A Year of Reading? 2012

Reading appears to have taken a back seat in my life last year-I mean like the back row of a 15-passenger conversion van that is impossible to crawl into gracefully and leaves you completely crammed and mute because no one in the front of the van can hear you anyway.  Apparently being pregnant for 8 months, welcoming twins into the family, and starting my kindergartner in homeschool took up a little bit of my time...

Nonetheless, I do have a short list to share with you of the

 Books I read in 2012. 

 I hope you find something you can enjoy!

1.  Teaching By the Spirit (Cook) A great book for religion teachers.  Take it in segments and apply the principles one at a time.

2.  Two Old Women (Wallis)  An easy 2-day read about survival in an Alaskan native community. You could pick out several principles/moral stories here. I was most impressed by the realization that it's okay to not always be the strong person-sometimes it's best to let another person carry and encourage you.

3.  Running Away to Home (Wilson)  Fabulous because the author completely related my own struggles balancing travel and wanderlust with family and responsibility. First few pages do an EXCELLENT job of explaining the quicksand of the American dream.

4.  James and the Giant Peach (Dahl) Somehow, I missed reading Roald Dahl as a child-so glad I've discovered him now. Read this with my 4-year-old and he giggled and marveled through the whole thing, starting with the first sentence, "Here is James Henry Trotter when he was about 4 years old."

5.  Spiritual Tasks of the Homemaker (Schmidt-Brabant)  This book was recommended to me by a past friend several years ago-if I'd gotten around to reading it all that time back, I might have understood a whole lot quicker the path she was on and how absolutely not in line it was with mine...

6.  Ahab's Wife (Naslund)  I read this at a much earlier time in my life and could only remember, "It's beautiful." It is beautiful, but wrapped up in the beautiful story are parts sections that completely wane...but not enough to put the book down, because soon you find that you've trudged on and are once again in the midst of a beautiful tale. It's not until the last chapters that the author believably links this book to it's inspiration (Moby Dick) and when it happens, it's perfectly seamless.

7.  Canaries on the Rim (Ward)  Important information on the environmental issues in Utah and when the author was presenting straight facts I really enjoyed it. When he morphed into his opinions I was completely turned off. By the end of the book I felt like I was reading his own rah-rah-rahs for all the "great" work he himself has done.

8.  While I'm Falling (Moriarty) I honestly can't remember at all what this book was about!

9.  The Girl Who Fell From the Sky (Durrow)  I didn't think this book touched any societal issues in a new or productive way and didn't wrap anything up meaningfully either.  Yet, many months after reading it, something about it does still stir up a mixture of emotions and tension, so something about it must have been right.

10. What Women Fear (Smith)  The first chapter was gripping and got me very excited. Even though the theology is different than my own I thought it would be a good jumping off point for study. I especially liked the chapter on Hagaar and Sarah. Unfortunately, the magic wore off. It seemed like the book turned into the author having every tragedy or malady under the sun and I just quit relating with her "Poor me's".

11. One Year Off (Cohen)  Basically an anthology of the emails this family sent home while on their year-long round-the-world travels. Loved the way their expectations and reality often clashed and they were able to roll with it, especially when it came to what they thought their kids would like/not like and the fear of what a toddler will do/not do. As happens when you're traveling, the second half of the book is much more sparse and in the moment than the first half. Of course it makes sense that once the trip becomes life rather than vacation, it's less of a priority to write home all the touristy things you're doing, but Australia and southeast Asia are  treated a lot more lightly than Central America and Europe. Too bad, because those places are possibly more interesting. Loved the book, nonetheless. Re-inspires me to get out there with my own family.

12. 1791: Mozart's Last Year (Landon)  Interesting. Well-researched and eye-opening that most of what I've heard about Mozart is probably mostly fiction (okay, honestly, based on the movie Amadeus, which appears to be mostly not accurate). Pretty easy read for a non-fiction research book.

13. Paul Revere and the World He Lived In (Forbes)  Favorite Book of the Year!! I have no idea why I chose this, but I'm so glad I did! It covers Revere's entire 80-yr life, before and after his famous ride. Makes him a man and well-researched instead of just fictional speculation.

