memory palace

 I'm on a discord where we were talking about language learning apps other than Duolingo, and I've used / continue to use a bunch of them, and when I went to make an annotated list it turned into a blog post length, way too long for Discord chatting, and it's been SO long since I posted anything to dreamwidth, and I miss doing it, and well, here:


Memrise - what I love: so much free free free content and some really great course choices (the advanced french is full of wacky vocabulary words, sometimes i have to look up the english version because i don't know what that english word is *either*, which is delightful). the audiovisual stuff is pretty neat when present.  you can turn off goals completely! what i dislike: the phone app is way less good than the browser version so I forget all about it for months at a time. it's very much just an elaborated version of flashcards, no stories or interesting games.  like a wonkier version of duolingo.  there's a bunch of metrics that if you don't turn them off could be kind of annoying (like I have 12hrs and 53 minutes left to complete my daily goals, it is just now telling me). there is a TON of free content such that i've never felt tempted to try the paid version, but they spam you about the joys of upgrading a lot.  Still, if Duolingo weren't so hooky, I would probably spend most of my language learning time here... it's just that it doesn't really do something extra for me.


drops - what I love: very very tactile and gamelike, recognition rather than typing skills, but still gives you a chance to practice 'spelling' through word games. it's mobile-first and that shows, it's the most pleasant interface on a phone; what i dislike: pretty touristy/learn vocabulary rather than structure.  has streaks (every other day to maintain) but also measures accuracy, new words, makes a word list, etc which i feel like that makes the streaks less front and center - some nagging but can unsubscribe from that - time limit per day for free use, subscription 30 bucks a year, lifetime 65 bucks (i paid lifetime 18 bucks one time forever in beta! dang!!!)

Beelinguapp - what I love: stories and songs, read aloud in the language of your choice + the language you already know, fairly configurable if you are willing to dig around a bit.  that's it. no goals, no structure, no nagging. what i dislike: the interface is awkward and the translations can be bad which makes me dubious about the quality of the language in the 'original' since content is available in several languages - which one was it originally? are the others all poor? i don't know. but i like being read to in languages other than english and learning new words in context instead of on flashcards.  the free version has limited content and a few ads but was so promising i shelled out the 19 bucks a year for paid.  there's a lot more content in paid!  i would have preferred to be able to check out my multilingual storybooks from the library but COVID (and health stuff) put a big crimp in that and this is an adequate substitute.


Rosetta Stone - this is ye olde language learning software, the grandaddy in the field.  I did all of spanish through work and it was superhelpful, i passed a fluency test that would've let me skip to 400 level university classes (I didn't want to do that, I just needed a metric of 'have i learned things.' yes i did!)  have also done some russian. got bogged down at some point because i had the russian software installed on a desktop that stopped working and then didn't have access to a good mic and blah blah.  a year ago I discovered they were having a FREE LIFETIME ACCESS superdeal (like a hundred bucks or something) and bought it and now i can rosetta stone whenever i want on computer and phone and it's swell.
what i like about it: exercise variety, takes a natural language approach more like being a kid and not *at all* by using translations. lots of visuals and sound.  i like that way of learning much better! you can gradually adjust the pronunciation thinger to be more exacting, which means it can go easier on you when you're brand new at a language, which is super neat. what i don't like:  i don't like the phone app version as much. also it can have steep learning curves from one level to the next that can be daunting (found this more in non-romance languages than in romance languages, may be personal problem). it can feel repetitive because it takes you through the same thing over and over.  also it's friggin expensive. right now lifetime web access is 179, 12 months of one language is 7.99 a month pay up front or 3 months of one language is 12 bucks a month pay up front.  the trial is a 3 day trial so you can test it out but not much more than that for free. however, if I had to choose to only use one language learning app forever, this is the one I'd choose. YMMV depending on how you feel about learning languages through cues other than translations to english.  i don't think it really cares about streaks or goals, though you can set up weekly plans if you want a light, nonpushy version of those things.


