Fortnightly Update #50: Let the Gardening Begin!

Due to a surplus of procrastination on my part, I've been putting off this update, though I did manage to get some books read and make progress on my minion army- I planted them two weeks ago and I now have tiny flower seedlings to show for it, along with meticulously pruned shrubs in my garden.

Recent Acquisitions (or the Piling of the-Piles):

the-pile Additions:

None!

the-invisible-pile Additions:

An Untamed State by Roxane Gay
This novel follows a woman who is kidnapped for ransom while visiting her parents' home in Haiti. I read a few chapters in and it definitely keeps your attention.

Property Of: A Novel by Alice Hoffman
This is Hoffman's first novel, and one I didn't have in my collection. As one of my favorite authors, I tend to gather all of her books.

Touch of Power (Healer #1) by Maria V. Snyder
Something about this fantasy attracted me other than its price tag at the time, though I'm not sure what. The cover does look amazing, though!

Nimisha's Ship by Anne McCaffrey
I also tend to collect all of Anne McCaffrey's work, as she was a prevalent SFF writer in her day and I have enjoyed most of the books of hers that I've read.

Strange Practice (Dr. Greta Helsing #1) by Vivian Shaw
Between the cover art and synopsis on this one, I couldn't resist buying it. We'll see if it meets my expectations.

Currently Reading:

The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher

I have been pleasantly surprised at the depth of this historical fiction, which follows "Kick" or Kathleen Kennedy from her debut to her later years. Although I have read my share of Kennedy family stories (fiction and nonfiction), it's always nice to read something that seems fresh about them.

Finished These Books:

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Unfortunately, I saw the movie before I read it, so I'll never know my "true" first impression of it, but it was certainly one of the better past/present books I've read. I learned a bit more about Chinese culture too.

Chalice by Robin McKinley

Chalice is a sweet, feel good fantasy book with a simple, lightly romantic plot that likely qualifies as YA that I really enjoyed. It's also written by one of my favorite authors so it's a bit of a no-brainer that I'd like it. Though it can be a bit verbose at times, something about the story taking a bit longer to tell just added to its charm for me.

The Inimitable Jeeves (Jeeves #2) by P.G. Wodehouse

Ah, Jeeves. Wooster and he get into plenty of ridiculous situations in this edition of their adventures, but I would recommend starting with My Man Jeeves and reading from there to get the full picture. I didn't quite enjoy it as much as the first book, but I did enjoy it enough to give it four stars.

In My Life:

This is likely my busiest time of year other than high summer when I must go around and water all of my potted plants twice daily. My dog Torrie (in the lower right of the collage above) is now 11 years old, and is currently on new supplements for her creaky joints. Leia also visited her vet, who took her off of the grain free diet she's been on since we got her and recommended omega 3 supplementation instead. So far, she's still her scratchy self, but that may change.

I've also began all of my seedlings, as stated in my initial paragraph, and I'm preparing my gardens for spring. I think we have 12+ rosebushes, so it takes me a while, especially given my limitations I've put on myself to remain functional from the waist down.

It has been almost a year since I started walking canelessly, and once you go caneless, you sort of want to remain there. On some level I've been more visible to a subset of the population- I am regularly approached by men who wouldn't have bothered me in my cane days. On another level, I no longer garner the sort of sideshow aura of walking bizarrely with the cane, and thus, I have less people noticing me for my disability, than for my dress. It's refreshing, but at the same time disheartening to realize how differently people treat those who rely on mobility aids.

Happy Spring!

Fortnightly Update #49: A Brief Update

After last week's fibro flare kept me in bed and unhappy, I'm glad to be back to blogging (although not as much of it as I'd like).

Recent Acquisitions (or the Piling of the-Piles):

the-pile Additions:

None!

the-invisible-pile Additions:

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
I fell in love with the cover of this one and clicked buy before even reading much about it. This is a sci-fi about prejudice and class systems set on a spaceship.

A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Melissa Fleming
As per usual, I can't resist an interesting-sounding biography, and this one is about a Syrian refugee.

Currently Reading:

Skin Folk: Stories by Nalo Hopkinson

Whenever I start having trouble with reading full books, I usually start reading short stories again, and this is a very interesting collection of them. If you like modern fantasy stories, these may interest you.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

I started reading this one because it's a paperback edition, and my therapist wants me to cut out reading Kindle books around the time of night that I should be sleeping. It's an engaging read, but it does have very sad parts which has prevented me from reading it as quickly as I normally would.

Finished These Books:

None! Unfortunately, my fibro flare interrupted a productive reading streak.

