Thursday, January 31, 2013

Julie Kibler's Debut Novel

Calling Me Home, Julie Kibler's debut novel, is guaranteed to be a hit with book clubs. Alternating between the present day and the late 1930's, Dorrie and Miss Isabelle also alternate narrating this book.
Present day: Dorrie and Miss Isabelle embark on a car trip together. Dorrie is driving Miss Isabelle to a funeral. The two seem an odd pair at first - one black, one white, and generations apart in age. But, Dorrie has been doing Miss Isabelle's hair for quite a while and Miss Isabelle treats her as though she were her own daughter. Dorrie is trying out a new relationship, not sure how much she can trust this new man.  She is also upset with her son, Stevie, Jr., who has made some bad decisions lately.
Miss Isabelle opens up and begins to tell her story as the two make this journey.
1939: Miss Isabelle is just a teenager who falls in love with their maid's son, Robert. An interracial couple isn't approved of in many places, especially in Isabelle's hometown.  Although the two are committed to each other, there are many things conspiring against them.  As Miss Isabelle shares her story it is easy to see what a remarkable relationship she and Robert shared, yet Dorrie knows from seeing the pictures in Isabelle's house that everyone in Isabelle's life is white. What happened to Robert and the love they shared?
Although not marked as a romance, I would classify it as having a bit of romance in this story. I couldn't help but get my hopes up that true love would prevail. 
Book clubs will find plenty to discuss in Kibler's story- relationships, racism, the norms of the time this story took place, and friendship are just a few of the topics I can't wait to discuss with other readers.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday

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

This week's pick: Tapestry of Fortunes by Elizabeth Berg
Due out: April 9, 2013

Product Information taken from Amazon:

In this superb new novel by the beloved New York Times bestselling author of Open House, Home Safe, and The Last Time I Saw You, four women venture into their pasts in order to shape their futures, fates, and fortunes.

Cecilia Ross is a motivational speaker who encourages others to change their lives for the better. Why can’t she take her own advice? Still reeling from the death of her best friend, and freshly aware of the need to live more fully now, Cece realizes that she has to make a move—all the portentous signs seem to point in that direction.

She downsizes her life, sells her suburban Minnesota home and lets go of many of her possessions. She moves into a beautiful old house in Saint Paul, complete with a garden, chef’s kitchen, and three housemates: Lise, the home’s owner and a divorced mother at odds with her twenty-year-old daughter; Joni, a top-notch sous chef at a first-rate restaurant with a grade A jerk of a boss; and Renie, the youngest and most mercurial of the group, who is trying to rectify a teenage mistake. These women embark on a journey together in an attempt to connect with parts of themselves long denied. For Cece, that means finding Dennis Halsinger. Despite being “the one who got away,” Dennis has never been far from Cece’s thoughts.

In this beautifully written novel, leaving home brings revelations, reunions, and unexpected turns that affirm the inner truths of women’s lives. “Maybe Freud didn’t know the answer to what women want, but Elizabeth Berg certainly does,” said USA Today. Elizabeth Berg has crafted a novel rich in understanding of women’s longings, loves, and abiding friendships, which weave together into a tapestry of fortunes that connects us all.








Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Newbery and Caldecott Thoughts


For the second year in a row I have had a late start at school on the day the ALA award winners are announced. This is especially helpful since I am then able to watch the live webcast.
Students were somewhat quizzical as they entered the library to see the Promethean board on and me intently sitting and listening to the award winners as they were announced. I will admit that with the number of student interruptions I will have to really spend some time looking at the awards later tonight.
I did luck out and actually get to hear the Caldecott and Newbery announcements.  I was so excited to see the Newbery winner - it is one I have read and enjoyed.  However, the downside is there is one less book I will need to add to my "to read" list.  I didn't make any of my own predictions for this year's winners, but I am happy to report that in addition to reading the Newbery winner, I am currently reading Three Times Lucky, a Newbery Honor book, and have heard of the other two.
As for the Caldecott...I was surprised by this year's winner a bit. I had read Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back and wasn't in love with it and therefore ignored this second book. Obviously I have missed something and will promptly be ordering it for my school library. I was pleased to see Green by Laura Vacarro and Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett make the list of honor books - both are books I have loved and shared.
As always, so many good books to choose from!

Monday, January 28, 2013

The Obituary Writer

Ann Hood's novels are ones I have a hard time getting out of my mind long after I am done reading them. The Obituary Writer is her latest novel, soon to be published, and no exception.