Transparent - this is the fanciest and most challenging language software I have ever used.  they measure your speech patterns and show you the sound graph thingers! they have all kinds of weird exercises! they also have boring traditional exercises! their priorities for what you should learn when are set, but you can defy them if you want! the goals are unit-based and not streak/login based! it's great and supernerdy and .... kind of hard, when i mostly like to study language as a relaxation mechanism.  BUTTTTT if I needed to move to another country that doesn't speak English or French, I would get this no matter the cost, and swot on it for like 3 months and it would be so so helpful.  
what I like about it: so nerdy it's cool, and exciting, and feels like I'm really deeply learning the language instead of learning to skate along the surface of a language.
what I dislike about it: can be a bit too tough in languages where i have zero other background. also price!!! i got a bunch of these at once in a humble bundle for a year for like 25 bucks and it was great and like being scrooge mcduck only in a warehouse full of words rather than money. however! it is VERY EXPENSIVE NORMALLY.  150 bucks a year is the *cheapest* version, or 25 bucks a month, or you can get all the languages (more than 100!!!) for 250 a year. either way. it's ridic expensive so i don't have it anymore. but if i were independently wealthy i might be very tempted to get the all languages version and just study languages all day every day.  you might want to try the free trial just for fun! or if you get any weird incredibly cheap offers like that one I had, GO FOR IT.


Mango languages - ehhhh. it's fine I guess. I get it through my library and every so often i think i should try it again so I do but I get bored. there's nothing wrong with it as these things go! i know people who prefer it to any of the options above. but i do not remember to go back to it given all the other options I prefer. what I love: mangoes! enough that the name makes me smile every time :D. also i think this is the one with an option to learn pirate which is just adorable. what i dislike: not interactive enough for my taste, too much 'reading dressed up with clicks and fancy colors' which whatever, I'd rather study from books if that's all I'm doing.
price: very commonly the option your public library has in which case *your* price is free. currently starting at 4 bucks for a month if you have to pay.  In general what I want to say here is, see what your public library is already paying for, first, and try that one!  before we had mango we had a different one (think it was rocket languages but who knows?) and that one was really cool, it had crossword puzzles and all kinds of fun stuff.  and other people are just as happy with mango as I am with duolingo or memrise! libraries are great, you can get free stuff.

Alright, that's my braindump about language learning apps. would love to hear any of y'all's thoughts in the comments, and i hope you are all as well as possible under the ongoing circumstances.

It's pretty heavy going but I'm glad I wrote it.

http://ordinary-gentlemen.com/2016/06/16/introretrospective-ii-violence-family-and-loss/

Flutter, vol. 2: Don't Let Me Die Nervous, by Jennie Wood et al
Wanted this second graphic novel in the series enough to buy it, even though I'm trying not to buy things. Glad I did. It was very interesting in the way that makes me want to keep a book around. Gender stuffs, but also power stuffs.
(100, O3)

On Cats, by Doris Lessing
There's a lot of inaccuracy presented as truth in this book (at least as far as cat psychology and biology are concerned), but I really don't care, because 1) it's obvious how much Lessing cares about and is fascinated by her cats, 2) lots of stories about cats, and 3) Lessing seems to be one of those writers I could read and love no matter the topic. I haven't tested 3 out very hard yet, but so far, it does appear to be true.
(101)

Bear's Dream, by Janet Slingsby
Decent story about a teddy bear dreaming he is with all different kinds of bears. The illustrations are better than the text, but the text has the rare virtue among children's anthropomorphic books of not contravening biology. Er, I mean, other than the part where bears, both real and toy, can talk and all that. The *ecology* is sensible, is more what I'm appreciating here.
(102)

The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband, by E. J. Copperman and Jeff Cohen
You know, I can't decide if this mystery, whose protagonist is a man with Asperger's who works admirably hard at having a satisfying life (including going into business as a question-answerer), was more awkward and sometimes implausible-for-that-character than the first one, or if I am just more critical now that the OMG BEST PROTAGONIST EVAR excitement of the first one has worn off. Either way, I really enjoyed the book, still, and am digging on the series, still. At its best, it is all of the good things I want in a mystery novel.
(103)

The Divine Hours, vol. 2: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime, by Phyllis A. Tickle
I am still fitfully engaging with the liturgy / devotional practices of my childhood, and over Advent I was very much less fitful. The Advent prayers, hymns, psalms, etc in this volume made it even better than the other two... though perhaps it's just that Advent is my favorite season.
(104, O4)

