As 2015 started, I set a goal on Goodreads to read 40 books during the year. Somehow, I managed to complete 49 books by the time the year ended. It was interesting to look at the stats compiled in that reading. For 2016, I have set a goal of 44 books – when I look at several of the titles on my bookshelf that I want to complete this year, I know that they will take some time to devour.

A good book made the flight delay after Christmas more manageable…

For this first 2016 connection with Quick Lit at Modern Mrs. Darcy, the list is a combo of some obvious December reads as well as reads from under the Christmas tree.

A few quick Christmas stories:

The Christmas Pearl by Dorthea Benton Frank is the tale of a Southern family that has drifted into chaos and the magic that ensues when a favorite, departed cook appears at the front door on Christmas Eve and mixes up some mystical menu items en route to bringing the family back together.

The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado is the tale of an English village and the candlemaker’s family that is visited throughout the generations by an angel on Christmas Eve who blesses “one” candle that will answer the prayers of the recipient.

If He Had Not Come by David Nicholson is a thought provoking illustrated children’s story from the 1930s about what the world would be like if Jesus had not come on Christmas morning.

A fantastic read!

As I played Santa on Christmas Eve and was stacking presents under the tree, Mom brought out 1 bag and said “these are all the books, put them at the bottom of all the gifts” because she knew as they were unwrapped we would all begin to dive into them. Among the books under the tree, some great reads so far:

Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science – and the World by Rachel Swaby: The first read from under the tree and one that I have been sharing with so many friends. In 3-5 page vignettes, 52 women from so many facets of science, medicine, math and engineering are profiled. Those profiled are beyond the “standard” list – some of these women I was familiar with and others were new to me. I have been recommending it to friends with daughters as a way to expose their girls to women in STEM. Within the pages of this book are endless research subjects for girls and boys of all ages.

Bad Luck, Hot Rocks: Conscience Letters and Photographs from the Petrified Forest by Ryan Thompson: I saw a write-up of this book around Thanksgiving and knew it would be perfect for Rebecca…she has a history of testing the limits of “do not touch” when in museums and around antiquities and we had visited the Petrified Forest in 1985 on our family move from California to Kansas…so this was under the tree for her but I read it while in the ‘Ville, too. A fun and quick read from the archives of letters at the Petrified Forest National Park – people who illegally took pieces of the forest away have returned them with tales of bad luck and misfortune while they possessed the rocks.

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell: This is the first book I’ve read by this author but I will definitely read more of her American history narratives. When I read about this book releasing last year, I knew it was one that I needed to check out. Growing up in one of the myriad “Fayetteville” towns across the country (where our high school marching band hosted the LaFayette Classic competition) and now living in the Philadelphia area (just down the road from Valley Forge and where Washington crossed the Delaware) it was a great read to learn more about the Marquis LaFayette whose name is so ingrained in our history and lexicon.

Every Crooked Path (The Patrick Bowers Files #8) by Steven James: A just published prequel to a favorite series. It provides more detail to the back story of Patrick Bowers and also delves into the world of child exploitation. It was a good read – a bit intense – but I was also impressed with how the author didn’t overwhelm with details of the “underworld” that was at the crux of the story.

Rounding out this month’s round-up is a cute fiction read that was my airplane reading on the way home to the ‘Ville for Christmas: Vintage by Susan Gloss. I picked this up through a Kindle deal and chuckled at the praise that compared it to The Friday Night Knitting Club since I had ties to that book launch (and others from Kate Jacobs). Centered around a vintage clothing shop in the Madison, WI, the story of the shop owner who is working hard to give her new life “a go” after escaping an abusive marriage – entwined with a cast of characters including with a recently orphaned high-school senior who finds herself alone & pregnant, a Indian women trying to figure out “where to go from here” as her marriage dissolves and her daughter has married, a doyenne of town and many more. Each chapter starts with the description of a vintage item in the shoppe and the item is woven into the “action” within that chapter.

As January keeps marching forward, I’ve got several Christmas books in rotation, including When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II and 7 Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness. So far this year I am making a more concerted effort to end each day with some reading before turning out the light.

What are you reading these days?
What reading goals do you have for 2016?

It is time for another round-up of recent reads. As I approached my Thanksgiving break at home in the ‘Ville, I was looking forward to some reading time and I definitely found it. This list could also be subtitled “The Thanksgiving Edition” because everything on this list “devoured” during my Thanksgiving break.

