Good Reads & a Bird

I missed linking up to The Bibliophile Files@sarah did it! last month so today I'm playing catch-up. I'm staying ahead of my 2015 Reading Challenge goal but I've had some real clunkers lately including 2 that I had to give up on. And a few that I probably should have but kept reading to see if they got better.

I do have three solid 4 star reads to recommend:

• Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova - After falling in love with Still Alice Genova is a must read author for me and her fourth novel didn't disappoint. This book about a family dealing with Huntington's Disease kept me reading all afternoon yesterday.
• True to Form by Elizabeth Berg - Berg is another favorite author of mine and I loved this 3rd take at one of my favorite Berg characters - Katie Nash from Durable Goods and Joy School.
• Indiscretion by Charles Dubow - I really felt the characters in this book and couldn't put it down. It is rare to feel empathy for all sides of a love triangle but I did here. I will be checking out more of Dubow's books as I enjoyed his insightful yet concise writing style.

Each spring we have a Mama Robin who builds a nest near our front door. She and her mate start building above our spot lights and every night Tom dismantles their work because it's not a stable place (and we don't want birds pooping on our comings and goings!). Usually they move into the large shrub below as Plan B. Something is a bit off with her this year though and she is driving Miss Elsa crazy...

She keeps bumping at this window and hopping around on the roof over our covered entryway. Can you see all the bird poop along the edge? And the window is just splattered with I have no idea what. So Elsa hears all the racket and charges to the window to see what is going on.

And then to the adjacent window... back and forth. The Mama Robin is in the tree but I couldn't got a good pic. This started on Monday and poor Elsa is exhausted as her nap time is being constantly interrupted.

"Mama... what is HAPPENING???? Make it STOP!" So not only do I have a frantic bird but a crazed cat on my hands! I'm hoping Plan B is settled on today as I'm starting to worry about poor Mama Robin.

February Reads

When I look back at February it is clear that I spent a lot more time in my Quilting Room vs. on the sofa as 7 of my 10 reads were audiobooks. I'm starting to get a little nervous about running out of audiobooks via my library as my searches are getting longer. I might have to explore a paid rental option if I can't find any new authors to enjoy soon.

I have two 4 star reads to share:

• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Girl on the Train was an excellent psychological thriller that kept me guessing and it has been getting a lot of attention from other readers on Goodreads. I enjoyed the movie version of The Remains of the Day in January and requested the book from my library. It is an interesting glimpse at the buildup to WWII through the eyes of an English butler.

I also checked off three items on my PopSugar Challenge - a book published this year, a book set in a different country and a book that takes place in your hometown. I had to change "hometown" to "nearby" so that I could use one of the four William Kent Krueger books I listened to. They are set in northern Minnesota and that's about as close as I can get! You can find the Challenge HERE if you are interested.

Since I didn't finish any of these books (I've got 2 in progress) from my shelf in February I'll try again in March.

On sunny days this is Elsa's favorite napping spot on the corner of my cutting table. She loves batting as you can see.

This leads her to be too helpful in the Sandwich Shop however. Not only is she fond of sprawling out on any exposed batting but she is obsessed with the basting pins. As in nabbing one and running off with it. It's for your own good Elsa that I chase you down and take them away!

I'm linking up to the Bibliophile Files@sarahdidit!.

January Reads

I obviously spent WAY more time reading in January than anything else... I knew I had passed 20 but didn't realize I was pushing 30. It was one of those months where the books I had on request from the library in all forms - audio, ebook and real book - kept coming in and the more I read the more I wanted to read!

My 1st 5 star read for 2015 is Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stroudt. I first read this collection of short stories years ago and really enjoyed it. Now that I'm growing closer in age to Olive I loved it the 2nd time around. I'm not a huge fan of short stories but I liked how Olive was a central character in some of the stories and was on the periphery in the others. HBO recently made the book into a mini series starring Frances McDormand as Olive. I have yet to see it but I'm convinced that Frances was well cast.