In My Life:

I bought a nice yoga ball to replace my desk chair, but for some of the week, I've reverted to my previous desk chair. Fibromyalgia doesn't play well with a constantly moving chair when my balance is not the greatest to begin with. I am looking forward to milder temperatures and nicer weather (hopefully) in March.

Happy Reading!

Fortnightly Update #48: February is For Fibro

Ah, February. It seems this is the time of year that my fibromyalgia begins to rear its ugly head again, mostly due to incoming rain. That's the reason I spent most of yesterday laying in bed and emerging only to eat buttermilk pancakes. Although this past week has been dreary due to pain, I managed to read quite a few books prior, which makes this update much more literature-focused.

Recent Acquisitions (or the Piling of the-Piles):

the-pile Additions:

None!

the-invisible-pile Additions:

The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth's Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Anil Ananthaswamy
This is a Kindle Daily Deal for today in the U.S.- I'm always looking to learn a bit more about everything, which would explain some of my recent nonfiction-book-buying binge.

The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
This is an alternate history novella with a rad cover that made me click 'buy'.

A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo
I've been reading a few memoirs lately, and I know little to nothing about the Vietnam war, so this seemed like a good book to pick up on it.

My Girls: A Lifetime with Carrie and Debbie by Todd Fisher
When my mom and I went to the shelter and picked up Leia (who was then called Princess) it was clear she'd either be a Leia or a Carrie, as Carrie Fisher had recently passed away and my mom and I are both fans of hers. I tend to pick up books written about her or by her.

Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion by Neil Gaiman
...I am a Douglas Adams fan.

The Apprentice (Rizzoli & Isles #2) by Tess Gerritsen
I bought both this and the previous book in the series because I love the Rizzoli & Isles TV series. They are similar to the TV version in some ways so far, but definitely a bit different.

Skin Folk: Stories by Nalo Hopkinson
This has been on my Amazon wishlist for a while now, so I snagged it while it was on sale. This is a fantasy short story collection that was likely recommended to me somewhere, because I don't think I stumbled upon it organically.

Currently Reading:

Nothing. I am hoping to restart some of my physical copies of books, but with my current wreck of a fibro flare, I'm unsure that it'll happen.

Finished These Books:

Night (The Night Trilogy #1) by Elie Wiesel; Marion Wiesel (Translator)

This is a very short book to read, but an incredibly difficult one to read when you realize it's nonfiction. I had been meaning to read it for quite some time before I found it on sale and soon after set aside time for it. In a similar fashion, it's a difficult book to rate, but I ended up giving it four stars on Goodreads.

Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why (Ms. Marvel (Collected Editions) #2) by G. Willow Wilson (Writer),  Artists: Adrian Alphona & Jacob Wyatt

In 2017, I began to read Ms. Marvel, and as it is 2019, I decided to continue the series. I love this series for its simplicity and optimism, and the comics themselves are beautifully rendered. If you like YA books about superheroes, this is definitely a series I'd recommend.

The Surgeon (Rizzoli & Isles #1) by Tess Gerritsen

Though I generally avoid mystery series in books, I decided to give this one a try because of the television series that I love (that uses this as source material). This is different from the TV series but was worth the read, as I liked the way in which it was different- you got more inside Rizzoli's head and she's much more bitter than she is portrayed to be in the TV series. I'm not sure if it's better or worse that I did watch the TV series first, but it's still enjoyable for me (though I watched the TV series a good 2+ years ago).

All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung

Another memoir I read, this one on a less difficult topic- transracial adoption. Nicole Chung is a Korean American adoptee whose adoptive parents were both white Americans, who raised her in a largely white town in the Pacific Northwest. After becoming pregnant with her first child, she decides to try and find her birth parents, and her journey through that is basically the contents of this book, along with her own ambivalent thoughts on transracial adoption. This is definitely a book worth reading if you are interested in adoption, or, like me, have someone in the family who is adopted.

In My Life:

As I mentioned, my fibromyalgia is being mean to me, so much of my activity is limited, but I did manage to get out to Ross (a discount retailer in the U.S.) and bought a large bag full of brand new clothes for $10, which is good for me as most of my clothes run slightly large on me from losing weight last year. In addition, I recently used up a Hobby Lobby gift card I got at Christmas to make my tea "corner" of the counter look much neater. I wish I had a before pic, but basically I de-boxed most of my foil-sealed tea bags to organize them in little plastic boxes in a half crate/tray that I plan on painting later.

Preferred brand: Stash, but I also began tea-drinking with Yogi tea

As a side recommendation- if you ever get around to visiting northwestern Montana, you must stop at Butterfly Herbs in Missoula, MT. It's the best tea shop in Montana and has a delightful neo-hippie vibe.

Happy eating to those of you celebrating the Super Bowl!