Category: Children’s Lit

It’s Monday and I’m exhausted

The end of semester fatigue is real, and I am not sure when it’s going to end. Like, it has just been a lot and all I want to do is sleep. I was thinking something was wrong with me, but I had a psychiatrist appointment last week, and she pointed out that I’m coming down from all the adrenaline of the semester and moving my daughter back into town so of course I’m exhausted. And then I talked to a few colleagues who said they are feeling the same way. So I’ve decided to stop fighting it and just lean into the exhaustion. Hopefully, it’ll be over before the week is out, and I’ll feel more like a full human before the week is up. Hopefully.

So, here are the books I’ve read since my last post:

Continue reading “It’s Monday and I’m exhausted” →

It’s Monday and I have given up

To wit, this exchange I had with a friend on Friday:

Me: I’m trying to get it together over here

Her: I’ve given up hope of ever getting it together

Me: I need to do this. I was almost to the gym before I realized I left my headphones at home which meant I had to do my workout in silence like some kind of animal–a dolphin perhaps? Or a gym rat
Then when I changed out of my swimsuit I discovered I left my bra at home.

text from image

Also, to continue last week’s trend, I got to two places early this past week only to wind up late because of parking. Again. So, yes, I have given up on ever getting ahead this month. You win these first three weeks, January. I’m just keeping my head above water and making a wave when I can here for the rest of the month now.

Still, I managed to finish two books this week:

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It’s Monday! What are you reading?: More Five-star Books!

First things first: A Month of Faves is back for this year! Yessssssss. It is one of my favorite blogging events, and I look both for it and forward to it every year.

I did my last update post in July (!), so here are some things that happened since then:

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It’s Monday! What are you reading?: Halfway Point Reading Wrap-Up

Hi.

I cannot believe I have not updated my blog since February. FEBRUARY. I thought for sure the last time had been in April. Clearly, I was very, very wrong. Also: this has been the longest year ever. I know because when prepping to write this post I came across a book I read in April of this year, and I could have sworn I read it last year. That’s all I’m saying.

A brief overview of things that happened since February:

  • I went to a taping of Ellen’s show (guest host)
  • I went to Mexico
  • I went to the LA Times Festival of Books
  • I went to Florida
  • I met one of my cousins for the first time
  • My daughter graduated from college
  • My daughter’s friend gave us COVID (mild cases; everyone was fine)
  • I went to Universal Studios Orlando
  • My chronic eye fatigue came back with a vengeance and brought its friend cybersickness along to play

The latter, as I’m sure you can imagine, contributed to me not updating my blog since I’ve been limiting my screen time.

I hope to talk more abut those later (especially Universal Studios, COVID, and chronic eye fatigue), but for this post, I want to highlight the five-star books I’ve read so far this year.

Onto the books!

Continue reading “It’s Monday! What are you reading?: Halfway Point Reading Wrap-Up” →

P is for Percy Jackson #AtoZChallenge #PandemicAlphabet

You know how you really want to reread Harry Potter during this pandemic, but maybe you’re not so sure about JKR right now? But you are still really craving a trio of friends who are clearly good fighting a fight against evil? And there’s also a lot of humor and a magical school that’s just out of sight of the world that we live in?

May I suggest the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan to fill that void in your heart?

And as always, I know you want to know if I’m talking about the Percy Jackson book series or the movie series. And the answer to that is “What movie series?” We do not mention the movies in this house because my daughter is a die hard Percy Jackson fan and has a visceral and bone deep hatred of the movie, and it all started with the trailer, though she did give the actual movie an honest try.

Don’t worry, though. Nobody hates the movies more than Rick Riordan hates the movies:

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H is for Holes #AtoZChallenge #PandemicAlphabet

Holes came up in a Twitter discussion sparked by my Ella Enchanted post, and in that moment, I realized how absolutely perfectly it fits my theme.

