Weekly Mews: Reading Poetry / June's TBR Winner / And Hopefully Rain

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

I am linking up Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.  

I heard a rumor rain might be on the horizon. As much as I enjoy sunshine, I love rainy days, and they are rare enough here this time of year that I always look forward to them. So, I hope it does rain! 

We celebrated my husband's birthday the middle of the week--it was relatively lowkey despite being a milestone birthday. We plan to celebrate more this weekend and see Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse. We all enjoyed the first film in the series and are looking forward to the second. Last weekend Mouse and I dragged Anjin to see The Little Mermaid, which we all loved. My daughter is hoping she can talk her grandmother into taking her to see it again this summer. 

Today we went to see some of Mouse's friends perform in their end of the season dance recital. All the dancers did such a good job! And I think Mouse's friends were especially glad to have her there to support them. They got to spend some time together after the performances, making it extra fun for them all. It was nice to be a spectator this time around--not running in every direction to make sure costumes, make-up, and kids were in place. I miss the connections we made with people when Mouse was dancing at a studio, but I don't miss the too full schedules and constant running around as much.

Work was a little easier this past week--less busy, but still busy enough. I actually was able to get caught up on some of my online trainings finally. There's a big region meeting/potluck this coming week. 

What have you been up to? 

Finished reading this past week: 

Playing It Safe (Electra McDonnell #3) by Ashley Weaver (bookish mewsings to come)

Mom, Can I Do My Laundry at Your House?: Poems from Your Adult Child by Olivia Roberts 

Exile (Keeper of the Lost Cities #2) by Shannon Messenger

Flutter, Kick by Anna V.Q. Ross

In the middle of reading: 

Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood by Lisa Damour

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle  at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

Thank you to everyone who voted in this month's TBR poll! It was a close race, but ultimately there was only one winner. Weyward by Emilia Hart received 7 votes and The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox got 8 votes. The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner won with 10 votes! I will be starting The London Séance Society very soon and am looking forward to it!  

Thank you for voting! 

What are you reading? 

This week I picked up and read a review poetry book I received via Edelweiss (all opinions are my own), Mom, Can I Do My Laundry at Your House?: Poems from Your Adult Child by Olivia Roberts (Chronicle Books, 2023; 64 pgs). It is the type of book that would make a fun little gift for a mother as a way to say thank you--nothing serious, just for a chuckle and a hug. It's less insightful and more simplified, meant to bring a smile to the reader's face.

I found some of the poems more relatable than others--maybe because I'm an older adult child and some of the pop references are from a younger generation. But there were many relatable gems in the book too--like how my mom graciously doesn't say a word about my messy house when she visits, how she tolerated listening to my favorite songs over and over again while I was growing up (and still does with her grandchild), that she is "amazing, kind, patient, and beautiful", helped me with my homework when I was in school, mediated sibling fights, loved me and loves me still through my worst and best and every mood in between, and how good she is at folding fitted sheets (I still can't do it well), among other things.

When I was young I thought you were an invincible superhero

Now I realize you are just a human

and you have human feelings

and make human mistakes

and do all the other human things just like everyone else

You're still a superhero to me anyway [excerpt from Mom, Can I Do My Laundry at Your House?]

I come from there, with lavender

greenery small against the bricks. 

[opening of "House" by Anna V.Q. Ross]

I also read Flutter, Kick by Anna V.Q. Ross (Red Hen Press, 2022; 96 pgs). I wish I had words that could adequately convey how much I loved this collection of poems and just how much it resonated with me. The poems vary in style, and I admire the way Ross uses style and language with purpose. I loved the imagery in Ross's poems and the way she juxtaposes daily routines with reflections of loss, fears, and traumatic memories, sometimes touching on political and world events as well. I felt these poems as I read them and live many of them as a mother (especially of a daughter) and as a woman who was once a girl. Some made me cry, my own memories of trauma and fears as a mother facing me on the pages of the book, and others made me smile. There was one poem that made me laugh, in part because it is as if the poet could see the ads on my Facebook feed in "The Algorithm Thinks I Need a Girdle". 

That this collection of poems spoke to me makes it even more meaningful for me personally, but, in general, I found Ross's poetry to be not only insightful and though provoking, but also very well crafted. 

Is it an apparition, a machine of memory,

or is the story and remembering? 

["What Is the Poem" by Anna V.Q. Ross]

Have you read either of these collections of poetry? If so, what did you think? What poetry have you read lately? 

I was looking for a quick read one day recently and settled on "Million Dollar Baby" by Kim Harrison. It's one of the novellas in her Into the Woods anthology, based on her Hollows urban fantasy series. I have been enjoying the stories in this collection for the most part and this one was no different. Elf Trent Kalamack reluctantly teams up with Jenks, the pixie, in order to kidnap Trent's and Elisabeth's daughter, who had been kept from him by Elisabeth. The kidnapping is a good thing in that Elisabeth isn't the nicest of elves--and would let her daughter get killed in the crossfire if it meant taking out Trent. I liked seeing the relationship between Trent and Jenks evolve over the course of the novella. Trent doesn't trust many people and it shows. It was interesting to read a story told from Trent's point of view. He's not always as confident as he often comes across, afraid of becoming like his father and also of what Rachel thinks of him. Spending more time with Jenks is always a fun time. Don't underestimate the pixie! 

What short stories, novellas or essays have you read lately? 

At Mouse's recommendation, I squeezed in the second Keeper of the Lost Cities book, Exile, by Shannon Messenger (Aladdin, 2013; Middle Grade Fantasy; 576 pgs) earlier this week. These books are relatively fast reads despite being long. Exile picks up soon after the first book ended. Sophie is settling in with her adoptive parents at Havenfield, adjusting to life as an elf. Havenfield is the kind of place I would love to live: an animal rehabilitation center. Although not of animals you and I are familiar with. 

In Exile, Sophie befriends a rare mythical creature called an Alicorn and is tasked with training her so she can be moved safely to the sanctuary. The female alicorn is a sign of hope for the elven community and not everyone thinks Sophie is up for the job. But Silveny, the Alicorn, only trusts Sophie. There's also the little problem of the people who want to harm Sophie. They haven't been caught. And there are still secrets about her past and existence that Sophie would like to find answers to. Oh, and the fallout from when Emissary Adlen Vacker enlists Sophie to help him with his latest top secret job.

A lot seems to rest on this 13 year old's shoulders and I blame the adults. She's extraordinarily gifted, most likely more so than all the other elves. I am enjoying seeing the trouble she gets into--and is pulled into through no fault of her own--and how she gets out of it. She's got a great group of friends--although maybe too many guys who have crushes on her (Mouse is Team Keefe). I have some theories about who is behind what and what direction certain storylines may go, but there have been a few surprises along the way, and I look forward to seeing what Sophie and her friends end up doing next. 

Are you reading any children's or middle grade books right now? If so, what? 

The local independent bookstore is in between locations, but I was able to order a couple of books online through them. Originally, the owner planned to open at the new location later this month, but it looks like it will be after the first of July instead.  

The Bangalore Detectives Club (Kaveri and Ramu #1) by Harini Nagendra

Treasure Island by Robert Luis Stevenson (Mouse's request)

What new books made it onto your shelf recently? 

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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