Here are my January 4 star reads:

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (re-read)
• Reunion by Hannah Pittard
• No Safe Place by Richard North Patterson
• Protect and Defend by Richard North Patterson
• Balance of Power by Richard North Patterson (re-read)
• Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

I watched the The Book Thief movie on the way to Kauai in December and also watched The Lovely Bones and Revolutionary Road last month. It's always interesting to see how the screenwriter(s) adapt books to the big screen. Generally I prefer to read the book first but I enjoyed The Book Thief and Revolutionary road enough to seek out the books in this case. I found The Lovely Bones to be a horrible adaptation and decided to re-read the book to confirm my opinion.

The 3 Richard North Patterson books are a trilogy about a politician and former lawyer who seeks the Presidency. I don't blog about politics but I will say that if you are a staunch conservative you might not enjoy this series.

While I had planned not to do any themed book challenges this year I did come across a general list that I've decided to do. You can find it HERE if you are interested. So far I've checked 13 off the list and it's been kind of fun to scan my bookshelves for anything that fits.

I've pulled these books for February off my shelf - a mixed bag other than continuing my Richard North Patterson reading.

Here is Elsa "watching" the Super Bowl the other night... oh my what a game that was! She was so entranced with a new quilt to investigate and spent most of the second half cuddled up underneath it until we got too noisy for her. I'm happy to report that I'm about halfway done with the seam ripper!

I'm linking up to the Bibliophile Files@sarahdidit!.

November & December Reads

Surprise... another catch up post! I missed the December Bibliophile Files link up over at sarah did it! so today will be two months in one. My Goodreads Challenge Goal was to read 130 books in 2014 and I ended up with 151 on my list. Unfortunately I set up my 2015 goal while on vacation and forgot to take a screen shot of my 2014 final tally so I'll sub in a cute picture of Elsa instead.

She hasn't seen my real camera in awhile and seems puzzled don't you think?

Out of the 24 books I've read since I last posted I do have several that earned 4 star ratings from 5 of my favorite authors. I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite among these - they were just that good! 

• One Plus One by JoJo Moyes
• Eyes of a Child by Richard North Patterson
• Deadline by John Sandford
• The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
• The Son by Jo Nesbo

I've set my Goodreads Challenge at 150 books for 2015 since I plan to continue my 2 pronged reading plan of listening to library audiobooks while walking/crafting and trimmed the unloved/unneeded books from my personal library. I'm adding a new twist this year however.

Each month I'm going to pull at least 5 books off my shelves to read/reread and these are my January selections. It's easy to be drawn to new books as they appear on my iPad library app so I'm thinking this will keep me focused on working through the books I already own.

I missed the Elsa sniff test pic but she approves as winter reading involves a quilt to cover me and a spot for her on my lap. If I'm not under the quilt she will stand next to me on the sofa and paw at the quilt resting over the sofa back as a not so subtle reminder to get with the program! Some of you have commented on how big Elsa has grown and she would like you to know that she is a petite girl at 9.6 lbs. under all that fur.

Elsa is a total sun worshipper and this is her usual spot during my computer time if the weather is cooperating. This pic really shows off her pretty colors. She has a little bit of everything... stripes, splotches and the back of her legs are all black. Her fur is so soft and fine that she barely sheds at all which seems impossible.

Since I wrote the last paragraph she has flopped over to warm her other side. Smart girl!

October Reads

Look at this...

To me snow = sew! I'm thinking over my November goals and will be back with them later today. In the meantime I do have some books to recommend and I'm now well ahead of my Goodreads goal for 2014.

During my trip east to visit the kids I listened to 5 books in the car. I find that listening to words keeps me more alert than listening to music on long trips. I just realized I haven't blogged since I got back so will put that on my list to catch up on too. I had a wonderful time and the fall leaf display was stunning!

