Monday, December 31, 2012

2012: A Look Back: Non-Fiction

I have been listing my favorite books at the end of each year for several years now in the same way - Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction and Best Middle Grade/YA. This year I am trying something a bit different. 

Best Parenting Books
Cleaning House by Kay Willis Wyma click here for review
Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman click here for review

Best Self Help Book

Best Non-Fiction Book Reaffirming That There is Nothing More Fulfilling Than Touching a Child's Life:
An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski - click here for review
Best Memoirs About Overcoming Adversity:
Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson -click here for a review
Unmeasured Strength by Lauren Manning-  click here for a review

Best Book About Food/Cooking:
Dinner a Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach - click here for review
Best Non-Fiction Expose:
Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats by Kristen Iversen- click here for review
Best Travel Memoir:
Hong Konged by Paul Hanstedt - click for review
Best Memoir About Books and Life and Death:
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe - click for review
Best History Book:
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson - click for review

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Sunday Salon


Three happy girls on Christmas monrning with their iPod Touches from Santa


Winter break is flying by!  We celebrated Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve Day and with my in-laws on Christmas Day. Both were nice, low-key celebrations.  My dad, despite his rapid downward mental condition, had a good day with everyone there.  The break has been anything but relaxing for my mother, though, as she tries to anticipate what strange thing he will think to do. (One example is his getting out their four-wheeler at midnight because he insisted it was morning).   Two days after Christmas I celebrated a milestone birthday and we celebrated our fifteenth anniversary.  Our big treat for ourselves is a new treadmill that we need to pick out.



The cupcakes my two little bakers made for my milestone birthday.
We visited my sister in Des Moines over the weekend along with two college friends.  It was great to get together with friends we don't get to see often enough and hang out.
Now winter break is nearing an end. I just realized that the girls have only two more days off school.  I have three off and a lot of little things I would like to get taken care of.
As for reading.....I have a lot of reviews I need to write This has not been a break where I have done a lot of reading, but there have been a few books I have finished and enjoyed. And there are so many books I am looking forward to in 2013!

Friday, December 28, 2012

The Age of Miracles

Today I saw my sister-in-law's library books, one of which was The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. I read this book earlier in December and meant to review it while still awaiting the dreaded 12.21.12.
Julia, a pre-teen in sunny California, awakens one morning to find the rotation of the Earth has slowed. While this doesn't at first seem dire, as the days grow in length life begins to change.  Plant life, crops, tides, and even the health of humans are all affected as there is no fix for this.  Julia is at an age where she is starting to notice boys and friendships are changing. Instead of experiencing carefree teen years, she is instead confronted with more serious issues like her mother's health problems, her parents' struggling marriage, and fear of what the future may hold for mankind.
This novel is set in what appears to be a future time not too far off from 2012.  Books like this predicting a world altered by some uncontrollable phenomenon are always a little creepy to me.  Perhaps they seem a tad too realistic.  The Age of Miracles definitely creeped me out a bit, but I appreciated Walker's ability to create such a realistic story line.  And, this is also a book that won't be quickly forgotten.  I have thought about Julia often since I turned the last page.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Warmth of Other Suns

There are a few non-fiction books that I have read long ago that are still with me, and I am always looking for another read like those.  The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson is a book I had checked out when it was first published, but never managed to find time for.  After all, it is a whopping 600 pages so I knew it would take more than a day or two for me to get through. Janssen reminded me of it again and since I trust her opinion completely, re-checked it out.
The Warmth of Other Suns could be a dry and boring book about the migration of African Americans north from the south after the end of slavery. However, it is not dry or boring.  Wilkerson introduces us to three different African Americans and shares their stories and lives with us. There is Ida Mae who moves to Chicago (after a short stint in Milwaukee) with her husband and makes a life there with her family.  There is Robert, once known by Pershing back home in the South. His parents believed in education and invested their money in their children's schooling, helping them get ahead. Robert, as he came to be known in California where he relocated, became a doctor, married up, and moved his family to California where he worked to fit in to high society.  And George, seeking to escape life in the South left suddenly and became a porter on a train allowing him to continue to visit the South.
Each of the people Wilkerson writes of represent different education levels, backgrounds, and time periods during the Great Migration creating a broader perspective of this event in history. Although this book is long, I could scarcely put it down as I became invested in the three people whose stories are shared.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick:  Heart Like Mine by Amy Hatvany
Due out March 19, 2013

Product Information taken from Amazon:
When a young mother dies under mysterious circumstances, those she leaves behind begin looking for answers in the past—and find a long-buried secret they could have never imagined.

