One More Year of Reading
It has been a year since I last wrote a blog post. The choir girl in me starts humming “Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes” as soon as I think the words “a year.”
I don’t measure my years in daylights or sunsets or cups of coffee, although I observe, draw, and inhale many of them. This last year was measured in inches grown by my thirteen-year-old, new words spoken by my two-year-old, and the birth of a new baby… and, as always, a lot of books.
After my last post, I re-read the Hunger Games series. I still like it. I hated the prequel fourth book. Naturally, after spending a lot of time discussing totalitarian governments with my middle schooler, I read Larry Correia’s In Defense of the Second Amendment. Everyone should give that one a go. Correia is great.
I read a lot of crap while I was pregnant, at least in the barfing phase. I started purging my shelves of things that I had accumulated for free or cheap over the years but never read. If you haven’t been in the mood to read it in a decade, four moves, and as many 1,000 volume plus purges… you probably don’t want to read the book. I’ve been reading a lot of those books, and giving them away. I’ve donated about a box of books per month this last year, and I plan to keep going. We have exactly the number of bookshelves we will ever have in this house and they are beyond full. Now I curate. I replace the chaff with the gold. I have a lot of “gold” already, I have already decided I do not have the time, patience, or meanness left to write all the bad reviews I have floating in my head. This is not the season of cotton candy fiction, and it shows in my star ratings. This is a season of meat, the books I never want to let go. Still, I’m alternating between reading things I might want to let go with things I know I never will, and organizing my overcrowded shelves of chaos as I do.
In July, two months before I had my third baby, I discovered The Literary Life Podcast. I also discovered that the majority of the books they cover I had either already read before or already owned. I started listening to the podcast voraciously. Around the third trimester of all my pregnancies, my mind begins to “itch,” I start studying anything and everything. My mind can’t be still. I have to learn when there is a baby on the way. The truth is, I’m perpetually desperate for a book club or to go back to school and earn a few useless degrees, and the Lit Life group is the next best thing.
I loved Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers. It was not one of the Lord Peter Wimsey’s that I had read before the podcast, so that was a real treat. I started re-reading all my G. K. Chesterton titles because they talk about him quite a bit. I was teaching Saint Francis of Assisi, so I read Chesterton’s biography. Surprised by Oxford by Weber came up, so I had to read that one as well. I still haven’t seen the movie, but I would like to. I moved all my Inklings-related titles to my bedroom, so they’d be closer to me when I was nursing. I’ve now listened to over a hundred podcast episodes.
The baby came nearly a month before she was due. She’s perfect. She’s an infant wrapped in a blanket of E. M. Forster stories, C. S. Lewis essays, and Shakespeare plays. My oldest helps set the tone of our homeschool as we study together, and the two-year-old interrupts to have us read to him as well. We are a house of books, and it is my dream come true. I’ve been reading something by Madeleine L’Engle at all times and decided to do it until I’ve read all her work.
I bought Cindy Rollins’s Morning Time book, and have implemented a more consistent and orderly way of doing ours. Her thoughtful reminders and lists have been a blessing. That led to us also using her Hallelujah book for advent. It’s truly lovely and I have enjoyed incorporating fine arts into our worship this way, as I always thought they should go hand in hand.
I will try to write more than once a year. As it is, this post is hardly about anything at all, other than I noticed it was February 15th and that I hadn’t written one since last February 15th. I will try to write something thoughtful about the books I have read another day, but I will admit it isn’t my priority these days. I keep this blog because I have always kept it, but my children are in my care for only so long and I am a homeschool mom. We have reading to do. When I remember, I will share it with you.
Avoiding Blunders in Book Scouting
People frequently bring books to offer for sale to us at Old Scrolls Book Shop, or e-mail us about books they would like to sell. Some people have inherited these books, others are downsizing or cleaning out their attic, and some have scoured book sales, flea markets, book stores and antique shops searching for books they can resell at a profit. We have a few regulars who are quite good at book scouting, but this is a talent that takes time and effort to develop, and some of the instinct for it, I believe, is inborn. The best book scouts tend to be those who have been serious readers all of their lives, who then have been diligent in acquiring and applying knowledge regarding identifying books of value.
