lalbro finds time to read 75 in 2013 or not?!

Hi fellow LTers, I'm Liz, 46 years old, married 24 years to my high school sweetheart, mother to three wonderful kids ... including one who will be graduating from high school this year (eek!) and twins who will finish middle school and enter high school. A civil servant during the day, and foodie blogger by night, I read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction .... on my Nook as I metro in to work and in paper form when at home.

I do enjoy tracking what I read and have high hopes that hours available for reading will expand in 2013.....

My little boy...now getting ready to go to college...EEK!

How many books have I read?




And where has my reading taken me in the world in 2013?


visited 22 states (9.77%)


And where in the U.S?


visited 16 states (32%)

JANUARY

On my shelf:

Taste, Memory
The American Way of Eating
The Heat of the Sun
Thy Neighbors
The Prisoner of Heaven
Slouching Toward Adulthood
Mr. Penumbra

Just arrived on my ebook reader... Joseph Anton

Books I actually read:

1. Mr. Penumbra FINISHED 1/6/13
2. Slouching Toward Adulthood FINISHED 1/11/13
3. The Prisoner of Heaven FINISHED 1/13/13
4. How Children Succeed FINISHED 1/25/13
5. Bloodroot FINISHED 1/27/13
6. The Giver FINISHED 2/1/13
7. The Girl Who Fell To Earth 2/8/13
8. Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout 2/9/13
9. Please Look After Mom 2/11/13
10. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry 2/18/13
11. Alys, Always 2/22/13
12. The Right-Hand Shore 2/28/13
13. The Snow Child 3/10/13
14. Making Ideas Happen 3/11/13
15. Crossing the Borders of Time 3/30/13
16. The Age of Miracles 4/6/13
17. Vampires in the Lemon Grove 4/14/13
18. Year of Wonders 4/14/13
19. Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall 4/19/13
20. Where'd You Go, Bernadette? 4/24/13
21. The Ideal Bookshelf
22. Kind of Kin 5/12/13
23. The Child 5/13
24. Gaining Ground: A Story Of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm 5/27/13
25. The Burgess Boys 6/2/13
26. Tenth of December 6/5/13
27. Me Before You 6/8/13
28. Off Balance
29. The Submission 6/26/13
30. The Book of my Lives 6/30/13
31. A Train in Winter 7/4/13
32. The Ocean at the End of the Lane 7/11/13
33. The Uncommon Reader 7/15/13
34. The Art Forger 7/19/13
35. The Tiger's Wife 7/26/13
36. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa 7/28/13
37. Lean In 8/10/13
38. Life After Life 8/17/13
39. A Tale for the Time Being 9/3/13
40. The Why of Things 9/11/13
41. The Odds: A Love Story 9/13/13
42. Sisterland 10/1/13
43. The Ten, Make That Nine, Habits of Very Organized People. Make That Ten. 10/1/13
44. Gone Girl 10/4/13
45. Flora: A Novel 10/9/13
46. The Art of Procrastination 10/12/13
47. 168 Hours 10/16/13
48. The Drowning House 10/18/13
49. The Orchardist 11/9/13
50. The World's Strongest Librarian 11/13/13
51. Transatlantic 11/27/13
52. The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells mid December
53. Make Good Art mid December
54. The Signature of All Things 12/31/13

Hello Liz! Happy 2013 and may the best books yet cross your reader-dar.

Thanks, Richard!

Hi! Wishing you a great reading year in 2013!

Welcome back!

Thanks Carrie and Jim!

Here to drop a star and say hello!

Hi Tina! Thanks for stopping by.

Hi Liz! I saw that you visited my thread, and I thought I'd return the visit. I'm looking foward to seeing what you read in 2013!

Just dropping by to say hello and thanks for visiting my thread.

Thanks for dropping by Amy and Kerry!

As I have been trolling on people's threads, I've seen several of these wonderful llists from books read during 2012. Now, given that my number of books read was small, only 54, I'm not sure I'll be able to complete the list .... but I figured I'd give it a try! So, here goes nothin'.

