2011 in Books

Can I just start by saying I look forward to this post all year long? I love to read, but it was one of the first hobbies that got lost after my first son was born. I realized about a year later that the only thing I'd really read in that year was a parenting book or two, and made a serious shift. Now I keep track every year, at least of my fiction reads. I tried to better track my non-fiction reads this year, but looking through the list I noticed several titles were missing (I know I read at least 5 canning books)... I'm going to do better next year!


My goal is to read 20 fiction titles every year and this year I made it to 23. I read a lot of YA titles- a lot were recommended to me by students, and some I was reading "ahead" for my kids. I really like to keep up on trendy titles so that I know exactly what we're dealing with when my kids ask to read them. Now that Ender is starting to read some chapter books on his own I know that day is just around the corner for our family.

What was the best new (to you) author you discovered this year? Suzanne Collins. I read The Hunger Games trilogy in May/June and it is definitely one of my favorte series now. In fact, I plan to read it again next month in preparation for the movie release this spring.

What was your favorite new (to you) series? The Hunger Games Trilogy, as I mentioned above. Second place goes to Gone and it's sequels by Michael Grant. Those books are *not* for everyone, with a sci-fi lean and some horror elements, but it was well written with some interesting characters. I am NOT a horror fan at all and there were places in these books that I was glad I was reading during daylight (but I know I'm a little more easily freaked out than most).

Book that made you cry? The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I think this book renewed my faith in well written non-fiction.

Book that made you laugh out loud? All Wound Up by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Hilarious for knitters. :)

Book that totally changed your perspective on something? Canning for a New Generation by Lianna Krissoff. I've canned a little bit in the past, but usually just freezer jam. This book opened me up to feeling like a lot of different things were not only possible but pretty darn easy... and sooooo worth it to be eating our own food through the whole year, rather than only in the summer!

Best homeschooling book? The Core by Leigh Bortins. This is such a balanced approach to what we are looking for for our family. The Well-Trained Mind was a great jumping off point in pointing us toward materials that fit us well, but it feels so strict in what *must* be accomplished each year, and that is not always true for everyone- and that kind of restriction always makes me instinctively feel like it won't work for us.

While I'm not necessarily interested in joining a Classical Conversations group with my very young kids, we will be using much of the method here. My boys already love to memorize, and the fact that it only takes 24 weeks out of our usual 40 week school year means we have 16 weeks to explore interests or really sit on one week of material if they find something they really like.

Worst book that you managed to finish? Um, I don't really read bad books any more. If I listed books that I've started but not finished my reading list would be significantly longer. I used to feel compelled to finish everything, but my TBR list is just way too long and I want to get through the good stuff, you know? I did finish The Red Pyramid, but I had to push myself through. You know, Rick Riordan's stories and characters are really interesting but the writing is just bad. I do want to know what happens next but at the same time, the writing skill makes me groan and I have to put it aside for something else for awhile.

Most disappointing Book? Matched by Ally Condie. It felt like it was written to try to fit in with the Hunger Games fans, but it just doesn't resonate the way Hunger Games does. Many of the characters are flat or seem to be there just to help the plot get to the next point.

Best book-that-was-better-than-the-movie? Hahahaha... Twilight. Not even a close race. I'm not a huge Twilight fan, but I did read them again after a discussion with a friend (who suggested that I wasn't remembering the books accurately since it was about 2 years ago that I read them through in the course of a week). Just like The Percy Jackson books, the Twilight books have a compelling story but are badly written and I'm concerned about the underlying message of Bella and Edward's relationship. But the movie? I don't know how anyone who watched the movies knew at all what was going on.

Most over-hyped book of the year? Delirium by Lauren Conrad. It was a great idea, but felt flat to me.

Best young adult book of the year? The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Book You’ve been meaning to read for years and finally got to? The Artemis Fowl books. My husband has told me for ages that I would like them, and I finally read the first few this year.

Read aloud that the family enjoyed the most? Charlotte's Web! What a fun read.

Best non-fiction? I read a lot of really good non-fiction this year, but the one that I think is going to really affect our family is The Rhythm of Family by Amanda Blake Soule.

All-around best story of the year? The Hunger Games again. I know, I know. Broken record, right? I just really liked this trilogy!

