My 2017 Reading list

Last year the author, Trent Reedy, challenged us to read 100 books.  Since I didn't begin my list until sometime in the Spring, I did not reach 100.  However, this year I probably have read over 100 books.
And here they are:

Booklist of Books Read in 2017

PICTURE BOOKS:

Brosgol, Vera. Leave Me Alone!  NY: Roaring Brook Press, 2016.

Cordell, Matthew. Wolf in the Snow.  NY, Feiwel and Friends, 2017.

Deedy, Carmen Agra. The Rooster who would not be Quiet!  Illus. Eugene Yelchin. NY: Scholastic Press, 2017.

Doyen, Denise. Illus. Ellza Wheller. The Pomegranate Witch. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2017.

Dacosta, Barbara. Mighty Moby. Illus. Ed Young.  NY: Little Brown and Co., 2017.

Ellis, Carson.  Du Iz Tak?  Sommerviille, MA: Candlewick, 2016. (Caldecott Honor)

Engle, Margarita. All the way to Havana. Illus. Mike Curato. NY: Henry Holt and Co., 2017.

Galing, Ed. Tony. NY: Roaring Brook Press, 2017.

Graegin, Stephanie   Little Fox in the Forest. NY:  Schwartz & Wade Books, 2017.

Ruzzier, Sergio. This is not a picture book! San Francisco: chronicle books, 2016.

Santat, Dan.  After the Fall, How Humpty Dumpty got back up again.  NY:  Roaring Brook Press, 2017.

Slater, Dashka. The Antlered Ship. Illus. Terry and Eric Fan (the Fan brothers). NY: Beach Lane Books, 2017.

Smith, Lane.  A perfect Day, NY: Roaring Brook Press, 2017.

Weatherford, Carole Boston. Freedom in Congo Square. Illus. R. Gregory Christie. NY: Little Bee Books, 2016l   (Coretta Scott King Honoree)  Strangely written – the author’s note in the back repeats the very same information as the forward  in the front of the book, written by someone else.

Wenzel, Brendan.  They All Saw a Cat.  San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2016.  Caldecott Award Winner.

I Can Read

Seuss, Dr.  Hop On Pop.  NY: Random House, 1963.

Willems, Mo. There’s a Bird on Your Head.  NY:  Disney-Hyperion, 2007.

J – FICTION :

Angleberger, Tom. Horton Halfpott or the fiendish mystery of smugwick manor or the loosening of M’lady Luggertuck’s corset.  NY: Amulet Books, 2011.  (overwritten In the style of Dickins)

Applegate, Katherine.  Wishtree.  NY: Feiwel and Friends, 2017.  (possible Newbery contender)

Arnold, Elana.   A boy Called BAT.  NY: Walden Pond Press/ HarperCollins, 2017.

Berry, Julie.             The Emperor’s Ostrich. NY. Roaring Brook Press, 2017.

Barnhill, Kelly. The Girl Who Drank the Moon.  Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Young Readers, 2016.  (Newbery Award)  (difficult to trudge through)

Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker.  The War I finally won.  NY: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017.  (possible Newbery Contender)

Brown, Peter.  The Wild Robot. NY: Little Brown and Co, 2016.           

Coville, Bruce.   Hatched, The Enchanted files book 2.  NY:  Random House, 2016.

  ….             Trolled, The Enchanted Files, book 3. NY: Random House, 2017.

Gidwitz, Adam. The Inquisitor’s Tale, or, the three magical children and their holy dog.  NY: Dutton Children’s Books, 2016. (Newbery Honor) (keeps the reader involved all the way through)

Jamieson, Victoria.  All’s Faire in Middle School.  NY:  Dial Books for young readers, 2017. (Graphic Novel -- Ren Faire homeschooler goes to Middle School)

Jones, Carrie.  Time Stoppers.  NY: Bloomsbury, 2016.

Kelly, Erin Entrada. Hello Universe, some friendships are meant to be.  NY: Greenwillow Books, 2017.

Magoon, Kekla.  Rebellion of Thieves, a Robyn Hoodlum Adventure.  NY: Bloomsbury, 2016.

Papademetriou, Lisa.  Apartment 1986. NY: HarperCollins, 2017.  Beginning of a series about a blind black boy (whose family has money and a girl whose family has money problems in NYC.)

