatures that have become known to the general public – but in the events of the third book, werecats and werewolves come to light. The lore surrounding were-creatures is also fascinating, and Jane and I are both wondering whether there are other skinwalkers out there who will come forward as a result.

One thing I’ve noticed from the first three books in the series is something of a pattern. Much like a Nora Roberts romance that will normally have at least two obligatory sex scenes, in these novels it appears that Jane will nearly die at least twice and survive only by shapeshifting or by vampire blood, which has healing properties.

I can’t complain too much, though Even though I never seriously doubted that Jane would make it through, the stakes felt sufficiently high, and that’s pretty good writing. I’ve added the next few books to my wish list on Paperback Swap, so I’ll definitely be continuing with the series eventually.

The last book I finished for the month was one by a favorite author of mine – I always have such a good time reading Jim Butcher, his Dresden Files series is extremely fun (albeit heartbreaking at times). The Aeronaut’s Windlass is the first in his newest series, The Cinder Spires. It also has the word “wind” in the title, technically, so I chose it for challenge prompt #51, Read a book with the word “wind” in the title.

This book definitely has some of the feel of the Dresden Files series, if not quite as sarcasm-heavy without Harry Dresden as the point of view character. I felt like the world was a little difficult to visualize, but the steampunk vibe was super cool, and the battle scenes were engaging. And… talking cats, which – come on, if you know me at all, you know I’m all in. As a bonus, the talking cats are almost as snarky as Dresden, and definitely came across with the kind of attitude that any cat slave would recognize immediately.

I totally can’t wait for the next in this series.

So that was my month of March. Come talk to me in the comments! What’s the best book you read this past month? Have you read the Wheel of Time series, and if so, did you check out those parody songs? Do you have a go-to favorite tea? Did anyone else cry buckets in the last episode of WandaVision?