Book that you feel is so integral to your library, you’d even pay full price for it? Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss, 3 R's by Dr. Ruth Beechick, and The Core by Leigh Bortins. I pull these out every few months as I plan the next quarter's goals and book lists.



Complete List for 2011:

Goal: 20 fiction books


Fiction:

1. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (January)

2. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (January)

3. Worst Case by James Patterson (February)

4. Stolen Children by Peg Kehret (February)

5. The Magic Half by Annie Barrows (February)

6. Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix (February)

7. Redwall by Brian Jacques (March)

8. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (May)

9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (May)

10. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (June)

11. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (June)

12. The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer (June)

13. Gone by Michael Grant (July)

14. Naamah's Blessing by Jacqueline Carey (July)

15. Delirium by Lauren Oliver (August)

16. Matched by Ally Condie (August)

17. The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan (September)

18. Hunger by Michael Grant (September)

19. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (October)

20. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (October)

21. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (November)

22. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (November)

23. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (December)



Non-Fiction:

1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (March)

2. Decision Points by George W. Bush (March)

3. Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont (April)

4. The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer (April)

5. Sew Liberated by Meg McElwee (April)

6. Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff (May)

7. The Core by Leigh Bortins (June)

8. The 3 R's by Ruth Beechick (July)

9.  Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss (July)

10. The Rhythm of Family by Amanda Blake Soule (October)

11. All Wound Up by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (December)

Yarn Along

{Knitting with Ginny this week...}

While I was in the middle of ripping and re-knitting mitten thumbs, I picked up a super fast project: Schmatta. Quick to memorize, quick to knit and best of all? My 6-year-old contributed a few stitches every few minutes, and at one point even did a whole row. He told me he was ready to move past finger knitting and this was the perfect opportunity for him to knit a little without feeling like he had to do a TON to finish it. It was really my project and he "just helped", which was the perfect amount of work for him.

I picked up Wendy Knits Lace yesterday but haven't had a chance to do more than glance through it. I'll be sure to share more when  I get a chance to look through projects (and probably knit one!)

I did finish All Wound Up by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee over the weekend. I'm already a big fan of hers, so it's probably not shocking that I really liked her latest book. How can you not like a famous knitter who very openly shares her knitting boo-boos, even when it might be a rookie mistake?


Not only do we share a birthday (June 14 FTW!), but as I was reading a few of the chapters in All Wound Up I felt like she'd been peeking in my windows stealing bits of my life... or that we're long lost twins born years apart... I too recently had the great time of no knitting due to stress and grief and as hard as it is to believe that a serious knitter would totally stop knitting for months, it really did happen. My *husband* even noticed my lack of knitting and tried to get me to knit again!


I'm making plans for baby knitting that I'll share soon, and also making a list of UFOs for the 2012 stash busting/finish your UFOs challenge. I want to be ready to go on January 1!

Do you have any knitting plans for 2012?

Christmas Postcard #4

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Day!

We spent the day playing a few new games found under the tree. The current favorite is Ruckus, but we also had great fun with Too Many Monkeys and Sleeping Queens. We also played Bananagrams and Scrambled States with Ender, and those were fun too, just not something that Ezra can quite participate in yet.

Ender learned how to keep score, and we ate way too much pie and baked ham.

And now it's back to "regular" life this week, except that I'm not working this week. Instead the work for this week is getting the house back to where it should be after several days of celebrating with family and friends.

And knitting.... lots and lots of knitting!

Christmas Postcard #3

One of my favorite things about this season is getting to re-read some of our favorite books.

Merry Christmas Eve to you and yours

and a

Happy Christmas Day tomorrow!

Christmas Postcard #2

Christmas Postcard

The tree is up...

Each child has a new ornament for the year, a tradition my mother-in-law started with her kids...

The boys were so pleased to use Nana's ornaments this year.

When they had finished Ezra said,

"I think Nana would like this tree."

He's right.... she would have loved that they decorated it for her.

Yarn Along

{Yarning Along with Ginny this week...}

Well, I didn't make my December 17th mitten deadline, but I sure gave it my best shot. So I gave one wrapped thumbless mitten and she laughed and totally understood. See, my mom is a quilter and she knows that time can get away from you or projects can just go unexpectedly.


