Let's Read

Best Books 2011

2012-01-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

It is time for the annual countdown to the best book I read this year!!!! Number 10 was Bossypants by Tina Fey.

9. The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

8. The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

7. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

6. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

5. Half A Life by Darin Strauss

4. Thrift Store Saints by Jane Knuth

3. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

2. The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan

1. Room by Emma Donoghue

Waiting - Fall 2011

2011-09-12T16:00:00.001-07:00

These are the books coming out over the next couple of months that I am most excited about. Can't wait to read each one of them! What new books about to be published are you excited about?

Waiting - Fall 2011

2011-09-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

These are the books coming out over the next couple of months that I am most excited about. Can't wait to read each one of them! What new books about to be published are you excited about?

Highly Recommended

2011-02-26T16:16:00.001-08:00

I have really been on a lucky reading streak. I read these three books right in a row and they were all perfectly written and endlessly interesting. I highly recommend them all. Click on the book cover to be taken to information about the book.

2011-01-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

These are my picks for the best books I read this year. Please click on the book cover to be taken to a description of each book.

Who would have thought a non-fiction book about North Korea would be #1? I did not really know much about North Korea and when I read this book I was shocked. What hardships the people of that country have endured. This books reads as fast as a novel. The author focuses on a few specific people and their lives. I think it is a must read.

I also think the book Where Men Win Glory is a definite must read for every American. Pat Tilman was a hero.

A book that I made fun of my friend for reading, True Colors by Kristin Hannah, ended up on the list! It was really a fun and interesting read.

Sherman Alexie is a really great author and I loved his book of short stories; which is saying something because I am not a big fan of short stories.

Sadly, I look back at my reading year in 2010 with some sadness. I really did not read that many books that knocked my socks off. However, yesterday I went to Barnes & Noble armed with gift cards and bought about 7 new books! They all look really good and I want to dive into them all right this minute!!!!

I would love to know what the best books you read last year were!!!!

Listening

2010-08-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

I thought that listening to books on CD while cross-stitching was a very good idea. However, it really has turned into listening to books while driving to and from work. How restful, relaxing, and engrossing this has been. It all started with Emma.

This is one of the Jane Austen novels that I had not read, but recently I saw the BBC mini-series version and it was fabulous. The CD was too. Listening to books you "read" differently. I heard things I might have passed while reading.
Next was a book I had read. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. I loved this book of short stories when I read it and it was on my Top 10 list that year. Listening to the stories after reading them was so interesting. It really sealed my opinion that the first short story in this book needs to be the basis for a novel. The main characters are a father and his daughter. I found them to be endlessly intriguing.
So, after finishing Unaccustomed Earth I went back to the library and browsed through the books on CD. I was kind of looking for something "easy" to listen to and something set in modern day. Maybe something by Harlen Coben.

I saw the title The Painted Drum. I had not read anything by this author Louise Erdrich, but having recently become very interested in Native American culture I thought I would give this a try. I mean, what did I have to lose?

It turns out that listening to The Painted Drum was one of the best "reading" experiences I ever had. The story was wonderful and the characters were endearing. I really would have liked to stay in their company much longer. The author is a superb writer and I hope to read all of her books now.

The reader on this CD was Anna Fields. Wow. Wow. Wow. She was fabulous. She did all of the characters; and her reading of the male characters' parts was just genius. Her accents were so interesting. As I neared the end of the CDs her reading made me feel the story deep in my soul. Her description of the mother/daughter relationship had me sitting in the car with tears running down my face before going into work one morning.

I so wanted to send her an e-mail to let her know what her reading meant to me. I looked her up on the internet and was so shocked and so very saddened to learn that she had died in 2006 at the age of 41. I was really shaken up by it for the rest of the day. I so wanted to let her know how I felt about her.

Reading, writing, listening, talking about books, feeling the feelings they all engender..........what a miracle of life.

The Passage

2010-06-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

This is supposed to be one of the "big books of this summer!" I won't even go into the premise except to say it is a thriller (I think). After I read a column by Stephen King raving about how great it was I had to put it on my list. I just started it today and not that far into it; but I think it is going to be a good one!!! I have been in a reading slump lately. I can't find anything that holds my attention or that makes me drive home from work just wanting to read it. I think we might have a winner here!

I borrowed a book.....

2010-05-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I borrowed a book from my cross-stitch buddy, Jayne. I had read other books by Jon Krakauer and wanted to read this book mostly because I know he is a very good writer. I superficially knew the story of Pat Tilman. Pat was a successful NFL player and some time after September 11, 2001 he enlisted in the Army as he wanted to serve his country. Giving up a lucrative football career and leaving home, along with his brother, Kevin, (both pictured below) seemed way above the call of duty. It seems that Pat Tilman was a man of substance. A thoughtful man. A family man. In other words he was the real deal and a true American Hero.