Thirty-six-year-old Grace McAllister never longed for children. But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be?

At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents’ divorce, she has been the one taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother—she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father’s new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they’ll be a family again.

But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances—and soon, Grace and Ava discover there was much more to Kelli’s life than either ever knew.

Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli’s troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant and hopeful portrait about womanhood, love, and the challenges of family life.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Sunday Salon

We began Christmas break with two snow days.  The first day was a true blizzard outside resulting in 10 inches of snow and high winds.  I was thankful that the second day, Friday, I was able to brave the elements by the afternoon and meet a friend to purchase gifts for a family from school we adopted.  We did all the shopping for them, wrapped and delivered the gifts that day.
I have accomplished some wrapping, some cleaning, some reading, with hopes for a lot more.
Last night as I was teaching my girls how to play Trivial Pursuit Junior my mom called to ask if we had seen my dad.  She had been running errands and he had been gone for a while even after she returned. He is suffering from dementia/Alzheimers and despite not having driven much of anywhere, was out in his truck.  A three hour search by my husband and brother and a call to the local law enforcement, who then were looking as well, ensued.  Finally, just before I was going to bed, my mom (who had my brother and two friends with her), called to say that a hotel worker at AmericInn just over an hour away called her to say that my dad was there. He was confused and she was able to finally get some information out of him. She then googled him and found my parents' phone number.  My mom and brother were taken to get him and bring him back home.  Alzheimers is such a strange sickness. Having the police involved would normally have made my dad very upset, but he was fine with this and the whole fiasco didn't seem to register with him at all. Today my girls went to keep my mom company for a bit, but by the time I got there near supper-time, he was agitated again, continuing to talk about going home to Minneapolis, a city he had not lived in for nearly forty years. Unfortunately things will not be getting better because that is just how Alzheimers is, and my dad is young and physically fit.
With that excitement kicking off break, I am hoping that Christmas is enjoyable. Tomorrow we go to my parents' for Christmas and the next day to my in-laws.  My 40th birthday (I'm still in denial) and 15th anniversary are also coming up in just 4 days, so there is a lot of celebrating to do.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Last Airlift

A few years ago I read Ann E. Berg's All the Broken Pieces, a novel in verse about a boy who was adopted by an American family after being airlifted out of Vietnam. I loved that book and was amazed at yet another aspect of history that I was unfamiliar with.
Now Last Airlift by Marsha Skrypuch is a non-fiction account of Tuyet's experience as a Vietnamese orphan. As I read the author's notes in the back, I was even more amazed at this story.  Originally, Skrypuch set about to write an historical fiction story about the last airlift from Vietnam bringing children to Canada. As she talked with Tuyet, who had repressed her childhood memories of leaving Vietnam, her story re-emerged and Last Airlift became a non-fiction book about Tuyet.
Tuyet had lived at an orphanage for several years before she was airlifted out of the country.  Since most of the children at the orphanage were babies, Tuyet was considered a helper and had to care for the younger children.  Although she was scared on the plane, another older child, Linh, joined her and the two helped care for the scared and crying babies.  When she arrives in Canada Tuyet is adopted by a kind family who already has two adopted children and one biological child.  In Last Airlift her experiences in the first days in Canada are recounted as she tries numerous new and strange things.
Tuyet's story helped make the stories of Vietnamese orphans airlifted from their country more personal.  I think a lot of my students would be amazed by this story- they love books that are "real" (their words) and would be rooting for Tuyet to find happiness.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Christmas Read Aloud