It was just the time thing thank goodness. With a few extra rehearsals and the wedding rehearsal and wedding itself I just didn't have the time and I was a little more tired than I expected to be every night (and really shouldn't I know better by this point in the pregnancy?) The project is progressing beautifully and better than expected- especially since I'm not exactly known for my colorwork. It's my second ever colorwork piece, so I wasn't going in with high expectations. I'm just really loving the way this is turning out and I'm making sure to do it right even when it means ripping back a needle worth of stitches because I forgot to lock down a long strand.


It's hard to show what you're reading when it's on the kindle, but I'm reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's latest All Wound-Up and really enjoying it. Her blog is one of the few I read the second it shows up in my reader (and may have sent some of her latest blog posts on gifts for knitters to my husband- to the point that he told me what my Christmas gift was to get me to stop sending him knitting blogs...)  so I'm really enjoying the essays in this book so far.


How goes your Christmas knitting?

2012 Knitting Challenge

Kelly is inviting us all to participate in a Stash Busting/Finish your WIPs Challenge for 2012. Anyone here have need of that? I know I do!


I don't keep nearly as large a stash as most people- my yarn is usually bought with the intention of a certain project (except for sock yarn, which I always buy enough for at least a pair of socks, but occasionally more for baby knits). However, not all of those projects come to fruition, so I do have about 2 rubbermaid totes worth of yarn in a variety of weights, some still assigned to certain projects.


And I've recently ordered yarn for the baby that I'm going to count as stash since I have grand plans (read: not all of it will actually get knit in time and chances are likely that half will land in stash!)


Another part of the challenge is finishing WIPs.... and I have to say that I have a few of those... Please tell me I'm not the only one who finishes a project but then takes a month (or six) to weave in ends, stitch a seam or add buttons! I have a lot of projects that are in that final finishing stage but just haven't quite made it through the last hour it would take to make them truly finished.


It's a sickness really.


So are you in? The rules aren't strict (you can still buy new yarn if needed, it's just to encourage each other to work from stash!) and most everyone has some stashy build-up to take care of.... what do you say?

Yarn Along

{Yarning Along with Ginny again this week...)

After 2 (too short) evenings of work on the Christmas mitten (and 1 evening of starting over 50 gajillion times because that's how it works around here) I'm about 3 rows from the decreases. I was hoping it would go this quickly on the first mitten, because my schedule completely crowds up starting today and that second mitten might be difficult to finish by the Saturday deadline.


This mitten is Rigmor's Selbu Mittens, and even though I'm carrying both colors in one hand it's going a little faster than I thought. I really will try to learn to carry one color in each hand with even tension at some point, but not on a Christmas gift. I just can't give a handknit gift with wonky tension.


I'm still in re-reading mode, finishing up Eclipse and on to Hunger Games this week. Because I'm knitting more I'm reading less since those hobbies have to share the same limited amounted of free time I have. I did just download a copy of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's newest book on the kindle though, so I'm sure I'll be reading that too this week.

Christmas Knits

Last year I knit 7 items for Christmas, including 2 sweaters, 2 pairs of slippers, a shawl, a hat and a scarf that was the most challenging lace I'd knit up to that point.

 

 

Today is the day where I admit that I haven't made a single thing for Christmas.

 

 

That really can't come as a surprise seeing as how I haven't been knitting or sewing *anything* until about a week or so ago, but I am actually supposed to be busy making for Christmas and I've been slow to get going. I whittled the list down, and I think it mostly includes a couple of simple sewing things that can be whipped out in a few evenings.

 

 

Plus a pair of mittens, that can't just be whipped out in an evening or two.

 

 

See, my mom wants mittens for Christmas and I finally got some knitting mojo going.... so I'm going to go for it. So I guess the real question here is whether or not I'm crazy to try to knit a pair of mittens by next Saturday.

 

 

PROS:

• Worsted weight yarn already purchased
• A pattern ready to go
• Who doesn't like a crazy deadline once in awhile? I can totally work under pressure.

