104:104 Baby's First Mythos by C.J. Henderson & Erica Henderson

Okay, not the book I had planned on being the last book of the year but somehow appropriate. I'm only counting it because a) I've read 1/2 of 2 of Christopher's text books which I can't count because they aren't "done" and b) I'm 93% of the way through with Robinson Crusoe but had a ton of company today and enjoyed spending time with them rather than sticking my nose in a book so I'm putting this one in instead because, well, it's freaking awesome.

This is an Alphabet and counting book based on the Cthulu mythos created by HP Lovecraft. Every letter has it's own entry with a corresponding creature or person from his works. I read it to Nicholas who loved it and then I read the disclaimer that it could be disturbing to some children. Hmmm...is that why Nico was asking me to read it again and again? That would certainly make sense for him. If you like twisted children's books based on twisted adult books, this is certainly the one for you (and your kids).

Page count: 42p/31,889p ytd (sort of)

And that sees my challenge done for the year. I'll definitely be doing it again this year as I have plenty more on my shelves that need to be read and there are even more out there to be read. So many books, too little time (and storage space).

104:103 Doctor Who: Winner Takes All by Jacquline Rayner

I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. The voices were there but barely. It was more like I could hear the characters saying those words but it was wooden, there was very little of the banter and character interaction that is necessary to really bring out these characters, especially if you are going to put them in print. The story itself is okay, a pretty typical Doctor Who type storyline, but nothing super special. In short, if you are dying for a 9th Doctor fix this will sort of work but otherwise, I would take a pass.

Page count: 245p/31,847p ytd

104:102 At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft

Okay, so I read the Kindle version of this which unlike the print version is just the one story with no additional tales. I considered grabbing the print version we have in the house but when checking it out, the additional tales are also included in some of the other compendiums that I plan on reading so I decided it wasn't necessary to do so. This review will simply cover "At the Mountains of Madness".

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this book as it's the first Lovecraft I've ever read. I've had a couple of people tell me they put it down in horror 1/2 way through so I was expecting to be scared, shocked, something along those lines. What I found was an incredibly intricate and suspenseful writing style. I actually used the Kindle dictionary a couple of times as some of the words were very obscure and I wanted to make sure that my understanding of them from the text was accurate (it was close enough btw). I can't say I was ever "scared" or "horrified" by what I was reading. I kept waiting for the boogeyman to jump out the shadows but when it finally happened, it was sort of anti-climatic and without much incident but a chase. This story wasn't gross or gory. It was intense but didn't make my gorge rise. I admit to needing a break from time to time because of the complexity of the writing but that was it. I'm looking forward to reading more of his work to see if his style remains consistent throughout.

Page count: 110p/31,602p ytd

104:101 Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Set in San Francisco in a not too distant future, a terrorist attack has taken down the Bay Bridge and the BART tunnel linking SF to the East Bay. Marcus (W1N$T0N) and his friends are hackers caught in the wrong place at the wrong time by the Department of Homeland Security. Marcus can't let it go after he is finally released and goes on a crusade to bring the Bill of Rights back from those who would subvert it in the name of "keeping us safe".

I enjoyed the book but then again, I agree with how scary the loss of our freedoms have become and have no doubt that these measures make us not one whit safer but only serve to put greater power in the hands of our government which is not acting in our best interests but only acting to serve it's own aims. I don't think this is about Republicans or Democrats but simply the fact that our government has become too big and too in love with it's power and that it has no intention of giving back the rights which it has stolen. A revolution will be needed to get those rights back so that we can be safe in our persons and privacy, safe from unreasonable searches and wiretaps on our phones. I found a great article that shows your odds of being a victim of terrorist attack vs those of other disasters like car crashes. We don't stop driving because we may get in a wreck. We don't let them take away our freedom of speech or wiretap our phones because we may have an accident but it is statistically much more likely to die in one of those than to be a victim of a terrorist. http://reason.com/archives/2006/08/11/dont-be-terrorized