I realize when I say Holes, you may be wondering if I mean the Newbery and National Book Award winning novel written by Louis Sachar or the movie adaptation starring Shia LaBeouf and also written by Louis Sachar.

I know it may come as a shock, but the answer to that is yes. Yes, of course I’m talking about both.

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B is for The Baby-Sitters Club #AtoZChallenge #PandemicAlphabet

Just like with yesterday’s post about Anne of Green Gables, you may be wondering if when I say The Baby-Sitters Club is a perfect comfort for these here pandemic times, do I mean the Netflix show that came out last year, the classic book series, or even the graphic novels that were first published in 2006?

And the answer, once again, would be yes. Of course I mean all of those things.

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It’s Monday & I’m doing a reading deprivation

If you’re unfamiliar, a reading deprivation occurs in week four of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. During a reading deprivation, you give up reading for a week. I started mine on January 1 so that means I’m currently on day four. Just like last time, I have basically given up all media that uses words, including social media. I also gave up Bejeweled (except–TMI alert–when I’m in the bathroom) because I definitely use it as a form of distraction and admit that about myself. Unlike last time, I am a little less crazed–probably because I knew what to expect this time and also, maybe, because I have grown as a person in the last four and a half years.

As a result of the no words thing, I am VERY into the Pop Goes Classical playlist/station on Spotify. It is getting me through. Current faves include “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Queenz of Piano and “Lose Yourself” by David Garrett.

The holidays were nice and low-key. Jólabókaflóð (Yule Book Flood) was a success this year. I received The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (reviewed below) and milk and honey by Rupi Kaur (started but, obviously, on hold until the end of the week). I gave The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas to my daughter’s friend who said she wanted to read more classics, and I gave my daughter The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo because she said she wanted to read more about minimalism. We exchanged books, drank hot cocoa, and read together for about an hour or so. It was a delight. Christmas was also a lot of fun with us hanging out, opening presents, watching movies, and eating some food.

I did make a post last week, and I did read some books and watch some movies that I didn’t post about here before the end of the new year.

What I posted:

2020 End of Year Book Survey

What I read:

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Where did November go?

I mean, seriously, where? I ended my last post by saying I hoped to update more often and then somehow did not. I guess I just got in the weeds at work and busy re-acclimating to being back home and then just wound up not posting. I also hate starting posts by talking about how I meant to post but dropped the ball, but I really did keep meaning to post and somehow…didn’t.

Anyway, so here we are. A list to catch up (sort of):

1. I do have a voting story, which I plan to share one day. The short of it is “do not forward your mail if you leave town in the month before an election.” The long of it is a blog post I hope to write someday. I hope I can remember all the details.

2. So, yeah, how about that election, huh? Whew.

3. Also, as mentioned in my previous post, my daughter’s friend is staying with us now and will probably be doing so at least through the new year. My daughter is thrilled because she has always wanted a sibling and now the house isn’t so lonely during the pandemic. I affectionately refer to both of them as “The Twins” since they’re the same age (e.g., The twins went to the boba shop or The twins are watching a movie).

Yes, like these twins except neither of them is bald. Or Austrian.
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It’s Wednesday & I have an ashy eye

Okay, I’m going to get into the ashy eye story in a minute, but also I just want you to know that I got a COVID test after flying across the country, and it is negative. So…whew.

But, yes, I have an ashy eye.

So I discovered this ashy eye issue the day I was packing/prepping to fly across the country. My eye had been bothering me since Thursday. It kept watering for no reason, which honestly happens to me quite a bit, but I thought it was just allergies. You know, a fire was raging, and debris was flying through the air, so it seemed logical. But that night I couldn’t sleep with my eye mask on because it felt like something was stabbing me in the eye.

Then, on Friday, my eye was still bothering me. It was still with the leaking and all, but I could smell smoke in my house, so, again, I just banked on allergies. Also, my daughter told me I looked like I had gotten punched in the eye because my eye was swollen. “Yes,” I told her. “It’s the allergies.”

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