Set in two different times periods, Hood tells two stories that eventually come together at novel's end. Claire is a young mother in 1960, just as John F. Kennedy has become president.  She has a young daughter, and wonders if this is all there is to be excited about in her marriage, especially as she embarks on an affair with a married man.  The trip that Claire and her husband, Peter, make to visit his mother on her 80th birthday changes everything in their lives.
In 1919 Vivien is an obituary writer. She has a gift for being able to write obituaries that share the true essence of a person.  She is also grieving the loss of her lover, David, in the San Franciso Earthquake in 1906.  Vivien never truly believes he has died, and even thirteen years later continues to look for her lost love.

Rarely do I read a book with alternating narrators where I enjoy and relate to each narrator equally.  Often I am skimming one person's narration while becoming totally absorbed in another character's.  Not so with the Obituary Writer. I enjoyed both Vivien and Claire's stories.  The ending Hood has crafted for The Obituary Writer leaves readers a bit of ambiguity, at least in my mind.  I know how I feel this story ends, yet I would be curious what conclusions other readers have drawn.
The Obituary Writer, Hood's third novel, is sure to add to her growing number of fans.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Sunday Salon

This is the type of Sunday I have been in need of.  Unfortunately we have been blanketed by a layer of freezing rain, something I hate. But, the good news is, I truly can't go anywhere today.  (My husband tried making the quick three mile trip into town for coffee and ended up turning around and coming back after he witnessed a truck sliding into the ditch while attempting a right hand turn).  Being hunkered down at home means I can get some reading done. YAY! I also plan on running on the treadmill, but so far the inspiration has not struck. 

And while this day is a great day for being lazy, I feel as though I have earned it since yesterday I had an all day Saturday meeting at school.  I easily had a babysitter lined up, but trying to find people to run my kids to a birthday party and soccer game was tough. My husband is still deep in wrestling season and had another all day tournament.

Luckily everything went well, my girls got where they needed to go and back home, and last night Big Sister, my mom and I went to see Lincoln at the dollar theater.  My husband warned me he heard it was boring, but after having visited Springfield and going on our little Lincoln trip I was looking forward to it.  However, my eyelids got very heavy shortly after the movie started, and I felt myself doze off for a while. Big Sister was none too impressed herself, although she didn't fall asleep like I suggested.  Although very well done, it was not one I will need to see again.

My dad ended up moving into the nursing home on Tuesday.  Despite our worries about his transition, he seems happily oblivious.  Although it is hard for us, we are all happy that he seems to be happy there and so far hasn't even attempted to escape. When my mom visits he doesn't ask about leaving or going home at all.  I took the girls to see him on Friday for the first time and we talked about the fact that he might know them, he might not, it would just depend on the day.  While I know I could see the recognition on his face when we entered, he was not particularly talkative that day and our visit was short. My brother and his family saw him yesterday and stayed an hour, which I suppose just shows that each day is different and we just can't guess what his mood might be.

I'm hoping our lazy Sunday isn't ruined by a power outage.  Our lights have flashed a few times and the freezing rain continues.  We are charging our cell phones and other technology devices since we could be sitting in the dark for a while. There's chicken in the crockpot that I'm looking forward to enjoying later as I spend my day lounging around.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

I'll Take What She Has

Annie and Nora are best friends working at a boarding school in New England, a place they both love.  Nora is the sensitive, kind and caring friend who is anxious to become pregnant and desperately wants a family of her own.  Annie is opinionated, a "bit of an Eeyore" as she calls herself, a stay at home mother of two young girls who is tired of constantly defending her decision to forego her career to be a mom.
When Cynthia arrives at Dixbie, Nora is easily taken in by this glamorous new addition to the faculty, while Annie feels there must be more to the story than they are being told. 
Because of Nora's easy acceptance of Cynthia, the life-long friendship Nora and Annie have shared suffers.  In addition, Annie is feeling especially alone as Suze, a fellow stay at home mother, returns to the workforce.
Annie begins to talk with her counselor, Meg, about the anger she has about her life - from having to defend her choice to stay home and raise her children, to friend issues with Nora, to struggles with finances, and to her feelings about Cynthia who seems to be taking over everything at Dixbie.  There are no easy answers, although Annie does learn a great deal about herself.
Annie and Nora take turns narrating the chapters in I'll Take What She Has, and although it is Annie's story that I related to the most, Nora's narration shares her struggles as well - her quest to get pregnant, the break-up with her ex-boyfriend David, who is now her new friend Cynthia's husband creating a bit of awkwardness, her friendship with Annie and its struggles, as well as her sex therapist Elle's never ending visit are things Nora must deal with.
Wilde's characters offer a bit of humor and although this perhaps has some chick-lit characteristics, I feel as though this crosses over into women's fiction (which to me means it is also a novel with some deeper meaning or message). I'll Take What She Has is a bit Jennifer Weiner with another bit Lisa Patton. Incidentally, Samantha Wilde, the author, is the daughter of novelist Nancy Thayer, showing that great writing must be in their genes.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday

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

This week's pick: Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand
Due out June 25, 2013

Product Description taken from Amazon:
A summer wedding stirs up trouble on both sides of the family in this new novel from bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand.


The Carmichaels and Grahams have gathered on Nantucket for a wedding. Plans are being made according to the wishes of the bride's late mother, who left behind The Notebook: specific instructions for every detail of her youngest daughter's future nuptials. Everything should be falling into place for the beautiful event--but in reality, things are far from perfect.

While the couple-to-be are quite happy, their loved ones find their own lives crumbling. In the days leading up to the wedding, love will be questioned, scandals will arise, and hearts will be broken and healed. Elin Hilderbrand takes readers on a touching journey in BEAUTIFUL DAY--into the heart of marriage, what it means to be faithful, and how we choose to honor our commitments

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Nelson Mandela

Kadir Nelson's newest book Nelson Mandela is another beautifully painted addition to Nelson's growing collection of work. 
Nelson Mandela is an icon for equal rights for blacks, and this books shares the story of Mandela's life, from his childhood and early death of his father, to his education in Johannesburg. Despite the fact that  Mandela is eventually sent to prison for speaking out against apartheid and spends years behind bars, he vows to return to help South Africa. Finally, after twenty seven years behind bars, Nelson returns and eventually is elected South Africa's president.
Every illustration is a beautiful tribute to Mandela and the accompanying text tells the story of htis important man.  At book's end there are two pages pages containing biographical information that adds to the story.
This is an absolute must have for my school library!

This book was sent to my by Harper Collins Publising, but my thoughts are my own.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Every Last One

Anna Quindlen is one of my go-to authors. I read everything she writes and usually love her books.  Every Last One has been on my shelf since it was published in 2010, waiting to be read.  As expected, it was a great read.
Mary Beth Latham has three teenage children - twins Alex and Max and older daughter Ruby, a doctor-husband Glenn, and what appears to be every suburban mother's dream. She runs her own landscaping business, is busy raising her family, has a group of friends....life is good.
Although I knew from the title and reading the flap that something must happen to shatter this perfect life, I wasn't entirely prepared for it to happen.  And when it does, Mary Beth's life is changed forever.  With nearly everthing taken from her, Mary Beth must recreate her life and try to move forward.
Every Last One was easily read, quickly devoured.  Quindlen's development of Mary Beth allows her to feel real, as though what she is enduring is not merely happening on the pages of a book.  I should have read this book when it was published, but I find myself holding on to Quindlen's books, unwilling to read them immediately, knowing that once I read them, I will be left wanting more from her.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

The Cutting Season

Attica Locke's second novel, The Cutting Season, is a well crafted and suspenseful murder mystery, linking together two separate murders that book took place at Belle Vie, a touristy-plantation in Louisiana decades apart. 
Belle Vie is managed by Caren, a woman who grew up on the plantation as the daughter of one of the plantation's workers, and is well acquainted with the family who still owns this land.  She manages the property and the events that occur there. When a woman is found dead, her throat slit, in a shallow grave, Caren is drawn in to what might have happened to her.  She is also dealing with her daughter, Morgan, who at nine still seems so young and childlike, but who is starting to keep secrets from her mother, and won't tell her mom how she got blood on her school shirt.
In addition to the murdered woman, Caren is trying to keep Belle Vie afloat as other properties are being developed around her.  There is also the story of Jason, one of Caren's ancestors, who remains a mystery even today as no one knows where he went or what happened to him. 
Suspense, mystery, history, race, love - all of these are present in Attica Locke's Cutting Season.  As this is my first experience reading Locke's work, I'll be looking forward to reading her previous book, Black Water Rising, soon.