Here are my recommended 4 star books from my October list:

• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I really enjoyed this book. I might be biased as a strong introvert but I found the mix of research and anecdotal segments in this book to be great reading. In fact, not only did I listen to it, but I got the eBook from the library to reread segments of it.
• Eclipse by Richard North Patterson. This is an author I have liked over the years and I'm working through his entire library now. It was a good fit for an audio book with lots of action, twists & turns in the courtroom and an interesting African setting.
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarity. Another great read by this author who is shaping up to be my find for 2014. Her books are a wonderful ride with interesting characters, serious issues and a heavy dose of fun too. I get totally absorbed in them right from the start and I love her writing style. I think my favorite is still the 1st one I read - The Husband's Secret - but this one is close.
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This book seems to fall into to the love it/hate it category for many. I've had it forever but it wasn't calling my name. Seeing the movie when it came out nudged it up the pile but I still wasn't compelled to pick it up until last month. Put me firmly into the love it category! For me the movie was a 5 star due to the stunning cinematography but the book is excellent in it's own way. The audio book's narrator was a pleasure to listen to.

So that sums up my October reads and I'm linking up to The Bibliophile Files@sarah did it! to see if I can find a few things to add to my To Read list.

September Reads

I'm pretty shocked at all the reading I did in September and I guess that must have been the "therapy" I needed most to adapt to my empty nest. I set aside a pile of my TBR (To Be Read) and my Re-Read books and mowed right through them!

Only one of them earned a 4 star rating and that was Room by Emma Donoghue. I highly recommend it and am passing it along to my daughter Megan who I think will enjoy it too. It is written from the point of view of a very young boy and, while dark in subject matter from an adult point of view, is fascinating from his. A book unlike any other I have read.

As you can see my bookshelves have had a makeover and are looking trimmer in the book department. No more double stacks of paperbacks! And I freed up some space to store some of my paper crafting supplies since this room has turned into my Junk Journal/Smashbook Studio. Here is a peek inside a Junk Journal I recently made for a swap.

My partner requested vintage and said she loved Paris so I used Pinterest to search for Paris themed items to print, cut and distress to make them look old. On the right is a paper lunch bag filled with cards to journal on. Here is the cover made from a cereal box cut and covered with paper and cardstock tags.

These are so much fun to make! I guess it's clear that my free time in September was spent with pretty paper and books instead of pretty fabric. I'm linking up to the Bibliophile Files at sarah did it!.

Summer Reads

After a bit of a layoff I'm getting back on track with linking up to The Bibliophile Files@sarah did it! this month. It seems that all of my travels did a number on my reading in August as I've fallen slightly behind my goal pace according to Goodreads. 

While I used to be able to read anywhere when I was younger I have found lately that I have a hard time concentrating when there are other things going on around me. The car radio, pretty scenery, thinking about the next toll both or the next stop all kept me reading and re-reading the same paragraphs for miles! Or being distracted by sights like this.

A dog in a backpack on a motorcycle on the Interstate in New York... yes, really! And very happy about it too by the looks of things.

In my last Good Reads post on July 15th I was working my way through Vince Flynn's series of books featuring Super Spy Mitch Rapp.  Since then I've finished reading all about Mitch and now am taking a break from that genre (I can only take so much adventure I guess!).

My 4 star reads during July and August were:

• What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
• Lost by Michael Robotham
• Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
• Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (re-read)
• Eat Like a Woman by Staness Jonekos

My favorite was What Alice Forgot - I really enjoyed the premise of the book and the characters were vivid, funny and enjoyable. This was my 3rd book by Moriarty this year and I've liked them all very much.  Lost was a fast moving police procedural with lots of twists and turns. Summer House with Swimming Pool was, like his last book Dinner Party, dark and rather disturbing. Koch seems to write his characters to repel us rather then attract us. But I couldn't put it down and thought about it long after I was done reading it.

Peace Like a River was a pleasure to read... great story, engaging characters and I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. I found Eat Like a Woman to be filled with solid information on good nutrition, how women's dietary needs are unique and how to plan balanced meals. I took lots of notes.

So there you have it... 8 months down and 4 to go. Next month I'll show you how my bookshelves are starting to dramatically thin out at last! Miss Elsa thinks I should finish this post and feed her dinner. 

