Berly's Books and Stuff - 6

Our Christmas Village on the Mantle

Here is 2012!!

My Rating System:
***** excellent, go get it!
**** very good
*** still enjoyable
** disappointing
* not worth finishing

January

1. Me, Myself and Bob, by Phil Vescher ****1/2
2. Still Life, by Louise Penny ****
3. Chess Story, by Stefan Zweig *****
4. Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck ***1/2
5. Shadow Tag, by Louise Erdrich ****
6. Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks ***
7. A Fatal Grace, by Louise Penny ****1/2

February

8. 77 Shadow Street, by Dean Koontz ***1/2
9. Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini ***1/2
10. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins *****
11. Behemoth, by Scott Westerfield ****
12. Shadow Spinner, Suzanne ***1/2

March
13. Dead Man's Folly, by Agatha Christie ***1/2
14. Lone Wolf, by Jodi Piccoult ****1/2
15. The 9th Judgement, by James Patterson ***
16. Mr. Churchill's Secretary, by Susan Elia MacNeal ****
17. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, by Rhoda Janzen ****
18. The Cruelest Month, by Louise Penny ****
19. Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead, by Christiana Miller ****1/2
20. Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins ****

April
21. Executive Privilege, by Phillip Margolin ***
22. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese ***/didn't finish

May
23. 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami 5.0
24. Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier 3.5

June
25. Habibi, by Craig Thompson 4.0
26. The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson 3.5
27. Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay 4.0
28. Off Balance, by Dominique Moceanu 4.0
29. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 5.0
30. Through a Window; My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe, by Jane Goodall 3.5

July
31. Fifty Shades of Grey, by EL James 3.5
32. Between the Lines, by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer 3.0
33. Fifty Shades Darker, by EL James 3.5
34. Fifty Shades Freed, EL James 3.5
35. Shadow of the Night, Deborah Harkness 4.0

August
36. Morgue Drawer Four, by Jutta Profijt 4.0
37. Forgotten Waltz, by Anne Enright 2.0
38. The Shape of Water, by Andrea Camilleri 3.5
39. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick 4.0
40. Paris In Love by Eloisa James 3.5
41. little night by Luanne Rice 3.5
42. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 4.5
43. Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker 4.0
44. The Ship Who Sang by AnneMcCaffrey 3.5

September
45. "E" is for Evidence by Sue Grafton 4.0
46. The Messenger by Lois Lowry 4.0
47. The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore 3.5
48. The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano 4.5
49. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore 3.5
50. Third Girl by Agatha Christie 3.0

October/November
51. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma 4.5
52. Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana 4.0
53. Nevermore, by James Patterson 3.5
54. The Book of Jonah, by Stephen Dau 4.5
55. Never Let me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro 4.5
56. A Million Heavens, by John Brandon 4.5
57. Game of Thrones, by George Martin 3.5
58. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn 4.5

December
59. incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman 4.0

Favorites from 2011...

Charlie Bone Series, by Jenny Nimmo (YA)
The Ask and the Answer, by Patrick Ness
Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell
The Tiger's Wife, by Tea Obreht
A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness
Little Bee, by Chris Cleave
Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
Spooner, by Pete Dexter
The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
The Vanishers, by Heidi Julavits
Life Itself, by Roger Ebert

And 2010...

Shades of Gray, by Jasper Fforde
The Widow Clicquot, by Tilar J, Mazzeo
The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein
The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barberry
The Lonely Polygamist, by Brady Udall
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, by Aimee Bender
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
Author Patricia Briggs

It's December!! How did that happen already? Well, as promised, a peek at the Christmas Village. We have inherited some of them from my in-laws when they downsized to a condo. This one is Jack's favorite!

Ooooh! Christmas village! Looks so sweet, my kiddos would have it destroyed in a few seconds....but Im sure it'll last nicely at your place. Very cool!
PS am I still first??
:)

Hi Kim! The village is awesome. :)

Hi Kim - just checking into the new thread:) Hope you have a great December.

Hi Kim- Despite not getting a smooch on your last thread, I'll stop by and say hi! Congrats on #6!! I also like the Harley Village!

Good morning, Kim! Nice new thread you have here. I love the Christmas village!

Love the village!

Hi Megan-- The village should be safe with my kids--just no nerf guns in this room during Christmas!!

Hi Stephano! Hope life is treating you well. : 0

Calm-- Thanks for stopping by and I am wishing you a wonderful December right back.

Mark-- smooch, SMOOCH, SMOOCH!!! Hope you feel loved again. And I thought you might like the Harley Shop.