Pennypacker, Sara. PAX.  Illus. Jon Klassen.  NY: Balzer + Bray, HarperCollins, 2016.

Reynolds, Jason.  Patina.(Track Book 2)  NY: Atheneum Books for young readers, 2017.

Schlitz, Laura Amy. Princess Cora and the Crocodile.  Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2017.   (by Newbery Award winner)

Snyder, Laurel.  Orphan Island.  NY: Waldon Pond Press (HarperCollins), 2017.

Williams-Garcia, Rita. Clayton Byrd Goes Underground.  NY:  Armistad/ HarperCollins, 2017. (Good story about a boy in the 1920s Blues scene, but the last chapter winds everything up too quickly.)

Wolk, Lauren.  Wolf Hollow.  NY: Dutton Children’s Books, 2016.  (Newbery Honor)

  ….   Beyond the Bright Sea.   NY: Dutton Children’s Books, 2017.

Yolen, Jane and Adam Stemple (son).  B.U.G. (Big Ugly Guy).  NY: Dutton Children’s Books, 2013.

YA Fiction:

Anderson, M. T. (Tobin). Landscape with invisible hand. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2017.

Cashore, Kristin.  Jane, Unlimited. NY: Penguin Young Readers, 2017.

Knudsen, Michelle.  Revenge of the Evil Librarian. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2017.

Lackey, Mercedes.  Hunter.  NY: Hyperion, 2015.

  ….  Elite.   NY: Hyperion, 2016. 

  ….  Apex. NY: Hyperion, 2017.

Scarborough, Sheryl. To Catch a Killer, a novel.  NY:  Toor Teen, 2017.

Wrede, Patricia.  The Far West.  NY: Scholastic Press, 2012.  (Third Volume of an alternative America, called Columbia.)

  ….  A Matter of Magic/  (another version) Magic & Malice. (both containing the same two stories – Mairelon the Magician and Magician’s Ward.)

  ….   And Caroline Stevermer.  Sorcery & Cecelia –or – The Enchanted Chocolate Pot.  NY: Harcourt, 2003.

 ….  , ….  The Grand Tour –or- the purloined coronation regalia.  NY: Harcourt, 2004.  Being a revelation of matters of high confidentiality and greatest importance, including extracts from the intimate diary of a noblewoman and the sworn testimony of a lady of quality.

  …. , ….  The Mislaid Magician – or - ten years after.  NY: Harcourt, 2006.  Being the private correspondence between two prominent families regarding a scandal touching the highest levels of government and the security of the realm.

Yoon, Nicolay.  The Sun is also a Star.  NY: Delacourt Press, 2016. (one day in the life of a Jamaican deportee and her influence on a Korean-American doctor-to-be.)

PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHIES:

Bowman, Donna Janell. Step Right Up, How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About Kindness.  NY: Lee & Low Books, Inc, 2016.

Bryant, Jen.  Six Dots, a Story of Young Louis Braille.  NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.

Mahin, Michael.  Muddy, the story of blues legend Muddy Waters. Ilus. Evan Turk.  NY:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017.

Stelson, Caren.  Sachiko, a Nagaski Bomb Survivor’s Story.  Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 2016.

Steptoe, Javaka. Radiant Child, the Story of young artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.  NY:  Little Brown and Company, 2016.  (Caldecott Medal)

J BIOGRAPHIES:

JB-Cody            Fleming, Candace. Presenting Buffalo Bill, the man who invented the Wild West. NY: Roaring Brook Press, 2016.

JB-Crabtree            Harris, Lois V.  Lotta Crabtree, gold rush fairy star.  Grettna, LA:  Pelican Publishing Co., 2017

J NONFICTION:

J 355.82511            Winter, Jonah. The Secret Project. Illus. Jeanette Winter.  NY: Beach Lane Books, S&S, 2017.

J 398.209…            Sloat, Teri. Sody Sallyratus. NY:  Dutton Children’s Books, 1997.

J 557.9132            Chin, Jason. Grand Canyon. NY:  Neal Porter, Roaring Brook Press, 2017.

J599.67            Roy, Katherine. How to be an Elephant, growing up in the African wild. NY: Roaring Brook Press, 2017.

YA759.9492            Heiligman, Deborah. Vincent and Theo, the Van Gogh brothers.  NY:   Henry Holt and Sons, 2017.

