Prayers for your family 🙏

Yesterday I finished reading Starling House by Alix E. Harrow: "Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland--and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot. Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home. As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares. If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it." I saw some people in the reviews describe this book as a dark fairy tale, and I think that's fairly accurate. This book definitely had a darkness to it, but not in a horror/thriller type of way, at least not to me. This was the second book I've read by this author (the other being The Ten Thousand Doors of January) and I definitely liked this one much better. I enjoyed these characters, the atmosphere of the setting, and just the overall writing. (4 stars)

You guys are so lucky!! We had complete cloud cover (in the path of totality). We couldn't see anything. It just got really dark. 🫤

I think it's pretty cool, but I definitely wouldn't travel to see it since it only lasts for a few minutes. This time around we were actually in the path of totality, but it was so cloudy that we couldn't see a darn thing! It just got really dark. I do think it's kind of peaceful when it happens and everything gets kind of still and quiet just for a minute. It's like the whole world stops.

I did finally setup a Viki account!!! At this point, though, I just have a free version. I haven't decided if I want the standard or plus pass yet.

I can't watch Wedding Impossible since it's on Hulu, but I did read about his cameo, so that's exciting. Kind of a bummer the show sounds like a stinker, but at least the cameo part was good! I've been waiting to start this show until all of the episodes (or almost all of the episodes) are out. It's Okay to Not Be Okay is one of my all-time favorites, so I'm really looking forward to Kim Soo-hyun in this one.

I finished Tale of the Nine-Tailed last night. I think I was in some sort of emotional state or something because I cried. Not just a tear, but tears! Thank goodness my DH didn't walk in on me and start asking questions because if I had to start explaining to him about nine-tailed foxes and serpents, he'd have probably thought I was nuts! Ha! 🤣 I really liked all of the folklore and fantastical elements of this show. I also enjoyed each of the characters and their stories. I have mixed feelings about the couple...loved the actors, but as a couple they were kind of meh. The star of the show, for me, was Kim Bum, who played the brother. He was great! I don't know how to describe the ending. In some ways it was happy, but it was also sad. I understand it was because everything went full circle, so I guess I'm okay with it, but it still made me cry. ETA…I saw there was a second season which is them going back in time (or something). It’s on Amazon Prime, which I have, so I think I’ll check it out.

Happy April! 💐 I’m not exactly sure where March went, but here we are! We’re heading into the last several weeks of school and while I’m ready for a break, I’m also kind of sad that another school year is coming to an end. My oldest DD will be in 11th grade next year and my baby in 9th grade…time just goes by so fast! Anywho, back on track! 🤣 I feel like my reading has been going okay. I’m keeping a decent pace and not slacking off. Some of my recent reads haven’t been super awesome so hopefully I’ll find something soon that I really like. As always, I look forward to hearing about what all of you have been reading!

They got back to me and resolved all of my issues.

I won't be watching because it looks like the show is either on Showtime or Paramount+ and I don't have either of those. I'm kind of indifferent about Ewan McGregor. He's not who I pictured, but he might not be terrible since he's a good actor.

Congratulations! She’s a cutie ☺️

I finished Happily Never After by Lynn Painter: "Their name? The objectors. Their job? To break off weddings as hired. Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other. When Sophie Steinbeck finds out just before her nuptials that her fiancé has cheated yet again, she desperately wants to call it off. But because her future father-in-law is her dad’s cutthroat boss, she doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Her savior comes in the form of a professional objector, whose purpose is to show up at weddings and proclaim the words no couple (usually) wants to hear at their ceremony: “I object!” During anti-wedding festivities that night, Sophie learns more about Max the Objector’s job. It makes perfect sense to her: he saves people from wasting their lives, from hurting each other. He’s a modern-day hero. And Sophie wants in. The two love cynics start working together, going from wedding to wedding, and Sophie’s having more fun than she’s had in ages. She looks forward to every nerve-racking ceremony saving the lovesick souls of the betrothed masses. As Sophie and Max spend more time together, however, they realize that their physical chemistry is off the charts, leading them to dabble in a little hookup session or two—but it’s totally fine, because they definitely do not have feelings for each other. Love doesn’t exist, after all. And then everything changes. A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max’s heart. As Max wrestles with whether he can be a party to his ex’s getting hurt, Sophie grapples with the sudden realization that she may have fallen hard for her partner in crime." I've read several books by Lynn Painter, and I usually really like them, but this one was just meh. (I think her YA books are much better.) The premise was kind of weird and by the middle of the book, lost. The main characters were shallow, which was surprising because this author usually adds more meaningful things to her storylines. This one was just two people dealing with bad breakups...kind of boring. Her writing was still fun and witty, so it kept me entertained. (3 stars)