Hi Terri--Thanks for checking out the new thread and I am glad you like our little village.

Hey Morphy-- Nice to see you here! Glad you like the decorations.

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, by David Eagleman, was an interesting look at the unconscious mind and the amazing influence it has over our everyday decisions. Eagleman steals the popular movie title, "A Team Of Rivals," to describe the inner workings of the mind. The author is just a tad egotistical, but he delves into fascinating discussions ranging from time as a mental construct, the ability to make predictions ahead of actual sensory input (think hitting a fastball), implicit memory, instinct blindness, criminal activity as a positive indicator of brain dysfunction and the whole question of blameworthiness. Did I agree with all his conclusions? No. But the journey was so worth it! 4 Stars

Totally swamped as of late. I am not avoiding you all!! I am the team captain for my TKD adult demo team (leading the color belts since I just became a black belt and don't know the first BB form) and we are performing this Saturday. Also, I am now working 20-30 hours a week in my husband's office as Girl Friday. I am doing everything from learning how to price estimates and invoicing, to tax prep and revamping the website. Yesterday I spent the morning taking new product photos to upload. It's actually a blast to be there and I love using my brain to do new things. The downside--much less play time and reading time. The kids have also been recruited for more household duties. They are being really good about it and I would much rather be in the office than folding laundry! Why didn't I do this sooner?! LOL.

Good for you! Always nice to have a new adventure.

Lovely new thread, Kim! Thanks for sharing your village with us - love how you have room to space it out. December always leaves me breathless - but in a good way. It just gets so busy, and then along comes January and we are so very happy to see her if only because it means we might actually get a little rest!

So you are leading a TKD group, AND you've taken on a 20/30 hr. a week job on top of all what you were already doing and you can't figure out why you don't have as much time as you used to for reading and LT? Hmmm, I wonder what you're doing wrong Kim?

Love the Christmas village.

Oooh, that's better! Blushing a little.

The Christmas Village brings back memories of my mom. One of the buildings even looks like one of hers. My nephew's fiance has confiscated the village this year to decorate my nephew's house for Christmas. I may have to go visit him just so I can see the village!

Kim - the Christmas village idea is a lovely one. I don't think we have that tradition in Northern England but it is splendid isn't it?
Have a lovely weekend.

Hi Judy--You ought to know about adventures--You are always traveling!! Your jealous friend, Berly. ; )

Hey Bonnie! What's your point? If I could away with only sleeping 4 hours like Stasia I would be able to pull this off no prob!

Mark--You look good in red. I should SMOOCH you more often!

Hi Lori--Great to see you! I think you owe your nephew a visit for sure. Which one looks like your Mom's?

Hi Paul--The Christmas Village is one of my favorite traditions each year. It makes me so happy to put it up.

I hope you all have had a loverly weekend!!

Well, I did! How bout you, Kim?

So, my LT Secret Santa has been busy...whoever you are, THANK YOU!! I received Murikami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which is great because I loved reading 1Q84; and When She Woke by Hillary Jordan and The Outcast by Sadie Jones, both of which look amazing. YAY!! I love Christmas. : )

Hi Crazy--I had a great weekend, too. Thank you. (Sorry I missed you up above.) I was captain of my TKD adult demo team yesterday and we did a fine job I was told by friends from the crowd. It was great fun! At the very end the Masters performed and they did amazing feats of athleticism and daring. The crowd pleasers were kicking a silver sphere wide open and showering the kids with candy and the busting open of the watermelon. They knocked apples off swords while blindfolded and used other teammates to propel off of and then break boards 15 feet in the air. They also sparred (one of my Masters, J Kim, is two-time World Champion and an Olympic gold medalist): it was impressive to say the least. We also had a Grand Master visit from Korea and he did a more comtemplative form which was beautiful.

Oh, and I won an award!!! For best focus. : )

Best focus! That is a skill to be admired!

I had to laugh at your view of my traveling -I'm such a stay-at-home person. It was remarkable luck to get to meet you in Portland, and thinking back, I have traveled more in the past two years than probably in the previous 10. So maybe I'm changing my ways just a bit. Or maybe circumstances pulled me hither and yon.

Jim and I are contemplating a major trip next year, if my friend in the Republic of Georgia would give us advice on the best time to visit. It seems perfectly foolish to have a friend in that part of the world and not go see it while she's still there. If we go, that would be the first time I'd be in Europe - and I'm not sure Georgia would qualify anyway. That would be a major adventure.