Describe yourself: Ready for Anything
Describe how you feel: in the midst of The Long Goodbye
Describe where you currently live: Behind the Beautiful Forevers
If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Gathering of Waters
Your favorite form of transportation: Flight Behavior
Your best friend is: The Love of My Youth
You and your friends are: The Weird Sisters
What's the weather like: Astray
You fear: Blue Nights
What is the best advice you have to give? The Fates Will Find Their Way
Thought for the Day: Fed Up With Lunch
How I would like to die: Among Others
My soul's present condition: seeking Order From Chaos

Hmm...that was remarkably straightforward. I guess we read books that speak to us in the moment!

Great meme! I particularly like how you describe yourself!

Just popping in to say that I totally understand the "eek!" feeling our kids graduating from high school causes. My daughter is in her first year at college, and my son will graduate from high school in June. "Time flies" doesn't even begin to describe it!

Good luck with your reading in 2013!

> Carrie, with three teens at home, I'd go nuts if I wasn't ready for anything!!!

> Ursula, it is remarkable isn't it? I rember when my kids were born just yesterday. BTW, my brother lives in Denver, and I love Tattered Cover too!

Finished my first book of 2013 ....Mr. Penumbra. What a great way to start the year. Review to follow tomorrow.

# 1 - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - Nook book that I purchased



With quotes like:

"Fingers of thought are raking the space behind the cushions, looking for loose ideas, finding nothing."

How could I not like this book?

A mystery wrapped up in a seeking one's identity wrapped up in a fantasy frame was just what the doctor ordered for me to start 2013. I loved the character of Clay, the narrator, and Mr. Penumbra sat exactly at the twilight space that his name suggests. Thanks to Joe at Joe's Book Cafe for bringing it to my attention!

Penumbra is on my wish list! Can't wait! :)

Glad to see someone else who enjoyed Mr. Penumbra. I read it last year and liked it quite a bit, Liz.

> 20. Tina, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

> 21. Stasia, Now I am trying to convince my husband to read it too!

I've got Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore requested at my library, and I get a little closer every day! I'm glad to read your recommendation!

Karen O.

> 23. Karen --- I hope you like it as much as I did!

Hi Liz, thanks for commenting on Swamplandia! on my thread. I've placed a star here so I can find my way back and follow your reading. I've had my eye on Mr. Penumbra since it came out; maybe I will get to it soon...

Hi Katie, I do hope you fall on the like side of Swamplandia. I had no idea that it evoked such strong reactions! Mr. Penumbra is a a quick read -- so save it for a week when you need one of those! Thanks for the star and hope you have an awesome reading day.

Hi Liz, I am waiting for my Mr. Penumbra number to come up at the library. There seems to be universal love for that book around here.

My son lives in Denver. There is a small group of 75ers there that I try to get together with when I am visiting. Maybe we could coordinate a visit next summer if you plan on a trip to visit your brother. We meet at The Tattered Cover of course! What a great bookstore. It would be fun if Ursula could join us, too.

Mr. Penumbra was one of my favorites from last year, Liz! I'm glad that you enjoyed it too. I love the quote you shared!

I'd be up for a meeting in Denver!

#22: I wish you every success in getting your husband to read the book. My husband is not a reader at all - 2 books in almost 25 years of marriage. I have to take up the slack :)

Donna and Ursula, I will definitely let you know when we plan to head out to Denver next. Our summer plans are on hold until we figure out where the eldest is going to college ( and when!), but we are overdue for a trip to Denver.

> 30. Stasia. Geez! That is unbelievable to me. My husband reads frequently, but we often read quite different books. So it is always a challenge to find books we both like (beyond Tolkien). Although, like you, I do read more books than he ... although not nearly as many as you!

As far as I know, we'll be here, so do keep me posted. (My husband is a mathematician, looking for jobs in other places, but that wouldn't happen for a while yet.)

On the topic of husbands reading, mine does read, but much less than I do. We tend to read the same books, though.

Okay..When we are next on our way to Denver, I will let everyone know!

#2

Slouching Toward Adulthood -- audiobook



I am ambivalent about this book...in large part because I am trying to launch my eldest and the thought of an aborted launch is not one I really want to entertain at the moment. But I picked it up and listened to it. And I found it filled with depressing stats and too much pop psychologizing. But helicopter parents surely exist and the economy stinks but a 20 something who won't stick with a job because he just doesn't like it as much as he thought he would and then moves home...well, it is hard for me to think that is okay. I guess that the best I can say is that it provoked some strong reactions as I read it.