One of the most common mistakes for beginners, perhaps, is picking up common old reprints of famous books. Important titles seem to…
View original post 1,105 more words
Everything You Need to Know about ‘The Lost Legends’
I’m so excited about this new anthology. So many of my favorites are featured within the pages.
What is it?The Lost Legends: Tales of Myth and Magic is a collection of short stories I’ve put together. It’s filled with new writing by some very talented authors (some you may have heard of) and a little storytelling of my own even managed to get in there.
Yeah, but what’s it about? It’s a fantasy anthology, so every story contains some magic. Some of them resemble a Lord of the Rings setting, while others could take place down the street from you. There’s even one about a vampire.
When does it release? August 27.
Is it an e-book, or a real book I can hold in my hands? Both!
Can I pre-order?Yes, go get it right now!
Pre-Order? What’s that? If you’re a Kindle user, pre-ordering means you buy it now and it magically shows up on your device on release day. And writers love pre-orders. (This…
View original post 248 more words
Relax and Unwind with A. K. Klemm’s Lily Hollow Novellas
I love hearing from fans and fellow bibliophiles about The Bookshop Hotel series!
A. K. Klemm’s Bookshop Hotel series will make you nostalgic for small-town America where everyone knows everyone’s business and nothing ever changes. This pair of novellas takes us to Lily Hollow, where our protagonist, AJ, opens up a bookstore that doubles as a hotel. Quirky townfolk invade the narrative, and AJ is always up to her short chin in local drama.
Both books reminded me of shows like Doc Martin or Northern Exposure, where friendly, colorful locals flood each scene with their idiosyncrasies. There’s a cranky woman running a book club who becomes obsessed with hats. An out-of-place teenager who hangs out with old people. Couples finding love well into their golden years. All of it wrapped up in charming dialog, similar to something out of Jojo Moyes.
While the setting is warm and wistful, the stories don’t lack for drama and conflict. What do you do when an…
View original post 100 more words
Week 1 Summary
Because homeschooling rocks my world, and I love my honorable mention… 🙂
This was our first week of CC (Classical Conversations) and because we were out of town for a large chunk of the previous week I chose to start school alongside the CC year. From what I gather, there are 1,001 ways to manage your Classical Conversations educational style (if there is such a thing as hardcore hippie homeschooling mamas, then I have met them now…they are all wearing shoes, but boldly declare you should teach the way that is best for your children. Something you would think is the bedrock of every homeschooling community but from my experience is not).
One of my son’s many gifts, and perhaps the one that comes most effortlessly to him, is the ability to memorize information quickly. CC is based off a lot of memorization and in class they teach little songs and chants to help the kiddos learn even before they are old…
View original post 724 more words
So far in 2016…
- City of Ember – DuPrau (January) *
It took awhile for me to read City of Ember out loud to the kiddo, but she loved it. I loved it. Both of us were enthralled with the city under the ground. The most beautiful aha moments when the story peeled it’s way back and made itself known were written all over my five year old’s face, and I loved watching her discover the patterns of storytelling. I highly recommend this book for children, but I especially recommend it as a family read a-loud.
- Last Child in the Woods – Louv (February)
This book is my motto and mantra for parenting and has been long before I read it or knew about it. It’s truly the only parenting book I’ve read so far that I think is worth a darn. And it’s not just worth a darn, it’s amazing, and should be read by every citizen of the planet Earth, or at least America where we’ve succumbed to too many silly rules. I read this back in February, but now in May I still find myself thinking about it as we now live on a golf course ironically named Walden, where the rolling hills and ponds are not for playing in or experiencing first hand, but for driving by in a cart (walkers are looked at funny).