Friday, January 18, 2013

The House That George Built

I love some of the non-fiction books being published for kids today.  As my third grade students have learned about the presidents, they are intrigued with certain historical figures, and also amazed by the White House (especially the fact that it contains a bowling alley, swimming pool, and movie theater).
The House That George Built by Suzanne Slade has been my read aloud of the week.  Not only does it tell the story of how the White House was built, but an entirely separate poem is contained within mimicking This Is the House That Jack Built.  On our first read through we read the poem version in order to get the feel for the cadence and rhyme and also the repetition of it.  Then we began the book again, this time reading the text that included more details about how the White House was built.  A few weeks ago I tried reading Those Rebels, John and Tom by Barbara  Kerley and Edwin Fotheringham to this same group. While it was interesting to me, I misjudged my audience and they had a hard time paying attention to this book.  There were too many facts for them.  The House That George Built fit my audience well - a perfect amount of factual information still written as a story to capture their interest.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Lake People

A great deal of my reading appears to be taken up with memoirs and women's fiction along with a bit of mystery and suspense.  Lake People, by Abi Maxwell is a book that looked interesting to me as I read a synopsis and falls more under the category of literary fiction, something I also enjoy from time to time.  As I began to read  I found myself confused by the second chapter.  Rarely do I restart a book, but I received this one through Amazon Vine, and wanted to make a real effort to see where I started to get a bit off track. Eventually I did review the synopsis on Amazon and was grateful to see some reviewers expressing a bit of confusion as well.  Once I learned that this is a novel of interconnected short stories, I was free to read along much more pleasurably and appreciate the beauty of the writing.
Since it is a novel of short stories that are connected, the narration changes throughout the chapters.  Alice was adopted by a couple as an infant after she was found in a boathouse on a lake.  As an adult she continues to try and find the place where she belongs, always close to or connected to the lake.  She is from a family of women connected to the lake: Eleonora, who brought her family to Kettleborough's lake, Signe, an aunt who never married and tried to drown herself in the lake and now Alice who also feel the pull of this body of water.
Reading Abi Maxwell's writing reminded me of the way I felt when I read Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. There is such beauty to the writing that re-reading the first few chapters allowed me to absorb more from this story. 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday

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

This week's pick: The Astronaut's Wives Club: A True Story by Lily Koppel
Due out June 11, 2013

Product Description taken from Amazon:
In a thoroughly researched page-turner that transports readers back to the beginnings of our space race, bestselling author Lily Koppel reveals for the first time the stories and secrets of America's unsung heroes-the wives of our original astronauts.

As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their young wives. Overnight, these women were transformed from military spouses into American royalty. They had tea with Jackie Kennedy, appeared on the cover of Life magazine, and quickly grew into fashion icons, donning sherbet-swirled Pucci dresses and lacquering their hair into extravagant rocket styles.

Annie Glenn, with her picture-perfect marriage and many magazine features, was the envy of the other wives; platinum-blonde bombshell Rene Carpenter was proclaimed JFK's favorite; Betty Grissom worried her husband was having affairs; Louise Shepard just wanted to be left alone; and licensed pilot Trudy Cooper arrived on base with a dirty secret. With each spectacular launch, they worried they might never see their husbands again. Together they formed the Astronaut Wives Club.

A fascinating, dishy and moving read, , set against the backdrop of the Space Age and a country that would be forever changed by it, THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB tells the real story of the women who stood beside some of the biggest heroes in American history.Show More


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

There Was An Old Woman

Hallie Ephron's There Was An Old Woman: A Novel of Suspense is set in a section of the Bronx full of history as an aging neighborhood is being overtaken by a company intent on demolishing its homes.
When Sandra Ferrante is hospitalized, her daughter Evie comes home to clean up her mother's home, only to be confronted by a mess beyond her wildest dreams.  In addition to the alcoholism that is killing her mother, it now appears that Sandra Ferrante has become a hoarder.  Evie reacquaints herself with her mother's neighbors, especially Mina Yetner, whose nephew is encouraging her to move to a nursing home. There are a lot of secrets in this small neighborhood and Evie is thrust into the middle of them as tries to determine who she can trust. 
Although there is suspense to this story, it centers more around the future of the neighborhood. There Was An Old Woman is not the creepy, scary story I imagined, nor is it the terrifying web of deception and madness the back cover advertises. I enjoyed Ephron's writing, which was easily readable, and only wish that some of her plots - especially the subplot centering around an historic event that Mina witnessed were more developed.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Sunday Salon