Star Wars: Before the Awakening, by Greg Rucka
My inner fangirl was so happy with this, as it made some goofy things from the movie make more sense, and did not introduce anything new that irritated me. Plus! Greg Rucka! Can write in any genre like nobody's business! Clean, sharp, the kind of writing that seems effortless but probably takes a hell of a lot of work to pull off.
(105)

All Men Fear Me, by Donis Casey
Eighth volume in the Oklahoma-set Alafair Tucker mysteries. Sometimes they get a little heavy on the exposition, but in a way that I find endearing. Mostly I just love these characters, and their stories, so much. And I appreciate that even though she keeps bringing in new characters (and/or making quaternary characters central to a particular story), they always *fit*, feeling like part of the story right away. I wish I could have 5 or more books this good, in this series, TODAY, but I will be patient and appreciate the long, careful process the author takes with each new title. This series has, if anything, gotten better with age.
(106)

The Firefly Letters, by Margarita Engle
So I really don't like most novels written in free verse, insofar as it's just not a style that I enjoy at novel length. Especially YA novels, which are often (not always) verbally simpler than an adult novel-length poem would be. So it's no surprise that I didn't enjoy the style of this book nearly as much as I would've the imaginary book that the same author wrote that was, you know, a NOVEL novel. But that is hardly her fault. And it's a really good story. And the images are vivid.
(107)

The Gifted, by Gail Bowen
Oh boy. Another series mystery where I feel like the early books were much tighter, cleaner, and generally more well-revised than they are now. (Also, the crime that gets solved? happens about HALF-WAY through the book. Sign of bloat.) BUT, also another series where I'm really fond of the characters, I want to know what they're up to, and the best-written scenes have just as much sparkle and power as the earlier books did. *makes hand-wavey gesture* What're you gonna do?
(108)

Harley Quinn, vol. 2: Power Outage, by Amanda Conner et al
With this book, Conner's Harley grew into all the potential I saw in the first book, and then slammed her way through my expectations and gave me more. Lobo-esque self-parodying wit, tons of plot, and art that keeps you wanting to turn pages all the way through.
(109)

Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson
As if the universe said, "What would be the perfect graphic novel for Maribou right now?" and then Noelle Stevenson made it. So many loves for all the parts of this book that if I start gushing, I'll be writing until tomorrow. And spoil the book for you. Just read it!
(110)

Do Unto Animals, by Tracey Stewart, illustrated by Lisel Ashlock
As a text on how to deepen your relationships with the animal kingdom, I didn't particularly enjoy this book. Way too many points of departure between me and the author, and the stuff I do think is good is either much more basic than I need, or outside my interests. However!!!!!! The artwork is amazingly wonderful, classic fauna/flora style (almost like Beatrix Potter? but a bit more robust and less British; shades of Merian and Audubon, sort of thing). If you like those kinds of pictures, you should absolutely take a look at the book, because it is copiously illustrated (almost every page has something great). If you are intrigued by the art but will not be picking up the book (or even if you will be!), you could always take a look at Lisel Ashlock's website.
(111)


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Oh My Goodness, y'all! For the first time since I don't even know when (July? May?), I AM CAUGHT UP ON BOOK POSTING. Feels good. *wanders off to read some more books*

Jack & Jim, by Kitty Crowther
Cute story, sweet pictures. Predictable but likable message.
(78)

The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My, by Tove Jansson
After years of adoring the Moomin novels and only slightly less adoring the comic strips, I thought it was about time I got around to this picture book. It was charming, vivacious, but not as wonderfully odd and hopefully melancholy as the novels are. Ah well.
(79)

The Wolf's Whistle, by Bjorn Rune Lie et al
Meh. I wanted to like this comic-booky twisted-fairy origin story of the Lone Wolf a lot better than I did. The story was inventive, the pictures were funny - and yet I felt nothing. *shrug* So it goes.
(80)

Orlando (The Marmalade Cat) Buys a Farm, by Kathleen Hale
A mad, glorious splendor of a book. Stuffed full to bursting of asides that don't make sense, but after about 3 pages one stops trying for sense and starts being excited to see each new surreal business that the author will depict with careful, harmonious brushstrokes. Wish these were easier to find. Kathleen Hale is the bomb. (The one sour note was a page about playing Indians that made me cringe at how awkwardly well-meaning racist it was - but that's a sign of the era in which the book was written...)
(81)