J 808.1            Alexander, Kwame, Chris Colderley, and Majory Wentworth. Out of Wonder, Poems celebrating poets. Illus. Ekua Holmes. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2017.   (by Newbery Award winner) poetry collection

J 811            Grimes, Nikki. One Last Word.  NY: Bloomsbury, 2017.

J940.4594            Barton, Chriss. Illus. Victo Ngai.  Dazzle Ships, World War I and the art of confusion. MN: Millbrook Press, 2017.

J 973            Eggers, Dave.  Her Right Foot.  Illlus. Shawn Harris.  San Francisco, CA: Chronicle, 2017.

ADULT FICTION

Atwood, Margaret.  The Handmaid’s Tale.  NY:  Houghton Miflin, 1986.  (terribly prophetic of Trump and Pence’s regime.)

Beverley, Jo.  I bought and reread all of her books right after she died.

Bujold, Lois McMaster.  (rereading the Miles Vorkosigan saga) Mostly in combination bindings under collective titles.

                        Cordelia’s Honor (Shards of Honor and Barrayar)

                        Young Miles (the Warrior’s Apprentice, The Vor Game)

                        Miles, Mystery & Mayhem (Cetaganda, Falling Free, Ethan of Athos)

                        Mirror Dance

                        Memory

                        Miles in Love  (Komarr, A Civil Campaign, Winterfair Gifts)

                        Diplomatic Immunity

                        Captain Vorparil’s Alliance

                        Cryoburn

Cruisie, Jennifer.  Trust Me on This.  NY: Random House, 2011.

Deveraux, Jude.  The Girl from Summer Hill.  NY: Ballentine Books, 2016.

  ….              Knight in Shining Armor.  NY:  Pocket Books/ S&S, 2002.

  ….            Legend.  NY: Pocket Books/ S&S, 1996.

  ….               Sweet Liar. NY:  Pocket Books/ S&S, 1992.

  ….            Days of Gold (Bk 1 of Edilean novels).  NY: Atria S&S, 2009.

  ….            Lavender Morning (Edilean Novel).  NY:  Atria S&S. 2009.
  ….             Heartwishes, an Edilean novel.   NY:  Atria S&S. 2011.

  ….            Scarlet Nights.  NY:  Atria S&S. 2010.

  ….             The Scent of Jasmine.  NY:  Pocket Books, 2011.

  ….            Secrets. NY: Atria Books/ S&S, 2008.

  ….            The Mulberry Tree. NY: Atria Books/ S&S, 2002.

Gorey, Edward.  The Unstrung Harp; or, Mr Earbrass Writes a Novel.  NY: Harcourt Brace &

             Company, 1953, renewed 1981.

Lackey, Mercedes. The Fairy godmother, Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. Book 1.  UK:

            Luna Press Publishing, 2004. 

  ….            The Sleeping Beauty, Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms.

  ….            One Good Knight, Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms.

                        (I own all the series. These are the ones I re-read this year)

Lackey, Mercedes. A Scandal in Battersea, an Elemental Masters Novel. NY: DAW books, 2017.  (Library book, but I own some of this series)

Lawhon, Ariel.  Flight of Dreams.  NY: Doubleday, 2016.

Maguire, Gregory. Wicked, the life and times of the wicked witch of the west.  NY: Regan Books/ HarperCollins, 1995.  (met him at CLNE. This book became a broadway hit.  He says he based the witch on the head of Children’s Services at HCPL – Mrs. Sedney – my boss – which, now that I’ve read the book, I really don’t think it is any way like her at all.)

Moon, Elizabeth.  Award-winning Heris Serrano series, now in combined paperback editions

                        Heris Serrano (book 1)

                                    Hunting Party/  Sporting Chance / Winning Colors

                        The Serrano Connection (book 2)

                                    Once a Hero / Rules of Engagement

                        The Serrano Succession (book 3)

                                    Change of Command / Against the Odds

Novik, Naomi. Uprooted. NY: Del Rey, 2015.  (Nebula Award winner)

 ….   Temeraire, In the Service of the King.  Series: listed below:

                        His Majesty’s Dragon

                        Throne of Jade

                        Black Powder War

                        Empire of Ivory

                        Victory of Eagles

                        Tongues of Serpents

                        Crucible of Gold

                        Blood of Tyrants

                        League of Dragons

Putney, Mary Jo. Once a Rebel (Rogues Redemed)  NY: Kensington Books, 2017.