The past few weekends have been free of too many commitments, yet they have been hectic and un-relaxing. Yesterday morning it started almost immediately with my mother deciding to take my dad to a hospital that specializes in dementia patients and could evaluate him. (He has been busy packing everything they own - shoving random items into their four wheeler endlessly). Because he is mobile and has no intention of staying in a home, an ambulance had to take him there. We anticipated resistance on his part, but he was very happy and willing to go with the ambulance crew and talked to them on the entire drive.  Getting him admitted took nearly all day as they waited for a bed to open up.  I am thankful that my brother was with my mom during the whole process.  I was at work at the library and my husband was at a wrestling meet which meant that even if I hadn't been at work, I would have had three kids along with me.
Today I visited him for the first time.  This is just a temporary home until he is referred to a nursing home.  His dementia is progressing rapidly right now, and he was quite confused about everything. Our visit was short as he had just seen my mom and was agitated because he wanted to leave with her. Although he is still here physically, in some ways this move to a home seems as though he is truly gone. Certainly the father I know is no longer there.
My reading has been slow because of this.  Tonight we will go and hang out with my mom and watch the movie Pitch Perfect.  I am close to the end of The Cutting Season by Attica Locke and am hoping I can finish that off today. I did manage to run both days this weekend and am making great progress in Anna Quindlen's Every Last One -my treadmill book.
Although this coming week is a full week of activities, I am planning on enjoying having next Monday off for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday.
I have nothing in mind for supper but three hungry children which means I need to get up and forage through our food to see what I can come up with. Here's hoping you have a happy and busy week ahead.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Jussi Adler-Olsen


My friend Kristin, who reads more mystery and suspense novels than I do, has been recommending Jussi Adler-Olsen's first book, The Keeper of Lost Causes, for quite a while. When his second novel, The Absent One, was published Kristin once again reminded me that this was a series I would enjoy. With two novels in the series already, I should get started before I fell too far behind.
The Keeper of Lost Causes reminded me a bit of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Jo Nesbo's books. Set in Denmark, it was full of unfamiliar names and places, yet I was instantly drawn in to the story. Department Q is a newly developed unit in the police force where Carl Morck has been newly installed as it's lead (and only) detective solving Copenhagen's cold cases. Carl, a homicide detective, was part of an investigation that resulted in the death of one policeman and the paralysis of another- something Carl blames himself for.  He quickly becomes involved in the case of a missing woman. Although it appears that she perhaps committed suicide, Carl and his assistant, Assad, are not buying it.  As the investigation continues and as the woman herself alternates narrating chapters, it becomes apparent that someone has been keeping Merete Lyngggaard hostage for the last several years, torturing her, preparing her to die.
The Absent One is the second Department Q mystery, where once again Carl Morck is solving a cold case, this one unique in that someone has already admitted to the murder of a brother and sister.  With the culprit already in jail, Carl is encouraged to stop his investigation and work on other cases that haven't already been solved. However, there is something about this case that doesn't quite add up, and once again, Carl and his sidekick Assad, are hot on the trail of the people who not only killed these siblings but also attacked and killed several other people during their time at boarding school.
I love the setting of these books, despite the fact that the names and locations are unfamiliar. I love Carl's sidekick, Assad, who is entertaining and provides a little comic relief.  I love that Carl's friend, and ex-fellow co-worker, is still a presence in the second installment and that there appears to be an on-going discussion and investigation into what really happened to them and their friend and co-worker who was killed in an investigation.  I love Carl's new secretary who enjoys putting him in his place and is anything but cooperative.  I love that Carl also appears to be developing a relationship with his counselor. And, I love that there are only four more months until the next book in this series is published.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday

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

This week's pick:  Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman
Due out: January 22, 2013

Product Description taken from Amazon:
Six marriages, six heartbreaks, one shared beginning.

