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!)