Books Read in 2009

Wow, I read 122 books this year, with 1/4 of them being non-fiction. I also was able to listen to 13 audio books, thanks to my Ipod Touch I received earlier this year. Here is a list of what I read:

Fiction:
-101 Dalmations - Dodie Smith (audio)
-Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain (audio)
-Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain (audio)
-Anne of Ingleside - L.M. Montgomery
-The Apothecary's Daughter - Julie Klassen
-Before the Season Ends - Linore Rose Burkard
-Betsy and the Great World - Maud Hart Lovelace
-Betsy's Wedding - Maud Hart Lovelace
-The Blue Castle - L.M. Montgomery
-The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
-Boomtown - Chang's Famous Fireworks - Nowen N. Particular
-The Bride Backfire - Kelly Eileen Hake
-The Bride Bargain - Kelly Eileen Hake
-Calico Canyon - Mary Connealy
-Cheaper by the Dozen - Frank B. Gilbreth (audio)
-The Christmas Secret - Donna VanLiere
-The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper: Woman of the West - Kathleen Y'Barbo
-Corduroy Mansions - Alexander McCall Smith (audio)
-Cowboy Christmas - Mary Connealy
-Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (audio)
-Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club)- Heather Vogel Frederick
-Diva NashVegas - Rachel Hauck
-Elvis Takes a Back Seat - Leanna Ellis
-Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
-Emily Climbs - L.M. Montgomery
-Emily's Quest - L.M. Montgomery
-The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate - Jacqueline Kelly
-The Falcon and the Sparrow - Marylu Tyndall
-Friday's Child - Georgette Heyer
-From a Distance - Tamera Alexander
-Gingham Mountain - Mary Connealy
-The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows (read twice, audio-once)
-Hattie Big Sky - Kirby Larson (audio)
-An Irish Country Christmas - Patrick Taylor
-Jane Austen Ruined My Life - Beth Pattillo
-Joelle's Secret - Gilbert Morris
-Leave It to Psmith - P.G. Wodehouse
-Look to the East - Maureen Lang
-Lookin' Back Texas - Leanna Ellis
-The Lost Art of Gratitude - Alexander Mccall Smith
-Lost in NashVegas - Rachel Hauck
-Lumby's Bounty - Gail Fraser
-Menu for Romance - Kaye Dacus
-Mike and Psmith - P.G. Wodehouse
-Miss Julia Delivers the Goods - Ann B. Ross
-Montana Rose - Mary Connealy
-The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg - Rodman Philbrick
-The Mother-Daughter Book Club - Heather Vogel Frederick
-Mrs. Arris Goes to Paris -Paul Gallico
-Much Ado About Anne - Heather Vogel Frederick
-The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart
-The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey - Trenton Lee Stewart
-The Nanny Diaries - Emma Mclaughlin, Nicola Kraus
-No Place for a Lady: A Novel - Maggie Brendan
-The Noticer: Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective - Andy Andrews
-Our Only May Amelia - Jennifer Holm
-The Penderwicks -Jeanne Birdsall (audio)
-The Penderwicks on Gardam Street - Jeanne Birdsall (audio)
-Petticoat Ranch - Mary Connealy
-Picadilly Jim by P.G. Wodehouse
-The Promise of Lumby - Gail Fraser
-Psmith In The City - P.G. Wodehouse
-Psmith, Journalist - P.G. Wodehouse
-Quaker Summer - Lisa Samson
-Rainbow Valley - L. M. Montgomery (audio)
-Ransome's Honor - Kaye Dacus
-The Red Siren - Marylu Tyndall
-The Rising Tide: A Novel of the Second World War - Jeff Shaara (audio)
-The School of Essential Ingredients - Erica Bauermeister
-A Single Thread - Marie Bostwick
-Stand-In Groom - Kaye Dacus
-The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II - Jeff Shaara (audio)
-The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society: A Novel - Beth Pattillo
-The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love: A Novel - Beth Pattillo
-The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley
-Sylvester - Georgette Heyer
-The Tale of Applebeck Orchard (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter) - Susan Wittig Albert
-The Tale of Briar Bank (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter) - Susan Wittig Albert
-The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood (Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter Mysteries) - Susan Wittig Albert
-The Tale of Hawthorn House (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter) - Susan Wittig Albert
-The Tale of Hill Top Farm (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter) - Susan Wittig Albert
-The Tale of Holly How (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter ) - Susan Wittig Albert
-Tumtum & Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall - Emily Bearn
-The Uncommon Reader: A Novella - Alan Bennett
-Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains - Laurel Snyder
-Venetia - Georgette Heyer
-William S. and the Great Escape - Zilpha Keatley Snyder
-The Year of Miss Agnes - Kirkpatrick Hill
-You Had Me at Good-bye - Tracey Bateman
-Your Chariot Awaits - Lorena McCourtney