The story of how Pat died is one which breaks my heart in a million pieces. After reading this book and Zeitouin by Dave Eggers my faith in the people in charge of our country has really been shaken to the core. I can only hope that things behind the scenes in the Obama administration are better. If we send our citizens into war then they must be treated as the true heroes they are and every step must be taken to ensure that they are as safe as can be.

Please read this book. IT is a very important book that all Americans should read.

Thank you for the loan Jayne. I will be returning your book to you on Tuesday so that you can read it right away.

HEROES

Sweater Quest

2010-04-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

I am not a knitter; but my Mom is. I heard about this book and it sounded really good. I figured if I did not like it I could pass it on to my Mom. What drew me to the book is that it is about someone's passion. I love to read about people who are completely and totally enamored about something. This is the story of one woman's quest to knit a difficult sweater in the time span of one year. It turns out that the author is a wonderful writer and funny too. She made even the knitting parts that I don't know anything about very interesting. Great book!

Poem

2010-03-30T17:00:00.001-07:00

I am not a big "poetry person." Or maybe I am....I came across this poem named Wild Geese by Mary Oliver. It just spoke to me. Then I went into Google Images and just picked some images that seemed to illustrate the poem.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Do you have a favorite poem?

Modern Masterpiece

2010-03-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

"I cried with joy when the children all began to play together in the sparkling foam of the waves that broke between worlds at the point. It was beautiful, and that is a word I would not need to explain to the girls from back home, and I do not need to explain to you, because now we are all speaking the same language." from Little Bee by Chris Cleave

I just finished this book and I just want to let you know that it is a true tour de force. A true modern masterpiece. It is another novel that introduced me to a subject I never knew about and is now a subject I care about deeply. Highly recommended.

2010-03-03T16:56:00.000-08:00

Mike and I stopped at the library tonight. As you can see by my haul I was completely unrealistic and undisciplined. I could not help it! So many good books. I want to run away for a week to a cabin by a lake and read them all!

The wonderful cross-stitch snowflake was done by my friend Patti and given to me at Christmas time. It is gorgeous!

snobby

2010-02-24T17:02:00.000-08:00

I think I am kind of a book snob. I thought Kristin Hannah's books were just large potboilers......but really they are great BIG STORIES. Sometimes I don't want to be wowed by really "prissy" prose. Sometimes I just want to be told a story. About people who I come to care about. Set in a place that is interesting. This is my second Kristin Hannah book and I am really enjoying it (it passes the minute I get home from work I have to read this book test). It is set in the part of the Pacific Northwest where my Dad lives so I get a big kick out of being able to imagine the scenery in my head. Are you snobby about anything in the world of books??? Please don't tell me I am the only one!

Bookplates

2010-02-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

CONTEST RESULTS: Everyone wins!!! Jayne and Patti I will bring yours to you today. If everyone else will email me your home address I will get some in the mail to you!!! Thanks!

I am loaning a book to a friend. It is a book that I love and want to keep in my library permanently so I put a bookplate in the front cover so that I will get it back someday. I have received bookplates as gifts from others (mostly my Mom) over the years. These top two are my absolute favorites!
Do you use bookplates?
I would like to send a medley of bookplates to a lucky winner. Just leave your name/email address/name of favorite book on this post and I will pick a name this coming Friday, 2/26/10.

Current Read

2010-02-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

I checked this book out of the library on Monday night. It is riveting. Sherman Alexie is a Native American writer and I just love him. His writing is so very easy to read yet it is multi-layered. The stories he tells are so interesting. This is a book of short stories. I usually don't favor short stories but there are a few writers who I make exceptions for. I don't think you will be disappointed if you take a look at this book.

Coming Attractions

2010-02-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

Four new books I can't wait to read!!!!!!

Best Books 2001

2010-01-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

In an effort to gather all my best books of the year lists in one place; here is my list of the best books I read in 2001. What is really interesting is that some of the books that made the honorable mention list I would not still give honorable mentions too.....and the book that is listed as #6 of the year turns out to be the BEST BOOK I EVER READ IN MY LIFE!!! A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is the best book I ever read..........