In her forties – a widow, too young, too modern to accept the role – Becky Aikman struggled to make sense of her place in an altered world. In this transcendent and infectiously wise memoir, she explores surprising new discoveries about how people experience grief and transcend loss and, following her own remarriage, forms a group with five other young widows to test these unconventional ideas. Together, these friends summon the humor, resilience, and striving spirit essential for anyone overcoming adversity.
Meet the Saturday Night Widows: ringleader Becky, an unsentimental journalist who lost her husband to cancer; Tara, a polished mother of two, whose husband died in the throes of alcoholism after she filed for divorce; Denise, a widow of just five months, now struggling to get by; Marcia, a hard-driving corporate lawyer; Dawn, an alluring self-made entrepreneur whose husband was killed in a sporting accident, leaving two small children behind; and Lesley, a housewife who returned home one day to find that her husband had committed suicide.
The women meet once a month, and over the course of a year, they strike out on ever more far-flung adventures, learning to live past the worst thing they thought could happen. They share emotional peaks and valleys – dating, parenting, moving, finding meaningful work, and reinventing themselves – while turning traditional thinking about loss and recovery upside down. Through it all runs the story of Aikman's own journey through grief and her love affair with a man who tempts her to marry again. In a transporting story of what friends can achieve when they hold each other up, Saturday Night Widows is a rare book that will make you laugh, think, and remind yourself that despite the utter unpredictability and occasional tragedy of life, it is also precious, fragile, and often more joyous than we recognize.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A Whole Lot of Lucky

A Whole Lot of Lucky is the second book I have read by Danette Haworth, and another book I really enjoyed.  There are so many fantasy novels out there for middle grade readers that sometimes I feel as though it is hard to find great realistic fiction books for the readers that prefer that genre
A Whole Lot of Lucky is a novel I will happily recommend to my middle grade girls. Hailee is embarassed by her dad's job cleaning carpets and her mom's paper route.  She loves her family which also includes her little sister, but they never seem to have enough money.  It's hard for Hailee not to compare herself to her friend Amanda, who got a brand new bike -without it being Christmas or her birthday.
Then Hailee's life changes in the blink of an eye.  Her parents win the lottery and suddenly she is attending a private school and people are anxious to be her friend.  She is finally part of the popular crowd.  Although it looks as though Hailee's life has become the picture perfect version she has alwasy dreamed of.  Except that now she is embarassed by her friend Amanda. And she is so anxious to keep her popular friends that Hailee has a hard time using her best judgement and doing what she knows is right. 
Hailee learns a few lessons in this book about friendship and being true to yourself.  I loved the Florida setting and the fact that Hailee loves reading and refers to the various books she is immersed in.
A Whole Lot of Lucky is a perfect realistic fiction novel for the middle grade reader.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Crunching the Numbers

I finally got around to crunching the numbers and looking at some of the statistics I keep regarding the books I read.  I didn't read as many books as in 2011. That's OK.  I tried to have my house a little cleaner and made a better effort at putting the books down while I was talking to my kids and doing things with them. 
I still ended the year having read 211 books. 
The rest of the breakdown is as follows:

Of those 211 books.....
66 were YA/Middle Grade
145 were Adult
41 were written by male authors
172 by female authors (the #s don't add up because there were some written by author pairs)
61 books were from my shelves
10 were from my Kindle
140 books were from the library
171 books were fiction
40 were non-fiction

Looking back at this same data I had from 2010, not much as changed percentage-wise. Next year I am going to try and keep track of the number of pages I read. And of course, as has been my goal for a few years, I need/want to read more on my kindle. I feel so guilty having this great piece of technology and not using it.  I have tons of books waiting on there for me to enjoy. 

Aside from that, I'm not joining any challenges, at least not officially, and I am planning on reading for enjoyment. It's hard for me not to get hung up on the number of books I am reading, but it has been more enjoyable to take more time with books as well instead of just rushing through them all.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Sunday Salon

Tomorrow is the first day back with students at school. It was great to ease gently into the work routine again by having some work days, but I'm not sure I'm really ready for classes all day long each day this week. 

We have still been dealing with my dad's dementia and trying to determine what is liveable and realistic for my mom.  Right now we have a "babysitter" that spends the days with him while my mom is at work.  When she gets home the unfortunate part is that she often has to drive him around since he thinks he needs to go home.  He also spends a great deal of time packing his things during the day, so she also has that mess to deal with.  Things are definitely in the works to find something more permanent in the near future. Right now, though, it is not much fun. 

Although I didn't join any reading challenges this year, I did set an exercise goal.  I work out most mornings before school and also on weekends. Some days are better than others.  However, recently when I saw a friend's facebook post that ran 900 miles in 2012, I decided to try and run 1,000 miles in 2013.  I'm not sure I can do it, but am going to give it a try.  I would also count any miles I walk as well.  This first week of the year I've managed to run 28 miles and ran 6 more today.  If I have an injury I will have to rethink this goal, but so far so good.

