42 Books in 2014!

Okay, I didn't make my 2013 reading goal...not by a long shot. I know I didn't read much at all in November or March, but ultimately I read 30 books in 2013, so yay!

But let's focus on the future, shall we? I'm going to take things down a notch this year to something still challenging but doable. Last year I wanted to read 4-5 books a month, I actually read 2.5 books per month on average. So in 2014 I'm going to shoot for 3.5 books a month and make a goal of 42 books for the year.  I'll keep track right here for ya and also on Goodreads for those book nerds out there!

Currently Reading:

Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott

and

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Read in 2014:

January

1. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow, January 4th: ★ ★ ★
2. The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch: ★ ★ ★ ★ 
3. Night by Elie Wiesel, January 22nd: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
4. Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love
by Sherry Petersik, January 24th: ★ ★ ★

February 

5. The Rosie Project by by Graeme Simsion, February 12th: ★ ★ ★ ★
6. Atonement by Ian McEwan, February 20th: ★

March

7. Animal Farm by George Orwell, March 2nd: ★ ★ ★
8. The Girl in the Green Sweater, March 8th: ★ ★ ★
9. My Story by Elizabeth Smart, March 19th: ★ ★ ★ ★

April

10. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, April 16th: ★ ★ ★  

May

11. Above All Things by Tanis Rideout, May 15th ★ ★

12.  Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, May 23rd: ★ ★ ★ 
 

To Read:
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
• Moneyball by Michael Lewis

Book Review: Marley and Me

Okay -- I tried, I really tried! However, I think it's time to admit to myself that reading 50 books this year is not going to happen. That's not to say I'm going to stop trying, but I'm only halfway there and there's only 15.5 weeks to go in the year. One way or the other though, I've really improved my reading habits and had a great time jumping from book to book -- always reading something which was one of my other goals when I started this process. I don't necessarily feel like I've failed, I'm just not as great as I hoped I could be yet, which is okay. Maybe I'll try this again in a year that we don't adopt a baby, write a thesis, graduate, and move to another state. That being said, I'm still going strong and I think I can at least make it to 35 books and if I up my game a bit maybe even to 40. I'll keep you posted! Onto the review...

Marley and Me by John Grogan

It's no secret, now, that I'm feeling a bit homesick for Colorado -- especially now that just two blocks from our condo has been evacuated due to flash flooding. It's crazy! My heart is very much there with all of our friends (who are really more like family) that are trying to stay safe amid all the rain, power outages, flooded streets, and lost lives.

So I drowned my homesick sorrows into this book, and I could not have made a better choice. Of course it doesn't hurt my fondness for the book that the dog is a Labrador Retriever and I had a black version of that same dog as a kid. Smokey was his name and we were like two peas in a pod. He was big and ridiculous as was Marley, so I just ate up all the little anecdotes and how Marley was weaved seamlessly into the Grogan family. The language John used was so comfortable and accessible that I felt as if our memories of our dogs were sitting in a room together exchanging stories.

Because of the movie that was made, most people already love the story of Marley, and I must say that after reading the book I love the movie even more -- which is a sign of a great movie! I cried during pretty much the same parts while reading as I did watching the movie, but there was more purpose behind the tears because I knew more and was more connected to the storyline.

I normally go on and on about books I really love, but there's not much else to say. I really connected with the writing style, the story, the dog, the family...mostly I just think this book was the right book at the right time. It warmed my heart and helped me remember the person I desperately want to become when I have frequently, as of recent, found myself a bit cold, disconnected, and lost. It's quite possible at another time in my life I would not love this read this much, but tonight I'm giving it a hearty and well-deserved

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

And as a final sidenote, the subtitle "Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog," is perfect! The book really is about how this family grew and came to be over 13 years and how Marley helped to shape that family. It's perfect and I hope to have a connection with a dog like I had with Smokey, and Marley had with the Grogan's, very soon! It's been 11-years since my overgrown puppy died and it's time to rekindle that flame...now only to convince Nick!

I'm looking for my next read, so suggestions (preferably quick reads) are welcome! Happy reading!

PS I found out that some of the ladies I attend church with in New Mexico have a book club and I just am so excited build my connections here when I attend next month! Yay for nerdy extroverts!!