BEST BOOKS 2001

1. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

2. The Rich Part of Life by Jim Kokoris

3. Still Waters by Jennifer Lauck

4 Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl

5. Tell No One by Harlen Coben

6. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

7. Patty Jane's House of Curl by Lorna Landvik
8. Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

9. A Slant of Sun by Beth Kephart
10. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

HONORABLE MENTIONS 2001

Bald in the Land of Big Hair by Joni Rodgers (this should have been on the Top Ten list)

Waiting for my Cats to Die by Stacy Horn (this too)

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane*

Never Change by Elizabeth Berg

Ava's Man by Rick Bragg

Wuhu Diary by Emily Prager

The World Below by Sue Miller*

The Girls in the Van by Beth Harpaz

My Life on a Plate by India Knight

Stuffed by Patricia Volk*

*I probably would not keep this book on the list now.

Lucky

2010-01-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a book that you will be lucky to read.....it is so good! Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson.

It is another example of non-fiction that is as gripping as any novel you have ever read. Briefly, this is the story of two divers who discovered a WWII German submarine closer to America than you would ever believe. Definitely a must read. Go get it!!!!

I am thinking of great non-fiction because I finished Nothing to Envy:Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick.

It was an amazing book. I could not stop reading it. I fell in love with the people who the author wrote about. Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that a country would treat its citizens like that. And it is still going on. My eyes have been opened to another part of the world that is tragic. Most of these people cannot even get up and go to the kitchen and get a piece of bread. They are out scavenging for weeds to eat. In this time of tragedy in Haiti where life is very similar in quality to North Korea I feel helpless. I am hoping to find some way that I can make just a small difference because the problems in these countries are seemingly endless.

New Books

2010-01-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

I received a gift certificate for Barnes & Noble for my birthday. So, it was off to the bookstore last night. What an adventure....going out on a Saturday night! Mike and I (or should I say) are extreme homebodies. I love to just stay in a Saturday night and hang out together. Anyway, that gift certificate had to be utilized stat!

These are the two books I got. I knew I was going to get the new Anne Tyler book. I love her. I am on page 100 already.

The book on North Korea just kind of jumped out at me. I had not really been interested in the subject but this book has been getting great reviews. While in the store I checked out the customer comments on Amazon and everyone seemed to really like. I love to read about other cultures; especially when the nonfiction reads as well as a novel. Needless to say very little actual work got done around here today. I have decided that my favorite activity in the whole world is reading books in bed.
Click on the book covers to go to the link at Amazon to read more about them. Anyone else get any new books this weekend?

Catching Fire

2010-01-09T07:31:00.000-08:00

I am still ensconced in this world that Suzanne Collins has created. I am halfway through the second book in the trilogy.....the final book comes out in August. Can't wait! I am still stunned at the level of intensity and cruelty that is in these books; but I love the main characters so. Amazing books!

On another topic, Mike and I went to the local Barnes and Noble last night. It was closed, gone, shut up, paper over the windows! It is a smaller store and there are two big B&N stores nearby but I loved having one so close. I hear another of the smaller ones in a town nearby closed up too. That scares me. I hope that this is not going to keep happening.

I don't know what to think

2010-01-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

This book has been a sensation of late. Many, many people have raved about it and loved it. It is technically considered a Young Adult book, however I have found that many YA novels are very interesting even for a 48 year old.

So, I have had this in my TBR pile for months. I plunged in on Sunday. Finished it about an hour ago. It certainly held my interest. I love the main character. I can't stop thinking about it. I am just trying to process the whole setting of this book. I don't think this novel is for the faint of heart. I can barely give you a synopsis of the book. It is very upsetting. Let's just say that it is set in a very bleak future and no one is safe or cared for.

I am surprised that so many people love the book in spite of the subject matter. I feel the need to read lots of reviews of the book to understand more.

Now let me tell you that 10 minutes after reading the book I found myself in the library desperately searching for Book Two in the series and was very happy when I found it. I am about to go start it right now and am very excited to do so.

Have you read The Hunger Games? Can you tell me why you like it or not? It has been a long time since a book has made me really think like this.

A Good Idea

2010-01-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

A Reading Woman

Every year I get a special engagement calendar so that I can write all of the books I read in it. Then at the end of the year I can look back and remember the books that really "did it" for me.
This is what I use to make my Top Ten List every year.
This year I got a calendar called "A Reading Woman."

Maybe you could get a calendar and keep track too?
Then next year we could have a blog hop of best books!

Best Books 2009

2009-12-31T08:38:00.000-08:00

The Help was the best book I read this year. I read it early this summer. While reading it I knew it was the book to beat and over the rest of the year it stood the test of time. I love this book! If you have not read it; drop everything and go to the bookstore and get it. It is the story of several women in 1962 in Mississippi, namely white housewives and their African-American domestic workers.