The Gruffalo, by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
This picture book was just as good as The Snail and the Whale (by the same duo), except - I'd already watched the movie adaptation. And FOR ONCE the movie was so faithful to the book that it ended up being better than the book even though the book is excellent. How often does that happen?
(82)

The Authentic Bistros of Paris, by François Thomazeau, photography by Sylvain Ageorges
Started this on my lunch hour, meant to just flip through it for a few minutes before returning to another book I was in the middle of, ended up reading this one cover to cover instead. It's too out of date to be completely practical as a guidebook, but the pictures and the descriptions and the warmth the authors feel toward the bistro workers are all wonderful. One can always look up interesting places online for updates.
(83)

A Frog Prince, by Alix Berenzy
Modern retelling of the Frog Prince with a twist ending. The twist ending was alright, only alright. The illustrations were lovely, albeit not a patch on whomever illustrated the one I read most as a child. Would be pleased to read this to a kid if they wanted me to, though, which is something.
(84)

Whatever Happened to My Sister?, by Simona Ciraolo
I loved this almost-comic-book story about a girl worrying over her older sister's bizarre behavior. It was funny and emotional and quite real (even the predictably happy ending - I don't mind them when they fit the structure of the rest of the story properly).
(85)

Moon Man, by Tomi Ungerer
Surreal and dreamlike story about the man in the moon coming down to earth. I could see how incredibly well-done it was, but I didn't fall in love with it.
(86)

Doctor De Soto, by William Steig
Ha! My dentist had this book in his waiting room as a kid, and I went there frequently (non-fluoridated water supply), so I read this at least 7 or 8 times back then. Was afraid it wouldn't hold up but it totally did. Funny and wise.
(87)

28 Days, by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Shane W. Evans
A poem and illustration about each of 28 different African-Americans of historical note, in honor of Black History Month. Mostly I liked the illustrations (great!) better than the poems (reasonably good!), but some of the poems were AMAZING.
(53)

The Book Itch, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
I was hesitant to read this picture book because I'd already read the author's (excellent) middle grade book about the Mich(e)aux family and I was wary of boredom setting in. But I'm so glad I read it! It is GLORIOUS, all the things I liked about the middle grade book and some new things too. Most of all, the illustrator is a FREAKING GENIUS who brought the story of Lewis Michaux and his African National Memorial Bookstore to gleeful, vibrant, powerful life in a way that the text alone couldn't have managed. Such a gem!
(54)

Sail Away, by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Ashley Bryan
Sadly, most of the illustrations in this compilation of Hughes' poems about the sea didn't really work for me. Also, while I loved some of the poems (I reread one of them 8 times), I also found myself thinking "Who is the audience for this?? The pictures are for young kids and the poems talk about sex and death!?!?" That said, there were a couple of pages where everything pulled together and there was magic happening. Just wish that could've been the case throughout.
(55)

Love Is My Favorite Thing, by Emma Chichester Clark
Sweet picture book about a misbehaving dog, told from her perspective. Didn't totally work for me, but I was charmed enough that I requested the collection of illustrated blog posts about the same dog through interlibrary loan.
(56)

The Penguin Lessons, by Tom Michell
This was actually one of the first books I read this year (just forgot to log it right away), and I absolutely loved it. Michell writes in exactly the way I like about his relationship with a FREAKING RESCUED PENGUIN, and then to top that, it is ALSO a story about a British expat living in South America, and it is ALSO a boarding school book, and it is ALSO full of frankly acknowedged ambiguities. Another one of those books where I feel like the author was playing "things that will delight Maribou bingo," and won on 5 or 6 sheets at once.
(57)

How to Be A Person, by Lindy West et al
Ennnnnnh to this supposed guide for teenagers about to head off to college. Lindy West shows signs of being a writer I will frequently enjoy, and so I wanted to delve into her back catalog. Except this isn't just by her, it's by a ton of people who were writing for the Stranger at the time. And it isn't (mostly) earnest a la Incomplete Education, it's mostly tongue in cheek and snarky and mean and people thinking they are funny when I very much think they are not. That said, there were some excellent chapters, just not enough of them.
(58)

