July Reading Rundown

My Favorite:

A few months back I wrote about The Historian, which I love and continues to be one of my favorite books I've read in 2013. This month it had real competition, The Art Forger. A beautiful story of a young struggling artist, searching for validation, interwoven with the story of the women who started the Boston Art Museum. It's one of those books that I can't tell you anything or I'll tell you everything and then you won't enjoy it when you read it. Yes, I said when, because you must read this book!

Honorable mention goes to Tuesday's at the Castle. Excellent book for young readers with a fierce female main character. I know at least one little girl who will be getting this book from me for Christmas this year!

I keep telling all of you what you should be reading. Now it's your turn, what should I be reading??

Totals: 49 (10)  1 more book to reach the 50 in 2013 goal!

June Reading Rundown

Photo Credit: Book Covers from amazon.com

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My Favorite:

As you have probably caught on by now, I love a good memoir and this month was thick with them. 52 Loaves was the fault of much inspired bread baking in our kitchen and Knitting the Threads of Time was a great knitting companion, however American by Choice was my favorite… by a long slide.

When I was commuting 5 hours round trip to grad school three days a week, I fell hard for audiobooks. They really helped pull me through my commute, especially the evening one, usually after dark. I find myself still checking out audiobooks from our local library, which has an amazing selection. American by Choice was one of my audiobooks for June, and is actually read by Craig Ferguson. One thing I dislike about the memoirs of funny people is that they are either terribly depressing and not funny at all or they come across as trying WAY TOO HARD to be funny. This book is neither. Ferguson is honest about struggles but carries his familiar tongue-in-cheek humor all the way through (for another comedian’s funny memoir check out Dawn French’s book). 

Laurie Notaro is also an excellent book if you need a good laugh. Future Hubby hates me reading her books in bed, because I end up laughing so hard I keep him awake.

This month I encourage you to read something funny! It’s summer after all, have some fun with it!

Totals: 41 (10)

May Reading Rundown

May has been full of travel, meetings and nights of beautiful weather spent walking Lake Michigan instead of reading a book…. and I’m okay with that! The books I have read this month have all been excellent  and another huge pile of books I’ve had on hold from the library arrived this week, so I’m looking forward to June reading even more.  Better yet, my local library is doing a summer reading program for adults!! The grand prize (from a drawing - one entry per book read): An hour long massage at a posh local salon. Yesss!! I’m in!

In May I Read:

Death of a Hussy  By M.C. Beaton

Does this church make me look fat? By Rhoda Janzen

Dearie By Bob Splitz

Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore

And a professional  development Book no one other than me cares about, but totally counts toward my goal of 50 books in 2013!

My Favorite:

Jane Eyre  is aclassic I was never required to read in school, was glad I waited to read it of my own free will so I could appreciate it. Although, I always loved the books we read for school… with the exception of Huck Finn.

And there’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore. Wow. Another one of those books that makes you wonder how people come up  with these story lines! Amazing to think about how their brain must work. An absolute bibliophile’s dream!!

Total Count: 31 (8)

April Reading Rundown

What a crazy month!  Lots of exciting things to share when the time is right, but right now it’s time for the monthly reading rundown. This may give some explanation for my month long absence.

In April I read:

Salmon Fishin in Yemen by Paul Torday

Death of a Perfect Wife by M.C. Beaton

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

My nest isn’t empty, it just has more closet space by Lisa Scottoline

Does this baby make me look straight? By Dan Buctinsky

Pitch Like a Girl by Ronna Litchenberg

The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma

Turkish Delight and Treasure Hunts by Jane Brocket

The Gentle Art of Knitting by Jane Brocket

Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs

Total: 26 (7)

Favorite: 

This month’s top pick is The Gentle Art of Knitting by Jane Brocket. The photographs are beautiful, the patters are useful and the writing about the art of knitting is just perfect. I nursed this book along over a series of rainy days and very black pots of tea and I can’t think of many things better to do.

March Reading Rundown

This is a few days late, please forgive me.  I defended my thesis last week, and it was ACCEPTED! So, I’ve been taking this week off to catch up on some household things (there were a lot of dirty clothes that, as my mother would say, “did not do themselves!”), read books that I want to read, do some knitting for me (more to follow in another  post) and watch way too much streaming video from Amazon Prime (have you seen Lark Rise to Candleford yet?).

