Wrap-up of 2012

photo by k

I could probably find a better photo for New Year's Eve but honestly I'm not quite ready to let go of Christmas! My favorite times are the days right after the holiday when you are enjoying new movies/books/music/toys/whatever without the need to entertain or cook or get up early for school or work. I hope that I can take this feeling of restfulness and peace into the new year.

As for the wrap-up, I liked the stats that I pulled last year so I'm looking at most of the same ones this year. Overall, I think it was a good year except for being a little bit short on the actual blogging!

Pages Read: 31367
Last year I read 24914+ pages (I wasn't recording bedtime chapter books with Z yet). This year does include them but it's obvious that I read more of my own books as well.

Books Read: 104
This year was on track as an average year. I am happiest when I read right around 100 books -- any less and I don't feel like I read enough, too many more and I feel like I neglected other important things.

Non-US/UK Authors: 11
Books in Translation: 6
     Original Languages: Japanese, Icelandic, Spanish (3), Norwegian
Last year it was only 4 books in translation so I think this is a nice improvement. And last year it was 9 non-US/UK authors, regardless of language. I would still like these numbers to be higher but I'm satisfied in the variety that I chose this year.

New-to-Me Authors: 39
Most Read Author: Diana Wynne Jones -- 15 books
I think this is a pretty good number of new authors, especially since I obviously focused on re-reads this year. I had no idea that I had read 15 books by DWJ!

Oldest Book Read: The Diamond Lens and Other Stories by Fitz-James O'Brien - 1858
Longest Book Read: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson - 763

Books Over 500 Pages: 10
Blackout by Connie Willis (491, close enough)
All Clear by Connie Willis (641)
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (508)
Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones (517)
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (537)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon (636)
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton (560)
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (763)
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (724)
The Map of the Sky by Félix J. Palma (591)

These 10 books were almost 20 percent of the pages I read! I plan to tackle more chunksters next year too. Even though it's harder to keep a schedule on the blog, it's more satisfying to read longer stories once in a while.

Non-Fiction: 4

I am actually shocked that this number is so low. I really thought it was more than this. This is the one number that I really see as a failure. Luckily, I have some fantastic non-fiction titles in my TBR stacks for the coming year.

Books From My Shelves: 59
     New: 40
     Re-Reads: 19
Books From the Library: 20
Review Books/ARCs: 26

My goal was 50 books from my shelves so I call this a success! I started using the library a bit more for read-alongs but 20 is still keeping it nicely in check. As for review books, this is still over two a month which I might decrease a bit more in the coming year.

DNFs: 1
Would Not Read Again: 9 maybe nots

These are definitely numbers I can live with! Besides the DNF, there were no books that I would absolutely not read again. I chose well this year.

Best New-to-Me Reads of the Year:
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis
The Solitary House by Lynn Shepherd
The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon
The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy
The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino
The Infernals by John Connolly
The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde
Speaking From Among the Bones by Alan Bradley (review in January)

Best Re-Reads of the Year:
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones
Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones
The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones
Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I have a couple more reviews to finish before I can close the book, so to speak, on this year -- The Map of the Sky, The Woman in Black and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Look for those reviews in the coming weeks.

How was your reading this year? Did you get to read as much as you planned to or wanted to? What was your favorite book of 2012?

Tying up loose ends,
K

The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

In the days before Christmas and through that day of celebration, I read a book that I had received from my Secret Santa last year, Robyn -- The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. She sent it from South Africa but it's a book translated from Norwegian -- a story that travels through space and time from modern times to Norway in 1948 to Bethlehem in the year zero, the year of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. While relating the story of a "magic" advent calendar, found in a dusty bookshop in modern times, the book is also an advent calendar of its own with twenty-four short chapters. It tells of angels and shepherds and a journey of destiny and celebration.

Though I was raised in a Christian religion, I no longer subscribe to any particular faith. Still, I found this book to be thought-provoking and reverent and a perfect companion to the holiday. It travels to the heart of the season with a message of love and tolerance. I am very happy to have received this gift and to have saved it to read at this time. Robyn also mentioned that she reads it some years beginning on December 1st, one chapter a day, which I think sounds like a great idea. I will definitely pick it up again when the mood strikes.