 

 CONS:

• My normal work schedule (aka not a lot of time) 
• Stranded color work (which I cannot yet do 2 handed with even tension, so I do it 1 handed, therefore slower)
• My usual need to re-start a project about 3 times before I get it off on the right foot. (Because, well, I can't just be finishing projects without some kind of obstacle right? I just like to get the frustration over with early...)

  

I started last night and have, well, not much to show you (I was busy getting that "start over 3 times" out of the way), but I'm hoping for some pretty awesome progress by tomorrow.


(I'm secure in the knowledge that my mother loves me and will totally understand if I only have half a mitten done by the 17th when we have Christmas with that side- as long as the full pair is delivered before 2012 I think we'll be okay.)

He

God is good.

He is good all the time.

Even while you tuck a sad little boy back into bed for the fifth time that night.

Even when little ones bicker from the moment they wake.

Even when the habits and activities of yesterday no longer bring peace and calm.

Even when needed quiet is nowhere to be found.

Even when the dark looks so very dark that you can't possibly hope for light.

God is good.

He is good all the time.

Yarn Along: More Baby Knits

{Yarning Along with Ginny again this week...}

My little Stella Pixie Hat from last week just needs a bit of sewing and then it's finished. I don't know why I put off the sewing bits, but I'll get it done in the car this weekend as we head around town to family things. I don't know why I worried that it would turn out too big, but I think it turned out perfectly for a newborn to wear home from the hospital.


Next up are some baby socks to match the hat, which I'm sure I will also start in the car this weekend if not during rehearsal on Thursday.


And my real knitting concern has been with trying to find the perfect coming home cardigan to knit for baby. We are planning to find out the gender at our next ultrasound if possible and that will help me decide greatly. I'm pretty sure it will be the Jasper Diamond Hoodie in a beautiful grey if baby is a boy, and if baby is a girl? I'm undecided. There are so many gorgeous baby girl knits that I just can't settle on anything. I'm used to knitting for my boys and having less than 10 patterns to really choose from.


I'm still reading the Autobiography of Henry VIII, but very slowly as I've been falling asleep early all week (and practically slept Saturday away...). The Hunger Games arrived this week from the library and I'm planning a re-read of that trilogy before the movie is released in the spring. So I'll either jump in and read Hunger Games over a few days (probably in the car this weekend- I can't even begin to say how many family things we have going on this weekend and next since the last of my brothers is getting married this month!) or read the Henry VIII book in a  hurry so that I can move on to the Hunger Games.


I'm sure I'll be back with more baby knits next week, though my gender-neutral list is pitifully small. Not long now 'til we find out what this little one is!

Thankful

:: Our first dusting of snow arrived overnight, much to the excitement of two little boys. (Followed by disappointment that it is truly just a dusting and can't be made into forts or snowmen.)


:: Praying over our house, that the sale goes through as planned in the next few weeks so that we can move into the house we really love (and have offered on)...


:: Ezra is learning to read and *loving* it. Little by little we work together and it's the perfect amount for each of us I think. I stressed too much about this process with Ender and I refuse to stress this time around.


:: Thankful for yarn and fabric and the other textiles that bring warmth to our home. I truly love having so much handmade in our lives, and along with a giant word of THANKS that my desire to knit has finally returned. Perhaps the sewing bug will return just in time for Christmas?


:: I'm feeling movement from the baby at least once a day now. Only two weeks until we find out if this little one is a girl or a third little boy (and whether I can give away all my boxed up boy things before the move or if they will be working their way through one more babe in our family...)


:: I'm thankful for the chance to work less after baby is here and spend a lot more time with my kids.


:: I'm so thankful that we have the option to keep our boys home and educate them in the way we feel best. I love that legos are mixed in with math and reading and that we can put some "normal school" aside in December to learn about the truly important- spending our school time instead helping our church help our community.


:: I am thankful that my mother-in-law "Nana" established the importance of the Christmas season in my husband's heart when he was a young boy and that we can carry on many of the traditions she started in her absence.


:: And most of all, in the midst of all this change that would usually send me screaming, I'm thankful for just that- the change.

A house that will really fit our family and the life we live.

Boys getting bigger and finding out just how much there is to learn about the world.

Adding a new little one in what seems to be a long while but is really just one more season away...

And the thought of moving and settling into a new house just two months before baby appears?

Not even a little scary.