I heard about this books via a podcast and a newsletter. Both sounds incredibly interesting. You can see my complete TBR list on Pinterest.
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This week, I finished reading Fourth Wing. It was the first book in a long time that had me staying up past my bedtime to read. In fact, I went to bed earlier so that I could have more time to read. I have not deliberately carved out this much time to read a book in a long while. Now, I'm sad. Book two is out, but I don't have my hands on it yet. I have to wait for my turn on the library holds list. Then, I have to wait for book three to be published and the rumored books four and five to be written. I'm in this for the long haul, but I'm not looking forward to the wait. The problem with a series like this is the not knowing. Not only do I not know what will happen to the characters, but I don't know if the author will be able to finish the series in a satisfying way. While many series have great endings, some are real clunkers. (Looking at you Divergent series.) It would probably be better for my psyche to only read complete series, but I'm not that patient. The anticipation is part of the fun. When it comes to book series, do you wait to read them until they're finished?
I'm writing this while sitting in on a faculty union meeting. These sessions are always chaotic and the only way I get through them without screaming is by multi-tasking. Thank goodness I can vent with my library colleagues on internal chat. It feels like we're in this together. Here's what made me smile this week.
Fourth Wing Rebecca Yarros I am one night of binge-reading away from finishing this book. And it has truly been a binge read. Every night this week, I've had to force myself to close the cover and go to bed. I have not vibed like this with a book in a very long time. I now get all the hype. This is like Harry Potter meets the Hunger Games and is just compulsively readable. Is the writing the best? Heck no! But I don't care. I just want to know what happens! *Books shared here are affiliate links for Bookshop.org This day feels like a complete disaster. Two of my colleagues are battling HR on a years long issue that just exploded, my kiddo said her tummy hurt at school (but then was fine?), and I just got a boil water advisory alert. I'm going to need things to calm down a skosh. Here's what I've been working on:
I'm fairly certain that half of the food I ate this week was bell peppers. They were an ingredient in nearly every dish. I like bell peppers; they are versatile and add fun colors to a meal. But why are we eating so many of them these days? Answer - the kiddo. Kiddo is still in that picky eating stage. All things considered, she's eating well but most vegetables are still suspect. When she decides she likes a specific vegetable, I ride that for as long as possible. Right now, she's on a big raw red pepper strips and cucumber kick. Fine by me! I will keep those around until she moves on to something else. When it comes to meal planning, I try to balance what we adults like with what the kiddo might actually eat. I don't want to have to make two entirely separate dinners every night. Right now, I try to make dishes where she will eat least half of the ingredients. Alternatively, I'll make an adult dish that has a kid friendly tweak - i.e., omitting everything but the cheese from the filling when I make quesadillas. It's working for now, but I can't wait until the kiddo's palette expands a bit more. She promises that she will eat "mommy-daddy dinner" when she turns five. I'm not holding my breathe, but you never know. Kids surprise you like that. If you're feeding kids, what works for you?
Now that I've used AirPods for years, I can't imagine going back to wired earbuds. The lack of strings flapping around makes walking and working out so much easier. I love how much more mobile I feel. Here's what else made me happy this week:
I read a lot of books with my kiddo. Kid Reads is a biweekly look at what we've enjoyed recently.
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It's that time of the year where DC has its first 90 degree days but the office buildings have not converted to AC. Thank goodness I had the forethought to keep a fan in my cubicle cabinet. It's kept temperatures tolerable and not nap inducing. Here's what I've been working on:
I land firmly in the camp that language is always changing. Meaning shifts over time, new words arise, slang is fun, and rules are meant to be broken. Grammar and syntax are important but understanding matters more. BUT I work in academia and grew up in a well read family. As much as I don't care about language rules, some things just sound clunky. I was educated a certain way and what's deeply engrained in my brain is hard to ignore. These days, I catch myself wincing when I overhear certain things. I was reminded of some of those things while watching a home design TV show this week. The narrator described ancient villages dotting the Scottish countryside as "countless." I literally recoiled at that comment. Growing up, I always heard my dad say that there are only two "countless" things: stars in the sky and grains of sand on Earth. Everything else can be counted. Using "countless" is just lazy writing. Another familial complaint is the use of the word "very" before "unique." Unique is unique - it does not need a modifier. In fact, AP Style just doubled down on this. When I'm editing, I try to remove as many "verys" as possible. More often than not, it's unnecessary. Finally, the common way we use "decimate(d)" annoys almost everyone in my family. "Decimated" means to kill one in ten. In modern usage, it means "mass destruction." Again, this is fine, but a different word would probably work better. What are your language bug-a-boos?
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