Here’s what I was reading way back in March, just before the pandemic shut things down locally. I finished the third read that month the day we were sent home “for the next two weeks” and in time to return it to the library the weekend it closed down.

And then I didn’t finish anything else for a month.

But that’s a story for another day. Today, I’ve got three books to talk about:

New Kid, by Jerry Craft

In this graphic novel, artistic seventh-grader Jordan is embarking on his first day at a prep school across the city (and the world) from his Washington Heights neighborhood. For his first day, he’s picked up by his student liaison, whose father tells him to lock the car doors while he rings Jordan’s doorbell. This is just the first of many microagressions that Jordan is going to face as one of the few students of color at a school that features an auditorium named for his student liaison’s family. Middle school is tough even without that baggage, but Jordan is going to get through it. But he’s going to have to do that while dealing with teachers who call him by other Black kids’ names, hearing about fancy vacations, navigating city bus rides to school through neighborhoods where no one looks like him, wishing he could attend art school instead but not being able to convince his parents, and listening to taunts from the kids he grew up with about why he thinks he’s too good to hang out with them now.

Middle school sucks, but inevitably we find our way forward and through. We find our group, we find the classes where we excel, and we find teachers who see our potential. And this is true of Jordan, as well. The universality of this transition makes it easy for us all to connect with Jordan’s story, but the specificity of his struggles will either reflect a shared experience to some or provide insight for others. Either way, this is a great book for anyone to read, and I highly recommend it. It’s got the Newbery Medal, the Coretta Scott King Award, and the Kirkus Prize to prove that I’m not the only person to endorse it. (“Don’t just take my word for it…”)

Pages: 256. Library copy.

A Fatal Grace, by Louise Penny

In the second of the Three Pines series, we find Inspector Gamache and his wife on Boxing Day having a look through cold cases of another precinct. When his wife finds the recent murder of a homeless woman they recognize, he agrees to look into it. Meanwhile in Three Pines, a horrible woman who is cruel to her daughter and husband and spitefully mean to artist Clara, dies while watching an outdoor curling match with the whole village present. Gamache is summoned to the scene and must begin piecing together the truth from the beloved cast of characters from the first book, the woman’s family and paramour, and a trio of old women, one of whose yoga studio has the same name as the dead woman’s self help business. He is joined by his faithful #2, his devoted team, a new, local sergeant, and the hapless and disgraced sergeant he dismissed the last time he worked in Three Pines. Is her return a sign of trouble to come from police headquarters in Quebec? And how do they relate to Gamache’s past?

When I had the chance to hear Louise Penny speak, she described the series like a new friendship. The first book is getting coffee. The second is drinks. The third is a meal. And soon after that you’ve got in-jokes and shorthand and are old friends. And she’s right. Her character-driven series is solid, and if you could be convinced that you won’t be the one murdered, you might really aspire to live in the charming Quebecois village.

Pages: 311. Library audiobook copy, via Overdrive.

Brown, by Håkon Øvreås, Yvind Torseter (illustrations), Kari Dickson (translation)

Rusty’s grandfather has just died and Rusty and his family are struggling. His mom is sad and anxious, and Rusty misses his grandfather. One night, after bullies destroyed the fort that he and his friend were building, he awakens to the sound of his grandfather’s broken pocket watch ticking. He realizes that this means he’s supposed to take on the role of being a superhero and seek vengeance on those who’ve wronged him. So, dressed in a hodgepodge of brown clothing and armed with brown paint from his grandfather’s garage, he heads out to paint the bike of one of the bullies. And the next day, the bully’s father comes to ask if Rusty and his family know anything about this. “Brown” is joined, after a few nights, by other young superheroes, “Blue” and “Black,” (who closely resemble Rusty’s friends, Lou and Jack) in exacting revenge. Each night, as he is returning home, he meets his grandfather’s ghost, who counsels him, until one final night.

I’ll be honest; I’m a little fuzzy on the details of this one after several months, but I liked it a lot in the immediate wake of reading it. I’d recommend it to those early chapter book readers who might be fond of notebook novels or someone grieving for a loved one.

Pages: 136. Library copy.

Book totals: 3
Page totals: 703
Authors’ profiles: 1 American (Black), 1 Canadian (white), 1 Norwegian (white)

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl invites us to consider the authors we’ve read the most works by.

