lists – Peaceful Reader

Best books of 2020

I had a great year of reading – thanks to a world-wide pandemic that kept us home more than usual. I read more children’s literature because I was teaching from home in March reading to students through the magic of Google Classroom. I read 24 adult fiction books this year and nine were five star amazing and one romance book, Wrong Guy, Right Room written by a friend that was very good. At 848 pages, TheWay the Crow Flies by Anne-Marie Macdonald was one of my favorites and I started a ring of other readers from my book club in reading it as well. The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne, also quite long, was well worth the time I put into it. With so many great titles if I had to pick a number one title it would be Richard Powers’ The Overstory which blew me away and gave me a greater understanding of the close relationship between the natural world and how humans are mere leaves in the winds of time.

As a school librarian I usually do quite a bit of reading but this year I was on a quest to read more books written by POC authors to add to our school collection. I found so many great titles and enriched my own knowledge as well as the joy of recommending them to my students. From the desk of Zoe Washington, Ways to make sunshine, and New Kid are the most popular with students. Stargazing and New Kid are my top two graphic novels for elementary. All of these stories act as a windows for students to see into another person’s life. Two more titles that surprised me were Efren, Divided and Accidental Trouble Magnet: Planet Omar, both cover the immigrant experience in the U.S. at a dangerous time in our history. I also really loved Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park, who writes a pioneer story with an an Asian main character. This story should be read instead of or in addition to Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I read two fantastic YA books that have been on my reading list for ages and after reading one more rave review over the summer I ordered both from Bookshop.org and waited for them to arrive. Both stories were excellent as they showcased a unique look at Black history through zombies in the U.S. -yes, it makes perfect sense, (Dread Nation) and a West African fantasy world (Children of Blood and Bone) I easily immersed myself in both worlds. And now I have the second in each series on loan from the library. If you are looking for great titles for 2021 encourage you to give any of these a try. I’d be happy to book talk with you. While 2020 was hard in many ways there are always positives to be found.

Happy February! Here's my January book list…

I am so good at making lists and checking them off. I learned to make small lists a few years back (3 items about) which is helpful but it also means I make a new list every couple of hours. I looked at my January books on GoodReads and thought it made a pretty good list of interesting titles.

1. I survived the Chicago Fire, 1871 by Lauren Tarshis (2015) This is an early elementary fiction book so pretty easy to read and in fact I read it over my lunch hour one day. It is on the list for our Iowa state awards and I wanted to get it back out there circulating so I just sat down and read it. It was an exciting story and I can see why kids keep coming back to this series created by Tarshis to bring history to young readers. It works; I learned and was captured by the excitement.

2. Girl waits with gun by Amy Stewart (2015) This was our January pick for book club and I really enjoyed this charming mystery. Three eccentric sisters live out in the country and have problems with a rich factory owner who hassles them with a group of thugs. This book has a few interesting twists and is a quick read.

3. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2016) I have a love/hate relationship with this book. Most of it is so real, brutally real, make-you-cry-and-put-the-book-down cry. I loved the actual train and train stations created by Whitehead. The characters are vivid and were real to me. It is an incredible read and should be read by many Americans. Especially now. I’d like to send a copy to @potus so he could brush up on some black history.

4. Pax by Sara Pennypacker (2016) This is an amazingly sweet tale by Pennypacker about a boy and his pet fox. Reading the back of the book I didn’t quite know about how the story was going to work but it did-it won my heart. Peter rescues this small kit and the two have been inseparable until bad things begin to happen in his young life. This has an unknown setting with a bit of a dystopian feel to it; a war is happening over water but it is subtle and well-done. This is a wonderful story of friendship on many different levels.

5. Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes (2013) Sugar is a captivating main character born into a life of sugarcane. She hates almost all of her life but she has a sense of simple joy about her. Her mother has passed on and she is left on her own during this time of Reconstruction in the South. She wants her life to be bigger and bolder, she has dreams, and they don’t include working for the man for pennies. One of her dreams is to be friends with the plantation owner’s son Billy. Rhodes created a very spunky character in Sugar; one that can teach us more about ourselves.

Put any of these on your reading list. And then check them off!

