It’s Monday and I actually had a relaxing weekend.

I had nothing on my calendar this weekend. NOTHING.

 

I managed to clean up my house a bit and actually sit on the couch and do nothing. Nothing!

 

 

It was glorious.

Also, of course, I read some books:

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Yeah, so this definitely deserves the hype. It took me a few chapters to get into it and then I was hooked. I will also say that as a black woman whose rage levels are at their peak right now, this really got to some of the stuff that is bothering me, so for that, I am truly grateful.

 

 
Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The beginning of this made me laugh and the end almost made me cry, so that shows you just how much ground this one covers. This is a sweet book, and, of course, I love any book that shows the positive influence of teachers. I am also convinced this would make a pretty good movie and could see most of the story playing out that way in my mind. So, yes: two thumbs up, fine holiday fun.

I also wrote some blog posts:

• Picking Favorites: Two Weeks Worth!
• “Why ya gotta be a scrub-ass Montague?”

Since I’m making my students write book reviews, I figured I should at least do one or two a month for fairness. Oh, and I am planning some kind of review/response to The Fifth Season. That should be this week. I have feelings about it, obviously.

And now I’m reading these books:

I started Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer yesterday. I love Iko, so this is a lot of fun. I like the illustrations, but I am NOT a fan of the character drawings (except Iko and Wolf), so there is that. Story is good so far.

My hold for the audiobook of Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly just came in so I chose to return the other audiobook I was listening to so I can get down to business. I haven’t started yet, but I’m excited to on my way to work tomorrow. (And, no, I still haven’t seen the movie. See above re: first weekend in a long time with nothing on my calendar. I hope to get to it soon, though.)

In other news:

I also managed to watch the pilot of Golden Girls on Hulu (all of the seasons are streaming! no commercials!), which I had somehow never seen before. Dorothy and I remain one. Also, I didn’t realize that Sophia speaking the unvarnished truth is the result of a stroke that damaged the part of her brain that allows her to filter/self-censor. Neat trick.

I also filled out the participation form for the 2017 Slice of Life Challenge, so I guess that’s a thing I’m doing next month. (I want to assign it to my creative writing students next spring, so I figure I might as well give it a go to see how I feel about it.)

Happy reading, everyone!

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