I'm excited for Downton Abbey to start tonight, but am still not done with Season 2.  I love that show, but don't have time to sit down by myself and watch it.  Like most shows, I am going to be several seasons behind soon.

The coming week is looking busy....I have to work late 3 nights, my husband has wrestling practice and wrestling meets, gymnastics and piano are starting back up, and my oldest girls are beginning a six week pottery class, and my middle daughter has indoor soccer beginning.  If I'm lucky I might find a few minutes to read!

Friday, January 4, 2013

Hanging off Jefferson's Nose: Growing Up on Mount Rushmore

Despite travelling through South Dakota a few times, I have never visited Mount Rushmore.  This coming summer this is where we plan to take our family vacation.  My oldest daugher, a history buff, has already read a few things in preparation.  I was excited to see Hanging off Jefferson's Nose by Tina Nichols Coury in a library catalog and took it home to read to my own children (when school resumes next week I'll be sharing it with the third grade classes). 
This book gives the full story of how Mount Rushmore came to be.  From the selection of the mountain to the presidents that were to be included, and the buildings constructed for the workers to live in as work continued, I was fascinated.  Although Gutzon Borglum began this project, the time it took to complete it was extensive and he never lived to see it. Instead it was his son, Lincoln, who finished what his dad had started. 
Sally Wern Comport's illustrations are beautiful and I felt as though I had been transported into a time where I could witness for myself the construction of this American symbol.
Seeing the non-fiction offerings that children are provided now makes me envious of them.  The non-fiction from my era was usually a dry, boring text, often without pictures.  Hanging off Jefferson's Nose is a great story accompanied by fabulous illustrations that will appeal to my students and amaze them at the same time.

I have enjoyed looking at Tina Nichols Coury's website as well. She has lots of great teacher ideas that I am excited to use!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Blast from the Past

These are a few highlights from January 2003.  I would love to re-read the Megan McCafferty series someday. And I am still feeling a bit guilty that I haven't read the entire No.1 Ladies Detective Agency. I think the first two books I read are quite clever, but for some reason the rest just never made it to the top of my TBR pile.  Population 485 was my first experience reading Michael Perry's work. While I didn't love that particular book at the time, this is another title I should re-read. After reading other books by Perry I feel as though I know him and think I could appreciate this book more now.
Deborah Ellis' The Breadwinner book is my go-to book for my fifth grade book clubs. Such an important book!  And Ann M. Martin....there isn't anything she writes that I don't like.  From the BSC to her latest book I picked up at Barnes and Noble yesterday, she is one of my favorite authors of tween realistic fiction.
How about you? What were you reading ten years ago? Last year?

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday

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

This week's pick: Family Pictures by Jane Green
Due out March 19, 2013

Product Information taken from Amazon:
New York Times bestseller Jane Green delivers a riveting novel about two women whose lives intersect when a shocking secret is revealed

From the author of Another Piece of My Heart comes the gripping story of two women who live on opposite coasts but whose lives are connected in ways they never could have imagined. Both women are wives and mothers to children who are about to leave the nest for school. They're both in their forties and have husbands who travel more than either of them would like. They are both feeling an emptiness neither had expected. But when a shocking secret is exposed, their lives are blown apart. As dark truths from the past reveal themselves, will these two women be able to learn to forgive, for the sake of their children, if not for themselves?


Tuesday, January 1, 2013

2012: A Look Back: Fiction and YA

2012 must have been the year of non-fiction. When I read through my list of books I read and started jotting down my favorites, there were many more non-fiction than fiction that made my list.
Here are the adult fiction titles and middle grade/YA titles that were noteworthy for me in 2012.

Best Novel of Suspense a la Single White Female:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn-click here for review

Best Historical Fiction Novels:


In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner- click here for review
Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara - click here for review

Best Mystery that I Hope Becomes a Series:
A Killing in the Hills by Julia Keller- click for review

Best 2013 Releases that I Read in 2012:
The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin- click for review
Cover of Snow by Jenny Michman - click for review

Best Cross-over Adult/YA Novel:
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth- click for review

Best World War II Book
The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow - click for review

Best World War II Mystery Series:

The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines - click for review

Best Book Teaching Acceptance of Others:

Wonder by RJ Palacio - click for review

Best Teen Romance:

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick - click for review

I haven't added up my totals from 2012 yet...how can it be January 1 and I already feel as though I am behind? Hopefully later today I get a chance to look over my reading log and read a few of the books that are still in progress. Happy New Year!