Is this the greatest book ever? No. It was a fairly quick read, fairly simplistic in it's execution and language but had powerful passages that made you want to stand up and applaud Marcus. Considering that you can download this book for free, I definitely recommend reading it and making your own judgment on it's merit. I will say, best of all is the fact that it sparked many interesting discussions with the boys since Mark read the first 1/2 of it on our car ride home. We talked about the Department of Homeland Security and the abuses that they have committed and how those don't make us any safer. But cuter than all that was hearing a little 3yr old voice ask "What's a Yippie?" and trying to explain these things to him because he kept asking questions too. Gotta love that!

Page count: 384p/31,492p ytd

104:100 Your Four-Year-Old: Wild and Wonderful by Louise Bates Ames, Ph.D.

I decided to actually get a jump on and read this BEFORE Nico turned 4 (instead of 6mos into that year like I usually seem to do). I definitely am seeing bits and pieces of what they talk to already with him along with some of the 3½yr old stuff still working its way out. It was nice to be reminded of what is coming and know he's right on track and that while his natural energy and enthusiasm is going to be at a serious high, we are on the right track to surviving it. I guess the last 2+ years of practice has helped. I definitely preferred the advice in this book to that of the 3yr old book since it was more along the lines of "get your kid outdoors and run them around to help them get some energy out" for four vs "send your kid to a babysitters, nursery school, or anywhere away from the mom" of 3. I much prefer the former to the latter and it's something I try hard to do as a matter of course because I know that my boys need to work off the energy, especially when they all start feeding off each other.

Page count: 136p/31,108p ytd

104:99 Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughn

The latest in the Kitty Norville series. Kitty has been invited on a new supernatural reality tv show where the point at the start seems to be for a bunch of the more prominent and spotlighted supernaturals to convince a skeptic that there really are such things as werewolves, vampires, and psychics. Unfortunately, someone seems to have a hidden agenda for the show that looks a whole lot more like a massacre. Who has changed the script and will any of them be able to survive?

I really enjoyed this one as I have with the whole series. I like Kitty's snarkiness but her also her ability to take charge when necessary and do what needs doing. Ben doesn't play prominently in this one which is a shame but Cormac gets lots of mention as it is his instincts that Kitty needs to be channeling if she doesn't want to be on the primetime in a bodybag.

Page count: 292p/30,972p ytd

104:98 Grayson by Lynne Cox

This was one of Christopher's bookclub reads. A memoir of a champion swimmer who met with an extraordinary adventure during a typical training session one morning. A baby gray whale became lost from his mother and attached himself to her. This is the story of the hours they spent together in the ocean searching for his mother and everything she got to experience as a result during those hours. Short, quick read but wonderfully descriptive of her time in the water with Grayson. A touching story that draws you in as you hope along with her that Grayson's mother will be found.

Page count: 153p/30,680p ytd

104:97 Blue Fingers by Cheryl Aylward Whitesel

This was a book club read for Chris last year which he begged me to read. Matthew recently finished it and said I had to read it too so I finally broke down and did it. I enjoyed it for what it was which is a simple coming of age story set in feudal Japan. While the author obviously (and admittedly) weaves some of her own lore into that of the ninjas, she also did her research and added a lot of historical details on how they would have achieved their feats interwoven with the superstitions of the time. Cute, quick read.

Page count: 247p/30,527p ytd

104:96 The Early Human World by Peter Robertshaw an dJill Rubalcaba

This is the first in the series of The World in Ancient Times that we are using for Matthew's Ancient History class this year and was recommended by one of his friends who is 2yrs older. I really like the format of the books. They are told in a definite story form rather than a dry "here are the facts" that so many history books do. They keep it light, interesting, and entertaining while getting the information across. They pack lots of fun little facts in which help to keep it interesting as well. I definitely learned a lot and enjoyed it and even better, so did Matthew. I think that right there is the best compliment is when the 6th grader is happy to do history when it's not normally one of his favorite subjects.

