Twenty-nineteen, like the two years before it, was to be the year in which I finally got down to seriously reading through all of the nonfiction books in my kindle - the hundred or so that I've purchased, but not yet read.
It's no secret I'm a fiction reading machine; back when I took the bus everywhere, I could easily finish three books every week (and did). A stressful job, other hobbies and the need for sleep have cut into that total a bit, but I can still get through a book a week of fiction without much fuss.
Naturally, here we are at the second-to-last week in February, and I've read exactly one nonfiction book. Which I just finished reading at lunch. Today.
Never fear, though, my book count for the year stands at eight, exactly on track for a one-book-per-week schedule.
The other seven books are all from Terry Pratchett's excellent Discworld series. I may have mentioned before that when I find a book I like, I will go back and look for anything else the author may have out there, and read through their catalog. It worked well when I first discovered Dick Francis, Martha Grimes, P.D. James and Ngaio Marsh; Other than Marsh, I wasn't all that far removed in time from their first published books (I started reading some of these authors in junior high and high school, which is now a distressingly (for me) long time ago).
But my taste for fantasy books developed late in life. Prachett has been writing about Discworld for decades. At this point, I believe there are more than thirty titles. I've worked my way through seven so far this year. It's a delightful series that can be read as stand-alones, but when read as a series, truly immerses you in a delightful, if rather quirky, world.
One that is flat as a pancake, being carted through space on the back of four giant elephants, who in turn ride on the back of a giant space turtle.
Erm. I see I've mentioned this before.
They offer a delightful escape from the cold, snow and general stress at work. I will, however, start another nonfiction title as well. At this rate of seven-to-one, I'll finish up the nonfiction in, oh, about seventeen years...
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Bookishness
I've finally found my way to updating a " Books Read" page for 2018 - see the tab at the top of the screen. I've managed to hit about a book per week, which, considering I work full time and have a number of other interests, is pretty darn impressive.
Not a single nonfiction book is on the list, at least not yet. I've several in progress, but the rule is that they do not go on the list until finished. Nonfiction is not my favorite type of reading, and while I start books with the best of intentions, they often fall to the bottom of the stack when new, shiny fiction catches my eye.
The year began with a catch up on books in series by favorite authors that I'd not yet read. I no longer feel the drive to read a favorite's book the instant it hits the shelf, preferring to wait until the price comes down (which is still faster than trying to get on the waiting list at the library). Jane Haddam, Martha Grimes, Cleo Coyle and Larry Correia are all award-winning, multiple book authors whose novels are well worth the time. (The first three are mysteries, the last urban fantasy).
A couple of the books are written and self-published by a friend and a friend-of-a-friend; while they get A for effort, both could use a good editor.
Fully half the books on the list are from the Wild Cards universe, a series of books written by a consortium of writers (often several different writers within one book), edited by George RR Martin, he of "I'm going to die before I finish the Song of Ice and Fire series" fame. The first three novels are, as his books generally are, rather hefty. None of the others is particularly short, either. You end up lost in the story, though, and hardly notice you are on page 368 of 550. They are fantasy/alternative history books (the one taking place at the 1988 Democratic National Convention is a rather interesting commentary on politics). The first book in the series was written in 1987; there is a resurgence in their popularity, as there is apparently a television deal in the works.
The hook to the series is that an alien virus was released over Manhattan in September, 1946. It instantly changed people, into classes called Aces, Jokers or Deuces. The books follow a roughly chronological path from that incident forward, following individuals and society as they deal with the impact of the virus.
I suppose there is some sort of psychological reason I've chosen to spend most of the year with my head in other worlds. Truth to tell, I've always been a huge consumer of fiction. At any rate, the list is up, and I'll be updating it (most likely at the end of the year - I'd rather read than spend my time recordkeeping).
Not a single nonfiction book is on the list, at least not yet. I've several in progress, but the rule is that they do not go on the list until finished. Nonfiction is not my favorite type of reading, and while I start books with the best of intentions, they often fall to the bottom of the stack when new, shiny fiction catches my eye.
The year began with a catch up on books in series by favorite authors that I'd not yet read. I no longer feel the drive to read a favorite's book the instant it hits the shelf, preferring to wait until the price comes down (which is still faster than trying to get on the waiting list at the library). Jane Haddam, Martha Grimes, Cleo Coyle and Larry Correia are all award-winning, multiple book authors whose novels are well worth the time. (The first three are mysteries, the last urban fantasy).
A couple of the books are written and self-published by a friend and a friend-of-a-friend; while they get A for effort, both could use a good editor.
Fully half the books on the list are from the Wild Cards universe, a series of books written by a consortium of writers (often several different writers within one book), edited by George RR Martin, he of "I'm going to die before I finish the Song of Ice and Fire series" fame. The first three novels are, as his books generally are, rather hefty. None of the others is particularly short, either. You end up lost in the story, though, and hardly notice you are on page 368 of 550. They are fantasy/alternative history books (the one taking place at the 1988 Democratic National Convention is a rather interesting commentary on politics). The first book in the series was written in 1987; there is a resurgence in their popularity, as there is apparently a television deal in the works.
The hook to the series is that an alien virus was released over Manhattan in September, 1946. It instantly changed people, into classes called Aces, Jokers or Deuces. The books follow a roughly chronological path from that incident forward, following individuals and society as they deal with the impact of the virus.
I suppose there is some sort of psychological reason I've chosen to spend most of the year with my head in other worlds. Truth to tell, I've always been a huge consumer of fiction. At any rate, the list is up, and I'll be updating it (most likely at the end of the year - I'd rather read than spend my time recordkeeping).
Sunday, March 04, 2018
List Day Four: Books to Read
In the interest of not publishing a book myself, I'm just going to list recent reads, and a few authors. I tend to skew heavily toward mystery, science fiction and fantasy, while staying far, far away from best sellers.
1. The Bible. Well, duh. Each rereading teaches you more.
2. Anything by Agatha Christie. Yes, by now the books are definitely dated, but Christie not only wrote well, she masterfully broke all the "rules" of mystery writing (see: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express for starters). In the same vein, check out Ngaio Marsh (New Zealander who was a contemporary of Christie), Dorothy Sayers (who doesn't love Peter Wimsey?) and Margary Allingham.
3. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. The first book in the series is Cinder, a retelling of the classic Cinderella story, with several twists. Cinder, you see, is part cyborg. There are five main books in the series, each bringing in another fairytale character. These are technically young adult novels, but are written well enough to be enjoyed by all ages.
4. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I'm reading this for the third time to refresh my memory before the movie comes out next week. The book is a love letter to all things 1980s, and if you lived through that decade, the book is bound to bring a smile to your face. I've young friends who are already expressing disappointment in the movie, just based on the trailers. ::Sniff:: Their opinions don't hold much water, given they were barely toddlers in the '80s. The book is well worth the read.
5. Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia. Vampires, werewolves, things that go bump in the night and much worse are real, and could be your neighbor. Good things MHI has a secret government contract to hunt down and take care of the dangerous ones. If you are a gun control nut, stay away from this series; Correia is a gun nut who shoots competitively and describes the arsenal in loving detail. The books are a well-written hoot. Bonus points because the main character is an accountant (well, until he stays late to do some work and ends up having to kill his boss, who has gone all werewolf on him).
6. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. There are three books in this loose series, all centered around food, though really about relationships. If it tells you anything, I see I read all three in under a week two summers ago. It should tell you something, as these are outside my usual mystery/scifi/fantasy zone.
So, so many more...
Cleo Coyle - actually a writing team, putting out mysteries revolving around a Greenwich Village coffeehouse. Bonus, books include an appendix with fun coffee facts and beverage and dessert recipes
Jennifer Chiaverini - Sylvia opens her home as a quilting retreat, and the books tell the stories of the women who attend. Bonus, Ms. Chiaverini is a Wisconsin resident.
Jim C. Hines - the Magic ex Libris series. Libriomancers are able to pull items from books into reality, using them to fight those bent on destruction. Bonus, the arguements between Gutenberg and Ponce De Leon. Really.
These are just the things that popped out at me as I looked down the list of titles in my kindle library. I'm close to 500 titles there; truly, there is quite a bit of nonfiction as well.
If nothing else, I'm hoping this list might inspire you to say, "Ugh! Horrible titles! I beat I can read better books than that!" That won't bother me, as long as you are reading.
1. The Bible. Well, duh. Each rereading teaches you more.
2. Anything by Agatha Christie. Yes, by now the books are definitely dated, but Christie not only wrote well, she masterfully broke all the "rules" of mystery writing (see: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express for starters). In the same vein, check out Ngaio Marsh (New Zealander who was a contemporary of Christie), Dorothy Sayers (who doesn't love Peter Wimsey?) and Margary Allingham.
3. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. The first book in the series is Cinder, a retelling of the classic Cinderella story, with several twists. Cinder, you see, is part cyborg. There are five main books in the series, each bringing in another fairytale character. These are technically young adult novels, but are written well enough to be enjoyed by all ages.
4. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I'm reading this for the third time to refresh my memory before the movie comes out next week. The book is a love letter to all things 1980s, and if you lived through that decade, the book is bound to bring a smile to your face. I've young friends who are already expressing disappointment in the movie, just based on the trailers. ::Sniff:: Their opinions don't hold much water, given they were barely toddlers in the '80s. The book is well worth the read.
5. Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia. Vampires, werewolves, things that go bump in the night and much worse are real, and could be your neighbor. Good things MHI has a secret government contract to hunt down and take care of the dangerous ones. If you are a gun control nut, stay away from this series; Correia is a gun nut who shoots competitively and describes the arsenal in loving detail. The books are a well-written hoot. Bonus points because the main character is an accountant (well, until he stays late to do some work and ends up having to kill his boss, who has gone all werewolf on him).
6. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. There are three books in this loose series, all centered around food, though really about relationships. If it tells you anything, I see I read all three in under a week two summers ago. It should tell you something, as these are outside my usual mystery/scifi/fantasy zone.
So, so many more...
Cleo Coyle - actually a writing team, putting out mysteries revolving around a Greenwich Village coffeehouse. Bonus, books include an appendix with fun coffee facts and beverage and dessert recipes
Jennifer Chiaverini - Sylvia opens her home as a quilting retreat, and the books tell the stories of the women who attend. Bonus, Ms. Chiaverini is a Wisconsin resident.