Each year I grab a collection of Christmas books to share with the classes I teach.  Generally I try to find something they haven't already heard; there are plenty of Christmas books out there to choose from.
This year I was lucky enough to have Harper Collins send me several new books, one of which is Charlie and the Christmas Kitty by Ree Drummond. 
I love Ree's Pioneer Woman website and cookbooks. And I already knew Charlie from her first picture book, Charlie the Ranch Dog. 
This Christmas book was a hit with every class I read it to.  Charlie is the narrator of this story which led to some good questions and discussion with the students who wondered how anyone could know what a dog was really saying.  And it doesn't hurt that Charlie is funny as he comes to terms with the fact that there is now a kitten on the ranch. 
I loved the colorful illustrations in this book- done by one of my favorite author/illustrators, Diane deGroat,  and the students especially loved the mini-scavenger hunt on each page as they tried to locate the chipmunk in each picture.
I'm sure Charlie the Ranch Dog will be up to more adventures at some point, and I can't wait to hear from him again.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick:  The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers
Due out: Februray 12, 2013

Product Information taken from Amazon:
From the author of the critically acclaimed The Murderer’s Daughters, a compelling novel about three women caught in the aftermath of infidelity.

Five years ago Tia fell into obsessive love. The only problem—Nathan was married and the father of two boys. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption. Now, she’s trying to connect with her lost daughter and former lover.

Five years ago, Caroline, a dedicated pathologist, reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. She prayed her misgivings would disappear; instead, she’s questioning whether she’s cut out for the role of wife and mother.

Five years ago Juliette considered her life ideal: she had a loving family, believed in her marriage, and her business thrived. Then she discovered Nathan’s affair. He’d promised he’d never stray again and she trusted him. But Juliette never knew about the baby.

Now, when photographs of the child arrive, Juliette’s devastated. How could Nathan deny his daughter? And if he’s kept this a secret from her, what else is he hiding? Desperate for the truth, Juliette goes in search of the little girl. Her quest leads to Caroline and Tia and before long, the women are on a collision course with consequences that none of them could have predicted.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Snowed Over: A Christmas Novella

Snowed Over is my first experience reading a book published for Kindle only.  Angie Stanton's YA story was a perfect Christmas romance that left me smiling.
Katie is heading home for the Christmas holidays, although this year will be unlike any other Christmas she has celebrated. Her parents are newly separated, and Katie's mom wants them to all head north to spend Christmas with a man she is "just friends" with.
Katie, a freshman in college, gets a ride with Alex, a boy she doesn't know but who is also heading the same way for his break.
A blizzard forces them to spend their Christmas in a cabin in the woods, a better alternative than the holidays both of them were planning on. Both Alex and Katie are attracted to each other, but Alex has something - namely a fiancee- he must take care of before he can explore his feelings for Katie.
This story was fairly predictable, but I loved the romance between Alex and Katie.  This is a perfect, fun holiday read.  And, it will make me look more closely at the books published solely on kindles in the future.

Monday, December 17, 2012

The Good House

Hildy Good is one of the top businesswomen in her small New England town.  She has been helping sell homes for several years - ever since her divorce from her gay husband Scott, and is quite successful.  At least that is how she sees herself.  Hildy has already been to Hazeldon, an alcohol rehab facility after her grown daughters staged an intervention.  And she views herself as cured.  The bottle of wine she drinks each night at home alone in her house certainly doesn't count as drinking.  Hildy finds a friend in Rebecca, a new transplant to this small town also in need of a friend, and eventually the subject of gossip. 
The Good House shares the day to day goings-on in small town life and Hildy, her friends, and family are all real people, challenged by the struggles of day to day life.
Ann Leary has created a story that readers will relate to and be entertained by. I have loved Leary's previous work, and The Good House is a great next novel in her career.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Christmas Cookies

Some years I do a better job of Christmas baking than othersThis year my girls wanted to make cut-out sugar cookies.  I love eating them, but making them is time consuming.  Luckily my mom will make cut-out cookies with them whenever they visit her, and has a great recipe that is just a bit different from the norm- and perhaps a bit healthier.