Closing each small door until next year,
K

Quick 2013 Planning Poll

I know I still have to wrap up 2012 but I can't help thinking about 2013. Part of that is deciding what challenges/events to do. Can you help me with one decision? I loved hosting DWJ March this year and am thinking about it again. Just answer the two questions below so that I can get some reader input.

Thanks!
K

Merry Christmas One and All!

We wish all of our friends and followers a very happy holiday! Here are a few pictures from our day so far --

The cat is waiting patiently for some wrapping paper to lie down on.

My nifty new socks.

My book haul.

Z's book haul.

Wishing for peace on earth (so we can read),
K and Z

More Excuses, Less Blogging

photo by k

My apologies for having gone missing again but I've found myself with very little time for reading lately and even less time for blogging. I promise to be back soon ... right after the husband's birthday and the traditional holiday activities. In the meantime, you can see more of the mushrooms from our yard. I'm kind of in love with these ones and I wish they would last all year!

Checking it twice,
K

New Release: The Secret Keeper

While trying to decide which book review to catch up with first, my mind went back to The Secret Keeper and I remembered all over again how, though I thought Kate Morton's other books were all good, this one turned out to be great. My main problem was always with the mystery. While reading her other novels, I always guessed the overlying mystery within the first few chapters and, though the writing was good and I enjoyed the stories, that special "something" was missing for me. But this one ... oh how I want to spoil it for all of you! (But don't worry ... I won't.)

Laurel Nicolson is an award-winning actress in London whose mother is dying. She must return to her family home in the country, to reunite with her siblings and to revisit the scene of her most shocking memory -- the day that a sixteen-year old Laurel watched her mother kill a stranger. And, now that her mother's time is ending, Laurel decides that she has to know why her otherwise happy and loving parent snapped that day. Switching between the present and WWII, we find out the whole story -- the good and the bad.

I am finally a full-fledged Kate Morton fan after this book. The different narratives were compelling and very well written. I wish I could tell you just how Morton had me wondering where the story could go and then how it went somewhere I truly didn't expect. I wish I could tell you how certain events seemed brilliant by the end of the story. I wish I could tell you about unreliable narrators and so much more ... but you're going to have to just read the book and find it all out for yourselves!

Happy to have stuck with this author,
K

My Day in Books

photo by k

After seeing this meme on Simon and Sakura's blogs, I thought it would be fun to do it myself ... it's a story of a fictional day using books that I've read this year.

I began the day by The Walnut Tree

before breakfasting on The Pinhoe Egg

and admiring The Secret Garden.

On my way to work I saw Something Wicked this Way Comes

and walked by The Yard

to avoid The Woman in Black,

but I made sure to stop at The Phantom Tollbooth.

In the office, my boss said "I Am Half-Sick of Shadows",

and sent me to research Half Magic.

At lunch with Earwig and the Witch

I noticed Aunt Maria

in The Traveling Restaurant

greatly enjoying The Egg & I.

Then on the journey home, I contemplated Bright and Distant Shores

because I have The Map of the Sky*

and am drawn to Castle in the Air.

Settling down for the evening, Among the Mad,

I studied The Graveyard Book

by The Somnambulist

before saying goodnight to The Secret Keeper.

How was your day?

K

*currently reading

A Week of Gift Ideas: Giving a Little Something Extra

It's wonderful that in our privileged lives we can give meaningful and fun gifts to friends and family but, as we all know, this isn't a privilege extended to all. So here are a couple of ways to get something for you and yours while helping others get a little something as well.

Here’s how you can help:

Download Storia®, Scholastic’s teacher-recommended children’s ereading app, and help pass on the reading to kids in need. Upon downloading Storia, families will receive five free children’s ebooks to start a home digital library. For every additional ebook purchased on Storia now through Dec. 31, 2012, Scholastic will donate a children’s book to a child in need through the Toys for Tots Literacy Program (with a minimum of 50,000 books committed).

Visit a participating The UPS Store location across the U.S. now through Dec. 31, 2012 to purchase a donation card to benefit the Toys for Tots Literacy Program, a year-round initiative of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. Every dollar donated helps provide new books from Scholastic for less fortunate children in local communities throughout the U.S. Customers can also donate online at The UPS Store Facebook page. As part of the longstanding collaboration with Scholastic Literacy Partners, The UPS Store location that raises the most money during the holidays will receive 500 books to share with families in their local community.