#3

The Prisoner of Heaven - library book



Sometimes you read a book that's part of a series and you really wish that you'd read the books closer together in time. I really enjoyed the The Shadow of the Wind -- and somehow have now managed to skip The Angel's Game -- which is the second in the series and jumped straight to the third. The author asserts in the beginning that that is appropriate to do, but I wonder if I missed something by not reading The Angel's Game.

Nonetheless, this book does a compelling job of elaborating the back story of Fermin and the present self of Daniel. But, I feel that I can't do complete justice to the book without going back and rereading the entire series. So, I guess I have more books to add to my TBR pile :)!

Hi Liz - It might actually be better to read The Prisoner of Heaven first. The Angel's Game left us wondering, and The Prisoner of Heaven explained a lot. I'd like to go back and reread The Angel's Game.

>36 lalbro: I love the cover for that! I really need to get to my copy of Shadow of the Wind. Maybe I'll set that as a goal for February :)

> Thanks Beth, Just the words of encouagement I needed to hear. The Angel's Game here I come!

It is a great cover, isn't it, Michelle?

#4

How Children Succeed - library audiobook



Finished listening to How Children Succeed! as I scanned pics of my Mom for her service. The book pulls together lots of work by many psychologists and builds an argument that "book smarts" are insufficient for success. Kids need persistence and a willingness to fail and learn from failure to succeed. The book includes interesting vignettes, and mostly gets the science right. From my perspective nothing new, but for those of you not steeped in psychology professionally as I, this would be a readable intro. Glad I listened to it, though. Not sure I would have made it through if I had read it in traditionally form.

Good summary of How Children Succeed. I have that one on my shelf and plan to get to it soon. My background is primarily in work psychology, so I'm looking forward to this focus on children.

>41 porch_reader: Amy, I hope you like it! I thought it was a good listen, and it is fun to listen to as a parent too.

#5

Bloodroot - library book



I read this for a January TIOLI challenge - to read a book that what was recommended to you by the LibraryThing recommender. I have to say that LibraryThing was right on with that recommendation. The wonderful book captures many of the things I love most in a story -- multi-generational family sagas, a little bit of magic/mystery, a well-developed sense of place, and a sense of urgency in the narrative. Now I need to see if she's written anything else!

#6

The Giver - book we own



My children were a bit confused when I picked up The Giver and said that I wanted to read it. All three have read it for school, and not a one of them was really taken by it. My eldest felt that Jonas (which just happens to be his name as well) was underdeveloped and that the narrative was "flat". Now, this child happens to be a lover of Dostoevsky, and so I think I can see why he was less than enthralled with it. The twins, who just finished it for school, thought it was an "okay" story, but weren't overwhelmed with it. But, I had read the review of her most recent book, that "completes" the series, and really wanted to read it. Ergo, I have to read the other books!

My take: a short, accessible tale, but that addresses a key psychological challenge -- what are we without unique experiences, without pain, and pleasure, and most fundamentally, without memory? I found Lowry's exploration of this question compelling. She sets us up as readers thinking that the life that is lived in this society is just normal, but the moral dilemmas that emerge in order to have a flat, "vanilla", existence are enough to make you sit up and reconsider how pain is necessary for joy. I plan to keep reading the books that follow, mostly to see how she explores other dimensions of our being that we simply take for granted.

As to why the kids didn't like it - I'm not sure, but now I will spend some time talking with them about it, to see if I can figure it out!

FEBRUARY -- On My Shelf

Alys, Always
At Home On The Range
The Storytelling Animal
Radioactive
Making Ideas Happen
Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables
The Right-Hand Shore
The Girl Who Fell To Earth
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye
Please Look After Mom
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

I really liked Alys Always when I read it last year. It's kind of disturbing but very well written.

I will let you know how I find it, Katie. It's been on my to-read list for a while now. But first I need to finis h The Girl Who Fell To Earth and The Right-Hand Shore.

When you read a book, and you're not really into it, do you read to the end or stop?

For me, it depends on what is not working for me. I can forgive a lot of sins - or at least work through them - if the writing is good. But if it's not, I am likely to put it aside. I am trying to put more books aside so that I have more time for the good stuff. It is hard to stop, though, when one has committed to a book...

If I feel like I'm maybe just not getting it, and there might be a possibility of it coming together for me in the end, I keep going. If I really want to know what happens even though the writing bothers me, I keep going.