1. The Help by Katherine Stockett
2. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
3. Columbine by Dave Cullen
4. Under the Dome by Stephen King
5. Black, White and Jewish by Rebecca Walker
6. Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg
7. Mary, Mrs.A. Lincoln by Janice Cooke-Newman
8. What I Thought I New by Alice Eve Cohen
9. Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
10. Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin

Honorable Mentions:

*Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
*The Pursuit of Other Interests by Jim Kokoris
*Nobody's Home: Candid Reflections of a Nursing Home Aide by Thomas Edward Gass

Each book on the list has a link to a description on Amazon. Please point and click your way to a bunch of really great books!!!!!

Would you let me know what your best book of 2009 was???

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T06:52:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas
May your holiday be filled with peace, family, friends, and good books!

Coming Soon: My Best Books 2009 List!!!

Best Book Covers

2009-12-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

Browsing in the book store is extra fun when you take a look at all of the covers with an artistic eye. Some covers are just so inviting and gorgeous! Here is a really great read with a stunning cover! I highly recommend Julie and Romeo for a fun light read. Perfect for this time of year. When I first saw the cover (hardcover) I was stunned. It is gorgeous. Over time I began to recognize the style of the cover artist. Her name is Honi Werner. When you start to pay attention to book cover art you might start to recognize the styles of different artists. This will be a regular feature of the Let's Read blog......stunning book covers. Fun!

Thanks

2009-12-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments on my new blog!!! I am having fun with it! I had some questions I wanted to answer:

1. Staci....you are not a loser because you have near heard of or read Plainsong!!! Just put it on your Christmas list for Santa to bring you!!!

2. Patti asked who the illustrator was for my favorite reading illustration below. Her name is Jessie Wilcox Smith, an American woman who did a lot of illustrations for children's books and magazines. As I was looking at more of her illustrations I added some to the sidebar because they are too good to be true!!! I love her!

3. When you put in the name of this blog in computer language is is called Let's Trade because that was the original name when it was going to be a cross stitch pattern trading site. I don't know how to change the name. And another thing I want to do is have a list on the sidebar of all of the labels for my posts. I label them and I think it should be automatic that they will be on the sidebar; but there is nothing there. Does anyone know how to get this done?

4. Patti, you should definitely start watching The Gilmore Girls. Start with Season One. Get it from the library. I think you will love it!

5. Nan, I am glad we have a place to hang out together now!!!!!

6. I would love to know some of your favorite books or know about your best books lists so please direct me to such if possible.

7. I am going to try to put links in for each book title....it might take a while though.

8. Thanks for all of your support! I am on a high!

Honorable Mentions 2000

2009-12-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

So, I am trying to catch up all my best book lists to the current year.....along with the best books one through ten each year, I had other books that were extremely great and wanted to place my "stamp of approval" on. This led to having an Honorable Mention List each year. The list in 2000 was quite lengthy.........(in no particular order).....

Blackbird by Jennifer Lauck*
On Writing by Stephen King* ( I should have had this book in the Top 10)
A Widow, A Chihuahua, and Harry Truman by Mary Beth Crain
Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Holes by Lois Sachar*
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri*
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers*
Slow Motion by Dani Shapiro*
Safekeeping by Abigail Thomas*
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Small Steps by Peg Kehert
The Giggler Treatment by Roddy Doyle*
Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman*
My Own Country by Abraham Verghese*
Fathers Aren't Supposed to Die by T.M. Shine
Getting Over It by Anna Maxted
Babyface by Jeanne McDermott
Dating Big Bird by Laura Zigman
Traveling Mercies by Annie Lamott*
The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw
London Holiday by Richard Peck

*= still highly recommended (which means the books without an asterix are great reads but do not really stand the test of time as I look back)

Booksworms Unite!

2009-12-12T08:29:00.000-08:00

Favorite

2009-12-12T07:25:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite reading illustration.

Lucky

2009-12-10T04:57:00.000-08:00

PLAINSONG by Kent Haruf

I envy anyone who gets to read this book for the first time. I think it is a classic. I keep giving it as a present over and over and over.

Best Books 2000

2009-12-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

The first year I started a best books list was 2000. I typed up the list and handed it out to friends. It was great to take stock of the year's books and proclaim one as the best of the year. I must mention that I am not concerned with what year the book was published, rather it the time period I read it in that counts.

In my calendar journal I keep track of all the books I have read that year. When I finish reading a book I write it down in the space for the day I finished it.

Per my records I read 88 books in the year 2000. I think that might be an all time high.

TOP TEN OF 2000

1. The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan
2. Motherland by Fern Schumer Chapman
3. Operating Instructions by Annie Lamott
4. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
5. 50 Acres and a Poodle by Jean Marie Laskas
6. Open House by Elizabeth Berg
7. My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki
8. I Closed My Eyes by Michele Weldon
9. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
10. Second Hand by Michael Zadoorian