As it is, I am completely with you on spending time doing something other than laundry, and being somewhere else! Jim and I have had to work from home ever since Hurricane (or tropical storm) Sandy hit at the end of October, and we'd really like to get back to our well-engineered offices. The work is ok, if a little more awkward to do, but the four walls are getting really close together.

Judy--Who knew you were a stay-at-homer? I think not so much anymore! Besides, working from home is going to cure you of that for sure. You should definitely go say Hi! to your Georgia friend... in person. I would love to have a trip somewhere, but I am not seeing anything in the future yet. But I am enjoying the whole work in an office thing. Sorry things are still difficult for you and Jim in NY. Hang in there!

Congratulations on your award! That looks like a very tall trophy... hope you have a great display space for it!

The church is the one that is like my Mom's was.

Best focus!! I can't think of a better award to receive - way to go! Sounds like a fun and impressive demonstration to watch.

Kim, I love the bird's eye view of your village. And congratulations on earning that humongous trophy! You are amazing. ;-)

Thanks Carol. It is a VERY tall trophy, LOL. And I like it! It has been a very long time since I earned one (probably since college and that was a few decades ago); I have it displayed right by the front door so everyone can see it. Not proud at all am I?

Hi Lori--I love the churches. There is another one on the other side, too. I personally like Rudolph's little hot chocolate stand a lot too.

Hi Crazy--I thought that was a great award to get, too. My family was in the know, but they didn't have the particulars. It was getting towards the end and the announcer called out "Attendance" and they all looked at each other and thought, "Oh, I hope she doesn't get that one!" LOL. I much prefer Focus.

Morning Donna! Cross-posted here. Glad you stopped by and thanks for the congrats. I have my stellar moments. ; )

Hi Kim! Love the trophy! You look very happy. Yah!

:D Enjoy them! I had a blast picking them. :)

Hi Mark, very happy!

Val--What a great Santa you are! I was going to wait and open them on Christmas Day, but I just couldn't. Also, my book group was meeting to pick books for the next year and I thought I should see what jewels I might be able to bring. We selected The Outcast as one of our picks! Thanks again!

Congrats on the trophy, oh focused one! (That is a skill/trait I tend to lack.)

HI Kim! Love your Christmas village! And nice big trophy too!

Kim - Just dropping by to wish you a lovely weekend.

Kim - I saw a book in the stores yesterday which was about favourite North American writers telling about their favourite bookstores. Powells of course was in there. Chuck Palaniuk had it down as his favourite store if I'm not mistaken.
Congrats on the Taekwondo; remind me never to get into an argument with you!
Have a lovely weekend.

Hi Terri--Thanks for stopping by! Focus is definitely one thing I DO have, so it was nice to have it recognized. And I am sure you have other talents galore. : )

Hi Chelle-I am glad that you like all the decorations in my house! (I am counting the trophy as one of them, LOL!)

Crazy-- And I hope you are having a lovely weekend too. I will pop over later this weekend and see what Christmas mayhem you and yours have been up to.

Hi Paul--And a wonderful weekend to you as well! Don't worry--TKD is used for self-defense, so unless you start something, you're safe!

I do love Powell's. I had a heart attack two weeks ago because my husband called to tell me there was an article in the newpaper that they were shutting down Powells. And it was true! But is was their textbook/technology store. Which is still sad, but not as. I don't know whether they plan to rebuild and reopen or not....

So, life her is hectic, as usual. Last week, my daughter had a swim meet, and my son had his Winter Play, which I went to see twice. Sarah swam freestyle and breaststroke. She took third in one and last in the other. I am really proud of her! She has never been on a swim team before and I know with her heart condition she gets winded, but she did it! And she is having such fun with the other kids. Jack was one of the guys in the newsroom of "Not Fit To Print." His role was the cad/player dude. Which he ate up. What a ham! He can't wait to try out for the musical in spring. I only made it to TKD once, which is saying something! I am off to shop today (this whole working thing is really getting in the way! LOL), but I hope to be back later to visit everyone. I miss you all!!

Oh, and it is SNOWING here! Which hardly ever happens. So pretty! Big hugs and I hope the holidays are going well for everyone.

I hope your shopping went well, Kim. We had snow today as well, but I am happy to report that it didn't stick. Not a great snow lover.

Hi DQ! Our snow didn't stick either, but it looked pretty falling. Shopping is almost done. A few on-line items today and I'm done!! Got my LT Secret Santa books and have to pop them in the mail tomorrow. One package still to send to MN. Just shipped the boys off to play racquetball, so maybe I can actually sit down with a book in peace and quiet! ; )

Kim- I see you are busy but that all is well. I'm happy. Congrats on the snow, better you than us. Big Grins!