Quinn, Julia.  The girl with the make-believe husband. A Bridgertons prequel.  NY: Aavon Books, 2017.

Rekulak, Jason.  The Impossible Fortress, a Novel.  NY: Simon & Schuster, 2017. 

                        (Reads like a YA with teen characters.  I guess the publisher thought teens wouldn’t be able to under the computer Basic computations and early computer games.)

Springer, Nancy.   Fair Peril. NY: Avon Books, 1996.

Westlake, Donale E.  Trust Me on This.  NY: The Mysterious Press, 1988.

Wrede, Patricia and Pamela Dean. Points of Departure, Liavek Stories.  NY: Diversion Books, 2015. (paperback)

  ….  The Raven Ring. NY: Tor, 1994.  (although listed for adults, today this would have been published as YA)

ADULT BIOGRAPHY

B Fisher.  Fisher, Carrie. The Princess Diarist.  NY: Blue Rider Press, 2016.

B-Franken            Frankin, Al.  Al Franken Giant of the Senate. NY: Twelve, 2017.

B-Jahren.             Jahren, Hope. Lab Girl. NY: Thorndike Press, 2016.

B-Litt.            Litt, David.  Thanks, Obama; my hopey, changey, white house years  (a speechwriter’s memoir)  CCCO/ HarperCollins, 2017.

B-Remini.              Remini, Leah. Troublemaker, Surviving Hollywood and Scientology.  NY: Ballantine Books, 2015.

ADULT NONFICTION

324.7304 F   Franken, Al.  Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them: A fair and balanced look at the right.  NY: Dutton, 2003.

973.931 F            Franken, Al.  The Truth (with jokes).  NY: Dutton, 2005.

324.9730932        Green, Joshua. Devil’s Bargain, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the storming of the presidency.  NY:  Penguin Press, 2017.           

510.9252           Shettlery, Margot Lee.  Hidden Figures: The American dream and the untold story of the black women mathematicians who helped win the space race.  NY: HarperCollins (William Morrow), 2016. 

614.518            Barry, John M.  The Great Influenza, the epic story of the deadliest plague in history.    NY:  Viking,2004.

641.5092            Miller, Adrian.  The President’s Kitchen Cabinet, the story of the African Americans who have fed our first families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas.  Chapel Hills, NC:  The University of North Carolina Press, 2017.

641.5973L            Lohman, Sarah.  Eight Flavors, the untold story of American cuisine. NY:  Simon & Schuster, 2016.

823.8            Standiford, Les.  The man who invented Christmas, How Charles Dickens's A

                         CHRISTMAS CAROL rescued his career and revived our holiday spirits.

                         NY: Crown, 2008.

973.928            Podhoretz, John.  Hell of a Ride, backstage at the white house follies 1989-1993.  NY:  Simon & Schuster, 1993.

973.932            Mayer, Jane.  Dark Money, the hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical right.   NY:  Random House, 2016.

975.3              Brower, Kate Andersen.  The Residence, inside the private world of the White House.  NY:  HarperCollins, 2015.            (excellent view of this world)

Holiday Tips you might (or might not) want

Found on another writing e-mail list:

Just in time for the holidays--some "sensible" tips ( LOL)

1. About those carrot sticks. Avoid them. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an egg- nogaholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it.
Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas Holidays!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas or New Year's party is to eat other people's food for free. 
Lots of it. Hello? Remember college?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.
This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. You can't leave them behind. You're not going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert?    Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards, mate.  (actually, I love fruitcake, but it doesn't seem
to be a universal thing.)

10. And one final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention.
Reread tips. Start over. But hurry! Cookieless January is just around
the corner.

By Craig Wilson, USA TODAY  (December 2001)

Have you put up your Seasonal Decorations yet?

Writer's quotes - Patricia Wrede

Advice from one of my favorite authors.
(I say - authors - because I have so many favorites)

"Talent is way down on the list of things you need to write; it comes in a distant fourth, after persistance, motivation, and discipline. 
And the reason is that "talent" is as common as mud; what's rare is the motivation to sit down and actually do something with it, the discipline to do it regularly, and the persistance to stick with it until it's finished. 
I know oodles of extremely talented people who will never publish anything, because they won't ever sit down and actually *write* anything, much less finish it." -- Patricia Wrede