- One Day in the Woods – Jean Craighead George (February) *
Charlotte Mason curriculum followers look for Jean Craighead George in the bookstore often. Specifically these One Day titles that I rarely see. I snatched this one up the second I came across it and it was a joy to read it with my little girl. We love the woods. We love discovering the woods. And although I don’t follow Charlotte Mason thoroughly, this is definitely a wise educational choice for someone wanting to raise their kid as close to the natural world as they can.
- Pym – Mat Johnson (February) #
Bizarre, and I loved it. Mat Johnson is snarky and clever, and thoroughly well educated. I found myself riveted by the idea of Edgar Allen Poe’s little known novella having a basis of truth. I found the not-so-mythical Pym amusing and the creatures encountered in the depths of the snow a fascinating take on social commentary and dealing with racism. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but worth the time of every student of social customs, genetics, and race relations.
- Power of a Praying Wife & Power of a Praying Parent- Omartian (February)
I was encouraged to read this by a marriage counselor in our area. In some ways it’s great, pray for your spouse, constantly. That’s a good message. Some of the how to’s, however, were a little bit out of not just my comfort zone but my belief system as well. About 3/4 into the book, if I remember currently, Omartian just seems to begin to embrace a lot of fluff Christian mysticism, putting power in anointments and rituals as much as in the prayers themselves. And that is not where power lies. Power lies with God alone, not oils being sprinkled on your family’s belongings.
- The Sterile Cuckoo – John Nichols (February)
I cried pretty early in the book. I still have not seen the movie starring Liza Minelli, but it is on my list of things to watch eventually. Sometimes I feel so much like Pookie in my soul, it’s scary.
- The Gardener’s Year – Karel Capek (February)
I find gardening memoirs exceptionally soothing. This one was no exception.
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Gaiman (February) #
This book was a joint read in a book club with my co-workers at Half Price Book (as was Pym). I had posted a review written by someone else on my blog that Neil Gaiman himself read. I adore this book, and will probably read it again and again for years to come. But I cannot write a review that does it justice, nor one that competes with the review already posted here. Hers was heartfelt and lovely, and mine could not capture that level of personal involvement no matter how hard I try. It would take me years to write something half as eloquent (and I’m speaking of both the book itself and the review).
The nonfiction book we are reading along with this one is The Ocean of Life. Topically, some mythology criticism would be more appropriate, but I was moved by the word ocean and therefore thought I’d read about bodies of water in general.
- The Last Kingdom – Bernard Cornwell (February)
- The Pale Horseman – Bernard Cornwell (March)
- Lords of the North – Bernard Cornwell (March)
- Sword Song – Bernard Cornwell (April)
- The Burning Land – Bernard Cornwell (April)
I am so in love with the Saxon Series by Bernard Cornwell that I have written a novelette as an ode to Uhtred. You’ll just have to download it when the ebook is released. Right now it’s in the hands of my publisher awaiting either a blessing or the axe.
Currently, I’m reading Death of Kings. Also, if anyone knows of a great biography on Alfred the Great or any of his children, I’d love to check it out, especially come this fall as our homeschooling ventures move into the Middle Ages.
- The Castle in the Attic – Elizabeth Winthrop (March) *
The Castle in the Attic was a childhood favorite of mine, I was so excited to read it to the kiddo. We enjoyed our time fighting evil magicians and venturing on a quest together, and I look forward to reading her the sequel.
- The Opposite of Loneliness – Marina Keegan (March)
Marina Keegan was a writer of significant merit before she died far too young. I find her series of essays, published by her teachers and family after her death, inspiring. She was diligent. She had a goal to develop her craft and be a better writer every day than the day before. I admire that and if there is any stamp she left on the world, it is absolutely that diligence is something to respect and aspire to. She was also, apparently, Harold Bloom’s research assistant. I officially want to be someone’s research assistant, I hope at the age of 32 it’s not too late for me to add that to my bucket list. Anyone willing to show me the ropes?