HMH is launching a social media–based holiday book donation campaign in partnership with the literacy organization First Book, based on the holiday classic The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. For every new fan who “likes” the Polar Express–themed HMH Kids Facebook page through December 25th a book will be donated to a child in need. HMH has committed to donate up to 25,000 new books, which First Book will donate to children around the country.

The HMH Kids Facebook page features a link to a “Polar Express Countdown to Christmas” online calendar, where families can find a holiday activity for each day, December 1–25, including shareable Polar Express e-cards; recipes for seasonal treats including Polar Chocolate Nougat Caramel Squares, reindeer craft instructions, online games and mazes, and much more. Families are encouraged to share holiday playlists and photographs of children reading The Polar Express on the Facebook page. The calendar plus a wealth of other Polar Express and Van Allsburg material can be found at www.polarexpress.com.

And I will remind you about the fabulous Out of Print Clothing who now have not only tee-shirts, journals and notecards but all new e-reader covers and phone cases.

In addition to spreading the joy of reading through our tees and accessories, we acknowledge that many parts of the world don’t have access to books at all. We are working to change that. For each product sold, one book is donated to a community in need through our partner Books For Africa.

Happy gift giving, friends!
K 

A Week of Gift Ideas: For Anglophiles and Foodies

Everyone knows that a good cookbook can be a great gift and I've got two to recommend.

Jamie Oliver's Great Britain (strangely just Jamie's Great Britain in, well, Great Britain ... as if we in the colonies wouldn't recognize that cute, boyish face), is a book that I won from Tasha a few weeks ago. It's maybe less of a traditional cookbook and more of a celebration of British food but it's really fascinating! It's also a hefty hardcover which is obviously a great choice for a gift. There are a couple of recipes that I'm still going to attempt but mostly I've used it so far as a bit of eye candy and fuel for my raging anglophilia.

And a more seasonal choice is Delish: A Home-Baked Christmas. This is really a book for seasoned bakers, with recipes for stollen, panettone and christmas puddings. But if you have someone in your life that isn't afraid to make something spectacular and who happens to have access to candied fruits galore, why don't you give this to them and then reap the dessert rewards? Z has made me promise to try making the White Christmas Slice -- melted white chocolate, crisped rice cereal, raisins, coconut, dried apricots and glacé cherries made into a bark. It honestly sounds delicious.

In an eating mood all of a sudden,
K

A Week of Gift Ideas: For The Classics Reader

There are tons of options out there for readers who want to collect attractive copies of classics but, honestly, some just aren't that affordable (I still only have one of the clothbound Penguins -- The Woman in White). With the new Classic Lines series from Splinter (Sterling), you can get high presentation value classics at a much more reasonable cost (read: you could gift almost three books instead of one!).

With French flaps and printed end papers on sturdy paperbacks, these classics, designed by fashion illustrator Sara Singh, are gorgeous. I've already fallen for her Pip. I wish I could show you the back of Great Expectations because it's wonderful too -- a set table that obviously belongs to Miss Havisham and the quote "you are part of my existence, part of myself ..." (which is also on the endpapers).

The available titles are Emma, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility.

I think the colors on this Emma are gorgeous! And at $8.95 apiece, it would be easy to buy all six to start a young reader's classic library. I hope that the series expands too. I would love to see an Anne of Green Gables or a My Antonia in this style.

Celebrating the marriage of art and the written word,
K

A Week of Gift Ideas: For Collectors and Nature Enthusiasts

Today's offering is one that I requested from Sterling without quite realizing what it would be. When it arrived, I was floored by what a gorgeous product it is.

This is actually the front of a hardcover case that contains both a book of essays and dozens of printed plates. Natural Histories: Extraordinary Rare Book Selections from the American Museum of Natural History Library has something special for students of natural history, history and art.

From the publisher --

For the first time, Natural Histories allows readers a privileged glimpse of seldom-seen, fully illustrated scientific tomes from the American Museum of Natural History's Rare Book Collection. Forty essays from the museum's top experts in a variety of natural science disciplines, from anthropology to zoology, accompany and discuss each rare work's unique qualities and scientific contribution. Packaged with 40 extraordinary prints suitable for framing and facsimile items inside bound-in envelopes, this deluxe edition will fascinate both natural science and art lovers alike.