1 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. quick oatmeal




Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla and beat well.  Sift flour and salt together and add to creamed mixture. Add oats and mix well.  Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8 in. thickness. Cut cookies.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Cool and frost.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

The Aviator's Wife

Despite the fact that I know Charles Lindbergh as a famous pilot, I know little else about this aviation icon. When I saw that the The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin focused on Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Charles' wife, I was instantly intrigued.  This type of novel is becoming popular following along the example set by Nancy Horan's Loving Frank.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh was a woman who grew up in privilege, the daughter of a diplomat. Although she always felt as though she were not able to live up to her older sister's beauty, she was the one chosen by Charles Lindbergh to be his bride. 
The Aviator's Wife spans Anne's college days and courtship to Charles, their marriage, the kidnapping of their firstborn son, Charles, Jr., the birth of five more children, and their later years as their children eventually grow up and have families of their own. I found Anne immensely likeable, and Charles a difficult man.  Because I knew next to nothing about Lindbergh before reading this book, I was surprised by his politics and even more stunned by the way he treated his wife and children. 
Benjamin's research must have been extensive and I appreciated her ability to re-create America in the time of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's life, even sprinkling in appearances by various influential and famous people that knew Anne and Charles.  Also of note was that while Charles was famous for his accomplishments, Anne also was an accomplished pilot herself and often Charles' partner.  Despite the fact that The Aviator's Wife is a fictional account of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's life, she is certainly an intriguing person and someone I am anxious to learn more about.
Although this book won't be published until February 2013, it is well worth putting on your radar now.


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick:  The Cover of Snow by Jenny  Milchman
Due out January 15, 2013

Product Information taken from Amazon:
Jenny Milchman’s Cover of Snow is a remarkable debut, a gripping tale of suspense in the tradition of Gillian Flynn, Chris Bohjalian, and Nancy Pickard.

Waking up one wintry morning in her old farmhouse nestled in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Nora Hamilton instantly knows that something is wrong. When her fog of sleep clears, she finds her world is suddenly, irretrievably shattered: Her husband, Brendan, has committed suicide.

The first few hours following Nora’s devastating discovery pass for her in a blur of numbness and disbelief. Then, a disturbing awareness slowly settles in: Brendan left no note and gave no indication that he was contemplating taking his own life. Why would a rock-solid police officer with unwavering affection for his wife, job, and quaint hometown suddenly choose to end it all? Having spent a lifetime avoiding hard truths, Nora must now start facing them.

Unraveling her late husband’s final days, Nora searches for an explanation—but finds a bewildering resistance from Brendan’s best friend and partner, his fellow police officers, and his brittle mother. It quickly becomes clear to Nora that she is asking questions no one wants to answer. For beneath the soft cover of snow lies a powerful conspiracy that will stop at nothing to keep its presence unknown . . . and its darkest secrets hidden.



Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday

This weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic: Top 10 New to Me Authors of 2012

1. Jussi Adler- Olsen- the author of a Swedish crime series. I just finished the first installment, but the second has already been published.
2.  Katherine Boo -Behind the Beautiful Forevers a non-fiction account of life in Mumbai that reads like fiction

3.  Thrity Umrigar- woman's fiction featuring four Bombay women who were once college friends and have become separated.

4.  Jordan Sonnenblick- Curveball:The Year I Lost My Grip- I have avoided Sonnenblick's work simply because I wasn't sure I wanted to read his book featuring a teen character with cancer.  However, I was happily surprised by Curveball

5.  Jill Smolinski- I really enjoyed The Objects of My Affection, and should move her previous novel The Next Thing On My List up to the top of my TBR stack.

6.  Cristina Alger-The Darlings was an entertaining read about the upper class in society

7.  Kathryn Miller-Harris -Love, love love her mystery series and am anxiously awaiting the third installment.

8.  Margaret Dilloway- I managed to read Dilloway's second novel, The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns before her first, How To Be An American Housewife

9.  Gillian Flynn- Gone Girl....one of my favorite books of 2012.  Am excited that there are two more books by Flynn I have yet to read.