Book Review: Decorate

Decorate by Holly Becker & Joanna Copestick

"I want my home to work for me, not the other way around, and so every design choice I make is based on practicality as well as aesthetics. I really believe a home is something to live in, not just to admire." -Atlanta Bartlett

After reading that quote, I knew I would love this book.

And then I ended up skimming over a lot of it because I saw the picture and was like "Well, I don't care why they did that - it looks really stupid and I'm not going to do it." Most of the looks were very modern and edgy for Nick's and my style, so I had a hard time connecting and staying interested in what the author presented. It was especially disappointing because the book is advertised as offering over 1,000 different pictures of many varying styles, and that's just not how I saw it.

Even though this book was a bit of a let down after my last decorating literary venture, but it had some redeeming qualities. For example..

"Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love brought together under one roof."

"A laid back, relaxed home comes from allowing real life to be a part of your design, mixing old with new, luxurious with everyday, and family heirlooms with kids' paintings, where the odd imperfection is celebrated, and friends and family can come together and not worry about 'messing up' the decor!" -Atlanta Bartlett

"FALL SHADES Combining forest browns with leaf greens, then adding in a warm turquoise to the mix, creates a warming palette in a room where plain comfort is the key look. Browns work best when they are used in a careful balance with lighter, brighter colors."

"Living rooms are social spaces so hide your television and make sure to have at least three seating positions: a sofa and two others." -Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan

Overall, however, I felt like there was little substance in this book and I spent more time mocking it with Nick than defending it against his mockeries (which is how I know a design book is good). This one is only getting

 ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Book Review: The Perfectly Imperfect Home

The Perfectly Imperfect Home, Deborah Needleman

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I really loved this book! I think this is the perfect "coffee table book," filled with short little sections of fascinating information with a lively cover and pictures inside to match. I would have, however, preferred photographs to the drawings, just because sometimes it was hard for me to see what they were trying to express and photos would have done that better for me. That being said, the pictures matched the feeling of the book, which in some ways did more to show what the book was about than photos could have conveyed. The point is, anyone who is looking to style-up their home in anyway should read this book! Sure, some things in it were terribly impractical with small children, but it had loads of great ideas that could be sifted through and carefully applied no matter the situation you found your home in. I would really love to have this book as a constant go-to manual in my home!

Some of my favorite tips or quotes:
"Create cohesion with your bowls, bins, and boxes by having them share common colors or materials."
"Quite simply, the more designated places you have for specific items, the less your entry will end up resembling a junkyard or a branch of the post office."
"Save the super bold for the smaller pieces, like armchairs, pillows, and throws."
"Say no to symmetry. You don't want too much of a good thing: OD'ing on symmetry makes a room dull and stiff." (Something I may tend to do.)
"Irreverent Accents: These are small, whimsical touches that show you don't take the objects in your home too seriously: snapshots stuck into the edge of a beautiful antique mirror..."
"Jollifiers are sentimental things that spread joy every time you cast your eye upon them. They are among the easiest decorating tools as the require no skill, no complicated understanding of color, texture, or composition."
"Mollifiers...[are] the stuff that you allow into your home because as awful as it may be, it makes someone else happy...A really chic person can mollify because she puts love before style -- and she can look upon the offending items as amusing, or at least part of the package."
"When mixing patterns, the rule is to connect through color and contrast through scale."
"This might sound counter intuitive, but to create a beautiful home, you need a bit of ugly."
"Use similar frames to unify a diverse grouping of pictures."
"You can make little 'nothings' -- postcards, notes from friends... -- look terrific by giving them a special place or treatment. These mementos can also be mixed to great effect with good pieces of art."

Okay, that's quite enough. I just don't want to forget the really important ones before I have the cash to buy the book for myself.

Book Review: Little Men

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

Oh, I love Louisa May Alcott's writing style! She slaps you in the face with morals, parenting tips, life lessons, and cute anecdotes as she also sucks you into the lives of her wonderful characters. As I finished reading I felt so sad that I had to say goodbye to the lovely new friends I had made...imagine my joy as I discovered there's a third book in the series (which I have already eagerly downloaded to my Kindle)! Admittedly there were times I found myself anxious to move on from reading about one particular story-line to get to another, but I figure that's a pretty good problem to have in a book. My heart lept for joy as victories were shared and tears were shed as hearts and lives were broken. Even though it took me some time to get from beginning to end, I loved every moment I was able to enter into the lives of the Little Men of Plumfield.