Page count: 160p/30,280p ytd

104:95 The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

A Newberry Honor book and well deserved. I read this as it was Matthew's book for bookclub and I like to know what my kids are reading. I'm funny that way. LOL This story follows the boy Ranofer of Egypt who wishes to be a goldsmith but after his father died is now in the care of his half-brother who is a stonecutter and cares nothing for Ranofer except what he can get from him. As events unfold, Ranofer discovers that his half-brother is stealing in places best left undisturbed and the only person who knows and might be able to stop him is Ranofer and his friends but it will take an enormous amount of courage on his part to bring his half-brother to justice.

I enjoyed the tale. I found the descriptions well done and since we had just visited the Tut exhibit I was able to very easily see in my minds eyes the items that were being described. You do find yourself caring about Ranofer and wanting to justice done. Matthew also enjoyed the book tho he found it a little slow in the beginning but once the action got started, he didn't want to put it down.

Page count: 248p/30,120p ytd

104:94 Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton

It is really showing how badly she is rushing these books trying to put out one Merry book and one Anita book each year. This one is the latest in the Merry series and it started out strong for about the first 125p or so. It had a real plot with a strange fey murder happening in LA where Merry and her guards are called in to give their opinions. There is political stuff going on with some of the new guards that she brought over. There is obvious caring between Merry and her men but once we get past that point it turns into massive sex scenes which are pretty much the same with only the names changing. I lost count of how many times she "painted her orgasm on his back" but it was every time she got laid. Seriously? There are no better metaphors? Nothing else she could have done? I'm personally surprised she can keep track of who she is with so she can scream out the right name each time since she always does that as well. So let's recount, she spent 125p (give or take) on building a real story line, another 150p having sex with the occasional scene pertaining back to the plot of the first 125p, and then 40 pages where she actually has the murderer basically blackmailing Merry and her and the guards dealing with it.

It's still better than several of her Anita Blake books but it's funny how she had books when she was trying to get pregnant where she had less sex than in this one where is already with child.

Page count: 333p/29,872p ytd

104:93 Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs

The 2nd book in her Alpha & Omega series which is set in the same universe as the Mercy Thompson books but takes place a little beforehand and has the main characters of Bran's son Charles and his new mate, Anna. In this book, Charles and Anna are heading to Seattle to deal with the European wolves about Bran's decision to come out of the doghouse, so to speak, and go public with the information that werewolves are real and have been cohabiting with humankind for centuries. This decision is not widely popular but one in particular, whom the call The Beast, is widely opposed to the idea and it seems he will stop at nothing to stop it, even possibly resorting to hiring vampire mercenaries to steal Anna to weaken Charles and his father's position.

Absolutely loved this book. At about 100 pages from the end, I couldn't put it down and zipped through it. I think I actually prefer this series to the Mercy Thompson books but that may also be that I've read these more recently and Mercy has faded from my immediate memory.

Page count: 286p/29,539p ytd

104:92 Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's all small stuff by Richard Carlson, Ph.D.

A good list of 100 ideas to learn how to relax and stop stressing over all the minor stuff that gets to us day in and day out and keeps our back and necks tight and makes it difficult to find the life of peace and happiness that we claim to be seeking. He makes the claim in every "chapter" that we are ultimately in control of how we deal with everything and that we have the choice to go with the flow or let the idiot who cut us off in traffic stress us out for the next 20+min. There are no earth shattering techniques in here, they are all ones that we've heard time and time again in different ways but it's all put together in one book with personal examples of how it has worked for him. Now that I've gone through it once, I plan on rereading it next year focusing on two techniques a week. I know there are certain areas where I go with the flow nicely but there are definitely areas where I tend to let myself get stressed out when it's totally unnecessary and I want to work on that.

Definitely a recommended read.