- Corruption – Camille Norton (March)
When I was in my twenties, I found most poetry pretentious. It annoyed me to read a lot of it. Sure, there’s beauty in it, but I did not have the true respect for it that I have now. The older I get, the more I enjoy the concise manner of poetry. How someone can have the fortitude to dwindle their words down to only the most beautiful elements and retain meaning. Maybe it is social media and the realization on twitter that saying something truly profound and lovely in few words is indeed hard. So, the older I get, the more often I find myself plucking up poetry books. Edna St. Vincent Millay and Housman are my favorites, but Camille Norton has great talent and is worth keeping an eye on. I look forward to discovering more of her work. (Currently, I’m falling in love with Pablo Neruda, I know, I’m so very late to this party.)
- Warm Bodies – Isaac Marion (April)
Still my favorite zombie movie, so fun! But it was an even better book. Marion is funny and brilliant. The Gray’s Anatomy excerpts at the beginning of each chapter were an especially nice touch. I read this on my lunch breaks at work, and it was just the thing I needed to enjoy a rest between a lot of hard work. People think bookstore jobs are leisurely, and they can be, but I work my tail off. Seriously, I used to have a sizable ass, now I can’t find it anymore…
- Endurance – Lansing (March) #
I like to read nonfiction books alongside my fiction books. I alternate and pair up topics and bounce around genres like a rabid animal hungry for words, words, more words. Nonfiction always, naturally, takes me longer to read than the fiction counterparts. This was paired with Pym, for its arctic scenery and lost on a journey scenario. It’s fascinating, until its not. I tore through a good chunk of the book and then couldn’t force myself to finish to save my life, until I did one day. Like the members of the crew, I found myself in a state of listless drudgery. Being lost isn’t fun. The play by play was accurate and thorough, and a little bit painful. Glad I read it though. Wouldn’t necessarily encourage anyone else to.
- Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore – Robin Sloan (April)
A bookstore, a secret society, and data. My heart went pitter patter. And the cover glows in the dark. Seriously, how could a book be any more awesome?
- His Majesty’s Dragon – Novik (May) #
Napoleonic Wars with DRAGONS. THAT TALK. This pleased me to no end. Also, it’s a series, so expect to hear more from me on the subject. It’s also one of the co-worker read a-alongs with a nonfiction pairing book club picks, so later this year expect me to happily share a (hopefully) good history title.
- The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern (May) #
This book started out good, and slowly became AMAZING. So lovely and beautiful. Despite the present tense that I hate, Morgenster’s writing voice is wonderful. It’s unique, but grounded. She gives you all the detail without overselling any of it, just a taste so that your imagination may run wild. There’s a teaser toward the end regarding a museum… I’m curious if she’ll ever elaborate on that. In the meantime, I think I’ll be picking up The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman. It seems like an appropriate book to follow the mood… Also, I’ll be reading Under the Big Top by Bruce Feiler, as this is another pairing selection that I’m reading along with others. I’m also eyeing Topsy by Michael Daly and a biography of Barnum. I might just run away with a circus this year…
Since February…
I cannot believe it has been two months since I have posted a single thing. In my defense, I have read quite a bit, moved into a new house, built a kitchen garden from scratch, been working the bookstore full time, homeschooling the kiddo, working on my third novel, wrote a novelette, and…
I’ve been incredibly busy.
As are most of you, I am sure.
Oh yes, I’ve fallen in love with Bernard Cornwell. That has happened. If you ever enjoy historical fiction, dive into the Saxon Tales. They are well worth your while, beginning with The Last Kingdom.
…More eloquent and engaging updates to come, hopefully… maybe… I’ll be picking up my reviewing habits come May and have some news as to whether this novelette shall see the world.
My Life in Literature Meme
Piggy-backing off of A World of Randomness who apparently piggy-backed off me, which I’m sure I ripped off someone else at some point… It seems we book bloggers love revisiting this bit of fun every year.
Using only books you have read this last year (2015), answer these questions. Try not to repeat a book title.