If I put it down and realize that I will not mind at all that I never find out what happens, I quit. On a couple of occasions when I've really disliked a book, I've read the last page to see if that would pique my interest in reading what gets you there. When it didn't, I quit.

#49, Katie, I agree that writing can forgive a lot of sins, but think that I am with you on finding it hard to stop when you've committed to a book!

#50, Ursula, it's the getting to the end part that keeps me going -- but I think I'm going to adopt your reading the last page strategy for books I'm on the fence about.

#7

The Girl Who Fell To Earth - library ebook



This is the book that I kept reading even though I really wasn't sure that I should. My reading time is precious, and it is hard for me to decide when to stop. Given that this was a short book, and the premise of the memoir caught my attention, I did read it all the way through. Unfortunately, it still fell flat for me. The writing was too matter-of-fact, and the use of the constellations as chapter titles felt forced. The story is interesting in that it illustrates how growing up bi-cultural can lead to some serious confusion for a young woman, but all in all, the tale just disappointed me.

#8

Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout - library book



I had picked up this book at the library a while ago, and never quite managed to read it. But a quiet midafternoon meant that I had a two-hour block of unobligated time, and I jumped into the book and devoured it.

"My head is so full of plans that it seems aflame" quoth Marie Curie before she became Marie Curie.

How can one not fall in love with a young woman who portrays the promise of life in that way. Last year or the year before I read another wonderful biography of this woman, and was fascinated to learn about the challenges she faced in both her personal life and as a scientist. In this book/art piece, I came to appreciate another dimension to the deep passions that she felt for three men over her lifetime, and how their shared scientific commitments defined their relationships.

The visual dimensions of this book, and the connections that she draws to illustrate the "fallout" from Curie's discoveries, really enhance the emotional experience of her life, and of these novel scientific findings. I can see coming back to this book on more than one occasion, just to dive back into the visual sense of place and time the author created.

Definitely recommended - especially if you loved finding the coolest new picture books to read to your kids when they were small!

#9

Please Look After Mother - library ebook



I am not a crier when I read, but this book brought tears to my eyes repeatedly. Now, in all fairness, since my mother just passed away last month after a three-year battle with cancer, I might have been primed to respond emotionally to this narrative, but I believe that the emotions in this book are so raw that it might bring many many readers to tears.

How many of you have things you wished you'd said to those who are not longer part of your lives? And how easy is it to forget that the everyday is where we live most of our lives? And that each of us keeps within us secrets that allow us to wake up and face the morning and sometimes even to spread our wings and go places we never imagined we would go?

This book is beautifully written, and uses a multiple character exposition of a single event incredibly well. The writing is sparse, and yet elegant.

Many thanks to porch_reader for putting it on my to-read list!

Highly recommended. Just make sure you have the time to read it through, and to re-read sections after you get to the end!

I am so sorry to hear about your mom. I can imagine that Please Look After Mom was a poignant read for you right now. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks, again, Amy -- it really was the right book for me to read now.

Bloodroot sounds very interesting, so on the wishlist it goes. :)

I am sorry to hear about your mother. It does sound like Please Look After Mom was a good way to work through some of the emotions associated with the grieving process. Glad you enjoyed it and it touched you so deeply.

>57 dk_phoenix:, Faith, I really did like Bloodroot and thought that LT did a great matchmaking job!

Thanks for your kind thoughts about my mom... and I think I would I have loved Please Look After Mom under any circumstances.

How did I miss your thread? It is a mystery! You read some mighty good books.

My local library has a copy of Please Look After Mom. I'll try to stop by there and get it tomorrow.

I certainly understand your grief. I'm ever so sorry about your mother's passing. I was very close to my grandmother. When she died it felt like I was kicked in the stomach. I was very hard on myself, wondering if I had said words to her that told her how special she was to me.

I now know that she understood how much I loved her. And, certainly, I know how much she loved me.

All the best to you!

Hi Linda! Glad you found me too. Thanks for yourcondolences
I feel blessed that she lived near to us, and I was able to be with her often. But it is always hard to know if you have said everything you wanted to. As I am sure is true for your grandmother too, she continues to live in our memories.

i hope you enjoy Please Look After Mom!

It does help if your mother lived near you. I have such special memories of my grandmother. She was unique and wonderful.

#10 The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry



Read for my work book club, a nice little tale about a pretty mixed up not-so-young gentleman. I didn't see the surprise coming, so that helped me want to get to the end. Good, but not great.

