Notes, 11/22/20

Read

Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang

Deb @ Readerbuzz gave me a bunch of recommendations this week for sports books. One of them, Dragon Hoops, was available through the online library and I availed myself.

Gene Luen Yang is a comic book geek. He started out reading them and moved on to writing them. He was never good at sports or even cared about sports until a few years into his tenure at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, CA. Basketball is very big in California high schools. Yang started to see stories: in the coaches, in the players, and in the sport of basketball itself. He very deftly weaves all these stories together through the school’s efforts to win the state title game. Yang’s wheelhouse is superheroes and he brings those chops to illustrating athletes. It’s a great combination.

A Match Made for Thanksgiving by Jackie Lau

I joined the Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon with the intent of reading mostly “Christmas” ghost stories, but I decided to also keep an eye out for a fun holiday romance. I spotted this one being read by fellow readathoner Angie.

It was pretty much exactly what I wanted: a fun, frivolous contemporary romance. The sexy bits weren’t overly prolonged and the drama was light. Sometimes, I just want to read about people who like each other! I might have to read the next one in the series too.

Reading

Still reading We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence by Becky Cooper. Engrossing, yes, but intense too. I was working on a nonfiction work about a murdered woman and it gets too much into my head. I get rather depressed every time I work on it. It’s maybe not good for my mental health.

I do hope to get more reading done for the Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon. Probably After-Supper Ghost Stories by Jerome K. Jerome and maybe A Second Chance Road Trip for Christmas by Jackie Lau. Between this readathon, college basketball starting up, and getting some decorations up this week, I should get into the holiday spirit.

Classics Club – CCSpin #25

The Lucky Spin Number has been posted! And that number is…14!
Which for me is Edgar Huntly; or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker by Charles Brockden Brown, an American novel written in 1799. It’s Gothic! It’s 18th Century! Which means I should probably get to reading it sooner rather than later even if the read-by date is Jan. 30th.

Deal Me In

Week 46: 6♣️
“On the Slab” by Harlan Ellison – This is my final Ellison story for this year’s Deal Me In and it’s such a very Harlan Ellison story. The body of an alien, or maybe a god, is uncovered in an apple orchard. Before scientists can secure the remains, they are bought by a concert promoter who decides to put them on display. Slowly, though, the concert promoter realizes what the body is, and is changed by it. All with a little existential horror thrown in.

Week 47: J♥️
“The Bridge Partner” by Peter S. Beagle – In contrast, I still have three Beagle stories left for the year! I’m not quite used to a murder mystery type thing from Beagle, but this one does work rather well. Also, I’m always pro- middle-aged lady stories.

And I’m caught up on Deal Me In stories!

Watching

I picked up a cheap DVD collection of the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant seasons of Doctor Who. All the episodes and specials! So, I’ll be watching that for a while.