Hiya Mark! Yes, snow. Now we are in a blizzard watch, but frankly I think the temperature is going to be too warm for more snow. Just lots of rain and high winds. Joy. Luckily shopping is done!

And on a side note...Why on earth did we build an outside mall in a state that rains so much? My hair was plastered to my head yesterday!! And no, it is not cool to use an umbrella. You are just supposed to pretend it isn't raining. Just like not wearing a coat in MN until it is like 20 degrees outside. Cold? What cold? Been there, done that. : )

So, now I am busy writing the yearly This-Is-What-My-Family-Has-Been-Up-To Christmas letter. Almost done. Just need to add pictures. I love getting real mail this time of year. I add everyone's holiday photos to a Christmas album each year and it is so much fun to go back and see how the kids have grown up. It also makes excellent blackmail material for the grownups, tee hee.

I haven't read squat in days, but am hoping to get time during the holiday break. I think 75 is out of reach, but there is always next year!

It's snowing!!! : )

What a gorgeous Christmas village on your mantle, Kim. *sigh* We've been so late putting Christmas decorations up around the house this year.

Congratulations on winning that beautiful trophy ... does it go up on the mantle too?

Hi Caro! I know what you mean about decorations. The outsider has almost nothing this year. We just did not get around to it. Oops!

And thanks on the trophy. It doesn't really fit with the Christmas theme on the mantle, so I have it right by the front door instead. ; )

Hope you are enjoying the holiday spirit!!

Hope you are enjoying your snow! It started snowing here last night and hasn't stopped yet! The dogs are loving it but I'm already tired of the wet dog smell ;-0

Ohh enjoy the snow! I thought we were getting some today -- last minute announcement of a storm system heading in -- but all we've got so far is rain. About 10km northeast, they have snow though... *shakes fist*

We have yet to get any snow but there's supposed to be some on the way tomorrow Kim. As the years go by I put up fewer and fewer Christmas decorations. As a matter of fact, this year I gave my daughter a boatload of my decorations to try and fill up her new (big) house. Someone may as well put them out.

Merry Christmas Kim!! Hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Just stopping in for a spell to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Kim.

Wishing you a year that is painfree!

Merry Christmas, Kim!


glitter-graphics.com

Happy Holidays to you and yours Kim


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Big Holiday Hugs!

Merry Christmas, Kim! Hope it was filled with fabulous!

>22 Berly: congratulations on your trophy! Sounds like it was a great day!

Merry Christmas, even though its gone already here, you still have some hours left Im guessing. Enjoy!

As you can all probably tell by my LT absence, Christmas and all its family fun has totally overwhelmed me!! Big Hugs to all recent posters-- Chelle, DK, Bonnie, Caro, Linda, Terri, Calm, Mark, Crazy, and Megan-- and any and all lurkers, too. Merry (belated) Christmas!!! xoxo

Family time is especially precious this time of year, Kim. Enjoy! Hope you all have a very Happy New Year!

Kim - have really enjoyed keeping up with you in 2012. Happy New Year and I look forward to more of the same in 2013.

Thanks Donna and Paul. This time I have been MIA because of a wee trip to the ER. An allergic rxn that really wiped me out. I have been in bed on meds for three days. But coming back to life just in time for the New Year!! : )

Sorry to hear that you have been ill. Wishing you a happy and healthy 2013.

Happy New Year to Kimmers & family! Have a great one, my friend. See you on the other side.

Happy New Year, Kim!

Hi Calm--Thanks for the well wishes. I was able to eat some yesterday and more importantly, drink (that would be water not champagne)! I was getting very dehydrated.

I am contemplating putting away some decorations today. If I can muster the troops and just be the general, it should work. ; )

Hi Marky-Mark! I will see you on the other side, well, I will as soon as I make a 2013 thread. But I that probably won't happen until tomorrow. So here's a smooch in the meantime. SMOOCH!

Hi Katie--Happy New Year to you too! Thanks for stopping by.

Happy New Year Everyone!!



gif compliments of artist Lenabem-Ana

Happy New Year, Kim! I have loved following your thread and your adventures, and I look forward to following you into the New Year. Sorry to hear about your recent ER excursion - glad that you are back home safe and sound. Wishing you a healthy and pain free New Year that is full of magic and laughter.

Thanks Crazy! It has been such a pleasure to get to know you this year. You have such an abundance of love for everyone and everything. You handled all the stress of this past year with amazing grace and humor and you read great books, too! Thanks for being you. Wishing you just as much joy for 2013.

You can find me 2012 thread here...

http://www.librarything.com/topic/147109