Non-Fiction:
-Abraham Lincoln's World - Genevieve Foster
-Aurora: An American Experience in Quilt and Craft - Jane Kirkpatrick
-Blogging for Bliss - Tera Frey
-The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child - Donalyn Miller
-Clean and Simple Scrapbooking-The Sequel - Cathy Zielske
-Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl - Susan McCorkindale
-A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking - Ali Edwards
-A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking with Patterned Paper - Ali Edwards
-Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God - Voddie T. Baucham Jr.
-The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen: Live Well, Laugh Often, Cook Much - Serena Thompson, Teri Edwards
-Do Hard Things - Alex & Brett Harris
-First Things First: The Rules of Being a Warner -Kurt & Brenda Warner
-Good and Angry: Exchanging Frustration for Character in You and Your Kids!- Scott Turansky & Joanne Miller
-Good Day!: The Paul Harvey Story - Paul Batura
-Heart in the Right Place: A Memoir - Carolyn Jourdan (read twice)
-A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table - Molly Wizenberg
-Homeschooling with Meek and Quiet Spirit - Teri Maxwell
-How Lincoln Learned to Read: Twelve Great Americans and the Educations That Made Them -Daniel Wolff
-In Praise of Stay At Home Moms - Dr. Laura Schlessinger
-The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits - Les Standiford
-Manager's of Their Home - Steve and Teri Maxwell
-Modern Memory Keeper: A New Approach to Scrapbooking Your Family Legacy by Ronee Parsons
-My Teenage Son's Goal In Life Is To Make Me Feel 3,500 Years Old and Other Thoughts On Parenting - Dave Barry
-Organizing Your Day - Sandra Felton, Marcia Sims
-Parenting the Heart of Your Child - Diane Moore
-Perspectives from a "Smart" Christian - Karla Christian
-Sorted - Lisanne Oliver
-The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Ree Drummond
-Ten P's in a Pod : A Million-Mile Journal of the Arnold Pent Family - Arnold Pent III (audio)
-The Shaping Of A Christian Family - Elisabeth Elliot
-When Homeschooling Gets Tough - Diana Johnson
-When Your Child Struggles The Myths of 20/20 Vision: What Every Parent Needs to Know - David L. Cook O.D.



Total: 122 books

Books Read in December

Books for Boys and Girls, Bookseller

Fiction:
Elvis Takes a Back Seat by Leanna Ellis (review)
No Place for a Lady by Maggie Brenden (review)
Menu for Romance by Kaye Dacus
William S. and the Great Escape by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere
Dear Pen Pal by Heather Vogel Frederick
The Steel Wave by Jeff Shaara (audio)
From a Distance by Tamera Alexander
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (audio)

Non-Fiction:
Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham
The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond (review)
Managers of their Homes by Steve and Teri Maxwell

Book Review: From A Distance by Tamera Alexander

Book Description:

What happens when the realization of a dream isn't what you imagined... and the secret you've spent a lifetime guarding is finally laid bare?

Determined to become one of the country's premier newspaper photographers, Elizabeth Westbrook travels to the Colorado Territory to capture the grandeur of the mountains surrounding the remote town of Timber Ridge. She hopes, too, that the cool, dry air of Colorado, and its renowned hot springs, will cure the mysterious illness that threatens her career, and her life.

Daniel Ranslett, a former Confederate sharpshooter, is a man shackled by his past, and he'll do anything to protect his land, and his solitude. When an outspoken Yankee photographer captures an image that appears key to solving a murder, putting herself in danger, Daniel is called upon to repay a debt. He's a man of his word, but repaying that debt could bring secrets from his past to light.