March, considering the level of stress and general business, was very full of books. My research was done by that point and I used books as a motivational tool. If I finish this section of my thesis, I can read a chapter of Anthony Bourdain.

In March I Read:

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Visiting Tom by Michael Perry

Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich

Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

Favorite:

This month was difficult to pick a favorite, all of the books were good, but nothing that really jumped out. Bourdain would probably have to be my top pick again. His brutal honesty and clear, cynical way of writing about his world really strikes a chord with me and I just can’t get enough. His other books are defiantly on my GoodReads list. 

I would also like to take a minute to call notice to Michael Perry. I honestly have to say Visiting Tom is my least favorite of his books, but he still ranks as one of my very favorite authors and I would highly recommend you check out any of his books. Coop and Truck: A Love Story are my favorite.

I find myself being more and more drawn to memoirs lately, and both Perry and Bourdain write beautiful examples. If you are a loyal fan of fiction, consider stepping into the Non Fiction section and pick up a memoir for a change. I think you will be delightfully surprised!

Total:  16 (6)

February Reading Rundown

How on earth is it March already?! I know February is short, but come on!

Not much reading for this month. Well, unless you count all the academic stuff and the guides for writing cover letters and preping for interviews post-graduate school. Which we wont, because really, you only read that stuff when you have to and this, my friends, is about fun.

In February I read:

Death of a Cad by M.C. Beaton

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Favorite:
It's another toss up this month between two very different books. Kostova is one of those authors where I can't help but find myself thinking I wished my mind worked like her's did! This is an amazing story that tracks through three generations of a family and three periods in history as these historians try to unlock the truth behind Vlad (the Impaler) Stevitch. It is full of suspense and beautiful writing about historic cities and relationships between people. If you read only one fiction book this year, choose The Historian.

Kostova's unlikely contender is Bourdain. Future Hubby and I loved No Reservations, and this book has been on my list for a very long time. The discussion of food is beautiful and raw. It has very colorful language, so be forewarned and please don't let your child who wants to be a chef read it. Do read it yourself though. Bourdain doesn't pull any punches, he talks about the resturant world like it is, at it's best, at it's worst and all the people that make it run. I loved this book, because for a moment I was there, in the kitchen, completely vacating my own life and THAT is what I look for in a great book. 

Total: 10 (5)

January Reading Rundown

First of all, I’m in love with the website GoodReads. Not only does it allow me to pass suggestions and reviews back and forth with my friends I don’t often get to see in person, it has an amazing encyclopedia of books to build lists of future reading.  Last year, I joined the 2012 Challenge and read 50 books. I jointed the same challenge for 2013 and also a group that is reading cozy mysteries (my goal is to hit “super sluth” level by reading 13 cozies). 

Most days you will find me reading, with my morning coffee or tea, reading during lunch and reading before bed at night. You will never see me leave the house without a book or my Kindle in my purse. You could say I'm "A Reader." I'm hoping some of you are too and that we can talk about books here. So, I’ve decided to do a monthly rundown of what I’ve been reading and tell you about my favorite book for the past month (bold titles denote cozy mysteries).

In January I read:

A Deadly Snowfall by Cynthia Gallant-Simpson

A Deadly Chocolate Pi by Cynthia Gallant-Simpson

A Deadly Fish Tale by Cynthia Gallant-Simpson

Autobiography of a Fat Bride by Laurie Notaro

Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton

My Favorite:

It’s month one of the rundown and I’m already breaking the rules! This month is a tie between Notaro and Beaton, two very different books that I couldn’t put down. Notaro writes humor essays that are so funny Future Hubby hates when I read them in bed, because my laughing is not conducive to his sleeping. I always keep one of her books around, because 25 pages are the perfect way to turn around a bad day.  Beaton’s book is the first in her series featuring Constable Hamish Macbeth in the highlands of Scotland. It’s a cozy mystery, no blood, guts or gore. Just a lot of tea, a minor romance undertone and lots of talk of the greatness of the highlands mixed with a bit of clever detective work by Macbeth. BBC Scotland picked up these stories and created a television series loosely based around them which are a great watch for a blustery weekend.  

Total Count:   5 (4)

Note: I won't provide links to purchase these books, as I would like to encourage you to do it from your local bookseller (if you have one). Buy LOCAL!

This month, the books by Gallant-Simpson are self-published as Kindle books and are only available from Amazon currently.