June Reads

I'm so late on linking up my June reading to The Bibliophile Files@sarah did it! that the link is actually closed but I'm going to post this anyway since I've already written it and will link up June and July next month.

According to Goodreads.com I'm still on pace to meet my 2014 Reading Challenge Goal of 130 books.

4 of the 9 books I read in June were from the Vince Flynn series about the adventures of Super CIA Agent Mitch Rapp. He is one Bad-A$$ Dude I am telling you! Yesterday I loaded the last 3 books in the series onto my iPhone so as soon as I finish my current audio book I'll be back to walking along to Mitch's latest assignments. They are great books to get me out the door so I can find out what trouble he is going to get into next.

The only 4 star read on my list was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows which was on my To Be Read Shelf. I tried to listen to the audio book last winter but had to abandon it as the book is written in a series of letters and it was far too confusing to try to follow who was writing to who. It is set shortly after WWII in England and I thought it was a charming read about a serious time in history.

I might note that I'm a tough rater of books. The vast majority of my reads fall into 3 star which for me means I liked the book and would recommend it to others who like the genre. 4 star means I really liked the book and feel that most readers would enjoy it too. 5 star means I LOVED the book, can't stop thinking about it and will tell everyone I know about it!

At the opposite end of the spectrum 1 star means I either didn't like the book enough to finish it or I muddled through it only to be very disappointed by the ending and felt it was a complete waste of time. 2 star books mostly fall into the bad plot twist/insipid main character(s)/horrible or implausible ending type of read where I liked most of the book. Or the occasional "off-book" by one of my favorite authors.

My rating stats for June were one 4 star, six 3 stars, one 2 star and one 1 star.  Not bad.

The above photo was taken recently as storm clouds were moving in. We are lucky to face west on our lake and we enjoy some spectacular sunsets. This time of year the sun sets close to the channel to the next lake on our chain and it doesn't get completely dark until almost 10 PM. Oh the lovely long days of summer in Northern Minnesota!

May Reads

May was a great reading month for me... I think I used reading as a de-stresser between grad party preparations and I also listened to several books during my hourly walks. As you can see I'm still ahead of my goal for my 2014 Goodreads Reading Challenge.

I'm starting to see a little more space on my bookshelves as well. I was able to visit IKEA during our Easter family reunion and settled on the white boxes to use for storing miscellaneous items - right now they hold papers to be sorted and filed and later I will be using them for project supplies.

The white IKEA magazine holders are lined up on my desk ready for action too. This used to be my sewing corner when I started my blog in September 2012. Now it is my hub for decluttering/sorting and later I will use it for paper and beading projects. I've decided that our guestrooms should have a purpose besides waiting for guests!

I've been on a Vince Flynn kick and have finished the 5th book in the 14 book Mitch Rapp series. Series books are a real treat in audio format - you already know the main characters so they are easy to get into. I found that our library has many of Flynn's books on CD and figured out that I can copy them to my iTunes library and then sync them onto my iPhone just like a music CD. When I'm done I just delete them and make room for the next book. Using Interlibrary Loan I have access to hundreds of books on CD so I am psyched over this.

A good friend sent me her Vince Flynn collection after visiting me in 2009 while I was living on our family room futon after breaking my leg. Unfortunately I was unable to concentrate enough to do much reading then so it's about time I visit her and return these.

I have a 5 star read to recommend - Benediction by Kent Haruf. Oh how I loved this book! I've read Haruf's Plainsong and am currently reading it's sequel Eventide which are both 4 stars for me, but Benediction pushed all of my buttons and made me cry. Haruf creates wonderful real life characters set in a small Colorado town and his writing style is very simple but so effective. I would describe his books as quiet stories about small town life. If you've never read him you are missing out.

My 4 star reads in May:

• Kill Shot by Vince Flynn
• This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash
• Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo
• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (TBR shelf)
• Field of Prey by John Sandford

Field of Prey is Sandford's newest Lucas Davenport book and it is one of my favorites with a compelling outstate Minnesota serial murder case, an interesting new local investigator and all the familiar characters I've grown to love. I started it on audio but had to finish it one late night via ebook. I am so spoiled by being a fast reader!

