Goddess in the Machine

By Lora Beth Johnson

Hardback

385 pages

YA SF

Owlcrate 

Totally, 100% science fiction, even though it does talk about magic.

This was super interesting, and I read the entire thing today. 

Letter from the author! 

And signed!

The most fun part of gilded edges: when you open the book for the first time, and turn the pages, and the very edges stick together and you have to pull them apart.

So. Characters: likable and interesting. Plot: satisfying. I guessed some plot points, but it did still hold surprises. Ending: good. I mean, I disliked some of the choices characters made, but it was actually okay. 

But there was also this chapter:

I started to translate it, but decided not to do the whole thing. May contain spoilers, I don't know.

And - joy of joys - I think it's a stand alone novel.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

By Suzanne Collins

Hardback

517 pages

YA

A friend lent me this to read - it's a prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy. 

It is very separate from the other novels - it takes place way before, during the 10th annual Hunger Games. 

Some lines to consider before jumping into the story. It is a story of ambition, control, want, appearances, and power. 

The main character is Coriolanus Snow. Yes, future President Snow. It's actually been so long since I read the trilogy that I wasn't sure until I looked it up whether this was the same character, or an ancestor. 

But I was rooting for him almost the while time. 

There is a moment at the end that didn't feel right to me, but overall this was an enjoyable, readable book. And a quick read: I started it Thursday evening, and finished it Friday night - and I went to work during the day on Friday! 

(For the record - that means that I liked this one, and the first book in the trilogy. I dont actually like the second or third books!)

August Owlcrate!

Yay yay yay, it's Owlcrate day!

Theme: Written in the Stars. 

What a glorious box! And, see the dark purple dyed edges of the pages in the book? It's so pretty! 

Cute push pins!

Maybe my favorite of all of the pins. And the moon in the mide glows in the dark!

(all the pins)

The scarf/headband/bandana. I'll probably actually hang it on the wall or something. 

Parable of the Sower

By Octavia E. Butler

329 pages

Paperback

Speculative Fiction

This was another book club pick! I have never read any of her work before. 

The copyright on the book is 1993, and it's set in... not far from now...

It's actually kind of a terrifying dystopia because it feels so real and possible and plausible. There is no big enemy, just economics and climate change and greed. People are good and people are terrible. There is no sigular enemy to rise up and rebel against for the salvation of the oppressed. 

I started reading this book on Tuesday and finished it by Thursday. 

Page 1

To be honest, I was a little bored in the beginning. I kept putting it down, talking to people, getting snacks, and checking Facebook. 

But then, maybe 50 pages or so in, I got into it. 

The plot moved well. The characters weren't immensely engaging to me, but I was okay with that, somehow. It was structured as journal entries from the point of view of the main character, but felt more like date-stamped scenes. I dont know if that makes sense. 

It reminded me of The Road, a bit. 

It spans several years, but doesn't feel too drawn out. 

There is a sequel. Some of my book club members already got it (and some of them didn't like this one, so for sure wouldn't!)

I dont feel the need to read the sequel because I was satisfied by the ending, but apparently I was a minority there!

It was outside of my normal reading. I'm glad I read it. 

Where Dreams Descend

By Janella Angeles

447 pages (+ acknowledgements)

Naked Hardback

Fantasy

Owlcrate 

I dont think I've ever gotten a naked hardback book before. No dust jacket, just this glorious cover. 

And on the back. It's foil, and shiny, and gorgeous.

And signed, which always brings me joy.

It came with 2 super cute stickers! And aren't those endsheets pretty?

Letter from the author. 

Okay, so it's pretty. But what about the story? 

I can't cheat and take a picture of the jacket summary, so here goes:

Kallia is a female magician (in this world it is a male dominated field) who performs in the Hellfire Club. She likes performing, but she wants to go out there in the world. Leaving the club is difficult, but she manages early in the book and the rest of it takes place in a nearby city. Everything about the city is wrong. And then, bad things start to happen, but she's trapped. 

Also, there is a hot magician/judge of the contest she has entered. And a circus. 

Really, there is a LOT happening in this book. 

It's book 1 of ?

I'm guessing there will be 4 books, becuase there is a card motif so that equates to a book per suit?

Overall I enjoyed it. Interesting characters, magic system, setting. But it does feel very incomplete. 

will grayson, will grayson

By John Green & David Levithan

310 pages

Paperback

YA Fiction (LGBTQIA+)

I've been intending to read this book for years. A student suggested it to me a long time ago (I think there was a time when everyone was obsessed with John Green?) but I only just managed to pick it up. I saw a really inexpensive copy at our amazing local used book store, so I figured what better time to read it than now?

The book has 2 authors:

I've always found the 2 author thing fascinating. When I started my PhD I realized that I was never taught how to write collaboratively. It's still not a thing I'm comfortable with, but I'm getting better at it. 

This book is about 2 high school kids, gay, that both have the same name. One is kind of "goes with the flow" and the other is angry at the world and living with depression. In the author Q&A, they mention that many of the YA books that deal with depression deal with the onset, discovery moment, not the maintenance, day to day living with it. I thought that was interesting and important. Anyway, 2 Will Graysons, 2 authors. They alternate chapters. 

The lack of capitalization is a deliberate choice that, although off-putting at first, worked well. 

A weird thing to just notice at this point is that it's written in the first person, which I normally dislike. It didn't bother me here. 

It was a good read - I'm glad I finally got to it - but I dont think it's a re-read for me. If I ever get back into my classroom I'll probably put it in my classroom library. 

Banana Bread (post #2)

A long while back I posted about baking banana bread, but I didn't include a lot of details and I didn't have all of the ingredients I normally use. So, post #2!

For baking today, because I always make a giant mess and I need to leave my house this afternoon (and I'd rather do that without flour all over my new black pants!) I donned my great grandma's very long apron. It goes almost all of the way down my legs. 

That's kind of a terrible picture, but see how long it is?!

This is the recipe I use. Followed pretty exactly this time - only changes were type of milk, no nuts, and way more chocolate - an entire bag of dark chocolate chips. 

Early stages! I didn't let the butter soften as much as it should have, so it looks more crumbly than creamy...

Isn't this the most adorable measuring cup ever? Used Vanilla Almond Milk instead of dairy. I don't even notice a difference in something like this. We typically have skim, almond, and coconut milks in the house these days! The almond goes the most slowly, so I so tend to use it for baking. 

We were out of normal table salt, so I used sea salt for this loaf. 

I always think the batter looks a bit like puke. Not as chunky this time, because my bananas were super ripe and also pretty bruised up (apparently my family thinks that if they mistreat the bananas, I will bake bread sooner) so they mashed up pretty smoothly. I also put in a whole bag of dark chocolate chips, because we love chocolate. I like the flavor of the dark chips in the banana bread best out of what I've tried. 

58 minutes in the oven and it's nicely browned. I put it in for 55, but the toothpick test said it wasn't done yet. 3 more minutes and it looks perfect!

Okay. It was actually a little overdone around the bottom edges. 

But it was chocolatey and delicious anyway.