Kicking off the New Year

Welcome 2012! I've been excited for the new year. Often I rather lament the quick passage of time and the turning of the page to the new year, but this year I was ready. A fresh start sounds wonderful after a rather roller-coaster of a year in 2011. So, here we are.

What are you reading in 2012? I haven't given too much thought to my reading list yet. Right now, I'm reading Still Alice by Lisa Genova. And, I have a stack from the library, plus my Christmas books.

You might notice that the list of books read in 2011 is no longer in the sidebar...well, it actually is, but now it is a link instead of the whole list. So, if you want to see what all I completed this past year, click on the Books 2011 link. The grand total was 93, I think. I really enjoyed keeping track this past year. As I look back over the list, I can remember what was happening around the time I read most of the books.

So, once I finish a book in 2012, you'll see the new list in sidebar.

I would love to hear what's on your list for this year!!

Christmas Books

It's that time of year again, time to reveal what was in the Christmas box of books!

This time I thought I would share via picture:

What we have here:
The Lovely Bones (this is actually the book I received in my book club book exchange...excited to read it.)
Grace for the Good Girl
V is for Vengeance
Doc
Explosive Eighteen

Not pictured, the five cookbooks I received: The Gourmet (magazine) Cookie Book, I Heart Trader Joe's Around the World, On a Stick, Pinches & Dashes (Wichita Jr. League), Ratio

Also worth mentioning: Phil received Steve Jobs, Counterfeit Gods, The Forgotten God and Unbroken.

Lots of good reading to be done! And hopefully some good eating as well.

Fall Into Reading Wrap-Up

As I sit amid 3-foot snow drifts, it's hard to believe that fall is only just now drawing to a close. I once again really enjoyed the Fall into Reading challenge hosted by Callapidder Days. And, I achieved some degree of success.

Of the 20 books on my list, I read 15 (actually, the 15th is one I will finish today). And, I read a fair number of non-fiction this time. In fact, of the 15, only 6 were fiction - A Trick of the Light, Tunnels, Joy for Beginners, One Dog Night, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, The Catcher in the Rye. Of those, both Joy for Beginners and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand were delightful. And, A Trick of the LIght was excellent. I really liked all of them.

The non-fiction on my list were also excellent - Unbroken was one of the best books I've read this year, as was One Thousand Gifts. Counterfeit Gods, The Good & Beautiful Life, The Forgotten God, Radical, and Kisses from Katie were all absolutely worth the read. Lost in Shangri-La was also good, but not quite the story that Unbroken was. Run with a Girl (book club) was the only one that wasn't really anything I would recommend to others.

Unread -

Game of Thrones - This one I did check out from the library and read a chapter or two. As much as I was hoping to like this series, I just didn't.

A Hole in our Gospel - one of these days...

In the Garden of Beasts - after reading 2 WWII books this fall, I thought this one was best saved for later.

The Summer We Got Saved - Just never got around to this one

The Good & Beautiful Community - This is one I hope to read early in 2012

I love this challenge. And, now I'm reading to move on to reading something else. Thanks to Callapidder Days for hosting. I can't wait to see how everyone else fared.

Fall into Reading - winding down

Just a few more days of the Fall into Reading Challenge. I've probably already said this, but by the end, I start really looking forward to reading something other than what I have listed. It's amazing how many other books come across my path in just a matter of months.

I hope to finish one more from my reading list (Radical by David Platt) before next Tuesday (I think that's the last day of the challenge). Just finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (December book club pick) and really enjoyed it. The story and the writing were delightful. And, before that, I, at long last, finished Tunnels.

I'll save my wrap-up post for when it's official...just wanted to get my progress chronicled on here a bit.

What to read next?
Here's what I have from the library:
Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos
2 Lynn Austin books
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
The Three Weismanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine
The Lies We Told by Diane Chamberlain

Books at home (that I own and haven't read and are high on my list):
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton
Soul Searching by Mindy Caliguire
Matched by Ally Condie
The Distant Hours by Kate Mortenson

From CJ's school library:
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson - read aloud??

Of course, I have all kinds of other projects I would like to/need to be working on...not sure when all this reading is going to happen.

RWR

As always, I ended up with more books from the library than I could read in the allotted time.

Returned without reading:
The Women
Bel Canto
The Candle in the Darkness
Fire by Night

Currently reading:
The Forgotten God

Still sitting on my shelf (or actually on my window seat):
Counterfeit Gods
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
The Lies We Told
The Three Weissmanns of Westport
Grace-Based Parenting
The Reason for God

At Long Last

I read "The Catcher in the Rye". Last week, we had a couple of rainy days and it seemed like the perfect weather to sit down a read this particular book. It was good, but I probably need to talk to an English teacher to really understand what the significance of the book is and why it's been so enduring. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read it.

Others that I've finished:
A Trick of the Light - Louise Penney's latest in her Inspector Gamache series. I think her books just keep getting better and better. If you like cozy mysteries, check her out.
The Good & Beautiful Life - the second of James Bryan Smith's three books. So good. I would like to read this in a group at some point.
Lost in Shangri-La - This is November's book club book.

#20

You know how I said that if I had realized there were 19 books on my Fall into Reading list I would have added another. Well, my small group had a reading assignment, so I'm making that #20.

Kisses from Katie is the story of Katie Davis, a young woman from Tennessee who moved to Uganda and is living an amazing story there. A friend's husband described her as a modern day Mother Teresa. I think he's right. And the thing is, she's just obeying God and He is really the one doing amazing things through her. She is in the process of adopting thirteen girls and impacts hundreds more through the non-profit she has started.

The book tells the story of how she got there and why she's stayed. The way she lives is challenging to say the least. The exciting thing, though, is that we all have the opportunity to impact lives like she is. The co-author wrote this at the beginning of the book:
"...I've noticed something about people who want to make a difference in the world: They hold the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every life matters...They don't do anything to call attention to themselves, they simply pay attention to the everyday needs of others, even if it's only one person." Wow. You and I can do that too.