14. Mormon Scientist (Eyring)  Insightful look into a scientist who also had a strong testimony in God.  For LDS church members it is also a good look into the environment Henry B. Eyring grew up in.

What are you reading right now?

Looking for more?

Be sure to check out my lists from 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011
(There are 150 books for you to choose from!)

In My Heart On Thursday

-as seen this week on Blackpurl's Knitpickings

In My Heart On Thursday

"The nursery rhyme ends when a spider comes along and frightens Miss Muffet straight off her tuffet.  I have wondered about what kind of lesson this is for a young girl.  If you're eating your curds and whey and a spider comes along, I don't think there's anything wrong with picking up a newspaper, smashing it, and going back to your breakfast."

-Sloane Crosley, How Did You Get This Number

In My Heart On Thursday

"My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectation."

-Michael J. Fox,  A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To the Future

In My Heart On Thursday

"I will not fail you, my love.  I will continue on the path we shared, and I know you will be there to help me, as you always were.  And when we meet again at the journey's end, and we laugh together once more, I will have a thousand things to tell you."

-Noor Al Hussein, Leap of Faith; Memoirs of an Unexpected Life

In My Heart On Thursday-

"Dante was so wrong.  At the lowest point, at the nadir of the ninth circle of hell, Satan will be sharing eternally cold space with treasonous brownnosers who abandon their principles and do what is wrong for the sake of a good grade, or applause.  And these brownnosers will have to lick Satan's razor-studded butt forever and ever, with their tongues."

-Carlos Eire,  Waiting For Snow In Havana, p. 232

In My Heart On Thursday

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs.  Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
                                                                            -Gil Bailie, as quoted in Wild At Heart by John Eldredge

A Year of Reading 2010

It seems like it was a really busy year without a lot of time for reading  Looking back, though,  I think the problem is I read stellar stories right at the beginning and descended down a road of none-too-inspiring tales from there.

I switched this year to recording all my books on Goodreads (username Wanderingstill).  The list below is in the order I read them, with one exception.  This year found me for the first time in my life quitting a book.  I've always been a die-hard believer in finishing a story in hopes that it will get better.  I couldn't do it this year and I've listed those at the bottom.

Have you read these and want to share your review? I'd love to hear it!  Or leave me a recommendation on your "must-reads".  And if you're looking for something different than what I have here, be sure to check out my lists from 2008 and 2009. Or check out the book challenges I'm participating in for 2011: Take A Chance Challenge at Life with Books and Outdo Yourself at The Book Vixen.

1. Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day (Watson)-Fun escape story set in 1930's high-class England.  An old biddy experiencing new life and fate changing her misfortunes.  Left me feeling happy.
2. The One Hundred (Garcia)-Great fashion suggestions and direction. Good to see that trendy "Utah dress" isn't all there is to wear.
3. Out Stealing Horses(Petterson)-Norwegian author, simplicity of writing is beautiful and full of feeling. Great reflection on relationships. "You decide how much it hurts."
4. Orrin Porter Rockwell(Schindler)-I appreciated the grittier view of early Salt Lake City, but the author openly admits his sources were pieced together liberally with what was available.  Church history in opening chapters is not very accurate and their is a lot of speculation in the narrative.
5. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America(von Drehle)-NYFD deserves their century-old reputation.  The chapters on the fire were captivating and on unions/social welfare were informative. 
6. The Outlaw Trail(Kelly)-A LOT of people to keep straight.  I started skimming over the names and fell in love with the wild west tales.  Intrigued at their resourcefulness in the Utah deserts and that a lot of outlaws later became the law.
7. The Worst Hard Time(Egan)-I thought I knew about the Dust Bowl, but I had no idea!  Couldn't keep my mind on the fact it was the 1930's-so primitive and it wasn't that long ago! Great Read!
8. The Twins(de Loo)-FANTASTIC! Translated from the original Dutch. A fresh perspective on WWII that hasn't been done to death.  The balance of the two character's seems off for awhile, but it all comes together beautifully.
9. The Relationship of Mormonism & Freemasonry(Ivins)-Not a good comparison of the two, but succinct info on the church and ancient American traditions from a general authority.  No interesting information on the actual controversy at the time it was written.
10. Breaking Free(Lo-Johannsen)-Classic Swedish story with no progress and no climax.  Last chapters had hope but then fizzled out.  Should be read as history not as a story.
11. 1-2-3 Magic(Phelan)-A discipline program that explains what you're doing when you're counting.  Singles out parent emotion as a huge stumbling block.  The positive motivations were a lot to digest.
12. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian(Sherman)-Innocent.  Subject matters I wouldn't want my teenager to read, but touching as it comes together at the end.
13. Lean Mommy(Druxman)-Not the least bit motivating
14. Toilet Training in Less Than A Day(Azrin/Foxx)-Thorough, but this was not the system for me.
15. Mommy I Have To Go Potty(Faull)-Good information.  Not as a mean method of training.
16. A Confederacy of Dunces(Kennedy Toole)-The strangest story! Used audio book and still exclaiming, "Whoa, hey!"
17. Heaven on Earth(Oppenheimer)-Too focused on nature/earth for me, but very creative ideas for kids.  Especially loved the ideas for creating backyard fantasy lands.
18. The Great Gatsby(Fitzgerald)-Enjoyed the writing style. Dark but not too dark.
19. The History of Love(Krauss)-Beautiful!
20. Liars and Saints(Meloy)-Think about the story of your family-not the public story, but the story nobody wants to tell. Then read this book.  Family stories should be told the way this story was told.
21. Sway(Brafman)-Real life examples of irrational behavior. No idea how to apply it in real life.
22. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet(Larsen)-Has a major believability problem but I kept turning the pages.  Author uses a child's true vulnerability to bring it home.
23. Yup. Nope. Maybe.(James/Thomas)-Read it as a funny & humble relationship book written with a spiritual perspective.  The "golden nugget" is a study guide at the end. Read the last question first.
24. The Red Pony(Steinbeck)-Great guy book.  I'm not a short-story reader and wanted the stories to connect together.  Didn't understand why he completely changed topics in the last story, either.
25. Crossing to Safety(Stegner)-Spoke to many different pieces inside me.  Conflicting pieces.  I needed it.  And I want to live in the cover.
26. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future(Fox)-Lacks continuity but includes humble down-to-earth observations from his life.
27. Me Talk Pretty One Day(Sedaris)-Can't stand this author or his subject matter.
28. Adventuring with Children(Jeffrey)-
29. The Creative Family(Blake Soule)-Really cute natural craft ideas for kids.
30. Kabul Beauty School(Rodriguez)-The idea of saving the world through beauty school seems shallow, but one lady took what she knew how to do to a scary part of the world hoping she could make life better for women-and it's working!  Hope she's still finding success.
31. The Master and Margarita(Bulgakov)-Well-written but undeniably evil.  Couldn't read it on Sunday or when my husband was away.  1st half is psychological.  2nd half less so, hence, not quite as unnerving.
32. An Ordered Love(Kern)-Proof that dissertations are not meant to be read.  Didn't agree with author's LDS perspective so read the rest with a grain of salt.   I would never recommend this book.
33. The Christmas List(Evans)-A feel-good Christmas read.  Yes, I cried at the end.
34. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes(Opie)-Hadn't heard most rhymes included. Boring.
35. Wild at Heart(Eldredge)-Just attacks fathers and tells men they're damaged. Very different religious opinions than my own.
36. The Christmas Box(Evans)-Undeveloped.  For a light read, The Christmas List is much better.


The ones I didn't finish:
1. Too Much Happiness(Munro)-These are disturbed and depressing short stories.
2. How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone(Stanisic)-Brilliant first chapter and then gets so murky and muddled I had no idea what was going on.  Do you know what was going on?
3. Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?(Kohnstamm)-My biggest letdown.  Thick-laden with sex and swearing and I had to stop reading.  Really glad I didn't pay money for this one.


And just for fun, my favorite children's book this year:

The illustrations remind me of the Montmartre neighborhood in Paris.

Whimsical and breathtaking.

A Year of Reading 2009

Looking through the list of "Recent Reads" on my blog has taken me on a short trip through the past year.  The diverse range of topics left my head spinning but also encourages me that there is an interesting story here for anyone.  Along with my reviews of the following books, I want to share two reading-related websites that I found and used this year.