My top ten books of 2015

I love GoodReads. I don’t know how any true reader lives without it. Even though I keep a paper journal of what I’ve read it is such a convenience to click into my GR’s app to look up a book while conversing; while others rack their brains for a title I can easily go back and look the title up for reference.

Here are my statistics for 2015. I read 55 books and 18,541 pages. The shortest book was Honey by Sarah Weeks-a sweet little tale and my longest title was written by the indomitable George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones which is also the “most popular title”. If given the choice I’d rather read my least popular title, Summer Cocktails, as it was a lot more entertaining!

Here are my top ten titles in no particular order:

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith; Most memorable and quirky tale of an future world transformed by oversized people-eating grasshoppers.Two main characters were hysterical. Young adult and not for everyone. Read my official review here.

A hundred pieces of me by Lucy Dillon: A telling tale of life and what we really want out of-a bunch of stuff or true experiences with those we love. Pairs well with The Life-changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo. Read about this book here, A hundred pieces of me, where I share my reading retreat.

Girl at War by Sara Novic; Excellent look at the Serbian conflict from a young person’s viewpoint. This book is eloquent and took my breath away. Read my review here-Girl at War

All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr; Brilliant look at WWII from many angles showing even in the ugliest of wars that survival is part of our human spirit. Beautiful writing and I never wrote a review for it. Shame on me. If you haven’t had a chance to read it order it now using your xmas gift cards.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; I loved this book-it opened a can of worms about race in a detailed and interesting story. I thought I knew a lot about race, my friends are a variety pack of colors, yet this showed me my thought process was often skewed in trying to be “color-blind”. I realize that my view is not the major problem with race in this country, I know, and yet I want to be standing on the far right of good. Give this book a try-don’t be afraid of the length-it reads fast.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson; This eloquent book made me cry and read many parts aloud to my husband/Groovy Girl as we drove cross country this summer. I’m a fan of Woodson’s and hearing her story in all its truths was a learning experience.

Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson; Homelessness is the problem in this excellent YA novel. A brother and sister strike out on their own because the older sibling can’t get along with their guardian. He feels obligated to take care of his sister and works to keep them together. Everyday is a struggle as they seek shelter and food but for the young girl it is difficult to make it to school in clean clothes with homework finished. Just thinking about these characters makes me think I might reread this story again. Sexual overtones keep me from reading it with my 6th grade book club. Read my review here of Paper Things.

Loot by Jude Watson; This book is a unique mystery with great characters. They work to solve problems on their own not trusting the adults around them. I recommend this one to students and each one is surprised by how good the story is.

The Storyteller by Jodi Piccoult; Amazing modern tale about Sage Singer, a baker with a messy personal life, that twists and turns telling us through flashbacks about another story during WWII. Holocaust stories often make me ill as you read about concentration camp horrors and this one made me angry, sad, yet often joyful. The story is well-told and I thought very different than the good but frequently formulaic Picoult tales. I mention it in this summer post.

Honorable mentions (all perfect elementary reads)

If you find this by Matthew Baker
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Switch by Ingrid Law
Rain, Reign by Ann M. Martin
The False Prince by Jennifer E. Nielsen

and 3 young adult books with one common thread, e. lockhart. It was my year to connect with her books. I enjoyed We were liars, Dramarama, and The Disreputable history of Frankie Landau Banks. All good solid stories.

(you didn’t really think I was just going to talk about ten books, did you?)

Favorite Reads of 2014

2014 was a good year for reading for me. I read 67 books, 3 away from my goal of 70. Not bad considering I don’t spend hours lounging around my house reading. Out of my 67 books I found 30 to be great reads. Hopefully my list will inspire you to read one that you hadn’t heard of before or that might be languishing on your to-read pile. I only read two nonfiction books this year; I’m much more adept at reading fun and interesting fiction but both nonfiction were noteworthy (The Book Whisperer and Here and Now)

My three lists are in random order.