I'm linking up to The Bibliophile Files@sarah did it!.

April Reads

Good progress was made on both of my reading goals for 2014 in April. My 1st goal is to read 130 books this year and a quick peek at my Goodreads tally shows that I'm right on track just in time to link up to the Bibliophile Files@sarah did it!.

My 2nd goal is to consolidate my book collection so that it fits comfortably in my large bookcase. I've done a bit of rearranging in our guestroom so that both bookcases are on the same wall.  The smaller one will be departing and I'm planning to replace it with either a chaise lounge or an overstuffed chair and ottoman for a most cozy reading corner. Depending upon what my husband is watching on TV there are nights where I'd welcome a quiet place to read. And I've also decided that each guest room (in my empty nest future) should have a purpose besides sitting empty waiting for guests!

Since I've also been using these shelves to accumulate some items for decorating this room perhaps they will look a bit spiffier next month. One of the main shelves has been emptied of books and is now storing some binders/keepsake boxes and the piles that used to be on top of the smaller bookcase have dwindled. 5 months in and I'm feeling A-OK about reaching both of these goals.

I have another 5 star read to recommend - Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese which I found to be fascinating both in story and in setting. Much of the book is set in Ethiopia which is a part of the world I know very little about. For me the book started a little slowly but I couldn't put it down after I was half way in.

And I enjoyed several 4 star reads too:

• Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
• Wave by Sonali Deraniyagula
• Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
• The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller (Re-Read)
• Plainsong by Kent Haruf (Re-Read)
• The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Ordinarily for me movies based on books are trumped by the book about 95% of the time, but since The Silver Linings Playbook was so different from the movie I can't say that. I think they both are great! Because Sue Miller is one of my favorite authors I might be a little biased towards her books. I just find her women to be such real & interesting characters. Happy reading!

March Reads

In March I learned that listening to audio books while decluttering works almost as well it does while sewing... except when I'm making lots of decisions and have to listen to the opening chapters 3 times! It helped that I had several of the books on my shelf so I found that reading the 1st 3-5 chapters and then switching to the audio book solved that problem.

I had my 1st 5 star read of the year - We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver was a riveting, dark and disturbing read. I doubled down and watched the movie too which was equally thought provoking. It is NOT a book that you will enjoy in the traditional sense of identifying with a character or feeling affirmed when you close it. I could not put it down and I'm still thinking about it so I had to give it 5 stars. Consider yourself warned that it is not a pleasant read.

I also had 2 solid 4 star reads that I recommend without reservation:

• The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg (Re-Read)
• Election by Tom Perrotta (Never Read)

The main character in The Art of Mending is a quilter which added a little more interest for me. 

Last but not least I trimmed my bookcase by 3 boxes and also mailed about a dozen books to new readers via Paperbackswap.com. I'll take a new picture for next months post. My goal is have my collection contained on one bookcase by the end of the year.

I'm linking up to The Bibliophile Files@sarah did it! and including a gratuitous Elsa and Tucker photo because a post needs at least 1 photo. Elsa believes in a top down approach to co-bathing!

Books and Getting a Move On

Last month I missed my check in post with The Bibliophile Files@sarah did it! but I'm on top of it today! Simplify is my word for 2014 and my reading goals for the year tie into that nicely.  Here is my main bookshelf that needs to be culled over the next 10 months.

I spent some time last month sorting my fiction books into 4 categories: Keepers, Never Read, Re-Read and Let Them Go. The 1st round of Let Them Go books went to my Mom who is also an avid reader and is good at passing books on to her friends too.

The largest category ended up being Re-Read. As you can see, the books are doubled up on this shelf. Many of these books started out in the Keeper pile but ended up here because 1) I haven't read them in years or 2)I had too many Keepers.

The next shelf is the Never Read collection. I'm going to give myself an out with these - if I'm partway in and not enjoying the read they will move ASAP to the Let Them Go box and I'll move on. I have plenty of other books in the queue.

