October 2022: Our family grows!

 Hi friends,

October was a big month for our family. We welcomed baby Lincoln to the family, and coincidentally, I have not finished any books since then. Good thing he’s worth it, and things should hopefully settle down enough over the next month or so that I can get some more reading in. If not, I’ll just post cute baby pics here. I’m sure none of you will object. 

Before giving birth, I did finish four really good books in October. Let me know what you think of these, and if you have any suggestions for future reading. 

Cheers,

Tonya 

What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes, no need to read the first beforehand

Review: Most of the books I read are ebooks, but this is one that I recommend getting a paper copy of. Munroe has a PhD in physics and is the creator of the nerd-oriented internet comic, XKCD, and much of the books features his signature stick drawings as they illustrate the answers to reader-submitted questions. This is the second book where he answers questions submitted by readers. The questions vary from what would happen if you slid on a fireman’s poll from the moon to the surface of the Earth? How many people would it take to build Rome in a day? And what would happen if Japan just disappeared and then reappeared? It’s highly entertaining and thought-provoking. I highly recommend for anyone who likes popular science books and enjoys a good laugh. 

The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance #3) by Naomi Novik

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes, for fans of the first two

Review: This is the third, and promised final, book in the Scholomance trilogy. Since book #2 ended on a rather egregious cliffhanger, I was eager to see what happened in this one. We get to see more of the outside world beyond the Scholomance, which was neat, and Novik did a fairly good job of answering the unsolved mysteries from previous books, although she did seem to leave the ending wide open for future stories in this world. This book had an even darker tone than the previous two and explored questions about sacrifice, group-think, and justifying evil for the “greater good.” It’s definitely an interesting read, and although it’s shelved as Young Adult, definitely explores very adult themes. I really liked the world building in this one. The world of the Scholomance and the outside wizard enclaves is fascinating to explore, and the magic system that Novik has developed is really interesting. El’s journey in this one is also fascinating as she learns about herself and the prophecy that has defined her life. I regretted that her friends from the previous two books were largely sidelined in this one, but we did get to explore some new relationships, and that was interesting. Highly recommend for those looking for a new and different read in the fantasy genre.

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells

Rating:  5 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes, a great read for scifi fans

Review: I’ve had the Murderbot series recommended to me by some YouTubers I follow, so I decided to check it out. Wells has created a well-developed and fascinating character with her android security bot that has hacked its own consciousness and enjoys spending its time watching reruns of bad TV while it pretends to care about its job. I really enjoyed this novella-length story. After reading lots of epic fantasy and scifi, it’s always nice to see a story told well in a shorter form. I definitely plan to continue the series as I found the setting intriguing and want to learn more about Murderbot and its adventures. 

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

Rating:  4 of 5 stars

Recommendation: yes, for those who like scifi space opera-esque stories

Review: This book was recommended to me by my brother. I had heard of the TV show adaptation and wanted to read the book first to see if it was worth checking out. Well, I liked the book a lot and plan to continue the series, but I don’t think I’ll watch the show. There were a few horror sequences in the book that my brain left fuzzy around the edges as I read, but I think would be too intense to watch on a screen. I really liked both main point-of-view characters and enjoyed the noir-detective story as well as the action-adventure, running from the bad guys plot as well. I’m interested to learn more about this world as this volume focuses mainly on activities in the “Belt” of the solar system beyond Mars. The plot was fairly-well paced, with a few slow moments, but lots of corresponding tension and action. The themes Corey explored were also interesting. He focuses on sacrificing for the greater good, discovering your own path, and who has the right to make moral decisions for large groups of people. I really liked it, and am planning on reading the next one. Not sure if I’ll make it through all 9 though. We’ll see.

Mommy Corner

The girls were astronauts this year after I found Maya's costume at a local second-hand kids store. Dan went as mission control, and Lincoln went as a cutie pie. "Shuttle to mission control. Houston, we have a baby!" 

An actual picture of me on the blog! This was right after Lincoln was born. I had a c-section because the ultrasound measurements estimated that he was going to be a huge baby. He was quite large, and I'm glad that we went with the c-section. 

They're so cute right after they're born. 

Stoic newborn face. 

Chloe and Maya have been pretty good about the new addition. Maya adores him, and says at least a dozen times daily, " He's so cute! I want to give him a moochy-kiss!"

Maya making progress on the light-up wall at the climbing gym.

Chloe enjoyed carving pumpkins, or rather watching Dad carve pumpkins and providing direction to him.