Adult:

1. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
2. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
3. Belong to me by Marisa de los Santos
4. Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
6. We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
7. Sweetgrass by Mary Alice Monroe
8. The Wife by Meg Wolitzer
9. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
10. The cuckoo’s calling by Robert Galbraith

Young Adult:

1. All rivers flow to the sea by Alison Mcghee
2. Counting by 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
3. The scorpio races by Maggie Stiefvater
4. Where’d you go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
5. Mark of the dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson
6. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
7. The Fault in our stars by John Green
8. Never Ending by Martyn Bedford
9. The mirk and the midnight hour by Jane Nickerson
10. Hush Puppy by Lisa Cresswell

Chapter books:

1. Ophelia and the marvelous boy by Karen Foxlee
2. Here Lies Linc by Delia Ray
3. Fortunetely the milk by Neil Gaiman
4. Doll Bones by Holly Black
5. Curse of the warmbloods by Suzanne Collins
6. Secret Hum of a daisy by Tracy Holczer
7. Winterling by Sarah Prineas
8. Palace Beautiful by Sarah Deford Williams
9. Laugh at the moon by Shana Burg
10. The mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

I have a hard time choosing each year and can never get it down to just a few. Enjoy!

Reading Recap. Say goodbye 2012.

I read a grand total of 62 books this year. I count chapter books not picture books but I’m seriously thinking about changing that up and counting new picture books that I read. Of course, job wise if I counted every picture book I read to kids everyday my numbers would appreciatively sky-rocket. I noticed Mr Schu at Watch. Connect. Read counts the picture books he reads. I think this may be an idea to embrace.

As the new year has quietly ushered in 2013 I’ve been reading lists at Mr. Schu’s, The Brain Lair’s and the many Cybil’s list that came out just a few days ago. I love to browse through and see how many I’ve finished and new ones that intrigue me.

I also compiled some of my own stats and arranged them into categories. They are lined up in the order that I read them. Trying to pick my top favorite in each category would take way more brain strength than I have right now as I’m exhausted after my first day back and I’m battling this dang old Dell computer which keeps stalling and timing out as I flip from tab to tab. I need a new baby and by that I really mean a new computer. Wish I could blog and pin from my Kindle Fire.

Adult Top Reads:

Me and Emma by Elizabeth Flock
Claire Marvel by Jonathon Burnham Schwartz
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry
The Wild Girl by Jim Fergus
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Round House by Louise Erdrich (review to come)

YA Top Reads:

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
What Happens Next? by Colleen Clayton

MG:

Breadcrumbs by Anna Ursu
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby
Something to Hold Katherine Schlick Noe
Abarat by Clive Barker (review to come)

Elementary Fiction:

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Rules by Cynthia Lord

Favorite Picture books/2012:

Boy + Boy by Ame Dyckeman/Dan Yaccarino
Red Knit Cap Girl by Naoko Stoop
All the Awake Animals are almost asleep by Crescent Dagonwagon/David McPhail
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett/Jon Klassen

My top choices in all categories would be a tie between Ask the Passengers and What Happens Next? with Breadcrumbs and The Lions of Little Rock right behind them. As I peruse the list again I have to give a shout out to Neverwhere as it is begging to be noticed. Gaiman is a genius. Louise Erdrich would be my author pick of the year with one old one and one new one making my list. I feel like I could make a whole ‘nuther list that would have to do with fiesty girl characters and The Land of Elyon’s Alexa and Kelly Barnhill’s Iron Hearted Violet would show up there.

Happy 2013! It’s going to be a fantastic year. Change is in the air.

Christmas Eve.

Groovy Girl used this app to humor herself. You might ask why Teenage Boy has on a crazy Christmas sweater…? We were at a second-hand store and he tried it on for fun. Lucky me, he “allowed” this photo to be snapped.

On a quieter note; I’ve had the house to myself for the last couple of hours. Pure bliss.

The two teenagers are still sound asleep. My husband is upstairs working on something-I don’t know what but probably don’t need to disturb him. I used my time to finish a last grocery list for meals after tomorrow and then decided to not worry about that list until Wednesday. I whipped up a batch of sweet puffed corn-again with the unhealthy treats, I know! I made about six bags of this addicting treat and am going to disperse to my neighbors. I’d never had this snack before this year and now that I’ve made it will be happy to give it all away so I don’t have to nibble it’s buttery richness as we hang out together tomorrow. If you need a drink to serve for guests this peppermint treat by Brown-eyed Baker caught my eye this morning.