First is www.paperbackswap.com.  It allows you to list books you're willing to part with in exchange for books you are interested in.  There is no fee to sign up and the process works on a credit system.  You send out a book and then receive a credit to get a book.  You pay media mail rates to ship out your books, but pay nothing to get the "new" book sent to you.  Generally the shipping is less than $2.50 and it usually only takes 10 days max from requesting a book to ripping off the wrapper and delving in.

The second website is www.goodreads.com.  This site allows you to list and review books you have read and then share the list with your friends.  It's been so interesting to learn more about my sisters-in-law just by their choice of story. 

Now, on to the books.  If you've read anything listed here, I'd love to hear your review.  If not, I hope you'll find something that sounds interesting (or check out last year's list at http://wanderingstill.blogspot.com/2009/01/year-of-reading.html.)  And, it's a new year so any must-read suggestions for 2010 are always welcome!

1 The Christmas Sweater-Written by Glenn Beck, it was a pretty good short read.  The writing is a little jumpy but believable from the child's perspective it's written in.  Nice ending I didn't expect.  Wish I'd seen the live performance.

2 Women of Covenant: Story of Relief Society-Pretty good information on early LDS church history.  The pioneer history was a little more interesting than the organizational history.  Favorite quotes:  "The men couldn't or didn't do what I asked them to so now I'm going to ask the women," and "To the women there belongs a right which lies deeper than suffrage, higher than education, and sweeter than enforced virtue.  It is the right of choice; the right to choose what she shall be." 

3 Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith-Made me really question polygamy and Joseph Smith's secrecy on the subject, but did not make me question my testimony.  Very enlightening on Emma Smith and her decision to stay in Nauvoo.  Clarified why she was so disliked in Utah throughout the years.

4 Mornings on Horseback-1st of 2 books this year about Theodore Roosevelt.  I almost quit reading this one-the beginning was very forced and completely not captivating.  Sometime after he left for college the story became more interesting.  Decided it was because the information on his childhood was pieced together from letters and journals while in his older years there were many more sources to rely on. The North Dakota part was interesting because I've visited Medora, but I didn't understand the ending.  Left me with too many unanswered questions about him.

5 Recovering Charles-From the author's journalist background, the Hurricane Katrina descriptions are fantastic and made me think of my New Orleans friends returning home from Alaska to the devestation and what they went through.  Has a lot of annoying flashback sequences.  I loved the twist with the funeral photo, but then the "break-up" and "make-up" scenes were pretty expected and generic.

6 Revolutionary Road-No idea why people like this book, but can see why it made a good movie.  Still it was thought-invoking and left me pondering dream life versus reality and which to work towards, how people are fake, and left me wondering, "If people in the 50's were giving up, what hope is there for people in our day?"

7 Waiting for Snow in Havana-Started with great childhood memories of Cuba and written the way a child thinks.  Further into the book the author starts switching back and forth between that perspective and his adult thoughts and that got a little annoying.  The story spends too much time merely alluding to the change with Fidel Castro and very little about the change itself.  It was really interesting to learn about Cuba and the revolution, but maybe not entirely realistic since the main characters were wealthy. Favorite quote, "Dante was so wrong.  At the lowest point, at the nadir of the ninth circle of hell, Satan will be sharing eternally cold space with treasonous brownnosers who abandon their principles and do what is wrong for the sake of a good grade, or applause.  And these brownnosers will have to lick Satan's razor-studded butt forever and ever, with their tongues."

8 The Year of Magical Thinking-BIG LET DOWN!  Thought it was going to be an uplifting story of coping and growing and moving on.  Instead it was an entire year of not coping or moving on.  May be an accurate depiction of grief, but I didn't have any reason or desire to read about it.

9 The Railway Children-Refreshing!  It's a juvenile fiction story from the earlier 1900's, but super sweet.  I expected with every turn of the page that now something cynical would happen, but it never did.  Loved it!

10 Report From Ground Zero-Full of great testimonies from rescue workers and family that were at the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001.  The author, however, seemed to be patting himself on the back.  When he got tired and bored of volunteering or helping out, he would just move on.  The 2nd half of the book put a better perspective on experiences and became more apparent that the book project was really his story and his coping mechanism.  If you accept that, the book is fine. 