Jim C. Hines - the Magic ex Libris series. Libriomancers are able to pull items from books into reality, using them to fight those bent on destruction. Bonus, the arguements between Gutenberg and Ponce De Leon. Really.
These are just the things that popped out at me as I looked down the list of titles in my kindle library. I'm close to 500 titles there; truly, there is quite a bit of nonfiction as well.
If nothing else, I'm hoping this list might inspire you to say, "Ugh! Horrible titles! I beat I can read better books than that!" That won't bother me, as long as you are reading.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
31 days....oh, who am I fooling? It's Read-a-Thon time!
Eh. So much for 31 days of posting, huh?
The October Read-a-Thon is fast approaching. Saturday, October 22, if any of you are interested.
There are a myriad of good reasons to participate in this semi-annual festival of all things book-related. After all, a serious reader jumps at any excuse to spend an entire day focused on nothing but the printed (or pixilated) word.
Alas, I lost my mind and scheduled a craft day with a friend for that Saturday. Since it is at her house, and transporting the sewing machine is always a pain, I'm thinking I may be able to bend the craft day rules a bit to make things fit into the read-a-thon.
I "collect" three main types of books: mystery novels, cookbooks, and...quilting books. In addition, I subscribe totwo three two quilting magazines. Rather than take a project to work on for craft day, I can load up the car with quilting magazines and books.
The herd of magazines needs thinning, anyway. Every couple of years, I go through the stack (one magazine publishes every other month, the other one per quarter), pulling out articles and patterns of interest. Then, every four years or so, I go through the accumulated pulled-out articles and thin those out. Yes, it sounds like busywork (why not just read, then recycle the magazine instead of pulling things out, to not be looked at again until they are on the way to recycling years later?). But every minute spent looking at other quilts, other techniques is a valuable aid in your own future quilting.
And thus, I won't feel guilty counting those hours towards my reading goals.
The best thing about the fall event is, frankly, the season of the year. How can you not want to curl up in front of a fire, with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate (or glass of wine) close to hand? Or prop a book up to read while you have a thick beef stew (cooked in the crockpot, so you can continue reading) for dinner?
Even if you cannot commit to read for the full 24 hours (I'm not that crazy, personally), consider signing up. That simple act of committing guarantees you will spend more time in a book that day than you would otherwise.
The October Read-a-Thon is fast approaching. Saturday, October 22, if any of you are interested.
There are a myriad of good reasons to participate in this semi-annual festival of all things book-related. After all, a serious reader jumps at any excuse to spend an entire day focused on nothing but the printed (or pixilated) word.
Alas, I lost my mind and scheduled a craft day with a friend for that Saturday. Since it is at her house, and transporting the sewing machine is always a pain, I'm thinking I may be able to bend the craft day rules a bit to make things fit into the read-a-thon.
I "collect" three main types of books: mystery novels, cookbooks, and...quilting books. In addition, I subscribe to
The herd of magazines needs thinning, anyway. Every couple of years, I go through the stack (one magazine publishes every other month, the other one per quarter), pulling out articles and patterns of interest. Then, every four years or so, I go through the accumulated pulled-out articles and thin those out. Yes, it sounds like busywork (why not just read, then recycle the magazine instead of pulling things out, to not be looked at again until they are on the way to recycling years later?). But every minute spent looking at other quilts, other techniques is a valuable aid in your own future quilting.
And thus, I won't feel guilty counting those hours towards my reading goals.
The best thing about the fall event is, frankly, the season of the year. How can you not want to curl up in front of a fire, with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate (or glass of wine) close to hand? Or prop a book up to read while you have a thick beef stew (cooked in the crockpot, so you can continue reading) for dinner?
Even if you cannot commit to read for the full 24 hours (I'm not that crazy, personally), consider signing up. That simple act of committing guarantees you will spend more time in a book that day than you would otherwise.
Friday, May 27, 2016
Obligatory Friday check in*
*with promises of pictures...later
The Friday before the beginning of a vacation - even if the vacation is a "staycation" - is the longest Friday of the year. Add to that the fact that you went to bed an hour and a half later than usual the night before, only to wake at 2:45, finally giving up on sleep at 3:45 and, well, let's just say not much actual work is being done.
The landscapers did the front bed yesterday, and it looks wonderful. Scott called early this morning to check in with me (super extra-special bonus brownie points to Scott for being incredibly proactive and deliberate about communications all through the project), mentioning that at least two of my neighbors, seeing the work they were doing for me, asked him to give them estimates on their places. I'd call that a win all the way around.
I'll have pictures in a day or two. There's some finish work that's up to me: washing the windows (the roof overhangs by almost three feet - how the heck did they get so dirty?), repainting the mailbox and putting a pretty plant on the shepherd's hook (which I decided to leave where it is - a plant hung there mostly hides the ugly electric etc. meters that some dingdong decided should be mounted on the center front of the house). Oh - and tightening the flag bracket, switching the pole from the wooden one to the aluminum and sticking the solar powered spotlight into the ground.
The landscapers also put grass seed in front of the brick border, as they had to tear up some of the grass to do the work. It's the same stuff they seeded along our strip last year, and comes in very thick and green with only the slightest encouragement.
In spite of a forecast that calls for rain/storms almost every day of my entire vacation, finishing up the outside stuff is top on my to-do list. The forecasters say it won't rain all day, that the showers will be hit or miss. Humpf. Every time they say that and I try to do something outdoors, it's "hit" Diane with a deluge time. Even if there isn't a cloud in the sky when I start.
Other than that, I'd like to also finish up, or at least make good progress on, decluttering and rearranging my bedroom. There are several quilts to work on, a couple more to plan (dang friends are done getting married, but everyone is getting ready to pop out kids) and a book to read for a community book club.
I've decided I need to force myself to get out more. While I am perfectly happy puttering around home amusing myself, when I find myself constantly talking (out loud) to myself, it's time to start being a bit more social. This particular club meets at the local library. The book for June is The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry. In July, I'm rereading Farenheit 451 for a different community reading group - this group meets in a local bar.
That alone will make it worth attending.
As I said, pictures in a day or two, assuming I can take them without getting soaked.
The Friday before the beginning of a vacation - even if the vacation is a "staycation" - is the longest Friday of the year. Add to that the fact that you went to bed an hour and a half later than usual the night before, only to wake at 2:45, finally giving up on sleep at 3:45 and, well, let's just say not much actual work is being done.
The landscapers did the front bed yesterday, and it looks wonderful. Scott called early this morning to check in with me (super extra-special bonus brownie points to Scott for being incredibly proactive and deliberate about communications all through the project), mentioning that at least two of my neighbors, seeing the work they were doing for me, asked him to give them estimates on their places. I'd call that a win all the way around.
I'll have pictures in a day or two. There's some finish work that's up to me: washing the windows (the roof overhangs by almost three feet - how the heck did they get so dirty?), repainting the mailbox and putting a pretty plant on the shepherd's hook (which I decided to leave where it is - a plant hung there mostly hides the ugly electric etc. meters that some dingdong decided should be mounted on the center front of the house). Oh - and tightening the flag bracket, switching the pole from the wooden one to the aluminum and sticking the solar powered spotlight into the ground.
The landscapers also put grass seed in front of the brick border, as they had to tear up some of the grass to do the work. It's the same stuff they seeded along our strip last year, and comes in very thick and green with only the slightest encouragement.
In spite of a forecast that calls for rain/storms almost every day of my entire vacation, finishing up the outside stuff is top on my to-do list. The forecasters say it won't rain all day, that the showers will be hit or miss. Humpf. Every time they say that and I try to do something outdoors, it's "hit" Diane with a deluge time. Even if there isn't a cloud in the sky when I start.
Other than that, I'd like to also finish up, or at least make good progress on, decluttering and rearranging my bedroom. There are several quilts to work on, a couple more to plan (dang friends are done getting married, but everyone is getting ready to pop out kids) and a book to read for a community book club.
I've decided I need to force myself to get out more. While I am perfectly happy puttering around home amusing myself, when I find myself constantly talking (out loud) to myself, it's time to start being a bit more social. This particular club meets at the local library. The book for June is The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry. In July, I'm rereading Farenheit 451 for a different community reading group - this group meets in a local bar.
That alone will make it worth attending.
As I said, pictures in a day or two, assuming I can take them without getting soaked.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Readathon wrap-up
I keep saying that one of these days I'll return to more coherent posts; today is not that day. I've a bit of a cold and haven't been sleeping well this week (two nights ago I had a very pleasant, if slightly creepy dream that featured the (now deceased) owner of my favorite local quilt shop). As a result, I'm a bit foggy and slow to focus.
I did indeed start out the Readathon day strong at 6 a.m., but slowly died out around noon. Too much other stuff to do. I did finish a book I'd already started, start Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and listen to about two hours of an audiobook (Marie Kondos' book on decluttering). I will get to the rest of the books several of you recommended on Facebook...especially as I have some vacation time the end of next month.
One thing the Readathon did accomplish, though, is to get me back into the habit of reading a book at lunch, rather than randomly reading news stories, blogs and other flotsam from the web. Amazing how much you can read in half an hour. Years ago, most of my reading was done either early in the morning, or at bus stops before and after work, yet I managed to read three, sometimes four books each week. My focus may not be as sharp these days, but having consistent, even if short, times to read really helps to increase the "books read" list.
The next day of reading is in October. That's usually a better time for me - the weather is getting cooler, the fire is inviting and it's easier to curl up with a book or three for the day. October 22nd is the day; consider joining the almost 2,000 other people who love to read that day.
I did indeed start out the Readathon day strong at 6 a.m., but slowly died out around noon. Too much other stuff to do. I did finish a book I'd already started, start Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and listen to about two hours of an audiobook (Marie Kondos' book on decluttering). I will get to the rest of the books several of you recommended on Facebook...especially as I have some vacation time the end of next month.
One thing the Readathon did accomplish, though, is to get me back into the habit of reading a book at lunch, rather than randomly reading news stories, blogs and other flotsam from the web. Amazing how much you can read in half an hour. Years ago, most of my reading was done either early in the morning, or at bus stops before and after work, yet I managed to read three, sometimes four books each week. My focus may not be as sharp these days, but having consistent, even if short, times to read really helps to increase the "books read" list.
The next day of reading is in October. That's usually a better time for me - the weather is getting cooler, the fire is inviting and it's easier to curl up with a book or three for the day. October 22nd is the day; consider joining the almost 2,000 other people who love to read that day.
Friday, April 22, 2016
'Twas the night before Readathon
I'm not sure I've mentioned it here, but I'm participating in Dewey's 24-hour Readathon on Saturday.
This is my third go-round with the Readathon, but I'm certainly not a hard core, stay up all night kind of reader. I'll read for as much of the day as I can, and will most likely get a couple of additional hours in before church on Sunday, but I value my sleep.
Preparation is the key to being able to read most of the day without guilt.
First, the "stack".
While most of the pictures of reading stacks I've seen from other Readathon participants consist of physical books, mine are all on the Kindle.
This is really a partial stack, as I could only fit the first five books or so on the screen at once. Ironically, the one book that is not shown - Private Justice, the first book in a series recommended to me by a friend - is no longer in the stack because I've read it. Along with the next two in the series. All in the last ten days.
How's that for a warm up?
The beauty of the Kindle is that if none of the original choices grab my attention on Saturday, there are close to one hundred other books in my "unread" kindle library, plus the vast quantities of books available for purchase and immediate download from Amazon.
I'll certainly not want for reading choices.
Next, the snacks.
People seem to be almost as excited by the snacks and other food they've planned for the Readathon as for the reading itself.
Me, I'm planning to stick to mostly "real food" meals and snacks, though I do have both Oreos and Goldfish crackers available as well. The current plan includes:
Breakfast "power sandwich" at Panera to start the day
Hummus and green pepper strips for a morning snack
Chicken and broccoli mostly-crustless quiche and a spinach salad for lunch
An apple, graham crackers and peanut butter for the afternoon pick-me-up
Leftover lemon chicken with mushrooms over pearled couscous for dinner
While I will begin the day with coffee, most of the rest of the day my libation of choice will be ice water. That's pretty much what I do most days, anyway, and the water will keep me well hydrated. If I want a change up in the afternoon, I've refrigerated bottled water and those tubes of Crystal Light lemonade that are made to mix in.
A glass of wine (or two) and some cheese and crackers may round out the later night hours.
Lastly, the locations.
As much as I love to read, I simply cannot stay in one place for the entire Readathon.
As mentioned, I'll start the day at Panera, at 6 a.m. It's an hour before the "official" start in my time zone, but I'm generally up and out by that time on the weekend anyway. The restaurant doesn't start to get noisy and crowded until 8 - 8:30, which gives me plenty of time to get a good start on Hitchhiker's Guide.
Home, then, by midmorning, to curl up in the recliner for a few hours, and the morning snack. I can keep reading through lunch, as the kindle cover works as a stand, allowing me to read almost hands free (still have to keep a finger clean to swipe for page turns).
Here's where things may go a bit awry. Ideally, I'd stay home the rest of the day, moving among the dining room table, recliner, couch and desk to read. But there is a good chance I'll want to get out once more, most likely to Starbucks later in the afternoon. I find that I concentrate better in a slightly noisy place. The bits of my brain that would usually be wandering off and pulling me toward distractions are occupied with keeping the noise at bay, allowing me to focus more keenly on actually reading. It works for me, anyway.
I never, ever read in bed (Bed is for two things, and reading is incompatible with either), so the last reading of the night will be on the computer at the desk upstairs. That's another great thing about the kindle - I can read my books directly from my amazon account on any screen - phone, tablet, computer.
That's the plan. The day will be a success not if all these components come together as laid out, but if I simply spend more of the day reading than not.
The true gold in the Readathon is the impact it has on my usual reading habits. I find that during the week before, and for several months afterwards, I'm more deliberate in my reading, planning out times to read rather than fitting it in any old time. Given that I work full time and have other rather time consuming hobbies, increasing reading time takes that extra bit of planning.
It's well worth it.
This is my third go-round with the Readathon, but I'm certainly not a hard core, stay up all night kind of reader. I'll read for as much of the day as I can, and will most likely get a couple of additional hours in before church on Sunday, but I value my sleep.
Preparation is the key to being able to read most of the day without guilt.
First, the "stack".
While most of the pictures of reading stacks I've seen from other Readathon participants consist of physical books, mine are all on the Kindle.
How's that for a warm up?
The beauty of the Kindle is that if none of the original choices grab my attention on Saturday, there are close to one hundred other books in my "unread" kindle library, plus the vast quantities of books available for purchase and immediate download from Amazon.
I'll certainly not want for reading choices.
Next, the snacks.
People seem to be almost as excited by the snacks and other food they've planned for the Readathon as for the reading itself.
Me, I'm planning to stick to mostly "real food" meals and snacks, though I do have both Oreos and Goldfish crackers available as well. The current plan includes:
Breakfast "power sandwich" at Panera to start the day
Hummus and green pepper strips for a morning snack
Chicken and broccoli mostly-crustless quiche and a spinach salad for lunch
An apple, graham crackers and peanut butter for the afternoon pick-me-up
Leftover lemon chicken with mushrooms over pearled couscous for dinner
While I will begin the day with coffee, most of the rest of the day my libation of choice will be ice water. That's pretty much what I do most days, anyway, and the water will keep me well hydrated. If I want a change up in the afternoon, I've refrigerated bottled water and those tubes of Crystal Light lemonade that are made to mix in.
A glass of wine (or two) and some cheese and crackers may round out the later night hours.
Lastly, the locations.
As much as I love to read, I simply cannot stay in one place for the entire Readathon.
As mentioned, I'll start the day at Panera, at 6 a.m. It's an hour before the "official" start in my time zone, but I'm generally up and out by that time on the weekend anyway. The restaurant doesn't start to get noisy and crowded until 8 - 8:30, which gives me plenty of time to get a good start on Hitchhiker's Guide.
Home, then, by midmorning, to curl up in the recliner for a few hours, and the morning snack. I can keep reading through lunch, as the kindle cover works as a stand, allowing me to read almost hands free (still have to keep a finger clean to swipe for page turns).
Here's where things may go a bit awry. Ideally, I'd stay home the rest of the day, moving among the dining room table, recliner, couch and desk to read. But there is a good chance I'll want to get out once more, most likely to Starbucks later in the afternoon. I find that I concentrate better in a slightly noisy place. The bits of my brain that would usually be wandering off and pulling me toward distractions are occupied with keeping the noise at bay, allowing me to focus more keenly on actually reading. It works for me, anyway.
I never, ever read in bed (Bed is for two things, and reading is incompatible with either), so the last reading of the night will be on the computer at the desk upstairs. That's another great thing about the kindle - I can read my books directly from my amazon account on any screen - phone, tablet, computer.
That's the plan. The day will be a success not if all these components come together as laid out, but if I simply spend more of the day reading than not.
The true gold in the Readathon is the impact it has on my usual reading habits. I find that during the week before, and for several months afterwards, I'm more deliberate in my reading, planning out times to read rather than fitting it in any old time. Given that I work full time and have other rather time consuming hobbies, increasing reading time takes that extra bit of planning.
It's well worth it.
Monday, May 11, 2015
April Reads
Back on track in April.
You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One), Jeff Goins - I'd heard much about Jeff Goins via various blogs I follow, and his appearances at conferences. Despite the title of the book, it is more about selling/positioning yourself to sell than it is about actually writing. Two thirds of the book concern building a brand and learning to pitch your work. Not quite what I expected, but some helpful information presented in a straightforward, easy to grasp manner. It's worth noting that Goins writes primarily, if not exclusively, nonfiction, via books like this one and articles and features for magazines and newspaper.
The Mystery of Art: Becoming an Artist in the Image of God, Jonathan Jackson - A five-time Emmy winner, Jonathan Jackson has a resume that starts with an ongoing role on General Hospital as a teen, includes movies like Tuck Everlasting, a music career with his own band, Enation, and currently a recurring role on the nighttime soap Nashville. He's also a committed Christian, worshiping in the Eastern Orthodox church. His faith is deep and well informed (the breadth of his reading of and knowledge of Eastern Orthodox theology as revealed in the book is impressive). But his faith doesn't just live in his head, it's lived out in how he approaches his art, and it is that concept on which this book is based. While his own artistic background, and therefore most of his real life examples, are in acting and music, he emphasizes that the ideas he presents are applicable to all forms of art, and in some way, all of us are artists. A few quotes:
You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One), Jeff Goins - I'd heard much about Jeff Goins via various blogs I follow, and his appearances at conferences. Despite the title of the book, it is more about selling/positioning yourself to sell than it is about actually writing. Two thirds of the book concern building a brand and learning to pitch your work. Not quite what I expected, but some helpful information presented in a straightforward, easy to grasp manner. It's worth noting that Goins writes primarily, if not exclusively, nonfiction, via books like this one and articles and features for magazines and newspaper.
The Mystery of Art: Becoming an Artist in the Image of God, Jonathan Jackson - A five-time Emmy winner, Jonathan Jackson has a resume that starts with an ongoing role on General Hospital as a teen, includes movies like Tuck Everlasting, a music career with his own band, Enation, and currently a recurring role on the nighttime soap Nashville. He's also a committed Christian, worshiping in the Eastern Orthodox church. His faith is deep and well informed (the breadth of his reading of and knowledge of Eastern Orthodox theology as revealed in the book is impressive). But his faith doesn't just live in his head, it's lived out in how he approaches his art, and it is that concept on which this book is based. While his own artistic background, and therefore most of his real life examples, are in acting and music, he emphasizes that the ideas he presents are applicable to all forms of art, and in some way, all of us are artists. A few quotes:
Our society says the ultimate artistic virtues are entertainment, money, and fame. In this view, the artist is a means to a materialistic end: profit and power. In contrast to this, the ultimate virtues of the spiritual artist are sanctification and transformation. In a grace-infused worldview, the artist is more than a means to such heavenly ends; he participates in the world’s redemption.
To be made in the Image of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit means to be created for communion. All authentic creativity comes from God, whether the artist is aware of it or not. Every step of the way, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are creatively active in the world. In that sense, creation is ongoing. The artist can glimpse the wonder of eternity here and now.
Every day is an offering, a reason for praise and exaltation. Every morning is a foreshadowing of the resurrection that is to come.This is an excellent read for anyone involved in the performing, visual and written arts. It is worth reading slowly, then rereading. It's so good, in fact, that I almost forgive Mr. Jackson the constant use of the Oxford comma.
At long last, March Reads
After pulling ahead of my two book per month goal in February, I slacked off in March. To be honest, I'm not sure if this books belongs in the Do-It-Yourself section, or Unintentional Humor.
DIY: 365 Days of DIY: A Collection of DIY, DIY Household Hacks, DIY Cleaning and Organizing, DIY Projects, and More DIY Tips to Make Your Life Easier (With Over 45 DIY Christmas Gift Ideas), White Lemon. Okay, with a title (titles) like that, who could resist? There are some helpful hints in categories including household, parenting, crafts, kitchen, cleaning, organizing and beauty. But there is also a lot of very...creative...use of the English language.
It's not so much that the writer sounds as if English is not her native tongue, but more that the sentences are a bit garbled. I had to read a number of hints several times in order to figure out exactly what she was getting at.
Still, I did highlight about two dozen hints, before the style started getting to me. Most of them seem to involve magnets, in one way or another.
Good thing I picked this up for free.
DIY: 365 Days of DIY: A Collection of DIY, DIY Household Hacks, DIY Cleaning and Organizing, DIY Projects, and More DIY Tips to Make Your Life Easier (With Over 45 DIY Christmas Gift Ideas), White Lemon. Okay, with a title (titles) like that, who could resist? There are some helpful hints in categories including household, parenting, crafts, kitchen, cleaning, organizing and beauty. But there is also a lot of very...creative...use of the English language.
It's not so much that the writer sounds as if English is not her native tongue, but more that the sentences are a bit garbled. I had to read a number of hints several times in order to figure out exactly what she was getting at.
Still, I did highlight about two dozen hints, before the style started getting to me. Most of them seem to involve magnets, in one way or another.
Good thing I picked this up for free.
Friday, May 08, 2015
I was read to as a child; it made me a reader, not a priviledged idiot
Amazon is having a bit of a kindle book blow-out (h/t Tim Challies, who links to book deals every day). I wandered over to take a look at the mystery offerings.
(Gee, Diane, aren't you supposed to be reading at least two non-fiction books a month this year? Yes, and I am. So what's with the recent glut of fiction reading - three novels in the last week and a half, plus part of a fourth? Shut up. I needed a change of pace. The first one was on sale, and it's a series, so... That really helps with the backlog of non-fiction on the kindle, now doesn't it? Shut up. And...vacation. Vacation is coming and I should be able to read whatever I want on vacation! But vacation doesn't start for another two weeks. Argh.)
To my delight, most of the books by a favorite author are listed at ninety-nine cents a book. Margery Allingham wrote roughly during the 1920s-1950s, with many of her books centered around an Englishman named Albert Campion. While each book can be read as a stand alone, the characters do age, and life circumstances change; reading them in order makes all those things clear.
Campion, it is hinted, is the younger son of someone important (much like Sayers' Peter Wimsey, but much less stuffy). His manservant (the equivalent of Wimsey's Bunter, though the extreme opposite of Bunter in every way), Magersfontein Lugg, is a former burglar.
Campion, in fact, was originally created as a parody of Wimsey, it seems, but grew into his own.
They are wonderful reads, a steal at these prices. I restrained myself and only bought one, though it is early and the sale goes at least all day.
The science fiction/fantasy series I'm immersed is the Lunar Chronicles from Melissa Meyer. The first book, Cinder, was listed on someone's website, somewhere, and when I took a quick look on Amazon, it seemed interesting. We've colonized the moon, but a series of world wars and trouble on earth left the colony to develop on their own. The native of Luna now have the ability to manipulate how other people see them - "glamour" (term borrowed from vampire lore). Earth and Luna have a rather uneasy relationship.
In spite of the science fiction aspects (people can have multiple cybernetic parts, hover cars and spaceships abound), there are emperors, princesses and queens. The characters are roughly modeled after fairytale characters - Cinder(ella), Scarlett (little red riding hood), Wolf (the big bad) and others.
The worlds Meyer created hang together very well, setting the story in a place that is believable (we hates it when an author doesn't pay enough attention to the rules they've created for the world in which their story is set - I can spot the inconsistencies and it jars me out of what may otherwise be a wonderful story). My only regret is that the fourth novel in the series isn't due out until November (yes, I've preordered it).
Sometime soon I'll get up March and April's non-fiction posts...simply haven't had the kindle with me when I sit down at the computer (I many not remember non-fiction as readily as I remember fiction...)
(Gee, Diane, aren't you supposed to be reading at least two non-fiction books a month this year? Yes, and I am. So what's with the recent glut of fiction reading - three novels in the last week and a half, plus part of a fourth? Shut up. I needed a change of pace. The first one was on sale, and it's a series, so... That really helps with the backlog of non-fiction on the kindle, now doesn't it? Shut up. And...vacation. Vacation is coming and I should be able to read whatever I want on vacation! But vacation doesn't start for another two weeks. Argh.)
To my delight, most of the books by a favorite author are listed at ninety-nine cents a book. Margery Allingham wrote roughly during the 1920s-1950s, with many of her books centered around an Englishman named Albert Campion. While each book can be read as a stand alone, the characters do age, and life circumstances change; reading them in order makes all those things clear.
Campion, it is hinted, is the younger son of someone important (much like Sayers' Peter Wimsey, but much less stuffy). His manservant (the equivalent of Wimsey's Bunter, though the extreme opposite of Bunter in every way), Magersfontein Lugg, is a former burglar.
Campion, in fact, was originally created as a parody of Wimsey, it seems, but grew into his own.
They are wonderful reads, a steal at these prices. I restrained myself and only bought one, though it is early and the sale goes at least all day.
The science fiction/fantasy series I'm immersed is the Lunar Chronicles from Melissa Meyer. The first book, Cinder, was listed on someone's website, somewhere, and when I took a quick look on Amazon, it seemed interesting. We've colonized the moon, but a series of world wars and trouble on earth left the colony to develop on their own. The native of Luna now have the ability to manipulate how other people see them - "glamour" (term borrowed from vampire lore). Earth and Luna have a rather uneasy relationship.
In spite of the science fiction aspects (people can have multiple cybernetic parts, hover cars and spaceships abound), there are emperors, princesses and queens. The characters are roughly modeled after fairytale characters - Cinder(ella), Scarlett (little red riding hood), Wolf (the big bad) and others.
The worlds Meyer created hang together very well, setting the story in a place that is believable (we hates it when an author doesn't pay enough attention to the rules they've created for the world in which their story is set - I can spot the inconsistencies and it jars me out of what may otherwise be a wonderful story). My only regret is that the fourth novel in the series isn't due out until November (yes, I've preordered it).
Sometime soon I'll get up March and April's non-fiction posts...simply haven't had the kindle with me when I sit down at the computer (I many not remember non-fiction as readily as I remember fiction...)
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
February reads
This year is the year of the nonfiction book (mostly an attempt to decrease the backlog on the kindle, as you will recall). The goal: two books per month. Read in January: one.
Goals are supposed to be "aspirational", right?
I've made up for it in February.
Bread & Wine: A love Letter to Life Around the Table, Shauna Niequist - There is a difficulty in attempting a review of this book. It's not strictly about entertaining, nor a collection of recipes woven in among a story. Instead, it's about what happens around the table. As she says:
The impulse to feed is innate. Food is a language of care, the thing we do when traditional language fails us, when we don't know what to say, when there are no words to say. And food is what we offer in celebration - at weddings, at anniversaries, at happy events of every kind. It's the thing that connects us, that bears our traditions, our sense of home and family, our deepest memories, and on a practical level, our ability to live and breathe each day. Food matters.
I can't explain why I liked this book so much, as it's really not my kind of book - too girly, too emotional, too woo-woo. But not only did I enjoy it, it made me stop and think about the connections that can be made over the table, the way we were made for community by God. Excellent read.
The Antelope in the Living Room: The Real Story of Two People Sharing One Life, Melanie Shakle - Another "why did I download this?" book. I think it was recommended by another author I really enjoyed (and it was free). This is a great book, but the subject - marriage - is not immediately applicable to my life as it stands right now.
As always, though, subject matter seems to bleed over and apply to other things in ways you did not expect. Compromise is something needed in many areas, both in personal and business relationships.
Clutter Free, Kathi Lipp - This one was started in January, but finished in February. It's a bit of a different take on learning to live clutter free. Ms. Lipp deals with the causes of clutter - most specifically, the spiritual side. As she says:
God has entrusted some things to us. I believe we are to use those things to not just bless our family but those around us as well.
I love organizing and decluttering books, and this one is an excellent example of that genre. Along with the discussion of the "why" of clutter, she offers some easy, gentle ways to start ridding yourself of extra "stuff", including 50 things to get rid of today, and 50 ways to reduce the stuff coming into your life.
The Company We Keep: In Search of Biblical Friendship, Jonathan Holmes - I really, really want to like the books put out by Cruciform Press. The subjects are timely, the prose is generally accessible. But there is a reason the Reformed sector of Christian denominations is often called the "frozen chosen". While the book is well written, with some wonderful quotations on friendship, it ends up leaving the reader rather...cold. This is an intellectual treatment of what is at its base an emotional as well as spiritual subject. The information presented is all to the point, accurate and Biblical, but is laid out more as a textbook than an invitation to community.
Goals are supposed to be "aspirational", right?
I've made up for it in February.
Bread & Wine: A love Letter to Life Around the Table, Shauna Niequist - There is a difficulty in attempting a review of this book. It's not strictly about entertaining, nor a collection of recipes woven in among a story. Instead, it's about what happens around the table. As she says:
The impulse to feed is innate. Food is a language of care, the thing we do when traditional language fails us, when we don't know what to say, when there are no words to say. And food is what we offer in celebration - at weddings, at anniversaries, at happy events of every kind. It's the thing that connects us, that bears our traditions, our sense of home and family, our deepest memories, and on a practical level, our ability to live and breathe each day. Food matters.
I can't explain why I liked this book so much, as it's really not my kind of book - too girly, too emotional, too woo-woo. But not only did I enjoy it, it made me stop and think about the connections that can be made over the table, the way we were made for community by God. Excellent read.
The Antelope in the Living Room: The Real Story of Two People Sharing One Life, Melanie Shakle - Another "why did I download this?" book. I think it was recommended by another author I really enjoyed (and it was free). This is a great book, but the subject - marriage - is not immediately applicable to my life as it stands right now.
As always, though, subject matter seems to bleed over and apply to other things in ways you did not expect. Compromise is something needed in many areas, both in personal and business relationships.
Clutter Free, Kathi Lipp - This one was started in January, but finished in February. It's a bit of a different take on learning to live clutter free. Ms. Lipp deals with the causes of clutter - most specifically, the spiritual side. As she says:
God has entrusted some things to us. I believe we are to use those things to not just bless our family but those around us as well.
I love organizing and decluttering books, and this one is an excellent example of that genre. Along with the discussion of the "why" of clutter, she offers some easy, gentle ways to start ridding yourself of extra "stuff", including 50 things to get rid of today, and 50 ways to reduce the stuff coming into your life.
The Company We Keep: In Search of Biblical Friendship, Jonathan Holmes - I really, really want to like the books put out by Cruciform Press. The subjects are timely, the prose is generally accessible. But there is a reason the Reformed sector of Christian denominations is often called the "frozen chosen". While the book is well written, with some wonderful quotations on friendship, it ends up leaving the reader rather...cold. This is an intellectual treatment of what is at its base an emotional as well as spiritual subject. The information presented is all to the point, accurate and Biblical, but is laid out more as a textbook than an invitation to community.
Sunday, February 01, 2015
January reads
As you will recall, the reading goal for 2015 is a bit more modest than that from 2014, and tailored more closely to the goal of reducing the embarrassingly large backlog of nonfiction on the Kindle. Two nonfiction books per month, or a total of at least 24 for the year.
First up, Home Is Where My People Are, by Sophie Hudson. One of my last reads for 2014 was actually a reread of her wonderful first book, A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet, a memoir of growing up Southern, faith, family and bacon. Lots of bacon. In Home Is Where My People Are, Ms. Hudson talks more deeply about the development of her faith. She begins by explaining:
But it seems to me that, in our deepest places, what we're really looking for is to belong, to be seen, and to be known. and what we sometimes miss in all our searching for the perfect spot to set up camp, so to speak, is that wherever we are - whether it's short term or long term - we can count on the fact that God is at work in the journey.This book is an account of her journey, the deepening of her faith and the friendships and communities along the way that played a major part in it.
Because while it's taken, you know, my whole life to wrap my brain around this idea, what I'm finally figuring out is that when we're really and truly at home - with our faith, our family, our friends, our callings, and ourselves - there's a transformation that has little to do with the style of our house or the numbers on the mailbox. It's a change that turns us outward, that opens our arms, that compels us to extend a hand to people who are standing at a crossroads in their own lives and trying to figure out which way to go.I highly recommend it (so much so I can even ignore her use of the Oxford comma - it actually hurt my fingers to transcribe those quotes verbatim).
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
December reads and 2014 reading wrap up
First off, December reads.
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand - Really, so many people have already seen the movie (or read the book) I suppose any sort of plot summary is superfluous. Let me say, though, that I read this straight through in about two days. It was both difficult to read in sections, and impossible to put down. The depth of man's depravity is only exceeded by the limitlessness of his resilience.
Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Daily Family Devotions for Advent, Nancy Guthrie - I will happily use this devotional again next year. The daily readings are thoughtful without being sentimental, and the questions and suggestions for activities included at the end of each day are suitable not only for families, but for adults of all walks of life as well.
Furniture Makeovers: Simple Techniques for Transforming Furniture with Paint, Stains, Paper Stencils and More, Barbara Blair - Hmm. This seems to be written for someone who intends to refinish/change up furniture often, rather than the casual weekend crafter. There are great lists of supplies needed for specific types of projects, though those lists tend to be very product and/or store specific (so much so, one wonders if she got endorsement deals to write the book). A decent reference, but not really what I was looking for.
Inspired You: Breathing New Life Into Your Heart and Home - Marian Parsons - This was more what I was looking for in a furniture and home changing book, I think. Lots of before-and-after shots, some suggested projects and walk throughs, all given with a serving of home making philosophy. A favorite quote:
"Keep in mind what is at the heart of hospitality – love. Any act of hospitality, no matter how big or small, will be appreciated by those on the receiving end of that action. Don’t let an imperfect house, imperfect cooking, or an imperfect family prevent you from sharing that love with others. Some of the humblest forms of hospitality can also be the most impactful."
A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet, Sophie Hudson - This was a reread, but a sweet one. Ms. Hudson tells tales of growing up in a small town in the south, family and faith.
With these five, my total for the year stands at fifty-nine books read (though not listed separately, the Elmo Jenkins trilogy is counted as three books), more than meeting my goal of a book per week. I make no representations about the quality of my reading this past year, but at least my nose was more consistently in a book. I didn't realize how much I'd missed that.
For 2015, I'll be slowing things down a bit. The backlog in the Kindle hasn't gone down all that much, with most of the stack consisting of non-fiction. For 2015, I plan to aim at a pace of two non-fiction books per month, for 26 in total. It will be an exercise in discipline as well - no new nonfiction in 2015. Anything that looks interesting goes on the wish list, and if next December 31st I can still remember why it is on the list, I'll pick it up.
Happy reading, 2015!
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand - Really, so many people have already seen the movie (or read the book) I suppose any sort of plot summary is superfluous. Let me say, though, that I read this straight through in about two days. It was both difficult to read in sections, and impossible to put down. The depth of man's depravity is only exceeded by the limitlessness of his resilience.
Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Daily Family Devotions for Advent, Nancy Guthrie - I will happily use this devotional again next year. The daily readings are thoughtful without being sentimental, and the questions and suggestions for activities included at the end of each day are suitable not only for families, but for adults of all walks of life as well.
Furniture Makeovers: Simple Techniques for Transforming Furniture with Paint, Stains, Paper Stencils and More, Barbara Blair - Hmm. This seems to be written for someone who intends to refinish/change up furniture often, rather than the casual weekend crafter. There are great lists of supplies needed for specific types of projects, though those lists tend to be very product and/or store specific (so much so, one wonders if she got endorsement deals to write the book). A decent reference, but not really what I was looking for.
Inspired You: Breathing New Life Into Your Heart and Home - Marian Parsons - This was more what I was looking for in a furniture and home changing book, I think. Lots of before-and-after shots, some suggested projects and walk throughs, all given with a serving of home making philosophy. A favorite quote:
"Keep in mind what is at the heart of hospitality – love. Any act of hospitality, no matter how big or small, will be appreciated by those on the receiving end of that action. Don’t let an imperfect house, imperfect cooking, or an imperfect family prevent you from sharing that love with others. Some of the humblest forms of hospitality can also be the most impactful."
A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet, Sophie Hudson - This was a reread, but a sweet one. Ms. Hudson tells tales of growing up in a small town in the south, family and faith.
With these five, my total for the year stands at fifty-nine books read (though not listed separately, the Elmo Jenkins trilogy is counted as three books), more than meeting my goal of a book per week. I make no representations about the quality of my reading this past year, but at least my nose was more consistently in a book. I didn't realize how much I'd missed that.
For 2015, I'll be slowing things down a bit. The backlog in the Kindle hasn't gone down all that much, with most of the stack consisting of non-fiction. For 2015, I plan to aim at a pace of two non-fiction books per month, for 26 in total. It will be an exercise in discipline as well - no new nonfiction in 2015. Anything that looks interesting goes on the wish list, and if next December 31st I can still remember why it is on the list, I'll pick it up.
Happy reading, 2015!
Thursday, December 04, 2014
Reading matters - October and November books
At the end of October, I completely forgot to do a post about October books read. By the time I remembered, I realized I should just combine those with November's books. Here it is December 3rd, and I've yet to post on either. I'll get them listed on the 2014 page later this week.
And how am I doing on the 2014 "read a book per week" schedule? As of this post, I'm through 51 books this year, with one left to read to complete the goal. I'm off of work from December 20th through after the first of the new year. I can pretty much guarantee I'll read one book during that time, if I don't finish at least one between now and then. I'll do a wrap up post on the 31st.
October:
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury - This is an annual October reread. Bradbury's language and images are stellar, and the plot unusual enough it holds your interest until the very last page. I first read it in high school, as an offshoot of a class on science fiction and fantasy.
11/22/63 - Stephen King - This clocks in at eight hundred some pages in print form, and is one of the reasons I only readtwo three books in October. Let in on a secret - a portal back in time - by a friend, the protagonist goes back to 1958 and makes a life for himself, waiting for the opportunity to stop the assassination of Kennedy on 11/22/63. There are certain rules to the time travel, however, that make life a bit more difficult than you might think. The majority of the book is lived in the middle, so to speak, the time between arriving in 1958 and the day of the assassination. As always, King's writing is superb. His politics bleed through only a little, and the ending isn't quite what I expected. Over all, it was worth the time invested.
Into the Storm - Larry Correia - This is a more traditional fantasy novel by Correia. War has come to the kingdom, and a disgraced knight is called back into battle. The world Correia has created blends both magic and technology - it was a fun read, though I almost forgot I'd read it (I blame the effort it took to get through 11/22/63).
November:
Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel - This was on a list of recommended books somewhere. The premise revolves around a post-apocalyptic world in the near future and a traveling band of Shakespearean actors. It sounded like a win-win. Action moves from the beginning of the end (a very rapid acting, seriously infectious, ebola-type virus) to a time roughly twenty years later. The new reality is portrayed well, the characters are fairly well written and the action is well paced. It ended, however, sooner than I would have liked - leaving me wondering if there are sequels planned.