Describe yourself: A Scattered Life (Karen McQuestion)
How do you feel: Screw-jack (Thompson)
Describe where you currently live: Paper Towns (John Green)
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Haunted Bookshop (Morley)
Your favorite form of transportation: Bombardier Beetles and Fever Trees (Agosta)
Your best friend is: Wild (Strayed) [Not really, it’s just the only thing that seemed to fit.]
You and your friends are: Looking for Me (Hoffman)
What is the best advice you have to give: How to Build an Android (Duffy)
What’s the weather like: Rain (Kirsty Gunn) / Storm Front (Jim Butcher)
You fear: Everything I Never Told You (Ng)
Thought for the day: It’s About Time (Evers)
How I would like to die: Peace Like a River (Enger)
My soul’s present condition: A Grief Observed (C.S. Lewis)
My Complete 2015 Reading List is as follows (kid /young adult chapter books were read aloud to the kiddo):
1. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice – Laurie R. King
2. Serendipities: Language & Lunacy – Umberto Eco
3. The Haunted Bookshop – Christopher Morley
4. The Death of Woman Wang – Jonathan Spence
5. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe – C. S. Lewis
6. Magic Tree House #20 – Mary Pope Osborn
7. One Hundred & One Dalmatians – Dodie Smith
8. Guide to Wild Foods & Useful Plants – Nyerges
9. A Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin
10. The Excellent Wife – Martha Peace
11. Garden Crafts for Kids – Diane Rhoads
12. The Homeschool Life – Andrea Schwartz
13. The Gardener’s Bed Book – Wright
14. Wild – Cheryl Strayed
15. One Woman Farm – Woginrich
16. The Quarter Acre Farm- Spring Warren
17. Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
18. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch – Philip K. Dick
19. Here’s Your Hat, What’s Your Hurry – Elizabeth McCracken
20. Dirty Pretty Things – Michael Faudet
21. How Reading Changed My Life – Anna Quindlen
22. The Penultimate Truth – Philip K. Dick
23. Observations on the River Wye – Gilpin
24. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick
25. Bombardier Beetles and Fever Trees – William Agosta
26. How to Build an Android – Duffy
27. The Pythagorean Theorem: The Story of Its Power and Beauty – Alfred S. Posamentier
28. Clans of the Alphane Moon – Philip K. Dick
29. Minority Report – Philip K. Dick
30. A Grief Observed – C.S. Lewis
31. The Man of Numbers – Keith Devlin
32. Pheromones and Animal Behavior: Communication by Smell & Taste – Tristram D. Wyatt
33. Ape and Essence – Aldous Huxley
34. Solar Lottery – Philip K. Dick
35. Deadly Ruse – E. Michael Helms
36. The Almagest – Ptolemy
37. The Clover House – Henriette Lazaridis Power
38. The Thief Lord – Cornelia Funke
39. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
40. Looking for Me – Beth Hoffman
41. The House of Paper – Carlos Maria Dominguez
42. The Colossus and Other Poems – Sylvia Plath
43. High Moon – E.J. Bosley
44. Nerve – Bethany Macmanus
45. A Scattered Life – Karen McQuestion
46. Liber Abaci – Fibonacci
47. Vanity Fare – Megan Caldwell
48. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven – Sherman Alexie
49. The Martian – Andy Weir
50. Critical Lessons – Nel Noddings
51. Echo – Lorena Glass
52. Jewel of the Seven Stars – Bram Stoker
53. The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
54. Haunting Jasmine – Anjali Banerjee
55. Casey of Cranberry Cove – Susan Koch
56. The Christie Curse – Victoria Abbott
57. City of Dark Magic – Magnus Flyte
58. Screw-jack – Hunter S. Thompson
59. CATastrophic Connections – Joyce Ann Brown
60. Where I Was From – Joan Didion
61. Getting the Girl – Zusak
62. The Secrets of Droon #1 – Tony Abbot (read this aloud to kiddo)
63. Storm Front – Jim Butcher
64. The Pharaoh’s Cat – Maria Luisa Lang
65. Paper Towns – John Green
66. The Quick and the Dead – Louis L’amour
67. Early Bird – Rothman
68. It’s About Time – Liz Evers