For school, my younger DD and I read The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean (young reader's edition): "Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why did tellurium (Te, 52) lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history? The periodic table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, greed, betrayal, and obsession. The fascinating tales in The Disappearing Spoon follow elements on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. Adapted for a middle grade audience, the young readers edition of The Disappearing Spoon offers the material in a simple, easy-to-follow format, with approximately 20 line drawings and sidebars throughout. Students, teachers, and burgeoning science buffs will love learning about the history behind the chemistry." We read this to go along with our History of Science study and quite enjoyed it. It had a lot of interesting facts and information about the elements on the periodic table. (4 stars) One of the books I chose during the summer last year to be a part of my older DD's American Literature Study was Black Boy by Richard Wright: "Richard Wright grew up in the woods of Mississippi amid poverty, hunger, fear, and hatred. He lied, stole, and raged at those around him; at six he was a "drunkard," hanging about in taverns. Surly, brutal, cold, suspicious, and self-pitying, he was surrounded on one side by whites who were either indifferent to him, pitying, or cruel, and on the other by blacks who resented anyone trying to rise above the common lot. Black Boy is Richard Wright's powerful account of his journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow South. It is at once an unashamed confession and a profound indictment—a poignant and disturbing record of social injustice and human suffering." Unfortunately, due to some scheduling issues, I had to discard this one from the list once school started. I ended up starting it anyway, reading about half of it and skimming the second half. I enjoyed the first half, which mostly discussed his childhood. The second half was more about his involvement with the Communist Party and politics and from what I skimmed wasn't as enjoyable.

I finished Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross (sequel to Divine Royals): "Two weeks have passed since Iris Winnow returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front, but the war is far from over. Roman is missing, and the city of Oath continues to dwell in a state of disbelief and ignorance. When Iris and Attie are given another chance to report on Dacre’s movements, they both take the opportunity and head westward once more despite the danger, knowing it’s only a matter of time before the conflict reaches a city that’s unprepared and fracturing beneath the chancellor’s reign. Since waking below in Dacre’s realm, Roman cannot remember his past. But given the reassurance that his memories will return in time, Roman begins to write articles for Dacre, uncertain of his place in the greater scheme of the war. When a strange letter arrives by wardrobe door, Roman is first suspicious, then intrigued. As he strikes up a correspondence with his mysterious pen pal, Roman will soon have to make a decision: to stand with Dacre or betray the god who healed him. And as the days grow darker, inevitably drawing Roman and Iris closer together…the two of them will risk their very hearts and futures to change the tides of the war." I was really disappointed in this one. I liked the first book a lot, with one gripe about the lack of world-building. However, this one was a stinker. First, I've decided that I really dislike the memory loss trope. I kind of feel like this is lazy writing by the author just to extend the book series. In actuality, this story probably could've been written as one larger book, but whatever. The first 200-250 pages were a waste of time. Nothing happened. By the time I got to the latter half I was so bored I started skimming. The author started giving us some world-building but by this point it was so late in the game it felt weird and out of place. The were some good little bits at the end but not enough for redemption. I was happy to be done with this one. 🫤 (2, maybe 2.5 stars)

I finished Dr. Slump! Really cute couple, loved the family and side characters. I feel like the first half of the show was stronger than the second half (the medical accident storyline got kind of weird), but overall I enjoyed this show. It had a nice, happy ending. I really loved the mom in this one! She wasn't perfect, but she really cared about her kids and had a lovely bond with them.

I definitely know that about her books...there will be sadness and probably death!! The Four Winds just felt extreme....there didn't seem to be any up and down to the story, just down. It really put me in a funk after reading it. I think for me to pick up another one of her books, the topic is going to have to be something that really interests me and I'm not sure this latest one does. I'm sure the book is well written and very good, all of her books are. I'm just cautious of them now.

This is what we've decided on so far... Math - Mr. D Geometry English - Lantern English (9th grade full year curriculum) Science - Biology (through our local co-op) History - World Geography (FundaFunda Academy) Foreign Language - German I (having scheduling issues with this, but I think we're going with True North Academy) Electives/Other: Photography (through our local co-op) Film class (through our local co-op) PE (at home) Extracurriculars: She'll probably do track in the spring She's been doing MMA classes for over 5 years, so we're trying to convince her to stick with this when she's not doing track

I really appreciated the topic…while I know about Syria from what I’ve seen on the news, reading about it (even a fictional story) was interesting. I also liked the little bit of magical realism that was thrown into the story. I don’t know how far you got, but there was a huge twist closer to the end that shocked me, so I found that to be pretty impactful.

I’ve thought about reading this one, but after The Four Winds depressed me so much I felt like I had to put Kristin Hannah on pause for a while! 🤣 I’ve seen mostly good things about this new book though.

I’ve read it! And yes, I thought it was really good. ☺️

I finished watching Divorce Attorney Shin. This one was okay, nothing spectacular. Maybe I had a "k-drama hangover" from Alchemy of Souls, but I was kind of bored with this show at times. It did have a good story about friendship. There was really no romance (a very small bit with some side characters). I did like the character of the second attorney in the office...he was funny. I finally started this last night. Only 3 episodes in, but already loving it. Love these two main lead actors together!

Oh wow…🫤 Sorry you didn’t like it.

Ooooohhhh...can't wait to hear what you think of this one!

For book club this month we read Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See: "According to Confucius, "an educated woman is a worthless woman," but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient. From a young age, Yunxian learns about women's illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other's joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom. But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, pluck instruments, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights. How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? Lady Tan's Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today." This book was so interesting because there were so many different things it touched on but they all worked so well together in this story. First was the Chinese culture itself at the time...this was the Ming Dynasty. The book started in 1469 and ended in 1511. Then there was all of the medical information, which was fascinating. Apparently, this was based on a real doctor and some of her remedies are still used today. You can probably guess from the title, but there was a lot of focus on the female relationships in this book...wives, mothers, friends, etc. Highly enjoyable! (FYI...there were a few graphic medical things described, so if that stuff bothers you, just be aware.) (4.5 stars)