#11 Alys, Always



Wow! Now this book kept me on my toes. I am still not sure about whether I like or don't like the protagonist and am unclear about her actions - are they motivated by greed? Is she just naive and falls into the tightly knit plot that we are dropped into. And what is up with Alys' family? Needless to say, this one I liked, and might need to read again to see if I can figure out the motives of our narrator. Hmm...

#12 The Right-Hand Shore



It is always fun to read a story set in a physical location that you know well. Even when the story is focused on the sad truths of relationships between slave owner, land owner, slaves, and freed slaves. This tale does a wonderful job of setting you in the midst of history, and bringing the consequences of practical, policy and political decisions on the lives of individuals. Shot through with pathos and sadness, with glimpses of happiness shining through, this book took me longer to read that it should have -- but that can largely be attributed to it being my "bedtime" read. Highly recommended ... especially if you are interested in the Eastern Shore, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, France connections that are so well laid out in this book.

>#61 I am glad to know that you have such fond memories of your grandmother. They are most certainly a comfort.

I love fairytales... and The Snow Child is a retell of a fairytale that will take your breath away. And while all you want is for the tale to have a happy ending, you will need to rethink a happy ending for whom...

I am headed to Dallas this week ... looking foward to lots of reading time...

Dallas, huh? Let me know if you want book store recs!

Yes please. I will be downtown chaperoning my 14 year old and am sure to have some exploring time while he is singing!

Liz, there isn't a ton downtown, but do try to get to the flagship Half Price Books store which is on Northwest Highway, just off 75 (Central Expressway). It's an easy cab ride from downtown. There is also a Lucky Dog books in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas. I have not been to that location but really like the one in the 'burbs I have visited.

Thanks, Katie! They are on my to do list!

I'm sorry to hear of your mom's passing. I'm glad Please Look after Mom was a good experience in your grief. ((Hugs))

Thanks for the hugs Tina. It has been over 2 months now, and I am settlin' into my new status.

Hello lalbro--Since you said you loved fairy tales, I'm wondering if you've read Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden? I'm in the middle of it now and enjoying it. It's one you might look for in your book store excursions and see if it appeals. I'll end up putting it somewhere on TIOLI by the end of the month .

I just picked up a copy of Please Take Care of Mom from the FOL shelf. Based on your review, I think I need to get it read. I'm sometimes getting overwhelmed with elderly mom issues and need to count my blessings a bit instead.

Hi streamsong - thanks for stopping by! I have not read The Forgotten Garden but it looks like it definitely belongs on my TBR pile! Thanks for the recommendation.

I hope you enjoy Please Take Care of Mom. I do understand how caring for an elderly mom can be challenging -- and do send good wishes your way to help you enjoy the blessings of that time you have with her, especially on those days that can be so very long and so very hard.

Behind in reviews ... but have been reading! Just finished Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm. What a joy to discover that the farmer who makes amazing sausage, supremely delicious bacon, and all kinds of wonderful beef, is also a superb writer. A wonderful tale. Inspiring!

Oh, that sounds like a good one. We are lucky to be near several good farmers' markets. I love meeting the people who have grown the food.

Indeed. It was well worth the read!

Haven't been posting as I've been reading. Feels like the months just spend by! I just finished Sisterland: A Novel, and must confess to being left a bit disturbed. I was really enjoying until about 3/4ths of the way through. And then the bottom just fell out for me. I really did not like the way the crisis point was resolved (or really left unresolved), and was just dissatisfied with the ending. I don't regret reading the novel -- and all books aren't supposed to tie up neatly in a knot and leave you undisturbed -- but this was just didn't do it for me.

I can always count on Steve Martin to bring a smile to my face. Necessary in the Land of Furlough.

Although a year of less books completed than I had hoped, it was a year of rich reads.

37 of the 54 were fiction - many classified as historical fiction, many with a twinge of magical realism, most with an emphasis on understanding family and relationships. Several short story collections, several psychological suspense/mystery tales, several dystopian fantasies, a smattering of books about books...

The remaining 17 were non-fiction - with an autobiographical/biographical slant and a group meant to encourage me to improve myself in my day-to-day activities!

One might notice that nearly all of the books I read are focused in one way or another on identity -- not unusual I imagine -- but I definitely spent this year thinking a lot about the "what if" question... And now on to 2014!