11 Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life-Story of Queen Noor of Jordan.  It opened my understanding of the problems in the Middle East and the role that the U.S. has there.  An expectedly biased telling of events, but very good.  Favorite quote, "I will not fail you, my love.  I will continue on the path we shared, and I know you will be there to help me, as you always were.  And when we meet again at the journey's end, and we laugh together once more, I will have a thousand things to tell you."

12 House of Mirth-1st of 4 Edith Wharton stories I read this year.  My new favorite book!

13 The Reef-2nd Edith Wharton story. Didn't ever figure out the title.  The main character Anna is very tedious.  The story was originally written in installments for a newspaper and that is obvious when reading it as a complete book.  It doesn't flow.  Wouldn't recommend reading it.

14 50 Boyfriends Worse Than Yours-10-minute read.  Not quite to an almost funny rating.

15 The Custom of the Country-3rd Edith Wharton Story. Readable.  That's about all I can say.

16 Up Shit Creek-Hilarious and Disgusting!  About the  various types of portable poo-contraptions available on whitewater rafting expeditions.  Will make you roll on the floor, cry, and lose your lunch all at the same time.

17 The Age of Innocence-4th Edith Wharton story. Pretty good.  Written from a guy's perspective.  Compared to the other three stories, there were some contradictions in environments and time frame.  I wish she had more plainly stated what time frame this story was meant to take place.  I was hoping for a happy light ending.  Also, after these four books, I definitely needed a break from love stories.

18 The Wonder of Boys-Good ideas for the parenting of boys-especially older boys.  I blogged more on this book at http://wanderingstill.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html.

19 Shadow Divers-Fascinating true story about a scuba diving team that discovered an undocumented sunken U-boat off the coast of New Jersey.  The characters are well-developed and the technical descriptions of deep-water diving are well explained.  Don't write it off just because you're not a diver, it really is interesting!

20 Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim-The author is funny and the story is well-written, but has too much swearing and two completely inappropriate sections.  As with most of the author's writing, this book is taken from family stories.  I won't be reading anymore of his work-it's too crude for me.  That's too bad, because he is really funny.

21 The Quality of Life Report-The depiction of the midwest is nothing like the midwest I grew up in (except in the spot-on description of winter.  That was perfect.). Unfortunately, my opinion is that the reviewers for this book ate it up just like the main character's New York fans ate up her phony reports.

22 Daisy, Daisy-Horrible book filled with inaccurate facts and history.  A true story about an English woman who rode her bicycle across the United States.  The geography and chronology are completely discombobulated.  She never even tells you how long it took her.  The only redeeming quality was the inspiring idea of cycling across the country.  

23 I Love Dirt!-Creative ways to get kids to notice and explore their outdoor surroundings.

24 Cooking Art-A fun book of recipes and ideas for cooking with kids.  For the focus age a lot of the instructions could have been much simpler.  I wish it had color photographs instead of sketches.

25 River of Doubt-2nd Theodore Roosevelt book I read this year.  FANTASTIC!!!  About an excursion he took in the Amazon.  It was an era when there were still unknown places and men who wanted to explore them.  Description of flora, fauna, fish, and animals was intriguing and not boring or academic.  I could feel the fear and frustration, understand their luck and fortune, and yet could not imagine the physical and emotional feat they endured.  Stories like these, about the people who shaped our society, are the stories we still need to hear about!

26 The Alphabet Sisters-A fun light read.  Great author who's comfortable with the setting (Australia) and develops good characters.  This story's family and problems were believable and easy to relate. I ended with a warm feeling telling me that love feels good. 

27 Round Ireland with a Fridge-Let's grab something-ANYTHING-and go!  Inspiring tale of the author doing exactly what the title infers.  Does have a lot of English slang, but don't get tripped up in it.  

28 A Stone Boat-Excellent insight to cancer, death, and the emotions that come as part of the package. Did feel distracting because a definite time period was never established.  Would have been much better if the focus was more broadly on the family as a whole instead of specifically one character.  Favorite quote, "...if we all managed three weeks of feeling light, and easy and unconcerned, we could build up our depleted energy for the renewal of the battle.  And if the battle need never be renewed we will not have wasted this time by being happy."