Let it Snow, by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
Perfect anotidote for the previous book - teen romance novellas, Christmas, a blizzard, connected plots / overlapping characters, and I was reminded (yet again) that I really dig Maureen Johnson and should provide my inner teenager with more of her books. (I already knew how much said teenager loves John Green, and Lauren Myracle was ... out of her league compared to the other two, but perfectly acceptable.)
(59)

Lola Levine Is Not Mean!, by Monica Brown
Early reader chapter book with spark and verve enough that I'll be reading the sequel. Lola is no Clementine or Ramona (at least not yet), but who is?
(60)

Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection, by David A. Hanks et al
Sooooooooooooooo many pretties. Got interested the Driehaus Collection after some friends visited the mansion/museum where it is housed. Excellent, creative photography of the collection (which is more lamps and vases - including some vases I'd never seen anything like before - and not so many windows), and satisfying accompanying text.
(61)

The Story of Diva and Flea, by Mo Willems, illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi
Cute picture book for slightly older kids. The author's love of Paris and the illustrator's love of the tale the author is telling both shine through. High marks for fun.
(62)

Some Things I've Lost, by Cybele Young
So utterly beautiful that I neither remember if there was a story nor care. Really gorgeous papercrafting work.
(31)

Daily Rituals, by Mason Curry
Short bloggish pieces (it used to be a blog) about various writers' daily rituals. You'd think it would get monotonous, but as a pick-up-put-down book? It totally didn't.
(32)

We Forgot Brock!, by Carter Goodrich
Goofy but fun kid's picture book about a kid and his imaginary friend. Satisfying ending.
(33)

The Big Snow, by Jonathan Bean
Sweet, plausible story about a kid's excitement waiting for a big snowstorm to start. Adorable pictures, too.
(34)

Mother Bruce and Wilfred, by Ryan T. Higgins
Mother Bruce is one of my favorite picture books EVER. Maybe even better than some of my favorites as a little kid, she whispered cautiously. I laughed and laughed and laughed. I even snorted a couple of times, and lost it completely once. Wilfred, an earlier book of his, was good too - not nearly as good as Mother Bruce, but that just means Higgins is at the top of his game right now. I can't wait to read his next book! (And I'll probably read another of his old ones.)
(35, 48)

Fire Engine No. 9, by Mike Austin
Picture book for very young kids, full of delicious onamatopeia and lots of bright colors.
(36)

Open Very Carefully, by Nick Bromley, illustrated by Nicola O'Byrne
Kind of silly meta book about a crocodile on a rampage within the very! book! you! are! reading! right! now! I am the world's hugest sucker for kid's meta books (imprinted early on The Monster at the End of This Book), so I quite enjoyed it. Not particularly transcendant of its genre.
(37)

Take Away the A, by Michael Escoffier, illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo
My brain has a big hole where the memory of this book should go. How odd. I know I very much liked it and I remember marveling at the process of translating a book of wordplay from French to English... but that's all I got. Sorry! Even without remembering it, I do feel confident that if you like kids' alphabet books that are weird, and/or if you like wordplay, you will enjoy this too.
(38)

Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible, by Stan Lee et al
Graphic memoir by Stan Lee (with help). It was a) highly entertaining and also b) complete self-hagiography. Sometimes unintentionally a, due to b, but often intentionally a - Stan Lee can certainly tell a good story. I imagine you either saw "graphic memoir by Stan Lee" and are going to read it no matter what anyone says, OR would only read it if it was actually amazing, fantastic, and incredible. It is not those things. But it was fun.
(39)

Counting Lions, by Katie Cotton, illustrated by Stephen Walton
Lovely lovely black and white animal photography that also serves as a pretty decent counting book for kids. I can't imagine that the kids who are the right age for needing said counting book will have ANY interest in the conservation message, which is aimed more at like 10 year olds? (or maybe at parents, I guess) But whatever was needed to get these beautiful pictures on the shelves, I will accept.
(40)

Hilo, vol. 1: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth, by Judd Winick
Frenetic, joyful comic about a kid, his friend, the alien that just shows up one day looking like a kid their age, and the BADGUYS they have to fight. The only way I could've liked this more was to magically become 7 long enough to read it.
(11)

