Luggage and Literature

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine

December 2017 Reading List

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Every month I try to read at least one book from the following categories: nonfiction, devotional, and fiction. And this year I’m participating in the 2017 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenges, so I’m also going to be listing which category my books fulfill. If you want to join in on the fun, you can check out the list of categories here! This is my December 2017 Reading List, my brief reviews and book recommendations for December 2017. Hopefully I’ll provide you with some inspiration for your future reading as well!

Books Finished:

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley

A sweet story about a boy and his grandfather who is dying, this book has elements of friendship, magic, and love. The descriptions of the circus captured my imagination. And the ‘evil’ great aunt’s evilness was explained in such a compelling way, that I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her at the end. This is a really good book and I recommend it, especially if you’re in need of a change from your typical reading.

The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens

A re-read for me, this was the pick for my book club in December. I love Dickens’ Christmas Books, of which this is the third.This sweet little story mixes love of home and love of family to create a lesser known classic. As in A Christmas Carol, spirits are used to help the endearing characters to find the right path forward. I enjoyed it very much the first and second times around.

About Grace by Anthony Doerr

After reading All The Light We Cannot See, I’m an Anthony Doerr fan for life. I want to work my way through everything that he’s written, and this was available on Overdrive. The book is about a man named Winkler who has dreams about things that will happen in the future. I found it to be a perfect winter read, as he is also a scientist who studies snow. Not as good as All the Light We Cannot See, but still a fantastic book.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Graphic Classics) by Robert Louis Stevenson, Fiona Macdonald, and Penko Gelev

I previously read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde many years ago. While in Florida earlier in the month, I picked up a couple of graphic novels of classic pieces of literature, this and Wuthering Heights. I couldn’t resist, especially when I noticed the clearance tags and that they were only $0.40 each! This is a great introduction to the classics, especially for younger readers.

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

The tale of Lucy Barton as she recovers from an illness in the hospital and is visited by her mother. Lucy is a woman who had a difficult and neglectful childhood. She is strange to the world, and the world is somewhat strange to her. But the tale is beautiful, and shows life to be complex. I really, really liked this book, and recommend it.

Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

This is a dual timeline novel set in the 1960s and also during World War I. The portion set during the modern time is told from the perspective of an elderly and sick gentleman, Tom. The portion set during the Great War is told through letters amongst the characters. It was a sweet and heartwarming story that made me a bit teary at the end.

 

Books in Progress:

So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead by David Browne

Raising a Secure Child: How Circle of Security Parenting Can Help You Nurture Your Child’s Attachment, Emotional Resilience, and Freedom to Explore by Kent Hoffman, Glen Cooper, and Bert Powell (this was recommended to be by some therapists that I work with regularly on my cases, as it is the background for the Circle of Security Parenting curriculum that we often have parents go through as part of their case plans)

Discerning the Voice of God: How to Recognize When God is Speaking by Priscilla Shirer

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

Jesus, the One and Only by Beth Moore

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

 

Books Abandoned:

None.

May 2017 Reading List

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Every month I try to read at least one book from the following categories: nonfiction, devotional, and fiction. And this year I’m participating in the 2017 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenges, so I’m also going to be listing which category my books fulfill. If you want to join in on the fun, you can check out the list of categories here! This is my May 2017 Reading List, my brief reviews and book recommendations for May 2017. Hopefully I’ll provide you with some inspiration for your future reading as well!

Holy cow, I read a ton of books in May! Let’s dive right into them.

Books Finished:

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

2017 MMD Reading for Growth Challenge: a Pulitzer Prize or National Book Award winner

I LOVED this book, truly loved it. I think it’s probably my new favorite book that I’ve read in quite some time. The language and descriptions were lovely to read, even when the subject matter was difficult. This one will stand up to re-reading, and I’m not typically a ‘re-reader.’ The book follows two primary characters, a German orphan boy and a blind French girl during the years leading up to, through, and following World War II. The timeline jumps around a bit, but was never difficult to follow, and this is because the timelines begin to move closer together and ultimately intersect. Simply astounding how good this book was. The Pulitzer was definitely well deserved.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

I subscribe to Ramit Sethi through Feedly, so that I don’t miss any of his posts. I really enjoy his writing style, and that his tips and advice are so practical and geared toward folks in their 20s-30s. If you’re not sure what you should be doing financially, read this book. It’s great and entertaining.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

This book was SO intense! It followed Krakauer’s journey to and up Mt. Everest in 1996, one of the most deadly climbing seasons in the history of Everest. It was informative, but also fast-paced and exciting. At times it was also extremely sad, and I wished that the outcome might change. I also really liked the short chapters, making it really easy to pick up and read when I had a few minutes.