10.  Leila Meacham- Again, read the second book she authored before the first. Tumbleweeds encompasses the saga of one family and the many twists and turns Meacham weaves in the plot kept me engaged.

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Flower Girl


Being a flower girl is a dream for many little girls. When I was growing up I was a flower girl for both my cousin and my aunt when they were married.  Recently my mother came across the flower girl dresses that had been packed away in our attic.  Since my sister was also a flower girl for my aunt, I now have three dresses from the late 1970s hanging in my closet. Before I put these away, my girls happily put them on.

Big Sister and Middle Sister with the flower girl dresses from my aunt's wedding.

Little Sister wearing the flower girl dress I wore for my cousin's wedding. 

Barbara Bottner's book, Flower Girl, came into our house just this week, creating a perfect read aloud for girls listening to my experiences as a flower girl.  They are all old enough to remember my sister's wedding just a few years ago, which was a somewhat less traditional wedding not requiring a flower girl.
I loved the photographs in this story as a young girl looks forward to her Aunt Penny's wedding and dressing up, having her hair done, and taking part in a wedding. I enjoyed Bottner's book and can imagine that any young girl - even a girl who has never had the experience of being a flower girl- will appreciate this story which shows in real life detail what happens at a wedding.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Accelerated

Bronwen Hruska's novel is an entertaining tale of life in the fast lane at a high income private school in Manhattan.
Sean's son attends Bradley School, the elite academy in Manhattan. Sean's in-laws are paying the hefty tuition and Sean is trying his best to be a single father as his wife Ellie has departed in need of a break from reality. As he is told repeatedly that Toby is causing trouble and needs medication, and Sean relies upon Toby's new teacher for insight and feeback about behavior he considers to be the norm for a boy his age. Eventually his initial misgivings give way, and he decides to medicate his child in order to control Toby's behavior.  Turns out that the Bradley School has a reputation - albeit a secret one- of doing just this to many of their male students.  In fact, parents almost expect it, feeling that they are paying a lot of money for great results and want to maximize their child's attention on school work.
Although children are often overdiagnosed (in my opinion) and medicated, Hruska's novel takes this to an extreme, providing a bit of humor for readers. She also throws in a few famous faces- Bill Clinton hitting on Sean's date at a party they attend- to create an atmosphere of wealth and glamour.
I love novels that center around the wealthy and their over-the-top lifestyles.  Other read-alikes include Prospect Park West by Amy Sohn or The Darlings by Cristina Alger.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: The Best of Us by Sarah Pekkanen
Due Out April 9, 2013

Product Information taken from Amazon:

Paradise isn’t quite what it seems as four college friends meet for an island vacation in this captivating new novel from the acclaimed author of These Girls.

Following a once-in-a-lifetime invitation, a group of old college friends leap at the chance to bring their husbands for a week’s vacation at a private villa in Jamaica to celebrate a former classmates' thirty-fifth birthday.

All four women are desperate for a break and this seems like a perfect opportunity. Tina is drowning under the demands of mothering four young children. Allie needs to escape from the shattering news about an illness that runs in her family. Savannah is carrying the secret of her husband’s infidelity. And, finally, there’s Pauline, who spares no expense to throw her husband an unforgettable birthday celebration, hoping it will gloss over the cracks that have already formed in their new marriage.


The week begins idyllically, filled with languorous days and late nights of drinking and laughter. But as a hurricane approaches the island, turmoil builds, forcing each woman to re-evaluate everything she’s known about the others—and herself.


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.

This week's top ten list features the top ten books you wouldn't mind Santa bringing you. Although my list of books I want to read is long, my list of books I want to own or have someone give me as a gift is usually not long at all. Because of Net Galley, Amazon Vine, various other ARCs that come into my hands, and the library, I already have access to a lot of books I want to read and I am trying not to purchase/own as many books. 
However, if forced :), there are books that I wouldn't mind having under the tree: