For the Record: February 2016

I'm afraid I might be in a reading slump. It began with audio books. Unfortunately, it began with The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy that I started listening to for the sole purpose of hearing Alan Rickman's voice. In retrospect, maybe not the best idea. But I thought, hey! I'll get a classic read at the same time as I'm fan-girling over Rickman's voice! No. Not really.  More of a time to space out and have no idea what I just listened to for the last 20 minutes.

So then I tried the audio of Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash and The Green Road by Anne Enright and now The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell...at what point do I throw in the towel? Maybe I need an audiobook break. Maybe I need to choose lighter listening.

I'm having a hard time picking out physical books too. I'll pull something off my shelf, read 20 pages, and put it back on my shelf. I feel like I want to read something substantial, but then I won't be able to focus on it. I may need to do what my 11yo daughter has been doing and force myself outside every day to focus on some reading.

Also depressing in the book department is a project I took on to help my former bookstore. There were around 800 books that they were unable to sell, return to the publisher, or find places to donate to. So I took the books, and have been finding new homes for them little by little. The problem is that almost all are obscure, outdated, or marked as a remainder from the publisher for good reason. It is more than plain why the store was struggling to stay open. They often spoke about the lack of capital to invest in current stock, and I now I understand why I'd walk into the store and not find a single thing of interest. Surely low stock would have been better than all this filler? It is disheartening.


7 Books Read in February [14 books year-to-date]

2 NonFiction:
  - My Struggle (Book One), Karl Ove Knausgard (4.5) I don't know that this is technically considered nonfiction as it is more of a memoir, but that's where I'm putting it. I'm not a big memoir fan because I'm worried they'll be shallow or pretentious. Knausgard goes almost the opposite direction. He is so introspective that it is easy to imagine a reader becoming impatient. While this wasn't compulsive reading for me, I did become consumed while reading. There were a couple of slower parts, but his deep observations made up for that. The first pages of the book immediately jump into a contemplation on death (a topic near at hand throughout much of the volume) which will give you a pretty quick idea whether you will enjoy his writing or not. If you've been considering reading this but aren't sure, spend a few minutes reading the first few pages and I think you'll know!
  - Fever at Dawn, Peter Gardos (4) This was sent as a review copy in my Powell's Indiespensable box, and is a beautiful tribute to the Hungarian film-maker's parents: survivors of the Holocaust who fight the odds to build a life together. It was simple and sweet, but also complex and sad.

2 Junior Fiction:
  - Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder (4.5) My entire memory of this as a childhood read was disappointment that Laura was nowhere to be found. I'm happy to say that this feeling was completely changed upon rereading it aloud to my daughter.
  - Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder (4.5) This is the book that started my infatuation with pioneers. I have to say that it didn't feel quite as magical re-reading it after re-reading Farmer Boy, but the nostalgia is real.

3 Fiction:
  - We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler (4) I had such a strange experience with the first half of this book - coincidence upon coincidence piled up until I was almost sure that Fowler was a pseudonym for one of my friend's brothers: I was certain that the book was by him and about their family. Such a very odd experience. Aside from that, I found it very enjoyable. The family is quirky but the story is touching. There is some animal rights activism in the book, but I didn't find that it dominated the book—it wasn't condemning or accusatory but rather served as a way to add depth to the characters and help you understand their dynamics.
  - Mr. Splitfoot, Samantha Hunt (3.5) Very entertaining read selected by the team at Powell's Books for their Indiespensable program. I didn't find that it stuck with me very long or made me think very deeply, but it was well written and kept me turning pages.
  - Ready Player One, Ernest Cline (2) This was not my jam. I began reading it because it was my current book club pick and that ended up being the thing that kept me reading. My husband, a technology lover and gamer read it last year and wound up feeling ambivalence. (He's a fan of serious science fiction, and it bothered him that this story was completely implausible.) The [lack of] writing quality made it land securely in the lower-than-average zone for me. It felt like one long list of '80s references, which had me rolling my eyes, (partly because it isn't my favorite decade to begin with, partly because it wasn't done well,) but the hardest part for me was the feeling like my 17yo son was 5 again and talking endlessly about all the details of all the obscure video games he had been playing. I'd say a love of the 1980s is a prerequisite here, and an interest in video games or dystopias a definite plus. It would make a better movie than a book.

            


Current Reads:
  - A People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn. I'm somewhat stalled out in the middle of this book, as it seems to be detailing strike after strike and I'm a little afraid to look ahead and see how many more pages will be more of the same. The writing has been pretty captivating and filled with many interesting facts, but I just need to give myself a kick with the virtual spurs to keep on keeping on.
  - The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell. I started this on audio because the narrator on the sample was impressive, and the physical book is on my physical shelf from a past Powell's Indispensable shipment and I thought this would be a good way to get it read. However.  This is a strange book. Maybe Mitchell is just like this? I'm having a hard time retaining interest in this one, and I've another 21 hours of listening left.
  - Lady Constance Lytton: Aristocrat, Suffragette, Martyr, Lyndsey Jenkins. I have been so excited to read this book, as Lyndsey was a book-blog-friend of mine and I love that her book has been well received in the UK. I'm enjoying it and feel that it is a perfect companion piece to the recent film Suffragette.

    

New Books This Month:
I honestly didn't think I'd purchase any books in February, but then my 17yo son needed a study guide for his AP US History class, and I needed a book to start writing my homeschool curriculum for next year. The next thing I know, it may as well be Christmas. I can't resist buying books for my kiddos.

For me: History of Britain and Ireland.
For my 17yo son: The Count of Monte Cristo and The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
For my 15yo daughter: The Iliad and the Odyssey.
For my 11yo daughter: the Percy Jackson series, the Hogwarts Library, and Jurassic Park.

            

For the Record: January 2016 (plus New Orleans!)

Welcome to 2016! It sure seems like the year is off to a rough start, both with celebrity deaths, political shenanigans, and what not. I'm still holding out hope that 2015 just couldn't fit it all in and it's about to turn around.

On the personal side of life, January was a slog. My husband was gone most of the month, here and there for work and other things. My high school kiddos had semester finals, and my 11yo daughter's horse trainer announced she was moving out of state. Overshadowing all of that was the fog that comes when one big (huge) project is finishing (our remodel) and no new goals or projects have surfaced. So that's my February goal: find a new mission!

I did get to join my husband on one of his trips. He had a trade convention to attend in New Orleans, which is somewhere we've long wanted to visit. The food was good, the music was great, and the crowd was crazy. We saw a couple of Mardi Gras parades without much hassle, as we were staying in the French Quarter, and toured the Garden District before leaving. I was surprised how run-down the city was and  have been wondering if that is characteristic to the city historically, or if it is due to a slow recovery from Katrina? Anyone know? I was reminded of Ignatius from Confederacy of Dunces the whole trip. I might need to reread that book this year.

On the bookish front, January was a pretty good month. I've been writing more and blogging more, which feels great. I've been getting the urge to reorganize my bookshelves (already!) but have put my efforts towards cleaning up my LibraryThing records instead.


I love being able to see all my books, and have gone full-library-nerd and labeled my books if they were prize-winners or ones I need to read. Having them all on display means I don't keep many books cued up on my nightstand, and also that I don't have huge book-buying urges like I did when they were all packed away and I was too busy to read. There are so many great options on my shelves!


7 Books Read in January [7 books year-to-date]

1 NonFiction:
  - The Old West, Stephen Hyslop (4) My husband got me this lovely book for Christmas. It has tons of beautiful illustrations, and a good proportion of Indian history to white history. I loved all the little mini-biographies and read straight through the book, although it would be nearly as enjoyable to flip through and read bit by bit.

2 Junior Fiction:
  - Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, Jean Lee Latham (3.5) I was not expecting to like this biographical novel about one of America's most important navigators - oceans aren't my favorite thing - but I was pleasantly surprised.  I'm sure it was better because I read it aloud to my daughter (she enjoyed it) but overall it was both educating and entertaining.
  - Moccasin Trail, Eloise Jarvis McGraw (4) This is my second time reading this book and I just love it. I love how you get a picture of 19th century American life from the perspectives of the Indians, the trappers, as well as the settlers. Such an interesting contrast. Even better, there is a good look at why it is important to explore why we react as we do, and notice how our actions affect others.

1 Classic:
  - Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert (3.5) I picked this up on a whim - it was just so pretty sitting on my shelf. It was an interesting contrast/comparison to The Awakening by Kate Chopin, but in the end, as with The Awakening, I quickly tired of the shallow flightiness of the main character. Flaubert's writing, on the other hand, was enjoyable.

3 Fiction:
  - Smilla's Sense of Snow, Peter Hoeg (3) My book club pick was a novel in translation from the Danish, first published in 1992. There were some lovely poetic parts, though it ended up being too "action movie" for my tastes. We had some good discussion about whether the author succeeded in writing from a female point of view, and we all appreciated the look at Greenland, the native Greenlander's life, and the strained relationship between Greenland and Denmark.
  - The Girl You Left Behind, Jojo Moyes (4) This was the third book by Moyes that I've read (the other two were for book club: Me Before You and One Plus One) and I enjoyed this the most of the three. I bought it on a whim at the same time I purchased the first one, because the WWI topic was interesting. I thought the romance in this book was a little more natural, and the book overall felt less emotionally manipulative than her others. I liked the history aspect, and appreciated that her character introductions were a little less chaotic.
  - News of the World, Paulette Jiles (4.5) I actually blogged about this book! (Yay me!) This was certainly my favorite read of the month, and is one that has stuck with me since reading it. It's a small book, but super substantial as far as characters, setting, history, and language. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the old west.

            


Current Reads:
  - A People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn. I've been on a US history kick. That's what we are studying in homeschool, and my son is in a AP US History class, so we have all kinds of great discussions. My dad is also a a US history buff so we have some great conversations. This one is definitely interesting, as it is written from the unpopular point of view: the poor and downtrodden, the underdog. It is, obviously, biased. But it's a perfect contrast to traditional history tellings and really helps to round out the perspective a bit.
  - Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder. I haven't read this since elementary school, but thought it might be a fun read now. As a girl, I only remember being frustrated that Laura wasn't in this, as she was who I was in love with. Reading it now, without that expectation, is a much better experience. It sure seems a lovely life!
  - We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler. I actually haven't read more than the first sentence, but this is what I'll be reading as soon as I find a free moment.

    

New Books This Month:
Here's what I saved from my local independent bookstore's closing sale, as well as another couple I found at Barnes and Noble when I went there to try to cheer myself up about Apostrophe Books. I don't think it helped, but I'm looking forward to the new adventures anyhow.

        

News of the World - Paulette Jiles

We tend to think of history in rather finite units, as if each event or crisis was limited to a number of years or physical location wholly independent of other events. As such, it is often the connections that astonish us: the realization that the 1890s saw not only Indian massacres (Wounded Knee) and a gold rush (Klondike) but also early automobiles and moving pictures: things from seemingly different times. Add to those events the thought that this was when Sherlock Holmes and The Time Machine were published, the Olympics were reinstated, and yet the American Civil War had ended a mere 25 years before.

Into some version of this post-Civil War America, Paulette Jiles has drawn a picture of Texas and how the advance of technology meets the Old West. With the wireless telegraph making international news closer than ever before, it might be tempting to think the world was a newly modern place as a whole. In many areas, however, news of the world may as well have been fairy tales for how fantastic it seemed.

Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd makes his living by traveling through Texas, reading national and international news to a paying audience. He is feeling his age, and wants nothing more than to put war behind him and live a peaceful life. This is not to happen yet, however, as he soon finds himself faced with a challenge: transporting a young orphan girl to her relatives from whom she had been kidnapped by Kiowa raiders four years before. Ten-year-old Johanna has no interest in leaving her Indian family—she has no memory of life before the Kiowa—but she doesn't have a choice: the Kiowa have traded her in for some much needed supplies and the promise of peace.

I came to love Cpt. Kidd and the way he cared for Johanna. I loved how his mind would wander back to memories of his wife and thoughts of his daughters and forward to what his future might hold. I loved the sights and sounds of the Old West, a land fraught with tension and resentment and a severe lack of leadership. I loved the peek into the Kiowa approach to life and watching Johanna's strengths and weaknesses. I loved the writing. It was a perfect combination of action and introspection.

Loss of reputation and the regard of our fellow persons is in any society, from Iceland to Malaysia, a terrible blow to the spirit. It is worse than being penniless and more cutting than the blades of enemies.

In many ways I was reminded of True Grit while reading this. Every character was unique and vivid, and yet a certain spare, desolate quality permeated the landscape. Small in size but big in heart, this book is one to share and reread.

it's a sad day in my book world

Two sad pieces of news hit my book world today. The first was a headline I read when opening my new app this morning about Alan Rickman. He will always be Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility to me (and Prof. Snape to my daughter). His voice was just something to bask in, wasn't it? Turns out, he recorded Thomas Hardy's Return of the Native, so that will be my next audio book. And Sense and Sensibility may just be the movie of the night.



The other piece of sad news hit my email inbox regarding my local independent bookshop. They've been struggling for quite some time, and apparently the holiday sales weren't enough of a boost to keep them rolling. (Neither were all of my book purchases apparently!) It saddens me that my city of nearly a half million people is unable to support a single independent bookstore. We have a couple used book stores and two branches of Barnes & Noble, but it just isn't quite the same. Some day I'd love to live in a literary city. For now, I'm in the process of deciding which neighboring store will be my new local/mail order store.

Sigh. Sad day.

2016 Goals and Ambitions

My main goal for 2016 is to begin writing again. Since that is a highly focused and creative process for me, it is something that fell by the wayside as my home remodel usurped more and more of my time in the last few years, and is something I'm keen to get back to.

I haven't stipulated what type of writing specifically I want to be doing, because at this point my goal is simply to write. At least five days a week. Even if it's something that no one else will ever see. However, it's only natural that one of my main outlets should be my blog. As such, I've done some preliminary thinking on some humble aspirations.

Continue with my monthly wrap-up posts.
     This kept me sane during my house remodel. Whatever else was happening, I at least had a brief time once a month when I could reflect on how I'd spent those rare free moments. When life was especially stressful and I was tempted to stop blogging altogether in order to eliminate something from my plate, I would remind myself: this is one thing I do for me.

Write at least one book review each month.
     I don't even remember the last book review I wrote, and that is one of the things that I loved about blogging from the beginning: the chance to really think through something I'd read and share it with others. It might be my favorite read of the month, or a book that provided especially stimulating thought and conversation, or a book that just needs a rant.

Quarterly Inbox posts.
    I had started this at the beginning of 2015, just as a way to see how many books I purchased and whether I read them immediately or not. I stopped mid-year after moving house a gazillion times and losing all my brain cells, but I think I'm emerging from the zombie zone and am going to give it another shot.

Quarterly Knitting posts.
     Often when I read, I'm also knitting (or have knitting nearby) and I thought it would be a fun thing to track every now and again. I also have a passion for quilting, but since that is also (in addition to writing) a highly focused and creative process, I find the time for it much less often than I do for knitting, which is more of a craft than an art for me.


In addition to these blog posts, I'm going to make a concentrated effort to visit all of your blogs and keep up with what is going on with you. I know that some of my old blogging friends have moved on to other things. While that saddens me, I also know that there are friends out there waiting to be found, and that's exciting.

On the reading front, I have set a goal of 75 books for 2016. I'd like at least 12 to be some sort of classic and 12 to be some sort of nonfiction. I'm also going to try to read from my shelves, since I finally have all my books on display and there are quite a few that are still waiting to be read and are calling to me.

I always want to add more goals at the beginning of the year, but I'm going to stop here since I know that even these will be a challenge. I do like a good deadline though! Happy reading to you all, hopefully we'll be chatting soon.

2015: Year in Review

On one hand, I'm having a hard time believing this year is finally coming to an end. On the other hand, this year has felt like its been two or three times as long as usual so I'm eager to get on with a new year! My house project is finally done so maybe I can get back to whatever it was I used to do before we started. Blogging perhaps?

Biggest success this year?  Reading what I felt like, when I felt like. Letting go of most of my reading goals ended up being a good thing.

Biggest goal for 2016? Apart from being more involved in my blog, (I've resolved to write more this year in general,) I'd like to focus on reading titles from my shelves now that I finally have my books all in one place.

84 books read in 2015 - More than the last two years, color me surprised!

• 21.5% NONFICTION (18 books) 4.5% up from 2014
• 45% ADULT FICTION (38 books) 9% down from 2014
• 21.5% JUNIOR/TEEN FICTION (18 books) 14.5% down from 2014
• 12% CLASSICS (10 books) 3% up from 2014

20 books WRITTEN BEFORE I WAS BORN
12 books WRITTEN THIS YEAR
9 "CHUNKSTERS" (450+ pages)

TOP FIVE of 2014:
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (funny, complex characters and vivid setting)
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (wonderfully told history)
The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor (introspective and evocative of person and place)
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (perfectly told Civil War history)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (atmospheric and captivating)

    

TOP RATED BOOKS BY GENRE:
Nonfiction:
5 stars:
  - The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson
  - Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
  - The Landmark History of the American People, Vol. I, Daniel Boorstin
4.5 stars:
  - The Lexicographer's Dilemma, Jack Lynch
  - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo
  - Dead Wake, Erik Larson

Classics:
5 stars:
  - Main Street, Sinclair Lewis
  - Mary Barton, Elizabeth Gaskell
4.5 stars:
  - The Optimist's Daughter, Eudora Welty

Adult Fiction:
5 stars:
  - We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson
  - The Edge of Sadness, Edwin O'Connor
  - The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara
4.5 stars:
  - The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
  - Wolf Winter, Cecilia Eckback
  - The Martian, Andy Weir

Junior/Teen Fiction:
5 stars:
  - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien
4.5 stars:
  - Tuesdays at the Castle, Jessica Day George

For the Record: December 2015

I thought I'd give this month a proper wrap-up before I start diving into the huge (and hugely fun) end-of-year stats. This December was more of a blur than usual, since the whole family had a terrible cold/flu for a couple weeks, as well as cramming in the final construction for our house before our epic housewarming party on the 12th. Boy am I glad that is behind me! Looking back through my month I realized I hadn't written down anything I read (highly unusual for me!) but I think I pieced it all together.

4 Books Read in December [83 books year-to-date]

2 for Home School:
  - The Landmark History of the American People Volume I, Daniel Boorstin (5) I didn't much like the older version of this book, but the new edition with its beautiful illustrations has been a wonderful resource to use with my 6th grader. One really gets a sense of how life was, why things developed as they did, and the sense of speed with which progress was made.
  - The Lewis and Clark Expedition, Richard L. Neuberger (3) Much more boring than it needed to be (it literally put multiple people to sleep). If I'd known, we would have watched the Ken Burns documentary instead.

1 for Book Club:
  - Lila, Marilynne Robinson (4) I liked this better than Gilead, though that may be partly because I had some history with the story. Touching and thoughtful, and masterfully crafted.

1 Other:
  - The Night Watch, Sarah Waters (3.5) Enjoyable, but not as much depth as I was hoping for. A little too much relied on the relationships rather than the characters themselves.

      


Current Reads:
  - Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett. I'm still enjoying my current audiobook, even though I'm not much for the explicit scenes. I like the time period and the story.
  - The Old West, Stephen G. Hyslop. The one book I got for Christmas. It's more of a coffee table book, with lots of illustrations and text divided into tidbits, but I'm enjoying it.
  - Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, Jean Lee Latham. Current read-aloud to my 11yo daughter to go along with our history studies.