Hmm… Let’s see… These are probably not in accurate order, but they’re all authors I’ve read more of than Jane Austen, which is six novels, since I’ve only read her finished novels. I’m stopping now at 14, rather than 10, but I’ll probably add a couple more in the comments tomorrow after I have that head-smacking moment recollecting some important-to-me author I left off the list:

1. “Carolyn Keene” or the conglomerate represented therein for all the Nancy Drew books I read.
2. Dr. Seuss
3. Richard Scarry (These top 3 I’m guessing at. Mum and Dad, you’re welcome to chime in in the comments if you think there are other authors we read more of when Josh & I were kids.)
4. “Kathryn Kenney” and the other anonymous authors of the Trixie Belden series
5. L.M. Montgomery (I used to buy Trixie Beldens and L.M. Montgomery titles at the Waldenbooks in the Meriden Square back when it was actually still a quadrangle.)
6. Jasper Fforde
7. J.K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith
8. Louisa May Alcott
9. Madeleine L’Engle
10. Rainbow Rowell
11. Barbara Kingsolver
12. Cynthia Voigt
13. Shannon Hale
14. M.C. Beaton

How about you? Who are the authors you’ve read the most books by?

We ate our first corn on the cob this weekend. There was a mix-up with the farm where I’d preordered them from, so it ended up that I picked up literally the last ears to be had at the market — and four of the six we ate tasted that way. But we each had one delicious ear, which totally made up for it. Beggars can’t be whiners when it comes to early corn on the cob; the privilege of getting to eat it sometimes has to be reward enough.

My friend Sarah and I met up for ice cream cones this afternoon, which was lovely. And we agreed if it ever reached a point where it felt like we aren’t living on the surface of the sun again, we’ll have a picnic.

I read a whole book yesterday, which felt luxurious. And I am nearly done with the heel flap of my sock thanks to some audiobook listening after Rudi went to bed and a prolonged transfer on the metro. (Last month, my first trip on metro since March made me feel very comfortable about mask-wearing compliance; today’s made me regret my decision not to bike 10 miles in a heat wave. I suspect it’ll be a while before I decide to take metro again.)

The pea vines in my garden are gone, as is all the twine zigzagging around to keep them upright — which felt like a big accomplishment. I did not get anything new planted, but hopefully I will get to the garden a little earlier in the evening this week and can get potatoes and beans in soon.

Our apartment-cleaning isn’t complete, but we’ve put in a good dent. But as we need both a new refrigerator and a new air conditioner (we’ve been running on just fans for more than a week now), we desperately need to wrap the process up. And I feel confident that we can very soon.

How was your weekend?

I hope you were treated to an amazing sky show tonight.

It seems a little silly to do a weekend planning post when the weekend is already a third over. That’s right — I was one of those lucky people who got a July 4th observed holiday off today. I celebrated my observed holiday by sleeping in, doing some cleaning, watering the garden, getting takeout pizza for supper (at a substantially discounted rate with a gift certificate now that I don’t feel horrible about redeeming them again), and watching a great documentary.

Tomorrow I’m sad to report that there will be fireworks down along the Mall. Our Mayor and the governors of Maryland and Virginia asked the federal government to cancel them this year for the health and welfare of the public, and you can guess how well that went over. So instead the Mayor has simply asked us all to skip them, which I will in favor of a movie of some sort. I’m out of yogurt for our traditional red, white, and blue parfaits, so instead I’ll probably opt for blueberry pancakes, strawberry daiquiris, and cherry cobbler topped with whipped cream.

Tomorrow also looks the most manageable in terms of prolonged time outside (today was nearly 100; tomorrow will be comparatively cooler at only 91), so I’m going to go pull out my desiccated pea vines, plant my sprouting potatoes, and add some beans for the fall.

Sunday, I forgot to book a reserved time for the farmers market, so I have to attempt to game the line to get in. Because later is better in that case, I preordered some produce to make sure we got the last blueberries and first corn on the cob of the season. Rudi’s thinking he’s going to drive out to the countryside for his first ride away from the area this year, and I think my friend Sarah and I will get together outside for a drink or an ice cream cone.

Somewhere in there will be some laundry. Also, brewing more tea for iced tea/Arnold Palmers. (We’ve made green, mint, and currant/raspberry/hibiscus so far; next up will be pots of pomegranate/pear/ginger and a black of some kind — possibly Darjeeling. Maybe I’ll even brew up a batch of chai concentrate for iced chai.) I’m planning to spend some time reading and maybe knitting. Plus, we really do need to finish up this cleaning that we’ve been doing in the apartment.

How is your weekend going? Do you have special plans?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My semi-annual review was this week and my boss said really nice things about me.

2. One of the people in the neighborhood has a basset hound puppy. Watching its tail wagwagwag as it’s helped up onto the bench where its person is sitting so it can licklicklick his face is adorable.

3. We are a week into a heat wave, but it’s been a little less humid than usual, so there’s actual relief in the evenings. We’ve been trying to make sure we spend time at dusk in the park (along with many of our neighbors) and that we open the window after dark to let in some fresh air.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?