29 Pastoralia-WHAT IS THIS????? PLEASE, SOMEONE EXPLAIN IT TO ME!

30 The Best Things Parents Do-Short vignettes, each identifying a different principle of parenting.  Doesn't get in depth on any topic, but was thought-provoking.  Most prevalent  topic was choices and consequences.

31 Second Hand-Title needed to be "Vintage/Retro" instead.  Well-written with great descriptions, but too many gratuitous scenes and too many f-words.  I didn't feel like the end was as shocking as I'd been lead to believe it would be.  The characters just got really depressing. 

32 Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal-The first part of this book was the most irreverent and offensive to me, in part because I didn't know what to expect.  The second part was story-telling of boyhood adventure.  The third part was the most believable (if you stretch).  There is a LOT of sex in this book and overall I didn't find the author particularly funny. 

33 The Stardust Lounge-True life account of a mother raising a rebellious teenage son.  Her strategy would not work for everyone, but she took an interesting angle in using the family pets to reconnect and repair their relationship.  

34 The Sun Also Rises-My first Hemingway novel.  Not knowing what to expect, I found it to be very readable.  It subtly captured the futility of life, how our roles are often less-than-ideal, and yet we accept living in them.

35 The Human Comedy-A simple and innocent story about a family in the World War eras.  The writing and characters are touching.  Without a lot of words the author draws you into the characters' curiosity, maturity, positivity, and pettiness.  Worth the few hours it took to get from cover to cover.

Oh Boy

My house stinks! It has been nice in Utah lately so the windows can be wide open, but as soon as they're closed my nose thinks it's standing in a public swimming pool shower room. I've tried every air freshening technique on the earth and nothing has taken it away. Going out of my mind a few days ago, I asked Ben, "Do you think it smells in here? What do you think the smell is?" Without looking up from his book he replied, "It stinks like perfume and candles." I share this story not to start a fight with my husband, but to illustrate a topic that's recently been on my mind: how am I supposed to raise a boy. I grew up in a family with six girls and remember friends and relatives jovially laying on us a curse to have all boys when we were grown. So far the ratio of boys to girls in our up-and-coming generation is 4:2. To that we could send a curse back on all their heads! Raising Beck has been pretty easy thus far, but Ben is gone quite a bit and will be more so as we move into summer. I wonder what kind of impact that might have on Beck and whether there is anything I can do to counteract it. Also, I figured it was about time I start to figure out how this person we call a boy will think and develop differently than the little girls with which I'm much more familiar. I'm not looking to get caught up in the trends of the day or a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo, but do want a knowledge and better understanding of how Beck's brain is developing and what I can do as a parent to help him grow up confident and happy. Fortunately, I found a book titled The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurian which so far has given me some insightful information. Reading first about the way an infant boy's brain develops differently than a girl's encouraged me to continue along with my questioning. Generally, the part of the brain connecting the two sides of the brain has far fewer/slower connectors in young boys than in young girls. Having more connectors helps girls to multi-task while the development of the connectors in a boy's brain later manifest themselves in a singularly task-oriented approach to work and activities. More simply put, boys will tend to complete one project or thought before moving onto the next, while girls are working on several different ideas at a time. I know I see that difference between myself and Ben, and so it was interesting to understand the reasoning behind it. The next information I found intriguing in the book actually quite surprised me. Not because I don't believe it's true, but because it's not a topic the mainstream media emphasizes anymore. Mr. Gurian stressed the need to use strong men in the Bible, Koran, and other scriptures as role models for our sons. We teach our kids the great stories from the scriptures, but I'm intrigued by the idea of really using the men in those stories as guides and examples of who they can become. If we're faith-believing people, then we believe Moses, Noah, Nephi, or Alma were living breathing people to be studied and looked up to for their strengths and their weaknesses. Boys need those examples to emulate as they learn to make choices of their own. A particular stress has been made in what I've read so far for boys to have a large group of people surrounding them as they learn and grow. This will be the part that is hardest for me. I'm private and independent and I've known from the day Beck was born that branching out would be difficult for me. I'm extremely fortunate, in that regard, to have Ben's family so close and so outreaching. The number of cousins for Beck to watch and learn from is an initial blessing, but his uncles are outwardly loving and active and a little crazy and create an additional comfort to me. I'm grateful as I look forward, as well, for programs in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that place a focus on raising healthy and happy boys. Without me having to step too far out of my comfort zone, those two communities will always be there to provide an additional support system. My little boy is growing. He's already two! Having a question in my head on how to raise him and then starting to research that question has assured me that I'm doing okay. I know that I need to play with him more when Ben's away and when Ben's home I need to let the two of them rough-house until they cry. I know that one day Beck won't want as many hugs from me and won't be so cute smelling candles with me while we're shopping. But he is going to grow up loving me and that already means everything.

