Yes!!! Patricia Polacco is the author. I love her books as well. Thank you, Angel!

Y'all are talking way too much. It is taking me forever to get caught up. :laugh: :grouphug: Fiona :grouphug: I am so sorry for your loss. General disclaimer: I miss the multi quote thingy very much. The Secret World of Og is the only Pierre Berton book I have read. Amy, my picture book suggestion is Thunder Cake (can't remember the author... Patricia something?) It's for older kids but my brood loved it when they were younger. Kareni, I read The Geography of You and Me. I am not a big YA fan but I didn't mind this book at all. There is more that I wanted to say but I can't remember what it was (Darn, that multi-quote thingy!)

I use a paper journal to track my reads, it's just easier that way. I recently joined GoodReads but I can't figure out how it all works (I am severely tech-illiterate.) Paper is good for me now.

We are starting tomorrow, much to the chagrin of everyone in this house.

Some of the things we make are: variations of grilled cheese -- add tuna or salsa quiche greek salad with buns spaghetti with sautéed veggies cannelloni--only because dh doesn't like it so we don't have it for supper eggless on bagels--fried eggs on bagels with melted cheese

Amen!

I am Canadian who, due to required high school reading of Margaret Laurence, Gabrielle Roy and Alice Munro ( I like her now but didn't when I was a teenager,) is trying to overcome her dislike of Canadian literature. The book about Yann Martel's book campaign for Stephen Harper introduced me to Martel's books. Thanks for the links to the Canada Reads site. I was there last when they were whittling down the choices. I am eager to see the final list. Canada Reads has always been a highlight to my year but I feel like this year it is 'tainted' (not sure if that is an accurate word) and I am not as excited about it as I have been other years. I think the choice they made for the new facilitator was a wise one (I was extremely impressed with Wab Kinew's ability to defend his book last year) but the reason why he is the new host places a dark cloud over the debates themselves.

VC, I have been reading Imitation for the past two years and I agree that this is a book to go to when life is rocky. It has been soothing read for me.

Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to all of the new people. The key to all of this is not to get caught up in the numbers--just read! I usually do not participate in the challenges as they seem a bit too constricting to me but I like some of the author challenges so I might bend my rule this year. I'm not sure if I am ready for Murakami but I did try Helen Oyeymi last year and, while I wouldn't say I liked it, I was intrigued by her writing so I might just try Murakami this year. Last year was a rough year and my reading reflected it with lots and lots of fluff books. I am praying for a healing year for 2015 and I am hoping that my reading choices will be elevated this year. So, with that thought in mind I am currently reading: Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis The Inferno by Dante Leisure by Josef Pieper Burial Rites by Hannah Kent Six Easy Pieces by Richard Feynman Oh, and Stacia, that bookshelf is way too cool! I am loving it!

Leisure by Josef Pieper Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis Six Easy Pieces by Richard Feynman The Inferno by Dante I haven't picked out a contemporary book yet but I am thinking about Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

I liked Jane's explanation for dark and dreary books. It's not as if I seek them out or that they are the only books I read, I like balance. Life is both happy and hard; my reading reflects this. I find, though, dreary books stay with me longer than the lighter ones. They give me more to think about. I recently read Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng-- a very depressing book but the characterization in that book was intense; I related to every one of those characters. The same with Frog Music by Emma Donoghue. That book was very crass and dark but it has stayed with me even though I read it last spring. I like it when a book give me something to think about. Lighter books, on the whole, do not do this for me; I don't think about/analyze the lighter books. I don't just read dark books but having one come along every once in awhile keeps my reading life interesting.

Hmmm, it looks like the multi-quote thingy isn't working. Anyway, my oldest saw The Hobbit before Christmas and she said that she thought it was the best of the 3, too. We are going as a family to see it on Sunday. I am not a bit Tolkien fan but I like going to see the movies with my family. Next Jan. is going to seem a bit odd with not having a Hobbit movie to see. I am a Wuthering Heights fan but I tend to like the dreary, depressing books. I wonder what that says about me.

Happy Birthday! Oh, I guess I am late, well, I hope you had a beautiful day and that you enjoyed the movie.

I think you have to play around with the time to see what works well for you. For me, if it is not done early in the morning (6:30) then it doesn't get done. I have tried various times of the day but I am my most energetic early in the morning. My sil exercises after her kids are in bed (9:00) I would be too tired to do it that late but it works for her.

Bands--I'm not a band kind of girl Books--Everything I Never Told you, The Bookman's Tale, Housekeeping TV shows--Orphan Black, The Americans, House of Cards Products--Oh She Glows teas, I really like her vegan cookbook of the same name as well.