69. The Secrets of Droon #3 – Abbott (read this aloud to kiddo)
70. Better With You Here – Gwendolyn Zipped
71. Rain – Kirsty Gunn
72. Sackett – Louis L’amour
73. Transcendental Wild Oats – Louisa May Alcott
74. Fern Verdant and the Silver Rose – Diana Leszczynski (read this aloud to kiddo)
75. Secrets of Droon #7 – Abbott (read aloud to kiddo)
76. 16 Lighthouse Road – Debbie Macomber
77. The Emotionally Destructive Relationship – Vernick
78. Peace Like a River – Leif Enger
79. Keeper – S. Smith
80. The Year of Learning Dangerously – Quinn Cummings
81. Anemogram – Rebecca Gransden
82. The Summer We Read Gatsby – Danielle Ganek
83. Wren – Regina O’Connell
84. The Writing Circle – Corinne Demas
85. The Good Neighbor – A.J. Banner
86. Spelling V – Meb Bryant
87. Ross Poldark – Winston Graham
88. Everything I Never Told You – Celeste Ng
Ross Poldark
Title: Ross Poldark (Poldark Series Book #1)
Author: Winston Graham
Genre: Historical Fiction
In 1945 Graham Winston released the novel Ross Poldark, the first of what would later become a twelve volume saga of regarding the Poldark family.
The series was infinitely popular during its time, and went on to become a classic, taken to the screen by many, including my favorite: Masterpiece Theatre.
Graham’s work outside the Poldark series is even more extensive – his career as a novelist resulted in over forty titles being published in his lifetime.
I’ve run the fiction department of a bookstore for years. On and off since 2007, to be exact. I know the fiction/literature department of most bookstores like the back of my hand. Yet, I’ve never read any of Graham’s work until now – and I vaguely recall only seeing one of his books grace my fingertips ever. His books have never made a sizable appearance on the shelves where I work. Had we seen more copies of his work over the years, I certainly would have read his work by now as he’s right up my alley.
Poldark is for the Jane Austen and Bernard Cornwell lovers, a historical fiction piece too wonderful to ignore. Set in the late 1700’s (just a few decades after Outlander), Ross Poldark chronicles the return of the title’s namesake from America, where he’s fought in the revolution and been rumored dead. He arrives to find the woman he loves has not waited so patiently after all and is engaged to his cousin.
I love the full cast of this novel, and I assume the rest of the series. Not only does it follow the eventful lives of Ross and his cousins, Francis and Verity, the ex-lover Elizabeth, servants including a scullery maid Demelza, and an entire town of miners living on Poldark land. Graham does a little bit of third person head hopping, but never leaves you confused and maintains a streamlined storyline.
I am eager to read the second installment, Demelza, and am equally eager for the second season of the PBS series, Poldark.
The Good Neighbor
Title: The Good Neighbor
Author: A. J. Banner
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Women’s Fiction/ Suspense
Length: 196 pages
It was the perfect weather for a book like The Good Neighbor, rainy, eerie, and a too cold for my Texas bones. So, naturally, I enjoyed it immensely.
It may be Banner’s first (official) suspense novel, but this debut definitely shows obvious signs of Anjali Banerjee’s skill and efficiency when it comes to weaving a winning storyline. She artfully introduces you to all the relevant characters without confusion and quickly drops you into the midst of the dilemma.
It’s a little predictable and not a terribly riveting thriller, but it’s paced quickly and therefore makes for a great day off leisure read while hiding from the rain.
The novel reads nearly like a screenplay and could be easily adapted for an HBO or Lifetime special. I’m looking forward to more of her work and will happily drop a few bucks on another one of Banner’s novels (and a coffee ) to curl up with.
Anakalian Whims 