The Elmo Jenkins Triology - Ordained Irreverence, Some Things Never Change and The Old Man and the Tea - McMillian Moody - I'm counting this as three books, though at just over 500 pages for all three, it's more like one chunky one. The series follows fresh-from-the-seminary Elmo Jenkins as he first interns, then takes a permanent staff position, at an evangelical mega church. If you have spent any time at all in one of those churches, especially in a ministry position, you'll find the characters and situations both familiar and funny. The books rambled a bit, but were enjoyable reads. They could, however, do with a really good editing (I think they were self-published). There apparently is a fourth book in the series; I most likely will not read it unless I happen upon it in the library.
Embracing Obscurity: Becoming Nothing in Light of God's Everything - Anonymous - This book is a blast of refreshing air through the garbage floating through the evangelical community about everyone being a superstar. The author (who does indeed remain unnamed) walks through Scripture, building a case that obscurity - living an ordinary, but faithful life - should be the normative Christian experience, rather than the constant striving for wealth, popularity, power and other measures of "success" the church has co-opted from the world. He bases his thesis on a right understanding of our position and relationship to God, one we often lose sight of. Great book.
And how am I doing on the 2014 "read a book per week" schedule? As of this post, I'm through 51 books this year, with one left to read to complete the goal. I'm off of work from December 20th through after the first of the new year. I can pretty much guarantee I'll read one book during that time, if I don't finish at least one between now and then. I'll do a wrap up post on the 31st.
October:
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury - This is an annual October reread. Bradbury's language and images are stellar, and the plot unusual enough it holds your interest until the very last page. I first read it in high school, as an offshoot of a class on science fiction and fantasy.
11/22/63 - Stephen King - This clocks in at eight hundred some pages in print form, and is one of the reasons I only read
Into the Storm - Larry Correia - This is a more traditional fantasy novel by Correia. War has come to the kingdom, and a disgraced knight is called back into battle. The world Correia has created blends both magic and technology - it was a fun read, though I almost forgot I'd read it (I blame the effort it took to get through 11/22/63).
November:
Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel - This was on a list of recommended books somewhere. The premise revolves around a post-apocalyptic world in the near future and a traveling band of Shakespearean actors. It sounded like a win-win. Action moves from the beginning of the end (a very rapid acting, seriously infectious, ebola-type virus) to a time roughly twenty years later. The new reality is portrayed well, the characters are fairly well written and the action is well paced. It ended, however, sooner than I would have liked - leaving me wondering if there are sequels planned.
The Elmo Jenkins Triology - Ordained Irreverence, Some Things Never Change and The Old Man and the Tea - McMillian Moody - I'm counting this as three books, though at just over 500 pages for all three, it's more like one chunky one. The series follows fresh-from-the-seminary Elmo Jenkins as he first interns, then takes a permanent staff position, at an evangelical mega church. If you have spent any time at all in one of those churches, especially in a ministry position, you'll find the characters and situations both familiar and funny. The books rambled a bit, but were enjoyable reads. They could, however, do with a really good editing (I think they were self-published). There apparently is a fourth book in the series; I most likely will not read it unless I happen upon it in the library.
Embracing Obscurity: Becoming Nothing in Light of God's Everything - Anonymous - This book is a blast of refreshing air through the garbage floating through the evangelical community about everyone being a superstar. The author (who does indeed remain unnamed) walks through Scripture, building a case that obscurity - living an ordinary, but faithful life - should be the normative Christian experience, rather than the constant striving for wealth, popularity, power and other measures of "success" the church has co-opted from the world. He bases his thesis on a right understanding of our position and relationship to God, one we often lose sight of. Great book.
Wednesday, October 01, 2014
September reads
I always seem to be almost done with one more non-fiction book just at the end of the month, but it doesn't quite make it in. This month is no exception. If I'd made it, it would have been four of each. Can't complain, as I'm still quite a few books ahead of schedule for the year. I make it 45 read, with 13 weeks yet to go in the year. I could read a book every other week and still reach the goal of fifty-two books read for the year. Unfortunately, the book backlog on the kindle seems to be going in the wrong direction...
Fiction
Fighting Chance, Jane Haddam - This is another in her excellent series featuring Gregor Demarkian, the "Armenian-American Hercule Poirot". Her novels begin slowly, often focusing on the inner workings of each character's mind. The ending of this one rather shocked me; it has more shock value if you have read a number of the preceding books in the series. Not a Creature was Stirring is the first book; this one is number nineteen, I believe.
Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good, Jan Karon - Ms. Karon's Mitford series books are delightful reads, and this is no exception. As a general rule, I'm much more likely to enjoy mysteries and novels with a definite issue or question to resolve that propels the action forward. In the Mitford books, things meander a bit around town and through lives, but they are so gentle I can deal with it.
The Aloha Quilt: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel, Jennifer Chiaverini - I've read a number of the Elm Creek novels. They are well written, and the fact that the author lives in Wisconsin gives a local touch. A number of the novels are set in previous ages via flashbacks to family of the characters - not my favorite technique (if I wanted to read historical fiction, I would). This is not one of those, thankfully, but is set entirely in Hawaii. If nothing else, it was worth it for the in depth discussion of Hawaiian quilting, an art form only slightly related to the quilting the missionaries first taught the Islanders oh so long ago.
Bones Never Lie, Kathy Reichs - Ms. Reichs' books are the novels on which the television series "Bones" is based, though aside from the name and some characteristics of Temperance Brennan, the two are fairly dissimilar. Yes, the books are better. This particular novel actually loops back to events in one of Ms. Reichs' first books, and a series of murders that were solved, but whose perpetrator escaped.
Nonfiction
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, Francis Chan - This was a huge seller when it was first published, I believe ten years or so ago. This version is updated and revised a bit. Chan's central idea is that since we have a God who is incredibly, unexpectedly, sacrificially in love with us, our response should be a proportional outpouring of over-the-top, generous, sacrificial, crazy love. So far, so good. Where I take a bit of issue with him is his contention that by living that type of life, we can fix the problems of the world. He gives the impression (and this update was written to specifically counter this impression) that unless you sell all you have and use the proceeds to support those less fortunate, you are not living an "authentic" Christian life. He is quite careful (and rightly so) to separate salvation, which is by faith, from these works, which are a response to that salvation and the love God lavished upon us. While I fully support helping out any way we can, I don't believe we will ever be able to "fix" the world - that's an eventual part of God's plan, but in that plan, it's not our works that accomplishes it. If I sound confused, that would be about right...the book has spawned whole ministries to the less fortunate, which is good, but I think it may have an entire generation focused more on outward works than character building.
The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer - This book is considered one of the "classics' of the faith, and rightly so, I think. Tozer's central thesis is that we have a wrong view, a too small view of God, and that hinders our spiritual progress. He says, "It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power into our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is." He goes on to examine some attributes of God, defined as whatever God has revealed to be true about Himself. While Tozer wrote in the middle of the last century, much of what he says is even more true of the church today: we've simply lost the concept of an awe-inspiring God. While the theological concepts discussed are weighty, the book itself is easy to understand, easy to think on.
The Nesting Place: It Doesn't Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful, Myquillin Smith - Loved this book. Design. Color. Using what you have, or ordinary things, in unexpected ways. How having surroundings that reflect you and your family impact your lives. Making home a sanctuary. Daring to try something, learning from mistakes. I've put a couple of her concepts into practice, and the place looks - and feels - better already (yeah, yeah, pictures coming...some day I'll be taking hundreds of pictures that I've said I would, and putting them up on the blog all at once...).
Fiction
Fighting Chance, Jane Haddam - This is another in her excellent series featuring Gregor Demarkian, the "Armenian-American Hercule Poirot". Her novels begin slowly, often focusing on the inner workings of each character's mind. The ending of this one rather shocked me; it has more shock value if you have read a number of the preceding books in the series. Not a Creature was Stirring is the first book; this one is number nineteen, I believe.
Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good, Jan Karon - Ms. Karon's Mitford series books are delightful reads, and this is no exception. As a general rule, I'm much more likely to enjoy mysteries and novels with a definite issue or question to resolve that propels the action forward. In the Mitford books, things meander a bit around town and through lives, but they are so gentle I can deal with it.
The Aloha Quilt: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel, Jennifer Chiaverini - I've read a number of the Elm Creek novels. They are well written, and the fact that the author lives in Wisconsin gives a local touch. A number of the novels are set in previous ages via flashbacks to family of the characters - not my favorite technique (if I wanted to read historical fiction, I would). This is not one of those, thankfully, but is set entirely in Hawaii. If nothing else, it was worth it for the in depth discussion of Hawaiian quilting, an art form only slightly related to the quilting the missionaries first taught the Islanders oh so long ago.
Bones Never Lie, Kathy Reichs - Ms. Reichs' books are the novels on which the television series "Bones" is based, though aside from the name and some characteristics of Temperance Brennan, the two are fairly dissimilar. Yes, the books are better. This particular novel actually loops back to events in one of Ms. Reichs' first books, and a series of murders that were solved, but whose perpetrator escaped.
Nonfiction
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, Francis Chan - This was a huge seller when it was first published, I believe ten years or so ago. This version is updated and revised a bit. Chan's central idea is that since we have a God who is incredibly, unexpectedly, sacrificially in love with us, our response should be a proportional outpouring of over-the-top, generous, sacrificial, crazy love. So far, so good. Where I take a bit of issue with him is his contention that by living that type of life, we can fix the problems of the world. He gives the impression (and this update was written to specifically counter this impression) that unless you sell all you have and use the proceeds to support those less fortunate, you are not living an "authentic" Christian life. He is quite careful (and rightly so) to separate salvation, which is by faith, from these works, which are a response to that salvation and the love God lavished upon us. While I fully support helping out any way we can, I don't believe we will ever be able to "fix" the world - that's an eventual part of God's plan, but in that plan, it's not our works that accomplishes it. If I sound confused, that would be about right...the book has spawned whole ministries to the less fortunate, which is good, but I think it may have an entire generation focused more on outward works than character building.
The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer - This book is considered one of the "classics' of the faith, and rightly so, I think. Tozer's central thesis is that we have a wrong view, a too small view of God, and that hinders our spiritual progress. He says, "It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power into our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is." He goes on to examine some attributes of God, defined as whatever God has revealed to be true about Himself. While Tozer wrote in the middle of the last century, much of what he says is even more true of the church today: we've simply lost the concept of an awe-inspiring God. While the theological concepts discussed are weighty, the book itself is easy to understand, easy to think on.
The Nesting Place: It Doesn't Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful, Myquillin Smith - Loved this book. Design. Color. Using what you have, or ordinary things, in unexpected ways. How having surroundings that reflect you and your family impact your lives. Making home a sanctuary. Daring to try something, learning from mistakes. I've put a couple of her concepts into practice, and the place looks - and feels - better already (yeah, yeah, pictures coming...some day I'll be taking hundreds of pictures that I've said I would, and putting them up on the blog all at once...).
Monday, September 01, 2014
August reads
August reads. I was sure there was another non-fiction book; I'll have to check the other kindle. I've been updating this as I finish the book, and the post was scheduled to post early this morning. It didn't post; not sure why. That makes me wonder if, in the updating process, I messed something up. Stupid Blogger. Or stupid me. Anyway, here we go...
Fiction
The Road to Cardinal Valley - Earlene Fowler - This is the follow up to last month's The Saddlemaker's Wife. It takes some unexpected turns, but overall, continues well with the lives of the characters. I doubt there will be a third in the series; all the loose ends were tied up and there doesn't seem to be anywhere else for the characters to go.
The Swan House: A Novel - Elizabeth Musser - I would really like to know on whose blog or recommendation I picked this up (first week of July this year). It's a wonderful novel, set in the early sixties in Atlanta, in the middle of historical events (the crash of a planeful of Atlanteans in Lyon, the civil rights movement). In fact, I liked it enough to pick up another by the same author.
The Guards: A Novel (Jack Taylor series) - Ken Bruen - Sooooo...whilst wandering through Netflix, looking for something in the "hard boiled detective" genre, I ran across a miniseries starring one of the actors fromGame of Thrones. The first installment wasn't too bad, so I decided to check out the books on which the series is based. I pick books for the strangest reasons...This is set in Ireland, Galway, in fact, as the author continually reminds us. The protagonist is Jack Taylor, ex-Gardi, current alcoholic with few friends other than the bottle. The book is well written, though very, very...Irish. Dark. Brooding. Full of poetry at odd spots and strange formatting. The comparisons in the blurbs are to Elmore Leonard, and like Leonard's books, I'm happy with one every so often, but don't care for them enough to make it a steady diet.
Dwelling Place - Elizabeth Musser - This is a follow up to The Swan House, a next generation, if you will. I don't want to say much, but I will say I very much needed to read this book.
Nonfiction
Master Evernote: The Unofficial Guide to Organizing Your Life With Evernote (and 75 Ideas to Get You Started) - S. J. Scott - The title may be longer than the actual book. I started using Evernote a few years ago (it's available for free as a desktop app, along with free apps for all mobile platforms, plus kindle and nook), and find it handy to keep some information available without having to deal with paper notes. You set up "notebooks" to hold your "notes - which can be typed, scanned, photos, audio or video files - and can stack notebooks and tag individual notes. There is an add-on web clipper, with which you can save a URL,an entire web page or a portion of a page (like a recipe). You can store your information locally on your device, but an Evernote account comes with free cloud storage. By storing your notes on Evernote's servers, you can sync and retrieve them across all your devices. Even though my "if it's in the cloud the government can get at it" paranoid, tin-foil hat wearing side isn't thrilled with using the cloud storage, it is incredibly convenient to look up the size fluorescent tube I need on Evernote when I'm standing at the hardware store, having forgotten the written note that would tell me the size. The book has some handy tips for organizing things, making use of functions within Evernote of which you might not be aware.
My Life in France - Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme - I know things have moved on from the great Julia craze, but I was watching old episodes of The French Chef and realized I'd never read this book. If you've seen the show, or read any of her cookbooks, you will recognize her unique voice in this memoir, even though it was written by her great nephew from interviews he had with her. It's written in the the first person, and sounds just like her. The glimpse into 1950's France is fascinating, as is the history of the publishing of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her husband Paul, in addition to being in government service most of his career, was quite the artist; most of the pictures in the book are his. All in all, this was a great look into the life of a truly unique woman.
Manage Your Day to Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus & Sharpen Your Creative Mind - edited by Jocelyn C. Glei - This is a round up of blog posts about how to enhance creativity, by authors ranging from professional creative talent wranglers (think people who keep songwriters on task and on schedule) to writers and research professors. In general, the book takes what we are used to viewing as productivity enhancers for business and applies them to the "business" of creativity. Even though some of the concepts are very familiar, the way in which they are applied have special twists to adapt them to the creative mindset. Contributors include Seth Godin and Mark McGuinness, with an afterword by Stephen Pressfield. On balance, some good information.
Fiction
The Road to Cardinal Valley - Earlene Fowler - This is the follow up to last month's The Saddlemaker's Wife. It takes some unexpected turns, but overall, continues well with the lives of the characters. I doubt there will be a third in the series; all the loose ends were tied up and there doesn't seem to be anywhere else for the characters to go.
The Swan House: A Novel - Elizabeth Musser - I would really like to know on whose blog or recommendation I picked this up (first week of July this year). It's a wonderful novel, set in the early sixties in Atlanta, in the middle of historical events (the crash of a planeful of Atlanteans in Lyon, the civil rights movement). In fact, I liked it enough to pick up another by the same author.
The Guards: A Novel (Jack Taylor series) - Ken Bruen - Sooooo...whilst wandering through Netflix, looking for something in the "hard boiled detective" genre, I ran across a miniseries starring one of the actors from
Dwelling Place - Elizabeth Musser - This is a follow up to The Swan House, a next generation, if you will. I don't want to say much, but I will say I very much needed to read this book.
Nonfiction
Master Evernote: The Unofficial Guide to Organizing Your Life With Evernote (and 75 Ideas to Get You Started) - S. J. Scott - The title may be longer than the actual book. I started using Evernote a few years ago (it's available for free as a desktop app, along with free apps for all mobile platforms, plus kindle and nook), and find it handy to keep some information available without having to deal with paper notes. You set up "notebooks" to hold your "notes - which can be typed, scanned, photos, audio or video files - and can stack notebooks and tag individual notes. There is an add-on web clipper, with which you can save a URL,an entire web page or a portion of a page (like a recipe). You can store your information locally on your device, but an Evernote account comes with free cloud storage. By storing your notes on Evernote's servers, you can sync and retrieve them across all your devices. Even though my "if it's in the cloud the government can get at it" paranoid, tin-foil hat wearing side isn't thrilled with using the cloud storage, it is incredibly convenient to look up the size fluorescent tube I need on Evernote when I'm standing at the hardware store, having forgotten the written note that would tell me the size. The book has some handy tips for organizing things, making use of functions within Evernote of which you might not be aware.
My Life in France - Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme - I know things have moved on from the great Julia craze, but I was watching old episodes of The French Chef and realized I'd never read this book. If you've seen the show, or read any of her cookbooks, you will recognize her unique voice in this memoir, even though it was written by her great nephew from interviews he had with her. It's written in the the first person, and sounds just like her. The glimpse into 1950's France is fascinating, as is the history of the publishing of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her husband Paul, in addition to being in government service most of his career, was quite the artist; most of the pictures in the book are his. All in all, this was a great look into the life of a truly unique woman.
Manage Your Day to Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus & Sharpen Your Creative Mind - edited by Jocelyn C. Glei - This is a round up of blog posts about how to enhance creativity, by authors ranging from professional creative talent wranglers (think people who keep songwriters on task and on schedule) to writers and research professors. In general, the book takes what we are used to viewing as productivity enhancers for business and applies them to the "business" of creativity. Even though some of the concepts are very familiar, the way in which they are applied have special twists to adapt them to the creative mindset. Contributors include Seth Godin and Mark McGuinness, with an afterword by Stephen Pressfield. On balance, some good information.
Friday, August 01, 2014
July reads
July was a high volume, low stress month for reading. Most of the list is fiction, but I'll blame it on the fact I've no less than three rather lengthy non-fiction books in process right now (One I've been picking at forever, one is written at a PhD level on a complicated subject and one just popped up quickly thanks to a group I'm in). Here we go:
Nonfiction
Lincoln's Battle With God: A President's Struggle With Faith, by Stephan Mansfield - Our faith lives are a never ending journey, one complete with lost paths, retracing of steps and long pauses. The Abraham Lincoln during his years in Springfield argued forcefully against the tenets of Christianity - so much so that friends branded him an infidel. How is this the same Lincoln, who, in his second inaugural address would acknowledge that "...the judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether..."? Mansfield explores that journey with an eye toward using as much factual, rather than fancied, evidence as possible. I highly recommend this book.
Help for Women Under Stress by Randy Alcorn - I adore Alcorn's writing, as it's humble, full of Scripture and always both practical and uplifting, but boy, does it take forever, even for a quick reader like me, to get through his books. This is an updated version of a book he wrote fifteen years ago or so - an excellent, practical guide to reducing stress. There are study questions at the end of each chapter, making this an excellent choice for a women's small group.
Fiction
Takedown Twenty and Top Secret Twenty-One, by Janet Evanovich - Alas, I fear reading Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels has deteriorated into a bad habit. The books, while amusing, are no where nearly as fun as the first five or six in the series. The plots are predictable, the characters do not develop or move beyond where they were in the previous book. I think I said this after reading number nineteen, but I don't think I'll keep on with the series.
Love Mercy, by Earlene Fowler - He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 I have to admit to a prejudice here: I've avoided this novel simply because the co-opting of the verse from which the title (and main character's name) is taken by the social gospel people really, really annoys me. But that's a rant for a different day. Fowler's writing just keeps getting better. Unlike the books in her Benny Harper series (all the titles of those books are quilt block names :) ), this is not a mystery, but a straight up novel about family, both biological and chosen. Excellent read.
The Saddlemaker's Wife, by Earlene Fowler - Another of Ms. Fowler's novels I skipped when it was first published. Big mistake. Again, a straight up novel about family. Faith elements run through both this and Love Mercy, though much stronger in that book than this. There is a recently published follow up to this book, which I just downloaded tonight. I've started writing this post on the 29th; it's entirely possible that book, too, will make July's reading list.