Sunny Side Up, by Jennifer and Matthew Holm
YA novel about family stuff (eg divorce). I liked it - charm and humor and an interesting protagonist - but found it too earnest / pointed. Found out it is heavily autobiographical (the authors are siblings) so maybe that was the issue. Will try at least one more by either of them before drawing a firm conclusion.
(12)

Bottle Houses: The Creative World of Grandma Prisbrey, by Melissa Eskridge Slaymaker, illustrated by Julie Paschkis
A wonderful wonderful picture book biography of an amazing, creative, gifted eccentric who built an entire bottle village. I read it three times in a row. I wish it was back in print or at lest not SO darn expensive. I'd already heard about Grandma Prisbey because we have bottle houses where I grew up (on the opposite coast from her), but I really enjoyed learning more about her and her work, and the illustrations were absolutely exquisite. Julie Paschkis is a gem.
(13)

Sad, the Dog, by Sandy Fussell, illustrated by Tul Suwannakit
A perfect book. Predictable story that is so marvelously done, in terms of art, words, and seeing things from the dog's perspective, that it didn't matter at all that it was predictable. (Predictable can actually be very good for picture books, cf the very-different-in-tone Monster at the End of This Book.) I enjoyed it so much that just thinking about it makes me want to read it again!
(14)

The Day the Crayons Came Home, by Drew Daywalt
An improvement over the first one (which was just fine). Funny, endearing, and more complexity. Nice to read a picture book sequel that I like better than the original - it's so often the other way around.
(15)

The Turnip, by Jan Brett
Solid retelling of an old fairy tale that is elevated to delightfulness by the gorgeous art (and buttressed by a sense of humor in both art and text). I especially appreciate how intricate her paintings are.
(16)

The Snail and The Whale, by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
The third-best thing about this book are the wonderful, lively, warm pictures. The second-best thing about this book is how it manages to be playful and fantastic without straying so far from how biology actually works as to be nonsensical (unlike SO MANY other picture books that don't know they're messing the biology up). The first-best thing about this book is the effect of the rhyme and rhythm of the words, which work together as a read-aloud to make it darn near hypnotic in an entraining rather than a soothing way. SO FUN TO READ.
(17, O1)

The Little Mouse Santi, by David Eugene Ray
Slightly plotted picture book which is vastly enhanced by the ability of the author/illustrator to make each moment work perfectly as a moment, with liveliness and depth.
(18)

Little Tree, by Loren Long
THIS FABLE MAKES NO SENSE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. It's not that it should be biologically accurate, but I want such things to be in HARMONY with biology, not chaotic-izing it. Which I found frustrating. The pictures are beeeooootiful, though, and fraught with meaning. Would have rather it was a wordless book so I could make up a story that resonated better.
(19)

The Tale of Rescue, by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Stan Fellows
Straightforward story of a cattle dog rescuing a family from a snowstorm. Told in a distanced enough way that the sentimental plot bits made me cry. (If the text is mawkish I can resist it - if it's flat-affect-pragmatic I will tear up every time...) Lovely illustrations. Reminded me of Jim Kjelgaard's books, or at least what I remember of them from the 3-4 years I was obsessed with them as a kid. (note to self: reread a Jim Kjelgaard book. Also my Marguerite Henrys!)
(20)

The Little Reindeer, by Michael Foreman
I didn't have any particular expectations for this book, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was adorable. And, if such a thing can be said of a picture book about one of Santa's reindeer, realistic :D.
(449)

The Question of the Missing Head, by E. J. Copperman and Jeff Cohen
Loved this mystery whose detective runs his own business called Questions Answered. Also he has Asperger's. Also the two authors are actually the same guy. The romantic subplot was a bit awkward, but so far it is endearingly rather than gratingly awkward. Super looking forward to the next in the series, which is currently languishing on my bedroom floor. (To write book commentary, or to read books - reading books usually wins... which is how I got this far behind in the first place!)
(450)

Everything I Need to Know About Christmas I Learned from a Little Golden Book, by Diane Muldrow
Man, the pictures were cool (from the LGB archives) but the text was saccharine and dull as ... as.. as... a very saccharine and dull thing! I was bummed.
(451)