A Year of Reading

Have you read any of these books from my 2008 Reading List? I'd love to know how you liked it. And if you're looking for a new escape, take a look and see if there's anything that might catch your fancy...

1 The Frontiersman-Daniel Boone's era about the invasion of the Indians. I loved it, my husband hated it. Some graphic battle descriptions.

2 Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy-About the Amish School Shooting. Interesting insight into the community.

3 The Mormon Way of Doing Business-As a Mormon housewife it was inspiring to see people in business who live their moral and religious values in every aspect of their life. Left me wishing I witnessed it more in my personal life.

4 Loving and Loathing Your Inner Housewife-Crude enough to shock me a little bit, (I should've guessed since the full title starts with To Hell with all That).

5 The Marketing of Evil-Purely propaganda. I was pained to get all the way through it.

6 The Year of Living Biblically-I love this author!!! Both his books I read this year were funny and interesting. I'm recommending them to everyone! This one was mostly about the Old Testament and he really did it while living in New York City. Very entertaining! 

7 Simplify, A guide to Caring for the Soul-Very good from a local author I met at an Enrichment meeting. A great self-improvement book meant to read and ponder one bit a time

8 Reading Lolita in Tehran-After all the hype this book got, I was expecting a lot more. It just didn't wow me. Maybe I missed all the political and women's right issues I was supposed to pick up on.

9 Eat pray love-Section 1 reminded me 100% of my friend Lori and I loved it. Section 2 was so foreign to me it was interesting. Section 3 had me begging her not to end it all by being immoral. 

10 The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World-The second book from the author mentioned above. A little dry as he worked through the encyclopedia from A-Z, but still really interesting.

11 A War of Gifts, An Ender Story-Very fast read-good if you like the Ender series. 

12 Heyday-A great fiction read set in early New York and the west. 

13 Smile when you’re lying, confessions of a rogue travel writer-Grabbed me like almost all travel collections do, but honestly I didn't remember I had read it.

14 The Middle Place-A story of family illness, healing, and death. Uplifting and heartbreaking, but some of the chronology and geography was confusing.

15 Hungry Planet, What the World Eats-FASCINATING picture book of families around the world and what they eat in a week. 

16 Memo To the President Elect-by Madeleine Albright. Won't interest anybody who's not fixated on politics or Bill Clinton's presidency.

17 The Kite Runner-One of the best stories I read this year (with a little bit anticlimactic end). I hated the movie when I finally got around to watching it.

18 Material World, A Global Family Portrait-From the same photographer as the food book above and equally intriguing.

19 A Walk in the Woods-A satirical author with an Iowa connection. His experiences hiking the Appalachian trail and worth the read. 

20 Inside the Kingdom-Not deep writing, but a great insight into the Bin Laden family and the Arab culture. 

21 The Four Agreements-An Indian philosophy that clashed too much with the way I believe things. Not interesting at all. Skip it.

22 I’m a Stranger Here Myself-Written in New England before the Appalachian trail book mentioned above and also pretty funny.

23 Family Baggage-A really light read that I shouldn't have liked but I really really did. Love and travel wrapped up with oldsters and television actors. 

24 An Inconvenient Book-Written just like he speaks and I couldn't handle it. Glenn Beck is a great man with great ideas, but way too ADD for me to read.