Page count: 246p/29,253p ytd

104:91 Bound to Shadows

The 8th book in the Riley Jensen series. This one was a total rush and really brought back everything I loved about the first 4 and the last one. Fast paced, lots of action, a real bad guy for Riley to pursue and stop, and of course plenty of loving. *wink wink, nudge nudge, know what I mean* Riley's soulmate, Kye is back and no one can tell exactly what game he's playing or which side he's on besides his own. And what Riley and Kye want are worlds apart but only one of them can get their wish.

Absolutely loved this book and so glad to see that after the disappointments that were books 5 & 6, the series is really back on track again. Can't wait for the next one in the series.

Page count: 346p/29,007p ytd

104:90 Frostbitten by Kelly Armstrong

In the 11th book in the Women of the Otherworld series, Kelly returns to Elena's pov as she ends up in Alaska on the trail of a mutt only to find much more than anyone bargained for. So many surprises and twists and turns, some hinted at in previous books and others new. Elena seems to be really growing up in her reactions to things as is Clay and it's nice seeing their relationship continue to grow. The rest of the pack does make an appearance in the last couple of chapters and it was nice to at least see their names. They aren't integral enough for more than that.

In all, a fun quick read and I enjoyed going back into Armstrong's world.

Page count: 339p/28,661p

104:89 Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Well, I wasn't planning on counting this one but it's now the end of November and the kids school reading has been killing my pace. I looked back on last year and realized that I read a lot more YA books as well so hey, I get to count this one since it's my game (and it helps count for the 200+ pages in Art History and 300+ pages in US History that I've read and can't count as finished books until next year). LOL

Still a cute book and it was nice to share with Matthew and Jonathan. We all got a lot out of using the curriculum and putting ourselves more into the time period.

Page count: 238p/28,322p

104:88 White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison

The newest of the Rachel Morgan series. This time Rachel is up against her toughest opponent ever, a mother banshee who will do anything to protect her child. Rachel is also being called to task for her judgment and actions and witches are not to be messed with when it comes to justice. And of course, what series dealing with demons, witches, werewolves, and vampires would be complete without a ghost. She's dealt with him before but will she survive dealing with him again?

Really a fun read. I had a hard time putting it down and I just really love this series. I'm so sad I'm going to have to wait for the next one to come out at all, let alone in paperback.

Page count: 564p/28,084p

And Another ER Visit ***Graphic Content Warning***

There once was a boy who was actually doing his chores because he wanted to go to his friend's house. While unloading the dishwasher, he was thinking about how much he detested this chore and would love to get out of it and managed to drop a butcher knife on his finger. Instead of yelling for help from a parent, he ran from the kitchen to the bathroom with the finger in his mouth and then stuck it under a faucet and yelled for his brother to get him a bandaid. His mother heard this and heard his explanation of dropping a knife on his finger and went to look. Blood was everywhere since he had water running over it and it was obvious that it was deep. Instead of a bandaid, his mother grabbed a rag and put pressure on it and had his father take him to the ER for stitches.

The stitch count was 2. The boy was Matthew. And he only got out of unloading the dishwasher for the one day.

104:87 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I remember I read this ages ago but couldn't for the life of me remember much of it so when Christopher had to read it for his English class, I was happy to read it as well. The majority of it was sort of ok but once Tom shows up I spent the rest of the book shaking my head at the complete hilarity of it all and the fact that everyone went along with his foolery. It definitely lived up to the notice at the beginning of the book: "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot will be shot." That really sums it up nicely because I didn't find any of those things in it but it was still a fun read.

Page count: 202p/27,520p ytd

104:86 The Tao of Meow by Waldo Japussy

"The Meow is Supreme,
Heaven's a dream,
Earth is mighty--
And the Wise cat always tries to cooperate
with the powers that be."

A collection of 81 reflections on life and the way to total self-gratification as only a cat can tell it. This really sums up the book well. What a philosopher Waldo is and we are blessed that he wrote down his wisdom to share with us and that his humans were able to translate it so that we could all know the wisdom of the Meow so we could find The Way.

Page count: 120p/27,318p ytd