When all the reads are on the kindle, there are limited photo ops for this post…

• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Upon first description, I wasn’t sure if I would like it – but it quickly became a favorite read of the year and I have recommended it to several friends. Set in the semi-near future, the “real” world has been reduced to chaos and people choose to live in a universal virtual reality game. Since the death of the virtual world creator, many are on a quest to unlock the keys the creator left behind so that they can obtain ownership of the world. The quest is filled with so much pop culture from the 70s-90s – including video games, movies, music and more.
  “That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it’s also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real.”   
• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin – A cute read about a cranky bookseller – clever use of “his” book reviews to introduce each chapter. While not the key point, I enjoyed the “conflict” about printed books versus e-readers.
  “Remember, Maya: the things we respond to at twenty are not necessarily the same things we will respond to at forty and vice versa. This is true in books and also in life.”   
• The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay – The latest from a new favorite author – this time set in both Chicago and the UK. A young rare book seller, Lucy, is caught in a lie a looses many relationships dear to her in the process. Through helping the grandmother of her ex-boyfriend travel to London to “right a wrong,” Lucy undertakes her own journey through her past in order to move forward.
  “The room was only half-filled, but the air buzzed with excitement as if diners were munching on history and remembrance as well as fish and chips.”  
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate – A quick children’s read, told from the perspective of a silverback gorilla that lives behind the glass in an aging roadside zoo/circus attraction.
  “Memories are precious,” Stella adds. “They help tell us who we are.”
• The Butterfly and the Violin & A Sparrow in Terezin by Kristy Cambron – The first two books in a series – each of these books could also be enjoyed as standalone stories. Both stories weave the tale of a modern gallery owner and searching for a piece from World War II – specifically tied to the concentration camps. In the search through history there is also the search through current self and history for the modern day characters.
  “The ability to perfectly time when to react and when to remain silent; it was an admirable quality in a friend.”   
• Water from my Heart by Charles Martin – I’ve read several books from this author and have enjoyed each. This is the story of a wayward drug runner, tragedy and redemption.
  “Funny how there’s so little difference between “prodigy” and “prodigal.”  
• Astor Place Vintage by Stephanie Lehmann – I picked this one up on a Kindle deal. It was “meh” at best and felt like it was trying too hard. While I did finish it, really this is an example of where I should leave a book unfinished when I’m not enjoying it.

What have you been reading lately?

After all this fiction, I’m ready to focus more on the non-fiction list. (Although currently there has been a quick detour into some holiday-themed reads.) The Christmas wish list is filled with several books and the thought of Christmas break and uninterrupted reading time is quite lovely…

Linking up with Anne @ Modern Mrs. Darcy for the latest round of Quick Lit.

It’s time to connect with Modern Mrs. Darcy for QuickLit and share for another round-up of recent reads – and by recent I mean the last couple of months. The reading list keeps growing but in recent weeks I’ve found knitting in my hands more frequently than books (it must be gift knitting season). The Kindle was charged and loaded for my October travels; however, the reading just didn’t materialize even with all the plane time.

Kindle reads + a Swiss souvenir read

• The Game Must Go On: Hank Greenberg, Pete Gray, and the Great Days of Baseball on the Home Front in WWII by John Klima – The true story of how baseball continued in the U.S. during WII and the importance and impact it had so many fronts – the boys that went off to war, those left behind, the evolution of professional baseball into the game/business we see today.
• The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan – I picked up the Kindle version when it was deeply discounted and figured it would be a fun read at some point. One weekend in September, it got consumed. I started it on a Saturday & read just a bit before turning out the light. On Sunday morning I enjoyed reading it for a while to start my day – then I decided to prioritize what actually needed to be done that day & did minimal food prep/cooking and house puttering while devouring the rest of the story. A combination of chick lit + tabloid read + English aristocracy primer all rolled into a cute story. Overall, a fun read.
• The Martian by Andy Weir – I really enjoyed this story of an astronaut surviving on Mars when he is mistakenly left behind as dead on the planet when an astronaut crew has to abandon their mission. A long time fascination with the space program had me appreciating the nods to “historical fact” that were gleaned from other missions and tests. A good combination of internal monologue, determination and sheer will on Mars and on Earth as survival is realized and rescue is planned.
• Yes, Please by Amy Poehler – I follow Amy’s “Smart Girls” initiative through social media and like the work that she and her team are doing and I have always enjoyed her shows, movies, etc. This book was just ok for me – I read it via library loan on the Kindle and thought maybe it would be more engaging in the physical book format where you could actually see/read the “extras” that were throughout the book – letters, notes, etc…on my older Kindle they didn’t come through well and so those nuggets were “missing.”
• At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen – A tale of Scotland, searching for the Loch Ness Monster, love and loss and World War II, the impact of your family background/breeding in Philadelphia mainline society and the chance for redemption and a new start.
• Delicious! by Ruth Reihl – A fun read – part “contemporary classic” tale of a college age girl moving to New York to start work at a magazine while running from her past and falling for a guy and more “typical” storylines and part “imagined history” of James Beard corresponding with a young girl from Akron over cooking, rations and living through World War II.
• A Bell for Ursli: A Story from the Engadine in Switzerland by Selina Chonz & Alois Carigiet (Illustrator) – A souvenir of my October trip to Switzerland, this is a charming children’s story. The tale of a young boy eager to be seen as a “bigger boy” and the lengths he will go to in order to prove that at the annual festival. The Swiss National Museum in Zurich had an exhibit highlighting the work of this illustrator – both his story illustrations and other design work.

What have you been reading lately? As I prepare for Thanksgiving break, I’m looking forward to the books that will be read during that time.