25 Hitler’s Willing Executioners-This book is very scholarly and explains the psyche of people who went along with Hitler's plans. Too freaky for me to finish. 

26 Little Women-Who didn't love this story when they were little girls? It's still good, go ahead and read it again! 

27 Europe Through the Back Door: Italy-Full of secret information that really helped us along the way!

28 Anna Karenina-This is one of my all-time favorite books and one of the few books I've read more than once. I'm honest that it has some parts that really drag, but the end instantly wipes out all the drudgery. 

29 Rhett Butler’s People-Nothing spectacular, but good for the imagination if you liked Gone With the Wind. 

30 Shepherd of the Hills-The backwoods Missouri dialect was tough to read, but the suspense kept me turning the pages. 

31 One Hundred Years of Solitude-I didn't understand the overall message, but liked the story of family and trials. Set in South America, I couldn't get over the fact that I've read another story eerily like it and can't remember what it was. 

32 The Road-The only Oprah's Book Club book I'd ever read and the writing was exactly what I expected it to be (not great), but the end of this book made me cry for an hour and the message should really inspire anyone who knows they should be preparing for an emergency. 

33 The Portrait of a Lady-Incredible look into European society in the 1800's.

34 The Brothers Karamazov-I'm discovering that I love the old Russian authors. I didn't think this story ended as powerfully as it could have, but it was a great read (and Laura Bush's favorite book). 

35 The Secret Life of Bees-Fun to read because it had been recommended to me and I did like it. I'm still not convinced the end would have been realistic in real life. 

36 Bel Canto-A storyline about foreigners in a terrorist hostage situation was weird and I don't think it ever would have happened the way it did in the real world, but I loved it anyway. I wish there had been a different ending. 

37 Peace Like a River-The librarian told me it was an unusual story, but it didn't seem that strange to me. Family Tragedy, honesty, and independence made this book perfectably readable.

38 The Book of Mormon-It took me 18-months this time. Worth every minute!

Am I Smarter Than 5th Grade Me?

I recently let my husband in on one of my most embarassing school secrets...I used to ask my elementary teachers for the extra copies of our handouts so I could take them home and play school in my bedroom. By the end of my grade school days I had amassed a carefully organized, waist-high pile of purple mimeographed math timetables, social studies worksheets, science and reading assignments. I loved school. Well, the learning part of it. I could fill volumes on why the social aspect of public education was not for me, but it was exciting to sit at my desk with my #2 pencil and make something better of myself. I'm pretty sure I wasn't espousing that exact thought as I sat next to the boy on my right incessantly eating carrot sticks or the girl on my left sticking straightpins through her skin, but school was always a great intellectual outlet for me. 5th grade was particularly enthralling. I wrote my first report, on the state of Washington, and was proud that it was the longest report in the class. I looked forward to Fridays when we read Weekly Reader (I learned that one day telephones would have video cameras in them) and I would get all the questions right. Most memorable activity, though, are the scores of books I read and reports I wrote. There were always books in our home. We'd get boxes of them for a quarter at garage sales and carefully stack them on the bookshelf in our upstairs hallway. I organized them alphabetically for a CampFire project and they numbered nearly 200. It was from these that my library of book reports evolved. In fifth grade we had a tri-fold book report form that asked for generic information (title, author, genre) on either outside fold. The inner fold was where I found the gold-a completely blank white space waiting for my humble review. I would write until that page was full and then flip the whole form over and continue writing until not an inch of that paper was bare. I'd fold it up, take it to the teacher, and hurriedly begin the process over again. I don't know how many book reports I turned in during my fifth grade year. I do know I kept them all and will one day find them neatly filed in a folder waiting to be rediscovered. I never lost that unbridled love for learning. For this I am grateful. I've recently found myself once again feverishly looking for great reads. With a new baby and my role in life being redefined, I've found my ability to appreciate a good story invaluable-a rope out into the world I once knew. That's why I've included a list of recently read books on my blog. Take a look at the titles. Some of them were so enrapturing I couldn't put them down; others I unabashedly skimmed over hundreds of pages in order to end the dreadfulness as painlessly as possible. I'd love to know what you think is out there worth reading. And, of course, I'm still ready and willing to give my humble version of a golden book review.