Living with Ghosts, by Kari Sperring
I had put this on my must-read list based on a recommendation a few years ago, but had completely forgotten what it was about. So I was expecting contemporary urban fantasy, but instead I got dark secondary world fantasy set in a faux-Paris of the faux-Renaissance. Luckily there was nothing at all faux about the story, especially the characterizations. Well worth the read!
(452)

Jane on Her Own, by Ursula K. Le Guin
I thought I had read all these! But I had not. This was a Christmas gift, and I loved it. Just enough whimsy, just enough adventure, and a happy ending. What more does one need from a middle grade illustrated chapter book? Oh, right, it could be written by Le Guin so every word is the exact right word! That was nice too.
(453, O80)

Lion and Bird, by Marianne Dubuc
More sweet and less busy than her other book that I've read, which sadly made me like it less (the other one had the Richard Scarry thing going on). C'est la vie.
(454)

Eloise at Christmastime, by Kay Thompson
Oh man. I had never read an Eloise book (or at least not since I was very very young, because I don't remember them at all) and I had underestimated how chaotic and playful they are. Or at least how chaotic and playful this one was! Really deserves its classic status, and I will be investigating to see if the others are equally delightful.
(455)

The Old Man and the Cat, by Nils Uddenberg
A funny and heartfelt little story about coming back to being a cat person late in life. The people and the cat are all charming. The illustrations (also by the author) show all the love and emotion the cat has, that the author doubts she has in the text, so they're a good complement.
(456)

Fixing Up the Farmhouse, by Dianne Hicks Morrow
I absolutely loved this memoir-in-essays-and-a-few-poems about an old country house and the people who've lived in it over the last 40 years - but since I had more than a few playdates in said house, I may be biased. (But even if I wasn't biased, I'd probably love it, she said stubbornly.)
(457, O81)

Manners and Mutiny, by Gail Carriger
On the one hand, I DEVOURED this book, giggling, gasping, and smirking as appropriate. On the other hand, my coworker said, "So what did you think of it as an ending for the series?" and I said, "WHAT? It's THE ENDING OF THE SERIES?!?!?!?!" So, you know. NOFAIRWANTMORE. (And also, maybe it didn't have the right ending tone? But maybe I was just in denial.) I'm really hoping for a sequel series at some point. Or at least for the characters to recur.
(458)

Wild Ideas, by Elin Kelsey
I didn't care for the text at all (non-fiction about how to be creative using animal examples that were rather tenuous), but the pictures are very lovely.
(431)

Wait, by Antoinette Portis
A sweet and familiar story, well-illustrated, with an ending that little kids would love. I was pretty happy with it too.
(432)

The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake, by Robin Newman
Goofy PI-style mystery novel for 3rd-5th grade or so. Pretty funny, good pictures. I would read more.
(433)

Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball, by Vicki Churchill
A delightful book about all the things a young wombat likes to do. Brought the board book over to a friend's eighteen-month-old and almost lost it laughing because it was so funny how excited the little guy got about this one.
(435)

Mousetropolis, by R. Gregory Christie
I think this is my favorite of all the many versions of "Town Mouse and Country Mouse" that I've read. The illustrations are particularly vivid and it does a great job of balancing the appeals and downsides of both locales.
(436)

Beyond the Pond, by Joseph Kuefler
This picture book didn't have much of a plot, but I really enjoyed the creativity and beauty of the illustrations.
(437)

Blizzard, by John Rocco
This was a really fun, convincing story about kids in a Serious Blizzard, with great illustrations. It's semi-autobiographical and it shows (in the good way).
(438)

The Amazing Hamweenie, by Patty Bowman
A picture book about a cat escape artist. I thought it was hilarious. My husband (who also loves cats) thought it was dumb. Apparently HE is dumb when it comes to books about cat escape artists.
(439)

Body of Art, which is one of those Phaidon-edited-and-published thingers
Oooooooooooh, ahhhhhhhh. A thematic (rather than chronological) assortment of art that focuses on (or in some way relates to) the human body. Really lovely lovely stuff, beautifully printed, and I liked how the thematic arrangement juxtaposed artists I'd never thought of in concert before. Also, it is HUGEMONGOUS.
(440)