The Bumps Are What You Climb On: Encouragement for Difficult Days by Warren W. Wiersbe

I’ve been having some work struggles lately, and have been praying for guidance for the right course of action. I thought that this book would be good in helping me to process through the situations and make the decisions that God wants me to make, rather than the decisions that I want to make.

The Fantastic Fable of Peter Able by Natalie Grigson

I really enjoyed this book, that is probably best categorized as Young Adult fiction. It was just downright fun. Essentially the book follows the story of a boy wizard named Peter Able who lives in the land of Fiction, and whose series has been cancelled. He is finally able to make his own decisions, when he starts to become worried that he’s not truly in control of his life.

In the Woods by Tana French

I’ve heard of Tana French before (I mean, how could I not?! Her name is Tana!), but had never read anything that she’d written before. The first entry in the Dublin Murder Squad series, it was a solid murder mystery that also had some personal elements to it. I struggled a bit with the inaccuracies of the law, at least from an American legal system perspective. But I also don’t know details of the Irish legal system, and therefore, don’t have a good understanding of whether the law might be correct for Ireland.

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

2017 MMD Reading for Growth Challenge: a book by an #ownvoices or #diversebooks author

This book is told primarily from the perspective of two teenagers, one of whom is Jamaican born and about to be deported, the other who is Korean-American. There are also periodic entries from others that they come into contact with, as well as topical entries. The structure of the book felt fresh, and the story-telling and perspectives felt authentic. I really, really liked this book, and read through it very quickly, as I wanted to see where things were going.

The Girls by Emma Cline

This book has gotten quite a lot of buzz, so I was excited to see that there was no waiting list to check it out on Overdrive. It is a fictional story of a fourteen year old girl in the 60s who gets wrapped up in a Manson-like cult. The story appeared to borrow heavily from the history of Manson and his followers. I found it to be an engaging story, but also quite depressing. And fair warning (if it’s even needed in a book about a Manson-like group) the subject matter is adult.

Division of the Marked, Elevation of the Marked, and Maturation of the Marked by March McCarron

2017 MMD Reading for Growth Challenge: three books by the same author



I purchased Division of the Marked quite some time ago, probably through a BookBub deal, but I honestly don’t know. I’d rediscovered it when scrolling through my Kindle Fire and bumped this one (causing it to pop up to the top of my list), and I’m so glad. I found Division of the Marked to be so intense and engaging, that I purchased Elevation of the Marked, and then also Maturation of the Marked (which is a novella that falls between the other two books). I can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out, so hopefully March is writing quickly!

Digital Landscape Photography by Kim Rormark

I’m trying to improve my photography for the blog. It’s definitely a work in progress! This book had some great tips for setting up your camera to improve your photos, as well as composition tips. There was also explanation for the composition guides, which a lot of books on photography don’t include. I found this relatively short book to be helpful.

 

Books In Progress:

A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meisner

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

 

Books I’ve Abandoned:

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

Friday Five 5-12-2017

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Recently, I played with the Hasting Symphony for 3 schools, in 3 different towns, for over 1,000 kids. Exposing children to the wonders of orchestras was so fun and inspiring!

This is the twenty-eighth installment in my weekly series, called the Friday Five. In this series, I’ll tell you about five random things that I love, whether they be books, travel, music, movies…or whatever. So without further ado, 5-12-2017’s Friday Five!

1–Explore Newt’s case. Anyone else a fan of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them? Check out this 360 degree tool to explore the inside of Newt’s case. So neat!

2–Whispering Baby Whales. Did you know that baby humpback whales whisper to their mothers while swimming? I didn’t until I read this article. And there’s even a sound clip that you can listen to for yourself.

3–All the Light We Cannot See Book Review. Sierra is a friend of mine, in the blogosphere and in real life. She wrote a fantastic review of Doerr’s book, which our book club is reading currently. I recommend subscribing to A Simple Taste for Reading, so that you don’t miss any of her posts.

4–Coping with and Avoiding Motion Sickness. SDI/TDI, the agency that certified Mike and I as scuba divers, put out this blog post with some great tips for dealing with motion sickness. For someone like me, who occasionally suffers from it, it was helpful.

5–Baking Hacks. I love to bake. And sometimes baking doesn’t go exactly as planned. I couldn’t stop watching this video, since all of the hacks were things that I’d never thought to do. Hope you’re also inspired to do a bit of baking…or salvage your baking misadventures. 😉

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