Forced on a perilous journey together, Daniel and Elizabeth's lives intertwine in ways neither could have imagined when first they met . . . from a distance.

My thoughts:
I have really enjoyed Tamera Alexander's previous books and I looked forward to reading From a Distance. I was to be disappointed--I hated the beginning of the book. I really didn't like the main character at all, even though the things I disliked about her came out in the open by the end of the story. I also think the description that was given on the back of the book was VERY misleading. I don't know about anyone else, but I expect that what I read in the book description to actually happen throughout the book and not just to happen in the last 1/4 of the book. That left me to sludge through the first 3/4 of the book trying to figure out what was going on! I did enjoy the end of the story, but I don't know if it makes up for the slowness and boredom I experienced in the first part.

Book Review: Dear Pen Pal by Heather Vogel Frederick

Book Description:

For the mother-daughter book club, everything changes in eighth grade.
Could the book club break up? When Jess is offered an anonymous scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, she's not sure that leaving home -- and her friends -- is what she wants to do. Meanwhile Megan's grandmother comes for a long visit and turns everything in the Wong household upside down; Emma crusades against her middle school's new uniforms; and Cassidy
finds out there's a big change ahead for her family.

Inspired by Jess's unexpected opportunity, the book club decides to read Jean Webster's classic Daddy-Long-Legs, and there's an added twist this year when they become pen pals with the girls in a book club in Wyoming. There's plenty to write to their new friends about, from a prank-filled slumber party to a not-so-secret puppy -- and even a surprise first kiss.

In this third book in the beloved Mother-Daughter Book Club series, the girls learn that as long as they have one another -- and a good book -- they're ready for whatever eighth grade has in store!

My thoughts:
I was really looking forward to reading Dear Pen Pal by Heather Vogel Frederick and I was not disappointed. In the Mother-Daughter Book Club they not only read Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, but also Dear Enemy, the sequel to Daddy Long Legs, and Just Patty, another book by Jean Webster, which I have never read. This story was a lot of fun to read and even the whole "first kiss" thing was dealt with very humorously. I think Dear Pen Pal has been my favorite of this series, and it added two more books to my TBR list.

A-Z Wednesday

A-Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicky of Reading at the Beach. To join, look here.

This weeks letter is: U


Understood Betsy by Dorthy Canfield Fisher

Book Description:

Thanks to her loving but over-protective guardian aunts, Betsy is a fearful, self-absorbed, nine-year-old hypochondriac. One of the most terrible items on her long list of fears is the horrid cousins her aunts never mention without shuddering. When her aunts are suddenly no longer able to care for her, Betsy is, incredibly, sent to live with those very relatives.

Arriving in Vermont alone and full of trepidation, Betsy is immediately invited by her Uncle Henry to drive the carriage. Steering the fearful horses is just the beginning of her adventures in New England -- and independence. By the novel's end, Betsy has become very fond of the rough but affectionate relatives who eat in the kitchen and expect her to wash her own dishes. When she gets a letter from the aunts inviting her to come home, Betsy must make a difficult choice.

Understood Betsy has been published in numerous editions worldwide since its 1917 debut, and continues to charm readers with its delightful and surprisingly liberated characters.

My thoughts:
I probably would have never read this book except it was a literature selection for the curriculum that we use. I read it to my kids a couple of years ago and we all loved the story. If I remember right, it is a little slow going in the beginning but is definitely worth perservering through.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should be Reading.



The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James

For the first time, I was struck by how handsome he was, sitting there with the breeze stirring his thick, dark hair and kissing his brow, and his countenance glowing pleasantly in the afternoon light.

"Wouldn't it be grand, Miss Bronte, if we could wipe the slate clean and start afresh, as if we had only just met?" p. 300

December Happenings

Here is a little of what we have experienced in December:

Made cookies.


Celebrated Caleb's birthday.


We finally put up the Christmas tree and decorations.


Sent out our Christmas Cards.


Destini and I attended the Nutcracker with friends.


We performed our Christmas program for which I made 6 Bible costumes in 2 days.


On Christmas Eve we celebrated Christmas together.


Christmas Day was spent with my husband's family. (Delani is getting reacquainted with her cousin.)


The day after Christmas Granny and Papa came and spent the night. (Eating apple fritters with Papa.)

And many more numerous things that makes me tired just thinking about it!