Let me share with you some of my favorite "Alcott-isms" from this trove of treasures she created:

"...for no person, no matter how vivid an imagination he may have, can invent anything half so droll as the freaks and fancies that originate in the lively brains of little people."

"I believe in rewards of a certain kind, especially for young folks; they help us along, and though we may begin by being good for the sake of the reward, if it is rightly used, we shall soon learn to love goodness for itself...The good behavior and success of my boys is one of the rewards I love best and I work for it as I want you to work for your cabinet. Do what you dislike and do it well, and you get two rewards, one, the prize you see and hold; the other, the satisfaction of a duty cheerfully performed."

"...no matter how lost and soiled and worn-out wandering sons may be, mothers can forgive and forget everything as they fold them in their fostering arms. Happy the son whose faith in his mother remains unchanged, and who, through all his wanderings, has kept some filial token to repay her brave and tender love."

"...for gratitude gave a sweet flavor to the most distasteful."

"We live in a beautiful and wonderful world, Demi, and the more you know about it the wiser and the better you will be."

 "For love is a flower that grows in any soil, works its sweet miracles undaunted by autumn frost or winter snow, blooming fair and fragrant all the year, and blessing those who give and those who receive."

Okay, I could really go on and on with Alcott-sm's (I'm thinking I'll just cover my home with these wonderful reminders), but this book absolutely gets

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Book Review: While the World Watched

  While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age During the Civil Rights Movement by Carolyn Maul McKimstry

Y'all know I am a sucker for a memoir, and this one is no exception. Carolyn was 15 when her church was bombed and 3 of her friends, one being her best friend, was killed. She talks about that event, what it did to her, what 1963 did to her, and what she's done with her life because of what she experienced at such a young age. 

Let me begin, what a beautiful lesson on forgiveness from a woman who received so little mercy so early in her life! "I know all of us are capable of evil, but I also believe that as people made in God's image, there is also good in all of us. Surely we must become intentional in looking for that good."

Other than the wonderful message this woman had to share, I also loved the format. While she referenced the 16th Street Church bombing often, most of the book was really about her general experiences as the country was transformed into a much less segregated place. I imagine it read like if she were recounting the story of her youth/life on my couch. She would reference an event, then quote a civil rights leader, then talk about that person's life and the impact it had on her, then go back to the event. It sounds confusing but it really flowed very nicely.

One thing I didn't understand before reading this book and I'd never really considered is that even if they made it out of the civil right's era alive, African Americans experienced some wicked-crazy survivor's guilt, and there were zero resources to help them cope with these feelings and avoid falling into depression. What a small thing, having access to mental-health services, and I take it for granted everyday. Carolyn talks about all that, and I didn't see that coming.

I'd absolutely recommend this book, and I think it's going on my "To Buy" list because of all the great quotes from civil rights leaders as well as the beautiful message of love, acceptance and forgiveness. Obviously, this book gets 

 
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Book Review: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

 

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel, Robin Sloan

I was only 25-pages into the book when I knew I would really like it. The narrator, Clay Jannon, shares with the reader the following:

"I for one welcome our new android overlords" after describing a roommate of his who is "Smart and strong and organized and thoughtful," which of course means she's an android.

Good stuff.

I didn't know it when I started the book, but this was way out of my typical genre. I usually stick to memoirs, historical fiction, or classics. This was a technology-mystery-modern-mythological cornucopia, but I really loved it!

The writing was interesting, the storyline was "meh," but it was a fun read! I was debating between 4 and 5 stars, but a five-star book for me has to impact my day-to-day somehow, and maybe I'm dense, but I didn't see the book's application to my life until it got spelled out for me in the Epilogue, and that wasn't enough for me...although it was nice.

"There is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care. All the secrets in the world worth knowing are hiding in plain sight."

"...the right book exactly, at exactly the right time."

Therefore, this book gets a solid rating of

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