In January I posted about a few online book challenges I had found but I've decided they aren't really for me. I don't care to review every book I read and that was a part of these challenges. I just find it too time consuming with the amount of books I go through and I'd rather sew or start another book!

On Goodreads I have settled into a habit of doing a short review of books that are 5 stars (what I loved about it) or 2 stars, 1 star or DNF (what I didn't enjoy). The majority of my reads are 3 stars (good book but nothing special) and I use 4 stars to reflect a book that I enjoyed enough to recommend or seek out other books by the author.

I've yet to read a 5 star book this year but I do have a nice collection of 4 star reads.

• After Her by Joyce Maynard
• Big Brother by Lionel Shriver
• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Never Read)
• Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
• The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
• State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (Never Read)
• Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

7 of out 20 is a really nice ratio of quality reads. Too bad that I had 6 2 star books on my list which is more than usual! It appears that my digital audiobook choices through my library are becoming slim pickings as they don't seem to be expanding their collection much. So I've started requesting books on CD that are on my reading shelves and bought a pair of Bluetooth headphones so I can play them on my laptop and be able to move about.  

Speaking of moving about - I bought myself a Fitbit as an early birthday present. This long bitterly cold winter has done a number on my healthy habits and it's time to get back on track. My cross country skis and snowshoes have not been touched even though we have plenty of snow!

I started counting my Weight Watchers points again this week too. I'm not going to blog much about this but I will be including an updated picture as part of my Month in Review posts. Each glass gem represents 1 pound to reach my goal weight. A nice little visual that will greet me as I enter my kitchen. And, if I have to move my ironing board upstairs to get to 10,000 steps a day until it warms up I will!

Elsa thinks she will need an extra meal if that happens as she likes to keep an eye on me.

No Finish Friday

Yesterday I headed down to my quilting room with the best of intentions to clear my cutting table, sandwich some tops and start a quiltathon. Guess what?

How about some crumb blocks...

And some Path and Stiles blocks from one of Pat Speth's Nickel Quilt books in Thimbleberries fabrics (another UFO from swap parts)...

Elsa helpfully minding the rest of the parts in the family room...

I missed this picture in my last post of her help assembling Charming Snowmen...

Nothing like a little extra drag on the seam! She seems to alternate between wild play, careful observation, wild play and naps lately. So much energy for a little kitten.

Today I actually did what I set out to do yesterday...

Charmed Pinwheels is ready for trimming and binding. I love how the quilting turned out.

I am listening to a wonderful audiobook called "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd. After a string of duds (to put it politely!) I am totally enthralled with this one and ready to get back to it. Time to sandwich another top...

Back on the Job!

My Quilt Inspector in Training is feeling much better and has reported for duty today.

Elsa wants to thank everyone for your well wishes!

Other than trying to figure out why she can no longer climb the furniture or make the fur grow on her shaved belly with intense bathing sessions she is back to her usual pursuits which makes me very happy too.

Recently I took advantage of a Connecting Threads book sale to add to my quilting library and I want to share these 3 great books - all of which I have had ample time to page through while Elsa napped with me the last few days.

"Skip the Borders" and "A Cut Above" are full of beautiful projects and I've already marked a few to move to the top of my Make Someday List. Relatively simple designs that let the fabrics shine are my favorites and both books meet that criteria. I have grown to love borderless quilts and have always enjoyed working with pre cuts so I'm excited to have new inspiration on hand.

"500 Quilt Blocks" was added to my list after I started making Angela's RSC Sampler blocks when I realized that I really haven't been exposed to that many blocks. This book is a perfect reference with easy to follow instructions and lots of great photos.

I especially like how the photos are of actual blocks vs. drawings and how the book is organized showing lots of block variations in a separate section. And, there are enough photos of project ideas to get my creative juices flowing. At first I wasn't a fan of the odd small size but it works really well with how the book is laid out.

It is fascinating to me how you can change things up completely with value placement and fabric choices - it's hard to believe that these are the same block! This book will be next to my favorite reading spot for a long while I think.

Have you added any good quilting books to your library lately?