The plans for the rest of my day: (updated)

~~-yoga for renewal and balance.~~

-Read more Abarat by Clive Barker.
-Finish knitting mini-scarf for teenage daughter’s plant.
~~-Take my teenagers on a local adventure~~
a. coffee shop (closed)
~~b. two new vintage shops~~

~~-Take a long bubble bath to prepare for tonight’s two services.~~
~~-Heat Italian tortellini soup in crock pot to have between services.~~
~~-Make bread to share with soup.~~

~~-wrap gifts~~

~~-talk to Groovy Girl at the end of the day to find out her day’s adventures in Florida.~~

(Created my own from this pin)

I plan to have a very relaxing tomorrow, enjoying my family.

Peace be with you as you celebrate however you choose to celebrate this wonderful holiday.

Top Ten Tuesday; I am thankful for these authors…

The Broke and the Bookish host this weekly meme. Today we celebrate at the proverbial table to give thanks to those whom we love and those that keep us reading. This was an easy list to create and if you’d like to play along or just read other lists click to their site and find many more authors and books.

I’m thankful for:

1. Barbara Kingsolver-I’ve read nearly all of her books and loved them all. We could be friends.

2. J.K. Rowling-She brought magic back to reading and I will always be grateful to her for that. I loved the anticipation of getting a new one in the mail from Amazon and cracking open the cover, not letting go until it was finished.

3. Jodi Piccoult-I’ve enjoyed her books and her willingness to bring unique topics to light.

4. Kate DiCamillo; Love all of her books especially The Tale of Desperaux, Winn-Dixie, and Edward Tulane.

5. Mildred D. Taylor- As I read about Cassie Logan and her family’s struggles I fell in love with historical fiction.

6. Stephen King-In college I read a lot of his books and spent one freezing weekend in a cabin on the outskirts of Duluth and the main source of entertainment was me reading some of his short stories aloud to several friends. It was perfectly creepy.

7. Maya Angelou-Phenomenal Woman.

8. David Leviathan-Love his humor and and his memorable characters.

9. Rick Riordan-Like J.K. Rowling I will always be thankful that Mr. Riordan keeps boys (and girls) reading and hungering for more.

10. Suzanne Collins-Before The Hunger Games there was Gregor and I cheered for him.

11. Cornelia Funke-Just for Inkheart. I heart this book so much.

I know I could have come up with more and I’m sure throughout my day I might think of others but off the top of my head this is my list. Enjoy. What ten authors are you thankful for?

Top Ten Series I haven't finished but should…

This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Most of these are unfinished due to the time crunch that is my lovely life.

1. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. I’ve read the first three and want to finish.

2. Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I read the first two and moved on.

3. Rick Riordan writes faster than I can read. I have the last book of Percy Jackson and the two more Kane Chronicles and I haven’t even started on his other series…

4. Michael Scott’s The Alchemyst. I’ve read these first 4 and have two more to go.

5. Anna Godberson’s second series, Bright Young Things. (not as riveting as The Luxe)

6. Lois Lowry’s The Giver series. Keep meaning to get this done and now the last one is coming out.

7. The Daughters series by Joanna Philben. I’ve read one and want to read the next two.

8. Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series. I loved the first one. Promise to finish series before movie arrives in theatres!

9. Kristin Cashore’s Bitterblue. I’ve read the first two-loved them.

10. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I want to read the second one, Lola and the boy next door, before the last one is out.

When I first started writing I thought I was keeping up but my list easily kept growing! Thanks to the lovely ladies at The Broke and Bookish for reminding me of all I need to read this Fall. I’ve already clicked around to many other TTT and I have a new list started, Series I need to read!

Top Ten Tuesday; Books to read in a day.

This weekly meme is featured at The Broke and the Bookish. Click the link to read other blogger’s lists. This week the subject is books that kept you on the edge of your seat, read-the-whole-day kind of books.

1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. I remember the first three books in this series kept me reading through the day. I remember the excitement of the early delivery, the frenzy. Pure joy.

2. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. I loved this character’s moodiness and enjoyed reaching back to the French Revolutionary time period.

3. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier. A retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses, I felt transported and did read it in about 2 days. Really should go back and read more by this author.

4. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. Just finished this one and loved the changing perspective in each chapter. Proves every story does have more than two sides.

5. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Loved Death as a character. Creepy, unique perspective of the Holocaust.

6. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow. Sad tale but her writing made me want to keep reading to find out what was happening.

7. Shiver by Maggie Steifvater. I loved how she created wolf characters who shifted~made me love wolves.

8. The Luxe by Anna Gabbenstein. The first one grabbed me, transported me, and piqued my interest, with all its twists and turns, until I turned the last page.

9. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. It was long and worth it. The story was riviting and well-told.

10. I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan. Tells the captivating story of two boys, abused by their homeless father, who make it despite the many roadblocks they struggle with.

11. Still Alice by Lisa Genova. Alzheimer’s disease was unraveled right before my eyes and it made me sob.

12. Graceling by Kristin Cashore. This was an amazing fantasy book. I loved the world Cashore dreamed up and even like the second one, Fire.

13. Claire Marvel by John Burnham Schwartz. My husband read it and I loved listening to him talk about it as he read it. I read it right after and loved it just as much. The story of missed opportunity and love.

14. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Another great fantasy book-Gaiman created a marvelously creepy underground world.

15. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu. A fairy tale world lies right out there in that woods beyond your neighborhood-be careful where you tread.

I’m not good at following directions and I couldn’t stop at ten. All 15 of these I highly recommend because they kept me on the edge of my seat or tucked down in my covers reading until late in the night.

Tag your it…

A week ago my blogging friend Lisa from Books Lists Life tagged me for a little Q and A game and I intended to answer back the next night. Instead I obliviously went to a meeting the next day that involved the future of my job; the job that I love and had the wind knocked out of me for a few days (still). I’m not going to get into it but we all need to wonder about the future of education in the U.S.

I do want to honor Lisa’s questions with answers so here they are…

Here’s the rules:

1 You must post the rules.

2 Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.

3 Tag eleven people and link to them on your post.

4 Let them know you’ve tagged them!

Here are Lisa’s questions for me (and the 11 others she tagged):

1. Could you eat the same thing for lunch every day? What would it be? Yes, Sushi.
2. How many library books do you have checked out right now? Only two but they are both overdue. ‘Nuf said.
3. Do you feel strongly about specific music? or more of a music in general type person? I love music in general but am not a fan of heavy metal or opera. I lean toward Jack Johnson, The Grateful Dead, Taylor Swift, John Prine, The Beatles, and Simon and Garfunkel.
4. What is your favorite brick and morter retail store? I love a store on our eclectic Main St. called Vintage Iron.
5. What is your favorite online store? The Gap
6. What is your favorite moment of heartstopping romantic tension? (Book, movie, music, tv, real life, art, anywhere.) Heart-stopping romantic tension makes me think of Claire and Jaime in Gabaldon’s Outlander series.
7. What is the first book you remember reading? Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss over and over to my two younger brothers.
8. Are you creative in any way? How so? Yes, I like to write. I do knit but have yet to really produce items that people will actually wear.
9. Not counting your family, pets, and vital personal documents/pictures, what one thing would you save in a fire? The oval table that sits by my side door. It belonged to my grandmother.
10. What is your favorite type of vacation (museums, beach, cabin, mountains, theme parks)? Hands down; the beach. My second though is the mountains of Colorado.
11. What is the most surprising or unexpected thing you’ve done in the last 12 months? disagreed with my superintendent. Eek.
My tags:

Tina
Leslie
Caitlin
Chinoiseries
Vanessa
Jana
Natalie
Reading Junky
Beth
Rebecca
and finally
Katie L. (who just needs something to smile about after her painful week)

My questions:

1. What book character is crush-worthy to you?
2. What is your favorite library memory; either public or school?
3. What is your favorite state?
4. What is the best time of day for you?
5. If you could direct a movie of one book-what book would it be?
6. What is your favorite guilty pleasure (massage, expensive haircut, high priced coffee)?
7. What is the worst book to movie adaptation you’ve ever experienced?
8. Describe your dream vacation.
9. What musical artist or song would play on the soundtrack of your life?
10. What is the one food that brings back blissful childhood memories?
11. What form of exercise do you actually like?

Have fun! Feel free to play along…