Someone Else's Love Story, by Joshilyn Jackson - Jackson is truly a writer in the Southern tradition. SELS is about love, maternal and matrimonial, friendship, secrets and a possibly immaculate conception. I didn't think I'd like Jackson's novels when I first started reading them (gods in Alabama), but her quirky characters and incredible ability to draw the reader into their minds has grown on me
Nonfiction
Lincoln's Battle With God: A President's Struggle With Faith, by Stephan Mansfield - Our faith lives are a never ending journey, one complete with lost paths, retracing of steps and long pauses. The Abraham Lincoln during his years in Springfield argued forcefully against the tenets of Christianity - so much so that friends branded him an infidel. How is this the same Lincoln, who, in his second inaugural address would acknowledge that "...the judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether..."? Mansfield explores that journey with an eye toward using as much factual, rather than fancied, evidence as possible. I highly recommend this book.
Help for Women Under Stress by Randy Alcorn - I adore Alcorn's writing, as it's humble, full of Scripture and always both practical and uplifting, but boy, does it take forever, even for a quick reader like me, to get through his books. This is an updated version of a book he wrote fifteen years ago or so - an excellent, practical guide to reducing stress. There are study questions at the end of each chapter, making this an excellent choice for a women's small group.
Fiction
Takedown Twenty and Top Secret Twenty-One, by Janet Evanovich - Alas, I fear reading Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels has deteriorated into a bad habit. The books, while amusing, are no where nearly as fun as the first five or six in the series. The plots are predictable, the characters do not develop or move beyond where they were in the previous book. I think I said this after reading number nineteen, but I don't think I'll keep on with the series.
Love Mercy, by Earlene Fowler - He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 I have to admit to a prejudice here: I've avoided this novel simply because the co-opting of the verse from which the title (and main character's name) is taken by the social gospel people really, really annoys me. But that's a rant for a different day. Fowler's writing just keeps getting better. Unlike the books in her Benny Harper series (all the titles of those books are quilt block names :) ), this is not a mystery, but a straight up novel about family, both biological and chosen. Excellent read.
The Saddlemaker's Wife, by Earlene Fowler - Another of Ms. Fowler's novels I skipped when it was first published. Big mistake. Again, a straight up novel about family. Faith elements run through both this and Love Mercy, though much stronger in that book than this. There is a recently published follow up to this book, which I just downloaded tonight. I've started writing this post on the 29th; it's entirely possible that book, too, will make July's reading list.
Someone Else's Love Story, by Joshilyn Jackson - Jackson is truly a writer in the Southern tradition. SELS is about love, maternal and matrimonial, friendship, secrets and a possibly immaculate conception. I didn't think I'd like Jackson's novels when I first started reading them (gods in Alabama), but her quirky characters and incredible ability to draw the reader into their minds has grown on me
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Reading list, updated
As is obvious, I've fallen short of listing the books I've read each month. Frankly, I've been too busy reading.
The 2014 reads page has been updated as of tonight. Thus far, it looks like 24 books, pretty close to my goal of one book per week. I've listed each book in an omnibus as a separate entry (and in the case of the Game of Thrones books - each a hefty 700 pages or so, I feel I should get credit for two books for each title listed).
It seems I've spent a good part of the year reading series, all of which were new to me. I have a rather annoying habit of going back and reading every book an author has published if I read one book they've written that I like.
I'm working on finishing up the couple of nonfiction tomes I'm partway through. Then it will be back to light fiction for the rest of the summer.
The 2014 reads page has been updated as of tonight. Thus far, it looks like 24 books, pretty close to my goal of one book per week. I've listed each book in an omnibus as a separate entry (and in the case of the Game of Thrones books - each a hefty 700 pages or so, I feel I should get credit for two books for each title listed).
It seems I've spent a good part of the year reading series, all of which were new to me. I have a rather annoying habit of going back and reading every book an author has published if I read one book they've written that I like.
I'm working on finishing up the couple of nonfiction tomes I'm partway through. Then it will be back to light fiction for the rest of the summer.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Book bonanza
Don't you love it when your inbox turns up a "you've earned a free _______" from one of your rewards cards? A while back I hit the jackpot when the same day yielded both a free coffee from Starbucks and a free breakfast sandwich from Panera. True, I probably spent more in gas to collect the items than I saved in lucre, but the lure of "free" cannot be resisted.
Today a freebie of a different sort showed up in the e-mail. Amazon settled a lawsuit with a number of publishers over the price of e-books, and the settlement included a refund to customers who may have been overcharged. According to the e-mail, I now have a $16.06 credit to be used on any print or kindle book.
The credit expires in March 2015, but it gets applied to your very next book purchase. In my case, the credit won't last out March 2014.
But what to use it on? I like to use these pennies from heaven on something special, something yearned for, rather than run-of-the-mill, "this looks vaguely interesting" purchases.
The wish list has few books on it (yes, I am an impulse buyer of books, hence the long-ish list on the kindle of books waiting to be read and the short wish list):
Year Zero: A History of 1945
I can't remember where I read the recommendation for this book, but it sounds fascinating. The world was fundamentally changed in many ways after the end of World War II.
Fast Food My Way
It's no secret I adore Jacques Pepin. I have the second cookbook from this series. But since putting this on the wish list, I realized I can watch the original series for free on Amazon Prime, and jot down any recipes I want from there. Do I really need another cookbook?
Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives
My soul is sort of crying out for this book. If I can find the time to read it.
Greek for the Rest of Us: Using Greek Tools Without Mastering Biblical Greek
Years ago, the pastor of the church I was at offered a class in Biblical Greek. We started with about twenty people; at the end of the third week, we were down to three. I've forgotten about half of what I learned and would like a refresher.
Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy
I also adore Thomas Sowell. But do I admire him enough to read an economics textbook?
Grammar Workbook for the SAT, ACT and More
What? I enjoy messing around with stuff like this.
That's what is on the wish list, but there are millions of books to choose from, and I suffer from decision fatigue. What would you choose of the list above? better yet, what would you recommend (my fiction tastes run to mysteries (just about every sub-genre), science fiction (the not too far in the future, not obviously alien type) and suspense)?
Let me know in the comments.
Today a freebie of a different sort showed up in the e-mail. Amazon settled a lawsuit with a number of publishers over the price of e-books, and the settlement included a refund to customers who may have been overcharged. According to the e-mail, I now have a $16.06 credit to be used on any print or kindle book.
The credit expires in March 2015, but it gets applied to your very next book purchase. In my case, the credit won't last out March 2014.
But what to use it on? I like to use these pennies from heaven on something special, something yearned for, rather than run-of-the-mill, "this looks vaguely interesting" purchases.
The wish list has few books on it (yes, I am an impulse buyer of books, hence the long-ish list on the kindle of books waiting to be read and the short wish list):
Year Zero: A History of 1945
I can't remember where I read the recommendation for this book, but it sounds fascinating. The world was fundamentally changed in many ways after the end of World War II.
Fast Food My Way
It's no secret I adore Jacques Pepin. I have the second cookbook from this series. But since putting this on the wish list, I realized I can watch the original series for free on Amazon Prime, and jot down any recipes I want from there. Do I really need another cookbook?
Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives
My soul is sort of crying out for this book. If I can find the time to read it.
Greek for the Rest of Us: Using Greek Tools Without Mastering Biblical Greek
Years ago, the pastor of the church I was at offered a class in Biblical Greek. We started with about twenty people; at the end of the third week, we were down to three. I've forgotten about half of what I learned and would like a refresher.
Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy
I also adore Thomas Sowell. But do I admire him enough to read an economics textbook?
Grammar Workbook for the SAT, ACT and More
What? I enjoy messing around with stuff like this.
That's what is on the wish list, but there are millions of books to choose from, and I suffer from decision fatigue. What would you choose of the list above? better yet, what would you recommend (my fiction tastes run to mysteries (just about every sub-genre), science fiction (the not too far in the future, not obviously alien type) and suspense)?
Let me know in the comments.
Sunday, March 02, 2014
February reads
It's been a dry month for reading. Not dry in the sense of dull, boring books, but dry in the sense that after a really good start, time got away from me after Valentine's Day. Here's the list for February:
As you may recall, I read Hugh Howey's Wool Omnibus in January. I like it so much, I read both of the follow up novels in February.
Shift (note both this and Dust are actually three novellas in one) is a prequel of sorts to Wool. It's difficult not to give anything away, but the origins of the world created in Wool are explored, and what you find out may shock you. If not for the events themselves, but for the fact that the tech discussed exists...right now.
Dust is the conclusion of the trilogy. Again, I don't want to give anything away, but you find out much, much more about the silos, the world outside, and the fate of the characters you've traveled with since Wool.
The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels - A Love Story by Ree Drummond. Light, autobiographical love story. I'd read the first part on Ree's website long ago, when she first wrote it. The book is edited and revised, carrying the story another year out. I needed something happy and light; I think I read it in less than 36 hours, in bits and pieces.
And that's it for February. Too much going on at work, the temptation of season three of A Game of Thrones to watch, and not quite sure which of the current five books in progress to finish first. Three of them are fairly weighty and long...I simply don't burn through nonfiction the way I do fiction (yeah, having to think slows me down a bit).
As you may recall, I read Hugh Howey's Wool Omnibus in January. I like it so much, I read both of the follow up novels in February.
Shift (note both this and Dust are actually three novellas in one) is a prequel of sorts to Wool. It's difficult not to give anything away, but the origins of the world created in Wool are explored, and what you find out may shock you. If not for the events themselves, but for the fact that the tech discussed exists...right now.
Dust is the conclusion of the trilogy. Again, I don't want to give anything away, but you find out much, much more about the silos, the world outside, and the fate of the characters you've traveled with since Wool.
The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels - A Love Story by Ree Drummond. Light, autobiographical love story. I'd read the first part on Ree's website long ago, when she first wrote it. The book is edited and revised, carrying the story another year out. I needed something happy and light; I think I read it in less than 36 hours, in bits and pieces.
And that's it for February. Too much going on at work, the temptation of season three of A Game of Thrones to watch, and not quite sure which of the current five books in progress to finish first. Three of them are fairly weighty and long...I simply don't burn through nonfiction the way I do fiction (yeah, having to think slows me down a bit).
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