I tried to read The Martian by Andy Weir but I just could not get into it. I am hoping that I will try it again later and see if it will sit better with me at a later date. I am now reading After Her by Joyce Maynard. I'm not sure about this one either.

That is a great site! Thanks for sharing the link.

mumto2, I liked your post solely due to your words about First Impressions. I read the rest of your post after I 'liked' it. I am so sorry for your loss. I am lifting you and your family up with good thoughts. :grouphug: :grouphug:

I hope everyone had a beautiful and peaceful Christmas. We stayed home this year (yay!) and it was a slow, warm, cozy day for us. I did not get any books but I did get two gift cards for the Canadian version of Amazon so I am a happy girl. I have to say, though, it never gets old watching my kids reactions to the books they get for Christmas. My oldest hugged her Maze Runner books with delight, my youngest was quite happy with her Agatha Christie books and even my son, who is not a book lover, was excited about the book set I gave him on outdoor survival skills (Oh, look, Dad! they even show you how to gut a deer!) Everyone was happy with the Harry Potter hardcover on all of the creatures that are found throughout the series. They needed to be! When I saw this in the store, I leafed through it and knew that this would be a hit. I took it to the checkout without looking at the price, thinking it was about $20 (foolish girl.) When the total price for three books was $93 panic started to set in but I said nothing. After I got out of the store, I then looked at the prices of the books and that Harry Potter book was $55!!! :crying: It took me awhile to begin breathing again. Lesson learned. I finished The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett. I quite liked it althought he did keep bouncing around centuries. I am now reading Stella Gibbons' Comfort Farm but I am not sure if I want to continue on with it.

My oldest was 5 back then so we used: FIAR RightStart math HWOT Explode the Code 100Easy Lessons to Teach your Child to Read (I think that is the correct title)

All the ones that I were thinking of have already been mentioned but I did think of books by Dorothy Sayers, Anne Perry, P.D.James, and Elizabeth George. They are typically the same style/; they start out slow then you are gobsmacked by something crazy and, at times, sensational and then you are galloping to the end. I do like those kinds of books.

I didn't think stockings were a tradition that you outgrew. I'm 52 and I still put out my stocking. I have to admit that I do go a little overboard with the stockings with candy, bath stuff, hats, gloves, socks, etc. I don't know if I will always put this much stuff in them but I will always put them out any time they are here for Christmas.

How many books? So far the number is 77 but I am hoping to read a few more. This is by far the most books I have ever read during a year. This has also been a most gratifying year of reading for me. This year was a difficult one for me but it was a release to fall into a book and get caught up in someone else's life and problems. Some of the books that I read this year even helped me to gain insight into my own dilemmas. 5 favourites (oh, man that is hard!)-- Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson Found by Micha Boyett ( a look into the practises of the Benedictine monks. May I go so far as to say that this book was life changing for me?) Everything I Never Told You by Celest Ng. Booked by Karen Swallow Prior. A book about books, that genre never gets old for me. Till We Have Faces by C.S.Lewis While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell. A retelling of Sleeping Beauty Least favourite--I have two: The Dante Game by Jane Langton and The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears New author/new genre: My pick fits both: Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeymi. I don't know what genre you would slot Oyeymi's books in but I have never read any like this before. This was the craziest book I have ever read but Oyeymi's writing style kept me reading to the finish and I will be reading more of hers in the next year. Favourite quote: I just finished Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson and I do believe I could have filled up my entire commonplace book with just quotes from that book. Robinson's words took my breath away on so many occasions. Here is my favourite, though: "We would have never known that her calm was as slight as the skin on water, and that her calm sustained her as a coin can float on still water...But she left us and broke the family and the sorrow was released and we saw its wings and saw it fly a thousand ways into the hills..." (pg. 198) The book that touched me the most? There were a few: The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene (I think it was because I knew what brought him to write this story,) Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, Frog Music by Emma Donoghue. Of course I will do this again next year. I look forward to all of the words that will touch my heart and make me think, cry and laugh. I appreciate this group so much. There were many times in the past year when my heart was hurting, I would come here and just read your thoughts on your reading and other little rabbit trails you would travel on. I wouldn't post, I just read. Your words as well caused me to think, laugh and cry. Thank you for coming here every week to talk about books. This group has been one of the saving graces I have encountered during this year.

Congratulations, Shukriyya, on #52. Yay for you!

I have done this for the past five years and have found it more meaningful than resolutions. My word for 2015 is Healing.