At the end of quarter 2, I had finished 38 books. Starting Quarter 3 at 39...
Actual Books
39. The Girl with All the Gifts, M.R. Carey; post-apocalyptic zombie-filled world, where the zombies were created when a fungi attacked the human brain. Some children were able to adapt to the fungal infection and maintained reasoning skills, so these children are being studied by non-infected humans to discover a cure or treatment.
40. Neuromancer, William Gibson; a "Ready, Player One"-type science fiction written in the 1970s and eerily prophetic on some aspects of a technologically-driven society
41. Chain of Gold, Cassandra Clare; I've read the Mortal Instruments series by this author and thought perhaps this newest book may be something to recommend for my young adult reader. Blech. Saccharine, two-dimensional characters and a contrived plot. I get that the author is creating new characters for her written world, but does EVERY SINGLE GENERATION need to face some existential demonic threat? And solve it in similar ways? And what about the adults who are letting their teens take on the brunt of the fighting?
42. The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany, Lori Nelson Spielmann; about a family in which 2nd-born daughters are cursed to never find love and working in the modern era to confront and break that curse
43. Sabbath in the Suburbs: A Family's Experiment with Holy Time, MaryAnn McKibben Dana; I found this interesting during my time of immersion in family time and away from work and the thought of mindfully or intentionally bringing rest and reflection and meditation or prayer into the regular rhythm of our daily/weekly life.
44. The Tiger and the Wolf, Adrian Tchaikovsky; Shape-shifters battle for dominion over other shape-shifting tribes. The boys picked this one up for me at the library.
45. The White Dragon, Anne McCaffrey; to finish re-reading the original trilogy. Still my least favorite of the three, although it sets up the rest of her novels on Pern nicely.
46. Firefly Lane, Kristin Hannah; from a book list recommendation. All right, but slightly contrived.
47. Untamed, Glennon Doyle; picked this up off a "free" table at the end of a driveway. Short essays about her perspective on motherhood, marriage, etc. Some good points, some seemed forced and too simplistic.
48. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, Patrick Radden Keefe; brilliant, detailed look at the Sackler Family and their involvement (despite legal protests) in the marketing of OxyContin to the masses despite knowing it was addictive.
49. The Exiles, Christina Baker Kline; About women convicts transported to Australia in the 1800s and the challenges they faced. From a book list recommendation, didn't hate it but I think it could have gone in a couple different directions that wouldn't have been so easy to tie up neatly at the end.
50. The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd; Early suffragettes and abolitionist women during the 1840s and 1850s. I thought this one blended actual history of Sarah Grimke with fictional character Hetty.
51. The Woman they Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men who Tried to make her Disappear, Kate Moore; non-fiction account of Elizabeth Packard who spent several years in an insane asylum after her husband placed her there because she was speaking out about women's rights and abolition of slavery. She had no legal rights (apparently, married women didn't legally exist, as they were considered part of their husbands!) and fought after her release to change laws to ensure that people were not institutionalized without their knowledge, consent, or actual medical reasoning. An AMAZING and inspirational woman!
52. The Island of Sea Women, Lisa See; Women deep-sea divers from an island off Korea during the Japanese Occupation (1930-1940) and the Korean War (1950) with all the upheaval and change that occurred. A fascinating glimpse into another culture that was described by the author as "matri-focal" or focused on women.
53. On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri in 1894, Laura Ingalls Wilder; The letters Laura wrote to her family and the journal she kept on her family's journey to her final home in Missouri. Interesting glimpse into daily life for traveling in 1894 and the hardships that were being experienced by everyday people.
Books read to Boys:
54. The Last Battle, CS Lewis; And the Narnia chronicles are complete! They really went downhill in terms of writing, style, subtle racism, and overt Christian themes after Prince Caspian. This last book very much deserved to be a last book.
Audiobooks:
55. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman; Audiobook while we were driving to/within/home from Maine. A great story.
Comparisons for the end of Quarter 3:
In 2016, I had read 28 books at this point
In 2017, I had read 35 books at this point
In 2018, I had read 59 books at this point (nursing infant CC all hours of day and night!)
In 2019, I had read 39 books at this point
In 2020, I had read 43 books at this point
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