If you have someone in your life that you think would appreciate this sort of thing, this would be a unique and thoughtful gift. As for me, I will be shopping for frames soon as I plan to choose my favorite prints for a wall collage. I might even include one or two of my own drawings (which I would share with you if I could find them but alas, I seem to have "put them away" somewhere).

Celebrating the art of science,
K

A Week of Gift Ideas: For Those With Big Imaginations

Today I have a pair of gorgeous blue books. I'm not sure why they're both blue and without dust jackets but it's kind of cool. And they would be the perfect gifts for that cool person in your life.

The new gift edition of Stardust by Neil Gaiman comes in a cloth case and you can even find a deluxe signed edition online for $150. If you don't have quite that much to spend, the unsigned edition is only $30 and is still fabulous and full of features like pretty blue drawings at the start of each chapter by none other than Charles Vess, a new Wall story and an additional sentimental postscript from Neil himself. And, of course, it still has the same enchanting story inside that I've already recommended before. In fact, I'll be sitting down with this gem in front of a cozy fire sometime soon for a re-read. And although this is a beautiful gift edition, I might just be gifting it to myself.

Out next week, The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, Volume 2, a collaborative effort from the HitRecord community, is perhaps not as quirky as the first volume (which I loved) but instead is more melancholy and frequently touches on such things as loneliness, loss and suicide. There are contributions from some tremendously talented artists and with each read I discover something new and my appreciation for this tiny book grows. Paired with the first volume, this would be a thoughtful little gift full of ever-expanding ideas and one lucky person in my life is probably going to receive them under the tree.

Gearing up for a blue Christmas,
K

A Week of Gift Ideas: For Romantics

Next up is a gift that marries World War I and romance in a bittersweet and thoughtful way.

The Walnut Tree is a companion novel to Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series and Bess makes a couple of short appearances in the story, however, you don't have to know anything about the original series to enjoy this book. The tagline is "A Holiday Tale" but it only brings Christmas in at the end. More than that, it's a short tale that explores obligation and duty as they relate to family, soldiers and friends. It also delves into Scottish culture, class structure and the roles of women in the first World War.

I found all of this to be fascinating and I read the book almost all the way through on a two hour flight. A couple of editing issues (odd sentence fragments) threw me off at the start but they were quickly left behind as I got caught up in the story of Elspeth Douglas and her quest to find meaning and love in her life. The romance was very gentle and proper for the time. And the period was portrayed so authentically that I can't wait to finally start reading the Bess Crawford books I already own.

I just thought of the perfect person to give this to. I hope she enjoys it as much as I did.

Feeling the chill of war and winter,
K

A Week of Gift Ideas: For The Littlest Ones

This week, I want to share some of the books we're giving as gifts this year to various friends and family members (that hopefully don't read this blog!). First up are a pair of gorgeous board books for toddlers and preschoolers. These are going to a 2 1/2 year old boy but we will probably buy another set for a 1 year old.

If you don't know about Steve Jenkins, you're missing out on some of the best non-fiction picture books for kids. Now he has illustrated two new board books for the American Museum of Natural History.

1-2-3 Dinosaurs Bite! A Prehistoric Counting Book is, obviously, a counting book. It has bites out of the pages which kids always seem to love. But adults will love that pronunciations are included for the dinosaur names. Microraptor seems easy enough but when you hit Dilophosaurus [dye-LO-fuh-SAW-rus], you'll be a happier reader thanks to this feature. I wish the book was a full ten dinosaurs though. It only features five species and then it speeds through the rest of the numbers. Of course, I've forgotten about short attention spans and this book is probably just the right length for young listeners.

Spot the Animals: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Colors matches up animals and colors in an ever-popular lift-the flap format. These are sturdy board book flaps (actually just double-sized pages that fold out) which make the book perfect for little hands. I guarantee these aren't going to tear off! The colors are bright but not garish. And, as you can see peeking out from the front cover, it features Z's favorite snake, the emerald tree boa.

When these two books arrived in the house, Z immediately grabbed them. I had to actually ask him to stop looking at them after a while so that they would still be in gift condition. With gorgeous art and a little bit of learning, these would be perfect for most little readers and pre-readers.

Still finding a way to buy board books,
K